A wet-type compacting method of a ceramic powder using a solvent, wherein the ceramic powder is coated with a high polymer organic substance which is substantially insoluble in the solvent so that homogeneity of a compact is kept, while generating no problem during each process and excellent plasticity and/or strength are exhibited by the compact, and if a sintering process follows a compacting process, sintering characteristics are improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wet-type compacting method for powder, a production method for a sintered powder compact obtained by sintering a compact obtained by the wet-type compacting method of powder, a sintered compact obtained by the production method, and an application device thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When producing a product by compacting and sintering a powder such as ceramics or powder metallurgical materials, it is known that production of a large and complicated shaped product is extremely difficult.
First of all, it is difficult to compact the powder. Since strength of a large and complicated shaped powder compact is low, the compact is brittle and easily damaged, and its handling is difficult. And a large and complicated shaped powder compact cannot be obtained by only pressing the powder. In this case a technique of wet-type compacting is usually adopted whereby a mixture of the powder and a solvent is produced anywhere in a compacting process and a compact or the precursor thereof is formed from the mixture. The compact or the precursor thereof made from the mixture of the powder and the solvent is often applied with external force during processing. To avoid unexpected damage, the mixture of the powder and the solvent is required to provide plasticity. However, an ordinary mixture of the solvent and the powder is seldom provided with plasticity unless it contains a large amount of plastic powder such as clay.
To relieve such difficulty in the compacting process, a compacting aid may be added to the mixture of powder and solvent. Such a compacting aid includes, for example, a binder for imparting strength to the dried compact, or a plasticizer for imparting plasticity to the mixture of powder and solvent.
High polymer organic substance is mainly used as a compacting aid such as the binder or plasticizer, but it is desirable that these compacting aids are uniformly dispersed in the mixture of powder and solvent. To create a condition where the high polymer organic substance is uniformly dispersed in the mixture of powder and solvent, according to a conventional technique, a high polymer organic substance which is soluble in the solvent or is dispersible in a form such as an emulsion is used, and such a technique is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 7-267741, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 10-1366 or the like.
To coat the surface of the powder with an organic high polymer in advance to compact the powder, a technique is known whereby, when silicon nitride powder of which the water resistance is low is compacted with a solvent of a water system, the powder is coated with a resin which is insoluble in water to impart water resistance to the powder. This technique is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 6-100372. However, this does not impart plasticity and strength to the compact, therefore it is necessary to separately add a compacting aid such as a water-soluble plasticizer or a binder. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-264696 also discloses a technique whereby the surface of a powder is coated with resin and then compacted using an organic solvent. However, this resin is soluble in the organic solvent. Plasticity is thus imparted by making use of solubility.
The compacting process was described above in detail, but another reason for difficulty in producing a large and complicated shaped product is that uniform and dense sintering is so difficult.
To sinter a powder compact uniformly and densely, it is necessary to uniformly and compactly pack the powder for the compact. In addition, a method of adding a sintering aid for promoting sintering to a mixture of powder and solvent or sintering by hot pressing under conditions of high temperature and high pressure can be applied. It is also known that the more minute the ceramic powder, the easier the sintering. However, it is to be noted that the more minute the powder, the more difficult the compacting.
Description was made above as to how difficult is the production of a large and complicated shaped product in the compacting and sintering process, and carbide ceramics such as silicon carbide or boron carbide are considered to be difficult materials to compact and sinter. Among these, boron carbide ceramics are considered to be more difficult in processing. Boron carbide sintered compact is usually produced by hot pressing because of its difficulty in sintering. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 7-97264 discloses a production method by atmospheric pressure sintering. However, it is impossible to produce products of a large and complicated shape in this method and the maximum relative density of sintered compact is about 96%.
Slip casting is most suitable for producing large and complicated shaped products among various compacting techniques, but it is the most technically difficult compacting method. Slip casting techniques for silicon carbide among the carbide ceramics that are difficult to compact are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 6-144915 and the like. However, for boron carbide that is more difficult to compact, a slip casting technique is not yet known.
An application field for a sintered powder compact, in particular, a ceramic sintered powder compact includes a movable section for a mobile body device having a highly accurate positioning function. The mobile body device which requires the highly accurate positioning function includes a three-coordinate measuring machine, a straightness measuring device, and a lithography machine for forming patterns on a plain object or the like. In the mobile body device provided with such a highly accurate positioning function, a small type of device provided with such a bearing as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 5-174520 is known. As a large type of device, a hydrostatic fluid bearing device is mainly used. In particular, in the lithography machine, when a modern semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal panel is produced, a highly accurate positioning function corresponding to the finer microstructure of the patterns is required. At the same time, to form the patterns economically, it is necessary that the mobile body loaded with a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal panel to be exposed and a reticle or the like, is moved at high speed to improve the throughput of the device. However, to move the mobile body at high speed inevitably generates vibration that is a minus factor with reference to positioning accuracy. Further, to move the mobile body at high speed under a fixed driving force, it is necessary to lighten the movable section.
To cope with both the high speed and the high positioning accuracy, it is necessary to use a mobile body constructed from a material with a large specific rigidity ratio (Young's modulus/Specific gravity). Accordingly, in place of a conventional material of a metal system, the mobile body device adopting the movable section using a construction material made of ceramics has become available in recent years. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 4-347008 discloses that a fluid bearing made of ceramics is superior to a metal bearing in specific rigidity. A fluid bearing made of alumina is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 6-297421 as an embodiment thereof. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 6-297421 also discloses examples of ceramic materials used in the fluid bearing, wherein silicon nitride and silicon carbide are mentioned, which will provide a ceramic sintered compact with a larger specific rigidity ratio than Alumina if they are completely densely sintered. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-182945 also discloses members for a lithography device in which silicon carbide and boron carbide having a large specific rigidity ratio are used.
An application field for the sintered powder compact, in particular, ceramic sintered powder compact includes a protective member for efficiently absorbing shock from collision with a missile.
Development of a protective member for a human body, structure, mobile body or the like to absorb shock from collision with a missile has been an important theme since the beginning of the history of man, and continuous progress has been made from ancient shields and armatures for protecting from arrows and javelins to present protective structures for a spacecraft in collision with meteorites. Metal has consistently played a leading part in such development, in particular, alloys of iron. Even if the heat resistance of iron has come under question since entering the space age, metal is still regarded as important material thanks to the development of heat-resistant special steels and the like.
Superiority of metal as the protective member can be found in two points: impact strength and workability. One more characteristic essential for the protective member is extra hardness. Recommended as an industrial material for extra hardness is a ceramic sintered powder compact. However, ceramic material is generally regarded as solid, but brittle and easily cracked. It is true that the ceramic material is inferior to metal in impact strength and there has been no trials for using ceramic material as the protective member for absorbing the shock of collision with a missile up to recent years.
However, a protective member using a ceramic material called Chobam composite armor has been recently developed. Ceramics cannot overcome their own brittleness alone, but a new structure which can absorb shock was attained by combining a ceramic plate with an extremely tough steel plate or by partly adopting a hollow structure therein. The background of appearance of such a structure is in that the main object to be protected against has changed from a missile such as AP, APC, APDS, and APFSDS mainly utilizing kinetic energy whereby the impact is limited by the rate of fire to a missile such as HEAT mainly utilizing chemical energy by jetting in the vicinity of the protective member, and it has become necessary to protect from shock caused by collision with the missile of which the speed has become extraordinarily high compared with a conventional one. This necessity increases more when the protective member is used in a spacecraft or the like which needs protection from a missile which flies faster.
Since protective members using ceramics were put to practical use, attention has been paid to its lightness compared with metal, and, in particular, development has advanced mainly for use in the aerospace industry. In a protective member aiming at lightening, a structure of ceramic tile provided with a backup layer of fiber reinforced plastic is common. The structural examples are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,739,690, 5,996,113, WO 98/51988 and the like.
However, there have been the following problems in the prior art.
When a compacting aid of organic high polymer is used in the wet-type powder compacting process and, for example, slip casting is adopted as a compacting method, the compacting aid soluble in a solvent often causes clogging in a mold. And the compacting aid soluble in the solvent sometimes causes its segregation in a compact in the process of drying the solvent from the compact and as a result, the compact after drying becomes heterogeneous. The heterogeneous compact remains heterogeneous even in the next sintering process and, as a result, a heterogeneous sintered compact is only available. And in compacting a non-plastic body, even if the compacting aid imparting plasticity is added according to a conventional method, the plasticity is still inferior compared with plastic body such as a clay base body. Accordingly, there is a limit to the size and shape of the compact.
Since these compacting aids must be burnt off in the next sintering process, the density of a sintered body decreases and as a result, satisfactory physical properties of the sintered body cannot be obtained. It is also difficult to uniformly disperse an ordinary sintering aid in a mixture of powder and solvent. As a result, the sintering aid heterogeneously existing in the compact results in heterogeneous physical properties of the sintered compact. Further, according to a method of promoting sintering by hot pressing under high temperature and high pressure, increase of manufacturing cost is inevitable. Basically, it is not possible to manufacture a large and complicated shaped product from the limits of the equipment by hot pressing.
Accordingly, with reference to carbide ceramics which are difficult to compact and sinter, and in particular, to boron carbide, it has been regarded as completely impossible to manufacture a large and complicated shaped product at low cost until now.
Further, when a sintered powder compact, in particular, a ceramic sintered powder compact is applied to a movable section of a mobile body device having a highly accurate positioning function, if, for example, alumina is used, the specific rigidity ratio of alumina is about 80˜95 GPa even if the alumina is sintered until its Young's modulus reaches close to the maximum value. The specific rigidity ratio in such a case is not enough to attain the superb throughput and positioning accuracy which are required, for example, in a lithography machine.
Ceramics such as silicon nitride, silicon carbide or boron carbide are materials difficult to sinter and compact compared with alumina and it is difficult to economically compact and sinter a large product which can be used in the movable section of the lithography machine. In particular, in the conventional manufacturing method, hot pressing is required to manufacture a large product, not a small test piece, which can be put to practical use. However, as far as hot pressing is used, the manufacturing cost is enormous and the complicated shaped product cannot be produced.
Further, to improve the specific rigidity ratio of the movable section in the lithography machine, not only material of high specific rigidity ratio but also a rib structure or hollow structure should be adopted to improve the apparent specific rigidity ratio. However, when ceramic material of high specific rigidity ratio is used, adoption of such a structure results in more difficulty in compacting and sintering. Accordingly, it has been considered that adoption of the rib structure or hollow structure was impossible until today.
Still further, when a sintered powder compact, in particular, a ceramic sintered powder compact is applied to a protective member for efficiently absorbing the shock from collision with a missile (a flying object), in other words, when the ceramic material is used as a component of the protective member for absorbing the shock from collision with the missile, it is not possible to produce a large and complicated shaped product. In this case, a plate or tile shaped ceramic members can only be used in combination. Accordingly, when such ceramic members are applied to the protective member of the complicated shaped device, there is a limit to combination of the plate-shaped ceramic members and the joint section causes a problem. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,739,690, 5,996,113, WO 98/51988 and the like disclose such a joint structure, wherein techniques whereby a joint section is thickened to provide build-up, a butt joint structure is provided, or an adhesive agent is used, are disclosed. However, in such a structure, fragility of the joint section cannot be sufficiently covered.
It is also difficult for the protective member of a tabular structure to be arranged obliquely to the predicted direction of collision with the missile. A conventional protective member of metal material has a curved structure in many cases, but a ceramic composite protective member can only have a square structure which has a drawback of inferior defending ability.
And it is considered that a ceramics composite armor of a sandwich structure should adopt a rib structure or hollow structure to disperse the shock, but a combination of plate-shaped ceramics cannot have such a structure.

Method of producing a carbide sintered compact


A system includes a memory configured to store a database including a plurality of documents and instructions. The system includes at least one processor configured to execute the instructions. The instructions include, in response to receiving a request signal from a user device, parsing the request signal to identify salient terms, identifying a set of documents of the plurality of documents based on the identified salient terms, and displaying the set of documents on a user interface of the user device.

Viewing and loading PDF documents can be cumbersome and time-consuming. Typically, PDF viewers are desktop or mobile applications with rudimentary search capabilities and which require downloading the full PDF in order to search, view, and retrieve results. In the example of a vehicle service provider, a technician typically services numerous vehicle make/models/years and references a PDF service manual to lookup repair procedures and/or various specifications. These PDFs are typically available through a service information site provided by the vehicle manufacturer. This process is rather time consuming and resource intensive.
If the technician has their own computer, retrieving these specifications requires: (i) opening the technical information site on their laptop; (ii) specifying the product that's being worked on; (iii) searching for the service manual for that product; (iv) opening the service manual in the browser OR downloading the service manual and open it in an existing application, such as Adobe Acrobat; and (v) searching within the service manual for the exact word or phrase. This process, depending on the size of the file and computer constraints, can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. If the technician wishes to use this information in the future or share it with someone else on another computer, the same process has to be repeated, as there is no way to link to a page with the relevant result. Specifically, steps (iv) and (v) of the operation are the focal point of the struggles encountered over and over and stem from service manual/document size, Internet connection, the need to download the entire manual, size of the document for searching, and poor fuzzy searching abilities.
The way in which a PDF opens on a user's computer from a website depends on the website's implementation. The website can do one of the following: open the raw PDF file—usually in a new tab; cause the browser to download the PDF, or open the PDF inside a PDF viewer.
The first two implementations of PDF viewing cause the same behavior—the entire PDF is downloaded from the server. As we've seen in the field, this can take far too much time when trying to find a small piece of information in a relatively large publication. In the third implementation, opening the PDF inside a PDF viewer offers some advantages to download speed. Specifically, when configured properly on the server and client, the viewer will only download the PDF's metadata and first few pages. This enables jumping between pages of large publications quickly because the client can request the specific byte range of the PDF in order to present the user with a specific page. Unfortunately, today's client-side PDF viewing technologies' user experience falls apart when it comes to searching.
In order for existing PDF viewers to search a document, it needs to have the entire document. Therefore, even though a user can quickly view the first few pages of a PDF using this method, when they enter search terms into the search bar the client starts downloading the entire PDF in the background and enumerating search results as it finds them. Therefore, all three existing solutions take the same amount of time to use when the scenario described above is considered. Further, the searching capabilities of these tools are limited to "verbatim" searches, in which only exact matches can be found within a document.
The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

Systems and methods for transforming user interfaces based on database interactions


The invention is directed to an improvement of reliability in a chip-size package type semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof. A semiconductor substrate formed with a pad electrode is prepared, and a first protection layer formed of epoxy resin is formed on a front surface of the semiconductor substrate. Then, a via hole is formed from a back surface of the semiconductor substrate to the pad electrode. A wiring layer is then formed from the via hole of the semiconductor substrate, being electrically connected with the pad electrode through the via hole. Then, a second protection layer and a conductive terminal are formed, and the semiconductor substrate is separated into individual semiconductor dies by dicing.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof, particularly to a package type semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
CSP (Chip Size Package) has been pursued as a package type semiconductor device. The CSP means a small package having almost the same outside dimensions as those of a semiconductor die packaged in it.
Conventionally, a BGA (Ball Grid Array) type semiconductor device has been known as a kind of CSP. In this BGA type semiconductor device, a plurality of ball-shaped conductive terminals made of a metal such as solder is arrayed in a grid pattern on one surface of the package, and electrically connected with the semiconductor die mounted on the other side of the package. A manufacturing method of the BGA type semiconductor device of the conventional art will be described with reference to drawings next. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device of the conventional art. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the semiconductor device and the manufacturing method thereof of the conventional art.
First, as shown in FIG. 6, a pad electrode 51 is formed on a front surface of a semiconductor substrate 50 formed with an electronic device (not shown), extending from the electronic device. A support substrate 60 is further formed on the front surface of the semiconductor substrate 50. This support substrate 60 is made of, for example, a silicon substrate, a glass substrate, a ceramic substrate, or a metal substrate, supporting the semiconductor substrate 50 and preventing the semiconductor substrate 50 from cracking or warping. Then, a back surface of the semiconductor substrate 50 supported by the support substrate 60 is ground. The semiconductor substrate 50 is thinned to have a predetermined thickness by this backgrinding process.
Then, the semiconductor substrate 50 is formed with a via hole 52 penetrating from its back surface to the pad electrode 51. A wiring layer 53 is formed in the via hole 52, being electrically connected with the pad electrode 51. Between the semiconductor substrate 50 and the wiring layer 53, an insulation film (not shown) is formed. A protection layer 54 is formed on the wiring layer 53 so as to partially expose the wiring layer 53. On the exposed wiring layer 53, a conductive terminal 55 is formed, which can be connected with an external printed circuit board and so on.
Next, as shown in FIG. 7, dicing is performed along a dicing line (not shown) to separate the semiconductor substrate 50 into semiconductor dies 50A. Then, the support substrate 60 attached to the front surface of the semiconductor die 50A is peeled off or removed, thereby completing the package type semiconductor device. The relevant technology is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-309221.
In the manufacturing method of the package type semiconductor device described above, however, the support substrate 60 used for supporting the semiconductor substrate 50 in the backgrinding process or the forming process of the via hole 52 need be removed from the semiconductor die 50A after the processes. This causes a problem of making a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device complex and increasing a manufacturing cost.
Furthermore, on the front surface of the semiconductor device after the support substrate 60 is removed, the semiconductor die 50A is not sufficiently protected (from moisture permeation from outside and the like). This causes a problem of decreasing reliability of the semiconductor die. Alternatively, the front surface of the semiconductor die 50A (or the semiconductor substrate 50) is processed again for protecting the semiconductor die 50A. This causes a problem of making the manufacturing method complex and increasing the manufacturing cost.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method of the same


An ion pump includes an evacuateable envelope having a chamber. A first and a second cathode are disposed within the chamber and spaced apart from one another. An anode is spaced apart from and between the first and second cathodes. The anode has an anode body with a textured surface that defines capture regions for fixing material sputtered from the first and second cathodes and controlling size of sputter depositions shed from the anode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to ion pumps, and more particularly to pump elements for ion pump vacuum systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Ion pumps generally operate by converting gaseous molecules into a solid state for purposes of achieving a relatively high vacuum. Conventional ion pumps typically include an enclosure housing an anode, a cathode, and a magnet disposed in relation to the anode for developing a magnetic field within the anode. Upon application of a voltage, the anode and cathode develop opposite charges such that an electric field develops between the anode and cathode. Electrons form within the anode and ionize gas molecules that enter the anode. Once ionized, the electric field accelerates the ionized gas molecules into the cathode such that they impact with velocity sufficient to either lodge within the cathode or deposit within the enclosure as sputtered material. In some ion pumps, ion impacts eject material from the cathode, which deposits within the enclosure as sputtered material. Since the anode is typically adjacent to the cathode, sputtered material generally forms on anode portions proximate to the cathode. The sputtered material can shed from the anode surface as a mobilized solid-state material, potentially lodging between the anode and cathode, temporarily shorting the anode and cathode and reducing the efficacy of the ion pump.
Such conventional methods and systems have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is still a need in the art for improved ion pumps and ion pump elements that can reduce the consequences of sputtered material shedding from the anode. The present disclosure provides a solution for this need.


Aspects of the disclosure relate to using a machine learning system to process a corpus of documents associated with a user to determine a user-specific consequence index. A computing platform may load a corpus of documents associated with a user. Subsequently, the computing platform may create a first plurality of smart groups based on the corpus of documents, and then may generate a first user interface comprising a representation of the first plurality of smart groups. Next, the computing platform may receive user input applying one or more labels to a plurality of documents associated with at least one smart group. Subsequently, the computing platform may create a second plurality of smart groups based on the corpus of documents and the received user input. Then, the computing platform may generate a second user interface comprising a representation of the second plurality of smart groups.

Evaluating a large dataset, such as a corpus of documents associated with an enterprise computer user, may require a large amount of review time and/or processing power. In some instances, it may be difficult to automate and optimize such processes, as large amounts of both human resources and computing resources may be required. In addition, even when such computing resources are available, automated algorithms might not be able to manage variability in a dataset being evaluated. One or more aspects of the disclosure provide technical solutions that overcome these and/or other technical challenges.

Using a machine learning system to process a corpus of documents associated with a user to determine a user-specific and/or process-specific consequence index


A non-sparking rotatable switch apparatus for a multi-speed fan includes stationary contacts positioned at two different levels relative to a plane of rotation of the switch. The rotatable portion of the switch apparatus includes upwardly extending contact sheets, some of which extend only to the lower level at which contacts are positioned and at least one of which extends to the higher level at which contacts are positioned. The higher level upwardly extending contact sheets have different widths than the lower level sheets, thereby changing the timing at which the upwardly extending contact sheets engage the respective contacts.

This invention relates to a speed changing apparatus, especially a non-sparking circuit apparatus for a multi-speed fan.
There are two types of speed changing apparatus available on the market. One of them achieves the speed changing effect by changing the starting capacitance of the motor and the other by changing the voltage dropping capacitance the motor. For reducing the costs of the capacitors used in these two types of speed changing apparatus, selector switches have been utilized to connect the motor for the fan with two capacitors in parallel to a single capacitor so that a minimum number of capacitors are required. However, in changing the position of the selector switch, the electrical energy can be discharged from a charged capacitor to another one through the selector switch. This discharging effect can result in damage to the capacitors themselves and to the contacts of the selector switch.
The discharge can occur on the following two conditions: (1.) Upon condition that the two capacitors in the circuit of a fan are electrically connected with the power source at a small time differential, one capacitor is charged prior to the other one. In case the circuit involves A.C. of 50 to 60 Hz, the charges in the earlier charged capacitor can be discharged through the switch to the later charged capacitor. In case the ends of the time differential respectively correspond to the positive and negative peaks of the A.C. wave, the discharge would be significant and may form a spark and the resistance to voltage of the capacitors has to be high enough; (2.) Upon condition that one of the two charged parallel capacitors is disconnected from the power source, there will be residue charges on the disconnected capacitor and the phase of the other capacitor will be changed in a very short time. Thereby, the voltage difference between the two capacitors will be increased. In case the time of the disconnection corresponds to the positive peak of the A.C. wave, a significant discharge and a spark can occur between the two capacitors.


A thruster device and associated methods are provided. The thruster device comprises a frustoconical inner layer and a frustoconical outer layer that surrounds the inner layer such that the inner and outer layers cooperate to define a spiral flow passage therebetween. An outlet, such as a nozzle, is attached to an exit end of the thruster device such that the outlet is in fluid communication with the spiral flow passage. In one embodiment, the thruster device includes an end flow cap that is also attached to the exit end and establishes the fluid communication between the spiral flow passage and the outlet. The end flow cap includes at least one channel for directing the propellant from the spiral flow passage to the outlet. The design of the thruster device allows the frustoconical inner and outer layers to be assembled without galling or damaging the spiral flow passage.

The present invention relates to solar energy systems, and in particular relates to solar power propulsion systems which use thermal energy for propelling and powering a spacecraft.
Thruster devices are often used in the space industry, particularly for low power applications such as orbital positioning of a spacecraft. In particular, a thruster device, such as a solar thruster, may be used for correcting or maintaining the orbit of a satellite. Another application of thruster devices is to change or alter the orbital path of a satellite in order to avoid detection by other satellites or ground tracking devices.
Conventional solar thruster devices typically comprise a heat exchanger made of a material having a high coefficient of thermal conductivity, such as rhenium, tungsten, or halfnium carbide. The heat exchanger typically includes or defines a flow passage through which a working fluid or propellant is directed such that the solar energy incident upon the heat exchanger is transferred to the propellant. The high temperature propellant is then expelled from the thruster device by expansion through a nozzle, thereby producing thrust. The thrust is used by the satellite to maneuver between orbits or maintain a particular location.
The solar energy used by the thruster is gathered by the heat exchanger by means of a primary concentrator in conjunction with a secondary concentrator. The primary concentrator receives solar energy directly or by reflection and transfers this energy to the secondary concentrator which, in turn, directs the solar energy to the heat exchanger of the thruster device. The energy absorbed by the heat exchanger is then transferred to the propellant within the flow passage. The role of the flow passage is to provide a relatively long flow path along which the propellant can be heated and to direct the propellant to the nozzle. The most effective approach to achieving high thruster performance is to attain a high propellant temperature. The key to achieving this desirable high propellant temperature is dependent on the maximum allowable heat exchanger temperature as well as its thermoconductivity and other properties.
While the use of thruster devices is known, conventional thruster devices can be relatively difficult to manufacture. In particular, a conventional thruster design typically includes a flow passage formed by winding sections of three-foot metallic tubes around a cylindrical mandrel. The cylindrically wound tubes provide a large surface area for transferring solar energy to the propellant. The tubes are typically comprised of a refractory metal capable of withstanding high temperatures, such as rhenium. However, as the tubes are wound around the mandrel, the metal tubes work harden and are very difficult to form to the desired shape. In addition, the tube sections must be welded together prior to winding around the mandrel. Thus, this design requires a tedious, time-consuming and costly fabrication process.
Another conventional thruster device developed by Boeing comprises a cylindrical capsule-like body portion having a nozzle at one end. In contrast to winding a tube around a mandrel to form the flow passage, a series of spirally wound grooves are formed in an inner liner of the body portion, and an outer layer of the body portion is slid over the inner liner to form a spiral channel that directs propellant to the nozzle. This design, however, requires that the diameteral clearance between the inner and outer liners be closely matched to avoid chafing between the liners upon assembly. In particular, chafing can damage the seal between the grooves forming the channel, which can have a deleterious effect on the flow of propellant and result in a loss of thrust.
In yet another design, a rhenium foam is positioned between two rhenium sheets to form a flow passage. However, this thruster design has not been proven experimentally.
Thus, there is a need for a thruster device that offers the same or improved performance relative to conventional thruster devices with reduced fabrication costs. In particular, it would be desirable to fabricate the thruster device without having to wind tubes around a mandrel to form the flow passage. There is also a need for providing a thruster device that can be easily assembled without damaging the flow passage.
These and other needs are provided, according to the present invention, by a thruster device having frustoconical inner and outer layers and a flow passage interposed between the two layers. The flow passage can be defined by the inner layer, outer layer, or both layers. As such, the thruster device of the present invention provides a flow passage formed without having to wind a tube around a mandrel, thereby simplifying the fabrication process. Advantageously, the frustoconical configuration of the inner and outer layers of the thruster device of the present invention allows for easy assembly of the thruster device with minimal risk of damaging the flow passage due to chafing between the inner and outer layers. Thus, the resulting thruster device can typically be fabricated relatively inexpensively.
In particular, the thruster device of the present invention advantageously comprises a frustoconical inner layer having inner and outer surfaces and opposed ends. A frustoconical outer layer surrounds the inner layer and means for defining a spiral flow passage are disposed between the inner and outer layers. Preferably, the inner and outer layers cooperate to define the spiral flow passage themselves. In one advantageous embodiment, the inner and outer layers are formed of at least one of rhenium and hafnium carbide in order to have good heat exchange properties. An outlet, such as a nozzle, is attached to one of the opposed ends of the inner and outer layers such that the outlet is in fluid communication with the spiral flow passage. In one embodiment, the thruster device also includes an end flow cap connected to the same end of the inner and outer layers for establishing fluid communication between the spiral flow passage and the outlet. The end flow cap includes at least one radial channel for directing the propellant from the spiral flow passage to the outlet.
A method of manufacturing a thruster device is also provided. In particular, the method comprises forming a spiral flow passage in at least one of the frustoconical inner and outer layers, and nesting the inner layer within the outer layer such that the spiral flow passage is defined between the inner and outer layers. The method also includes attaching an outlet, such as a nozzle, to at least one of the inner and outer layers such that the outlet is in fluid communication with the spiral flow passage. In one embodiment, the method also includes attaching an end flow cap between at least one of the inner and outer layers and the outlet for directing propellant to the outlet.
The spiral flow passage is formed by covering portions of one of the inner and outer layers with photoresist having a spiral pattern and then etching the uncovered portions. In one embodiment, the spiral flow passage can be formed by applying photoresist to one of the inner and outer layers and then exposing the photoresist to define a spiral configuration. The flow passage can then be finished by chemically etching the portions of the inner or outer layer from which the photoresist has been ablated. Thus, the flow passage can be formed to within precise tolerances.
Advantageously, the present invention provides a thruster device and associated methods that overcomes the shortcomings of conventional thrusters discussed above. In particular, the thruster device of the present invention provides a flow passage that is preferably defined by the inner and/or outer layers, instead of requiring a tube to be wound around a mandrel as in some conventional thruster devices. Furthermore, the thruster device of the present invention is easy to assemble, since the frustoconical configuration of the inner and outer layers do not abrade against one another as the outer layer is positioned over the inner layer. As such, the thruster device of the present invention is improved in both cost and performance. In particular, the design of the thruster device significantly simplifies the fabrication process compared to conventional thrusters by reducing the number of parts required to form the flow passage and eliminating the costly and time consuming process of welding and winding tubes about a mandrel to form the flow passage. In addition, the design of the thruster device reduces the likelihood of damaging the flow passage during assembly by reducing, if not eliminating, abrading and other deleterious contact between the inner and outer layers as the inner layer is inserted into the outer layer. Thus, the thruster device of the present invention has reduced fabrication costs. As a result, the propellant can be directed to the outlet in a more efficient manner, which results in higher performance of the thruster device. Advantageously, the improved performance of the thruster device allows for greater payload capacity along with lower costs per firing cycle.

Method of making a thruster device for solar radiation


Provided are a passive optical network reach extender based on a wavelength tunable optical module and a method thereof. According to an embodiment of the invention, a passive optical network reach extender includes a first optical splitter configured to receive an optical signal from an optical line terminal and split the signal into optical signals having a multiplexed wavelength, a wavelength tunable remote relay configured to receive the optical signals split from the first optical splitter, and select and control an available wavelength for each port, a wavelength multiplexer configured to multiplex a wavelength of the optical signal output from the wavelength tunable remote relay, and a second optical splitter configured to split the optical signal multiplexed by the wavelength multiplexer into a plurality of optical network units.

1. Field
The following description relates to a passive optical network (PON), and more particularly, to technology for increasing a transmission distance and the number of splits in the passive optical network.
2. Description of the Related Art
A time division multiple access passive optical network (TDMA-PON) is broadly classified as an EPON (Ethernet PON) or a GPON (Gigabit-capable PON). Currently, this technology corresponds to next generation-PON (NG-PON1) technology, which is a 10 Gbps-class TDMA-PON, and 10G-EPON and XG-PON1 (10 Gigabit-capable PON) technologies are standardized.
The ITU-T SG15 standardization group has selected time and wavelength division multiplexed passive optical network (hereinafter referred to as 'TWDM-PON') technology, which is 40 Gbps-class NG-PON2 technology, as standardization technology. The TWDM-PON is technology for providing a broadband service to subscribers using previously standardized XG-PON1 and wavelength multiplexing technology. That is, a transmission rate of 10 Gbps downstream and 2.5 Gbps upstream is supported per wavelength division multiplex (WDM) wavelength. Optical network units (hereinafter referred to as 'ONUs') may provide a service to subscribers by selecting an arbitrary wavelength according to wavelength control from an optical line terminal (hereinafter referred to as 'OLT') using wavelength tunable technology.
A general TWDM-PON link supports four types of XG-PON1 technology for one OLT and supports a transmission rate of 10 Gbps downstream and 2.5 Gbps upstream for each wavelength. In this case, wavelength signals use a fixed wavelength band. In a signal transmission process of the general TWDM-PON link, wavelength signals having four fixed wavelength bands are transmitted through a wavelength multiplexing and de-multiplexing device of the OLT using one optical line. These wavelength signals are respectively transmitted to the ONUs through an optical splitter in a remote node. The ONU receives the signal having a wavelength selected from among four wavelengths and provides a service to subscribers. For this purpose, the ONU may use a wavelength tunable light source.
The general TWDM-PON link supports a transmission rate of from 625 Mbps to 10 Gbps downstream and from 156 Mbps to 5 Gbps upstream per subscriber with a split ratio of 1:64. However, it is inefficient to apply in a subscriber network in terms of costs. That is, when expensive 40 Gbps TWDM-PON equipment is used in a previously installed optical distribution network (hereinafter referred to as 'ODN'), effectiveness of a transmission service decreases due to a small number of subscribers. Therefore, in order to increase the number of subscribers per port of the 40 Gbps TDMA-PON equipment while the existing ODN is directly accommodated, a reach extender capable of providing long-distance transmission and a high split ratio in a 40 Gbps TWDM-PON link is necessary.

Passive optical network reach extender based on wavelength tunable optical module and method thereof

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for forming a coil comprises patterning a first mask on a handle wafer, and depositing a conductive material on exposed portions of the handle wafer to partially define the coil. A second mask is patterned on portions of the first mask and the conductive material. A solder material is deposited on a portion of the conductive material to partially define a support member. The solder material is bonded to a wafer, and the handle wafer is separated from the conductive material.

The present invention generally relates to integrated electronic devices, and more specifically, to inductors and transformers formed on a wafer.
An inductor is an electrical component that usually comprises a coiled conductor or wire. In operation, current flows through an inductor; when the current flow changes, a time-varying magnetic field is induced that, in turn, induces a voltage in the conductor.
A transformer is an electrical component that uses induction to transfer electrical energy between circuits. A transformer often includes a set of conductive coils or windings. In operation, when a time-varying magnetic flux is induced in one of the windings, the magnetic flux is induced in the other winding, which results in a time-varying voltage in the other winding. Transformers are often used to increase or decrease alternating current (AC) voltages, and may also be used to transmit power between devices using induction.
As electronic devices continue to decrease in size, it becomes more desirable to integrate electronic components such as inductors and transformers into integrated circuit wafers and chips.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The present invention provides a method for the preparing of 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine, comprising two steps of chlorofluorination reaction and chlorination reaction, the chlorination catalyst used in the chlorination reaction was chosen from a fluoride, an oxide, a hydroxide, a carbonate, or a chloride of magnesium, calcium and barium and a supported palladium catalyst; or under the action of at least one catalyst chosen from ZSM-5, 5A, β and 13× molecular sieves, 3-trifluoromethylpyridine and chlorine gas phase have reaction to obtain 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine. Or, under the action of a catalyst chosen from a fluoride, an oxide, a hydroxide, a carbonate, or a chloride of magnesium, calcium, and barium and a supported palladium catalyst, 3-trifluoromethylpyridine and chlorine gas phase have reaction to obtain 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine. The present invention has the advantages of easily availability and low-cost of raw materials, safe operation, high yield, easy isolation and recovery of catalyst, environmental protection, fast reaction speed and continuous production on a large-scale, etc.

As a very important fluorine-containing pyridine-based chemical raw material, 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine can be used in the preparation of trifluoromethylpyridine intermediates for pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals and biological agents, for example, synthesis of key intermediates of 2-amino-5-trifluoromethylpyridine, 2-hydroxy-5-trifluoromethylpyridine, 2-mercapto-5-trifluoromethylpyridine and 2,3-dichloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine, insecticide pyridalyl, high-efficiency herbicide fluazifop-butyl (trade name onecide-p), poppenate-methyl and high-efficiency fungicide fluazinam, etc. These fluorine-containing pesticides have the advantages of broad-spectrum systemic absorption, high efficiency and low toxicity, good safety, and long-lasting effect. They are widely used worldwide and have broad market prospects.
The prior art has the following disclosures for the preparation of 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine.
(1) The patents U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,273, CN1316423, U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,193 and GB2045761 reported methods for preparing 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine by using 2-chloro-5-trichloromethylpyridine as a starting material in liquid phase. The methods adopt the liquid phase fluorination technology, which have the drawbacks of serious equipment corrosion, high safety hazards, short catalyst life, difficult handling, and large amount of chemical wastes, etc.;
(2) The patents EP0013474, U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,967 and CN201510047137 reported a method for preparing 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine using 3-trifluoromethylpyridine as a starting material in the gas phase. Of which, the patent EP0013474 reported that 3-trifluoromethyl was subjected to gas-phase thermal chlorination reaction at a temperature above 380° C. to prepare 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine, with a yield of 67%; the patent CN201510047137 reported that ferric chloride supported on activated carbon was used a catalyst and 3-trifluoromethylpyridine was subjected to catalytic chlorination reaction at a temperature of 420° C. to prepare 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine, while the yield of 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine was not disclosed;
(3) The patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,288,599 and 4,417,055 disclosed a method for preparing 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine using 3-methylpyridine as a starting material. Of which, the patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,599 adopted a fixed bed one-step method, with the highest yield of 42%; the patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,055 disclosed a reaction temperature of 400° C., with the highest yield of 53.2%. The method has the drawbacks of low utilization rate of raw materials, large amount of chemical wastes and high energy consumption, etc.
The above preparation methods have the problems of low catalyst selectivity and low activity, resulting in high reaction temperature, low utilization rate of raw materials, large amount of chemical wastes and high energy consumption, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a method for preparing 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine with high selectivity and yield and low energy consumption.

Method for preparing 2-chloro-5-trifluoromethylpyridine

ZHEJIANG LANTIAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION HI-TECH CO., LTD.

ZHEJIANG RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL INDUSTRY CO., LTD.


An ultrasonic medical monitoring device may include: at least one ultrasonic probe attached to a body surface of a subject to scan the body surface and acquire an echo signal; a blood pressure measuring module to measure a blood pressure parameter of the subject; a processing module to receive the echo signal and process the echo signal into a blood flow parameter, the processing module being further configured to calculate a myocardial mechanic parameter according to the blood flow parameter and the blood pressure parameter; and a display module coupled to the processing module to display the blood pressure parameter, the blood flow parameter, and the myocardial mechanic parameter. The present device and method acquire the blood pressure parameter and the blood flow parameter using ultrasound and a blood pressure synchronous detection technique, and the myocardial mechanics parameters such as the systolic maximum elastance are calculated by a computer.

In the ventricular-peripheral arterial coupling, the circulatory system is considered as a whole, the ventricle and artery can be regarded as an elastic system, and the effects thereof are mutually influenced. The diastolic and systolic function of the ventricle can supply blood for internal organs, including the ventricle itself and distal limbs. Since the left ventricle and the aorta can be regarded as a driving pump and a passive pump connected in series, the resistance of the driving pump and peripheral vascular tree will be reflected in the artery waveform curve. When the ventricle and the peripheral arteries are matched and well coupled, three peaks will appear in the pulse wave, which represents the left ventricle, aorta and aortic valve closure, respectively. The rules of ventricular contraction and peripheral arterial coupling can be determined once the ventricular volume and the peripheral arteries' volume and/or pressure information are obtained simultaneously.
Among numerous cardiac function tests, index, stroke volume, and ejection fraction, etc., are influenced by cardiac preload, afterload, and heart rate; thus they cannot be used to reflect specific in vivo (contrary to "in vitro" in this context) ventricular systolic function and myocardial contractility. Plenty of data show that the end-systolic pressure-volume relation plays a significant role in assessment of systolic function status. The Maximum Elastance (Emax) measured by the conventional cardiac catheterization is a slope of the ventricular end-systolic pressure-volume relation line, which is a specific index reflecting in vivo ventricular contractility. However, due to the traumatic problem and expensive price, the cardiac catheterization is difficult to carry out in clinical settings.

Hemodynamic ultrasound medical monitoring device

SHENZHEN MINDRAY BIO-MEDICAL ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


An RF directional coupler circuit assembly for matching high frequency cable TV apparatus includes a cover body, and a printed circuit board. The cover body includes a space. The space includes a bottom surface. An RF directional coupler circuit is arranged on the printed circuit board. A 0.01 mm˜2 mm gap is formed between the RF directional coupler circuit and the bottom surface when the printed circuit board is deposited in the space. The distance between the printed circuit board and the cover body is shorten because of the gap, so that the reflections of the high frequency signals and the signal fading are decreasing to achieve matching high frequency impedance characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high frequency cable TV apparatus, and in particular to an RF directional coupler circuit having improved high frequency (1.0 GHz or above 1.0 GHz) impedance matching with signal taps of high frequency cable TV apparatus.
2. Description of Prior Art
Currently the signals of cable TV are tapped and transmitted by the cable TV apparatus, so that the signals of cable TV are transmitted to different buildings or communities. Accordingly, users in the buildings or communities can watch cable TV programs.
Currently the frequencies of the signals of cable TV are higher and higher (1.0 GHz), so that when the signals of cable TV are transmitted, the signals of cable TV are fading, and the image quality of TV in client sites is worse. The main reason is that the high frequency impedance is not matching.
A conventional cable TV apparatus 10 (as shown in the FIG. 1) includes a cover body 101 having a space 102. A printed circuit board 20 is arranged on a plurality of protruding pillars 103 in the space 102. A long distance 30 is formed between the printed circuit board 20 and the bottom of the space 102. When the high frequency signals are transmitted through an RF directional coupler circuit 201 on the printed circuit board 20, there are a lot of signal reflections because of the distance 30, so that the impedance is not matching, the signals of cable TV have serious fading, and the image quality of TV in clients is worse.


Exemplary apparatuses herein comprise, for example, a printing apparatus that includes processing elements, such as printing elements, a media path positioned to supply sheets of media to the printing elements, a media storage device maintaining the sheets of media and providing the sheets of media to the media path, a processor device operatively connected to the media storage device and the media path, and a graphic user interface operatively connected to the processor device. The processor device monitors operations of the media storage device and the media path to detect media path faults. The processor device evaluates the media path faults to determine the severity of the media path faults. The processor device performs the bypass operation based on a combination of at least one of the media path faults exceeding a previously established severity level and the user-selectable bypass option on the graphic user interface being selected.

Systems and methods herein generally relate to printer devices and methods, and more particularly to systems and methods that allow continued printing in presence of severe printer errors.
Conventional printing devices do not possess the intelligence to advise the user on alternative workflows that can allow the user to output their urgent print work when normal printing operations cannot be completed because of printer faults. For example, when a printing device experiences failures that prevent the feeding of print media through the print path specified by the print job, the printing device may still have the capability to print a job by having the user take certain action, such as using an alternative route for the paper to pass through the machine to obtain their urgent or emergency work. However, conventional printing devices do not advise users of any such emergency alternatives.

Workflow to allow continued printing in presence of severe printer error


A group III nitride composite substrate with a diameter of 75 mm or more includes a support substrate and a group III nitride film with a thickness of 50 nm or more and less than 10 μm that are bonded to each other. A ratio st/mt of a standard deviation st of the thickness of the group III nitride film to a mean value mt of the thickness thereof is 0.01 or more and 0.5 or less, and a ratio so/mo of a standard deviation so of an absolute value of an off angle between a main surface of the group III nitride film and a plane of a predetermined plane orientation to a mean value mo of the absolute value of the off angle is 0.005 or more and 0.6 or less.

Group III nitrides such as GaN have superior semiconductor properties and are therefore used as materials suitable for semiconductor devices. In addition, group III nitrides such as GaN have excellent material properties different from those of Si, GaAs, SiC, or the like for different types of semiconductor devices such as light-emitting device and electronic device for example, and can therefore be used for a variety of devices.
For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2009-126722 (PTD 1) discloses a free-standing group III nitride substrate to be used as a substrate for a semiconductor device. The free-standing group III nitride substrate has a diameter of 25 mm or more and 160 mm or less and a thickness of 100 μm or more and 1000 μm or less. It discloses, as a specific example thereof, a free-standing GaN substrate having a diameter of 100 mm and a thickness of 400 μm.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2008-010766 (PTD 2) discloses a GaN-thin-film-bonded substrate to be used as a substrate for manufacturing a semiconductor device. The GaN-thin-film-bonded substrate includes a heterogeneous substrate whose chemical composition is different from that of GaN, and a GaN thin film having a thickness of 0.1 μm or more and 100 μm or less and bonded to the heterogeneous substrate. It discloses, as a specific example thereof, a GaN-thin-film-bonded substrate having a diameter of 50.8 mm and including a sapphire substrate and a GaN thin film having a thickness of 0.1 μm or 100 μm and bonded to the sapphire substrate.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2010-182936 (PTD 3) discloses a composite substrate to be used as a substrate for a semiconductor device. The composite substrate includes a support substrate, a nitride semiconductor layer, and a joint layer disposed between the support substrate and the nitride semiconductor layer. It discloses, as a specific example thereof, a composite substrate having a diameter of 50.8 mm and including a sapphire substrate, a GaN layer, and a joint layer formed by press fitting between the substrate and the GaN layer, in which the GaN layer has a thickness of 5 μm to 220 μm.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Group III nitride composite substrate and method for manufacturing the same, laminated group III nitride composite substrate, and group III nitride semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same


The present invention provides an airbelt inflator (10) designed primarily for supplying and directing gas from the combustion of gas generant materials into a vehicle airbelt. Inflator (10) includes a substantially cylindrical inflator body (12), having a first end (11) and a second end (13). A unique booster cup (22) is positioned within inflator body (12), and is preferably press fit with initiator body (15), suspending cup (22) within inflator body (12). Cup (22) facilitates consistent burn of the main propellant, imparting repeatable bag performance. A cylindrical mesh filter (38) is positioned in inflator body (12). A nozzle (36) is preferably positioned adjacent a disc (30). A variety of different nozzles giving inflator (10) varying gas output characteristics can be utilized with inflator (10), for example thrusting inflators or thrust-neutral inflators, depending on the operating requirements of the airbelt system. Booster cup (22) is sized such that it extends into inflator body (12), and abuts filter (38), thereby serving as a stand off or locator for filter (38), and providing a relatively snug packing arrangement for propellant tablets (28).

Inflatable restraint systems or "airbag" systems have become a standard feature in most new vehicles. These systems have made significant contributions to automobile safety; however, as with the addition of any standard feature, they increase the cost, manufacturing complexity and weight of most vehicles. Technological advances addressing these concerns are therefore welcomed by the industry. In particular, the gas generator or inflator used in many occupant restraint systems tends to be the heaviest, most complex component. Thus, simplifying the design and manufacturing of airbag inflators, while retaining optimal function, has long been a goal of automotive engineers.
Typical inflators are constructed having an elongate metallic body. Because many inflators utilize pyrotechnic gas generant compounds to produce inflation gas for the associated airbag, the inflator structure is necessarily robust, making such inflators correspondingly heavy. The long term success of driver-side and passenger side inflatable restraint systems has prompted automotive manufacturers to increasingly investigate and implement side impact inflatable restraints, as well as inflatable airbelts. Because the inflatable systems are typically mounted in the vehicle roof pillars, doors or seats, mounting space can be at a premium. Moreover, coupled with inherent difficulties in engineering inflators capable of producing the relatively small, punctuated inflation charges typical of side impact airbags and airbelts, such systems present a unique set of challenges to designers. Engineers have developed numerous designs for optimizing weight, operation and assembly; however, the pressure to downsize components and reduce manufacturing challenges continues to be acute.
Accompanying the need for ever simpler and more elegant designs is the desirability of inflators that are relatively robust yet capable of reliable operation even after storage periods of several years. One problem in particular associated with long periods between installation in a vehicle and activation of the inflator relates to mechanical degradation of the gas generant or propellant material. Many gas generants are provided in a solid, typically tablet form. Jostling of the propellant within the inflator can have the undesirable effect of breaking or crumbling the propellant tablets, reducing their efficacy in some cases. Various spring-biased mechanisms for constraining movement of the propellant tablets have been proposed; however, these systems tend to increase manufacturing complexity and cost, and add extra components to the inflator, adding to the weight of the system.


The present invention realizes strengthening of a ground of a lower-surface ground electrode of an upper semiconductor chip and miniaturization in a semiconductor module on which two semiconductor chips are mounted in a stacked manner. A lower semiconductor chip is fixed to a bottom of a recess formed in an upper surface of a module board, and an upper semiconductor chip is fixed to an upper surface of a support body made of conductor which is formed over the upper surface of the module board around the recess. External electrode terminals and a heat radiation pad are formed over a lower surface of the module board.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor module, and more particularly to a semiconductor module which can arrange a plurality of semiconductor chips in a vertically stacked manner while preventing them from coming into contact with each other and, at the same time, can strengthen a ground of an upper semiconductor chip.
As an example of a semiconductor module (semiconductor device) which mounts semiconductor chips in which active elements such as transistors are incorporated and chip parts in which passive elements such as resistors and capacitors are incorporated on a printed wiring board respectively, a hybrid module has been known (see Patent Reference 1, for example).
Further, a product which incorporates a plurality of semiconductor chips in a package has been known (see Patent Reference 2, for example).
[Patent Reference 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2000-58741 (Pages 5 and 6, FIG. 1)
[Patent Reference 2]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2001-110986 (left column on Page 7)


The present invention discloses a delivery system for nucleic acid vaccines comprising an emulsion of tocol and esters hereof. Vaccines and new ways of administration of DNA vaccines are disclosed.

Although DNA vaccines were developed more than 16 years ago, clinical trials preceding stage I and II in humans are rare. Three veterinary DNA vaccines however, have been licensed (Kurtzler M A & Weiner D B. DNA vaccines: ready for prime time? Nature rev 2008); one for West Nile Virus (in horse), one for Infectious Hematopoetic Necrosis virus in Salmon, one against Melanoma in dogs, and a plasmid for growth hormone releasing hormone in swine. This demonstrates that DNA vaccines/therapies can have good protective effects and that new DNA vaccines are not limited by the size of the animal or species. The great success with DNA vaccines observed for the murine model for first generation DNA vaccines did not translate well to humans, nonetheless; researchers have recently demonstrated protective antibodies levels by a single dose of gene gun administrated HA DNA vaccine to humans. Therefore, there is a future for improved DNA vaccines in human and veterinarian clinics.
"Nucleic acid immunization" or the commonly preferred name "DNA vaccines" are the inoculation of antigen-encoding DNA or RNA as expression cassettes or expression vectors, which may also be incorporated into viral delivery vectors with the purpose of inducing immunity to the gene product. Thus, in our definition of DNA vaccines we include all kinds of delivery systems for the antigen encoding naked DNA or RNA including viral vector-based delivery. The vaccine genes can be in form of circular plasmid or a linear expression cassette with just the key features necessary for expression (promotor, the vaccine gene and polyadenylation signal). Delivery systems may most often be naked DNA in buffer with or without adjuvant, DNA coupled to nanoparticles and/or formulated into adjuvant containing compounds or inserted into live viral or bacterial vectors such as Adenovirus, adeno-associated virus, alphavirus, poxviruses, herpes virus etc.
DNA vaccines hold great promise since they evoke both humoral and cell-mediated immunity, without the same dangers associated with live attenuated virus vaccines. In contrast to live attenuated virus vaccines DNA vaccines may be delivered to the same or different tissue or cells than the live virus that has to bind to specific receptors. The production of antigens in their native forms improves the presentation of the antigens to the host immune system. Unlike live attenuated vaccines, DNA vaccines are not infectious and cannot revert to virulence. DNA vaccines expressing influenza virus HA, NA, M, NP proteins or combinations of these have proven to induce immune responses comparable to that of a natural viral infection.
DNA vaccines offer many advantages over conventional vaccines. It can be produced in high amounts in short time, abolishing the need for propagation in eggs, it is cost-effective, reproducible and the final product does not require cold storage conditions, because DNA is stable and resistant to the extremes of temperature. All currently licensed inactivated vaccines are efficient at inducing humoral antibody responses but in general only live attenuated virus vaccines and DNA vaccines efficiently induce a cytotoxic cellular response as well. Moreover, The DNA vaccine's protein product is produced in vivo by the host cells believed to ensure more correct folding and glycosylation and presentation to the immune system than in vitro produced protein or glycoprotein immunogens.
DNA vaccines induce an immune response, which is comparable to the response acquired by natural virus infection by activating both humoral immunity to also native proteins or glycoproteins as well as cell-mediated immunity to intracellular processed immunogens (6, 30). The broad response to DNA vaccines is a result of the encoded genes being expressed by the transfected host cell, inducing both a Th1 and Th2 immune responses. The production of antigens in their native form improves the presentation of the antigens to the host immune system.
The standard DNA vaccine consist of a vector backbone with the gene of interest cloned into a bacterial plasmid engineered for optimal expression in eukaryotic cells. Essential features include; an origin of replication allowing for production in bacteria, a bacterial antibiotic resistance gene allowing for plasmid selection in bacterial culture during production of plasmid DNA, a strong constitutive promotor for optimal expression in mammalian cells (e.g. promoters derived from cytomegalovirus (CMV) or simian virus provide the highest gene expression), a polyadenylation sequence to stabilise the mRNA transcripts, such as bovine growth hormone (BHG) or simian virus polyadenylation signals, and a multiple cloning site for insertion of an antigen gene.
An intron A sequence improves expression of genes remarkably and may be included in the expression plasmid backbone. Many bacterial DNA vaccine vectors contain unmethylated cytidinephosphate-guanosine (CpG) dinucleotide motifs that may help eliciting adjuvanting innate immune responses in the host. In recent years, there have been several approaches to enhance and customise the immune response to DNA vaccine constructs (2nd generation DNA vaccines). For instance, dicistronic vectors or multiple gene expressing plasmids have been used to express two genes simultaneously. Specific promoters have been engineered that restrict gene expression to certain tissues, and cytokine/antigen fusion genes have been constructed to enhance the immune response. Furthermore, genes may be codon optimised for optimal gene expression in the mammalian host and naïve leader sequences may be substituted with stronger optimised leaders increasing translation efficiency.
The two most common types of naked DNA vaccine administration have so far been saline or PBS (phosphate buffered saline) needle injection of naked DNA and gene gun DNA inoculations (DNA coated on solid gold beads administrated with helium pressure). A saline intra muscular injection of DNA preferentially generates a Th1 IgG2a response while gene gun delivery tends to initiate a more Th2 IgG1 response. Intramuscular injected plasmids are at risk of being degraded by extracellular deoxyribonucleases, however, the responses induced are often more long-lived than those induced by the gene gun method. Vaccination by gene gun delivery of DNA, to the epidermis, was considered the most effective method of immunization, probably because the skin is a very immunogenic organ containing all the necessary cells types, including professional antigen presenting cells (APC), for eliciting both humoral and cytotoxic cellular immune responses (e.g. Langerhans and dendritic cells).
In 2003 electroporation of DNA was introduced as a way of improving transfection of mammalian cells with foreign DNA e.g. in cancer treatment. It is now a well recognized way of administration a naked DNA vaccine and one of the most efficient and most potent delivery methods so far. Electroporation, or electropermeabilization, is caused by an externally applied electrical field, which results in a significant increase in the electrical conductivity and permeability of the cell plasma membrane thereby subsequently transferring the administered DNA into the cells in the administered area. The organ targeted for the delivery with electroporation is most often muscle and/or skin. The disadvantages or challenges using needle and using electroporation is several. Intradermal injection require skills to perform and the vaccine is only deposited at the site where the needle tip ends up. In contrast, a needle-free jet delivery targets several layers of the skin reaching APC in different layers and do not require the same expert skills. In addition, needle's possess a risk for needle injury to the handler. More over the relatively time consuming process of both injection and electroporation may require immobilization of the animal and possible anaesthesia, access to electricity etc. Even with hand held cordless devices the technique delivers an electric pulse that may be painful. Because of the very efficient transfection obtained by moving plasmid DNA by the electric field during electroporation there is a fear that such foreign plasmid DNA may have increased possibility of integrating into the host chromosomes. This would become a safety risk. In contrast, a method that delivers the DNA vaccine fast without the need for needles and electroporation would be a considerable advantage and be an improvement in animal health and safety for the person who vaccinates. However, until now the most efficient mode of deliver DNA vaccine for optimal immune induction has been injection either intramuscular or intradermal followed by electroporation. The use of adjuvants is most wanted for DNA vaccines; however, such attempts has been mostly by codelivery of adjuvanting compounds such ad cytokines or plasmids encoding cytokines e.g. GM-CSF, IL-15.

Alpha-tocopherol-based adjuvanted solvent for DNA vaccines


An intravascular stent assembly for implantation in a body lumen, such as a coronary artery, is designed to treat a lesion with vulnerable plaque by reducing the fibrous cap stresses. The stent includes distal, proximal, and center sections where the center section is configured to treat the vulnerable plaque. The stent consists of radially expandable cylindrical rings generally aligned on a common longitudinal stent axis and either directly connected or interconnected by one or more interconnecting links placed so that the stent is flexible in the longitudinal direction while providing high degrees of radial strength and vessel scaffolding.

The present invention relates to vascular repair devices, and in particular to intravascular stents, which are adapted to be implanted into a patient's body lumen, such as a blood vessel or coronary artery, for the treatment of unstable or vulnerable, human atherosclerotic plaque.
Currently, the treatment of unstable or vulnerable plaque presents a significant therapeutic challenge to medical investigators. Vulnerable plaque is characterized by a basic lesion which is a raised plaque beneath the innermost arterial layer, the intima. Atherosclerotic plaques are primarily composed of varying amounts of long chain extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins that are synthesized by smooth muscle cells. The other primary lesion component of atherosclerotic plaque includes lipoproteins, existing both extracellularly and within foam cells derived primarily from lipid-laden macrophages. In a more advanced lesion, a necrotic core may develop, consisting of lipids, foam cells, cell debris, and cholesterol crystals, and myxomatous configurations with crystalline lipid forms. The necrotic core is rich in tissue factor and quite thrombogenic, but in the stable plaque it is protected from the luminal blood flow by a robust fibrous cap composed primarily of long chain ECM proteins, such as elastin and collagen, which maintain the strength of the fibrous cap. The aforementioned plaque represents the most common form of vulnerable plaque, known as a fibroatheroma. Histology studies from autopsy suggest this form constitutes the majority of vulnerable plaques in humans. A second form of vulnerable plaque represents a smaller fraction of the total, and these are known as erosive plaques. Erosive plaques generally have a smaller content of lipid, a larger fibrous tissue content, and varying concentrations of proteoglycans. Various morphologic features that have been associated with vulnerable plaque, include thinned or eroded fibrous caps or luminal surfaces, lesion eccentricity, proximity of constituents having very different structural moduli, and the consistency and distribution of lipid accumulations. With the rupture of fibroatheroma forms of vulnerable plaque, the luminal blood becomes exposed to tissue factor, a highly thrombogenic core material, which can result in total thrombotic occlusion of the artery. In the erosive form of vulnerable plaque, mechanisms of thrombosis are less understood but may still yield total thrombotic occlusion.
Although rupture of the fibrous cap in a fibroatheroma is a major cause of myocardial infarction (MI) related deaths, there are currently no therapeutic strategies in place to treat lesions that could lead to acute MI. The ability to detect vulnerable plaques and to treat them successfully with interventional techniques before acute MI occurs has long been an elusive goal. Numerous finite element analysis (FEA) studies have proved that, in the presence of a soft lipid core, the fibrous cap shows regions of high stresses. Representative of these studies include the following research articles, each of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein: Richardson et al. (1989), Influence of Plaque Configuration and Stress Distribution on Fissuring of Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaques, Lancet, 2(8669), 941–944; Loree et al. (1992), Effects of Fibrous Cap Thickness on Circumferential Stress in Model Atherosclerotic Vessels, Circulation Research, 71, 850–858; Cheng et al. (1992), Distribution of Circumferential Stress in Ruptured and Stable Atherosclerotic Lesions: A Structural Analysis With Histopathological Correlation, Circulation, 87,1179–1187; Veress et al. (1993), Finite Element Modeling of Atherosclerotic Plaque, Proceedings of IEEE Computers in Cardiology, 791–794; Lee et al. (1996), Circumferential Stress and Matrix Metalloproteinase 1 in Human Coronary Atherosclerosis: Implications for Plaque Rupture, Atherosclerosis Thrombosis Vascular Biology, 16, 1070–1073; Vonesh et al. (1997), Regional Vascular Mechanical Properties by 3-D Intravascular Ultrasound Finite-Element Analysis, American Journal of Physiology, 272, 425–437; Beattie et al. (1999), Mechanical Modeling: Assessing Atherosclerotic Plaque Behavior and Stability in Humans, International Journal of Cardiovascular Medical Science, 2(2), 69–81; and Feezor et al. (2001), Integration of Animal and Human Coronary Tissue Testing with Finite Element Techniques for Assessing Differences in Arterial Behavior, BED-Vol. 50, 2001 Bioengineering Conference, ASME 2001. Further, these studies have indicated that such high stress regions correlate with the observed prevalence of locations of cap fracture. Moreover, it has been shown that subintimal structural features such as the thickness of the fibrous cap and the extent of the lipid core, rather than stenosis severity are critical in determining the vulnerability of the plaque. The rupture of a highly stressed fibrous cap can be prevented by using novel, interventional, therapeutic techniques such as specially designed stents that redistribute and lower the stresses in the fibrous cap.
One of the avenues to reduce cap rupture is to reinforce the strength and increase thickness of the fibrous cap. Studies have shown that placement of the intravascular stent at a lesion site can induce neointimal thickening. Using the same reasoning, placing an intravascular stent at the vulnerable plaque site can induce neointimal thickening, which in turn will increase the cap thickness. However, a special stent pattern, rather than the traditional workhorse stent, should be used to stent these lesions. A pattern which induces less shear stress upon expansion, less point stress upon the vessel wall and delayed neointimal thickening should be used for stent vulnerable plaques.
Stents are generally tubular-shaped devices which function to hold open a segment of a blood vessel, coronary artery, or other body lumen. They are particularly suitable for use to support and hold back a dissected arterial lining which can occlude the fluid passageway therethrough.
Various means have been described to deliver and implant stents. One method frequently described for delivering a stent to a desired intraluminal location includes mounting the expandable stent on an expandable member, such as a balloon, provided on the distal end of an intravascular catheter, advancing the catheter to the desired location within the patient's body lumen, inflating the balloon on the catheter to expand the stent into a permanent expanded condition and then deflating the balloon and removing the catheter. One of the difficulties encountered using prior art stents involved maintaining the radial rigidity needed to hold open a body lumen while at the same time maintaining the longitudinal flexibility of the stent to facilitate its delivery. Once the stent is mounted on the balloon portion of the catheter, it is often delivered through tortuous vessels, including tortuous coronary arteries. The stent must have numerous properties and characteristics, including a high degree of flexibility, in order to appropriately navigate the tortuous coronary arteries. This flexibility must be balanced against other features including radial strength once the stent has been expanded and implanted in the artery. While other numerous prior art stents have had sufficient radial strength to hold open and maintain the patency of a coronary artery, they have lacked the flexibility required to easily navigate tortuous vessels without damaging the vessels during delivery.
Generally speaking, most prior art intravascular stents are formed from a metal such as stainless steel, which is balloon expandable and plastically deforms upon expansion to hold open a vessel. The component parts of these types of stents typically are all formed of the same type of metal, i.e., stainless steel. Other types of prior art stents may be formed from a polymer, again all of the component parts being formed from the same polymer material. These types of stents, the ones formed from a metal and the ones formed from a polymer, each have advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages of the metallic stents is their high radial strength once expanded and implanted in the vessel. A disadvantage may be that the metallic stent lacks flexibility which is important during the delivery of the stent to the target site. With respect to polymer stents, they may have a tendency to be quite flexible and are advantageous for use during delivery through tortuous vessels, however, such polymer stents may lack the radial strength necessary to adequately support the lumen once implanted into an occlusive fibromuscular lesion of 70% stenosis or greater.
What has been needed and heretofore unavailable is a stent that can be used to treat a vulnerable plaque by reducing the cap stresses. The present invention satisfies this need and others.


Semi-bleached to bleached sulfonated aromatic condensation resin alone or in combination with a semi-soluble methacrylic polymer of high molecular weight provides improved resistance to staining by acid colorants in a fibrous polyamide or wool substrate.

i) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fibrous polyamide or wool substrate having durable resistance to staining by acid colorants and to a method of rendering a fibrous polyamide or wool substrate durably resistant to staining by acid colorants.
ii) Description of Prior Art
Fibrous polyamide substrates, such as nylon carpeting and similar wool substrates are susceptible to staining by both naturally occurring and commercial acid colorants found in many common foods and beverages. The demand for reduced staining from such acid colorants has by and large been met by treatment with compositions comprising sulfonated naphthol or sulfonated phenol-formaldehyde condensation products as disclosed for example in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,591 Ucci and Blyth; U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,940 Blyth and Ucci; U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,212 Blyth and Ucci; U.S. Pat No. 4,780,099 Greshler, Malone and Zinnato; U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,885 Herlant and Al; or by treatment with compositions comprising sulfonated novolak resins together with polymethacrylic acid as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,373 Olson, Chang and Muggli.
The use of polymers or copolymers of methacrylic acid of low weight average molecular weight and low number average molecular weight is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,123 Chang, Olson and Muggli.
The initial stain resistance properties imparted to polyamide or wool substrates, such as carpeting, that have been treated using the above mentioned compositions degenerate, significantly with each wet cleaning the substrate receives. Improved stain resistance after wet cleaning can be achieved by increasing the amount of the sulfonated hydroxy aromatic formaldehyde condensation products, in the stain resist product or by increasing the amount of stain-resist product initially applied to the substrate, however, this generally leads to discoloration caused by yellowing of the substrate initially and further discoloration upon exposure to oxides of nitrogen and/or light.
Stain-resist products currently available in the market place are generally based on dihydroxydiphenyl sulfone and phenol sulfonic acid condensed with an aldehyde in acid or alkaline media, or dihydroxy diphenyl sulfone and naphthalene sulfonic acid condensed with aldehyde in acid or alkaline media.
It is generally known that increasing the ratio of the dihydroxydiphenyl sulfone to the phenol sulfonic acid or naphthalene sulfonic acid increases the stain resistance properties of the resin and subsequently causes a higher degree of yellowing or discoloration initially and further discoloration upon exposure to oxides of nitrogen and/or light.
Conversely it is also evident that when the ratio of phenol sulfonic acid or naphthalene sulfonic acid to dihydroxydiphenyl sulfone increases the result is lower stain-resist properties and less discoloration.
The addition of a methacrylic resin in the form of methacrylic polymers and/or copolymers to the previously mentioned condensation products (novolak resin) as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,473 (Olson, Chang and Muggli ) allows the use of a novolak resin in smaller quantities with larger quantities of the methacrylic resin. With this combination of novolak resin and methacrylic resin, a major improvement in the light fastness or less discoloration is achieved due to the dramatically reduced percentage of novolak resin in the product mentioned above, which is adjusted to obtain a desired low level of discoloration while maintaining an acceptable level of durability to wash. The high level of initial stain resistance is supplied primarily by the methacrylic resin and. after wet cleaning the stain resistance is supposedly maintained by the novolak resin, the methacrylic resin having largely been removed during the wet cleaning process.

Polyamide fiber substrate having stain resistance, composition and method


Systems, methods, and software are described herein for operating a power management system including identifying a virtual machine load in a virtual machine environment, identifying a power state for at least one real machine in the virtual machine environment based on the virtual machine load, and modifying the power state for the at least one real machine.

A "virtual machine" is a virtualized copy of a computer system, with virtual hardware (including disk controller, network card, etc.). Frequently, running within the virtual machine is a full operating system. These virtual machines run on a physical host server known as a hypervisor. The hypervisor abstracts the physical hardware of the host server so that the virtual machine sees virtual hardware regardless of what the underlying hardware includes. The storage volumes that appear within the virtual machine are virtualized storage volumes provided by the hypervisor. The storage volumes visible from within the virtual machine can come from multiple sources.
Virtual machines are often started and stopped in response to a needed workload. Thus, during some periods, a minimum number of virtual machines are required, whereas other periods, a maximum number of virtual machines are required. These changes in the needs for virtual machines can create power inefficiencies in the real computer systems that operate the virtual machines.
For virtual desktops provided by a connection broker, such as VMware View or Citrix XenDesktop, one user will be assigned an available virtual machine at logon time out of a desktop pool. The number of users logging into virtual desktops (and therefore the number of virtual machines in use) follows typical work patterns—high demand starting in the morning and continuing through the day until the evening when workers end their workday.
Virtual desktop brokering products, such as Citrix XenDesktop, will automatically start new virtual machines as the reserve of virtual machines available for future users falls below a threshold. However, these products are designed to distribute the load of new virtual machines equally across all the hypervisors. This can result in an inefficient distribution where 4 hypervisors (each capable of serving 100 virtual desktops) end up with only 25 virtual desktops.

Systems and methods for modifying power states in a virtual environment


A laser system (10) for use in photonic excitation investigation of a target object, in which the target object interacts with incident photons and emits a corresponding photon which is detected and used to generate an image of the target object. The laser system (10) includes a pulsed fiber laser (14) for producing a laser beam, and a non-linear photonic crystal fiber (16) for carrying the laser beam from the laser (14) to an instrument (18) for photonically exciting the target object. The photonic crystal fiber (16) allows for switching, or tuning, the wavelength of the laser beam. In two-photon microscopy, the laser system (10) allows for providing multiple wavelengths for exciting a plurality of different fluorophores simultaneously. In coherent Raman imaging and spectroscopy, the laser system (110) allows for using a single laser to provide two laser beams of different wavelengths.

It is often desirable to investigate small objects, such as biological tissues and chemical molecules. To that end, photonic excitation has application in both microscopy and spectroscopy. Broadly, the target object interacts with incident photons and emits a corresponding photon which is detected and used to generate an image of the target object.
Two-photon excitation microscopy involves the simultaneous absorption by a fluorophore of two photons of relatively low energy, causing emission by the fluorophore of a single fluorescence photon. More specifically, an intrinsic fluorophore or a fluorescent dye attached to the target is excited by the incident photons and emits the fluorescent photon which can be used to produce an image of the target. This technology allows for deeper penetration and higher resolution than conventional confocal microscopy.
The probability of simultaneous absorption of two photons is relatively low but increases quadratically with excitation intensity. As such, a strongly focused, subpicosecond pulse laser is typically used as the source of excitation photons. Scanning the laser beam allows for collecting two-photon excited fluorescence from multiple points on the target, from which a comprehensive image of the target can be constructed. The highly localized character of two-photon excitation and the use of near-infrared wavelengths minimize damage to the target and reduce the autofluorescent background noise experienced in confocal microscopy. Unfortunately, applications for two-photon microscopy have been limited by the requirement of using a relatively large and expensive solid state laser, such as a Ti:Sapphire laser, as the source of excitation photons. Furthermore, wavelength switching with a solid state laser requires mechanical realignment of the laser and can be difficult to accomplish.
Coherent Raman imaging and spectroscopy exploits the Raman effect in which incident light is scattered at a wavelength shifted by the energy of a molecular vibration, either to lower energy (longer wavelength) in Stokes Raman scattering or to higher energy (shorter wavelength) in anti-Stokes Raman scattering.
Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) involves the nonlinear conversion of two laser beams into a coherent Raman beam of high intensity in the anti-Stokes region. The resulting emission is stronger than normal Raman scattering because of coherent interaction of light with the sample. This technique allows for obtaining high-quality three-dimensional images. CARS does not require fluorescent labeling of the target object; instead, different molecules are identified by the strengths and wavelengths of the emitted Anti-Stokes light. Unfortunately, CARS imaging and spectroscopy require the use of two different and expensive laser sources, such as two Ti:Sapphire lasers, which must be stringently synchronized and maintained. Such synchronization is particularly difficult because the widths of the optical pulses are on the order of 100 femtoseconds, i.e., 100×10−15 seconds.

Laser system for photonic excitation investigation