Polishing tools and associated methods are disclosed. In one aspect, a tool for polishing a work piece is provided. Such a tool may include a solid substrate with a greater than 10 wt % graphite having a high degree of graphitization. The solid substrate may have a working surface which has asperities having a tip-to-tip RA value of less than or equal to about 10 μm, and the working surface may have a surface roughness RA value of less than or equal to about 50 μm. A method for making such a tool and a method for polishing a work piece are also presented.

Many industries utilize various types of mechanical polishing processes for polishing work pieces. For example, the computer manufacturing industry relies heavily on chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processes for polishing wafers of ceramics, silicon, glass, quartz, and metals. Such polishing processes generally entail applying the wafer against a rotating pad made from a durable organic substance such as polyurethane. A chemical slurry is utilized that contains a chemical capable of breaking down the wafer substance and an amount of abrasive particles which act to physically erode the wafer surface. The slurry is continually added to the rotating CMP pad, and the dual chemical and mechanical forces exerted on the wafer cause it to be polished in a desired manner.
Of particular importance to the quality of polishing achieved with this method of polishing is the distribution of the abrasive particles throughout the pad. The top of the pad holds the particles by means of fibers or small pores, which provide a friction force sufficient to prevent the particles from being thrown off of the pad due to the centrifugal force exerted by the pad's spinning motion. Therefore, it is important to keep the top of the pad as flexible as possible, to keep the fibers as erect as possible, and to assure that there is an abundance of open pores available to receive newly applied abrasive particles.
One problem that arises with regard to maintaining the pad surface, however, is an accumulation of polishing debris coming from the work piece, the abrasive slurry, and the pad dresser. This accumulation causes a "glazing" or hardening of the top of the pad, mats the fibers down, and thus makes the pad surface less able to hold the abrasive particles of the slurry. These effects significantly decrease the pad's overall polishing performance. Further, with many pads, the pores used to hold the slurry, become clogged, and the overall asperity of the pad's polishing surface becomes depressed and matted. A CMP pad dresser can be used to revive the pad surface by "combing" or "cutting" it. This process is known as "dressing" or "conditioning" the CMP pad. Many types of devices and processes have been used for this purpose. One such device is a disk with a plurality of superhard crystalline particles such as diamond particles attached to a metal-matrix surface.
As semiconductor technology continues toward size reduction to the nano-scale, however, current CMP polishing techniques are proving to be inadequate. With such a reduction in scale, materials utilized to construct circuit elements have become more delicate, both in size and materials. The CMP industry has been required to respond by providing polishing materials and techniques that accommodate these advances. For example, lower CMP polishing pressures, smaller size abrasive particles in the slurry, and polishing pads of a size and nature that do not over polish or damage the wafer must be used. Furthermore, pad dressers that cut asperities in the pad which can accommodate the smaller abrasive particles, and that do not overdress the pad must also be used.
There are a number of problems associated with modifying current CMP processes to accommodate such delicate polishing. With regard to the CMP pad dresser, the superabrasive particles must be significantly smaller than those typically used in currently know dressing operations. Generally speaking, the superabrasive particles are so small that a traditional metal matrix is often unsuitable for holding and retaining them. Further, the smaller size of the superabrasive particles requires that particle tip height be precisely leveled in order to uniformly dress the pad. Traditional CMP pad dressers can have particle tip height variations of more than 50 μm without compromising dressing performance. However, such a variation would render a dresser useless if it were required to dress a CMP pad and achieve polishing of extremely small and delicate circuit elements. In this case, asperities in the dressed pad would have height variations on the same order as the dresser. The highest asperities exert the highest pressure, and would thus scratch and damage the wafer.
In addition to drastic height variations relative to the delicacy of the polishing operation, damage to the wafer can also occur due to the abrasive particles themselves. Sizing of these particles can be problematic, particularly with the smaller sizes required for more delicate polishing operations. Larger abrasive particles that tend to cause surface damage to the wafer are thus difficult to eliminate from the slurry.
Some polishing processes have found it beneficial to add an electrical element to the polishing process which results in electrochemical polishing in conjunction with the mechanical polishing. Such a process is known as electrochemical mechanical polishing (ECMP). In this type of system, conductive materials are removed from a surface to be polished via electrochemical dissolution coupled with mechanical polishing. Because of the electrical element, this method requires less mechanical or forced abrasion. ECMP, therefore, can be used in polishing surfaces that are more susceptible to deforming, breaking and cracking if left to mechanical and/or chemical means alone. Additionally, ECMP can allow for a very fine polish—particularly with such surfaces as copper circuitry.
As a result, polishing tools that are suitable for delicate polishing applications such as those that have arisen with continual reductions in semiconductor size are being sought.

Tools for polishing and associated methods


A semiconductor integrated circuit is disclosed that operates in synch with a clock signal supplied from an external source, and by a voltage supplied by a power supply. The circuit includes a detection means for detecting that at least one of a frequency of the clock signal and the supply voltage is reduced, and an internal voltage reduction means for lowering an internal voltage of the semiconductor integrated circuit when the detection means detects that at least one of the frequency and the supply voltage is lowered.

At present, reduction of power consumption is required of portable apparatuses, such as portable telephones, notebook computer type apparatuses, and palmtop computer type apparatuses.
FIG. 1 shows an example how a portable apparatus according to conventional technology is configured. The portable apparatus shown therein includes a memory 10 consisting of DRAMs, a DRAM controller 20, an image-processing unit (IP: image processor) 30, a central processing unit (CPU) 40, an interface 50, and a system power circuit 60. The IP 30 and the CPU 40 can simultaneously access the memory 10 through the DRAM controller 20. That is, the IP 30 and the CPU 40 share a data bus and a command bus (data/command bus) 70. The IP 30 and the CPU 40 transmit and receive data to and from an external apparatus, which is not illustrated, through the interface 50 that is connected to an external I/O terminal.
The CPU 40 controls the system power circuit 60 by a power control signal A. The system power circuit 60 supplies power to the internal circuit of the portable apparatus. In FIG. 1, a power supply path to a peripheral circuit 11b of a memory core 11d of the memory 10 is illustrated, for example. When, for example, the portable apparatus is put to a resume mode (stand-by mode, idle status), the CPU 40 outputs the power control signal A to the system power circuit 60 such that the internal circuit including the memory 10 is put to a low-power mode. The memory 10 that is put to the low-power mode is supplied with necessary minimum power required in order that the peripheral circuit 11b keeps operating, and power consumption is reduced.
As mentioned above, the IP 30 and the CPU 40 can simultaneously access the memory 10. Accordingly, in order to share the memory 10, the access rate should be twice as high as the case wherein the IP 30 and the CPU 40 independently access the memory 10. For example, when the independent access rate of each the IP 30 and the CPU 40 is 50 MHz, in order to share the memory 10, an access rate of 100 MHz is required.
While simultaneous access is possible, the IP 30 and the CPU 40 do not necessarily operate (access the memory 10) simultaneously in fact, and often, only the CPU 40 accesses the memory 10. In other words, the operating time of the CPU 40 is greater than the operating time of the IP 30. If there are no data that should be processed, the IP 30 does not perform image processing, but is in an idle status.
Even if the IP 30 is in the idle status, the access rate is not changed. In the above-mentioned example, the access rate remains at 100 MHz. In order for only the CPU 40 to access the memory 10, the access rate can be lowered to 50 MHz. That is, when the IP 30 is in the idle status, power is consumed uselessly. Generally, portable apparatuses operate on rechargeable batteries and dry cells. Therefore, if the IP 30 is in the idle status, built-in battery energy is uselessly consumed, and the operating time of the portable apparatus becomes short.
The problem is similarly applicable to systems that share a memory between two or more units and circuits.

Apparatus to reduce the internal frequency of an integrated circuit by detecting a drop in the voltage and frequency


A fuel pump has a pump chamber accommodating a rotor member. The rotor member is rotatable to supply fuel to from a tank to an exterior of the tank. A case is supported in the tank. The case accommodates a part of the fuel pump. A pump bracket is located in the tank. The pump bracket is in a tubular bottomed shape having a sidewall portion in which a remaining portion of the fuel pump is inserted such that the sidewall portion surrounds a radially outside of the pump chamber of the remaining portion. The pump bracket is joined with the case to define a gap therebetween in a radial direction of the rotor member such that the pump bracket is movable relative to the case.

A known fuel feed apparatus includes a fuel pump having a rotor member being rotative to supply fuel to an exterior of a tank. JP-A-2007-2696 discloses one example of a fuel feed apparatus including a pump case supported in a tank. The pump case accommodates a fuel pump. Such a pump case enables accurate positioning of the fuel pump in the tank. Thus, the fuel pump can steadily produce its fuel discharge performance. In the fuel feed apparatus of JP-A-2007-2696, it is noted that the fuel pump is entirely fitted to the radially inside of the case and accommodated in the tank. Therefore, it is conceived that the case surrounds the radially outside of the pump chamber of the fuel pump accommodating the rotor member. In such a configuration, the rotor member rotates in the pump chamber to cause vibration mainly in the radial direction. Such vibration may be directly transmitted to the case. Further, such vibration may be transmitted to the tank supporting the case. Consequently, transmitted vibration may cause abnormal noise in the case and the tank.


A blade for a rotor assembly including a root portion, a platform with an overhang, an airfoil portion and a sealing plate. The sealing plate protrudes from the blade along a circumferential direction.

A conventional gas turbine engine is generally provided with one or more rotor assemblies with a disc and a circumferential array of blades. The rotor blades are disposed in corresponding retention slots of the disc with a radially extending gap between adjacent blades to accommodate thermal expansion. These rotor assemblies are used in the turbine section, the compressor section, or both. The blades are often provided with internal cooling channels, especially when used in the turbine section.
In some engine designs, the gaps between the blades can be substantial and conventional cover plates mounted on the rotor disc generally do not adequately seal this area. Cooling air can leak through these radial gaps and the blades, which produce an impeller effect due to their extremely high rotational speed, expel the cooling air radially through the gaps. This transverse cooling air leakage flow impedes and disturbs the gas path flow and can significantly reduce the gas turbine engine efficiency.
It is known to provide an annular ring located between the cover plate and the disc in effort to deflect the cooling air flow away from the gaps and redirect it into the gas path in the direction of the gas path flow. However, such a ring can be subject to unwanted movement or be misplaced during assembly or maintenance, thereby reducing its efficiency. Moreover, damage at one point of the ring necessitates the replacement of the entire ring.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved rotor blade and method where air leakage through the gaps between adjacent blades is mitigated.

Blades for a gas turbine engine with integrated sealing plate and method


A robust ESD protection circuit, method and design structure for tolerant and failsafe designs are disclosed. A circuit includes a middle junction control circuit that turns off a top NFET of a stacked NFET electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit during an ESD event.

An electrostatic discharge (ESD) event may cause extremely high currents to flow through the semiconductor devices in a chip, causing device junctions, gate oxides, and other adjacent structures to be permanently damaged. Conventional methods and structures may be used to provide ESD protection during chip manufacture, including during various fabrication, testing, and packaging steps. However, ESD protection in high voltage applications, such as for example, in the user environment and field use, is still an issue of concern.
With the shrinking of device size through technology scaling, it becomes increasingly more challenging to achieve adequate protection against electrostatic discharge (ESD) for CMOS integrated circuits. Technology scaling has brought with it very low breakdown voltages in CMOS circuits. For example, in the 90 nm node, these breakdown voltages fall below 10V for transient stresses of short duration as it typically occurs in a Charged Device Model (CDM) discharge. At the same time, advances in IC technology have increased the circuit density which has led to a corresponding increase in the number of pads for off-chip connections, i.e., for chip input/outputs (I/Os) and for supplying power and ground to the chip.
Moreover, while gate oxide is getting thinner and more difficult to protect, the compatibility requirement to legacy devices remains unchanged. This limits the design window to an even smaller range. Compatibility with legacy devices requires that chips utilizing current technology offerings (e.g., 2.5V devices) communicate with older chips that use older technology (e.g., 5V devices).
In general, newer, lower-voltage ESD NFETs can no be used to protect older, higher voltage tolerant or fail-safe I/O designs. In such cases, stacked NFETs are required to make legacy-compatible designs while handling the higher voltage across the device to be protected. However, the practice of stacking 2.5V ESD NFETs to handle 5V operations (e.g., when interacting with legacy devices) suffers from reliability problems and insufficient ESD protection levels. Moreover, traditional silicided NFETs are not robust against ESD discharge and require significantly more chip area on resistance ballasting in order to handle the ESD current safely. As such, backward-compatibility (e.g., 5V-tolerant I/Os) and ESD-ruggedness in consumer electronics requires new solutions for designs manufactured in sub-micron technologies.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove.

Robust ESD protection circuit, method and design structure for tolerant and failsafe designs

International Business Machines Corporation


An oscillating mechanism for a spinning reel has a drive pin formed on a gear of a rotary frame drive system, and an engaging slot formed in a driven member of a spool reciprocating system. The drive pin and engaging slot are engaged for causing a spool to reciprocate through fixed strokes axially thereof with a line winding movement of a rotary frame. The drive pin includes a proximal portion connected to the gear, and a distal engaging portion engaged with the engaging slot. The distal engaging portion is disposed outwardly of tooth bottoms of the gear.

2. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an oscillating mechanism for a spinning reel, and more particularly to an oscillating mechanism for a spinning reel having a drive pin formed on a gear of a rotary frame drive system, and an engaging slot formed in a driven member of a spool reciprocating system and engaged with the drive pin, for axially reciprocating a spool through fixed strokes with an operation of a rotary frame to wind a fishing line.
2. Description of the Related Art
An oscillating mechanism for a spinning reel as constructed above has a drive pin formed on a gear of a rotary frame drive system, and this pin includes a proximal portion connected to the gear, and a distal portion for engaging an engaging bore formed in an arm acting as a driven member of a spool reciprocating system. The distal engaging portion of the pin is disposed at a shorter distance to the center of the gear than tooth bottoms thereof are (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1990-974, for example).
In this prior construction, the distal engaging portion of the pin has a smaller radius of revolution than teeth of the gear. Thus, the spool is reciprocable through short strokes, which requires a fishing line to be wound with adjacent wraps closer to one another than where a fishing line of the same length is wound on a spool reciprocable through longer strokes. A strong resistance is produced by contact among wraps of the fishing line at a bait casting time. This could result in an insufficient casting distance.

Oscillating mechanism for a spinning reel


A clamping fixture for detachably fixing a disc-like tool to a spindle in cooperation with a tool-fixing member, and comprising a flange member for clamping the tool between the flange member and the tool-fixing member and a supporting element for attaching the flange member to the spindle in a torque-transmitting relationship and having an annular part, the flange member being axially and rotationally displaceable relative to said annular part, the annular part having a first end surface to be axially supported on the spindle and a second end surface and the flange member having an end surface bearing on the second end surface of the annular part with the second end surface of the annular part and the end surface of the flange member having a plurality of complementary sloping end surface portions inclined toward the spindle axis and defining a wedge angle having a size lying in a self-locking range, and the annular part including a plurality of stop surfaces extending substantially parallel to the spindle axis adjoining a respective sloping end surface portions of the second end surface at lower ends of thereof end portions and a plurality of drive surfaces extending parallel to respective stop surfaces in spaced relationship thereto and arranged in front of upper ends of respective sloping end portions of the second end surface, the flange member having a respective plurality of stop dogs defining locking surfaces engaging respective stop surfaces of the annular part upon the axial displacement of the flange member and relief of the clamping pressure, and a respective plurality of surfaces engageable by respective drive surfaces of the annular part when the tool is clamped between the flange member and the tool-fixing member.

The invention relates to a clamping fixture for detachably fixing a tool, in particular a disc. Clamping fixtures, in particular for disc-shaped tools are suitable particularly for portable power hand tools, and in this respect in particular for grinding hand power tools. A clamping fixture has been disclosed (German Patent Specification No. 3,012,836) in which one flange, which is arranged on the side of the tool pointing towards the housing of the power hand tool, is displaceable relative to the spindle and is coupled to the latter in such a way as to transmit torque. In this arrangement, this rear supporting flange is supported against axial displacement in an axial end position via a spindle shoulder forming a supporting element for the supporting flange. The other flange, which can be screwed onto the end of the spindle, consists of a nut having a separate clamping element which has a roughly hat-shaped cross-section and is supported axially against the flange of the clamping nut via a coil spring. When this clamping nut is screwed on and tightened, the pot-shaped clamping element is pressed axially against the tool via an axially compressed spring, and the tool is thereby tightened against the flange on the spindle side, the end face of a cylindrical extension of the clamping nut coming to bear directly on a facing axial side of the rear flange and, during further tightening of the clamping nut, this rear flange on the spindle side being tightened together with the clamping nut, if necessary until the rear flange comes to bear axially on the spindle shoulder surface forming the supporting element. In an angle grinder, the grinding disc is thereby supposed to be mounted with a predetermined contact pressure, and this contact pressure, is supposed to be ensured. This clamping fixture is also intended to enable a quick and simple exchange of the grinding disc and, at the same time, avoid overloading of the power hand tool, in particular the angle grinder. This is because, if the torque acting on the grinding disc is too great, the grinding disc stops, while the rear flange and also the clamping nut having the clamping member perform a relative movement thereto. The effect of the clamping nut automatically tightening further in operation, which otherwise makes it considerably more difficult to loosen the clamping nut when changing the grinding disc, is counteracted with this clamping fixture. Nonetheless, loosening of the clamping nut is here only possible with the assistance of a special auxiliary tool, the spindle, depending on the design of the machine, having to be appropriately counterheld by a second auxiliary tool, e.g. a spanner.

Clamping fixture for detachably particular a disc


A vehicle geofence system may include a vehicle location detection device configured to provide vehicle location data for a vehicle, a memory configured to maintain geofence data, and a processor programmed to receive the vehicle location data, compare a vehicle location as indicated by the vehicle location data to the geofence data, in response to determining that the vehicle has crossed a geofence, present an inquiry, to a user, requesting feedback as to the accuracy of the geofence crossing, receive user feedback to the inquiry, and provide the user feedback to a server external of the vehicle.

Vehicle systems often use vehicle location data and geofence data to issue alerts, notify third parties of a vehicle's arrival, etc. Such geofences, which create virtual boundaries for a specific geographic area, may be established by shopping centers, municipalities, as well as the driver. However, inaccuracies with reported vehicle locations may create false alerts or information, leading to redundant or inaccurate reporting of the vehicle location.


According to some embodiments, a source application part may be established having a source data object with a set of source attribute identifiers and associated source attribute values. A target application part may also be established having a target data object with a set of target attribute identifiers. An object reuse platform may then receive, from a user via a graphical interface, an indication that the source data object relates to the target data object. The object reuse platform may then calculate, for each source attribute identifier, a probability that the source attribute identifier is associated with one of the target attribute identifiers.

An application may utilize one or more data objects. For example, a human resources application might include a user interface area that displays a number of different data objects, and each data object could represent a different employee. Moreover, each data object might be associated with a set of attribute identifiers, such as employee name, employee telephone number, etc., and each attribute identifier might have a particular value for that particular employee. In some cases, a user might be interested in reusing information within a data objected in another part of the application or even in an entirely different application. For example, a user might want to copy an employee's name and email address from a human resources application into a payroll application (e.g., associated with the same enterprise).
It is known that the user can individually review information in a data object and decide to "cut-and-paste" information into another application part or another application as appropriate. Such an approach, however, can be a time consuming, repetitive, and error-prone process. It is also known that an application designer can create a map that defines how certain data object attributes should be used in other application parts. For example, an application designer might realize that "PO Number" in one application part should be mapped to "Purchase Order Identifier" in another application part. This process can also be labor-intensive and error prone, especially when a substantial number of applications and/or data objects are involved. Moreover, such an approach might not even be feasible with respect to applications that are not known to the designer at design time (e.g., because he or she is not aware of what choices will be available to the system when a user eventually wants to reuse data object information). As a result, the information in data objects will not be available for efficient reuse "on-the-fly" as a user accesses new applications.
It may therefore be desirable to provide systems and methods to facilitate a semi-automatic reuse of data object information across applications and/or across application parts in an efficient and accurate manner.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Semi-automatic object reuse across application parts


A hypoeutectic ohmic contact to gallium arsenide comprising a refractory metal layer is provided which reduces the outdiffusion of gallium and arsenic which would otherwise be seen as impurities at the outer surface of the ohmic contact.

The present invention relates in general to ohmic contacts useful in semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a hypoeutectic ohmic contact which is improved by the addition of a diffusion barrier.
Low resistivity reliable ohmic contacts to n-GaAs have been previously implemented using a eutectic combination of gold and germanium. In a previously filed co-pending application, Serial No. 769,031, there has been described a hypoeutectic ohmic contact to gallium arsenide. The contact which results from this hypoeutectic ohmic contact process has a gold surface which retains its smooth surface morphology and is consistently reproducible by an easily controllable process. While the resultant contact has the required low resistivity and physical characteristics to provide a good electrical contact to a GaAs surface, there are other characteristics which make this type of contact undesirable for use with an E-beam lithography process.
In certain manufacturing processes the metal layer which is deposited as an ohmic contact on a GaAs surface is used not only to provide a good electrical contact to the layer but in addition is used as a key to provide alignment during certain E-beam lithography processes. In using the ohmic contact as a key during an alignment step, the E-beam signal senses the difference in reflected energy from the gold surface of the ohmic contact and the reflected energy from the GaAs surface. Any gallium appearing in the gold portion of the ohmic contact would therefore degrade the resolution of the E-beam signal when differentiating between the ohmic contact gold and the GaAs surface. One of the characteristics of the hypoeutectic process above described is that gallium outdiffuses from the gallium arsenide surface into the gold layer. In some cases this outdiffusion is to such an extent that the gallium is clearly visible during E-beam lithography and therefore degrades the resolution of the E-beam lithography process.
A previously known process to alleviate this problem is to add a second layer comprising titanium platinum and gold to the ohmic contact layer. When this second layer is added the platinum portion acts as a barrier and prevents the gallium from the GaAs surface from penetrating through to the outer surface of the gold layer. However, this involves a second manufacturing step which is conducted at a different temperature under different conditions from the formation of the hypoeutectic contact. In addition, this second step would normally take place after the manufacturing step during which the E-beam lithography would be used and therefore would not be feasible for reducing the amount of gallium visible to the E-beam signal in the gold portion of the hypoeutectic ohmic contact layer. It would therefore be desirable to have an improved hypoeutectic contact with reduced gallium outdiffusion from the underlying gallium arsenide layer. It would also be desirable if this improved hypoeutectic contact could be formed in a one step process which is accomplished prior to a E-beam lithography.
Accordingly, is an object of the present invention to provide an improved hypoeutectic ohmic contact for use on semiconductor surfaces.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved hypoeutectic ohmic contact having a barrier layer.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hypoeutectic ohmic contact with a barrier layer which can be produced in a single manufacturing process step.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a hypoeutectic ohmic contact by a process which is suitable for use prior to E-beam lithography.

Hypoeutectic ohmic contact to N-type gallium arsenide with diffusion barrier


A chair includes a unitary tubular main frame having spaced base portions and spaced side supports. A seat frame is carried by the main frame and the space below the seat frame and between the base portions and the side supports is unobstructed. A tray is carried by the base portions at the back of the chair so as to maintain the front of the chair unobstructed.

Mobile chairs for use by mechanics or the like when servicing vehicles are known in the art. Such chairs must be sturdily constructed to withstand the rigors of their use. As such, these chairs typically have a variety of both vertically and horizontally oriented support framework, both of which can detract from the comfort of the user. In addition, most such chairs are also provided with trays or storage features which also often tend to get in the way of the user.
Thus, the need exists for a mobile chair which is sturdy and which provides storage space without the sacrifice of comfort for the user.


In a process for plating or etching metalization patterns on the surface of a three dimensional substrate, a flexible plastic mask is fabricated by first coating the surface of a thin plastic sheet with vacuum formable ink. The mask is then molded into the shape of the surface into which the pattern is to be formed. A low power YAG laser is used to remove areas of the ink through which light is to be allowed to pass. This mask may then be used in either a print and plate process or a print and etch process by drawing the mask into intimate contact with the workpiece by applying a vacuum between the mask and the workpiece. The workpiece may then be exposed to light through the clear areas of the mask.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of plating or etching of three dimensional molded parts such as printed wiring boards or electrical connectors. More particularly, this invention relates to a method which can be used to plate or etch conductive patterns onto molded plastic parts to produce three dimensional circuit boards, electrical connectors and the like using a resilient laser etched mask.
2. Background of the Invention
While it has been possible to produce three dimensional plated or etched parts in the past, masks used in these plating and etching processes have always been rigid and usually made from machined metals. Typically, such masks were made of machined aluminum with the plating patterns machined into the surface of the mask. Such machined masks suffer from a number of problems including relatively poor line resolution limited by the precision with which the mask could be machined. This results in lines which are typically limited to about 0.020 inch line widths and 0.030 inch line spacings. In order to obtain higher circuit densities which are used for printed wiring board (PWB) applications, much narrower width and closer spacing is required.
It is also not possible to make certain patterns using machined masks. This is due to the inability of a machined mask to support isolated areas of mask material. That is, mechanical support must be provided for all portions of the mask.
Such machined masks are generally negative image masks in which material is only present in locations where metal patterns are to be removed (or not deposited) on the part. It is thus not usually possible to manufacture a positive image mask. This limits the manufacturing process to those using a negative image mask.
In addition, it is extremely difficult to manufacture a machined rigid mask which intimately contacts the surface of the part being plated under all reasonable extremes of manufacturing tolerance. This can further influence the sharpness of the lines and impair resolution and line density.
Other processes for producing molded plastic circuit board are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,584,767 and 4,710,419 both to Gregory and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,220 to Impey. None of these patents utilize the method or apparatus disclosed herein.
The above-described shortcomings with the prior art processes are ameliorated with the present process in which a flexible mask having opaque and clear areas are brought into intimate contact with the part being plated using a vacuum.

Three dimensional plating or etching process and masks therefor


A low temperature aluminum planarization process. Vias, including high aspect ratio vias, are filled using a liner layer, a seed layer, and a fill layer. The device associated with the via is exposed to a reactive gas prior to applying the fill layer to the device.

This invention relates generally to semiconductor fabrication processes, and more particularly to metalization of vias and trenches.
In modern semiconductor fabrication processes, multiple interconnect layers of metal, many times in the form of trenches, are often used to carry signals within a semiconductor device. Each layer is generally separated from the layers immediately above and below by a dielectric layer. However, signals often need to be transmitted between different layers as well as within individual metal layers.
Signal propagation between metal layers is often accomplished using vias. Vias consist of a metal trace, or plug, extending in a substantially vertical direction through a dielectric layer. On each side of the dielectric layer, the metal trace of the via contacts the metal layers separated by the dielectric. In this way, the via serves to electrically couple metal layers that are separated by a dielectric.
To form a via, an aperture is first formed in a dielectric layer, reaching a metal layer below. The via aperture is metalized, or filled with metal, in order to make good ohmic contact with the underlying metal layer. A second metal layer, contacting the via, is deposited above the via. Current is thus free to flow along one metal layer, through the via, and into the second metal layer. In most processes, vias are not restricted to coupling adjacent metal layers. It is possible for vias to couple two metal layers that are separated by one or more intermediate metal layers.
Vias are difficult to fabricate, and are particularly difficult to metalize properly. Properly metalized vias are preferably free from gaps, areas devoid of metalizaion, and areas of partial metalization. An area of a via lacking metalization such that the metal layers on each side of the via are not electrically coupled creates an electrical open circuit. Such an open circuit can lead to the failure of circuitry associated with the via. Partial metalization can increase the resistance associated with a via. Increased resistance in the via can cause associated circuitry to function at a reduced speed, as well as create reliability and other problems. In each of these cases, the semiconductor device may not meet the necessary specifications.
An example of a via containing a void can be seen in FIG. 1. Illustrated in FIG. 1 are two metal layers 2, 4, separated by a dielectric layer 6. A metal filled via 8 couples the two metal layers through the dielectric. The via, however, includes a void 10, with the void being a volume substantially devoid of metal. Thus, current traveling through the via must pass through the region between the periphery of the void 12 and the edge of the via 14. Via resistance may be increased due to the smaller cross-sectional area that the current must pass through. This can adversely affect the performance of the semiconductor device as discussed above. Additionally, due the reduced cross sectional area, the current density in the region adjacent to the void is increased.
Of particular importance in semiconductor fabrication is the yield of a product. Proper fabrication of vias and trenches is an important aspect of maintaining high yields. Product yield is simply the ratio of the number of semiconductor devices that meet specifications to the total number of that particular device that are produced. It is desirable to have as high a yield as possible. Unfilled or partially filled vias and trenches either prevent the semiconductor device from operating properly, or possibly require that the semiconductor device be operated at reduced speeds.
Furthermore, the reliability of semiconductor devices is of great importance. Many devices are expected to provide years of nearly continuous, trouble-free service. A void in a via increases the current density in an area of a via, as discussed above. Increased current density accelerates electromigration, the process by which the flow of current through a conductor gradually severs the conductor. A void and the resulting enhanced electromigration can thus lead to the premature failure of a via. A via failing in such a way often acts as an electrical open circuit, causing problems as previously discussed.
As processes and semiconductor speeds continue to become more aggressive, spacing between metal layers is increasing. That is, thicker dielectrics are often being used. Increased spacing between metal layers decreases parasitic capacitance on signal lines. Lower capacitance frequently allows circuits to be operated at higher speeds. However, as metal spacing increases, the required via height increases as well. Thus the via aspect ratio, the ratio of via height to width, increases. Narrower metal lines on semiconductor devices make smaller via diameters preferable. Each of these trends lead to increased via aspect ratios. As aspect ratios increase, vias generally become more difficult to metalize properly.
In order to completely metalize a via, the metal used, often aluminum, should reach the bottom of the via. As aspect ratios grow it becomes increasingly difficult to ensure that metal reaches and substantially fills the lowest levels of the via. In order to encourage the movement of metal into the bottom of the vias, high temperatures are often employed in the fabrication process. Higher temperatures decrease the viscosity of aluminum and facilitate its movement into and within the vias. These high temperatures cause high stresses to form in the substrate material and previously fabricated layers due to thermal expansion.
Modern semiconductor devices employ a variety of materials in their manufacture. These materials can have widely varying coefficients of thermal expansion. Such materials include aluminum or other metals, silicon dioxide and other dielectrics, silicon or other semiconductors, as well as polycrystalline and other connecting materials. Variations in the coefficients of thermal expansion can lead to different expansions and movements for different sections and materials of the semiconductor device. These differences in expansion and associated movement can cause the severing or degrading of connections within the semiconductor device. Ultimately, this may precipitate the failure of the final product.
The present invention provides a low temperature aluminum planarization process. The process is suitable for forming high aspect ratio vias and trenches. In one embodiment the process comprises a treatment of a semiconductor device so as to allow substantially completely filled vias and trenches. The treatment comprises cleaning an aperture of a semiconductor device, depositing a metal liner layer on the semiconductor device, and depositing a seed layer of aluminum of the metal liner layer. The process further comprises exposing the semiconductor device to a reactive gas, and depositing aluminum on the seed layer to fill the aperture. In one embodiment the via couples a plurality of metal layers through one or more dielectric layers. In a further embodiment the treatment comprises cleaning the via opening by exposing the via aperture and surrounding areas to a cleaning process. In one embodiment the metal liner layer comprises titanium based compounds, and in a further embodiment the metal liner layer includes titanium nitride. In a further embodiment depositing a seed layer of aluminum on the metal liner layer comprises depositing a layer of aluminum on the metal liner layer at a temperature such that the seed layer of aluminum does not amalgamate. In one embodiment the semiconductor device temperature onto which the seed layer of aluminum is deposited is below about 200 degrees centigrade. In a further embodiment exposing the semiconductor device to an atmosphere containing reactive gas comprises exposing the device to an atmosphere containing a mixture of reactive gases and inert gases.
These and other aspects of the present invention may be more readily understood through study of the following detailed description in conjunction with viewing of the accompanying figures.

Low temperature aluminum planarization process


An automatic, self-regulating method of water treatment for use in water circulating towers in which water is evaporated, and make up water is added, with components which synergistically function to cut chemical, energy, water, corrosion, pollution, and maintenance costs, by passing the water through a Water Conditioning unit to prevent adhering evaporation scale deposits along with their content of concentrated biofouling nutrients from forming on the flooded surfaces of the tower and its associated water flow circuit, adding a trace level of iodine to the input make-up water to enhance the further disinfection of nutrient-deprived surfaces from any residual biofllm and chance pathogen contaminations, and adding a trace level addition of zinc ions in the water such as by an assured treatment feeder to the input make-up flow for inhibiting residual iodine-resistant algal and bacterial organisms of hazard for restoring bionutrient tower conditions, such as within sun-lit environments, and apparatus for carrying out the foregoing method.

Cooling towers are widely used in H.V.A.C. and Industry. The towers will normally employ evaporation of water, and heat exchange the building HVAC circulating water, to cool water. The evaporation results in the concentration of dissolved solids in the cooling tower recirculation water. Scale, principally in the form of calcium carbonate, can build up, thereby reducing the rates of heat transfer and hence the efficiency of the tower. The water is also suitable for the growth of biological contaminants such as bacteria and algae. Biofouling organisms, using organic nutrients collected by scale deposits, attack system surfaces with corrosive acids to further increase dissolved particulate contamination Conventional chemical treatment, particularly since chromates were banned by E.P.A., in practice, does not control scale, corrosion or microbiological contamination, and produces the potential liability of toxic discharge water into the environment, and handling barrels of toxic chemicals.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,761, Leach et al., disclose a method of recirculation cooling tower basin water through a series of filter bags in order to reduce the amount of particulate contamination. At least one other prior art approach suggests using a combination of filtration and treatment with redox media to reduce contamination in recirculation cooling tower waters. However scale is not controlled, backwashing cycles are mandatory, and the copper compounds used plate out onto the metals of the equipment. Ozone treatment, among other disadvantages, does not prevent scale formation and is restricted in application. The known prior art methods do not eliminate scale, and do not offer 24 hour/day, automatic, effective protection against legionella, scale, corrosion and microbiological contamination.


A display which is able to dissipate heat from points of concentrated heat generation in a backlight module is provided, which includes the backlight module and a cooling module. The cooling module includes a cooling member and a buffer member. The cooling member is a flat sheet, and the cooling member is made of heat-dissipation material. The cooling member is positioned on a surface of the backlight module. The buffer member is made of soft material with adhesiveness and with elasticity. The buffer member is directly adhered on the cooling member through the adhesiveness of the buffer member to fix the cooling member to the backlight module.

With the development of science and technology, the light emitting diodes of the backlight module of the display are getting smaller and smaller. The brightness of the light emitting diodes is increasing. As a result, the light emitting diodes form a single concentrated heat source that is becoming more and more concentrated, heat dissipation is a problem.


Disclosed are various embodiments providing carrier separation to effectuate a dual carrier operation of a wireless communication device. Processing circuitry may acquire a single carrier signal based on a determined time slot boundary, the single carrier signal comprising primary carrier data. The processing circuitry may receive a dual carrier radio frequency signal based on the determined time slot boundary, the dual carrier radio frequency signal comprising the primary carrier data and secondary carrier data. The processing circuitry may then generate a baseband dual carrier signal by demodulating the dual carrier radio frequency signal. The processing circuitry may separate the primary carrier data from the baseband dual carrier signal by filtering the baseband dual carrier signal. The processing circuitry may also separate the secondary carrier data from the baseband dual carrier signal by filtering the baseband dual carrier signal.

Cellular network providers purchase rights to portions of a frequency spectrum to provide data communication services to end users. For example, a network provider may be allocated a block of 10 MHz for transmitting data to the end user. However, under some data communication protocols, such as High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), for example, a wireless communication device utilizes a bandwidth that is substantially less than the bandwidth allocated to the network provider. In HSDPA, for example, a single carrier is 5 MHz. Thus, under the HSDPA protocol, a wireless communication device is utilizing only a 5 MHz carrier in spite of having 10 MHZ of available bandwidth for the network provider.


According to one embodiment, a method is disclosed for manufacturing a semiconductor device. The method can include forming a base region and an emitter region in a front surface of a semiconductor layer. The method can include forming a first impurity implantation region by implanting first impurity of a first conductivity type into a back surface of the semiconductor layer. The method can include selectively forming a second impurity implantation region by selectively implanting second impurity of a second conductivity type into the first impurity implantation region. In addition, the method can include irradiating the first impurity implantation region and the second impurity implantation region with laser light. A peak of impurity concentration profile in a depth direction of at least one of the first impurity implantation region and the second impurity implantation region before irradiation with the laser light is adjusted to a depth of 0.05 μm or more and 0.3 μm or less from the back surface of the semiconductor layer.

An IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) can be integrated with a diode to form a semiconductor device such as a reverse conducting IGBT. In such a semiconductor device, on the front surface side of a semiconductor layer, a MOS structure (e.g., a structure including an emitter region, a collector region, and a gate electrode provided on the emitter region via an insulating film) is provided. On the back surface side of the semiconductor layer, a p-type contact region as a collector region of the IGBT and an n-type contact region as a cathode region of the diode are provided. A back surface electrode is connected to the p-type contact region and the n-type contact region.
In forming the p-type contact region and the n-type contact region, typically, p-type impurity and n-type impurity, respectively, are selectively implanted into the back surface of the semiconductor layer and activated by heating. The back surface of the semiconductor layer may be polished to thin the semiconductor device. Activation of the p-type contact region and the n-type contact region is often performed by interrupting the MOS manufacturing process to avoid thermal damage to the MOS structure formed on the front surface side of the semiconductor layer.
However, in the MOS manufacturing process, if the thickness of the semiconductor layer is thinned, cracking and chipping may occur in the semiconductor layer during the process. Furthermore, if the thickness of the semiconductor layer is varied by polishing during the MOS manufacturing process, dedicated systems are required for different thicknesses before and after the polishing. This incurs the increase of manufacturing cost.
Furthermore, for instance, if the projection range of impurity of the n-type contact region is too shallow, n-type impurity may scatter to the p-type contact region during activation. This may increase the contact resistance between each contact region and the back surface electrode and impair the device characteristics. Conversely, if the projection range of impurity is too deep, activation of impurity in each contact region may end up in failure and again impair the device characteristics.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device


An imprint apparatus for forming a pattern on an imprinting material includes an alignment unit that detects a mold-side mark formed on a mold and a substrate-side mark formed on the substrate, forming a mark pair, and aligns the mold and the substrate on the basis of a detection result. The alignment unit obtains, by using the detection result of a first mark pair and the detection result of a second mark pair, which is different from the first mark pair, positional deviation information of the first mark pair and positional deviation information of the second mark pair in the same direction; obtains a determination value by using the positional deviation information of the first mark pair and the positional deviation information of second mark pair; and determines that mark detection is abnormal when the determination value is not in an allowable range.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imprint apparatus and an article manufacturing method.
Description of the Related Art
Optical imprinting is a method for forming a pattern on a substrate. In the optical imprinting, a mold (also referred to as a "mask") on the surface of which a relief is formed is brought into contact with a light-curable resin (imprinting material) applied on a substrate, and light, such as ultraviolet light, is radiated thereon to cure the light-curable resin. Then, by removing the mold from the light-curable resin, a pattern in which high portions and low portions are the reverse of those of the pattern on the mold is formed on the substrate.
Various imprint apparatuses, which vary in the method of curing resin and in purpose, have been proposed. For mass-production apparatuses, such as apparatuses for producing semiconductor devices, the use of step-and-flash imprint lithography (hereinbelow, SFIL) is effective.
Such an imprint apparatus employs a die-by-die alignment method to align the pattern on the mold with a shot area of the substrate. In this method, for each shot area of the substrate, a mold-side mark provided on the mold and a substrate-side mark provided on the substrate are optically detected, and a positional deviation and a shape difference between the pattern on the mold and the shot area of the substrate are corrected.
To maintain the alignment accuracy, the mark waveform obtained by the optical detection needs to approximate the shape of the mark, etc. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-294854 discloses an alignment method in which a mark (waveform) the score (indicating the mark waveform likelihood) of which is abnormal is distinguished from a mark (waveform) the score of which is normal, so that only the mark with the normal score is used for alignment.
In an imprint apparatus, sometimes, alignment between the pattern on the mold and the shot area of the substrate is not performed properly, decreasing the alignment accuracy. A cause of this is, for example, an alignment-mark detection fault caused by a foreign particle trapped between a mold-side mark and a substrate-side mark (mark pair).
If the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-294854 is applied to such an imprint apparatus, even though the score indicating the mark waveform likelihood is normal, a measurement error (a mark detection fault), i.e., inability to properly measure the position of the alignment marks, may occur, decreasing the alignment accuracy.

Imprint apparatus and article manufacturing method


A marine seismic cable network including cables towed parallel to the surface of the sea at at least two depths for providing time analysis of reflected seismic data to dimensionally clarify characteristics of reflecting surfaces.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to marine seismic receiving apparatus and in particular the use of multiple hydrostreamer cables for developing more definitive information from seismic reflections than obtainable from the use of a single hydrostreamer detection cable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Current marine 2-D seismic surveys often utilize more than one hydrostreamer cable for reflection data gathering. A hydrostreamer cable, sometimes referred to as merely a streamer cable and sometimes also referred to as a hydrophone cable, is a long cable made up of sections having spaced therealong a plurality of hydrophones or hydrophone arrays for receiving reflected seismic reflections from the bottom of the sea and from subsurface interfaces. When more than one streamer is deployed by the same marine towing vessel, they are spaced apart and towed parallel to the surface of the water at the same depth or plane to give improved coverage. The usual depth of towing is about six meters underneath the surface of the sea.
The benefit from multiple-streamer surveys is that a swath-like coverage produces more data receiver points than can be provided by a single, linear cable and thereby allows the development of 3-D surveys. That is, hydrophones arranged in a plane allow improved seismic expression of the terrain subsurface or, in other words, allow the improved defining of dimensional characteristics of the terrain subsurface reflecting interfaces. In fact, the use of more than one streamer towed in a common plane has become sufficiently recognized as the means for the development of improved, definitive data, that the simultaneous towing in the same plane of three, four or even more cables is not uncommon.
It has been observed that swath-like land surveys have also proven to successfully provide more definition of subsurface characteristics than mere linear surveys, especially when directional geophones are utilized. A geophone is the term employed for a land survey sensor. It is well-known that such sensors or sensing instruments can be made and positioned for directional sensing. In more advanced and sophisticated land surveys, some geophones are aligned or positioned vertically, others are aligned horizontally and still others are aligned vectorily to allow for processing for azimuthal diffraction tracking.
In a marine environment, it is known that sea water will not support a shear wave front that is detectable by a horizontally aligned detector. Thus, at least one device, namely, a horizontally aligned detector, used in improving land survey information is not available. Marine surveys must rely, therefore, on high-quality compressional wave data.
As a result, sometimes even the best data developed using current marine detection procedures are confusing. For example, marine survey areas are often populated with fractured subsurface dipping beds that produce diffraction characteristics. Diffractions from out of a plane will interfere with energy returning from within such plane, thereby causing the mentioned confusion of data. Expensive 3-D surveys employing a dense coverage of the area with hydrophones are sometimes budgeted to permit the development of large amounts of data in a quantity sufficient to overcome the confusion and clarify the dimensional characteristics of the terrain subsurface covered by the survey.
Therefore, it is a feature of the present invention to provide for an improved marine seismic receiving apparatus capable of separating returning waveforms so as to provide dimensional clarification of subsurface terrain characteristics without an extensive number of receiver lines being required.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide for an improved marine seismic receiving apparatus including hydrostreamer cables towed at different depths.

Marine seismic receiving system employing multiple depth hydrostreamer cable


A rail vehicle having a car body, which is supported on a running gear by a spring device, and a rolling compensation device, which is coupled to the running gear and the car body. The rolling compensation device may be arranged kinematically in parallel to the spring device. The rolling compensation device counteracts rolling motions of the car body toward the outside of the curve about a rolling axis during travel in curves. The rolling compensation device, in order to increase the tilting comfort, is designed to impose, in a first frequency range and under a first transverse deflection of the car body, upon the car body, a first rolling angle about the rolling axis, which corresponds to a current curvature of a current section of track being travelled.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle, having a car body, which is supported on a running gear in the direction of a vehicle height axis by means of a spring device, and a rolling compensation device, which is coupled to the running gear and the car body, wherein the rolling compensation device, in particular, is arranged kinematically in parallel to the spring device. The rolling compensation device counteracts rolling motions of the car body toward the outside of the curve about a rolling axis parallel to the vehicle longitudinal axis during travel in curves, wherein the rolling compensation device, for enhancing tilting comfort, is configured to impose, in a first frequency range under a first transverse deflection of the car body in the direction of a vehicle transverse axis, on the car body a first rolling angle, which corresponds to an actual curvature of a track section currently negotiated. The present invention also concerns a corresponding method for setting the rolling angle on a car body of a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
On rail vehicles—but also on other vehicles—the car body is generally supported on the wheel units, for example wheel pairs and wheelsets, via one or more spring stages. The centrifugal acceleration generated transversely to the direction of motion and thus to the vehicle longitudinal axis means that as a result of the comparatively high position of the centre of gravity of the car body the car body has a tendency to roll towards the outside of the curve in relation to the wheel units thus causing a rolling motion about a rolling axis parallel to the vehicle longitudinal axis.
Such rolling motions detract from the travel comfort when they exceed certain limiting values. In addition they also constitute a danger of breaching the permissible gauge profile and, in terms of the tilt stability and thus also the derailment safety, a danger of inadmissible unilateral wheel unloading. In order to prevent this, as a rule, rolling support mechanisms in the form of so-called rolling stabilisers are used. The job of these is to offer a resistance to the rolling motion of the car body in order to reduce the latter, but at the same time not hindering the rising and dipping motion of the car body in relation to the wheel units.
Such rolling stabilisers are known in various hydraulically or purely mechanically operating designs. Often a torsion shaft extending transversely to the vehicle longitudinal axis is used, as known from EP 1 075 407 B1, for example. On this torsion shaft, on either side of the vehicle longitudinal axis, levers secured against rotation are located, extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction. These levers are in turn connected to rods which are arranged kinematically in parallel with the suspension devices of the vehicle. When the springs of the suspension devices of the vehicle deflect, the levers located on the torsion shaft are set in a rotational motion by means of the rods to which they are connected.
If during travel in curves a rolling motion occurs with varying spring deflections of the suspension devices on either side of the vehicle, this results in differing angles of rotation of the levers located on the torsion shaft. The torsion shaft is thus loaded by a torsional moment, which—depending on its torsional stiffness—at a certain torsional angle, it compensates by a counter-moment resulting from its elastic deformation, thus preventing a further rolling motion. On rail vehicles fitted with bogies the rolling support mechanism can also be provided for the secondary suspension stage, i.e. between a running gear frame and the car body. The rolling support mechanism can also be applied in the primary stage, i.e. operating between the wheel units and a running gear frame or—in the absence of secondary suspension—a car body.
Such rolling stabilisers are also used in generic rail vehicles, such as those known from EP 1 190 925 A1. On the rail vehicle known from this document the upper ends of the two rods of the rolling stabilisers (in a plane running perpendicularly to the vehicle longitudinal axis) are displaced towards the centre of the vehicle. As a result of this the car body, in the event of a deflection in the vehicle transverse direction (as is caused, for example, by the centrifugal acceleration during travel in curves) is guided in such a way that a rolling motion of the car body toward the outside of the curve is counteracted and a rolling motion directed toward the inside of the curve is imposed upon it.
This rolling motion in the opposite direction serves, inter alia, to increase the so-called tilting comfort for the passengers in the vehicle. A high tilting comfort is normally understood here to be the fact that, during travel in curves, the passengers experience the lowest possible transverse acceleration in the transverse direction of their reference system, which as a rule is defined by the fixtures of the car body (floor, walls, seats, etc.). As a result of the tilting of the car body towards the inside of the curve caused by the rolling motion the passengers (depending on the degree of tilting) experience at least part of the transverse acceleration actually acting in the earth-fixed reference system merely as increased acceleration in the direction of the vehicle floor, which as a rule is perceived as less annoying or uncomfortable.
The maximum admissible values for the transverse acceleration acting in the reference system of the passengers (and, ultimately, the resultant setpoint values for the tilt angles of the car body) are as a rule specified by the operator of a rail vehicle. National and international standards (such as for example EN 12299) also provide a starting point for this.
Here, with the vehicle from EP 1 190 925 A1, it is possible to create a purely passive system, in which the components of the suspension and of the rolling stabilisers are adapted to each other in such a way that the desired tilting of the car body is achieved solely by the transverse acceleration acting during travel in curves.
For such a passive solution, firstly the rolling axis or the instantaneous centre of rotation of the rolling motion must be comparatively far above the centre of gravity of the car body. Secondly, the suspension in the transverse direction must be designed to be comparatively soft, in order to achieve the desired deflections solely with the acting centrifugal force. Such a transversely soft suspension also has a positive effect on the so-called vibration comfort in the transverse direction, since impacts in the transverse direction can be absorbed and dampened by the soft suspension.
These passive solutions have the disadvantage, however, that because of the transversely soft suspension and the elevated instantaneous centre of rotation in normal operation, but also in unplanned situations (e.g. an unexpected stopping of the vehicle on a curve with a high cant) comparatively high transverse deflections in the transverse direction also result meaning either that the typically specified gauge profile is breached or (in order to avoid this) only comparatively narrow car bodies with reduced transport capacity can be constructed.
The problem of large deflections in order to achieve a certain rolling angle can indeed be mitigated by shifting the rolling axis or the instantaneous centre of rotation. But this allows only even lower rolling angles to be achieved passively. Consequently the system stiffens in the transverse direction so that not only reductions in tilting comfort but also reductions in vibration comfort have to be accepted.
The rolling motion adjusted for the bend of the curve currently being traveled and the current running speed (and consequently also the resultant transverse acceleration) on the vehicle from EP 1 190 925 A1 can also be influenced or set actively by an actuator connected between the car body and the running gear frame. Here, from the current bend of the curve and the current vehicle speed, a setpoint value is calculated for the rolling angle of the car body, which is then used for setting the rolling angle by means of the actuator.
While this variant offers the opportunity of creating more transversely stiff systems with lower transverse deflection, it has the disadvantage that the vibration comfort is impaired by the transverse stiffness introduced by the actuator so that, for example, transverse impacts on the running gear (for example when travelling over switches or imperfections in the track) are transmitted to the car body with less damping.
In order to compensate for at least the disadvantages regarding vibration comfort by transversely stiff suspension, in WO 90/03906 A1 for a passive system it is proposed that, kinematically in series with the rolling compensation device, a comparatively short transverse supplementary suspension stage is introduced. The disadvantage of this solution, however, is that firstly due to the additional components it increases the installation space required, and secondly the problems described above of large transverse deflections or reduced transport capacity are present here again.


A heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system for a structure is provided. The HVAC system includes one or more of an outdoor unit disposed at an exterior of the structure and an indoor unit disposed at an interior of the structure. Various operations of the one or more of the outdoor and indoor units are controllable to maintain desired environmental conditions in the interior of the structure. At least one of the one or more of the outdoor and indoor units includes a wireless transceiver which is wirelessly communicative with an external entity.

The following description relates to home thermostats and, more specifically, to a utilization of a home thermostat as a wireless gateway for reprogramming and accessing diagnostic data from heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment.
HVAC is the technology of indoor and vehicular environmental comfort and is an important part of residential, industrial and commercial structures. The heating process in HVAC systems provides for increases in indoor temperatures while the air conditioning process provides for decreases in indoor temperatures. The ventilation processes involves exchanges or replacements of air in a space to thus provide for high indoor air quality with temperature control, oxygen replenishment and removal of moisture, odors, smoke, heat, dust, airborne bacteria, carbon dioxide and other gases. Ventilation includes both the exchange of indoor and outdoor air as well as the circulation of air within a building.
Home-based HVAC systems typically include an outdoor unit, an indoor unit, a thermostat and one or more sensors in some cases. The thermostat is usually accessible to the homeowner who uses the thermostat to set a desired temperature for an indoor space in a home. The thermostat then operates the outdoor and indoor units so as to achieve that desired temperature in a manner that also reduces costs and energy usage as much as possible. To this end, if the temperature in the indoor space is lower than the desired temperature by a predetermined degree, the thermostat will command the outdoor and indoor units to pump heated air into the indoor space so as to raise the temperature of the indoor space beyond the desired temperature by a predetermined degree. On the other hand, if the temperature in the indoor space is higher than the desired temperature by a predetermined degree, the thermostat will command the outdoor and indoor units to pump cool air into the indoor space so as to lower the temperature of the indoor space beyond the desired temperature by a predetermined degree.

Utilizing home thermostat as a wireless gateway for communicating with HVAC equipment


A sterilization container is provided which includes interengageable, overlapping, hollow cap and base portions which, when combined, define a cavity and a fluid passage in the region of overlap to allow for continuous fluid flow from the outside to the inside of the container.

This invention relates generally to containers, and more particularly to a sterilization container which provides for the fail-safe passage of gas sterilant to the inside of the container without compromising safe containment of its contents. The invented container is useful in the sterilization of a variety of objects, but has proven especially useful in connection with the sterilization and storage of medical instruments and is described as such herein.
Sterilization of medical instruments has long been recognized as an effective way of preventing infection which may result from intrusive surgical procedures. Such infection may be caused by carriage of microorganisms or other contaminants into the body via surgical instruments during a surgical procedure. In an attempt to curb infection, instruments have typically been sterilized by placing them into a container and then placing the container into a sterilization autoclave. In the autoclave, the container and instruments are subjected to a sterilization medium which penetrates the container, sterilizing the instruments held therein. Once sterilization is completed, the container is removed from the autoclave and stored until the instruments are to be used.
Over the years, numerous containers have been developed for specific use in the sterilization and storage of medical instruments. Containers have been formed of metal, of plastic, of glass, and of paper, each of these materials being adaptable to define a sealed compartment once sterilization has been accomplished. Known containers, however, have been characterized by a variety of problems related to cost and functionality. Metal containers, for example, often include sterilizing gas inlet valves which are both complex and expensive. Such containers also are inadequate in that they do not allow for ready identification of instruments contained within the container once sterilized unless the sterilization seal is broken. Conventional plastic sterilization containers may allow identification, but known systems do not provide for passage of gas sterilant into the container while the lid is fitted thereto. When using plastic sterilization containers, instruments must therefore be sterilized without the lid in place, leading to the possibility of post-sterilization contamination or to operator injury due to the projection of sharp instruments beyond the confines of the container's base. Further, many prior art systems are actually highly perforated and allow readily for gas passage, but present the problem that once the sterilized package is removed from the sterilizing environment the perforations expose the just sterilized instrument to recontamination. Glass containers also allow view of their contents but are subject to easy breakage and have proven difficult to seal. Use of paper containers has similarly resulted in problems, such containers often being plagued by their susceptibility to puncture which may lead both to operator injury and to contamination of the instruments contained therein.
The above-cited disadvantages often necessitate repetitive sterilization and detract from the safety available to both sterilization equipment operators and to patients on whom the presumably sterilized instruments are used. A demand has therefore arisen for a sterilization container which provides for the safe containment of objects both during sterilization, and thereafter, without the necessity of the complex valve structures now in use.
Another issue arising in the sterilization of medical instruments concerns the efficiency with which the instruments can be sterilized, most known sterilization containers being designed with little or no consideration given to the size or shape of the autoclave in which sterilization is to occur. A conventional sterilizing autoclave, for example, includes a relatively small cylindrical chamber in which the instruments are to be placed for sterilization. Little has previously been done to accommodate the sterilization of instruments which have been placed in a container to maximize use of the limited autoclave space. Such inefficient use of space leads to wasted time and wasted resources due to repetitive autoclave operation. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a sterilization container which maximizes the use of space within the chamber of an autoclave during the sterilization procedure.


The invention involves a snubber strip and mooring dock construction as used for boats and the like. The snubber strip is constituted of a molded rubber or plastic extrusion having an elongate hollow body portion with one flat wall that forms its inner side. The body portion has attachment flange portions one of which is coplanar with the flat side and the other of which is perpendicular to the flat side. The perpendicular flange portion has a depending lip along its free edge and is so constituted as to overlie a structural beam member with its lip on one side of the member and with the flat wall of the body portion on the other side of the member in a close fit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to snubber strips such as are used at boat docks, boat moorings etc. for the purpose of engaging the hull of a boat to prevent scraping and damage thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR .sctn..sctn.1.97-1.99
A prior snubber strip consisted of a resilient elongate hollow body portion having a substantially flat elongate wall which formed the inner side wall of the body portion. Integral and coextensive with the flat wall were two elongate attachment flange portions, one being substantially coplanar with said flat wall and the other being substantially perpendicular thereto, thereby forming an internal elongate corner into which the external corner of the dock or wharf was intended to be fitted. The body portion was then attached along the dock corner by means of nails or spikes which were driven through the flanges and into the top plank or other wood of the dock.
This construction has a number of disadvantages. For one thing, the head of the spike which is driven through the top or perpendicular flange of the snubber strip tends to unduly imbed itself into the soft material of the flange and eventually cause a rupture or tear of the same, especially if the snubber strip is subject to strong pulling or rubbing forces at or near the point of attachment. Also, the said spike can cause splitting of the treated or coated beam or stringer member which supports the top corner plank of the deck of the wharf or dock.
The prior snubber strip was intended to overlie the crack that is formed where the end floor plank rests on the end stringer or beam of the dock, ostensibly to provide a shield for preventing water from entering such crack and forming a basis for rot or deterioration. However, the inner portions of the crack at the location under the dock were not closed or sealed, and therefore water has access to the crack and could collect therein to cause ultimate rotting. This was especially likely to occur if the beam had been split by the spike or nail that was driven in to secure the snubber.
In each of these circumstances, water and ice are likely to work in and collect at the deformed or split parts, ultimately causing deterioration and rotting or failure thereof.


In the production of a light emitting device, in which a plurality of light emitting element parts carrying LED elements are formed on a substrate, and the substrate is diced, generation of shaving dusts is suppressed at the time of the dicing, and breakage of the substrate during the production process can be prevented. In the process of forming a slit crossing a region for forming a light emitting element part in a metal substrate, a recess which serves as a resin reservoir can be formed so as to cross the slit. The slit can be filled with an insulating material, the recess can be filled with a resin, and they both can be cured. A light emitting element part can be formed in the region for forming the light emitting element part, the metal substrate can be cut into units comprising one or a plurality of the light emitting element parts, and can be mounted on a printed circuit board on which a pattern is formed.

In a typical method for producing light emitting devices such as LED light sources, a plurality of LED elements are fixed on one substrate by die bonding or the like, and then the substrate is diced for every one or two or more LED elements and mounted on a printed circuit board (for example, Patent document 1). In such a production process, reflectors for enhancing luminous efficiency of the LED elements are provided around the LED elements.
Patent document 2 discloses a technique of forming a layer of a light reflecting resin serving as a reflector before the LED elements are separated by dicing, and then performing the dicing. Moreover, various techniques of using a thin metal plate as a substrate for carrying LED elements and utilizing the metal plate as a reflector are also proposed (Patent documents 3 and 4). When a metal plate is used as a substrate of LED elements, it is essential to provide a slit for insulating a part for connecting one electrode of an LED element (die bonding pad) and a part for connecting the other electrode (wire bonding pad). In this case, it is necessary to connect the metal plates separated by the slit during the production.
In the technique described in Patent document 3, a thin metal plate is first subjected to a press processing to form a reflector, a die bonding pad and a wire bonding pad are separated with a slit, and an insulating resin such as an epoxy resin in which silica or the like is dispersed is flown over the back face of the thin metal plate. Destruction of the connection is thereby prevented at the time of separation of LED elements formed on the metal substrate by dicing.
In the technique described in Patent document 4, both ends of a thin metal plate are bent to have a section of a right-angled U-shape to secure strength, and the portions on both sides of the slit are connected with an insulating masking tape.
[Prior Art References]
[Patent Documents]
    Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (KOKAI) No. 2006-108341    Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2006-245626    Patent document 3: Japanese Patent No. 3447604    Patent document 4: Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2002-314148

Light emitting device and method for manufacturing the same


A male and female set of hydraulic coupler cartridges mate such that one part of the coupler can be left in place, e.g. the female coupler, with the other portion of the coupler, e.g. the male coupler, being removably connected or disconnected. Valves within each cartridge comprise an actuator and springs within each cartridge urge the valves into a closed, sealing position. When the cartridges mate, spring and/or fluid pressure within the cartridges operates to either allow or disallow fluid flow. Once the cartridges are mated, their respective springs are partially compressed and movement of one of the valves operates to compress one spring and correspondingly decompress the other. The cartridges can therefore be mated and unmated, e.g. subsea, while fluid flow is prevented through them during the mating and unmating.

The invention relates to hydraulic couplers where one part of the coupler can be left in place with the other portion of the coupler being selectively connected or disconnected.
Coupling of hydraulic coupling cartridge assemblies, e.g. subsea, is a means to connect a hydraulic conduit line by use of a pair of complementary male and female couplings. This allows for a fluid blocking member, e.g. a female member, to remain engaged in a fluid pathway and, when coupled with a complementary male member, to allow for fluid to resume flowing which predetermined conditions are met.
Typically, fluid, if present, is under pressure in the fluid lines on either side of the coupler. Coupling devices for use in interconnecting conduit sections carrying fluid under pressure typically comprise a male and corresponding female body members interfitted and locked together in a communicating relationship. These body members are provided with interior check valves, most of which are of the ball type, which are urged into closed relation by resilient means and which open to provide flow. Some comprise poppet valves used as directional control valves to control movement of fluid within the connector.
In poppet valve applications, misalignment between the individual components of the valve cartridge assembly can create problems resulting in leakage. Leakage can occur, e.g., when the coupler is being mated or unmated.

Cartridge hydraulic coupler and method of use


A method and system for managing distribution lists rely on the collection of job log data from shared devices, such as networked printers. For each printer, a usage community comprising users of the shared device, can be determined, based at least in part on the job log data. At least one distribution list of users is generated, based on the usage community. The distribution list can be linked with a mailer program, whereby users in the usage community are grouped together under a common contact address. Updating the distribution list at intervals to reflect changes in the usage community allows a static email address to be used for a varying group of users.

The exemplary embodiment relates to communication with users of a shared device and finds particular application in a network printing system, in which devices, such as printers, are utilized by different users.
Network printing systems may include one or several networked printers or multi-function devices (MFDs) shared by the people in an organization. Given a device, the set of people using it form a de facto user community. There are many circumstances where it would be advantageous for community members to communicate with each other. For example, it would be helpful to be able to alert other users that a large job is being printed on one printer, which would give other users the opportunity to reroute their jobs to another network printer. Or, if one printer is undergoing repair or awaiting a service call, it would be useful to let the users of that printer know. However, current print networks make this difficult. Emails sent to all the people in an organization having multiple printers would be distracting, since for many users, the information would not be applicable to them. Further, while an email distribution list could be established for a given device, it would require considerable time in setting up by printer administrators. The lists would also need regular maintenance to take account of employees moving locations within the organization or leaving the organization, the arrival of newcomers, changes in printer types and locations, and so forth. Additionally, users may use one printer for regular printing and another for color printing or jobs requiring special paper or ink. Users may also run out of consumables (ink, toner, paper, and the like) at one printer location and either send documents to another printer or search for replacement consumables at other printer locations.
The exemplary embodiment provides a system and method which, in various embodiments, address some or all of these device-centric communication problems.

Automatic generation of device-centric distribution lists


A method of manufacturing a tantalum oxide film having a high dielectric constant suitable for use in a high density DRAM, and a small leakage current. After forming a tantalum oxide film in amorphous state which includes moisture and impurities such as organic substances, and before crystallizing the film, the tantalum oxide film in amorphous state is subjected to a first heat treatment at a temperature which is higher than the formation temperature of the tantalum oxide film in amorphous state and which is lower than the temperature of crystallization of the tantalum oxide film in amorphous state. As a result of the first heat treatment, the moisture and the impurities such as organic substances existing in the film are surely removed from the film. Accordingly, in a subsequent heat treatment for crystallization at a high temperature, there arises no phenomenon in which crystallization of the film proceeds while impurities in the film are being removed. In other words, the crystallized tantalum oxide film obtained is free from stresses and defects.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a tantalum oxide film, and more particularly to a semiconductor device employing a tantalum oxide film.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, a high dielectric constant material has been required as the capacitor insulating film.
In particular, a tantalum oxide film has been considered to be a promising candidate for such a film, and has been studied widely. As the formation method of the tantalum oxide film, it is general to adopt a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using an organic tantalum. A tantalum oxide film formed by the CVD method is in amorphous state immediately after its formation, and includes moisture and impurities such as organic substances in the film.
Subjecting a tantalum oxide film in amorphous state to a heat treatment in an inert atmosphere at 800.degree. C. has been disclosed in Unexamined Patent Applications Laid Open, No. Sho 58-134464. However, according to the manufacturing method in this invention, the tantalum oxide film in amorphous state is crystallized while a large amount of impurities existing in the film are removed through the heat treatment at 800.degree. C. Accordingly, in this manufacturing method, a large strain is generated in the crystallized tantalum oxide film, so it gives rise to a problem that many defects occur in the film.
Moreover, in Unexamined Patent Applications Laid Open, No. Hei 10-223856 there is disclosed a crystallization treatment of a tantalum oxide film in an active oxygen atmosphere. According to the technique disclosed in this invention, first, an amorphous tantalum oxide film including crystallized tantalum oxide in some parts is formed, then by subjecting it to a low temperature heat treatment in an active oxygen atmosphere, the amorphous tantalum oxide film including crystallized tantalum oxide in some parts is converted to a crystallized tantalum oxide film. However, according to this manufacturing method many defects are generated in the crystallized tantalum oxide film, analogous to the above-mentioned invention, and results in a problem that the defects become the cause of leakage current.
Furthermore, in Unexamined Patent Applications Laid Open, No. Hei 2-283022, a method is disclosed in which after a tantalum oxide film is formed by a CVD method, a heat treatment in an ozone atmosphere at 300.degree. C. is given, then the product is subjected to a heat treatment for crystallization in an oxidizing atmosphere at 800.degree. C.
Similarly, in Unexamined Patent Applications Laid Open, No. Hei 5-102422 is disclosed a method in which after formation of a tantalum oxide film, the tantalum oxide film is thoroughly oxidized by a heat treatment in an oxygen or ozone atmosphere, then the tantalum oxide film is further subjected to a heat treatment in an oxygen atmosphere at 800.degree. C. for crystallization.
In both of the last two inventions, the amorphous tantalum oxide film is subjected to a heat treatment prior to the heat treatment for its crystallization at a high temperature. However, an oxidation treatment at a low temperature of about 300.degree. C. leaves moisture and impurities such as organic substances included in the film. Consequently, in the subsequent heat treatment of the amorphous tantalum oxide film for crystallization at a high temperature, the film is crystallized while a large amount of impurities are being removed, which gives rise to a problem that the crystallized tantalum oxide film contains many defects in it.
In addition, Unexamined Patent Applications Laid Open, No. Hei 10-229080 relates to the manufacture of an amorphous tantalum oxide film. In this invention is disclosed a method in which after the formation of a tantalum oxide film, the film is subjected to a heat treatment in an ozone atmosphere at a temperature in the range of 300 to 500.degree. C. According to this technique, an amorphous tantalum oxide film not yet crystallized, formed in the manufacturing method as described in the above, is used as an insulating film for a capacitor.
Moreover, Unexamined Patent Applications Laid Open, No. Hei 8-69998 relates to the manufacture of an amorphous tantalum oxide film. This invention discloses a method in which a tantalum oxide film is subjected to a heat treatment in a low temperature ozone or oxygen plasma at 400.degree. C. According to this technique an amorphous tantalum oxide film not yet crystallized, formed in the manufacturing methods as described in the above, is used as an insulating film for a capacitor.
Moreover, Unexamined Patent Applications Laid Open, No. Hei 6-163519 also relates to the manufacture of an amorphous tantalum oxide film. This invention discloses a method of manufacturing an amorphous tantalum oxide film by subjecting a tantalum oxide film to a heat treatment in an oxidizing atmosphere at a temperature in the range of 450 to 600.degree. C.


Sensing circuitry of an implantable medical device (IMD) system may sense a cardiac signal that varies according to a cardiac cycle of a patient. Processing circuitry of the IMD system may determine a series of consecutive cardiac cycle length metric values based on the sensed cardiac signal, identify a plurality of pairs of the cardiac cycle length metrics, each of the pairs of cardiac cycle length metrics separated by an integer ‘n’ of the cardiac cycle length metrics, and construct a distribution of the pairs of cardiac cycle length metrics based on values of the cardiac cycle length metrics for each of the pairs. The processing circuitry may detect a sleep apnea episode of the patient based on one or more characteristics of the constructed distribution, and control communication circuitry of the IMD system to transmit an indication of the detected sleep apnea episode to the external computing device.

When functioning properly, a heart maintains its own intrinsic rhythm, and is capable of pumping adequate blood throughout a circulatory system. This intrinsic rhythm is a function of intrinsic signals generated by the sinoatrial node, or SA node, located in the upper right atrium. The SA node periodically depolarizes, which in turn causes the atrial heart tissue to depolarize such that right and left atria contract as the depolarization travels through the atrial heart tissue. The atrial depolarization signal is also received by the atrioventricular node, or AV node, which, in turn, triggers a subsequent ventricular depolarization signal that travels through and depolarizes the ventricular heart tissue causing the right and left ventricles to contract.
Some patients, however, have irregular cardiac rhythms, referred to as cardiac arrhythmias. Cardiac arrhythmias result in diminished blood circulation because of diminished cardiac output. Atrial fibrillation is a common cardiac arrhythmia that reduces the pumping efficiency of the heart. Atrial fibrillation is characterized by rapid, irregular, uncoordinated depolarizations of the atria.
In addition to atrial fibrillation, a condition known as 'sleep apnea' can also diminish cardiac output and pose various risks to patients, particularly those who are susceptible to heart failure. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that involves the temporary cessation of respiratory airflow during sleep. In various scenarios, sleep apnea may be characterized by one or both of pauses in breathing or periods of shallow breathing during sleep.
Sleep apnea is generally considered a medical syndrome that occurs in various forms. One recognized form of sleep apnea is "central sleep apnea," which is associated with a failure of the central nervous system to automatically initiate and control respiration. Another recognized form of sleep apnea is "obstructive sleep apnea," which is associated with an obstruction of the airways due to airway collapse. Yet another recognized form of sleep apnea is a mixed form that may include a central nervous system failure to drive ventilatory effort combined with an obstructive apnea.
Possible effects of sleep apnea include daytime sleepiness, impaired alertness, and various associated cardiovascular diseases, which in turn can significantly impair patient lifestyle and increase morbidity risk. In some cases, obstructive sleep apnea can lead to death, due to lack of oxygen to vital organs of the body. Various approaches have been taken to detect and treat sleep apnea.

Device-based detection and monitoring of sleep apnea conditions