text: Staffing Management: Multiple Choice Stephenie Overman 1/1/2007 Permissions Vol. 3, No. 1 Putting together a properly prepared panel can add to the interviewing experience. The scene is a long, narrow conference room at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas. It's 10 a.m. on a Thursday. A job candidate sits at the head of the conference table, facing down a half-dozen interrogators. Michael Abela, director of HR at the Hilton Anatole, admits that the panel interview process conducted at the hotel each week can be intimidating. He knows; he has been through it. All candidates for supervisory and managerial positions, as well as any guest contact positions at the Hilton Anatole, go through the multiple-interviewer process. Candidates for senior leadership positions face the entire executive team. But Abela is convinced that the panel interview process does much more than unsettle the candidate. It establishes a bond, he says, and tells that candidate "we care so much about the position that we collectively are selecting you. The general manager is involved in selecting you to become part of the team." From the company's standpoint, "It is a collective decision on the people you are bringing to join the team. It strengthens the team and [reflects well on] the department head who brings the person forward. It's a good team-building exercise for us," he says. The multiple-interviewer process is working, Abela adds, noting that the 1,620-room hotel reports 31 percent turnover in an industry that averages about 70 percent. Doing It Well Many companies can benefit from using interview panels—if they are done properly, say Sharon Sellers, PHR, president of SLS Consulting LLC in Summerville, S.C., and Diana Meisenhelter, principal with Riviera Advisors Inc. in Dallas. "A panel can pick up on more things. Different people have different specializations," Sellers says. And the panel process saves time for the interviewers and the candidates. "What would normally take all day, you can do in a hour," Meisenhelter agrees. Plus, she says, "everybody hears the same information. They sit in the same room." Meisenhelter, who was in corporate HR for about 20 years, believes that panel interviews can work especially well in highvolume situations such as at college recruiting events or for hiring hourly workers. Sellers and Meisenhelter agree that one individual from the company, probably the HR manager or the hiring manager, should be designated the "host" of the interview. The host sets up the interview and tells the candidate about the structure of the interview, Sellers says. On interview day, the host welcomes the candidate, introduces all the participants and starts the line of questions. In addition, the host wraps up the interview, thanks the candidate and details the timeline on when a decision will be made. The host also needs to be in charge of following up with the candidate after the interview, Sellers says. "Of all the complaints I hear, the one I hear most is 'I never heard from the company.' It's horrible PR for the company." The candidate experience is often overlooked in the multiple- interviewer process, Meisenhelter says. "I'm a staffing and recruiting expert, but I have also been an interviewee. Once I had eight panel interviewers. It was more about getting everybody on the schedule than about who the candidate was. Remember the candidate experience. Give the person time to eat, to take a break." Best-in-class companies help prepare candidates to be interviewed by a panel, she says. "If I'm a recruiter, I build a rapport up front. Sometimes in the interview environment, [interviewers] use power plays. Try to level that a little." Her advice is to "explain who's going to be in the room, what their tone is. Give the candidate the opportunity to be prepared for success. "Some companies think it's good to 'catch' the candidate," Meisenhelter says. "It shouldn't be that way at all. You're looking for good fit with the culture." Avoiding Panel Pitfalls Sellers sometimes sees "a bit of a territory war going on" during a panel interview. "Some [interviewers] will try to be harder on the applicant to show off in front of their peers. "Make sure they understand it's not a competition. It's about trying to find the best candidate for the job, not who's the tougher interviewer. You don't want to scare [the candidate] off, to make them say, 'I'll never go work for them. They're mean.' " And it's not just what goes on in the room during the interview that matters. Best-in-class companies have plenty of pre-interview and follow-up contact with the candidate, Meisenhelter says. These companies give careful thought to which—and how many—key decision holders should be on the panel. "There needs to be a limit—maybe six," Meisenhelter recommends. At best-in-class companies, interviewers are well prepared with a list of competency-based behavioral questions, and they decide in advance who will ask what. The interviewers should draft the questions together and know what the answers should be ahead of time, Hanig says. After all interviews are complete for a candidate, the interviewers should meet to compare their results, he says. "someone just looks at the clock [and notices that] it's three minutes before the interview. They go in, ask questions and walk out." Good preparation often starts with an initial phone screening, Sellers says. And any job search starts with a clear job description—"that's the key." She also believes panel members should get together prior to the interview to go over the list of questions. "Usually you have people from the various departments asking questions pertaining to their realm. I recommend asking specific behavioral questions: 'Give me an example of a time when you disagreed with your supervisor.' Make the person pull from memory and experience. That explains a lot more than regurgitation from the resume." When panel members have met in advance, they're better able to coordinate their questions. Later, Sellers says, "when you're looking at your notes, you are comparing apples and apples. You gave each person the same questions." Sellers prefers a structured interview for a couple of reasons. Not only does the panel get comparable information from each candidate, but structured interviews can also help companies avoid discrimination charges because each candidate has been asked similar questions. Sometimes, however, interviewers take "structured" too literally, Sellers adds. "They think they can't ask a follow-up question. I've seen some people so structured they weren't willing to ask anyone anything different." Note-taking can get in the way of the interviewing process, Sellers says, so she encourages participants to use their own "cryptic" shorthand notes to remember what was said. "But leave time between interviews to go over [the notes while] they're still fresh." After the panel interview has ended, Meisenhelter says, "it's time to regroup." Some clients rate candidates; others are more informal. The important thing is to set aside this time to complete the process. "It can be very difficult to get feedback on candidates. That can hinder the process. Often it's just yes, no, maybe. This way, before you go back to your office, you can have a conversation about a candidate that can be validated. Why did you like her? What did you not like? It's really powerful. There's an immediate conversation," and a decision can be made within minutes of a candidate walking out the door. That's why it's important to involve only the real decisionmakers in the panel interview process, she adds. "Everybody has to agree. It's a difficult situation and it can be uncomfortable if you bring in too many people." What Sellers sees working best is a rating scale that specifically lists qualities such as knowledge of the work area and ability to communicate. "List those, then rate each characteristic on a scale of, say, 1 to 10. Come back with an overall average score based on the same things everyone else is looking at." Putting the Best Folks Forward The Hilton Anatole Hotel began using the multiple-interviewer process about eight years ago, Abela says, "because we wanted to put the best folks forward." The HR department screens candidates to see that they meet the basic requirements, then forwards qualified candidates to the hiring manager, who decides which candidates go before the panel. "The manager realizes that this person I'm putting through this is a reflection of my selection process. The manager's not going to put just a live body through the process," Abela says. The interviewers include the general manager or hotel manager, or sometimes both; the HR representative; the division head of the discipline involved, such as food and beverage or rooms; and the manager of the particular area in which the candidate is interviewing. The panel asks prepared, performance-based questions, Abela says. Afterward, the candidate takes a seat outside while "we collectively discuss and decide whether we want to offer the person the position. We tell them right there." If the panel decides against the candidate, "we tell them we're going to continue looking." At the Hilton Anatole, there isn't a rating system. "It's by consensus. We've worked together a long time. We discuss it back and forth. We're very frank," Abela says. Occasionally interviewers are divided; in those cases, majority rules. Abela informs candidates what to expect from a panel interview. "I let them know ahead of time that it's intimidating. I tell them, 'You're going to be intimidated. We're not mean. We just want to get to know you,' " he says. "I have seen ex-Marines panic. But if they have a hard time dealing with us, what are they going to do when dealing with a guest issue that is intimidating? This gives us an opportunity to know who we're putting out there in front of the guest." Stephenie Overman is managing editor of STAFFING MANAGEMENT. Permissions Web Extras SHRM article: Fear of Firing Squad: How To Handle Panel InterviewsSHRM article: Peering Into an Interview Related Content Interview Most Critical Part of Hiring Process, Candidates Say Average U.S. Hiring Time Increased by 10 Days Since 2010 Interview Tips for Hiring Foreign National Workers Unwittingly Asking Improper Interview Questions Video Interviews Help Address Long-Term Unemployment TOP PICKS: LEGAL & REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS FLSA Essentials Manual Online compliance guide with update service. Webcast: Who and What Federal Contractors Must Count Cara Crotty on new rules for employers doing business with the government. Available on demand. Seminar: California HR Learn critical California workplace regulations. Oct. 26-27, L.A. Labor Law Posters State and federal labor law posters with one-year update service. U.S. Immigration Essentials SHRM Seminar - Oct. 2015 in Los Angeles; Nov. 2015 in Houston Workplace Compliance E-Newsletter Free weekly update, summarizing legal decisions, legislative news and regulatory news. Whistleblowing, Reporting, & Retaliation Online course from SHRM E-Learning Express Request: Same-Sex Marriage Learn implications of Supreme Court's recent ruling. Webcast: The ACA After the Supreme Court Sibyl Bogardus discusses what employers should do now. Available now on-demand. Swipe for more! ADVERTISING LINKS


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Thursday, August 28, 2014
Friday Seven Quick Takes
1 comment:
Wow. Nothing for awhile and then a huge long post from Mrs. Blogger. I don't know where to begin really? The Nashville trip was ok. It was 10+ hours there and then hot as anything moving the stuff out of the truck and into the apartment. They have a three bedroom unit and it's up an interior flight of stairs. Obie didn't come this trip but Tiger and Jessie did. Tiger the cat rode down in the Sonic with my Dad and I. I was surprised the cat made it since the first hour was him meowing and then he went to sit under my dads chair. Papa was having some gas problems and we would roll down the windows to air out the car about once an hour.ReplyDelete
It sounded like the kids and Nora had a grand time in my stead. I don't get too far from home for long so I am sure it was harder on Nora and the kids than they let on.
I got to go and be in Nora's class which is smaller than it looks. The other lady has 80% of it for all her stuff and Nora has to do with the remainder. It really is tiny and sad that they couldn't split it evenly. The topper is that the lady's kids aren't going to AMA and she is doing the class for her own profit. Nora has been VERY civil about it and much more so than I would be. Nora has done wonders with the room and I surely wish I had such a pretty teacher for my Kindergarten class!

subset: commoncrawl


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|Avg. Dinner Entrée
|Greater than $25
|$18.01 - $25
|$12.01 - $18
|$7.01 - $12
|Less than $7
Posted by Anonymous on 04/21/2006
As someone who is allergic to egg, I am constantly in search of vegan/non-dairy desserts. I hit the jackpot a few years ago with Atlas! I usually just stop in for take away so as not to deal with the croweded atmosphere, but I have never had a bad experience with the counter service. The peanut butter/fudge bars are a bit rich, but I cannot get enough of the carrot cake. Clearly I've never had regular carrot cake, but my friends say they would have never know it was vegan if I hadn't told them. After reading the reviews about the regular food I will have to expand from just their delicious sweets!
Posted by EastVillDrew on 04/16/2006
I'm not a service person either, but this place just takes it too far. They're curt, unpleasant and just don't seem to appreciate my business. That's their right and prerogative, but it's similarly my right to take my business elsewhere - and going forward, I will.
Posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2006
I generally don't care about service as long as nothing terrible happens, but I have to admit it's pretty subpar here. That said, who cares? The fantastic selection of vegan desserts more than makes up for it!
Posted by Anonymous on 03/25/2006
I notice a lot of people complaining here about the service. My experience has always been GREAT -- the people working behind the counter say hello and recognize me from past visits, offer free bits of cake if they're feeling up to it, and are generally very responsive to customer requests. Sure, it's not fine dining level customer service, but it's also a CAFE in the east village with counter service! What do you expect? Nobody comes to your table to check on your food and sometimes the place can feel crowded, but the food is fantastic, the prices are amazing, and the fact that it is frequently busy is a reflection of those facts. If service is your number one priority, it's best to go to a sit down restaurant. Just know that you'll pay a lot more and that Atlas is worth it if you're just looking for a quick bite or a place to sit and munch/drink coffee/read for an afternoon.
Posted by dara on 03/25/2006
I try to be "healthy" so i always go for their blendable frozen yogurts. it is a tad pricey, but it tastes so good and it's like the coldstone ice creams, but healthier! their salads, and everything else is amazing too. it's a little tooo cramped in their which can be hard to have a meal.
Posted by Ill Nasty on 02/12/2006
Atlas is truly scrumptulescent in its candid portrayal of the sandwich. They serve very goood stuff, they have a vegetarian menu, a vegan menu, and they do serve some meat. The grilled chicken eggs are scrumptulescent. Also, their oatmeal is a steal at $3.80. The best place named Atlas in the East Village and possibly the globe. Thank you.
Posted by college student/health nut on 02/07/2006
My boyfriend and I get food from Atlas on a regular basis and its one of our favorite places to get something cheap, but healthy. Things actually cost what they should be instead of the grossly inflated prices you usually find in Manhattan, and their food is consistently yummy- I'm a fan of the grilled chicken crepe, and their platters are good too. However, try and avoid delivery if you can. This is the second time I've gotten delivery from them and both times its taken at least 45 minutes and the food was cold by the time it got to me.


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@CastlePointBC: We are pleased to advise that our payments system is operational again. Sorry for any inconvenience caused while the upgrade was undertaken. Link
Welcome to Castle Point Borough Council
This website is primarily designed for local residents, giving them an opportunity to find out more about their council and access its services. However this site also contains information to help local community groups, businesses and visitors to our borough.
The Borough of Castle Point, situated on the coastline of south-east Essex on the northern side of the Thames estuary,has an area of 17.3 square miles and a population of approximately 86,000 people.
Latest Tweets
@CastlePointBC: #CPHousing tenants - SAVE THE DATE - 7th Sept Mutual Exchange Information Event - watch out for the letter coming soon with more details! Link
@CastlePointBC: Once cans are opened place food in a clean container in fridge to stop getting a nasty metallic taste #freshforlonger #lovefoodhatewaste Link
@CastlePointBC: Between 2pm and 4pm on the 4th August our payment systems will be down due to a upgrade on our systems.Apologise for any inconvenience. Link


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Once or twice a season, South Carolina Stingrays goalie Jeff Jakaitis gets to show off his passing ability.
Jakaitis stopped 32 shots and picked up an assist on one of three South Carolina power-play goals as the Stingrays defeated the Florida Everblades, 4-2, Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 2,127 at the North Charleston Coliseum.
The Stingrays, who snapped a two-game losing streak, improved to 20-21-4 (44 points) and moved into a tie for eighth place in the ECHLs Eastern Conference. The Everblades fell to 20-4-7 (47 points).
Jakaitis, the reigning ECHL goalie of the year, has four assists in four seasons in the ECHL. In the second period against Florida, Jakaitis caught the Everblades making a change of personnel on the fly.
With a flick of his wrist, Jakaitis found Phil Mangan 100 feet down the ice behind the Everblades defense. Mangan found Ryan Hayes, who then had a highlight-reel goal, beating Florida netminder Pay Nagle for a 3-0 lead.
I looked up the ice and saw Florida was making a change and had (Mangan) wide open, Jakaitis said. As a goalie, my job is to stop the puck, but once in a while you get to chip in offensively. Its fun. Im sure Ill hear about it from the guys later on, but its fun to handle the puck once in a while.
Of course, Jakaitis primary job is to stop the puck, and he did that equally as well, stopping 32 of 34 shots. Jakaitis, who stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 2-0 loss to the Everblades Saturday night, missed the second half of the last season with a knee injury.
Every game Jeff plays, he seems to be getting stronger and stronger, said Stingrays coach Spencer Carbery. It seems like he has gotten better and better with each start. He deserved a better fate (Saturday night). He made some great saves, especially in the first period when Florida got 15 shots.
The Stingrays power play, which had been struggling the last two weeks, converted on three of four chances Sunday.
We changed some things up on the power play and I think we kept things simple today, said Chris Langkow, who had a power-play goal in the second period. Wed been trying to make the fancy play the last couple of weeks, and today we just got pucks to the net and went after the rebounds. It was good to finally get the power play going again.
After a Matthew Pistilli power-play goal for the Everblades, Mangan answered with his own power-play goal with 3:40 to go in the opening period.
Langkow and Hayes scored power-play goals in the second period to give the Stingrays a 3-1 lead heading into the final period.
Hunter Bishop notched his 16th goal of the season with an empty-net effort with 90 seconds left in regulation.
Charles Landry scored with 48 seconds left for the Everblades.
Florida 1 0 12
Stingrays 1 2 14
First Period: 1. F, Pistilli 12 (Irwin, McGinnis), 11:23 (PP). 2. SC, Mangan 10 (Quick, Vaughan), 16:20 (PP). Penalties: Cherniwchan, SC (hooking), 10:05; Bogosian, F (interference), 15:49. Second Period: 3. SC, Langkow 13 (Vidmar, Bishop), 6:50 (PP). 4. SC, Hayes 7 (Mangan, Jakaitis), 12:52 (PP). Penalties: McGinnis, F (holding), 6:00; Edwards, F (hooking), 11:08; MacLeod, SC (interference), 15:17; Roy, F (tripping), 19:44.
Third Period: 5. SC, Bishop 16 (Langkow, Gaul), 18:30 (EN). 6. F, Landry 3 (Milan, Merrifield), 19:12. Penalties: Quick, SC (holding), 6:30; Dee, SC (boarding), 9:56.
Shots on Goal: Stingrays 12-11-8-31; Florida: 15-8-11-34. Penalties: Stingrays 4-8; Florida 4-8. Power Play: Stingrays 3 for 4; Florida 1 for 2. Goalies: Stingrays Jeff Jakaitis (4-3-2) 34 shots, 32 saves. Florida Pat Nagle (9-6-1) 30 shots, 27 saves. Att: 2,127.
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Help your children realize that their faith grows with them as they grow!
As a parent, finding a church home that reinforces and encourages the spiritual development of your child's faith is very important. The resources that a church utilizes to accomplish that task can be equally important.
Grow, Proclaim, and Serve! is a Bible-based Sunday school program that provides churches the necessary resources to nourish and enrich a child's faith from birth through tweens. In doing so, your child will learn to proclaim the good news of God's love and serve God and neighbor.
Grow, Proclaim, and Serve! provides for both you and your child:
- Age-appropriate learning materials
- Activities that engage children and reinforce Bible stories
- Self-directed activities designed to develop independent learning skills
- Take-home activities that bring the Bible story to your child's daily life
- Parenting community to better connect with other parents
Take a moment and choose your child's age group and preview samples, videos, and join our parenting community . . . all for free! If your church is already using the Grow, Proclaim, and Serve! resources, click on the Church Finder tab to find your church and join their group.


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You have to try sopa seca y mancha pecho the principal dish of the local cuisine. The typical restaurants are country type but very nice.
On the way from Paracas to Lima, this place is totally different from the rest of Peru, with Afro-Peruvian culture. Nice square , relax atmosphere, best food at Afrika Restaurant on the square, gentle people. Do not miss if you are in the area.
I headed to El Carmen (with a combi, not a taxi, from Chincha Alta - simply S/6 or less) with no plans, but simply the intention to understand the Afro - Peruvian culture, much of which - music, dance, and food is hardly catalogued online or in any touristic institution in Lima, in spite of its heavy influence on Peruvian...
The black people from Peru live here and Amador Ballumbrosio was an important musician for afroamerican music. His sons are also famous musicians in Europe as well.
El Carmen is a hidden gem. Few foreigners know about this town that is known as the soul of Afro-Peruvian music. They have beautiful people and lively traditional festivals within a 2 hour car ride from Lima. Definitely worth a visit. Unfortunately, the lodging is very lacking.
I've been visiting the District of El Carmen in Chincha, Perú almost annually since 2005 to immerse myself in the Spanish language and to explore the black cultural experience. I stayed with a prominent family of the late, great maestro, Amador Ballumbrosio, master of Afro-Peruvian music and dance. Today, his adult children are carrying on his legacy. Inside the Ballumbrosio...
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COAL GROVE, Ohio — Not even near-perfection was enough for the Meigs volleyball team Tuesday night following a heartbreaking 21-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 14-16 setback to host Coal Grove in a Division III sectional semifinal match in Lawrence County.
The visiting Lady Marauders (4-18) posted season-bests of 53 kills, 48 assists and 10 blocks to go along with 104-of-107 service effort, but those collective totals were still not enough to get the 13th-seeded Maroon and Gold past the fourth-seeded Lady Hornets.
Coal Grove (18-4) — which earned a share of the Ohio Valley Conference title this fall, its second straight — grabbed early match leads of 1-0 and 2-1, then had to gut out the minimal two-point decision in Game 5 to wrap up a berth in Saturday's D-3 sectional final. CGHS will host fifth-seeded Wheelersburg at 4 p.m. for a chance at the district tournament.
Meigs — which outscored the hosts in the match by a 108-104 overall margin in points — got a team-best 14 service points from Brooke Reynolds, followed by Lindsay Patterson with 12 points and Kelsey Hudson with 10 points.
Olivia Cremeans and Alyson Dettwiller both chipped in eight points apiece, while Brook Andrus and Emily Kinnan respectively rounded things out with seven points and three points.
Andrus led the net attack with 20 kills, followed by Kinnan with 15 kills and Cremeans with nine kills. Hudson contributed seven kills in the setback, while Hannah Cremeans also had two kills for the guests.
Olivia Cremeans had a team-high five blocks and Hannah Cremeans followed with three blocks. Kinnan also had two blocks for MHS. Patterson led the passing game with 32 assists and Ariel Ellis also had 11 assists for Meigs.
The loss marks the final volleyball match for seniors Emily Kinnan, Mercadies George, Chandra Mattox and Allyson Davis in the Maroon and Gold.


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A method of providing patterned, thin-film materials on flexible substrates by depositing a first, etchable, integral mask onto a substrate, depositing a second pattern material over the mask region and then removing the mask, such as by etching. Patterned films useful as printed circuits and the like can be prepared by this method. In an alternate embodiment, patterned particles can be prepared for dispersion in a vehicle or matrix using the described process.
1. A particulate composition consisting essentially of a population of particles having a non-random distribution of shape, volume and composition, each of said particles comprising two or more distinct layers consisting essentially of inorganic materials, said layers distributed along a first dimension of each of said particles, said first dimension of all particles within the population being substantially the same, each of said layers having exposed edges with said edges being substantially coextensive with the edges of an adjacent layer and remaining physically outside the plane of any adjacent layer, and said particles have shapes and sizes determined by the configuration of a deposition mask.
2. A particulate composition according to claim 1 wherein the layers of the particles are planar.
3. A particle composition according to claim 1 wherein the layers of the particles are curved.
4. A particle composition according to claim 1 wherein said particles have substantially identical geometric shape and size.
5. A particle composition according to claim 1 wherein said layers of said particles are each up to 2 micrometers thick.
6. A particle composition according to claim 1 wherein said layers of said particles are each up to 1 micrometer thick.
7. A particle composition according to claim 1 wherein said particles have at least one void extending through the thickness dimension of at least one of said layers.
8. A particle composition according to claim 1 wherein said particles have more than 3 layers.
9. The particle composition according to claim 1 wherein the boundary of each of said layers is the negative of a photolithographic deposition mask.
10. The particle composition according to claim 1 wherein a given location on an axis along said first dimension within any particle will have the same composition as a similar location within every other particle in said population.
11. The particle composition according to claim 1 dispersed in a liquid vehicle.
12. The particle composition of claim 1 dispersed in a vehicle comprising an organic polymer.
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/556405 filed Jul. 20, 1990 now abandoned which is a divisional of 07/281,655, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,945.
The present invention relates to a method for providing patterns of etch-resistant material on substrates using an integral mask and a mask-specific removal agent.
There are many uses for thin films carried on rigid or flexible substrates. Printed circuits are exemplary of such utility and are widely used. Other characteristics can be built into thin films by depositing them in certain patterns.
Typically, patterned thin films have been prepared by depositing the film on a substrate using a deposition mask or by etching unpatterned thin films using conventional photoresist and etching. These techniques have a variety of disadvantages Deposition masks must be precisely positioned and held in place where low/critical tolerances are involved. It is difficult to avoid relative movement between the mask and the deposition substrate. This is particularly true where the substrate is flexible.
Etching techniques also have disadvantages. Use of this technique involves depositing relatively large areas of an unpatterned thin film and etching it to the desired pattern. The deposition of larger areas of a continuous film produces stress within the film and promotes cracking and spalling. Stress problems are accentuated where multiple layers of distinct materials having different thermal and/or chemical properties are involved. Moreover, etching is not as precisely controllable a process as may be necessary for small-dimension, tight tolerance patterns. Further, many materials are difficult to etch by ordinary chemical techniques. That is, their etch rate is impractically slow with common etchants or such severe etch conditions are required that surrounding materials are undesirably affected.
As discussed above, the generation of patterns, in inorganic films is known and has found wide spread use in the printed circuit industry. The process that is widely used is photolithography. A variation on the conventional photolithography process is to use a negative relief mask. Negative relief masks are also used in electroforming and in additive photolithography, but in these instances the top of the mask is not coated. The use of a negative relief mask in vacuum metallization processes results in the top of the mask being coated. Solvents attack the relief mask either through pin holes in the film or through discontinuities in the film along the edges of the mask or by cutting both the mask and the film so as to provide direct access of the solvent to the mask. In some limited instances, inorganic negative relief masks have been used to take advantage of the higher temperature capabilities and lower vapor pressure in vacuum metallization chambers. When using inorganic negative deposition masks, the masks are normally removed by selective etching with an acid. To date, processing has been limited to small rigid substrates and only single film thicknesses about 0.1 μm thick have been imaged.
It has now been discovered that the "throwing" power of certain deposition processes can be used to advantage to overcome the deficiencies in prior art processes. More specifically, it has been found that certain deposition processes will deposit material substantially in a line-of-sight so that when used in combination with certain etchable mask materials, integral, etchable masks can be formed on, and removed from, flexible substrates. It has also been discovered that certain etchable materials can be built up to useful masking dimensions for use with difficult-to-etch thin film pattern materials. Both subtractive and additive photolithographic techniques can be used to form the mask.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies in the prior art by providing a unique method by which patterns in inorganic films can be formed where: 1) The substrate employed is flexible and is continuously transported past one or more deposition stations so that large quantities of material can be made inexpensively, 2) the inorganic films employed are difficult to etch, 3) the inorganic films can be relatively thick, e.g., greater than 0.1 μm, and 4) The inorganic films can be patterned with excellent resolution.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of providing a pattern of difficult-to-etch materials on flexible substrates comprising the steps of:
a) providing a mask of a first, etchable material comprising integral physical protrusions on a first surface of a carrier or substrate. The protrusions are generally normal to the surface to provide a raised negative pattern on the substrate;
b) depositing through the mask region a layer of a second, difficult-to-etch, pattern material, different from the first material. In one embodiment, the deposition is accomplished by continuously moving a substrate past a deposition station. By using a deposition technique having poor throwing power, such as electron beam evaporation, the second material can be deposited primarily on surfaces parallel to the plane of the substrate surface and does not completely cover or seal the vertical walls of the protruding mask material. This vertical separation or exposure allows the further step of:
c) selectively etching the mask material to remove it and to leave a positive pattern of the second material deposited on the substrate.
In a preferred embodiment, the second pattern material is deposited in the form of one or more layers of the same or different materials all of which are different from the mask material.
As used in this application, "difficult to etch" or "unetchable" materials are materials which have a relatively slow etch rate with a given etchant relative to the mask material which is used such that the mask can be successfully removed without adversely affecting the pattern material.
The method of the present invention is useful for providing patterns of a variety of materials on rigid or flexible substrates. The present method is advantageous because precisely controlled patterns can be deposited within very tight tolerances. In addition, because the pattern material is deposited as a relatively small portion of material, the stresses can be more easily dissipated compared to a larger deposit which is subsequently patterned. This reduces the cracking and spalling problems associated with the deposition of larger portions of material. Yet another advantage is that the flexible substrate is provided with additional stiffness and rigidity due to the presence of the integral mask. This aids in the handling of the substrate and reduces the possibility of delamination of the pattern material after completion of the patterning process.
FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of the patterning process described in the present application.
FIGS. 2-8 are plan views and cross sections of a sheet material at various stages in the patterning process.
FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a pattern deposition apparatus useful in the present invention.
The method of the present invention can be more clearly explained by reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of the various steps of a preferred process according to the present invention. FIGS. 2-8 are views of a portion of the patterned material as it may exist in the various stages of the process.
A substrate 52, such as a flexible film shown at step 1 of FIG. 1, is selected for the process. The substrate should have sufficient dimensional stability, and retain such properties under the environmental conditions it will experience in processing and use, so that the difference between thermal expansion coefficients will be minimized and the materials it carries and supports will not be inclined to separate from the substrate. Steel, ceramics, such as glass, and thick sheets of polymer are commonly used as rigid substrates. Stainless steel or polymeric films are commonly used as flexible substrates. Polyimide films such as those which are commercially available under the trade name "Kapton" (DuPont) are particularly preferred because of their ability to retain integrity and dimensional stability at relatively high temperatures, e.g., 200°-300° C.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2-5, a priming layer 54 may be deposited on the film at step 3. This layer is intended to improve adhesion of subsequently-applied metallic layers as is well known in the art. For example, various organic resins and metal oxides can be used if desired to improve the adhesion of copper to polyimide. Where the primer layer is not needed, it can be omitted. For simplicity and clarity, the primer layer 54 is not shown in the remaining figures. The next step is to deposit a sublayer of the etchable mask material, such as copper, on the substrate. In one method, a thin sublayer 56 of the mask material is sputtered or otherwise deposited onto the substrate, or on the primer layer 54, if present, typically to a thickness of about 1000-1500 Å as shown at step 5. The sublayer 56 may be further thickened by electroplating, as at location 7, if deemed desirable for further processing.
One method of forming an integral mask 70 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 which will have the desired pattern is by the use of an "additive" process which will now be described. Photoresist material 58 is laminated to or coated on the copper surface, at step 9, and the photoresist exposed to light 64 through a stencil 60 (as at step 11). The stencil 60 can be made by conventional photographic or other well-known techniques which can be readily selected depending on the dimension and precision required for the pattern. It can be a positive or a negative of the desired mask depending on whether positive or negative photoresist is used. In the present description, the stencil will be a positive of the mask. Thus, where the stencil is a screen pattern, the pattern lines 62 will be opaque, preventing the passage of light. The photoresist 58 will remain uncured in the areas where no light strikes layer 58 as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing and be cross-linked in the remaining areas 58' under the transparent portion of the stencil. A cross-section of the article 50 existing at this stage of the process is shown in FIG. 2.
After the photoresist 58 has been exposed to light and cured in certain areas 58' it is washed with developer at step 13 to remove the unreacted portions corresponding to the opaque lines 62 of the stencil 60. The resulting cross-section of article 66 is shown in FIG. 3.
The exposed copper is then cleaned or etched by conventional techniques, e.g., a dilute (5%) solution of sulfuric acid, to prepare the surface for further electroplating at step 15 and then it is subjected to a copper electroplating process, at step 17, to deposit additional copper in the exposed areas to form the integral mask 70 as shown in article 68 in FIG. 4. The copper mask 70 is built up to a height which will equal or exceed the expected height of the pattern material to be subsequently applied. The height should be sufficient to allow the mask 70 to provide boundaries for the pattern material 74 to be subsequently applied, and still allow exposure of the copper mask to subsequent etching as will be explained in connection with FIG. 5. Typically, a height of up to 2 mils is sufficient for masking thin film materials. However, the upper limit is based solely on practical considerations such as the integrity of the mask material 70 being deposited, the nature of the pattern material to be deposited, the degree of interference by the mask 70 with the subsequent deposition of the pattern material 74, etc.
The pattern material would generally range in thickness greater than 0.1 μm and up. For some applications, relatively thick films of 0.5 μm and up are useful and may range up to 1 or 2 μm or more in thickness. As noted, thicker films can be made if desired, limited only by the height of the mask which can be 2 mils (50 μm) or more thick.
While the process has been described herein with respect to the use of copper as the mask material 70, other commonly used, etchable metals could be employed as could organic materials that can be selectively removed without adversely affecting the pattern material 74 which is applied. Thus, various soluble or strippable polymers could be used as mask material 70 so long as they have sufficient integrity and stability to form a useful mask, are not adversely affected by the deposition process or the pattern material 74, and can be selectively removed. Examples of potential mask materials are organic photoresists and the like which can withstand the temperatures of the deposition process without melting, decomposing, or outgassing to a degree that the pattern material will be adversely affected.
When deposition of the integral mask 70 has been completed, the remaining cross-linked photoresist 58' is stripped away by conventional techniques at step 19 and the exposed copper sublayer 56, formerly protected by the photoresist 58', is removed, such as by flash etching at location 21. While some minor portion of the mask material 70 may also be removed, the amount is generally insufficient to substantially affect the mask. In any event, the height of the deposited mask 70 should be selected with the flash etch step in mind if that technique is to be used so that the amount remaining after the flash etch will provide a suitable mask.
In another embodiment of the invention, the mask is prepared by a subtractive, rather than an additive, process. That is, rather than building up the copper screen as described in connection with FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings, a thick copper foil is laminated to a substrate, such as a polyimide sheet and, with the use of photoresist techniques as previously described, the unwanted portions of the copper are etched away leaving a copper screen or mask as shown in FIG. 4.
In the practice of this process, it may be preferrable to begin with a commercially available polyimide/copper laminated composite, eliminating the electroplating of additional copper to form the integral mask at steps 15 and 17. Rather, the photoresist is laminated to the copper foil and light-exposed through a stencil in association with steps 9 through 13. In the case of the subtactive technique, the photoresist is stripped away/developed where it is desired to deposit the pattern material and the copper is then etched away in those areas to provide an integral mask 70, on a substrate 52 as shown in FIG. 4 (less sublayer 56). After stripping the remaining photoresist, the material is then processed the same as if an additive technique were used for forming the mask.
An integral, precisely located mask 70 has now been formed on the flexible substrate 52 as shown in FIG. 4 and the pattern material 74 can now be deposited onto the substrate 52 bearing the integral mask 70. The pattern material can be any of a number of difficult-to-etch materials which will provide the desired decorative or utilitarian function such as metals, alloys, ceramics, and organic polymeric materials.
Conductive metals such as silver, tungsten, or carbon may be useful. Certain ceramic, magnetic, dielectric and also certain purely decorative materials may also be used with advantage for a number of end uses.
A number of conventional deposition techniques can be used for the step occurring at location 23. However, it is desirable that a technique having limited throwing power be used so that some portion of the vertical surfaces of the mask 70 are uncovered or unsealed so the mask 70 is accessible to the mask-specific removal agent, such as a copper etch which does not adversely affect the pattern material, to allow subsequent removal of the mask 70. The deposition process also has to be operative at temperatures which will not adversely affect the mask material.
In practice, it has been found useful to employ any of a variety of vapor deposition processes to deposit the patterning material. As examples, electron beam evaporation can be used for metal alloy deposition and induction evaporation can be used for non-conductive materials. These processes exhibit poor throwing power. That is, they tend to deposit very little material on surfaces normal to the substrate surface because the streams of material being deposited are essentially line-of-sight straight and parallel without substantial turbulence. Stated another way, poor throwing power means the surfaces parallel to the emission streams of material are not substantially coated or sealed. Thus, the vertical surfaces of the mask will not be covered or sealed by the pattern material.
The pattern material 74 can be deposited as thickly as desired so long as the height of the mask 70 is not exceeded. If the mask 70 were completely covered, there would be no access point for subsequent removal, as by etching. A single layer or multiple layers of pattern material 74 can be deposited. The layers of pattern material 74 can be the same or different so long as they are sufficiently compatible to perform the desired end use, e.g., they adhere to one another and are not undesirably chemically reactive.
In FIG. 9, a schematic diagram of a pattern apparatus 32 for continuously depositing pattern material is shown. The apparatus 32 comprises reversible takeup and supply reels 33,34 on which the masked substrate 68 is wound. The substrate 68 passes over tension rollers 35,36 and a reversible coating roll 37 which can be heated or cooled, if necessary. Two separate deposition stations 39 and 43 are shown. They may be the same or different. Although two are shown, the process may be used with only a single station and more than two stations could be useful for some applications.
In operation, the substrate 68 is first fed from supply reel 33, around roll 37, and taken up on roll 34 after coating by one or both of stations 39 and 43. The speed of the substrate 68 is chosen to allow the desired amount of pattern material to be deposited on the substrate 68. Alternating layers of different materials can be deposited by reversing rolls 33 and 34, using station 39 to coat in one direction and 43 to coat in the other. Alternatively, both coating stations can be operated simultaneously when operated in either direction to provide various layering effects.
The deposition stations represented at 39 and 43 can be any of a variety of known deposition systems which have limited throwing power with the pattern material to be deposited. Solid metals may be deposited by evaporation techniques such as electron beam evaporation. Non-metallic solid materials can be deposited by conventional techniques such as inductive or resistive evaporation and the like.
When the pattern material deposition has been completed, the article 72 will have a cross-section similar to that shown in FIG. 5 wherein the pattern material 74 has been deposited on the surfaces of the copper mask 70 which are normal to the deposition streams. Although a significant portion of the vertical walls of the mask 70 have been obstructed by the build-up of the pattern material 74, a portion of the copper mask 70 near the top of the mask remains unobstructed and exposed to permit subsequent attack by a mask-specific removal agent.
After pattern deposition, the mask material 70,56 can be be removed as shown at step 25. Typically, the mask material 70,56 is an etchable metal and can be removed by a chemical etch, such as sulfuric acid for copper, that is specific for the mask material 70 leaving the pattern material 74 in place.
Removal of the substrate primer 54, if used (see FIG. 2), occurs at step 27. Chemicals used to remove the primer layer should not attack the pattern material. A cross-section of patterned product 76 is shown in FIG. 6 where the vertical edges 78 of the pattern material 74 as separated by the void left by removal of the mask material 70.
A top view of a patterned article 80 is shown in FIG. 8 where the pattern material 74 is shown in various patterns separated by precisely controlled spaces formed by the edges 78 of the pattern material 74. The width and precision of these spaces is dictated by the technology available to prepare the stencil 60, control of the shadowing effects caused by excessive mask height, proper choice of etching materials, etching conditions and the like.
At location 29 of the process shown in FIG. 1, a number of converting operations may be performed on the patterned article. For example, the article may be cut, slit, or punched into various shapes. A layer 82 of protective or adhesive material may be added to prevent contamination or allow bonding of additional materials thereto. The flexible patterned articles may be rolled, stacked, laminated, or the like depending on the ultimate intended application. The adhesive layer may have a release liner 84 as shown in FIG. 7.
The patterned articles of the present invention may find utility for various decorative or electrical applications, such as printed circuit boards and the like, wherein the patterns comprise conductive patterns of carbon, difficult-to-etch superconducting materials and the like.
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the process shown in FIG. 1 can be modified to provide precisely shaped pieces or particles of pattern material. More particularly, the patterning process is practiced, as in FIG. 1, except that the flash etch step normally performed at step 21 to remove a portion of the mask material 56 (see FIGS. 2-5) which is not directly under the protruding mask features 70 is eliminated.
As a result of eliminating this step, the pattern material 74 is deposited on top of the mask sublayer 56. Consequently, when the subsequent etching of the mask material 70 occurs, as indicated at location 25 in FIG. 1, the copper sublayer 56 under the pattern material 74 is also attached and pattern material 74 is released from the sublayer 52. Where the pattern material 74 is in the shape of discrete islands, small pieces or particles of the pattern material are obtained. These may be in the form of long threads, rectangles, circles or other desirable geometric shapes, and may comprise one or more layers of materials just as in the previously-described process. The size distribution of particles can be controlled by the pattern employed. The mixture of particles may have a distribution of particle sizes from very narrow and essentially homogeneous to a very wide size distribution. The thickness of the multiple layers within particles, where employed, may also be controlled.
The pieces or particles so obtained may be separated from the etching material and collected together and may be useful alone or in a mixture with other materials. For example, they may be incorporated in various liquid vehicles or matrices, such as a polymeric resin, to provide reinforced composition plastics, coatings, paints, and the like. Alternatively, they may be useful as abrasive or optically functional materials depending on their composition.
The process has been described above with reference to rather specific materials. However, alternatives will be readily apparent to those skilled in the arts to which the invention pertains when made aware of this disclosure.
In order to demonstrate the practice of the present invention, a printed circuit device is made. To make the device, one surface of a flexible polyimide film (Kapton, DuPont) was coated with copper by sputter deposition. A layer of positive acting photoresist 0.5 mil (13 μm) thick was laminated to the copper coating. The photoresist was exposed and developed using a printed circuit negative as the stencil.
In the areas where the photoresist material was removed by developing, the copper was electroplated to provide a mask having a height of less than about 0.5 mil (13 μm). The remaining photoresist was then removed and the sample flash-etched using acid/potassium dichromate etch to remove the copper film in the non-mask areas.
The masked sheet was then put into a vacuum chamber and coated with several hundred angstroms of carbon. The copper mask materials was then etched away using a sulfuric acid/potassium dichromate etch to leave a printed circuit pattern of carbon on the polyimide substrate.
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Arab & Muslim Nations unite for Haiti Relief
- Social - Article Ref: IC1001-4063Number of comments: 8
By: Staff
IslamiCity* -
Arab and other Muslim nations are making
significant contributions in providing much needed assistance to support the humanitarian relief work being undertaken in Haiti.
In the Western press little coverage is given to these efforts.
"While not covered in the US media, we felt it was important to impart this information to the American public. The people of Haiti continue to rely on the world's compassion and generosity, and the Arab world's response to their needs has been significant and noteworthy," said James Zogby, Founder and President of
Arab American Institute.
Following is a list of Arab and other Muslim nations that are providing
assistance to Haiti earthquake victims.
Countries listed in alphabetical order:
Granted $1 million in emergency humanitarian aid.
Sent a disaster relief team to provide aid, pledged $1 million in relief and the Bahrain Red Crescent Society appealed for donations for Haiti.
Allocated medical supplies and personnel.
Sent $2.1 million aid supplies in form of 40-tons of medicine, food and
emergency telecommunication equipments. Along with this, it also sent 75 rescue
personnel comprising 30 medical doctors, 10 rescuers, 10 electricity
technicians, 25 construction and telecommunication experts.
Iranian Red Crescent Society officials announced that the country's first aid cargo has reached the quake-hit Central American state of Haiti.
Established a 12-bed military hospital in Port-au-Prince, and are also feeding children who enter; dispatched two planes carrying a mobile field hospital, rescue team, doctors and six tons of aid supplies that include food, medicine and clothing.
Sent 100 tons of food, medical supplies, tents and blankets; donated $1 million, delivered through the country's Red Crescent Society;
Airlifted 25 tons of tents, 3 tons of medicine, vaccines and other supplies; sent aid workers to help in relief effort.
Several organizations in Malaysia have launched a Humanitarian Appeal for the
Haiti Earthquake victims. Islamic
Relief Malaysia, Mercy
Malaysia, Malaysian Red Crescent
Sent $1 million worth of medical and pharmaceutical supplies.
Individuals donated money, food and clothing to the Red Cross.
Mobilized 26-person rescue team of soldiers, police and medical professionals; sent 50 tons of aid.
Donated $50
million, which will be directed through the United Nations.
Airlifted 30 tons of humanitarian aid.
Allocated $1 million to the United Nations Emergency Fund that was created for Haiti relief.
According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry Turkey has sent three cargo planes carrying search-and-rescue
teams, medical personnel and aid materials to Haiti on Saturday January 16, two more planes left Sunday.
Turkey continues to expand its relief efforts in Haiti.
Contributed over $2.6 million; three UAE charities donated more than 200 tons of medical equipment, tents and blankets, food and drinking water.
Muslim-American Doctors
have set up clinics for the Haiti Disaster. "We are commanded by our creator to
help a fellow man in need," said Dr. Ismail Mehr, Committee Chair of the Islamic
Medical Association of North America (IMANA).
Adapted from Press Release of Arab
American Institute
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