An amplifier device including at least one operational amplifier, whereby a transformer is connected upstream from the input of the operational amplifier and the output signal of the operational amplifier or a signal generated from this output signal is fed back again to the input of the operational amplifier via a path with a predetermined resistance whereby the feedback signal is fed back before the input of the transformer whereby the transformer is designed or connected in a signal-inverting manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an amplifier device comprising at least one operational amplifier, whereby a transformer is upstream from the input of the operational amplifier and the output signal of the operational amplifier or a signal generated from this output signal is fed back again at the input of the operational amplifier via a path with a predetermined resistance.
2. Related Art
Operational amplifiers and amplifier devices with operational amplifiers are widely known in communications engineering, acoustics and sensor technology. In order to achieve an optimal signal transfer given the amplification, on the one hand an impedance adaptation must be effected. What is meant by impedance adaptation is the process of adapting the source impedance and the impedance of a load to one another since the power transfer is therewith maximized and reflections at the load are minimized. On the other hand, the noise factor N should be optimally minimized (also referred to as noise adaptation). This results from the quotient of the input signal-to-noise ratio (input SNR) and the output SNR and therewith indicates the reduction of the SNR. The current noise figure at NF=10·logN is calculated from the noise factor. Since the noise figure appears dependent on the source impedance offered to the operation amplifier, a common optimum for both quality criteria is not necessarily found in the design of the amplifier input circuit.
Two characteristics of the operation amplifier are thereby to be strongly differentiated. What is known as the small signal input resistance reflects the differential resistance between the two inputs of the operation amplifier and is infinitely large in the ideal case. In the impedance adaptation this resistance is adapted to the source impedance (mostly 50 Ohm). This is to be differentiated from what is known as the equivalent noise input resistance, which results from the quotient of the noise voltage density and the noise current density of the equivalent alternate sources of the operation amplifier. This quantity mostly lies in the kΩ range and is not a truly measurable resistance, but rather ultimately renders an adaptation value to other resistances in the system. An internal resistance of the source strongly deviating from this causes a high noise and therewith a high noise figure.
In the simplest known method for impedance adaptation, the input signal of the operation amplifier is connected to ground given a source impedance of 50Ω via a further 50 Ohm resistor, whereupon an adaptation of the small signal input resistance is affected. However, a very large noise figure is generated since in typical amplifiers the equivalent noise input resistance lies in the kΩ range, such that the values deviate from one another by orders of magnitude and the termination resistance also supplies an additional noise contribution.
An amplifier device for simultaneous power and noise adaptation is proposed in the data sheet for operation amplifier CLC425 of the company National Semiconductor Corporation, 2900 Semiconductor Drive, Santa Clara, Calif., 95041 U.S.A (National Semiconductor CLC425 Ultra Low Noise Wideband Op Amp, 8 May 2001, available on the Internet). The adaptation to the source in particular is thereby achieved via a resistance feedback of the amplifier output signal to the amplifier input. This active manner of adaptation avoids the forced adaptation (described above) via the noise-plagued termination resistance at the amplifier input and thus leads to a reduced noise figure of the amplifier. For noise adaptation a transformer is connected upstream from the circuit. The signal inversion necessary for the negative feedback is realized in the proposed arrangement in the signal output path via an active function block (inverter). However, this amplifier device exhibits some disadvantages. Due to the use of the inverted a power loss occurs in the same, As an additional component the inverter also requires a certain space. Finally, as an active element the inverter itself represents a noise source, which further worsens the noise figure.

Amplifier device including an operational amplifier, transformer and feedback loop


A method for manufacturing a photoelectric conversion device, wherein the photoelectric conversion device includes a semiconductor substrate having a first conductivity-type region, a second conductivity-type region, and a boundary region on a first principal surface of a semiconductor substrate, the boundary region being in contact with and separating the first conductivity-type region and the second conductivity-type region, the method including: stacking a second conductivity-type semiconductor layer over the second conductivity-type region and the boundary region on the first principal surface of the semiconductor substrate; stacking an insulating layer over the second conductivity-type semiconductor layer in the boundary region; stacking a first conductivity-type semiconductor layer over the first conductivity-type region on the first principal surface of the semiconductor substrate and on the insulating layer; stacking an electrode layer on the first conductivity-type semiconductor layer and the second conductivity-type semiconductor layer; and forming a separation groove that separates the electrode layer.

In a typical solar cell, a p-n junction is formed on the light-receiving side of a semiconductor substrate such as a crystalline silicon substrate, and a light-receiving-side electrode for collecting photocarrier is formed on the p-n junction. For improving the photocarrier collection efficiency of the entire light-receiving surface while suppressing shadowing loss, the light-receiving-side electrode of the solar cell is formed in a pattern shape. However, since there is a trade-off relationship between shadowing loss reduction and carrier collection efficiency improvement, enhancement of conversion efficiency by adjusting pattern shape of the light-receiving-side electrode is inherently limited.
In view of these situations, a back-contact solar cell has been proposed in which a p-type semiconductor region and a p-side electrode, and an n-type semiconductor region and an n-side electrode are disposed on the back side (a surface opposite to a light-receiving surface) of a semiconductor substrate. Back-contact solar cells have no electrode on the light-receiving side, and therefore the amount of light captured in a semiconductor substrate is increased, so that high conversion efficiency can be achieved.
In a back-contact solar cell, it is necessary to pattern a semiconductor layer and an electrode so that leakage does not occur between a p-type semiconductor region and an n-type semiconductor region on the back side. In general, patterning is performed by forming a separation groove at a boundary portion between a p-type semiconductor region and an n-type semiconductor region. However, when the width of a separation groove is increased for reliably preventing leakage, the areas of a semiconductor region and an electrode that contribute to power generation are reduced, so that conversion characteristics cannot be sufficiently improved.
In view of such a problem, Patent Document 1 suggests forming a region (overlapping region) where a p-type layer and an n-type layer overlap each other. In the overlapping region, an insulating layer is disposed between the p-type layer and the n-type layer to prevent leakage between the p-type layer and the n-type layer. In the back-contact solar cell in Patent Document 1, the p-type layer and the n-type layer are separated from each other by the insulating layer disposed in the overlapping region, and an electrode separation groove is disposed near the center of the overlapping region to electrically separate the p-side electrode and the n-side electrode.

Photoelectric conversion device and method for manufacturing same


A method and apparatus for actively tuning a vehicle suspension, operatively connect a wheel of the vehicle to a chassis of the vehicle with a suspension apparatus including a control arm of fixed length, having an inboard end thereof adapted for articulating attachment to the chassis, an outboard end thereof adapted for articulating attachment to the wheel, and a selectively movable intermediate attachment point thereof disposed between the inboard and outboard ends of the control arm and adapted for attachment of a compressible suspension element. The intermediate attachment point is selectively movable, with respect to the inboard and outboard ends of the control arm, to vary a suspension linkage ratio for changing the stiffness and/or height of the suspension apparatus at one or more corners of the vehicle, to thereby allow active tuning of the suspension during operation of the vehicle.

Wheeled vehicles often utilize a suspension system, at one or more corners of the vehicle, in which a wheel is attached to a chassis of the vehicle by several suspension elements, including a generally horizontally extending articulating control arm. The control arm has an inboard end thereof attached in an articulating manner to the chassis, and an outboard end thereof attached in an articulating manner to a steering knuckle, or other structure, including an axle supporting the wheel. Having the inboard and outboard ends of the control arm articulated in this manner allows the inboard and outboard ends of the control arm to move up and down with respect to one another, during operation of the vehicle.
One or more compressible suspension elements, such as a spring or a damper, are also typically connected between the chassis of the vehicle and a fixed intermediate attachment point on the control arm, at a point located between the inboard and outboard ends of the control arm, for supporting the vehicle on the suspension and limiting motion of the suspension during various operating conditions of the vehicle.
In the majority of suspension systems used in the past, the various elements making up the suspension system are passive, in that once they are manufactured and installed in the suspension system, their performance parameters are not adjusted, during operation of the vehicle, to actively tune the suspension to accommodate variables such as differing road surfaces, operating speeds, or how heavily or lightly the vehicle may be loaded. The ability to actively tune a suspension is highly desirable.
Some prior suspension systems have used various approaches to provide active suspension tuning, but these approaches have generally been too complex and costly to find wide acceptance and use. In one prior approach, compressible suspension elements include springs or dampers having cavities for containing compressed air, supplied by an onboard compressor and pneumatic system. In a similar prior approach, compressible suspension elements include springs or dampers having cavities for containing variable amounts of hydraulic fluid, supplied by an onboard hydraulic pump and hydraulic system. An onboard computer controls the compressible suspension elements in response to signals generated by sophisticated system of sensors placed throughout the vehicle. By varying the amount or the pressure of air or hydraulic fluid in the cavities of the compressible suspension elements, the height of the chassis can be varied, to compensate for changes in vehicle loading, or the stiffness of the suspension at the corners of the vehicle can be varied to provide improved handling during maneuvering of the vehicle. The need to carry a hydraulic or pneumatic system, and the bulkiness and cost of the compressible suspension elements have limited the use of such prior actively tuned suspension systems.
In another more recent approach to providing an actively tunable suspension system, hydraulic dampers in the suspension systems are filled with a special magnetorheological (MR) fluid, which changes viscosity when exposed to a magnetic field, and the dampers are equipped with electrical coils for impressing a magnetic flux on the MR fluid. By varying the electrical current provided to the coils, the viscosity of the MR fluid can be actively controlled, which in turn causes the damper to become more, or less stiff, depending upon the level of electrical current that is applied. While such MR damping systems work well, and are considerably less complex and smaller in size than other prior approaches using hydraulic or pneumatic systems, the cost of the MR fluid and MR dampers is high enough that their use has been limited to only a few relatively high priced vehicles.
What is needed is an improved method and apparatus for providing an actively tunable vehicle suspension, that overcomes one or more of the problems described above.

Varying a suspension linkage ratio in a vehicle suspension


The present invention is directed to a stackable container system that includes containers and lids that are configured to allow any of the lids to be used on any of the containers. The bottom of each container interlocks with the top of each lid to allow the containers to be stacked. A handle may also be included that is configured to attach to any of the lids to form a handle for carrying a stack of the interlocked containers. The stackable container system may also include a storage container, such as a beverage bottle, for storing a stack of interlocked containers. Accordingly, each container can be used to store ingredients that are to be later combined in the storage container for consumption. The lids can be configured to be heated or cooled to provide heating or cooling to contents of the container or to the storage container in general.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to stackable containers.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Many containers have been designed that are stackable or interlocking For example, many plastic food containers are designed so that the bottom of each container mates with the top or lid of each container to allow the containers to be stacked in an interlocked manner. Such designs facilitate the storage of the containers in minimal space on a shelf.


The present disclosure provides a downlink control channel detection method, a downlink control channel transmission method, a network side device and a User Equipment (UE). The downlink control channel detection method includes: determining a detection mode for a downlink control channel; and detecting the downlink control channel in accordance with the determined detection mode for the downlink control channel. The detection mode for the downlink control channel includes a one-stage detection mode in which control information for the detection of a data channel is acquired through a single downlink control channel detection operation and a multiple-stage detection mode in which the control information for the detection of the data channel is acquired through at least two downlink control channel detection operations.

In a mobile communication system, usually a UE needs to detect a control channel, to acquire such information as a time-frequency resource position of a data channel, a modulation and coding scheme, and a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) process, thereby to facilitate the subsequent data demodulation and decoding.
The UE may detect a downlink control channel in a one-stage detection mode. The so-called "one-stage detection" refers to that the UE may acquire control information for the detection of the data channel merely through a single detection operation on the downlink control channel, so as to acquire such information as the time-frequency resource position of the data channel, the modulation and coding scheme, and the HARQ process, thereby to demodulate and decode data from network. In other words, once the UE has detected, in a certain downlink control channel, the control information for the data channel detection from the network, the UE may not detect the downlink control channel any longer, and instead, it may receive the data channel to acquire the data from the network. In this regard, it is able to provide relatively high detection efficiency through the one-stage detection, i.e., the UE may acquire the control information for the data channel detection through a single detection operation. However, at this time, the detection performed by the UE is highly demanded, i.e., the UE needs to perform the detection on each active transmission resource (e.g., subframe) to determine whether there is a control channel belonging to the UE itself.
In addition, the control channel may also be detected in a multiple-stage detection mode, and usually the detection complexity in the multiple-stage detection is relatively high.

Downlink control channel detection method, downlink control channel transmission method, network side device and user equipment


In a method and system for measuring wear in the lining of a vessel by a laser contouring system having an electromagnetic radiation emitting and receiving device. The laser contouring system references permanent marks and temporary marks positioned outside, on, or within the vessel. The distances and direction from the electromagnetic radiation emitting and receiving device to the fixed and temporary marks is determined during an initial measurement by the electromagnetic radiation emitting and receiving device from a first scanning position. The electromagnetic radiation emitting and receiving device is then moved along a path from the first scanning position to a second scanning position wherein some of the marks which were scanned from the first scanning position are scanned again to determine the relative position of the vessel and points on the internal lining of the vessel to determine the contour of the lining.

The invention relates to a method for measuring wear in the lining of a metallurgical vessel, for example, a ladle or a basic oxygen furnace.
It is extremely important to measure wear in the lining of ladles or basic oxygen furnaces or other industrial containers which are used for example in the steel making process. This renders it possible to optimize the service life of the container and to prevent excessive wear in the lining from causing risks pertaining to production or industrial safety. As an example, wear linings of basic oxygen furnaces must be renewed relatively often, as their life time varies, depending on what is melted in the basic oxygen furnace, on the material of which the lining is made, and naturally on the number of melts for which the basic oxygen furnace is used.
The wear in a lining is measured by a method based on measuring the time of flight or the phase shift of a laser beam. The laser beam is directed to the lining on the inner surface of the basic oxygen furnace, from which it is reflected back to the measuring device. In the method based on measuring the time of flight, the distance between the measuring device and each measured point on the lining to be measured in the coordinate system of the measuring device can be calculated on the basis of the time difference between the emitting time and the return time of the laser beam. The measured points define the wear profile of the lining, which may be output for instance to a display terminal, by which the wear profile measured from a basic oxygen furnace in process can be compared graphically and numerically with the profile that was measured on the safety lining of the container or the working lining before the container was actually brought into use, i.e. before the first melt.
To measure wear in the lining of three-dimensional objects, such as basic oxygen furnaces, ladles and other containers used in industrial applications, by non-contacting methods, such as laser measurement, requires that the measuring device and the object to be measured are represented in the same coordinate system. Combining the coordinate systems of the measuring device and the object to be measured is called fixing. In other words, the measuring device is positioned or fixed in relation to the object. For fixing it is necessary to use three or more permanent marks, with the laser beam of the measuring device being directed sequentially towards each permanent mark, and the coordinates of each permanent mark are measured in the coordinate system of the measuring device. Even if the measuring device has a fixed position in the vicinity of the container through permanent marks, it is advisable to perform fixing for each lining measurement again, which ensures a change in the ambient conditions and other factors not to cause any errors.
In the so-called direct method normally used for positioning or fixing, stationary fixing points, also called permanent marks, are part of the object to be measured, or can be mounted to the object, or in the vicinity of the object. By means of the permanent marks the coordinate systems of the object and the measuring device can be mathematically combined. In the direct method, the object to be measured and the measuring device can be included into the same coordinate system by measuring at the same time both the permanent marks and the points to be actually measured.
In a special case where the object to be measured is supported by a tilt axis, indirect angle measurement fixing can be applied, with the permanent marks being located on the container or outside of the container. An angle measuring device can be mounted, for example, to the tilt axis of the container or can be mounted elsewhere to the container. An example of such measuring device is a so-called inclinometer or tilt sensor. At present, fixing by means of angle measurement is an indirect method which is used when it is difficult to provide the object to be measured with necessary fixing points which are clearly visible and which position can not be recognized otherwise. Angle measurement fixings have been performed using fixing points on the container or on structures outside the object to be measured and using an angle value obtained from the angle measurement device, whereby the coordinate systems could be mathematically combined. The permanent marks are attached to the container or to the frame structures of a factory wall, for example, in vicinity to the basic oxygen furnace. When angle measurements were used in the known methods, the angle measurement device informs the measuring device of the position of the object or container in relationship to the known surroundings.
In both direct and indirect angle measurement fixing methods, the permanent marks can be, for example, small plates, cylinders, spheres or other regularly shaped objects made from a material which reflects laser radiation.
EP 1 234 193 B1, which has a counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 6,922,251 the entire specification of which is incorporated by reference to Kirchhoff et al. discloses a method for measuring the refractory lining of a metallurgical container by means of a laser scanner wherein the laser scanner is positioned centrally in front of the container in preparation of the measuring step to establish a precise definition of the position of the laser scanner relative to the container with the aid of permanent marks attached to the said container. Once the container has been emptied, measuring of the interior of the container can be performed in that a laser beam which can be deflected horizontally and vertically scans the inner surface of the container. The laser beams reflected from the refractory lining are received and are processed in accordance with their time of flight. Since also the position of the receiver is well known relative to the laser head and the respective angle position of the laser head has been determined for each individual laser beam, the shape of the surface of the refractory lining can be reconstructed from the data generated. Advantageously the container is not only scanned in its horizontally tilted position, but scanning is also done in two additional tilted positions, for example 20° upwards and approximately 20° downwards to make possible scanning the entire interior of the vessel.
After the central scan of the refractory lining, also a left and right scan can be performed in the method known from EP 1 234 193 B1 to also scan the entire side wall near the opening of the vessel by moving the laser scanner into left or right positions with respect to the vessel. The laser scanner has to be moved because the vessel can be tilted about its horizontal axis only but not to the left or right.

Method and system for measuring wear in the lining of a vessel


A sample catching system for cleaning a drilling fluid in a drilling operation includes a first line having a first entrance valve configured to allow the drilling fluid to flow into the first line, a first chemical sensor for measuring the amount of hydrogen sulfide of the drilling fluid in the first line, and a first sample catch valve configured to allow the drilling fluid to flow out of the first line. The system also includes a second line having a second entrance valve configured to allow the drilling fluid to flow into the second line, a sample catch pump, and a controller configured to determine the amount of hydrogen sulfide is above a predetermined threshold value, and open the second entrance valve to divert drilling fluid intake from the first line to the second line, and close the first entrance valve to stop the drilling fluid from entering the first line.

Drilling a well in a hydrocarbon bearing subterranean formation for the production of hydrocarbons from the formation typically involves use of a drilling apparatus and drilling fluid. The drilling apparatus usually comprises a bit mounted on a string of hollow steel pipe. This hollow pipe is often used to rotate the bit to enable the bit to cut into the formation. The hollow pipe also acts as a conduit for the drilling fluid to be pumped down to the bottom of the hole, from where it rises to the surface via the annulus between the drill string and the borehole wall. The drilling fluid has many functions, one of the most important of which is to convey the cuttings from the bit downhole up to the surface of the well.
In drilling some subterranean formations, and often particularly those bearing oil or gas, hydrogen sulfide accumulations are frequently encountered. The drilling fluid brings the hydrogen sulfide to the surface. Such sulfide in the drilling fluid is problematic, as it can corrode the steel in the drilling apparatus and may be liberated into the atmosphere as toxic sulfide gas at the well surface, which may be very harmful to the drilling operation personnel on site.
Generally, to protect the health of those working with the drilling fluid and those at the surface of the well, conditions should be maintained to ensure that the concentration of hydrogen sulfide above the fluid, emitted due to the partial pressure of the gas, is less than about 15 ppm. The partial pressure of hydrogen sulfide at ambient temperature is a function of the concentration of sulfide ions in the fluid and the pH of the fluid. To ensure that the limit of 15 ppm is not exceeded even for the maximum sulfide concentration that may be encountered in a subterranean formation, the pH of the drilling fluid is typically maintained at a minimum of about 11.5. Also, to prevent the soluble sulfide concentration in the fluid from becoming excessive, action is routinely taken to remove sulfide from the fluid.
A common process for removing sulfide from drilling fluids is by precipitation, usually with a solid zinc compound. Zinc compounds commonly used are zinc oxide and zinc carbonate. These compounds react with hydrogen sulfide to form insoluble zinc sulfide. In insoluble form, the sulfide is relatively harmless (unless the pH falls to acid conditions) and can be removed from the fluid by known separation techniques.
Because these zinc compounds are solids, the reaction rate can be slow, which is especially undesirable when high concentrations of sulfide are encountered or when removal of final traces of sulfide is desired. However, soluble zinc salts cannot be used as they hydrolyze at low pH, forming gelatinous hydroxide. While the gelatinous hydroxide would still react with the sulfide, the gelatinous solid would likely interfere with the rheological properties of the drilling fluid. Also, zinc salts behave as acids and tend to reduce the pH of the fluid, increasing the risk of greater emission of hydrogen sulfide into the air.
Various zinc compounds, both soluble and insoluble, have been used as sulfide scavengers for many years and historically were generally regarded as an industry standard. However, all zinc compounds have the disadvantage that zinc is regarded as a toxic heavy metal whose discharge must be carefully controlled to protect the environment. When a zinc scavenger is used in the drilling fluid, the cuttings, as well as the residual fluid at the end of the drilling operation, will be contaminated with zinc. Environmental awareness has increasingly made use of zinc unacceptable. Most other heavy metals which react with hydrogen sulfide to form insoluble sulfide such as copper (both oxidation states), mercury, lead, and nickel, also cause environmental concerns and thus are no more acceptable than zinc.

Systems and methods comprising smart sample catcher for drilling operations


The different advantageous embodiments provide a system for managing license usage comprising a license management interface and a number of storage devices. The license management interface is configured to control access to a number of applications. The number of applications is associated with a number of licenses. The number of storage devices has a number of files needed to run the number of applications. The number of storage devices is configured to be managed by the license management interface to distribute the number of files to a number of client systems approved to run the number of applications.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a management system for data processing systems and more particularly to a management system license wrapper for license utilization with data processing systems.
2. Background
Software applications typically require a user to possess a software license to use the given application. A software license is a contract governing the usage or redistribution of software. These software licenses are associated with an agreement of use that restricts the user to a certain type of use for the given application.
With proprietary software, a software license generally grants the holder to use one or more copies of the software application. The ownership of the software remains with the software publisher, and only use of the software according to the terms of the license is permitted by an end-user.
Software licenses can be costly, limiting the number of licenses for a particular type of software application that a given business or company may be able to afford. As such, software applications are often limited to a certain number of users or certain number of systems in keeping with the number of licenses purchased by the end-user from the software publisher.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that addresses one or more of the issues discussed above.

License utilization management system license wrapper


A radiation system includes a target material supply configured to supply droplets of target material along a trajectory, and a laser system that includes an amplifier and optics. The optics are configured to establish a first beam path which passes through the amplifier and through a first location on the trajectory, and to establish a second beam path which passes through the amplifier and through a second location on the trajectory. The laser system is configured to generate a first pulse of laser radiation when photons emitted from the amplifier are reflected along the first beam path by a droplet of target material at the first location on the trajectory. The laser system is configured to generate a second pulse of laser radiation when photons emitted from the amplifier are reflected along the second beam path by the droplet of target material at the second location on the trajectory.

A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that instance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. comprising part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned.
Lithography is widely recognized as one of the key steps in the manufacture of ICs and other devices and/or structures. However, as the dimensions of features made using lithography become smaller, lithography is becoming a more critical factor for enabling miniature IC or other devices and/or structures to be manufactured.
A theoretical estimate of the limits of pattern printing can be given by the Rayleigh criterion for resolution as shown in equation (1):
                    CD        =                              k            1                    ⋆                      λ                          NA              PS                                                          (        1        )            where λ is the wavelength of the radiation used, NAPS is the numerical aperture of the projection system used to print the pattern, k1 is a process dependent adjustment factor, also called the Rayleigh constant, and CD is the feature size (or critical dimension) of the printed feature. It follows from equation (1) that reduction of the minimum printable size of features can be obtained in three ways (either separately or in combination): by shortening the exposure wavelength λ, by increasing the numerical aperture NAPS, or by decreasing the value of k1.
In order to shorten the exposure wavelength and, thus, reduce the minimum printable size, it has been proposed to use an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation system. EUV radiation systems are configured to output a radiation wavelength of about 13 nm. Thus, EUV radiation systems may constitute a significant step toward achieving small features printing. Such radiation is termed extreme ultraviolet or soft x-ray, and possible systems include, for example, laser-produced plasma sources, discharge-produced plasma sources, or synchrotron radiation from electron storage rings.
A laser-produced plasma source, when in operation, converts a material into a plasma state that has an element, e.g. Xe, Li or Sn with emission lines in the EUV range. The desired plasma can be produced by irradiating a target material, for example in the form of a droplet, stream or cluster of material, with a laser beam.
For this process, the plasma is typically produced in a sealed vessel, e.g., vacuum chamber, which may be referred to as plasma chamber, and monitored using various types of metrology equipment. In addition to generating EUV radiation, these plasma processes also typically generate undesirable by-products in the plasma chamber which can include out-of-band radiation, high energy ions and debris, e.g., atoms and/or clumps/microdroplets of the target material.
These plasma formation by-products can potentially heat, damage or reduce the operational efficiency of the various plasma chamber optical elements including, but not limited to, collector mirrors including multi-layer mirrors (MLM's) capable of EUV reflection at normal incidence and/or grazing incidence, the surfaces of metrology detectors, windows used to image the plasma formation process, and the laser input window. The heat, high energy ions and/or debris may be damaging to the optical elements in a number of ways, including coating them with materials which reduce radiation transmission, penetrating into them and possibly damaging structural integrity and/or optical properties, such as the ability of a mirror to reflect radiation at such short wavelengths, corroding or eroding them and/or diffusing into them. For some target materials, e.g., tin, it may be desirable to introduce an etchant such as a halogenide (e.g. HCl, Hl or HBr) into the plasma chamber. The etchant etches away material such as debris that has been deposited on the optical elements.
As indicated above, one technique to produce EUV radiation involves irradiating a target material. In this regard, CO2 lasers, e.g., outputting radiation at 10.6 μm wavelength, may present certain advantages as a laser irradiating the target material in a laser-produced plasma (LPP) process. This may be especially true for certain target materials, e.g., materials containing tin. For example, one potential advantage may include the ability to produce a relatively high conversion efficiency between the laser input power and the output EUV power. Another potential advantage of CO2 drive lasers may include the ability of the relatively long wavelength radiation (for example, as compared to deep UV at 198 nm) to reflect from relatively rough surfaces such as a reflective optic that has been coated with tin debris. This property of 10.6 μm radiation may allow reflective mirrors to be employed near the plasma for, for example, steering, focusing and/or adjusting the focal power of the drive laser beam. For 10.6 μm drive lasers, the window inputting the laser into the plasma chamber is typically made of ZnSe and coated with an anti-reflection coating. Unfortunately, these materials may be sensitive to certain etchants, e.g., halogenides.
In addition to the challenges presented by plasma generated debris, it can be difficult to consistently and accurately hit a series of moving droplets with a pulsed laser beam. For example, some high-volume EUV radiation sources may require the irradiation of droplets having a diameter of about 20-50 μm and moving at a velocity of about 50-100 m/s.
With the above in mind, systems and methods have been proposed for effectively delivering and focusing a laser beam to a selected location in an EUV radiation source.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,491,954 describes an EUV radiation source which comprises an optical gain medium and a lens which is arranged to direct radiation generated by the optical gain medium onto a droplet of fuel material. The optical gain medium and lens are arranged such that the optical gain medium generates laser radiation when the droplet of fuel material is at a predetermined location, thereby causing the droplet of fuel material to produce an EUV radiation emitting plasma. Since optical gain medium is triggered by the presence of the droplet of fuel material at the predetermined location, a seed laser is not required to trigger operation of the optical gain medium.

Radiation system and lithographic apparatus


A method for forming a Cu-thin film includes the steps of coating a dispersion containing Cu-containing ultrafine particles individually dispersed therein on a semiconductor substrate having recessed portions, such as wiring grooves, via holes or contact holes, which have an aspect ratio ranging from 1 to 30; firing the coated semiconductor substrate in an atmosphere which can decompose organic substances present in the dispersion, but never oxidizes Cu to form a Cu-thin film on the substrate; then removing the Cu-thin film on the substrate except for that present in the recessed portions to thus level the surface of the substrate and to form the Cu-thin film in the recessed portions. The method permits the complete embedding or filling of the recessed portions of LSI substrates having a high aspect ratio with a Cu-thin film and thus permits the formation of a conductive, uniform and fine pattern, and further requires a low processing cost.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for forming a Cu-thin film on a semiconductor substrate such as an LSI substrate and more particularly to a method for forming a Cu-thin film on a semiconductor substrate using a dispersion containing Cu ultrafine particles individually dispersed therein.
2. Prior Art
In the recent semiconductor industries, the distributing wires formed on a substrate have been increasingly finer and the number of layers formed thereon has also been increased in proportion to the requirements for LSI's having a higher integration density and ability of operating at a high speed. However, this results in a decrease in the pitch of wires and in turn impairs the capacity between neighboring wires and the resistance of the wires and a problem accordingly arises such as delayed signal transmission. To eliminate this problem, it has been required to use a wiring material having a low specific resistance and an interlayer insulating film having a low dielectric constant. For this reason, attempts have been made to use, as a material for distributing wires, Cu having a low specific resistance and excellent resistance to electromigration (EM) in place of Al alloys or the like conventionally used. As a method for forming a Cu-thin film, there has been developed a so-called damascene method which comprises the steps of depositing a Cu film in, for instance, wiring grooves, via holes and contact holes according to, for instance, the sputtering method, CVD method or plating method and then subjecting the Cu film to a chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) treatment.
However, such a conventional Cu-thin film-forming method suffers from the following problems. In the sputtering method among the methods for depositing Cu-thin films on a substrate, there is in general a limit in the degree of step coverage and further the reflow temperature should be reduced in order to ensure the compatibility with the method to the formation of a low dielectric film, even when the sputtering method is used in combination with the reflow method. For this reason, it is difficult to accelerate the embedding or filling up of fine grooves through reflow. Additionally, this method also suffers from a problem in that it requires a high processing cost. On the other hand, the plating method requires the formation of a Cu-thin film, as the so-called seed layer, on a barrier layer and this in turn results in such a problem that the plating liquid remains in voids. Both of the foregoing film-forming methods are insufficient for the method for forming the Cu-thin film. In addition, these methods are insufficient in the ability to embed or fill up, for instance, grooves for distributing wires when the aspect ratio of the grooves or the like is high.


A nozzle management device includes a plurality of pallets, each of the pallets configured to house a plurality of nozzles; a pallet storage device configured to store the pallets; and a pallet moving device configured to move the pallets.

A suction nozzle picks up and holds an electronic component during work of mounting electronic components on a circuit board. A suction nozzle is configured such that, when the tip section of the suction nozzle contacts an electronic component, and when mounting a held electronic component on a circuit board, the suction tube and pipe of the suction nozzle move relative to each other so as to make the load applied on the electronic component small. However, there is a problem in that if the load that arises when the suction tube and pipe move relative to each other (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "nozzle load") becomes too large due to aging and so on of the suction tube, it is not possible to perform mounting work appropriately. Thus, measurement of the nozzle load is performed regularly, and suction nozzles for which the measured load exceeds a specified load are collected in a collection box or the like. In the patent literature below, an example is disclosed of a load measurement method for measuring nozzle load in which a load sensor such as a load cell is used.
Patent Literature 1: JP A 2006-108384


A flexible display device is provided, including: a display area, a bending area, and a driving printed circuit board. The bending area is located between the display area and the driving printed circuit board, and the driving printed circuit board is located on a rear side of the display area by bending of the bending area. The bending area includes: a substrate; an inorganic layer disposed on the substrate, where the inorganic layer is disposed on the substrate and distributed in a form of islands, and the inorganic layer includes a plurality of island-shaped blocks, and two adjacent island-shaped blocks are spaced apart from each other; and a first metal layer disposed on a whole surface of the inorganic layer and the substrate, where the first metal layer forms a plurality of first recesses corresponding to shapes of the plurality of island-shaped blocks.

The present disclosure relates to the field of display devices, and more particularly to a flexible display device and a manufacturing method thereof.
Flexible organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays have many advantages over conventional liquid crystal displays, such as bendability, active illumination, high contrast, light weight, and fast response times, etc. Therefore, in recent years, OLED technology has received more and more attention, and people have higher and higher requirements for OLED displays performance, such as technologies for narrow borders and full screens.
Generally, the OLED display mainly includes a display area, a fan-out area, a bending area, a driving printed circuit board (e.g., a flexible printed circuit, FPC), etc. The bending area is used to connect metal wires in the peripheral fan-out area and the driving printed circuit board, so that the driving printed circuit board can be located on the rear side of the display area by bending of the bending area. A bending performance of the bending area not only affects signal transmission of the driving printed circuit board but also directly determines size of a lower frame of the display. This is also a key technology to realize the narrow frame and the full screen.
Referring to FIG. 1, which shows a cross-sectional view of a flexible display device 10 of the prior art, where only a display area 11 and a bending area 12 of the flexible display device 10 are shown, and the rest are omitted. The flexible display device 10 includes a substrate 101, a buffer layer 102, a gate insulating layer 103, a dielectric layer 104, a thin film transistor (TFT) channel 105, a gate 106, an organic layer 107, a metal layer 108, an organic planarization layer 109, a pixel electrode 110, a pixel definition layer 111, and an organic light emitting layer 112. The flexible display device 10 includes a plurality of organic film layers, such as the buffer layer 102, the gate insulating layer 103, and the dielectric layer 104. The above organic film layers are basically made from an organic material, such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide or the like. Characteristics of the inorganic material are relatively brittle and not resistant to bending stress, so it is easy to crack under external force. In order to ensure that the flexible display device 10 can be flexed successfully, the inorganic film layers in the bending area 12 are removed, and an organic material layer (i.e., the organic layer 107) is filled, thereby causing the existing flexible display device 10 has a drawback of high manufacturing cost.
Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a flexible display device and a manufacturing method thereof to solve the technical problems in the prior art.

Flexible display device and manufacturing method thereof

Wuhan China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd.


A method for recovering precious metals from carbonaceous ore comprising leaching the ore with a lixiviant solution and then preg-robbingly concentrating the precious metal-lixiviant complexes in solution on to the native carbonaceous component of the ore for subsequent recovery. The preg-robbing capacity of the native carbonaceous component of the ore can be augmented by adding recycled carbonaceous matter or finely ground carbon to the ore-lixiviant mixture. Furthermore, after the carbonaceous component of the ore is separated from the gangue, the gangue material can be treated in a hot CIL process to further increase the recovery of the precious metal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the recovery of precious metals from carbonaceous ores. More particularly, the invention concerns improved leaching techniques for these ores.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Gold is one of the rarest metals on earth. Gold ores can be categorized into two types: free milling and refractory. Free milling ores are those that can be processed by simple gravity techniques or direct cyanidation. Refractory ores, on the other hand, are difficult to process. Refractory ore resources can consist of ores, flotation concentrates, mill tailings, and other reserves. In the past, refractory ores have required pre-cyanidation treatments to liberate the gold. The difficulty of processing refractory gold ores is attributable to their mineralogy.
A large number of refractory ores consist of ores with a precious metal such as gold occluded in iron sulfide particles. The iron sulfide particles consist principally of pyrite and arsenopyrite. If the gold remains occluded, even after fine milling of these ores, then the sulfides must be oxidized to liberate the encapsulated precious metal and make it amenable to a leaching agent (or lixiviant).
Carbonaceous gold ores represent a unique class of refractory ores. Not only is gold sometimes found encapsulated in sulfide minerals in these ores, but these ores also contain carbonaceous matter that interferes with recovery by cyanidation. Gold in carbonaceous ores, therefore, can be associated with sulfide minerals, carbonaceous matter, and/or siliceous minerals. P. Afenya, Treatment of Carbonaceous Refractory Gold Ores, Minerals Engineering, Vol. 4, Nos 7-11, pp 1043-55, 1991, hereby incorporated by reference. The distribution of gold in these mineral groups can vary considerably from ore to ore.
Researchers have identified the carbonaceous matter in these ores as containing (1) an activated carbon component capable of adsorbing gold-chloride complexes and gold-cyanide complexes from solution, (2) a mixture of high molecular weight hydrocarbons usually associated with the activated carbon components; and (3) an organic acid, similar to humic acid containing functional groups capable of interacting with gold complexes to form organic gold compounds. P. Afenya, Treatment of Carbonaceous Refractory Gold Ores, Minerals Engineering, Vol. 4, pp. 1043-1055, 1991, hereby incorporated by reference; W. Guay, The Treatment of Refractory Gold Ores Containing Carbonaceous Material and Sulfides, Society of Mining Engineers of AIME, 81-34, pp. 1-4, 1981, hereby incorporated by reference.
Carbonaceous matter, can therefore directly or indirectly interfere with lixiviation. Direct interference with lixiviation is ascribed to either occlusion of the gold within the carbonaceous material or formation of a stable gold-carbon complex similar to a chelate. The more common problem with these ores, however, is indirect interference. This occurs when the gold-lixiviant complex formed during lixiviation is sorbed by the native carbonaceous material and, therefore, is no longer available for recovery from solution. This phenomenon is called preg-robbing.
Preg-robbing is frequently associated with the use of cyanide as the lixiviant. However, it also occurs with gold-lixiviant complexes other than aurocyanide.
Certain clay materials such as illite, kaolin, and montmorillonite are also known to preg-robbingly adsorb the gold-cyanide complex. Thus, the degree of preg-robbing exhibited by an ore depends on the amount of carbonaceous matter and preg-robbing clay materials in the ore. As used herein, it should be understood that carbonaceous component and carbonaceous matter also refer to preg-robbing clays, because the preg-robbing properties of these materials are functionally similar to that of the actual carbonaceous matter in the ore.
While preg-robbing is most frequently associated with cyanidation processes, the preg-robbing phenomenon is also known to occur with other gold-lixiviant complexes such as gold-chloride. The inventor has even experienced preg-robbing of gold-thiourea complexes while using a thiourea lixiviant.
Carbonaceous ores vary significantly from deposit to deposit, and even within deposits, in the amount of carbonaceous matter they contain. These ores have been reported to contain from approximately 0.2% carbon to as much as 5% carbon. P. Afenya, Treatment of Carbonaceous Refractory Gold Ores, Minerals Engineering, Vol. 4, pp. 1043-1055, 1991.
If P represents the preg-robbing component of the ore, V represents a valuable mineral component (i.e., gold, silver, or platinum), and G represents the gangue materials in the ore, then preg-robbing may be illustrated by the following general formula: ##EQU1## Wherein V.sub.1 represents the precious metal closely associated with the preg-robbing material in the ores, V.sub.2 represents the precious metal associated with gangue material, V.sub.x represents the precious metal preg-robbingly removed from the lixiviant solution, V.sub.y represents the precious metal-lixiviant complexes remaining in solution, and V.sub.2-(x+y) represents the amount of precious metal remaining associated with the gangue material after lixiviation.
Thus, the amount of precious metal that is associated with the preg-robbing component of the ore after lixiviation is equal to the amount of precious metal originally associated with the preg-robbing component of the ore plus the amount that is preg-robbingly removed from the lixiviant solution (V.sub.x). The amount of precious metal remaining associated with the gangue material (V.sub.2-(x+y)) is equal to the original amount of precious metal (V.sub.2) minus the amount of precious metal dissolved by the lixiviant (V.sub.x +V.sub.y).
A number of techniques have been developed for processing refractory carbonaceous gold ores. These techniques include flotation, blanking, carbon in leach, roasting, chemical oxidation, and bacterial leaching. Roasting and oxidation by chlorination are the two methods that are most developed and applicable for treating carbon-bearing ores. The others may play some role in the future or are often confused with methods for processing carbonaceous ores, even within the mining industry, when they are really more suited to treating refractory sulfidic ores. The various techniques are described below:
1. Flotation and Depression
This method has been employed successfully where small amounts of gold are associated with the carbonaceous matter in the ore. In such circumstances, the carbonaceous matter can be floated off and discarded. The remaining ore is then processed using conventional cyanidation techniques. This technique, however, does not work for ores in which considerable quantities of gold are associated with the carbonaceous component. J. Orlich, J. Fuestenau, & D. Horne, Column Flotation of Carbon at the Royal Mt. King Mine, SME Annual Meeting, Phoenix, Ariz., February 1992.
One mining operation has tried to produce a high grade concentrate for possible shipment to a smelter and a tailing which could be discarded or directly cyanided. W. Guay, The Treatment of Refractory Gold Ores Containing Carbonaceous Material and Sulfides, Society of Mining Engineers of AIME, 81-34, pp. 1-4, 1981. The concentrates contained both carbonaceous materials and pyrite, but exhibited low recoveries of gold.
According to the process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,550, hereby incorporated by reference, a coal fraction containing economically significant concentrations of a desirous mineral value can be recovered from a carbonaceous ore by flotation. However, under this process, gold values contained in the non-floated fractions of the ore are lost; thus, this process can only be used if small amounts of gold are associated with the unrecovered fractions.
Other goldfields have depressed the carbonaceous component of the ore while floating the sulphide minerals and free gold. P. Afenya, Treatment of Carbonaceous Refractory Gold Ores, Minerals Engineering, Vol. 4, pp. 1043-1055, 1991. Again, however, this technique would not be used if the carbonaceous component contained significant quantities of gold.
A common problem with all of the flotation processes, therefore, is that the gold associated with the ore fraction that is to be discarded is lost because it is generally uneconomical to recover. As a result, the tail fraction must contain very small amounts of gold for the existing flotation processes to work satisfactorily. However, the mineralogy of a carbonaceous gold ore deposit is continually changing. Therefore, as the amount of gold associated with the ore fraction that is to be discarded (i.e., the tail) increases, the amount of gold values lost during flotation also increases. Current flotation processes are not flexible enough to compensate for these changes in the mineralogies of carbonaceous gold ores. The present invention overcomes this problem by preg-robbingly concentrating the gold values in the carbonaceous component of the ore prior to flotation.
2. Blanking
Blanking agents are used to passivate the surfaces of activated carbon in carbonaceous ores. The blanking agents work by selectively adsorbing on the surface of the activated carbon preferentially to the gold-lixiviant complexes in solution. Kerosene, fuel oil, and RV-2 (para nitro benzol azo salicylic acid) have been used as blanking agents. This method is not applicable where considerable quantities of gold are associated with the carbonaceous matter. And as explained in U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,600, blanking is also not applicable to ores that contain significant quantities of organic acids as carbonaceous matter. One of the objects of the present invention is to permit the processing of carbonaceous ores regardless of native carbon content and regardless of the amount of gold originally associated with the carbonaceous matter.
3. Activated Carbon or Resin In Leach or Pulp
Activated carbon or resin can be added to leach solutions to preferentially adsorb aurocyanide. This process rests on the principle of using a stronger aurocyanide adsorbent than the carbonaceous matter in the ore. P. Afenya, Treatment of Carbonaceous Refractory Gold Ores, Minerals Engineering, Vol. 4, pp. 1043-1055, 1991. However, this process is not effective when the ore contains large amounts of carbonaceous matter, because native carbonaceous matter has the ability to adsorb gold cyanide complex four times faster than activated carbon. B. J. Scheiner, Relation of Mineralogy to Treatment Methods for Carbonaceous Gold Ores, Society of Mining Engineers, 87-96, pp 1-6, 1987. Furthermore, CIL processes use relatively large carbon particles, whereas the ore is fine ground, so that the added carbon and its adsorbed gold values may readily be separated from the ore after cyanidation by size.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,208, hereby incorporated by reference, describes a method of high temperature carbon-in-leach (hot CIL). This method involves subjecting an aqueous slurry of carbonaceous ore to a preliminary oxidation step. Thereafter, the pulp is heated to a temperature greater than 167.degree. F., and the ore leached using alkali metal cyanide concentrations greater than 0.1%. This method when tested on a pilot scale using ore containing 0.3 oz Au/ton ore produced activated carbon loaded to only 15 oz Au/ton and a final tail 0.045 oz Au/ton.
The disadvantages with the hot CIL process of 4,188,208 is that the high cyanide concentrations and high temperatures used in the process require the use of more expensive alkali metal hydroxides as well as the added cost to achieve the high cyanide concentrations and high temperature. Furthermore, it has been documented that, the equilibrium loading of gold onto carbon decreases with temperature. This decrease in loading of the activated carbon further increases the cost of the process, because it means that more carbon must be used and regenerated per unit of gold production.
4. Roasting
This is the current industry standard for simultaneously destroying carbonaceous matter, and simultaneously oxidizing the sulfide minerals, in refractory carbonaceous gold ores. In fact, the majority of recently built pretreatment plants use roasting. In Nevada, four roasters have been put into operation since 1986, and at least one more is in the planning stage.
Modern roasters use a fluidized bed construction and conventional fuel source to heat the ores. Roasting temperatures are usually between 600.degree. and 700.degree. C. After roasting, the ore is separated from dust and off-gasses and then quenched. Following quenching, the oxidized ore can be processed using traditional cyanide extraction techniques.
For any particular ore composition, roasting plants operate in a narrow range of tolerances. Below optimum temperature the carbon in the ore is not oxidized and remains actively preg-robbing. Above the optimum temperature, the gold in the ore becomes increasingly less amenable to cyanidation or other extraction techniques. Because of the degrading gold recovery with higher temperatures, many roasters are operated toward the lower side of the range. Blanking agents are then added to passivate any unroasted carbonaceous matter. Accordingly, roaster efficiency in a plant environment tends to vary widely with variation in feed stock.
For many years roasting was the only reliable method of treating refractory carbonaceous gold ores to produce high gold recovery. In the last two decades, however, the increasing costs associated with roasting has increased the pressure to find alternative methods for treating refractory carbonaceous gold ores. Roasting costs are driven in large part by two factors: energy economics and environmental regulation. Energy sources are used for both heating and process control, such as oxygen injection. As a result, this method is particularly sensitive to fluctuations in fuel prices. Environmental regulation is also a large and growing cost factor in the operation of roasters. The off-gas must be treated to suppress dust and to remove extremely toxic mercury and arsenic compounds and sulfur dioxide. This is often accomplished using electrostatic precipitators and scrubbers. These pollution control technologies, however, are both expensive and difficult to control.
As emission standards become stricter, roasting process costs increase dramatically. Almost without exception, both analytical studies and actual operators estimate the cost of roasting to be in the area of $10 to $20 per ton of ore, although one source claims an estimate for a proposed plant of $8 per ton.
5. Chemical Oxidation
Currently, hydrometallurgical methods for treating refractory gold ores strongly attract research and development activity. Currently, there are three aqueous oxidation techniques being given attention: (1) chlorine oxidation, (2) autoclave leaching and (3) bioleaching. Bioleaching is discussed separately.
a. Chlorination
This was the method most favored until process economics and environmental regulation tipped the scale in favor of roasting. At least two chlorination plants were operating recently, although one of them may already be off line.
In this process, the ore is ground and mixed with water to form a slurry. Chlorine gas is pumped into the slurry under pressure at a rate of about 60 to 120 lbs/ton, depending on the residence time, organic carbon concentration in the ore, and percent solids in the slurry. The chlorine gas will oxidize the carbon in the ore, rendering it less preg-robbing. After treatment, the hypochlorous acid generated must be treated with a reducing agent to prevent it from destroying the cyanide used later in the process.
This process is particularly sensitive to the amount of sulfide in the ore, because sulfur is oxidized before carbon. Higher sulfide ores require much more chlorine gas. For very refractory ores the "Double Oxidation" process described in P. Afenya, Treatment of Carbonaceous Refractory Gold Ores, Minerals Engineering, Vol. 4, pp. 1043-1055, 1991, hereby incorporated by reference, has been used.
Environmental factors also play a large part in driving costs. Gas emissions from the tanks must be captured by alkaline scrubbers before being released to remove the chlorine they contain. High pressure chlorine gas is extremely dangerous.
Finally, the process is difficult to control in operation, and plants suffer from the corrosive gas. As a result of all of these factors, roasting will be the economically favored alternative to chlorine based oxidation for the foreseeable future.
As a variant of chlorination, NaOCl can be substituted for chlorine gas as the oxidizing agent. Furthermore, NaOCl can be produced in situ by electrolyzing NaCl. The NaOCl is used in the same manner as the chlorine above to oxidize sulfides and carbonaceous matter in the ore. However, the initial capital investment for this technique is high, and unless there is a radical decrease in energy costs, this method will remain even less economically attractive than chlorination.
b. Pressure Autoclaving
This method is far more successful at oxidizing sulfidic materials that make the ore refractory than it is at oxidizing carbonaceous matter that may be present. It is mentioned here for the sake of completeness. A pressure autoclaving process followed by CIL is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,589, hereby incorporated by reference.
6. Bioleaching
This is the latest process being developed to treat refractory sulfide and carbonaceous gold ores. The process uses bacteria to biologically degrade sulfide minerals and liberate precious metal values so that they can be recovered by conventional technologies. The most widely used and studied bacteria for this process is Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. Bioleaching, however, has little effect on the preg-robbing characteristics of an ore. Therefore, carbon-in-leach or blanking has been used in addition to bioleaching to obtain satisfactory gold yields from carbonaceous ores. Furthermore, it takes days rather than hours to treat the ore.
Thus, since the mining of low grade carbonaceous gold ore began more than 40 years ago, the mining industry has repeatedly tried to find alternative methods of treating carbonaceous ore. These methods have all involved trying to eliminate or block the preg-robbing effect of these ores so that a traditional cyanide process could be used to recover the precious metal values from the ore. The inventor's process is a completely novel approach in which the heretofore deleterious preg-robbing characteristic of carbonaceous ores is used advantageously to concentrate the precious metal values in the carbonaceous ore on the preg-robbing component of the ore for subsequent recovery.
At present, there are large amounts of both located carbonaceous deposits and stocks of mined carbonaceous ore that have been set aside because they cannot be processed economically using current methods.

Method for recovering gold and other precious metals from carbonaceous ores


Systems, devices and methods are provided to account for insignificant route segments to enhance a route guidance experience. An electronic navigational aid device is provided according to one aspect. The device includes a processor and a memory adapted to communicate with the processor. The processor and memory are adapted to cooperate to provide route guidance that accounts for insignificant route segments. According to various embodiments, insignificant route segments are accounted for by nullifying and/or modifying route guidance maneuvers associated with the insignificant route segments. Other aspects are provided herein.

Route planning devices are well known in the field of navigational instruments. The capabilities of known route planning devices and methods depend on system resources, such as processor speed and the amount and speed of memory. The processes implemented by a navigation device are a function of overall system cost because an increase in system capability also increases system cost. The known art includes a spectrum of products in which the degree of navigational accuracy is dictated primarily by the cost of the system. The lower cost systems currently offer a lower degree of accuracy that often is inadequate for most users.
Processes inherently affected by the limited system resources include navigational route planning and navigational route guidance. A navigational route between a starting destination and a final destination is determined using cartographic data. The navigational route is formed from a number of a navigational route segments. These route segments, for example, include the various roads that are traveled upon to move from the starting destination to the final destination.
Navigational route guidance provides information to a user to guide the user along the route from route segment to route segment. That is, navigational route guidance provides information used to maneuver from one route segment to another route segment. Such guidance is desirable when a user is confronted with maneuvering options, such as whether to turn left or right, for example, onto the next route segment or road.
However, some route segments are essentially insignificant in so far as traveling from a first significant route segment through an insignificant route segment to a second significant route segment essentially only confronts the user with an obvious maneuvering option between the first significant route segment and the second significant route segment. An example of an insignificant route segment is a separately digitized turn lane.
Attempts to provide guidance information from the first significant route segment to the insignificant route segment, and to provide guidance information from the insignificant route segment to the second significant route segment is unnecessary information as it is extraneous or redundant. Users view maneuvers associated with insignificant route segments interposed between two significant route segments as obvious maneuvers. Thus, users only desire appropriate navigational guidance from the first significant route segment to the second significant route segment.
Therefore, there exists a need for route guidance that appropriately accounts for insignificant route segments by nullifying, and/or modifying route guidance maneuvers associated with the insignificant route segments to improve a route guidance experience.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Guidance with feature accounting for insignificant roads


A semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same capable of preventing a not open fail of a landing plug contact caused by the leaning of a gate. The method includes the steps of preparing a semiconductor substrate, forming first recesses by etching an active area of the semiconductor substrate, filling a conductive layer in the first recesses, forming a second recess by etching a predetermined part of the active area, forming under stepped gates, forming a gate insulating layer on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, forming a channel layer on the gate insulating layer, forming source/drain areas in the semiconductor substrate, forming an interlayer insulating film on an entire surface of the semiconductor substrate, and forming a landing plug in the interlayer insulating film such that the landing plug makes contact with the source/drain areas, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device having an under stepped gate for preventing a "not open fail" of a landing plug contact by preventing a gate from leaning and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, as semiconductor memories, such as DRAMs, have been highly integrated, a conventional flat type transistor may cause lack of a threshold voltage in a cell area and reduction of refresh time. For this reason, various studies have been performed to ensure the threshold voltage and refresh characteristics adaptable for highly integrated semiconductor devices.
For instance, a STAR (step-gated asymmetry recess) cell structure has recently been proposed. As shown in FIG. 1, the STAR cell structure is achieved by recessing a part of an active area of a substrate 1 defined by an isolation layer 2. That is, the STAR cell structure is achieved by recessing both longitudinal edge portions of the active area such that the active area has a stepped structure and forming a gate 6 on the stepped portion of the active area to increase an effective channel length of a MOSFET device.
The STAR cell structure can reduce a short channel effect so that it can obtain a desired threshold voltage at a relatively low threshold voltage dose. In addition, the STAR cell structure can reduce an electric field applied to a MOSFET device, thereby lengthening the refresh time above three times as compared with that of the conventional flat type cell structure.
In particular, the STAR cell structure can be obtained by adding a simple process to conventional processes or changing the conventional processes, so that the STAR cell structure is easily applicable. For this reason, the STAR cell structure has recently been spotlighted as an effective solution for ensuring the threshold voltage and refresh characteristics adaptable for highly integrated semiconductor memory devices.
However, when fabricating the above STAR cell structure, as shown in FIG. 1, the gate 6 is formed on the stepped portion of the active area, causing the leaning of the gate 6.
If the gate 6 formed on the stepped portion of the active area leans, a contact part may not be exposed in the following landing plug contact (LPC) process, which is called an "LPC not open fail".
In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1 to 5 represent a semiconductor substrate, an isolation layer, a gate insulation layer, a gate conductive layer and a hard mask layer, respectively.

Semiconductor device having an under stepped gate for preventing gate failure and method of manufacturing the same


The invention relates to methods and apparatuses for treating a condensate stream from a condenser that contains odorous compounds, such as various condensate streams produced in a rendering process. In one embodiment, the condensate stream is treated by adding an oxidizer to the liquid condensate stream to oxidize odor-causing compounds in the stream prior to being treated in a waste water pre-treatment system. In this manner, the odor resulting from these compounds can be reduced or eliminated.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to methods for treating condensed vapor streams containing odorous vapors. In particular, the invention relates to methods for oxidizing condensate streams in, for example, a rendering or pet food manufacturing facilities.
2. Description of Related Art
Control of odors is one of the most challenging problems faced by the animal byproduct processing industry, referred to as rendering. In most facilities animal byproduct is brought into the processing facility and processed to, in some cases, manufacture animal feed. The process converts the byproduct, which consists of waste animal tissue, into stable value-added material like purified animal fats (lard, tallow, and grease) and protein meals (meat, bone meal, and blood meal). Generally, the process is performed by simultaneously drying the animal byproduct and separating the fat from the bone and protein. In some cases, the animal tissue may be blended with other organic material to form feeds. In some cases the animal byproduct includes feathers and hair, and the processing of these materials includes hydrolyzing and drying the material to form feather meal and a hair meal.
In the process of drying the animal byproduct, heat is added to the material resulting in the generation of vapors. These vapors carry odorous compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In most facilities an air scrubbing process is used to reduce or remove some of these odorous vapors prior to their release into the atmosphere. In addition, various vapor streams containing these odorous compounds are condensed separate as many of the condensable vapors from the non-condensable vapors prior to air scrubbing or release to the atmosphere. This greatly reduces the load to the air scrubbing equipment and the environment. It should be appreciated that a rendering facility may generate multiple condensate streams from various process steps. For example, condensate streams may be produced from condensers used in conjunction with a cooker, an evaporator, a disk dryer, a spray dryer, drum dryer, or any other process step in which a vapor stream is produced and can be condensed.
In the process of condensing a vaporous stream, a large portion of the odorous or odor causing compounds are separated prior to air scrubbing thereby forming one or more liquid condensate streams containing these soluble, odor causing compounds. The condensed vapor streams typically are mixed with other waste streams and processed using a waste water pretreatment system, introduced into a biological system for processing, or discharged to a sewer system. In none of these cases, however, are the condensed vapor or condensate streams treated for odor prior to being fed to the waste water pre-treatment system. Therefore, even after mixing with other streams and being further processed prior to discharge, the soluble odor-causing compounds in these condensate streams can be the cause of odor problems in the surrounding atmosphere. In many cases where the condensed vapors from the processing of the animal byproduct material are mixed with other fluid systems and processed in a waste water pretreatment or in a biological treatment system, the odor-causing compounds are liberated through reduced solubility driven by changes in pH, temperature, mechanical aeration, or other means. Accordingly, once liberated, these compounds become an evident source of odor nuisance.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of treating the odor-causing compounds in condensate streams, as such need exists in rendering and pet food processing facilities, as well as other industries that produce vapor streams containing odor compounds that can be condensed, such as oil recovery processes.

Method for treating condensed vapor streams containing odorous compounds


Devices that receive data while not directly powered and methods of operating devices that receive data while not directly powered are described herein. One or more device embodiments include an interface configured to receive data from an additional device while the device is not directly powered, a memory coupled to the interface and configured to receive the data from the interface while the device is not directly powered and store the data while the device is not directly powered, and a user interface configured to permit a user to interact with the computing device. The computing device is configured to operate in at least two different power modes, wherein the computing device is powered only via the interface while operating in a first power mode and the computing device is powered by a non-radio frequency (non-RF) power source while operating in a second power mode.

A device (e.g., a computing device) may receive data, such as, for example, configuration data, that may be personalized for that device. For example, data may be sent to, received by, loaded into, programmed into, and/or stored in the device before the device is deployed to an end consumer (e.g., as part of the manufacturing and/or provisioning process of the device, at the location where the device is manufactured, and/or at the point of sale of the device).
A device (e.g., a computing device) may also transmit data, such as, for example, history, usage, and/or diagnostic data, associated with the device to an additional device. For example, data may be transmitted by the device to the additional device while the device is in the field and/or while the device is out of the field (e.g., while the device is sent back for service).
In order to receive and/or transmit data, however, the device may have to be directly powered and/or powered on. For example, the device may need to be coupled to an external power wire and/or include a battery in order to receive and/or transmit data.
Directly powering the device, however, can be difficult and/or time consuming. For example, before the device is deployed to an end consumer, the device may be located inside packaging (e.g., a box, a shipping container, protective wrapping, etc.) and accordingly may need to be removed from the package in order to be directly powered. Further, while the device is in and/or out of the field, access to mechanisms for directly powering the device (e.g., access to external power wires and/or batteries) may be limited and/or nonexistent.


A gear housing for an aquatic vessel is adapted to be attached at an attachment site to an underside of a hull of the aquatic vessel. The gear housing includes at least one weakened region adapted to yield when the gear housing is rotated at the attachment site following an impact. A breakaway safety system includes such a gear housing, and a fracturable member for attaching the gear housing to the hull at the attachment site, wherein the weakened region is adapted to yield such that the fracturable member fractures. An aquatic vessel includes such a gear housing or such a breakaway safety system.

The present invention relates to a gear housing for an aquatic vessel, said gear housing being adapted to he attached at an attachment site to an underside of a hull of said aquatic vessel. The invention also relates to a breakaway safety system for an aquatic vessel, said breakaway safety system comprising such a gear housing. Finally the invention relates to an aquatic vessel comprising a gear housing and an aquatic vessel comprising a breakaway safety system.
Various types of propeller-driven aquatic vessels, such as yachts, ships or boats, are known. Such vessels comprise at least one hull and at least one propulsion arrangement supported by said hull. The propulsion arrangement comprises an engine assembly providing motive power to a propeller assembly adapted to be submerged in water when the vessel is in operation. The propeller assembly comprises at least one propeller shaft, which is coupled to said engine assembly via a transmission shaft. A propeller mounted on said propeller shaft propels the vessel through the water when the engine is running. The propeller assembly is at least partially accommodated in a gear housing attached to the underside of the hull.
It is known to provide the gear housing with some sort of sacrificial mechanical structure, to protect the propeller assembly in the event of an impact with a submerged object. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,806 discloses a gear housing provided with a replaceable leading edge portion configured to absorb energy during impact. It is also known to include sacrificial mechanical structures to prevent damage occurring to the hull.
These sacrificial structures are however not adapted to protect vessels equipped with larger and more powerful propulsion arrangements. For example, contemporary yachts are sometimes equipped with two engine assemblies each delivering about 660 kW and sometimes as much as 1000 KW. Such vessels are in an impact situation subject to large forces susceptible to cause considerable damage to the vessels.
It is thus desirable to provide a gear housing which better protects an aquatic vessel in the event of an impact.
It is desirable to provide a breakaway safety system which better protects an aquatic vessel in the event of an impact.
It is desirable to provide an aquatic vessel which is better protected in the event of an impact.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a gear housing for an aquatic vessel is provided, said gear housing being adapted to be attached at an attachment site to an underside of a hull of said aquatic vessel. The gear housing comprises at least one weakened region adapted to yield when said gear housing is rotated at said attachment site following an impact.
A gear housing has a longitudinal direction, a height direction and a width direction and exhibits a first end arranged to face in a forward direction when the vessel is propelled forward, and a second end opposite to said first end, which second end is arranged to face in a backward direction when the vessel is propelled forward. The gear housing further exhibits an upper side adapted to face the hull when the gear housing is attached thereto and a lower side opposite to side upper side, which lower side is adapted to face away from the hull when the gear housing is attached thereto. When the first end of the gear housing collides with a submerged object, the impact will cause the gear housing to rotate around an axis extending in the width direction such that the second end of the gear housing is forced up against the hull. Such a Collision may cause considerable damage to the hull. According to the present invention, this problem is solved by providing the gear housing with at least one weakened region that will yield and collapse before the hull and thus allows the gear housing to rotate without damaging the hull. Moreover, the rotation and collapse of the gear housing leads to a concentration of forces to the attachment site that advantageously causes the gear housing to break away from the hull before it inflicts severe damage thereto. To facilitate the break-away of the gear housing, the gear housing is advantageously but not necessarily attached to said hull via a fracturable member.
The weakened region is advantageously located at the upper side of the gear housing, extending in the longitudinal direction from the second end. However, other locations are conceivable as long as the weakened region allows the impact receiving part of the gear housing to rotate relative the hull without causing severe damage thereto. The weakened region may, for example, be located at the centre of the gear housing as seen in the longitudinal direction, extending from the upper side towards the lower side.
The weakened region may be of any suitable shape, for example triangular or rectangular, and is preferably arranged such that it has a large extent where a large displacement of the gear housing is expected in an impact situation.
Seen in the width direction, a part of the gear housing arranged to collapse at an impact comprises either a single wall or a plurality of walls, and the weakening of the weakened region can, for example, be achieved by providing one or more of said walls with one or more recesses, each defining a zone that is thinner and weaker than the rest of the wall. This solution is advantageous in that such walls are easily created at low production costs. It is also advantageous if the recesses are arranged at a distance from one another, so that areas of high strength extending in a first direction at an angle, and most preferably perpendicular, to the direction of the impact force, remain between said recesses, providing stability to the gear housing. in said first direction. Said areas may, for example, provide stability to the gear housing in the longitudinal direction.
The weakened region may also comprise an area made of a material of lower strength in comparison with the rest of the gear housing. A portion of a gear housing wall may, for example, undergo various treatments, for example heat treatment, that reduce the strength of the wall material. Alternatively, at least one portion of a wall may be replaced with a substitute piece made of a low strength material suitable for thin walls. The gear housing may, for example, be made of bronze and the substitute piece of plastic, aluminum or stainless steel. The substitute piece is easily attached to the gear housing, for example by means of an adhesive or fasteners, such as rivets or screws, or by welding or press fitting. The latter solution is advantageous in that it effectively reduces the strength of the weakened region and in that it also reduces material costs and the total weight of the gear housing. Furthermore, the substitute piece is easily attached to the gear housing in such a way that it does not negatively affect the flow resistance. Most advantageous is if the entire weakened region consists of or comprises only one substitute piece, as this facilitates the mounting procedure.
The weakened region may also comprise a large aperture in the gear solution, which further reduces the strength and total weight of the gear housing. However, this is not a preferred embodiment as such a large aperture detracts from the stability of the gear housing, A reduction of the strength and weight of the gear housing is also achieved with a weakened region comprising one or more hollow portions.
If the weakened region comprises one or more recesses then the recesses are advantageously situated so that they cause minimal flow resistance. Accordingly, if the gear housing comprises a compartment defined by opposite side walls, for example a passageway for exhausts from the engine assembly, then the recesses are advantageously formed in the inside surfaces of said side walls. However, the recesses can also be formed in the outside surfaces of the gear housing, in which case the recesses advantageously are tilled with a low strength material, such as plastic, in order to minimize the flow resistance without substantially increasing the strength of the weakened region.
In some embodiments, the gear housing further comprises a tail region located towards the second end of the gear housing, where said side walls meet to define a region of increased strength. It is therefore advantageous if the above described recesses or substitute piece are extended all the way to the second end. An alternative, simple and inexpensive solution is to provide said tail region with an indication of fracture dividing said tail region into a first and a second part in the height direction, said first part exhibiting an oblique surface facing an oblique surface on said second part such that said first and second parts are adapted to slide past one another in the event of an impact. The indication of fracture could, for example, be a slit or recess in the tail region or a substitute piece made of a low strength material.
The weakened region advantageously consists of or comprises one or more weakenings arranged in a pattern so as to form a more or less continuous weakening when projected on an axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the gear housing, to ensure that the entire weakened region collapses when subjected to an impact force.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a breakaway safety system for an aquatic vessel is provided, said aquatic vessel comprising a hull, and said breakaway safe system comprising a gear housing and a fracturable member for attaching said gear housing to said hull at an attachment site. The gear housing comprises at least one weakened region adapted to yield when said gear housing is rotated at said attachment site following an impact. The consequence of this collapse of the gear housing is a concentration of forces to the fracturable member, which causes the fracturable member to fracture, so that the gear housing falls of the hull without causing considerable damage thereto.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an aquatic vessel comprising such a gear housing or a vessel comprising such a breakaway safety system is provided.

Gear housing for an aquatic vessel, breakaway safety system for an aquatic vessel and aquatic vessel


An anchorage device for supporting flat cover members for openings in building structures. The device includes two substantially similar stepped-plate members that include each an anchorage section and a supporting section. One of the stepped-plate members may in fact be flat or substantially flat, depending on the termination of the building openings to be protected. The anchorage section includes an opening and a cooperating fastening assembly for readily and removably mounting the device to the building structure with minimal aesthetic detraction or structural alteration. These sections define a plane each and these planes are kept in a spaced apart and parallel relationship with respect to each other by a step wall member. The supporting sections then are kept separate for their respective plates and the separation is sufficient to cooperatively receive the flat cover members that are used to protect the openings. The innermost hole of the supporting member is threaded since it is difficult, if not impossible to reach it. For corners, a modified version is used that include two flat ear members perpendicularly disposed with respect to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to anchorage and to support devices for shutters to be used to protect openings in a building.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of devices have been designed in the past to provide some degree of protection for the openings in a building. However, most of them require rather elaborate changes in the structure of the opening and/or the peripheral area surrounding the opening to be protected.
The closest reference known to applicant corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,436 issued to Green in 1983. However, said reference differs from the present invention wherein the former requires the brackets to be welded to the ironwork protecting the opening with the consequent aesthetic detraction. Therefore, Green's patented invention requires the previous installation of ironwork in the opening being protected.
Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.


A magnetically coupled piston pump includes a piston, a pump body, and a set of drive magnets. The piston includes a set of piston magnets. Each piston magnet has poles arranged along a longitudinal axis of the piston, and each piston magnet is arranged in the piston so that the orientation of the poles of each piston magnet is the opposite of the orientation of each adjacent piston magnet. The piston is disposed in and permitted to move within the pump body. The set of drive magnets is arranged outside the pump body. Each drive magnet corresponds to a piston magnet, has poles arranged along the longitudinal axis, and is arranged so that the orientation of the poles is opposite the orientation of the poles of the corresponding piston magnet. A drive unit is coupled to the drive magnets for moving the drive magnets along the longitudinal axis.

Experiments based on noble elements such as gaseous or liquid argon or xenon utilize the ionization and scintillation properties of the target materials to detect radiation-induced recoils. A requirement for high light and charge yields is to reduce electronegative impurities well below the ppb1 level. To achieve this, the target material is continuously circulated in the gas phase through a purifier and returned to the detector. Additionally, the low backgrounds necessary dictate low-Rn-emanation rates from all components that contact the gas.
Detectors based on noble elements have become widespread in many applications such as Compton telescopes, ionization calorimeters, neutrino-less double-beta-decay searches, and direct dark matter detection experiments. Radiation-induced recoils in the detector medium produce scintillation and ionization signals that are read out by photosensors or charge sensors. As these detectors become larger, the propagation of the light and charge must improve to reach the required threshold and energy resolution, necessitating an increased demand on gas-purifying systems. Similarly, backgrounds from radioactive impurities like Rn must be minimized to reach high sensitivity to rare events.
The operational specifications are dominated by the need to drift electrons over lengths 1 m and greater. Electronegative elements like O2 and H2O are continually introduced to the detector material by out-gassing of detector components. As these, and other electronegative impurities, impede charge and light propagation, they are continuously removed, usually by pumping the detector material in the gaseous phase through a heated metal getter, then returning it to the detector. In the case of XENON1T, an O2 equivalent concentration in the xenon below 1 ppb is required to drift charge over a 1 m scale without appreciable electron attenuation via attachment to impurities.
The other aspect of detector purity involves Rn mitigation, which is predominantly handled by careful selection of materials with low Rn-emanation rates. The gas handling and purification systems, including the pumps, are a key contributor to the internal Rn background. Incorporating radiopurity screening in a collaborative effort with pump manufacturers provides some level of success, reaching Rn emanation rates of a few mBq, but further Rn reduction by an order of magnitude is still needed.
At the same time, since detectors become larger, the requirements on pumps increase in kind. Larger detectors need a higher purity to reach the same level of charge attenuation. This is coupled with the fact that there is more material to clean, which necessitates a pump with significantly improved performance to allow high throughput at a pressure differential greater than 1 bar.

Cylindrical magnetic coupling with alternating polarity