A method for plugging a hole, particularly a hole provided in a cooling element, in which method a hole formed in a piece essentially made of mainly copper, for instance in the housing element of a cooling element, there is arranged a plug mainly made of copper. Between the side surface of the plug and the inner surface of the hole, there is arranged brazing agent with a melting temperature lower than that of the pieces to be joined together, and the junction area between the plug and the piece, such as the housing element of the cooling element, is heated at least up to the melting temperature of the brazing agent or to the vicinity thereof, whereafter the junction area is cooled. The invention also relates to a cooling element manufactured according to said method.

The present invention relates to a method for plugging a hole. The invention also relates to a cooling element.
In general, the invention relates to a method for plugging a hole, in which method, in a hole provided in an object essentially made of mainly copper, such as the housing element of a cooling element, there is inserted a plug mainly made of copper. Said holes to be plugged according to the object of the invention exist for example in cooling elements employed for cooling the structures of furnaces used in metal industry, such as flash smelting furnaces or blast furnaces used in steel industry, or in connection with the cooling channels of chutes used for conducting the molten metal. Typically the cooling elements are made of copper and provided with for example longitudinal and/or transversal channels where the cooling agent circulates. Part of the holes forming the cooling element channel system are plugged, so that in the element, there is left only a necessary amount of inlet holes through which the cooling agent is conducted into the element, and outlet holes through which the cooling agent is conducted out of said element. According to a known plugging method, the cooling element is provided with a plug that is arranged in the hole to be plugged by a pressed joint which is externally welded to the cooling element housing, typically with a weld that extends to the depth of about 6 mm. Prior to welding, the working pieces are preheated up to a high temperature. In the preheating step, the oxidizing risk of the plug joint is high, and at that point the prior art plugging joint is relatively vulnerable to damages caused by corrosion, among others. For instance the atmosphere prevailing in the furnace space of a flash smelting furnace and containing, among others, SO2 gas, causes corrosion that proceeds as a sulphatizing reaction. In order to avoid the risk of damaging the plugging joint and possible leaking of the cooling agent as a result, it has been necessary to replace the cooling elements fairly often.
The object of the present invention is to realize a new method for plugging a hole, particularly the hole of a cooling element, whereby the drawbacks of the prior art are avoided. Thus another object of the invention is to realize a novel cooling element that has a longer working life than the prior art elements.
In the method according to the invention, between the plug side surface and the hole inner surface, there is arranged brazing agent with a melting temperature lower than the melting temperature of the parts to be joined together, and at least the junction area of the plug and the housing element of the object, such as the housing element of a cooling element, is heated at least up to the mewing temperature of the brazing agent or to the vicinity thereof, whereafter the juncture area is cooled. By means of the method according to the invention, there is achieved a joint that extends to a desired depth in the longitudinal direction of the plug. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the brazing agent is in the form of foil. In that case the brazing agent is in a form that is easy to handle, and it can be placed in the juncture exactly at the desired spot, so that the making of joints is carried out without difficulty.
According to an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the brazing agent is chosen from a group including as compounds Ag+Cu, Al+Cu, Sn+Cu and Sb+Cu. In the method according to the invention, the joint is made by applying a diffusion technique, where the components of copper or copper alloy and the brazing agent are partly dissolved on the contact surface. In this way, there is obtained an extremely high-quality joint. In the case of copper alloys, this is made possible by compositions that occur at least in the alloy systems Cuxe2x88x92Ag, Cuxe2x88x92Al, Cuxe2x88x92Sn and Cuxe2x88x92Sb, which melt at relatively low temperatures and are rich or even pure as regards the alloy components. Thus, in some embodiments it is possible to use for instance an exclusively Al-bearing foil. Moreover, the phase balances of said binary alloys can in the method be adjusted by moving over to ternary alloy balances (or balances of even more components). According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the brazing agent has an eutectic composition with a given alloy composition with copper. By applying the brazing agents required for the diffusion joint in sufficiently thin, optimized layers, with diffusion mechanisms it is possible, even at low working temperatures, to obtain in the final structure solid phases that melt at a higher temperature, even by hundreds of degrees, than the original brazing agent. Thus the joint becomes, in a way, self-repairing, because it endures higher temperatures than the pure brazing agent would endure. The joining can be carried out for example by means of foil (brazing strip), or brazing wire; or else on the surfaces to be joined together, there can be used thin alloy material layers that are provided on said surfaces in advance. The heat required by the diffusion mechanisms between the brazing agent and the pieces to be joined together can be produced by heating with a heating means, for instance a liquefied gas burner. Other suitable heating arrangements for the heating of the juncture area can also be used, for example induction heating. If, in addition to the diffusion joint, in the junction there also is used surface welding of the plug, the welding temperature of the surface welding can be likewise be utilized when making the diffusion joint.
On the surface of the brazing foil and/or at least on one of the surfaces to be joined together, there is brought a layer of tin (Sn) prior to making the joint. The application of tin lowers the temperature required for making the joint. Moreover, the oxidation of the surfaces to be joined is avoided, and shielding gas arrangements are not needed in connection with making the joint. In order to start the phase transition reactions and to obtain an optimal seam structure, there suffices a tin layer of the order of a few micrometers between the Ag+Cu foil and the piece to be joined. The technique according to the method is not critical for the Ag+Cu composition, wherefore the use of an essentially pure Ag foil also is possible. The creation of the joint takes place rapidly, as a result of a diffusion of molten and solid materials as well as the successive phase transition reactions, already at the preheating temperatures prepared for the welding. By means of an application of the method according to the invention, it has been possible to create brazing agents that are well resistant to an atmosphere containing the gases present in the furnace space. For instance a brazing agent Ag+Cu endures well the SO2 bearing atmosphere of a flash smelting furnace. With respect to corrosion taking place in the working conditions, the tin of the created mosaic gold is not harmful, because it is not sulphatized in similar fashion as zinc and copper. As for the silver that is dissolved in the phases of the junction seam, it improves the resistance to corrosion of the mosaic gold.
The invention also relates to a cooling element for furnaces, said element comprising a housing element mainly made of copper, and channels formed in said housing element for the cooling agent circulation; when forming said channels, in the housing element there are made holes that open on the surface thereof, and at least part of said holes are plugged. The invention is characterized in that the joint between the plug and the housing element is a diffusion joint. The cooling element according to the invention is extremely well resistant to the atmosphere prevailing in furnaces. The joint surfaces are mainly formed of the plug side surface and the hole inner surface. Thus the joint is made sufficiently long in the longitudinal direction of the plug. The joint is realized by using brazing foil arranged in between the joint surfaces. The plug comprises a threaded section and a conical joint section. By means of the threaded section, the joint surfaces are pressed together, so that a high-quality joint is formed. The joint section of the plug is made self-centering, so that the joint surfaces are set evenly against each other.

Method for plugging a hole and a cooling element manufactured by said method


A system and method for detecting changes in the refractive index of a fluid in a small test volume. A change in the refractive index can indicate a change in the chemical composition of the fluid. The test volume has a depth comparable to or less than the wavelength of incident light. In one embodiment, an internal surface of the volume is coated with a binding partner selected to bind with a targeted molecule. When the targeted molecule binds to the binding partner, the optical properties of the system change. The refractive index is determined by illuminating the test volume with laser light and measuring transmitted or reflected light.

Sensitive detection of the presence of a target substance is an important goal recognized by both science and industry. The target substance may be a chemical or biological entity. Often the target substance occurs in such small quantities that accurate detection is frustrated by the sensitivity limitations of the detector.
Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor systems have been developed which enable measurement of chemical and biological substances. Such devices operate on the principal that energy carried by waves of light photons can be transferred to electrons in a metal. The wavelength of light at which the energy transfer occurs is a function of the metal at the interface and the environment encompassing the metal. The maximum energy is transferred from the photons to the electrons at the resonance frequency, and thus, by monitoring the light reflected by the metal surface, it is possible to determine the resonant frequency. In particular, the light reflected by the metal surface is at a minimum at the resonant frequency. Typically, in SPR systems, the angle of minimum reflection is usually used as an indication of the plasmon resonance. At the interface of the metal and a dielectric, the electrons are excited which creates an electromagnetic wave extending a short distance above and below the interface. Consequently, a change in the environment at the interface is detectable as a change in the wavelength of the resonant frequency.
The principals of SPR are used for detecting the refractive index properties of a substance in one type of biosensor system. In particular, a change in the refractive index, caused, for example, by an antigen binding to an antibody, is manifested by a change in the resonant frequency.
In practice, however, SPR biosensors have limited utility. For example, the metal at the interface is often gold or silver, and thus, any elements that react with the metal may yield erroneous results. Also, the sensitivity of SPR biosensors is inadequate for some applications. In addition, the apparatus is often too large for practical field use. Typically, SPR biosensors require large samples, often measured in microliter or larger quantities.
A fibre-optic sensor is discussed in Dahne C. Sutherland R M, Place J F, Ringrose AS. "Detection of antibody-antigen reactions at a glass-liquid interface: a novel fibre-optic sensor concept." Proceedings of Spie—the International Society for Optical Engineering, vol. 514, 1984, pp. 75-9 (hereinafter "Dahne"). Dahne discusses detecting in-line fluorescence resulting from evanescent waves internally guided through a waveguide. The waveguide, a standard PCS fiber with 0.6 micrometers core diameter, passes through a cylindrical flow cell in which the sample solution passes. Like SPR biosensors, Dahne appears to require a relatively large quantity of sample solution since the waveguide operates in a bath of the solution.
Other techniques of detecting the presence of a particular chemical composition have included staining or labeling. For example, genotyping efforts have included radioisotope labeling. Recognized disadvantages associated with the use of radioactivity include costs, hazards associated with radioactive materials, and undesirable delays associated with such techniques.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a highly sensitive detection system and method that allows for detection of biological or chemical material.

Nanofabricated photon tunneling based sensor


A lithographic projection apparatus including at least one of a radiation system and a projection system having at least one optical member, wherein the optical member is supported by and connected to a mounting frame which at least partially encloses the optical member and which is connected to at least one other component of at least one of the radiation system and the projection system.

This application is based on and claims priority from European Patent Application 01309439.6 filed on Nov. 7, 2001, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithographic projection apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
The term xe2x80x9cpatterning structurexe2x80x9d as here employed should be broadly interpreted as referring to a structure that can be used to endow an incoming radiation beam with a patterned cross-section, corresponding to a pattern that is to be created in a target portion of the substrate; the term xe2x80x9clight valvexe2x80x9d can also be used in this context. Generally, the said pattern will correspond to a particular functional layer in a device being created in the target portion, such as an integrated circuit or other device (see below). Examples of such patterning structure include:
A mask. The concept of a mask is well known in lithography, and it includes mask types such as binary, alternating phase-shift, and attenuated phase-shift, as well as various hybrid mask types. Placement of such a mask in the radiation beam causes selective transmission (in the case of a transmissive mask) or reflection (in the case of a reflective mask) of the radiation impinging on the mask, according to the pattern on the mask. In the case of a mask, the support structure will generally be a mask table, which ensures that the mask can be held at a desired position in the incoming radiation beam, and that it can be moved relative to the beam if so desired.
A programmable mirror array. An example of such a device is a matrix-addressable surface having a viscoelastic control layer and a reflective surface. The basic principle behind such an apparatus is that (for example) addressed areas of the reflective surface reflect incident light as diffracted light, whereas unaddressed areas reflect incident light as undiffracted light. Using an appropriate filter, the said undiffracted light can be filtered out of the reflected beam, leaving only the diffracted light behind; in this manner, the beam becomes patterned according to the addressing pattern of the matrix-addressable surface. The required matrix addressing can be performed using a suitable electronic structure. More information on such mirror arrays can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,891 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,193, which are incorporated herein by reference. In the case of a programmable mirror array, the said support structure may be embodied as a frame or table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required.
A programmable LCD array. An example of such a construction is given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,872, which is incorporated herein by reference. As above, the support structure in this case may be embodied as a frame or table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required.
For purposes of simplicity, the rest of this text may, at certain locations, specifically direct itself to examples involving a mask and mask table; however, the general principles discussed in such instances should be seen in the broader context of the patterning structure as hereabove set forth.
A lithographic projection apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In such a case, the patterning structure may generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g. comprising one or more dies) on a substrate (silicon wafer) that has been coated with a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). In general, a single wafer will contain a whole network of adjacent target portions that are successively irradiated via the projection system, one at a time. In current apparatus, employing patterning by a mask on a mask table, a distinction can be made between two different types of machine. In one type of lithographic projection apparatus, each target portion is irradiated by exposing the entire mask pattern onto the target portion in one go; such an apparatus is commonly referred to as a wafer stepper. In an alternative apparatusxe2x80x94commonly referred to as a step-and-scan apparatusxe2x80x94each target portion is irradiated by progressively scanning the mask pattern under the projection beam in a given reference direction (the xe2x80x9cscanningxe2x80x9d direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate table parallel or anti-parallel to this direction; since, in general, the projection system will have a magnification factor M (generally less than 1), the speed V at which the substrate table is scanned will be a factor M times that at which the mask table is scanned. More information with regard to lithographic devices as here described can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,792, incorporated herein by reference.
In a manufacturing process using a lithographic projection apparatus, a pattern (e.g. in a mask) is imaged onto a substrate that is at least partially covered by a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). Prior to this imaging step, the substrate may undergo various procedures, such as priming, resist coating and a soft bake. After exposure, the substrate may be subjected to other procedures, such as a post-exposure bake (PEB), development, a hard bake and measurement/inspection of the imaged features. This array of procedures is used as a basis to pattern an individual layer of a device, e.g. an IC. Such a patterned layer may then undergo various processes such as etching, ion-implantation (doping), metallization, oxidation, chemo-mechanical polishing, etc., all intended to finish off an individual layer. If several layers are required, then the whole procedure, or a variant thereof, will have to be repeated for each new layer. Eventually, an array of devices will be present on the substrate (wafer). These devices are then separated from one another by a technique such as dicing or sawing, whence the individual devices can be mounted on a carrier, connected to pins, etc. Further information regarding such processes can be obtained, for example, from the book xe2x80x9cMicrochip Fabrication: A Practical Guide to Semiconductor Processingxe2x80x9d, Third Edition, by Peter van Zant, McGraw Hill Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 0-07-067250-4, incorporated herein by reference.
For the sake of simplicity, the projection system may hereinafter be referred to as the xe2x80x9clensxe2x80x9d; however, this term should be broadly interpreted as encompassing various types of projection system, including refractive optics, reflective optics, and catadioptric systems, for example. The radiation system may also include components operating according to any of these design types for directing, shaping or controlling the projection beam of radiation, and such components may also be referred to below, collectively or singularly, as a xe2x80x9clensxe2x80x9d. Further, the lithographic apparatus may be of a type having two or more substrate tables (and/or two or more mask tables). In such xe2x80x9cmultiple stagexe2x80x9d devices the additional tables may be used in parallel, or preparatory steps may be carried out on one or more tables while one or more other tables are being used for exposures. Twin stage lithographic apparatus are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,441 and WO 98/40791, incorporated herein by reference.
To reduce the size of features that can be imaged, it is desirable to reduce the wavelength of the projection beam of radiation. It has been proposed to use wavelengths of less than about 200 nm, for example 193 nm, 157 nm or 126 nm. Further reductions in the wavelength to the range of EUV (extreme ultra-violet radiation, e.g. having a wavelength in the range of 5-20 nm) are envisaged. Such wavelengths in particular are more conveniently focused and controlled by reflective optics, such as mirrors. However, mirrors in lithography apparatus must be positioned to especially high accuracy, as compared to refractive elements, because any rotational orientation errors are magnified by the total downstream optical path length. In any apparatus using very short wavelength radiation, the optical path length may be of the order of 2 m or more.
For example, to have a good overlay performance, it can be necessary to keep the position of an image of an irradiated portion of the mask stable at a given position at substrate level with an error (e) of less than about 1 nm in particular when EUV is used. If the distance between the mirror and the substrate is 2 m the maximum permissible rotational error of the reflected beam, to keep the system within specification, is 28xc3x9710xe2x88x929 degrees (1xc3x9710xe2x88x929 m/2 m=tan (28xc3x9710xe2x88x929 degrees)), if e=1 nm. Since, for a mirror, the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence, a rotational error in the position of the mirror will give rise to twice as large an error in the direction of the reflected beam. Thus, the mirror must be positioned with an accuracy of 14xc3x9710xe2x88x929 degrees or better. If the mirror has a width in the order of 0.1 m and a rotating point at one side, that rotating point must be positioned to within 0.024 nm (tan 14xc3x9710xe2x88x929xc3x970.1=2.4xc3x9710xe2x88x9211). Clearly, the accuracy with which such a mirror must be orientated is extremely high and will only increase as the specification for image accuracy increases. The accuracy requirements for position in X, Y and Z are less demanding, as such errors are magnified less at substrate level, but still remain high.
The projection system of a lithographic projection apparatus that is used in xe2x80x9cscan modexe2x80x9d (the meaning of xe2x80x9cscan modexe2x80x9d has been explained before and will be explained hereafter with reference to the accompanying drawings) and that uses EUV may include six mirrors, for example, for reflecting and thereby projecting the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate. In this case, the mirrors are to be positioned relative to each other with an accuracy of about 0.1 nm. It has been proposed before to use a plurality of actuators for adjusting the position and/or orientation of a reflective optical element. For example, a corresponding arrangement is described in EP 1107068 A2. This document describes the use of position sensors to maintain the reflective element stationary in spite of vibrations that might occur.
An optical member generally has six independent degrees of freedom (DOF), three transational and three rotational DOF. One possibility to adjust the optical member with respect to more than one DOF is to use a plurality of actuators. The actuators may be piezoelectric, electroresistive or magnetoresistive and act, for example, perpendicularly to a surface of the optical member which extends transversely to the beam of radiation incident at the optical member. In particular, when the desired maximum position error is in the region of 1 nm or smaller, the combination of the actuators or the combination of at least one actuator with other moveable devices, such as a gravity compensator, might deform the optical member, for example due to excessive and/or undesired differential forces.
It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a lithographic projection apparatus having at least one optical member wherein the apparatus comprises a structure for reducing or diminishing deformations of the optical member.
This and other aspects are achieved according to the invention in a lithographic apparatus including a radiation system that provides a projection beam of radiation; a support structure that supports a patterning structure, the patterning structure serves to pattern the projection beam according to a desired pattern; a substrate table that holds a substrate; and a projection system that projects the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate. At least one of the radiation system and the projection system comprises at least one optical member. The optical member is supported by and connected to a mounting frame which at least partially encloses the optical member and which is connected to at least one other component of at least one of the radiation system and the projection system.
The optical member is for example a mirror or a lens. In any case, the mounting frame shields the optical member against undesired influences which might be caused and/or transferred by the at least one other component of the lithographic projection apparatus to which the frame is connected. In particular, the frame can significantly reduce deformation of the optical member due to the frame""s stiffness.
According to a preferred embodiment, a connection between the frame and the optical member comprises a membrane-like portion located in a cut-out area of the frame and held by the frame at its outer circumference. The optical member is connected to a central area of the membrane-like portion. For example, the membrane-like portion extends within a plane including its outer circumference and the central area where it is indirectly or directly connected to the optical member. Preferably the outer circumference extends along a circular line. In particular, if the membrane-like portion is a thin sheet of material, the membrane-like portion may be circular. However, it is most preferred that the membrane-like portion comprises a plurality of spokes which extend from the central area to the outer circumference. The spokes may be separate parts of the membrane-like portion or may be connected by at least one further part of the membrane-like portion, for example by a ring-like part at the outer circumference and/or in the central area.
Generally, the membrane-like portion decouples the optical member from the frame with respect to deformations of the frame that might occur in spite of the frame""s stiffness. In particular, the membrane-like portion may deform in a first direction perpendicular to a second direction in which the membrane-like portion extends. Thereby the membrane-like portion can compensate a deformation of the frame in a direction opposite to the first direction. As a result the optical member stays in place, without deformation or displacement. The membrane-like portion is also able to decouple translation of the frame along a direction perpendicular to the plane of the membrane-like portion. In case the membrane-like portion is sheet-like, it can decouple the optical member from the frame regarding deformations of the frame in at least (but not only) two rotational degrees of freedom (DOFs) namely the DOFs with respect to two perpendicular rotational axis extending within the plane in which the sheet-like portion extends.
In case the membrane-like portion comprises the spokes, it can decouple the optical member even regarding the rotational DOF with respect to the rotational axis that extends through the center of the spokes perpendicularly to a plane in which and/or along which the spokes extend.
The decoupling regarding rotational DOF is particularly useful, if the membrane-like portion is used for connecting the optical member to the frame in order to provide enough stiffness in one or two linear DOFs in which the optical member is to be moved or displaced, but to avoid undesired displacement in the other DOFs. For example, an actuator or an arrangement of plural actuators which causes displacement in the desired DOF might also cause undesired displacement or deformation of the frame in the other DOFs
In a particular embodiment, the frame comprises a plurality of struts which may extend within a plane of the frame within which the optical member is enclosed by the frame. The struts are connected at corners of the frame so as to form a frame structure with at least three corners. Preferably, the frame structure has exactly three corners where the struts are connected. According to this embodiment, the frame is particularly stiff and light.
If the struts extend within a plane, the stiffness with respect to undesired forces acting from the outside of the frame in one of the directions of the plane is particularly large. On the other hand, the planar structure allows radiation to be incident at the optical member in a wide sector of directions transverse to the plane in which the struts extend.
The frame structure may comprise a corner element which connects two of the struts at one of the corners of the frame structure. In particular, the corner element may serve to establish a connection of the frame to the at least one other component of the apparatus. For example, the corner element may be an actuator or part of an actuator for adjusting and/or amending the position of the optical member.
The stiffness of the frame can be further improved by a stiffening member for stiffening the frame structure wherein the stiffening member extends between two of the struts which are connected at one of the corners so as to connect the two struts and so as to leave a hollow space in between the two struts, the stiffening member and the corner. Also, it is possible to provide pairs or groups of stiffening members located at the surface of the same hollow space. Further, the stiffness can be improved by providing a member which fills the angle between the two struts in the region of the corner where the two struts are connected.
The outer configuration of the struts may be plate-like which means that the outer dimensions are equal to the dimensions of a plate. The struts may be solid or hollow, in order to reduce the weight. The plate-like struts may each extend between two of the corners wherein the widths of the struts in a direction perpendicular to said plane are greater than a thickness of the struts measured in said plane in a direction perpendicular to a line which connects the respective two corners. This construction is light and stiff, not only with respect to direction in the plane of the frame structure, but also with respect to directions transverse to this plane.
Preferably, two struts which are connected to each other have equal lengths and are arranged symmetrically to each other. Most preferably, all side lengths of the frame structure between the corners are equal. A regular and symmetric structure comprises equal stiffnesses with respect to different directions and is particularly stiff.
In particular, if the frame structure has equal side lengths, the optical member is preferably connected to the frame structure at respective locations half way between each two of the corners. Especially for regularly and/or symmetrically shaped optical members, this embodiment enables to keep the lengths of the connections between the frame structure and the optical member short. A short connection is less likely to deform with large amplitudes. Further, the equally sided frame can effectively decouple the optical member from the at least one other component of the apparatus with respect to deformations, in particular when the other component is connected to the frame at one of the corners.
Preferably the frame is symmetric to the plane in which the frame extends. Furthermore, it is preferred that the optical member is arranged symmetrically to the plane. Generally, a symmetric arrangement is more resistant to undesired deformations, for example due to changes in temperature.
In one embodiment of the invention, at least one actuator for adjusting the position and/or the orientation of the frame and thereby of the optical member is connected to the frame. Preferably a direction or rotational axis of an actuation caused by the actuator is aligned with an axis of symmetry of the frame and/or the actuation direction or rotational axis is part of the plane in which the frame extends. In particular, the connection of the actuator to the frame is established at a location which includes a point or area within said plane.
It is a further aspect of the invention to provide a lithographic projection apparatus manufacturing method including providing a radiation system that provides a projection beam of radiation; providing a support structure adapted to support a patterning structure, the patterning structure serving to pattern the projection beam according to a desired pattern; providing a substrate table adapted to hold a substrate; providing a projection system that projects the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate; providing at least one optical member; and supporting the optical member by connecting the optical member to a mounting frame which at least partially encloses the optical member and which is connected to at least one other component of at least one of the radiation system and the projection system.
According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a device manufacturing method including providing a substrate that is at least partially covered by a layer of radiation-sensitive material; providing a projection beam of radiation using a radiation system; endowing the projection beam with a pattern in its cross-section; and projecting the patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of the layer of radiation-sensitive material using a projection system. At least one of the projection beam and the patterned beam passes through at least one optical member that is supported and is partially enclosed by a mounting frame which is connected to at least one other component of at least one of the radiation system and the projection system. The frame extends in a plane transverse to a path of radiation to or from the optical member and the frame thereby enclosing, within in said plane, the optical member, wherein the optical member is connected to the frame and the frame is connected to at least one of the other components.
In a preferred embodiment, the method includes adjusting the propagation direction of the projection beam of radiation or of the patterned beam by adjusting at least one of the position and the orientation of the mounting frame, thereby adjusting at least one of the position and the orientation of the optical member. Due to the stiffness and/or the decoupling effect of the mounting frame that are described above, the position and/or the orientation of the mounting frame can be kept very stable. For example, it is therefore possible to reduce the dimensions of structures which are generated by lithography on a substrate, in particular when short-wave radiation is used, e.g. EUV.
Although specific reference may be made in this text to the use of the apparatus according to the invention in the manufacture of ICs, it should be explicitly understood that such an apparatus has many other possible applications. For example, it may be employed in the manufacture of integrated optical systems, guidance and detection patterns for magnetic domain memories, liquid-crystal display panels, thin-film magnetic heads, etc. The skilled artisan will appreciate that, in the context of such alternative applications, any use of the terms xe2x80x9creticlexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cwaferxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cdiexe2x80x9d in this text should be considered as being replaced by the more general terms xe2x80x9cmaskxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9csubstratexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ctarget portionxe2x80x9d, respectively.
In the present document, the terms xe2x80x9cradiationxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cbeamxe2x80x9d are used to encompass all types of electromagnetic radiation, including ultraviolet radiation (e.g. with a wavelength of 365, 248, 193, 157 or 126 nm) and EUV (extreme ultra-violet radiation, e.g. having a wavelength in the range 5-20 nm), as well as particle beams, such as ion beams or electron beams.

Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method


Provided are three-dimensional semiconductor memory devices and methods of fabricating the same. The device may include an electrode structure extending in a first direction and including electrodes and insulating patterns which are alternately and repeatedly stacked on a substrate, and vertical active patterns penetrating the electrode structure. At least an uppermost electrode of the electrodes is divided into a plurality of physically isolated segments arranged in the first direction. The segments of the uppermost electrode are electrically connected to each other.

The present inventive concept relates to semiconductor devices and methods of fabricating the same and, more particularly, to three-dimensional semiconductor memory devices and methods of fabricating the same.
Semiconductor devices are very attractive in an electronic industry because of the small size, functionality and/or low fabrication cost thereof. The integration density of semiconductor memory devices in particular has increased with the development of the electronic industry. The integration density of semiconductor memory devices may directly affect the cost thereof. That is, as the integration density of the semiconductor memory devices is increased, the cost of the semiconductor memory devices may be reduced. Thus, there is an increasing demand for semiconductor memory devices with increased integration density.
Generally, the integration density of the semiconductor memory devices is directly related to the planar area occupied by a unit memory cell. Accordingly, the integration density of semiconductor memory devices may be influenced by the process technology used for forming fine patterns. However, there may be limitations in improving the process technology for forming the fines patterns due to high cost equipments and/or difficulty of the process technology.
Recently, three-dimensional semiconductor memory devices have been proposed as a way of increasing integration density using existing patterning technology. However, in fabrication of the three-dimensional semiconductor memory devices, various problems may be encountered due to structural configurations thereof. For example, the reliability of the three-dimensional semiconductor memory devices may be degraded.

Three-dimensional semiconductor memory devices and method of fabricating the same


A photography illumination compensation method comprises: obtaining a surface shape characteristic of a photographed side of an object in a photographing field of view; obtaining first relative direction information of the object relative to a photography position related to the photographing field of view, obtaining second relative direction information of the object relative to an illumination array comprising multiple illumination units, and adjusting, according to the surface reflection characteristic, the first relative direction information, the second relative direction information, and a set illumination compensation criterion, an illumination parameter of an illumination unit in the illumination array. An illumination parameter of an illumination unit in the illumination array is determined by referring to a surface shape characteristic of the photographed object in the photographing field of view, to perform better illumination compensation for the photographed object in the photographing field of view to enable a required illumination compensation effect.

Under a condition where ambient illumination is poor, in particular, on an evening, photography of a picture or a video requires using of an illumination apparatus (for example, a flashlight, a scene light, and the like) to perform light compensation for a photography scene, during the photography, light rays emitted from the illumination apparatus are used to illuminate the scene to achieve a better photography effect. Some illumination apparatuses may be directly mounted on an image acquisition device such as a camera, for example, a mobile phone and a domestic camera would usually have a built-in flash module; further, some more professional image acquisition devices may use an external illumination apparatus to perform better light compensation for a scene.

Photography illumination compensation method, compensation apparatus, and user equipment


A container for containing automatic transmissions or the like comprises first and second cases which are identical in shape. A first group of coupling portions are possessed by each case, which establish a coupling of the first and second cases when the first and second cases are mated in a front-to-front mating manner. A second group of coupling portions are possessed by each case, which establish a coupling of the first and second cases when the first and second cases are mated in a back-to-back mating manner. A third group of coupling portions are possessed by each case, which establish a coupling of the first and second cases when the first and second cases are mated in a front-to-back mating manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to containers, and more particularly to containers of a type including upper and lower cases which can define an enclosed containing space when coupled.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
In the automotive field, various containers have been used for containing automotive parts. Usually, the containers are of a type which comprises upper and lower cases which are different in shape. However, using different upper and lower cases causes a difficulty or troublesomehess with which they have to be produced and managed.


The present invention is directed to a system and method for creating a non-redundant data set from a plurality of data sources. Generally, the system and method operate by creating unique hash keys corresponding to unique data files; compiling the hash keys along with seeking information for the corresponding data files; de-duplicating the hash keys; and retrieving/storing the data files corresponding to the de-duplicated hash keys. Thus, in accordance with the system and method of the present invention, a non-redundant data set can be created from a plurality of data sources. The system of the present invention can operate independently or in conjunction with any de-duplicating methods and systems. For example, a de-duplicating method and system can be used to read and obtain data from a variety of media, regardless of the application used to generate the backup media. The component parts of a file may be read from a medium, including content and metadata pertaining to a file. These pieces of content and metadata may then be stored and associated. To avoid duplication of data, pieces of content and metadata may be compared to previously stored content and metadata. Furthermore, using these same methods and systems the content and metadata of a file may be associated with a location where the file resided. A database which stores these components and allows linking between the various stored components may be particularly useful in implementing embodiments of these methods and systems.

Vast amounts of active and archived corporate electronic information exists on backup tape media. Retrieving and collating this data is becoming increasingly important as the information is not only utilized for knowledge management, but may also be the subject of discovery requests by attorneys engaged in litigation involving the corporation. Conventional methods of producing data from large quantities of backup tapes are difficult to implement, cost prohibitive, or both. Managing data from backup media is particularly problematic in the case where companies have many different tape backup systems using different backup environments.
A previous attempt to solve the problem of retrieving information from backup tapes involves restoring the tapes using a "Native Environment" (NE) approach. The NE approach recreates the original backup environment from which the tape was generated so that data from the tapes can be restored and moves the restored data from the replicated environment to a target storage system for further analysis.
Replicating the NE in order to restore backup tapes requires that all server names, configurations, software versions, user names, and passwords are consistent with the environment as it stood at the time of the backup. Replicating all of this information becomes quite challenging as systems age, names of systems change, passwords change, software versions change, and administrators change. Furthermore, backup software is typically designed to restore data for the purposes of disaster recovery (an all or nothing proposition) and not to intelligently process large amounts of data from large numbers of media to obtain only relevant information.
Even if the backup environment can be recreated, however, all the records may need to be examined. Those records may contain information regarding thousands of employees in the case of a large company. Managing all this data is a nightmare, even if the environment can be recreated. For many companies, the amount of information can exceed a terabyte. Storing over a terabyte of information takes a great deal of memory space and consumes valuable computer resources during the storing operation.
Beyond trying to manage the sheer volume of data, other problems exist. Most backup systems retrieve data for backup on a regular schedule, however, this means that with every successive backup much of the data saved is a duplicate of data saved during the previous backup. This is especially problematic as data sensitivity increases, as backup frequency usually increases commensurately with data sensitivity. Additionally, though the data itself may be duplicative, the location where this duplicative data is found may be different, and the location where the data resides may be of importance as well. As, for example, when this data must be restored to its original locale.
Thus there is a need for systems and methods to store and collate data from disparate locales which retains the location of various pieces of data without duplicating identical data.
Conventional de-duplication systems generally aim to take a duplicated set of data and remove duplicate entries. This is generally performed by having a single central system traverse all of the data in the duplicated data set. While traversing the duplicated data set, the system through some means, generally a hashing means, attempts to characterize the data in some unique manner (e.g. hash value). As is well known, a hash function is any well-defined procedure or function that converts a large, possibly variable-sized amount of data into a small datum, usually a single integer that may serve as an index to an array. The system then generally creates a unique list of data by maintaining a list of unique hash values. When the system encounters a data item whose hash value already exists in the system, the system deletes the data item corresponding to that hash value as it is considered to be duplicate data. This type of system is not entirely advantageous as such systems only utilize a single node to traverse all of the data, which can be taxing and slow.

System and method for creating a de-duplicated data set


According to an embodiment, an electric power transmitter has a first electric power transmitting unit, a second electric power transmitting unit, a first detecting unit configured to detect a first placed object on the first electric power transmitting unit, a second detecting unit configured to detect a second placed object on the second electric power transmitting unit, a timer unit configured to, when the first placed object on the first electric power transmitting unit is detected, start driving, and a judging unit configured to, when the second placed object on the second electric power transmitting unit is detected within a predetermined time period from driving of the timer unit, judge that the first placed object and the second placed object are one common placed object.

Conventionally, there is a wireless power feeding technique in which an electric power transmitting unit having an electric power transmitting coil transmits electric power to an electric power receiving unit having an electric power receiving coil in a contactless manner to charge an electric power receiving target.
Among electric power transmitters used in wireless power feeding, there is an electric power transmitter which has a plurality of electric power transmitting units so that electric power can be transmitted to a plurality of electric power receiving targets at the same time.
Further, in the electric power transmitter used in wireless power feeding, a foreign matter on an electric power transmitting unit is detected based on an electric parameter of a circuit so as to prevent electric power from being transmitted in a state where a foreign matter such as a metal is put between an electric power transmitting unit and an electric power receiving unit.
However, when, in the conventional electric power transmitter having a plurality of electric power transmitting units, the electric power transmitter is provided so that one electric power receiving target is placed across the plurality of electric power transmitting units, an electric power transmitting unit located below an electric power receiving unit detects the electric power receiving unit. However, when part of the electric power receiving target is placed above the electric power transmitting units, other electric power transmitting units do not detect the electric power receiving unit, thus detect the electric power receiving target as a foreign matter.
When the electric power transmitter detects a foreign matter, the electric power transmitter issues an alarm to a user through LED lighting, or the like, which results in wasting power consumption of the electric power transmitter due to LED lighting, or the like, and which requires an extra work for a user to halt power feeding and place the electric power receiving target again.

Electric power transmitter, electric power transmission method and semiconductor device


An aspect of the present invention facilitates users/administrators to control access to electronic resources. In one embodiment, a tag data indicating the corresponding tags associated with each of a set of electronics resources is maintained. In response to receiving from an administrator, a search query indicating a search tag, the tag data is examined and a result set of electronic resources having tags matching the received search tag is identified. The administrator is thereafter enabled to specify an access policy for each of the result set of electronic resources. Thus, administrators are enabled to search for specific resources from a large number of resources and then specify the desired access policies for controlling access to the specific resources.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to access management systems and more specifically to controlling access to a large number of electronic resources.
2. Related Art
Electronic resources refer to various data (e.g., files, web pages) and facilities (e.g., cache, services) that are available on digital processing systems. Typically, such electronic resources are accessible over a network. For example, web pages and files are accessible over the Internet based on corresponding Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI), and services are accessible over the Internet using corresponding contracts (in case of service oriented architecture) or simple pre-specified port number (e.g., in case of HTTP, SMTP Mail, etc.).
There is a general need to control access to the corresponding resources. Control can entail restricting (or allowing) access based on variables such as identity of users, time intervals, access mechanisms (e.g., secure connection, protocol), and/or permissible actions (e.g., read only, download) on the resources.
Several aspects of the present invention facilitate controlling access to a large number of resources (e.g., in an enterprise).
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.

Controlling access to a large number of electronic resources


An apparatus and method for maintaining backward compatibility with a narrow-band wireless communication system in a wide-band wireless communication system is provided. The base station comprises a scheduler, a control information generator, a resource mapping unit and a transmitter. The terminal comprises a resource allocation information checking unit, a receiver and a transmitter.

Many wireless communication technologies have been proposed for high-speed mobile communications over the recent years. Among them, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) technique is recognized as the most influential technology for next generation wireless communications. The OFDMA technique is currently under standardization in the working group of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.16e.
The OFDMA wireless communication system has downlink and uplink frames using the frequency-time resources so that a receiving end can effectively receive digital bit information transmitted from a transmitting end. In this case, the wireless communication system allocates frame resources for the receiving end and the transmitting end using a sub-channel allocation technique. There are two kinds of sub-channel allocation technique: one is a diversity sub-channel allocation technique, such as a full usage sub-carrier (FUSC) technique or a partial usage sub-carrier (PUSC) technique, and the other is an adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) sub-channel allocation technique.
As afore-mentioned, the OFDMA wireless communication system allocates frame resources for the receiving end and the transmitting end using the sub-channel allocation technique. The receiving end and the transmitting end are provided with resource information allocated from an upper node through control information contained in the frame. Accordingly, there arises a problem that the greater the degree of freedom is of the resources allocated to the receiving and transmitting ends, the more the overhead of control information contained in the frame increases.
The typical OFDMA wireless communication system under standardization in the working group of IEEE 802.16e utilizes one narrow-band frequency. However, with the recent increase of demand on multi-media services, research studies are being actively conducted on wide-band wireless communication systems which employ a plurality of frequency bands for faster data transmission. In this case, there occurs a problem that overhead is significantly increased due to the control information for the plurality of frequency bands used in the wide-band wireless communication system. In addition, there is a requirement to maintain backward compatibility with the narrow-band wireless communication system while employing the wide-band wireless communication system.

Apparatus and method for frame structure in wide-band wireless communication system


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for generating output sequences from input sequences. One of the methods includes obtaining an input sequence having a first number of inputs arranged according to an input order; processing each input in the input sequence using an encoder recurrent neural network to generate a respective encoder hidden state for each input in the input sequence; and generating an output sequence having a second number of outputs arranged according to an output order, each output in the output sequence being selected from the inputs in the input sequence, comprising, for each position in the output order: generating a softmax output for the position using the encoder hidden states that is a pointer into the input sequence; and selecting an input from the input sequence as the output at the position using the softmax output.

This specification relates to generating output sequences from input sequences using neural networks.
Many data processing tasks involve converting an ordered sequence of inputs into an ordered sequence of outputs. For example, machine translation systems translate an input sequence of words in one language into a sequence of words in another language. As another example, pronunciation systems convert an input sequence of graphemes into a target sequence of phonemes. In these tasks, the outputs in the output sequence are selected from a fixed vocabulary of possible outputs, e.g., a vocabulary of words or a vocabulary of phonemes. In some other tasks, however, the number of possible outputs in the vocabulary depends on the length of the input sequence. For example, some tasks involve sorting the inputs in an input sequence to generate an output sequence that includes the inputs from the input sequence ordered according to some specified characteristic.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Generating output sequences from input sequences using neural networks


An oil composition useful as a high stress electrical oil and especially as a transformer load tap changer oil is provided. The composition comprises a major amount of a paraffinic oil having a low viscosity of less than about 20 cSt @ 40.degree. C. and an effective amount of an additive system including at least one hindered phenolic antioxidant and a benzotriazole metal deactivator.

Present commercial practice is to use conventional naphthenic transformer oils in electrical devices operating under severe stress such as transformer load tap changers. Unfortunately such oils have poor oxidation and chemical stability under severe loading conditions of high current, fast contact switching speeds and arcing. Over time a deposit of carbonaceous material tends to build up on the contacts, distorting the contact surface, insulating the contacts and resulting in overheating of the contact and loss of temper of the contact spring.
Also over time the silver overlay on load top changer contacts may become worn away leaving the copper contact exposed. Exposure of the copper surface to conventional transformer oils tends to catalyze oil oxidation.
One object of the invention is to provide improved transformer load tap changer oils which reduce the build up of deposits on the tap changer contacts and thus extend their in-service life.
Another object of this invention is to provide an oil with improved oxidation stability to minimize the formation of oxidized products in the transformer oil.
A further object of the invention is to provide a load tap changer oil that will provide a film covering any exposed copper surface resulting from wear of contact silver overlay.
Yet another object is to provide an oil that will extend the in-service life of electrical devices such as circuit breakers, switchgear and load tap changers.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent upon a reading of the description which follows.


A generally tubular container integrally formed and communicating with a microscope slide member having an enclosed specimen chamber. The container is adapted to serve as a centrifugation tube and a permanent handle for manipulation of the microscope slide member. The back of the device is generally flat and the front and sides of the collection tube are generally rounded except for a concave region extending longitudinally from the upper face of the microscope slide member to provide clearance for rotating a lens turret for high power viewing of a specimen in the slide chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to laboratory equipment and, more particularly, to an integral biological specimen collection tube and microscope slide constructed as a unitary device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of laboratory devices have been devised in the past for the collection and handling of biological specimens. Certain of such devices are used particularly in laboratory centrifuges and the like. Complete urinalysis typically involves centrifugation of the specimen to isolate any sediment for microscopic study. Most procedures and devices currently in use require pouring the test liquid into a centrifuge tube and separately decanting the supernatant liquid from the sediment after centrifugation, then transferring the sediment to a microscope slide. Such procedures are time-consuming and expensive. Moreover, these individual steps are multiple in character, take the time of the technician, and increase the technician's contact with the specimen.
An improved combination collector tube and microscope slide member is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,414. The tube and slide member are connected by a narrow, weak, frangible neck which is intended to be snapped through to remove the collection tube when the slide member is to be used. However, manufacturing and handling difficulties may occur with such a device. Moreover, the small delicate slide member must be separately handled after detachment, usually by mounting it in a secondary carrier, in order to place it into viewing position.
There remains a need for an improved type of device which can be used for initial biological liquid collection, subsequent centrifugation, sediment isolation and microscopic examination, all without transferring the test materials to other laboratory equipment. While the specimen tube of U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,522 would appear to present these features, it has been found that there are still serious drawbacks in that device. For example, the thin flat terminal chamber of the device, which is intended for microscope viewing, is aligned substantially with the central axis of the enlarged upper body portion (the centrifuge tube proper). This locates the slide portion substantially above the microscope stage, when in use, and undesirably affects the microscope optics. Moreover, it is impossible to view the slide portion at different powers of microscope magnification without shifting the device out of the way while the microscope lens turret is rotated and then repositioning the device for viewing at the newly set level of magnification. This procedure is unduly time consuming and requires an added level of skill in the viewer to achieve proper results.

Integral centrifuge tube and specimen slide


A power distributing and synthesizing device which comprises first to third signal terminals, first and second transmission lines and a resistor. The first signal terminal is provided at the connection portion between one end of the first transmission line and one end of the second transmission line; the second signal terminal is provided at the other end of the first transmission line; and the third signal terminal is provided at the other end of the second transmission line. The resistor is connected between the second signal terminal and the third signal terminal. LC serial resonators each comprising an inductor and a capacitor are respectively connected between the first to third signal terminals and a ground.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power distributing and synthesizing device, and more particularly to a power distributing and synthesizing device for distributing or synthesizing high-frequency microwave power in communication equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
A Wilkinson type power distributing and synthesizing device which distributes or synthesizes high-frequency power in the microwave band, is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-263993. This device has the advantages of both simplicity of circuit configuration and impedance conversion capability.
FIG. 8 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a conventional Wilkinson type power distributing and synthesizing device: The power distributing and synthesizing device 50 comprises first and second transmission lines 51 and 52, first, second and third signal terminals 531-533, a resistor 54, and capacitors 551-553. The connection portion between one end of the first transmission line 51 and one end of the second transmission line 52 is used as a first signal terminal (synthesis terminal) 531, the other terminal of the first transmission line 51 is used as a second signal terminal (distribution terminal) 532, and the other terminal of the second transmission line 52 is used as a third signal terminal (distribution terminal) 533. The second signal terminal 532 and the third signal terminal 533 are connected via the resistor 54. The first to third signal terminals 531-533 are connected to a ground via the capacitors 551-553.
When the power distributing and synthesizing device 50 is used as a distributor, a high-frequency signal is inputted to the first signal terminal 531, and the inputted high-frequency signal is outputted from the second and third signal terminals 532 and 533. On the other hand, when the power distributing and synthesizing device 50 is used as a synthesizer, high-frequency signals are inputted to the second and third signal terminals 532 and 533, and the inputted high-frequency signals are outputted from the first signal terminal 531.
Here, let the impedance of the circuit to be connected to the first signal terminal 531 be Z1, and the impedance of the circuits to be connected to the second and third signal terminals 532 and 533 be Z23. By setting the characteristic impedance of each of the first and second transmission lines 51 and 52 to (2xc2x7Z1xc2x7Z23)1/2, and the length of each of the first and second transmission lines 51 and 52 to xcex/4, impedance matching is realized between the power distributing and synthesizing device 50 and the circuits to be connected thereto. Also, by setting the characteristic impedance of the resistor 54 to 2xc2x7Z23, isolation between the second and third signal terminals 532 and 533 is realized.
However, in the above-described conventional power distributing and synthesizing device 50, since the first to third signal terminals are each connected to the ground via capacitors, it is impossible to remove high-frequency signals at a particular frequency although it is possible to remove higher harmonics of the high-frequency signal inputted to a signal terminal of the power distributing and synthesizing device. As a result, a filter, a trap, or the like needs to be connected to each signal terminal. This requires components for constructing the filters, and raises a problem of inhibiting the size-reduction of the power distributing and synthesizing device.
Furthermore, when the attenuation characteristics of the filter, the trap, or the like to be connected to each of the signal terminals is insufficient, problems occur, in that the isolation between the synthesis terminal and the distribution terminals deteriorates, and that thereby the performance of communication equipment using this power distributing and synthesizing device also deteriorates.
The present invention is able to solve such problems associated with the conventional art, and to provide a power distributing and synthesizing device capable of removing high-frequency signals at a particular frequency, and at the same time capable of sufficiently securing isolation between the synthesis terminal and the distribution terminals.
To solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides in its first aspect a power distributing and synthesizing device comprising first and second transmission lines; a synthesis terminal constituted of the connection portion between one end of the first transmission line and one end of the second transmission line; a first distribution terminal constituted of the other end of the first transmission line; a second distribution terminal constituted of the other end of the second transmission line; a resistor connected between the first distribution terminal and the second distribution terminal; and at least one LC serial resonator comprising an inductor and a capacitor. In this power distributing and synthesizing device, at least one terminal among the synthesis terminal, the first distribution terminal, and the second distribution terminal is connected to the ground via the at least one LC serial resonator.
Also, the present invention provides in its first aspect a power distributing and synthesizing device further comprising a laminated body formed by laminating a plurality of dielectric layers; strip line electrodes provided within the laminated body; and via hole electrodes provided within the laminated body. In this power distributing and synthesizing device, each of the first and second transmission lines is formed of the strip line electrodes; the inductor is formed of at least one of a strip line electrode and a via hole electrode; and the capacitor is formed of a plurality of electrodes formed within the laminated body so as to be opposed to each other across the dielectric layers.
The present invention provides in its second aspect a power distributing and synthesizing device comprising first and second transmission lines; a synthesis terminal constituted of the connection portion between one end of the first transmission line and one end of the second transmission line; a first distribution terminal constituted of the other end of the first transmission line; a second distribution terminal constituted of the other end of the second transmission line; a resistor connected between the first distribution terminal and the second distribution terminal; and at least one LC serial resonator comprising an inductor and a capacitor. In this power distributing and synthesizing device, a capacitor is connected in parallel with at least one of the first and second transmission lines.
Also, the present invention provides in its second aspect a power distributing and synthesizing device further comprising a laminated body formed by laminating a plurality of dielectric layers; and strip line electrodes provided within the laminated body. In this power distributing and synthesizing device, each of the first and second transmission lines is formed of the strip line electrodes; and the capacitor is formed of a plurality of electrodes formed within the laminated body so as to be opposed to each other across the dielectric layers.
Furthermore, in the power distributing and synthesizing device in according with the present invention, each of the strip line electrodes forming said first and second transmission lines may have a helical coil shape.
In the power distributing and synthesizing device in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, since an LC serial resonator is connected between at least one terminal among the synthesis terminal, the first distribution terminal, and the second distribution terminal and the ground, it is possible to generate an attenuation pole by a serial resonance of the LC serial resonator, in the vicinity of the resonance frequency of an inputted signal. This allows high-frequency signals in the vicinity of the resonance frequency to be removed.
In the power distributing and synthesizing device in accordance with the second aspect of the present invention, since a capacitor is connected in parallel with at least one of the first and second transmission lines, it is possible to generate an attenuation pole by a parallel resonance of the LC parallel resonator comprising at least one of the first and second transmission lines and a capacitor, in the vicinity of the resonance frequency of an inputted signal. This allows high-frequency signals in the vicinity of the resonance frequency to be removed.
The mobile communication equipment in accordance with the present invention uses the above-described power distributing and synthesizing device.
In the mobile communication equipment in accordance with the present invention, since the power distributing and synthesizing device is capable of securing sufficient isolation between the synthesis terminal and the distribution terminals, and allows a cost reduction and a reduction in size, it is possible to achieve a small-sized transmitter which is superior in characteristics.
The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of several embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Power distributing and synthesizing device and mobile communication equipment using same


A method and apparatus for updating a slave system in a multi-master replication network is provided. The method involves executing a first event on a first master system within the multi-master replication network and executing a second event on a second master system in the multi-master replication network, where the first event and the second event are identical. The method further involves selecting an event from the first event and the second event and executing the selected event on a slave system.

The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The introduction of multi-master replication to the database world has revolutionized the way databases are made available to a process, system and/or user. Multi-master replication is used to provide high availability of master systems while guarding against failure using data redundancy in different nodes. Specifically, each node corresponds to a master system that can be used to add, delete, and modify a corresponding data repository. Further, when the data repository corresponding to one master system is modified, the other master systems within the multi-master replication network are notified. Upon notification, the other master systems within the multi-master replication network modify their respective data repositories in order to maintain consistency and redundancy among all the master systems within the multi-master replication network.
However, in a multi-master replication network, delays between updates from one master system to another master system may result in data inconsistencies for a temporary period of time. Further, failure of one master system may result in the loss of data (e.g., modification of an associated data repository) if the data has not yet been replicated in the other master systems within the multi-master replication network. Accordingly, as described with reference to FIG. 1., each master system (e.g., master system 110 and master system 120) within the multi-master replication network may be backed up with a corresponding slave system (e.g., slave system 115 and slave system 125) that stores a duplicate copy of the data stored on the respective associated master system.


An enclosure is made out of transparent or translucent panes which form a chamber (1) through which a liquid flows in closed circuit and which interchanges energy with the inner and outer environments, a heat exchanger (2) in contact with the liquid, a circulation pump (3), and a hydrostatic pressure reducer device (4). The hydrostatic pressure reducer device allows the reduction of the thicknesses of the transparent panes which hold the liquid inside. The active character of the enclosure is due to its capacity of controlling the solar heat load and the illumination. The solar heat load is regulated through the heat exchanger. The illumination of the building is controlled through the adjustable transparency of the liquid. The described enclosure allows the creation of an isothermal envelope which allows the climatization of the building. The system can be used for active outer enclosures or for interior partitions for the climatization and luminic control, as well as for glass roofs or false ceilings.

The massive use of glass enclosures in contemporary architecture has originated large energy consumptions in buildings and an important reduction in comfort. The low thermal insulation of the glass elements combined with their uncontrolled permeability to solar radiation are the reasons for their bad energetic behavior. The worldwide trend to save energy in buildings, motivated by the energy scarcity and the contamination constraints, has triggered in recent years the development of intelligent transparent enclosures which allow to control the entrance of light and of the direct solar radiation.
As an example of these novel transparent enclosures, enclosures have been developed which increase the thermal insulation through the inclusion of layers and different materials forming a multilayer panel, as the ones described in the patents FR2828509, DE10034764, DE19829480, and DE19847634. Another type of intelligent transparent enclosures try to seek the control of illumination and thermal load by means of one or more fluids of different colors, fluids with variable transparency properties or through curtains integrated into the enclosure. The following patents are remarkable examples of this type of intelligent enclosure: U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,835, DE3716563, EP0402529, EP1367210, ES2158757, U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,835, WO200604587, DE10351023, DE3716563, DE3818543, and WO9963195. Another family of active glazings includes a circulating fluid in contact with a heat exchanger. These glazings allow the control of the thermal load and serve also as radiating surfaces for heating and cooling purposes. Examples of this family are the patents EP0075464, U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,150, DE19926343, DE4107943, and ES2180444. Last, another group of glazings achieve the illumination control by including an electrochromic layer adhered to the transparent panes. Examples of this solution are the patents DE10023765, US2005200935, WO2005076061, and US2005117193.
It is therefore desirable to have an intelligent transparent enclosure which allows the regulation of the building illumination and block or control the entrance and exit of heat through an isothermal envelope, all this done with an economic and versatile transparent system or enclosure of reduced thickness. The necessity to control the solar radiation through the convective transport in a chamber of reduced thickness requires a circulating fluid with a large thermal heat capacity, and therefore, with a large density, like a liquid.
Hence, patent DE3716563 describes a transparent enclosure with many of the sought features, where a liquid is heated by the incoming solar radiation while it crosses the interior of the enclosure. At the exit of the enclosure the liquid is driven to a heat exchanger for the evacuation of the absorbed heat and thereafter returned to the enclosure. The so formed closed circuit is kept in motion by using a circulation pump.
But the presence of the liquid in the interior of the enclosure leads to significant hydrostatic pressures which require the use of transparent panes with large thicknesses in order to avoid their breakage. This problem is present in all the cited patents in which one or several liquids are in between the two transparent panes, making the realization of these inventions economically enviable in the formats and sizes common in architecture.
The present invention differs from the cited patents in that in reduces the hydrostatic pressure supported by the transparent panes and induced by the liquid in the closed circuit. The reduction of the supported hydrostatic pressure, and therefore of the required thicknesses of the transparent panes, allows the consecution of an economical intelligent enclosure system with luminic and calorific energy management capabilities.
Other technological solutions exist which allow the construction of transparent enclosures in formats and sizes common in architecture. The patent considered most close to the actual state of the art is FR2176916. In this patent the hydrostatic pressure problem is solved by imposing the atmospheric pressure at the bottom of the enclosure, so that the glass panes are exposed to a depression instead of an overpressure. In order to avoid the breaking of the panes, the patent introduces spacers between the panes to keep them in place and hence reduce their effective span. The main difference with the present invention is that the latter sets the atmospheric pressure at the vertical center of the enclosure. In this way the panes are exposed to depression in their upper half part and to overpressure in their bottom half part, leading to a zero resulting force. The consequence of this subtle, but transcendental change is a radically different load state of the panes, leading to much smaller deflections, and therefore stresses. The absence of spacers to solve the problem induced by the hydrostatic pressure represents an important technological advantage in economic, constructive, manufacturing and esthetic terms.
The invention described in the present patent has four fundamental advantages compared to the similar inventions described before. First, it allows the blockage of an important part of the incoming radiation energy and its transfer to another system, avoiding the temperature increase inside the building. Second advantage is the hydrostatic pressure reducer device which allows the use of reduced thicknesses in the panes that contain the liquid, and with it the cost, weight, and complexity of the enclosure. The third advantage is an energetic one, as the energy requirements for climatization of the interior of the building are significantly reduced, leading to savings in cooling and heating. Fourth advantage is the modular design, which allows an independent manufacture and ensures a maintainability of the system: the breaking of one module does not imply the failing of the complete system, and the repairing can be performed independently without affecting the working of the rest of the system.

Active transparent or translucent enclosures with energy control capacity


An optical axis adjustment method for an integrated optical module includes: measuring output currents by changing a wavelength of a light beam incident on a package; detecting, with first and second light receiving elements, light beams resulted from demultiplexing the incident light beam with first and second filters; detecting center wavelengths of a first light beam and a second light beam based on a change in the output currents in response to a change in the wavelength of the incident light beam; comparing the center wavelengths of the first light beam and the second light beam with design transmission wavelengths of the first filter and the second filter, and defining respective differences as a first wavelength deviation and a second wavelength deviation; and adjusting a position of the optical demultiplexer to make a total sum of the first wavelength deviation and the second wavelength deviation small.

In recent years, the communication speed of optical communication has been increasing, which requires an optical communication module that is higher in communication speed, smaller in size, and lower in power consumption. Therefore, an integrated optical communication module (hereinafter, referred to as "integrated optical module") that is small in size and high in communication speed has been developed. In such an integrated optical module, a plurality of light receiving elements is mounted, a wavelength-multiplexed light beam output from one fiber is demultiplexed into a plurality of light beams having different wavelengths to cause the light receiving elements to receive the light beams, and an optical signal is converted into an electric signal by each of the light receiving elements.
For the conventional optical communication module, one light receiving element is provided for one optical communication module, and optical axis adjustment of a light beam output from an optical fiber is performed for the one light receiving element, and the optical communication module and the optical fiber are fixed at a position where a current value of an electric signal resulted from converting an optical signal in the light receiving element becomes optimum. On the other hand, optical axis adjustment is required for the integrated optical module to achieve a configuration where a plurality of light receiving elements is mounted in one integrated optical module, and a wavelength-multiplexed light beam output from an optical fiber is demultiplexed into a plurality of light beams having different wavelengths to cause each of the light receiving elements to receive a corresponding one of the plurality of light beams. Therefore, the optical axis adjustment needs to be performed by the number of light receiving elements mounted in the integrated optical module.
On the other hand, in the method described in Patent Document 1, an optical demultiplexer that includes a plurality of wavelength filters and demultiplexes an incident optical signal into a plurality of signal light beams having different wavelengths is prepared, a position of the optical demultiplexer is determined based on a difference between a reference angle and a design angle with reference to an angle perpendicular to an optical axis of an external light source for optical axis adjustment, then an optical signal received by each light receiving element is measured, and the position of the optical demultiplexer is fine-adjusted.

Optical axis adjustment method, manufacturing method, and optical axis adjustment device for integrated optical module


A processing system of including at least one processor may obtain a query to retrieve a set of information from a graph database, the query providing a criterion for identifying graph database vertices that are relevant to the query, identify the graph database vertices that are relevant to the query in accordance with the criterion, obtain vertex identifiers of the relevant vertices, sort the vertex identifiers into a list in a sequential order, identify a first subset of the vertex identifiers in the list that corresponds to a first result index and a result size, access a first subset of the vertices that is identified as being relevant to the query and that is identified by the first subset of the vertex identifiers, retrieve a first subset of the set of information from the first subset of the vertices, and provide the first subset in a first results page.

Graph databases are useful for structuring large amounts of interconnected data and provide flexibility to impose rules on relationships and attributes. In some cases, data may be structured in a tree-based graph. For instance, this approach may be useful when the data has hierarchical relationships. The ability to easily and efficiently retrieve data from graph databases is important as these data structures gain popularity.


A variable valve operating apparatus including a drive cam, a rocker cam pivotally supported on a first pivot, a lift varying mechanism operative to change a pivotal position of the rocker cam to vary a valve lift of an engine valve, a swing arm including one end portion at which the swing arm is pivotally supported on a second pivot and the other end portion contacted with the engine valve, a hollow space defined between the end portions of the swing arm, and a driven roller rotatably disposed within the hollow space of the swing arm and contacted with a cam surface of the rocker cam. When the valve lift of the engine valve is a predetermined lift amount or more, a contact point between the driven roller and the rocker cam is located in the hollow space of the swing arm.

The present invention relates to an improvement of a variable valve operating apparatus for an internal combustion engine which variably controls the lift and open duration of engine valves, i.e., intake and/or exhaust valves, depending on engine operating conditions.
Japanese Patent Application First Publication No. 2002-371816 discloses a variable valve operating apparatus for an internal combustion engine, which includes a bifurcated rocker arm disposed above a cylinder head with two intake valves per cylinder. The rocker arm with a roller includes one end portion pivotal about a pivot and the other two branched end portions which are contacted with stem ends of the intake valves, respectively. A control shaft is rotatably disposed above the rocker arm. A first intervening arm is pivotally supported on the control shaft and drives the roller of the rocker arm. A second intervening arm is pivotally supported on a projecting portion integrally formed with the control shaft. A drive cam on a cam shaft urges the second intervening arm onto the first intervening arm to thereby cause the pivotal motion of the first intervening arm. By rotating the control shaft and the projecting portion in a relatively small angular range, the pivotal motion of the first intervening arm by the drive cam is controlled so that the lift and open duration of the intake valves through the rocker arm are varied.

Variable valve operating apparatus for internal combustion engine


The invention provides an agent that reduces the expression of Gα12 or Gα13 polypeptide, as well as an agent that enhances G protein Gα12 or Gα13 expression and/or activity. An agent of the invention may be used to decrease or increase G protein Gα12 or Gα13 expression and/or activity thereby to treat or prevent the onset of a disease or condition associated with Gα12 or Gα13 expression and/or activity. The invention also provides a method for screening for an anti-cancer or anti-angiogenesis agent, as well as an agent that promotes angiogenesis.

Blood vessels are crucial for organ growth in the embryo and repair of wounded tissue in the adult. An imbalance in the growth of blood vessels contributes to the pathogenesis of numerous disorders including malignant, ocular and inflammatory disorders. Carmeliet, Nature 438: 932-936 (2005). Excessive or abnormal angiogenesis may contribute to conditions such as obesity, asthma, diabetes, cirrhosis, multiple sclerosis, endometriosis, AIDS, bacterial infections and autoimmune disease. Id. Insufficient angiogenesis may cause endothelial cell dysfunction and vessel malformation or regression; it may also prevent revascularization, healing and regeneration thereby contributing to ischaemic heart disease or preeclampsia. Id. To date, it has been reported that in Western nations, at least 184 million patients could benefit from some form of anti-angiogenesis therapy, while at least 314 million patients would benefit from some form of angiogenesis-stimulating therapy (http://www.angio.org/understanding/content_understanding.html (last retrieved May 16, 2006)).
Although a great deal of effort has been undertaken to develop therapies to promote revascularization of ischemic tissue or to inhibit angiogenesis in cancer and ocular, joint or skin disorders, toxicities and acquired resistance associated with currently available therapeutics indicate that continued efforts to develop novel strategies for treating angiogenesis-associated conditions are needed.

G proteins in tumor growth and angiogenesis


An ink cartridge with replaceable ink bag is provided, including a cartridge body, an ink bag and a lid body. The lid body is removably engaged to the cartridge body to house the ink bag. The wall on long side of the cartridge includes at least a retention block. The ink bag includes a trigger based on amount of remaining ink, a bag body and a positioning element. The bag body is partially glued to the positioning element. The surroundings of the positioning element are disposed with at least a retention element. The retention element can be inserted between the retention block and the bottom of the cartridge body for fixing the ink bag inside the cartridge. As such, the cartridge body and the lid body of the present invention can be reused to save the cost as well as resources to reduce the environmental waste.

The commercially used inkjet printer often uses ink cartridge with capacity up to 4000 ml. To avoid occupying too much space when the ink cartridge is installed in the printer, the ink cartridge is usually designed as a long shape with the ratio of length vs. width as high as six to one. A collapsible ink bag is included inside this type of ink cartridge, and is responsible for supplying ink continuously. Because of the large amount of ink, the shaking during the transportation or over concentration of ink in a part of the bag may cause the ink cartridge to burst if the ink bag is not fixed inside the ink cartridge. Therefore, one side of the ink bag is often partially attached to the bottom of the ink cartridge.
In addition, to ensure that the user is alerted of the time to change the cartridge, a trigger based on the remaining ink amount is also attached to the ink bag at location not attached to the bottom of the cartridge. The trigger can move towards a specific direction as the amount of ink reduces and the ink bag shrinks or flattens. When the trigger touches a sensor in the printer, the printer will issue an alert for replacing the cartridge to inform the user. Because of the trigger, the bottom of the ink bag must also be attached to the bottom of the cartridge, which leads to difficulty in replacing the ink bag. Hence, the commercial large-size ink cartridge is often a disposable product. The entire cartridge must be replaced when the ink is exhausted, instead of simply replacing the ink bag. As a result, the purchase cost is higher and the discarded cartridge cause extra environmental burden and resource waste. Thus, it is imperative to devise a solution to the above shortcomings of the known technique.