text:
WASHINGTON -- House Republicans may finally have paid attention to polls showing their negativity rating as high as it ever has been, as if losing the presidential race and dire predictions about their future weren't enough to have convinced them earlier. For once, common sense may trump ideological adherence.
They are offering to give up their opposition to raising the debt limit without substantial deficit reduction for the short term if the Democratic-led Senate will adopt a budget in the next three months. The Senate majority -- not completely innocent in the fiscal horror show -- would be wise to now do its part. The White House indicates that President Barack Obama will accept that deal.
There is, as always, a hitch. If by mid-April the upper chamber hasn't formed a budget, members' pay would be suspended. Whether the august solons of the deliberative body will buy into this is anyone's guess. Having watched the shenanigans on the Hill up close for 50 years, I wouldn't wager much on their acquiescence.
On the other hand, reopening the all-out warfare about the debt ceiling would be a disaster that no one survives. My guess is they will work out a solution. If not, little else will go forward -- including the Republican Party itself, which has borne the brunt of criticism for perpetual gridlock on national problems involving the economy, immigration and gun control.
One can only hope that this debt-ceiling offer is the first step toward restoring sanity to the Republican base -- that it ultimately leads the party out of the political wilderness and back toward the center without costing it its basic identity. That may be just wishful conjecture, but it has been evident for some time that the GOP is facing an uncertain future without accommodations to a rapidly changing electorate. Its absolutism on key issues such as taxes and social issues have narrowed its appeal dramatically. Ask Mitt Romney, who lost most of the elements of an increasingly diverse demographic.
Being a party principally dominated by white males who are still living in the last century is a recipe for extinction. At the same time, the party can hold onto reasonable differences and lead the way toward sensible compromise.
Whether the debt-ceiling offer can begin that process will depend on the GOP leadership -- and that hasn't been terribly effective recently. House Speaker John Boehner ultimately had to acquiesce to his Senate counterpart, Republican leader Mitch McConnell, to at least temporarily keep the nation from tumbling into the foolish economic abyss designed to scare everybody into some form of detente. In this latest caper, the result of some GOP soul-searching at a retreat in Williamsburg, Va., Boehner had to set aside his own rule never to raise the debt limit without a dollar-for-dollar match in debt reduction. Speculation is that the Ohio congressman has only a short time to prevent self-immolation, perhaps from one of the many cigarettes he still smokes.
That also goes for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. The odds may be short that the Nevadan with the shoot-from-the-hip style of leadership can keep a civil tongue long enough to prevent the whole effort from imploding. Obama by all rights should have something to say about that. But who knows?
Unless this latest gambit works in some fashion or another, Americans will face another year of uncertainty -- a stressful struggle that tests their mettle and reduces their faith in the nation's direction.
Sadly, this all was brought about by an electorate that should have paid more attention to those it chose to represent it. But it always has been that way. As humorist Will Rogers once quipped, we have the best legislature money can buy.
Email Dan K. Thomasson, former editor of the Scripps Howard News Service, at thomassondan(at)aol.com.
I didn't think libs were so stupid as to not see quoitation marks...but that is what we get from public school indoctrinated sheep.
Hypocrite Billy is also a plagiarist? Why am I not surprised.
Hey Bill, if you're going to copy and paste entire articles from Fox Nation you should at least give them some credit, don't you think?
I'm talking about the Mark Levin Inauguration Day message you're pretending to have written at 2:39 today.
Trawl, the blatant hypocrisy is astonishing!
Anyone else find there an irony in the Right Wing Tyrants complaining about a politician doing politics? The Right Wing Tyrants got use to having Tyrannical Rule during the Bush era and now they can't adapt to having to be politicians. Instead they dig in their heels and go WAaaaaaa GIMME WHAT I WANT WAAAAAAAAAAAA ....
What's wrong Billy? Don't like it when I point out the obvious, that you are BIG HYPOCRITE.
tagg....your opinions are welcome. Your insults are a distraction and betray your intelligence.
Billy are you flipping or flopping today?
The tea party is why you can't pass anything in Congress C-Billy!!
I think Billy is a great example of the today's conservative republican. Very confused from the brainwashing he has received while listening to entertainers like Limbaugh.
I dont think Obama knows exactly what hes going to go for in his second term as he will look for opportunities to exploit as events unfold. I am sure they've drawn up a partial a list, and we already know that it includes, but is not limited to, gun control; attacks on the First Amendment such as religious liberty; amnesty for illegal aliens; union expansion; institutionalizing Obamacare; institutionalizing voter corruption; de-industrialization via the EPA; destroying the capitalist-based economy via tax increases, smothering regulations, massive deficit spending, and endless borrowing; and hollowing out our military; etc. This will effect all of us. It will do extreme damage to the nation in many respects. I think Obama sees himself as correcting historic wrongs in this country, as delivering the fruits of the labor of other people to people who he believes have historically been put upon. I think theres a lot of perverse thinking that goes on in his mind, radical left-wing thinking. He was indoctrinated with Marx and Alinksy propaganda. You not only see it in his agenda but in his words -- class warfare; degrading successful people unless, of course, they help finance his elections, causes, and organizations; pretending to speak for the so-called middle class when, in fact, he is destroying their jobs, savings, and future. Obama's war on our society is intended to be an onslaught in which the system is overwhelmed.
"How to fight that agenda? The answer certainly doesnt lie in the current Republican Party leadership. I think the Republican Party, its apparatus, its so-called leadership, the parasitic consultants, represent an institution that is tired, old, almost decrepit, full of cowardice and vision-less. It has abandoned the Declaration of Independence and any serious defense of constitutional republicanism. The Democrat Party is now a radical 1960s party; its the anti-Constitution, anti-capitalism, anti-individual party. It largely controls the federal government, including the massive bureaucracy and much of the judiciary -- what I call the permanent branches of the federal government. The Democrat Party represents the federal government, and the federal government expands the power of the Democrat Party. They're appendages of each other. On the other hand, the GOP today stands for capitulation, timidity, delusion -- so mostly nothing. Republicans may speak of the Constitution, limited government, low taxes, etc., but what have they done about them? Next to nothing if not nothing. Even when Bush 43 was president and the Republicans controlled Congress. What did they do? They went on a spending binge. They expanded Medicare, the federal role in local education, drove up the debt, etc. Meanwhile, we are lectured by putative Republicans like Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Tom Ridge, and a conga line of others trashing often viciously NOT Obama and what the Democrats are doing to our nation, but conservatives, constitutionalists, and tea party activists who are the only people left standing for liberty against tyranny in this country."
There are millions who would agree with this.
>>" Conservatives on the other hand are intelligent, critical thinkers and successful in their endeavors"<< LMAO!! Where do you get this stuff? Looks like the "Ditto Head" poo spewed by Limbaugh and Parroted by the Ditto Head without the Ditto Head showing enough intellect or thinking far enough through to realize "Dittoing" isn't thinking.
The NeoCon became the TeaPublican and the TeaPublican/Bagger is the reason sanity has gone out of politics. Look at them, the Republican party is falling apart because of extremest beliefs and exclusionary policies but the TeaPublican insists on preserving those beliefs and policies. To the TeaPublican all Republicans have to believe as the TeaPublican Extremest believes or that Republican is a RINO and subject to attack and replacement by a TeaPublican extremest so the RINO best buck up and toe the line. And from this belief in "toeing the line" emerges the TeaPublican crap that if someone NOT Republican says anything those not Republican agree with it 100%. No, not hardly but try getting that through to the TeaPublican. The TeaPublican Party is too stupid to exist and unless the Republican party casts off the parasitic TeaBaggers I believe they'll both cease to exist. And wouldn't that be too bad.
Gosh tagg, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings with my opinion based on what the leading democrat spokesman had to say about democrats. Sorry if you thought I was including you in the mindless cows group.
Are you flipping or flopping now Billy? I can't keep up.
Guess you don't agree with democrat spokesman james carville either?
I have taken the liberty of posting one your recent post Billy, hope you don't mind. " Liberal progressives know that for anyone to declare themselves a liberal progressive democrat they are suffering from a mental disorder. They are weak and not entirely aware of their surroundings. They indeed are defenseless and unable to think for themselves. To paraphrase James Carville, democrats are like mindless cows, just be ready to use the cattle prod once in a while. Conservatives on the other hand are intelligent, critical thinkers and successful in their endeavors. They dont need nor want a sugardaddy to care for them. Thus they dont get any outspoken defense from those who trash them and hurl racist accusations at them...
But Billy, you were spewing hateful words and lies just recently. That reminds me, TMA we are known for flip flopping on our views. Billy you are a true conservative, no doubt you are team GOP.
sorry tagg, I cannot support your type of GOP support. I prefer JFK democrat lower taxes and balanced budget approach. Unfortunately when the democrats fought Civil Rights legislation and advanced the KKK I had to look towards republicans as an alternative. Neither is worth support today. With few exceptions they are all corrupt. The democrats spew hate, lies and racism...the republicans do nothing to return our country to fiscal responsibility.
Billy you sure have changed since you started posting. You have previously posted some really nasty words about the democrats and those that support Obama. I thought we were two peas in a pod Billy. What happened are you getting soft?
TMA you left out a few facts. Those of us that support the GOP are a bunch of pessimistic hypocrites and like to whine allot. We are also very sore losers. And no mention of the fact that we employ scare tactics to get votes. ALTHOUGH! since these tactics haven't worked to our advantage, we are now attempting to change the election laws.
Almost all DC politicians are corrupt, selfish, narcissist. Our Republic has been perverted and nearly destroyed. REps who only rep the highest bidder, Senators who could care less about their state. The few ethical congressmen don't last long or are assinated by the elete in power and that includes the press. Journalism is dead and gone. The hate and racist rhetoric these past 4 years is an abomination on Americanism.
Republicans are poorly educated people who are against government programs and policies that help the poor, improve public education, regulate business, provide better working conditions for workers, make everyone more financially secure and make the country safer such as welfare, medicare, medicaid, social security, federal deposit insurance credit, the american dep. of agriculture, minimum wage etc. They try to privatize and totally destroy healthcare and social security. Republicans also try to force their religion on the nation and teach Christianity in public schools even though there's separation of church and state. Republicans violate everyone's personal privacy rights such as abortion and they pass the patriot's ACT. They are against abortion yet they will always be there to sentence someone to capitol punishment for a minor crime and they start wars for no reason. Republicans also refuse to provide funding for stem cell research even if it could help us find a cure for cancer. They believe in an economic system where 1% of the population controls 99% of the wealth, where the tax burden is on the middle class and where multi-billion dollar corporations aren't expected to pay any taxes whatsoever.


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Capitals owner eyes own 'compelling event'
Granted, it's not the big prize, but Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis appears set to land another object of his desire.
Although NHL commissioner Gary Bettman offered no commitment on a Winter Classic site beyond the Capitals and Penguins facing off on New Year's Day at Heinz Field, he did say the league's "goal" (no pun intended) is for the Caps to host the Classic in the D.C. area.
Leonsis, who makes no effort to hide his yearning for the franchise's first Stanley Cup, said he expects his team to get the Winter Classic "in a two- or three-year window."
For now, Leonsis is thrilled to be part of the fourth Classic — Caps and Pens, Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby — before a sell-out crowd expected to exceed 67,000.
"It should make for a compelling event," he said. "It should translate very well to television. ... Pittsburgh's going to be a fantastic host."
Leonsis has pushed for the event since the first Winter Classic nearly three years ago, when more than 71,000 gathered at Ralph Wilson Stadium outside Buffalo, N.Y., in a snowfall that literally sprinkled the topping on an already successful event. He was hooked long before Sidney Crosby's shootout goal gave the Penguins a 2-1 win over the Sabres.
"It really hit me how perfectly it captured all that is right and beautiful with the game," Leonsis said. "To see these professional players play with such exuberance and joy — and they really wanted to win. There was really something about the game and the fans, the way it was snowing. It was goosebump-inducing.
"(Since then,) I felt confident it would be big. What surprised me is almost how perfect it's been to date."
Leonsis, who helped build AOL in the 1990s, wanted in on the action. Shortly into that first game, he began e-mailing Bettman to lobby for a Caps-hosted Winter Classic. He also put the out the word on his blog, "Ted's Take."
"Ted is one of the most extraordinarily smart, savvy, media-driven owners in all of sports," Bettman said. "This event immediately connected to his hard-wiring. He figured out exactly what this is before anyone started writing about it."
Leonsis said the NHL had considered the Capitals to host this season's game. But that would have meant the Penguins being the road team twice in four years.
"I knew that was unfair," Leonsis said. "I said, 'Of course we'll play in Pittsburgh, but I hope you ask us to play again.' I said our fan base is worthy of it."
The NHL has looked at Nationals Park and FedEx Field as potential sites in and around Washington, along with Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium and Camden Yards. The league makes the call, but Leonsis said he believes it should be D.C.'s game.
This season's contest brings together teams that have forged a hot rivalry largely because of Ovechkin and Crosby, arguably the NHL's two best players, and fueled by the captivating, seven-game playoff series between the clubs in 2009. Three of the games went into overtime, as the Penguins overcame a 2-0 deficit en route to their third Stanley Cup.
But the roots might go back to 2001, when Leonsis, a technological innovator, wrote a computer program that prevented Penguins fans from buying playoff tickets on the Capitals' website.
Area fans were outraged. Leonsis?
"Pretty cool, huh?" he was quoted as saying, adding he would keep doing it. In 2009, some Penguins fans said they were denied tickets when ordering through the Capitals.
Leonsis said the rivalry for the most part is a byproduct of Ovechkin and Crosby, who both entered the league in 2005 as the perfect tonic for a post-lockout hangover. "Rivalries get made in the playoffs, and this set of players only played once in the playoffs," he said.
But on HBO's 24/7 reality series, discussing the need to win a championship after coming close the past few years, Leonsis said, "We have to win the Stanley Cup. Pittsburgh has already won theirs."
After becoming the Capitals' majority owner in 1999, Leonsis tried stocking the roster with well-known, high-priced players like former Penguins star Jaromir Jagr. That didn't work, so he and general manager George McPhee scrapped the plan and essentially started over, building from within and relying on young, homegrown talent. Spending the No. 1 draft pick in 2004 on Ovechkin didn't hurt.
The Brooklyn-born Leonsis, who turns 54 on Jan. 8, also is attempting to rebuild the moribund Washington Wizards of the NBA. He became majority owner in June, adding to an empire that includes the WNBA's Mystics and downtown landmark Verizon Center.
Leonsis, for now, has curtailed his work in feature films. Producing documentaries on such serious subjects as the Japanese destruction of Nanking and a national soccer program for the homeless, he coined the word, "filmanthropy," which he described as "shedding light on a big issue" while raising money for charity.
That's on hold, although Leonsis does get to sit with fellow filmmaker and highly visible New York Knicks fan Spike Lee when their teams get together.
The two go back to when Leonsis broke into movies.
"He gave me advice on editing and the like," Leonsis said. "He was very gracious with his time. We're the same age, we're both from Brooklyn. ... He was very nice. There was no trash talk."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
In this study we report the synthesis of C5/C6-fused uridine phosphonates that are structurally related to earlier reported allosteric P2Y2 receptor ligands. A silyl-Hilbert-Johnson reaction of six quinazoline-2,4-(1
Amongst the many physiological functions of nucleotides, their capacity to mediate signal transmission via cell-surface receptors was discovered in 1929 [
The P2Y2 receptor (P2Y2R) is responsible for many physiological functions and therefore attracts considerable attention for developing therapeutics. For example, the P2Y2R agonist diquafosol, which stimulates the secretion of chloride and water by epithelial cells, is approved in Japan for treatment of dry eye disease [
The development of selective P2Y2R agonists and antagonists is a challenging task. Introduction of a 2'-amino and a 2-thio modification in UTP afforded analogue
Structure of UTP, the selective P2Y2 agonist
To gain access to the target C5/C6-fused uridine phosphonates we first prepared the required "base" moieties
The synthesis of the appropriate glycosyl donor started from the known diol
Synthesis of the Target Extended Uridine-5'-methylenephosphonates
Agonist and antagonist activities of the C5/C6-fused uridine phosphonates at the P2Y2 receptor were determined measuring PLC-dependent phosphoinositide hydrolysis in 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells stably expressing the human P2Y2 receptor (1321N1-P2Y2 cells) [
Compared to compound
Inositol phosphate production in 1321N1 cells stably expressing the human P2Y2 receptor. After labeling with [3H]myo-inositol overnight, the cells were treated with agonists for 30 min at 37 °C in the presence of 10 mM LiCl, and inositol phosphate accumulation was quantified. The concentration of all phosphonate analagues was 30 μM and of UTP was 3 μM. The data are presented as the mean ± S.E.M. and are representative of results obtained in three separate experiments.
The possibility that the modified uridine 5'-phosphonate analogues could inhibit the effect of UTP by displacing it from the orthosteric site was examined by assessing their capacity at high concentrations to inhibit the effect of a near-maximal concentration of UTP (
Effect of high concentrations of phosphonate analogues
All reagents were from standard commercial sources and of analytic grade. All reaction were performed under argon atmosphere except specified otherwise. Dry solvents were directly acquired from commercial sources. Precoated Merck Silica Gel F254 plates were used for TLC. Spots were examined under ultraviolet light at 254 nm and further visualized by sulfuric acid-anisaldehyde spray. Column chromatography was performed on silica gel (200–400 mm, 60 Å). 1H, 13C, and 31P-NMR spectra were recorded in CDCl3, DMSO-
Method 1: To a suspension of the appropriate quinazoline-2,4-(1
Method 2: To a suspension of appropriate quinazoline-2,4-(1
The appropriate phosphonic ester
Stable cell lines for study of the human (h) P2Y2, were generated by retroviral expression of the receptor in 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells, which do not natively express P2YRs. Agonist-induced [3H]inositol phosphate production was measured in cells plated at 20,000 cells/well on 96-well plates two days prior to assay. Sixteen hours before the assay, the inositol lipid pool of the cells was radiolabeled by incubation in 100 μL of serum-free inositol-free Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium, containing 1.0 μCi of [3H]myo-inositol. No changes of medium were made subsequent to the addition of [3H]inositol. On the day of the assay, cells were challenged with 25 μL of a five-fold concentrated solution of receptor agonists in 100 mM Hepes (
Based on the earlier identification a 5-aryl-substituted uridine phosphonate analogue as a promising allosteric partial agonist of the P2Y2R, we prepared a small collection of a novel C5/C6-fused uridine phosphonates. Pharmacological evaluation revealed that the target compounds exhibit much weaker agonistic activity than the parent compound.
L.S. synthesized the target phosphonates, which were conceptualized by M.D.P.R. M.O.B. and K.A.B. performed the pharmacological evaluation under the supervision of T.K.H. I.K. contributed to the characterization of the compounds. L.S. and S.V.C. wrote the manuscript. S.V.C. coordinated this study.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
For a systematic overview on ring transformations in medicinal chemistry see: C. Morice and C.G.Wermuth


text:
Slaughter Meat Goat Prices
Lamb Auction Prices
Plains Fed Cattle Movement
John D. Holleyman
Relives Days
Wyoming's Jake Clark Mule Days
Snake Bites In
Horses Seldom
Tuf Cooper Wins Reno Rodeo,
Amarillo Packer Cow
Imported Meat Total
Domestic Wool Inactive,
Nation's Yearling Feeder
Belen Feeder Steers,
Tulia Cattle Auction
Dalhart Steer Trend
Clovis Steer, Heifer
Red Meat Production
Boxed Beef Cutout
Light Billings Feeder
Joplin Yearling Steer,
Wool And Mohair LDP
Hamilton Kid Goat
Coleman Stocker Cattle
Comanche Feeder Cattle
Durant Steer, Heifer
Mike Seago Is Working
Navasota Cattle Price
San Saba And Mason
New Summerfield Sale
Clifton Stocker Steer
Wichita Falls Calves
Goldthwaite Sheep,
Oklahoma City Steers,
Fredericksburg Lambs,
Lampasas Feeder Cattle
Fredericksburg Feeder
Three Rivers Calves,
Angelo Packer Lamb
Industry Feeder Cattle
Crockett Feeder Cattle
Graham Auction Sells
Cleburne Auction Sells
Cattle On Feed Up Two
Coming Up...
July 4 — offices of Livestock Weekly will be closed.
July 7 — James G. Cruce & Associates' Consignment Auction, Abernathy, Texas. FMI: 806/296-5050 or 806/292-1474.
July 8-11 — National Lamb Feeders Leadership School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. FMI: 503/370-7024.
July 9 — Special Stocker And Feeder Sale, Jordan Cattle Auction, Mason, Texas. FMI: 325/372-5159; website: www.jordancattle.com
July 10-14 — American Rambouillet Association's 2012 National Show and Sale, Texas Tech, Lubbock, Texas. FMI: Burk Lattimore — 806/894-3081.
July 11 — Special Stocker Feeder Calf Sale, Gillespie Livestock Auction, Fredericksburg, Texas. FMI: 830/997-4394.
July 12 — Eldorado-Divide Soil & Water Conservation District's Ag Workshop, Memorial Building, Eldorado, Texas. FMI: 325/853-3535 Ext. 3.
July 12 — Special Stocker And Feeder Sale, Jordan Cattle Auction, San Saba, Texas. FMI: 325/372-5159; website: www.jordancattle.com
July 12 — Premium Weaned Calf Sale, Jordan Cattle Auction, San Saba, Texas. FMI: 325/372-5159; website: www.jordancattle.com
July 12-15 — Cross Bar Cowboy Church 5th Annual Revival and Ranch Rodeo, Ace Arena, Andrews, Texas. FMI: 432/524-2005.
July 16 — Stocker And Feeder Calf Sale, Producers Livestock Auction, San Angelo, Texas. FMI: 325/653-3371, website: www.producersandcargile.com
July 17-19 — Arizona Cattle Growers Association Summer Convention, Prescott, Ariz. FMI: 602/267-1129.
July 21-22 — Caprock Ranchers Sale and Futurity LLC, Hockley County Mallet Event Center, Levelland, Texas. FMI: caprockranchers.com; 575/403-7016.
July 26-28 — Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Convention, Kerrville, Texas. FMI:325/655-7388.
July 26-28 — Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association Annual Convention, Midwest City, Okla. FMI: 405/235-4391.
July 27-28 — Texas Angora Goat Raiser's Association 93rd Annual Show and Sale, Hill Country Fairgrounds, Junction, Texas. FMI: 830/796-7429; firstname.lastname@example.com
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?


text:
On the day he officially took office as the NHL's first commissioner – Feb. 1, 1993 – Gary Bettman was asked about his goals and mandate for guiding the league into the 21st century. Two months earlier, Bettman had been hired and introduced during a tumultuous board of governors meeting in Florida that also provided an expansion surprise – two new teams were to be added to the NHL, Anaheim and Florida. Two respected companies, the Disney Corporation and Blockbuster Video, were climbing aboard to help expand the NHL's footprint to additional non-traditional markets.
The NHL had been something of an old boys' club for years, stuck firmly in the past. Suddenly, it was venturing down an ambitious path with a new leader in place. Bettman – confident, glib, elfin and chatty – issued a de facto mission statement that first day on job; his priority would be to turn the focus away from labour issues being pushed by an increasingly militant Players' Association.
Bettman would require "a good collective bargaining agreement and a stable relationship with the players, so fans don't have to read about potential strikes and lockouts and the like," he said at the time. "It means you run your business in a business-like way, so people don't have to read about owners, or commissioners or labour leaders, all they read about is the hockey players doing wonderful things on the ice.
"I am committed to eliminating, to the extent possible, the distractions and focusing the attention on the game."
Bettman's era has brought some important positive changes to the league. Revenues have quintupled in size and player payrolls followed suit. The NHL played a series of regular-season games in Europe and Japan, broadening its global appeal. It created the successful Winter Classic, the annual outdoor game played on Jan. 1 that has caught the imagination of the U.S. TV viewing public. Television revenues have grown significantly as have league sponsorship deals. He helped stabilize wobbly franchises in Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa through the Canadian currency-assistance program and enabled Minnesota and Winnipeg to get their franchises back.
Still, Bettman's legacy will be forever coloured by the rancour and animosity of three lockouts. During the second, in 2004-05, the NHL became the only major professional sports league to lose an entire season to a labour dispute. So in spite of salary growth, many players regard him as a villain.
"The hockey has grown a lot in every which way so I think for the most part, he has been very successful – and obviously, we all appreciate that," said the Anaheim Ducks' Teemu Selanne, one of only a handful to play during Bettman's entire reign.
"We – the players – are very lucky to have the lifestyle that we have. But if you ask any player, nobody's happy that he also had three work stoppages. Obviously, that's the only minus we are looking at from his part."
In 1993-94, following Bettman's first full season on the job, NHL revenues amounted to $732-million and annual player salaries averaged $558,000. By 2011-12, revenues had nearly quintupled to $3.3-billion, and players now earn an average $2.55-million.
"If you look around at 20 years of Gary Bettman and say, 'who benefited?' you can start by looking at it from the players' side," said Larry Quinn, the former Buffalo Sabres president. "When I started, the highest-paid guy on the Sabres was making $650,000 a year and I remember, that was considered a lot of money."
Yet during this last standoff, players took pains to single out Bettman's lockout strategy. While no one implied a threat to Bettman's health as did the Detroit Red Wings' Chris Chelios during the first lockout, the animosity and distrust poured out.
The Florida Panthers' Kris Versteeg said Bettman and his second-in-command, Bill Daly, had been "polluting" the game for years. Detroit Red Wings' defenceman Ian White: "Personally, I think he's an idiot." Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews: "This seems to be our commissioner's bread-and-butter; it's almost like he is excited to take away hockey from the fans and the players just because he can."
When the lockout ended with the NHLPA ratifying a new collective agreement on Jan. 12, Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller said: "Obviously, he had something in his head and he was going to see how far he could take it. So there's really no going up against Gary, when he has something in his head."
Toews spoke personally to Bettman last Saturday before the Blackhawks' season-opening win over the Los Angeles Kings, but would only say their conversation was "brief and positive."
"I'm focused on the game," Toews said. "The other stuff doesn't matter anymore."
Inherited a mess
The NHL that Bettman assumed from his predecessor, interim president Gil Stein, was operated as little more than a cottage industry.
"It was under-capitalized. It was over-expanded. It was over-leveraged," said Marc Ganis, president and founder of SportsCorp, a Chicago-based sports business consulting firm. "You had horrible due diligence. You had procedures and diligence that were failures. You had insider dealings and ... as the numbers got bigger, it was collapsing onto itself as a black hole.
"You have to look at it [and ask], 'What if he had not done everything he did?' The answer?
"Had it continued down the same path, the National Hockey League would have imploded," Garis said. "It is a cleaner, stronger, more financially solid business operation – with better prospects for the future. All of those things were very difficult to achieve. Did he do everything right? Of course not. Nobody does. But he stepped into a very difficult situation."
Bettman, a lawyer, was recruited from the NBA's front office by Los Angeles Kings' owner Bruce McNall, who had been elected chairman of the NHL's board of governors, replacing Bill Wirtz. For years, the triumvirate of Wirtz, NHL president John Ziegler Jr. and Players' Association executive director Alan Eagleson controlled power. Wirtz did not believe in televising home games; Ziegler's essential maxim was, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it,'; Eagleson was eventually convicted of mail fraud in the United States and embezzlement in Canada.
McNall sensed an opportunity for the NHL to grow the league out of its role as a regional sport.
The league also valued Bettman's background as a labour negotiator because militancy in the NHLPA began to mushroom after Bob Goodenow replaced Eagleson; there had been a short 10-day player strike in March of 1991.
"What we were looking for at that time was, a) somebody who was able to solve the player-personnel mess we were going through at the time and b) because we had [Wayne] Gretzky [playing for the Los Angeles Kings], we were trying desperately to use him for expansion purposes," McNall explained. "And the main reason for expansion was to get a major television deal – because it's hard to get a national television deal in the United States, when you only have a couple of cities on the West Coast and the rest are all in Canada and on the East Coast.
"So those were the goals. Gary was well aware of the issues and I thought he was the right guy to do it. That's why I thought it was a good hire at the time."
Two Canadian teams – the Winnipeg Jets and the Quebec Nordiques – were relocated to Phoenix and Colorado, respectively, early in Bettman's tenure, but according to the late Harley Hotchkiss, McNall's successor as the chairman of the NHL board of governors, without Bettman's intervention, more Canadian cities would have lost their franchises during the dark days of the currency crisis. Under Bettman's watch, the NHL expanded to 30 teams from 26, with one of those teams – the Atlanta Thrashers – moving to Winnipeg last year. Moreover, Bettman has spent countless hours trying to stabilize the Phoenix Coyotes ownership.
Not going anywhere
Bettman signed a five-year contract in 1993 and has had his contract extended three times since then, including once back in November of 2011. There was speculation that Bettman would either step aside or be pushed out once the lockout ended, but Jeremy Jacobs, the current chairman of the board, reaffirmed the board's support on the day the governors ratified the CBA.
"I'm looking forward to continuing to grow this game, both on and off the ice, as we have over the last 20 years," Bettman said then. "I think the opportunities are great and I'm excited to be a part of them."
Many general managers expect Bettman to work until his 65th birthday, on June 12, 2017. Logically, he could announce his decision to retire then, but stay on for the 100th anniversary season in 2017.
With the labour agreement in place until at least 2020, the question is whether he can grown the NHL to 32 teams from 30? Slotting eight teams in four conferences has long been the end game, but expansion has been delayed by a persistent need to extinguish brushfires around teams with financial issues.
Quinn believes putting a second team in the Greater Toronto Area area is "a logical step." He also believes that expanding to Europe makes sense.
McNall has a far less optimistic view of the future. He does not see an onward and upward trajectory, but says the fault is with his original vision, not Bettman's. According to McNall, his rush to bring in additional Sunbelt teams (Florida and Anaheim were added the day before Bettman was hired) was probably the wrong thing to do. McNall essentially recruited both new partners – Disney's Michael Eisner in Anaheim and Blockbuster Video's Wayne Huizenga in Florida – through personal relationships. At the time, the moves were universally applauded because it brought owners with real dollars in their pockets into the fold.
"I had lunch with Wayne [Gretzky] the other day and we were talking about it a little bit. Only a handful of those expansion teams are successful. Most of them are not," McNall said. "So apparently, for any number of reasons, hockey doesn't seem to want to transfer over into these non-indigenous areas."
McNall also raised another issue relating to marketing – how hockey players are harder to sell to a larger national U.S. audience because they generally don't want to stand out. He is not sure how that ethic can change, either.
"In basketball or football, you have a lot of characters in those sports," McNall said. "You have a lot of personalities. Hockey doesn't have a lot of personalities. They're pretty boring guys. It's hard to get them to be media darlings, like the NBA guys, which helps to drive sales and interest in smaller markets. Can you imagine a basketball player saying, 'no, I don't want to shoot the ball?' It would never happen. In hockey, everybody's a team guy."
Quinn believes the product on the ice is holding the league back too. Despite improvement in the past five years, it still has a long way to go, with European soccer-style trapping a plague.
"I put that responsibility on Gary and the players," he said. "They both need to collaborate on that and say, 'Okay, how do we make this game truly exciting so it can keep with the other American sports?' If I had to give Gary a mark below 'A' on anything, it might be that. Not that he hasn't tried, but both groups have to do a lot more there."
Meantime, while the NHL has taken steps to improve its health and safety record, there's work to be done.
"They still have to come to grips with violence in the game," Quinn said. "There's a strong faction that wants to keep fighting. There's a strong faction that doesn't. The whole issue has to be wrestled with. The issue of concussions has to be wrestled with."
Always an outsider
In assessing Bettman's legacy, people struggle to separate the personal from the professional. Some will always consider him to be an outsider, never having been steeped in hockey culture. If Bettman were more Clinton-esque in stature and had that same charming, disarming manner in public, opposed to appearing stiff and guarded, maybe the perception of him would be different.
"There's no question about that – which is again unfair," Quinn said.
"I can tell you, he's a very good communicator. He goes out of his way to communicate. The impression that's created of him is this little guy who is holding onto power. That is completely not true. He shares information extremely well with his partners. He doesn't exclude people. I found him to be a real pleasure to work with – and totally different than the stereotype that people often use with him."
Quinn concluded: "On Gary overall, if you looked at every category and separated yourself from the personalities and said, 'has this business grown over his tenure?' There's no question it has. Has he been able to solve a problem that hockey couldn't for 40 or 50 years before him, which was to have national television exposure in the United States? Yes. Do they have a formula that's fair for team owners and players? I think finally, yeah they do. Now getting there? A lot of eggs were broken. But I don't know how you do it without it."Report Typo/Error
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text:
Senate Chairman Tom Schroeder convened the regular meeting about 3 p.m., with most SEC members meeting from 2:00 p.m. with VCR Ostrander. The UARC dominated the discussions with Ostrander. The SEC pled vigorously that the chancellor would consult the university community about the UARC as widely and publicly as possible.
1. Chairman Schroeder expressed strong unhappiness that Chancellor Englert had been put on the agenda for the March Faculty Congress. The SEC had done this in Schroeder's absence.
2. The review of the minutes for March 7 was postponed.
3. Schroeder has invited/wants to invite VP Johnsrud to the April Senate meeting to review the new tuition proposal. The SEC expressed some interest, but suggested other venues or putting her near the end of the agenda (so that business can be conducted while there is a quorum).
4. The SEC approved the election results for incoming senators.
5. Gen Ed faces renewed opening-of-old-wounds with a decision by HCC (Honolulu Community College) to articulate to Manoa a course that Arts & Sciences will not accept.
6. CAPP will bring 3 resolutions to the Senate: M. degree proposals from Hawaiian languages and from Hawaiian studies, and a resolution regarding prerequisites.
7. The SEC has learned that there may be a total of 20 E (Emeritus) parking passes being used on campus at any one time. Such passes seem to be the wrong focus for dealing with budget problems in the parking office.
University of Hawaii | UH Manoa | UH Links | UHPA | Board of Regents


text:
Hopkinson, Jane and Wright, David and McDonald, John and Corner, Jessica (2006) The Prevalence of Concern About Weight Loss and Change in Eating Habits in People with Advanced Cancer. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 32 (4). pp. 322-331. ISSN 0885-3924. DOI UNSPECIFIEDFull text not available from this repository.
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|Item Type:
|IOE Departments > Departments > Centre for Longitudinal Studies
|Depositing User:
|IOE Repository Editor (2)
|Date Deposited:
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|Last Modified:
|29 Jan 2015 08:40


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|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Mar 7, 2000
|Filing date
|Mar 11, 1998
|Priority date
|May 22, 1995
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Larry Louis Moresco, Richard L. Wheeler, Solomon I. Beilin, David A. Horine
|Original Assignee
|Fujitsu Limited
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (22), Non-Patent Citations (4), Referenced by (47), Classifications (20), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 08/445,672, filed May 22, 1995 is now U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,279.
The present invention is related to integrated circuit chip packaging technology, and is particularly directed to structures for supplying power to integrated circuits mounted on single chip and multichip modules, and methods of fabricating such structures.
Power distribution to microelectronic devices, such as integrated circuit chips is a major concern in many electronic applications. Of particular concern in the context of the present invention is power distribution to integrated circuits packaged in multichip modules.
In many electronic applications, particularly computer systems, a plurality of individual integrated circuit ("IC") chips are used to perform various system functions. The IC chips, which are quite small, must be "packaged" to provide signal, power and ground connections in a way that prevents damage to the highly sensitive chips. Typically, in low end applications, the IC chips are each individually packaged and then connected to a substrate, such as a computer motherboard. A multichip module ("MCM") is a form of packaging wherein a collection of IC chips are attached to one or more interconnected substrates. Multichip modules are used to improve overall system performance in several ways: the overall space needed to house the IC chips is significantly reduced, and by shortening the distance between chips within the module, high speed device operation is facilitated, e.g., power consumption, interconnect inductance and signal transmission delays are all reduced. MCMs may be designed to incorporate additional features such as an integral IC chip cooling system.
In an MCM a plurality of IC chips are typically connected to a multilayered substrate which contains the signal and power lines needed to supply power and to interconnect the chips to each other and to external devices. The substrate on which the IC chips are mounted will be referred to as the "MCM substrate." The connection between the MCM substrate and the IC chips may either be direct or through an intermediate or "interposer" substrate. In order to make the required number of interconnections, MCM substrates generally contain multiple patterned conductive layers separated by dielectric material. In addition, in order to provide bypass capacitance very close to the integrated circuit chips, capacitors are sometimes embedded within the MCM substrate, since the multilayered structure readily lends itself to capacitor formation, i.e., the capacitors are easily formed from opposing metal layers separated by dielectric. Generally, MCM substrates are either formed from ceramic layers, with metal paste used to form the signal and voltage lines and interlayer vias, or from thin film materials such as copper and polyimide. Hybrid MCM substrates, employing both types of technology are also known in the art. The present invention is particularly useful in connection with thin film MCM substrates, which are becoming more common due to the high density of interconnects they make possible.
Despite performance improvements, known multichip modules have several elements that limit system performance. One important problem with traditional multichip modules is the routing of low impedance power lines through the same layered thin film structure utilized to carry signals to and from the chip. Modem, high density MCM substrates usually comprise a multilayered thin film structure built up layer by layer on a relatively thick, rigid base substrate. A typical thin-film structure comprises interleaved layers of copper and polyimide. Due to technology used to make the thin film structure and the number of metal layers that are typically used, it is necessary to make the metal layers relatively thin. However, the thin metal layers have a relatively high impedance which results in undesired noise, voltage loss and excess thermal energy production, when the thin layers are used to supply power to the IC chips. Increasing the number of layers, which is one way of decreasing impedance without increasing the thickness of the layers, decreases module manufacturing yield.
Fabrication yield is a significant concern in the design and construction of complex multichip modules. In many designs, a failure in any individual component of the module will result in the entire module becoming useless. The fabrication yield of MCM substrates is directly related to the number of layers in the structure and is particularly related to the formation of any embedded bypass capacitors. The capacitors are particularly susceptible to breakdown due to small defects and the thinness of the dielectric layers used to separate capacitor plates.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a structure for and a method of making a power distribution system for microelectronic components mounted on a chip substrate that improves over the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to improve the routing of signal and power lines to microelectronic components mounted on a multilayered substrate.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide improved low impedance means for delivering power to microelectronic components mounted on a multilayered substrate.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a structure and method of fabricating a multilayered microelectronic device substrate that minimizes the internal stress of the resulting substrate assembly as it is thermally cycled.
A further object of the present invention is to provide reliable bypass capacitance positioned in close proximity to an integrated circuit chip mounted on a chip substrate.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate structure that is highly modular, and a method for fabricating the same, so that individual components can be pretested prior to final fabrication of the substrate, and such that at least some of the components can be repaired.
The present invention provides a power distribution substrate for microelectronic components mounted on a substrate such as a multichip module, and a method for fabricating the same, which overcomes the aforementioned limitations of currently available substrate structures, and which provides additional advantages that will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this specification in conjunction with the attached drawings and appended claims.
A method for fabricating a power distribution system for microelectronic devices mounted on a substrate, according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of providing a support base having a plurality of mesas formed thereon, the exposed surfaces of the mesas and of the support base being electrically conductive; forming a thin, conformal dielectric layer over the exposed surfaces of the mesas and of the support base; depositing a conductive material over the dielectric layer; and planarizing the resulting structure such that the upper surfaces of the mesas and the upper surface of the conductive layer lie in substantially one plane and are electrically isolated from each other by the dielectric material.
In the preferred embodiment, the substrate is either an MCM substrate or a high density single chip carrier, having a multilayered thin film structure formed over the planarized support base.
In another embodiment, the structure of the present invention is formed by providing a first support plate having a conductive surface with a plurality of recesses formed therein, coating the conductive surface of the support plate with a thin, conformal layer of dielectric material, providing a second plate having a conductive surface which mates with said first support plate, mounting said second plate on said first plate such that said second plate nests within said first plate to form a sandwich structure, and removing a portion of said sandwich structure such that a generally planar region is formed on the remaining surface thereof, said planar region having contiguous electrically isolated conductive areas separated by said dielectric layer.
A structure according to the present invention comprises a substrate for mounting microelectronic components, comprising a generally planar support base having an electrically conductive upper surface, a plurality of mesas positioned on said support base, the tops of said mesas being exposed, substantially coplanar, made of a conductive material and electrically coupled to the conductive upper surface of the support base; a dielectric layer covering the side walls of said mesas and the surface of said support base between and surrounding said mesas, the thickness of said dielectric layer being substantially less than the height of said mesas; and, a conductive layer positioned over said dielectric layer in the area between and surrounding said mesas, said conductive layer having a planar upper surface which is substantially coplanar with the tops of said mesas and which is electrically isolated from said mesas by said dielectric material.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are plan views of two embodiments of a power distribution substrate in accordance with the present invention.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views of two embodiments of a chip module incorporating the power distribution substrate of the present invention.
FIGS. 3A-3G are cross-sectional views of one embodiment of the power distribution substrate of the present invention at various stages of fabrication.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a composite support base used in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of a repeatable segment of the power distribution substrate of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of nesting plates used in the fabrication of another embodiment of the power distribution structure of the present invention.
FIGS. 7A-7D are cross-sectional views of another embodiment of a power distribution system of the present invention showing the structure at various stages of fabrication.
The chip substrate of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is of the type which comprises a multilayered thin film structure which is formed upon a relatively thick, rigid support base. Thin film structures, such as copper/polyimide structures used in multichip modules, are too thin to be self supporting. Accordingly, such structures are formed on top of a rigid substrate or support base. In prior art structures, the support base is either entirely passive or contains one or more relatively thick power supply layers formed in parallel planes on the substrate, with power being routed from the conductive layers on or within the support base to the thin film structure by small diameter vias which extend to a surface of the support base. For purposes of the present disclosure the term support base should be understood to include not only the thick base substrate, but also any power supply layers that are formed thereon.
In contrast to the prior art, the support base of the present invention has a planar electrically conductive upper surface with a plurality of electrically isolated "islands" ranging over a substantial portion of the upper surface of the support base. In use, the islands are maintained at a different electrical potential than the remainder of the upper surface. Preferably, the islands are numerous and are arranged in a regular pattern such that at any location over the upper surface of the support base the distance to either ground potential or to a supply voltage is relatively short.
Referring now to the Figures in general and to FIGS. 1A and 1B in particular, there are shown plan views of two embodiments of the power distribution structure 5 of the present invention. Power distribution structure 5 is formed on top of a base plate 12 as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B and described below in connection therewith. Generally, the surface of the power distribution structure comprises a plurality of conductive areas 14, which may be referred to as islands, surrounded by a conductive surface 24 and electrically isolated therefrom by a dielectric material 22. (As will be described below, conductive islands 14 are also referred to as "mesas" during intermediate stages in the fabrication of the power distribution structure of the present invention.) The upper surface of the power distribution structure 5, shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, including both the upper surfaces of islands 14 and the upper surface of the surrounding conductive material 24, lies in one plane.
As described below, a multilayered thin film structure 30 (as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B), may be formed on top of power distribution structure 5. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the conductive islands 14 are preferably numerous and arranged in a regular pattern, such as a grid pattern. When arranged in this manner, any location in the overlying thin film structure will be positioned close to a source of power or to a ground potential. This configuration enables the use of a relatively short conductive path between a ground or voltage potential of the power distribution structure and a microelectronic component, such as an IC chip, which is mounted on thin film structure 30.
The conductive islands 14 of the embodiment of FIG. 1A are generally circular, while those of the embodiment of the FIG. 1B are generally square or rectangular. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other shapes such as more complex polygons, are possible for the islands and are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. Presently, the inventors prefer the use of circular islands, as depicted in FIG. 1A, with a diameter of approximately 30 μm and which are arranged in a rectangular grid having a pitch, i.e., a center-to-center distance between adjacent islands, of approximately 150-300 μm. Of course, the pitch may vary according to the application. One aspect of the present invention is that the density of islands on the surface of power distribution structure is high such that any location in or on the overlying thin film structure is close to a source of power or ground. This aspect is of the invention is best accomplished when the pitch is less than about 500 μm. While the diameter of the preferred embodiment of tops of the mesas of the present invention is preferably about 30 μm, the actual size will, again, be determined by the specific need. In some cases, the diameter can be reduced to about 20 μm or less while in others the diameters may be as great as 150 μm.
Turning to FIGS. 2A and 2B, cross-sectional views of two embodiments of multichip modules 10 incorporating the power distribution structure 5 of the present invention are shown. The embodiment of FIG. 2A is taken along view lines 2A--2A of FIG. 1A, while the embodiment of FIG. 2B is taken along view lines 2B--2B of FIG. 1B. (It is noted that while three mesas 14 are shown along the view lines of FIGS. 1A and 1B, for clarity, only two mesas are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, respectively.) For exemplary purposes, the embodiment of FIG. 2A utilizes a base plate 12 made of a conductive material, such as molybdenum, while the embodiment of FIG. 2B utilizes a base plate 12' made of a dielectric material, such as undoped silicon base plate 12 has an upper conductive surface 13, and base plate 12' has an upper conductive surface 23. Other choices of materials for the base plate are described below. Overall, base plate 12 should be thick enough to have sufficient rigidity for subsequent processing. In one embodiment, base plate 12 is approximately 650 μm thick. (For clarity, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the Figures are not drawn to scale and omit certain well-known features not needed for an understanding of the present invention.)
Power distribution structure 5 is formed on the base plate 12 and, in the preferred embodiment, a multilayered thin film structure 30, is then formed on top of the power distribution structure. Thin film structure 30 preferably comprises a plurality of interleaved patterned copper and polyimide layers, as is known in the art. Microelectronic components, such as IC chips, are then mounted on the thin film structure. While one such IC chip 50 is shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, in the preferred embodiment the final structure comprises an MCM for mounting a plurality of IC chips and or other microelectronic components.
While a molybdenum base plate is used in the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, other conductive or dielectric materials may be used for the base plate. It is generally preferred that base plate 12 have a coefficient of thermal expansion ("CTE") which closely matches the CTE of the thin film structure and the microelectronic components (e.g., IC chips) mounted thereon to minimize the stress that builds up as the assembly is thermally cycled. Other metals suitable for a low CTE base plate are tungsten and chromium. On the other hand, if circumstances permit, as where matching the CTE is not important, base plate 12 made be made of copper, which has the advantage of high conductivity.
In a more refined embodiment, base plate 12 may consist of a sandwich structure comprising, for example, a relatively thick molybdenum layer with thin copper layers formed on the upper and lower surfaces thereof. By choosing the proper thickness of the copper and molybdenum layers in such a structure, it is possible to make a composite substrate with a CTE which closely matches that of the IC chips. An exemplary support base of Cu/Mo/Cu composite, as shown in FIG. 4, comprises a thick molybdenum layer 16, having a low CTE (e.g., 5 ppm/� C.) between thin layers of copper 20, 21, a highly conductive metal having a very low bulk resistivity (e.g., 1.6-2.25 microohms cm). As noted, the ratio of the thicknesses of the individual layers within the composite structure is preferably chosen to provide a CTE that ideally matches that of the material comprising the ICs of the multichip module. In an exemplary composite support base, copper layers 20, 21 are 20-40 μm thick and layer 16 of molybdenum is 650 μm thick.
In the event that the base plate is a dielectric, or is a material which does not have sufficient conductivity, a conductive layer 20, as shown in FIG. 2B, is formed thereon prior to fabrication of the remainder of power distribution structure 5. Suitable dielectric materials for support base 12' include silicon, molybdenum nitride or aluminum nitride. Copper is preferred for conductive layer 20. Layer 20 should have a minimum thickness of approximately 20-30 μm. Other suitable metals for the high conductivity top layer 20 of the base plate include silver, gold and nickel.
Use of a conductive base plate, as shown in FIG. 2A, has the advantage of eliminating the need to deposit a conductive layer. On the other hand, use of a base plate made of a non-conductive material, such as silicon, as shown in FIG. 2B, offers the advantages of being easy to work with, (the processing technology associated with silicon is very highly developed), and potentially providing a better match with the CTE of the IC chips mounted on the MCM, which may also be made of silicon. While several examples of materials for use with the present invention have been described, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the list of examples is not exhaustive and that many other materials may be used.
Preferred materials for dielectric layer 22 are polyimide or various other organic dielectrics, tantalum pentoxide (Ta2 O5), or adhesive glass. In the presently preferred embodiment, dielectric layer 22 has a thickness of approximately 10 μm. It has been determined that this is sufficiently thick to avoid shorting between conductive layers 14 and 24 due to pinholes or other defects, yet thin enough to create substantial bypass capacitance between the layers. Any other dielectric material that may be deposited in a sufficiently thin, defect-free layer and that has thermal stability up to approximately 400� C. in order to withstand the temperature cycles used during subsequent processing of the polyimide layers in the overlying thin film structure, may also be used. (If polyimide is not used in the thin film structure, or if a low temperature process is used to cure the polyimide, the temperature requirements for dielectric layer 22 may be reduced.) Alternatively, if the exposed surfaces of base plate 12 and mesas 14 are an anodizable metal, or are first coated with a thin film of an anodizable metal, such as tantalum, dielectric layer 22 may be formed thereon by anodization. Dielectric layer 22 should have good adhesive properties (e.g., adhesion strength measured by the 90� C. peel test greater than 40 g/mm or lap sheer greater than 1 kg/mm2), and have a CTE which closely matches the CTE of the material used for the base plate.
Conductive layer 24, overlying dielectric layer 22, fills the area surrounding mesas 24, and serves as the main power plane for the power distribution system of the present invention. The proper thickness of conductive layer 24 is determined by the DC voltage drop provided by the multichip module system design. In the presently preferred embodiment, conductive layer 24 is approximately 20-30 μm thick copper. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the required thickness of conductive layer 24, along with the permissible thickness of dielectric layer 22, will control the necessary height of the mesas.
In a more refined embodiment, the CTE of the material used for conductive layer 24 should closely match those of ground plane 14 so as to minimize the stresses. By properly choosing the materials of base plate 12, dielectric layer 22 and the conductive layer 24, the thermal strain and associated stress between the power distribution structure 5, the overlying thin film structure 30 and IC's 50 can be minimized.
Base plate 12 (and conductive layer 20, if applicable) having mesas or islands 14 thereon, all of which is separated by dielectric layer 22 from conductive layer 24, form the power distribution structure 5 of the present invention. This structure has an advantage over prior art modules in its reduced size, accomplished by use of the base plate as both a support base and a power bus. This structure also forms an integral decoupling capacitor inherently created by the large opposing surface area between the conductive layer 24 and base plate 12 (or conductive layer 20, if applicable). Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate the need to maintain adequate bypass capacitance in close proximity to high speed IC chips. The capacitance of the structure can be maximized by making dielectric layer 22 as thin as possible.
Optionally, additional layers may be added to the power distribution structure. For example, various materials may be used to promote adhesion between layers or to further help relieve thermal stresses. Chromium may be used, for example, as an adhesion layer between a silicon base plate and an overlying copper layer, or between a copper layer and a dielectric layer.
Although only one conductive layer 24 is shown in the Figures for distributing a supply voltage, as many voltage supply layers as desired can be formed in adjacent areas according to methods of fabricating the subject structure which are described below. Multiple voltage supplies allow the module to provide multiple voltages to the microelectronic components packaged on the module.
As described, a multilayered thin film structure 30 is formed on top of power distribution structure 5 to complete the multichip module substrate. In the preferred embodiment, this thin film structure 30 comprises interleaved patterned copper and polyimide layers which may be formed using techniques well known to those skilled in the art. The exemplary thin film structure 30 of FIGS. 2A and 2B depicts an embodiment that utilizes four patterned metal layers, 32, 34, 36 and 38 formed on top of four dielectric layers, 43, 45, 47 and 49, respectively. In an actual embodiment, a larger number of thin film layers are likely to be used. As is well known in the art, the patterned metal layers are used for signal lines and for power redistribution. (It will be noted, however, that the need for power distribution layers may be eliminated or greatly reduced due to the relatively direct, low impedance path between the power and ground planes of the present invention and the IC chip.) If desired, added bypass capacitance can also be incorporated into thin film structure 30. The uppermost patterned metal layer comprises a plurality of chip pads 38 on which microelectronic components such as IC chips can be mounted; (one such chip 50 is shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B). Preferably, the IC chips are mounted using high density techniques, such as solder bumps or wire interconnect structures 55. Vias 60 connect the chip pads 44 through the dielectric layers to the signal lines and power redistribution layers 32, 34, 36 and 38 and to the power and ground planes of power distribution structure 5.
Referring now to FIGS. 3A-3G, there is illustrated one embodiment of the present invention at various stages of fabrication. The process begins in FIG. 3A with the step of providing a base plate 300. Base plate 300 is preferably made of a conductive material such as molybdenum, but may also be made of a non-conductive material, such as undoped silicon, in which case a suitably thick conductive upper surface 303 such as copper (as shown in FIG. 3C) may first be formed thereon. Copper layer 303 may be formed using a number of known techniques. For example, a seed layer (not shown), such as chromium, may be sputtered onto base plate 300' and a thick copper layer plated thereon. An upper conductive surface 313 is provided by the upper surface of substrate 300 (FIG. 3A), and by the upper surface of layer 303 for substrate 300' (FIG. 3C). If a metal or metal-alloy combination base plate is desired, such as the Cu/Mo/Cu sandwich structure shown in FIG. 4, several known techniques can be used to create the base plate. For example, the top and bottom high conductivity layers can be deposited onto a preformed, relatively thick, low CTE middle layer by evaporation, sputtering, electrospraying, chemical vapor deposition ("CVD") lamination or electroplating.
As shown in FIGS. 3B-3D, a plurality of mesas 305 are formed on the surface of base plate 300. The mesas 305 can be formed either by an additive process or a subtractive process each of which is well known in the art. FIG. 3B shows a photoresist layer 302 applied to the surface of base plate 300, and FIG. 3C shows a photoresist layer 302 applied to the surface of conductive layer 303. The photoresist is exposed through an appropriately patterned mask (not shown) as is well known in the art. After exposure areas of the photoresist are removed by development thereby exposing the surface of base plate 300 (or conductive layer 303 as the case may be), and some areas of the photoresist remain undeveloped. In an exemplary additive process, conductive material is deposited, as by electroplating, into the areas from which the photoresist has been removed thereby forming mesas 305. In an exemplary subtractive process, the exposed surface of a base plate 300 (or conductive layer 303 as the case may be), is etched, as by wet-etching thereby forming mesas 305. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the mask used to expose the photoresist will be different depending on whether an additive or subtractive process is used to form mesas 305 and whether the photoresist in positive or negative. When using a dielectric base plate, as shown in FIG. 3C, it is preferred to use as additive process to form mesas on top of layer 303. On the other hand, when using a conductive base plate, as shown in FIG. 3B a subtractive process is preferred. Preferably, the mesas have a height of about 30 μm or more.
The vertical profile of the walls of the mesas will depend on the process which is used to form them. Although mesas are shown in the Figures as having a trapezoidal cross section, with the narrow end of the trapezoid on top, when a subtractive wet-etching process is used to form the mesas they may be wider at the top and narrower at the bottom due to undercutting.
In FIG. 3E a relatively thin dielectric layer 310, such as polyimide, has been formed in a continuous sheet over the exposed surfaces of base plate 300 and mesas 305 so as to conformally coat these surfaces. The thickness of the dielectric layer is preferably small (e.g., less than about 10 μm) in comparison to the height of the mesas (e.g., approximately 30 μm). As noted above, the dielectric layer may be formed by depositing one of the dielectric materials described above, or by anodization. After forming dielectric layer 310, a conductive material 320, such as copper, is deposited on top of dielectric layer 210 as shown in FIG. 3F. Conductive layer 320 should be deposited at a thickness which is at least the height of mesas 305. As shown in FIG. 3G, the surface of the resulting composite structure is then planarized, such as by mechanical polishing, lapping, chemical-mechanical polishing, milling, or etching to expose the tops of mesas 305, which are then electrically isolated by dielectric material 310 from the surrounding conductive layer 320. Mesas 305 can now be called islands and correspond to the islands 14 of FIGS. 1A and 1B.
Preferably, at this point in the fabrication process, testing is conducted to determine whether there are any shorts between base plate 300 (ground plane) and conductive layer 320 (power plane). Shorts may be caused by cracks or failures in dielectric layer 310. Applying a voltage between the two metal layers 300 (or 303 as the case may be) and 320 reveals the location of any dielectric shorts by means of the local heating caused by the current flowing in the tiny resistive shorts between the two planes.
After the power distribution structure is formed, a thin film structure (as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B) is fabricated using known techniques. As described, the thin film structure may include additional bypass capacitors, power redistribution layers and signal carrying layers, with dielectric layers separating them, along with vias to connect the various layers to the chip pads and to the power distribution structure.
Referring now to FIG. 5, there is illustrated an exploded view of a repeatable segment of one embodiment of the power distribution system of the present invention depicting the use of a substrate having a grid of channels 505 forming a "waffle" pattern. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, channels 505 are formed in a nonconducting base plate 500, and a conductive layer 510 is then deposited over entire base plate 500 after the channels have been formed. Thus, is this embodiment, the mesas are not entirely made of conductive material but, rather, only have a conductive outer surface. Dielectric layer 515 is then formed over conductive layer 510 on the walls of channels 505. Channels 505 are then filled with conductive material 520.
In another alternative method of fabricating the present invention, conductive grid 520 can be separately fabricated and nested into channels 505. This method is, however, less preferred due to the fact that it is very difficult to separately form a conductive grid with very fine features. The view of FIG. 5 is helpful in illustrating the fact that the structure of the present invention provides a plurality of mesas or islands electrically isolated from and surrounded by a conductive grid, with the exposed surfaces of the islands and the grid being substantially contiguous and lying in the same plane. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the mesas have generally square upper surfaces that are approximately 120 microns in length. The mesas could be round or have any other shape.
The waffle pattern of FIG. 5 also provides a base support which provides both ground and a supply voltage at a plurality of locations across the surface thereof This allows a relatively direct, short path between either the supply voltage plane or the ground plane and the overlying IC chip, or other microelectronic component, further helping to reduce the impedance. Thus, the path necessary to provide the supply voltage to a location on the surface of the MCM substrate need not require much routing in the lateral direction (i.e., parallel to the surface of the substrate) through the thin film substrate.
FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. Use of the plates of FIG. 6 result in formation of a different grid configuration than the "waffle" grid depicted in FIG. 5. Power grid 600 (shown in FIG. 7C) is formed from two metal plates 602 and 604 that have been machined or cast into comb structures and which are designed to nest with one another. The alternative grid configuration resulting from the FIG. 6 plates is designed to provide power bars that are aligned with the direction of desirable current flow. Alignment of the plates may be provided by pins 660 and 680 on plate 602 which engage with holes 665 and 685, respectively, of plate 604. (After the substrate structure is configured, pins 660 and 680 can be machined away). A conformal dielectric layer is formed on one of the plates (shown in FIG. 6) to isolate the plates, one of which serves as the ground plate and the other as the power plate.
FIGS. 7A-7D show the steps for fabricating an embodiment of the present invention using the nesting plates shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 7A, the channeled surface of metal plate 602 is conformally coated with a thin dielectric layer 610, preferably of adhesive glass or a high thermostability, high performance polyimide material. The upper conductive surface of plate 602 is shown by dashed line 613. In FIG. 7B, plate 604 is then positioned on top of plate 602 and dielectric layer 610. In FIG. 7C, plate 604 has been machined away to expose bars 606 of plate 602. After machining, bars 608 are all that remain of plate 604. In FIG. 7D, a thin film signal structure 630 has been fabricated on top of power supply structure 600, which serves as the base substrate for the thin film structure.
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments for multichip module application, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiment and other applications requiring low impedance power supply of the present invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. For example, the basic structure and method of making that structure can also be used for single chip carriers, and with microelectronic components other than, or in addition to, IC chips. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications, embodiments or applications that fall within the scope of the invention.
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|U.S. Classification
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
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|Jan 7, 2003
|Certificate of correction
|Aug 19, 2003
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Aug 10, 2007
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|Aug 10, 2011
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 12


text: Way beyond Dumber and Dumberer. The only reason I can think of someone being this stupid is as someone says.....he panicked and was probably high enough to leave all the evidence to implicate him. And they have certainly cut a deal with at least one of the other two people to get all this tidied up so quickly. The gum and shell casings were way stupid. But to find a red vehicle rented by him from a 2012 alleged murder smacks of someone being flipped and ratting. People here know I follow the innocent until proven guilty motto but there's not a lot of wiggle room in this case. Better come up with I've been framed and the evidence was planted theme real quick. Add in it was the one armed man as well.


text:
5 Things You Didn't Know: Bond 22
4- Aston Martin rides againDespite Ford's recent sale of Aston Martin, the legendary marque is rumored to remain onboard with Bond. We couldn't be happier. That's the way it's been since Goldfinger, and it's the way it should be. There were suggestions that James would drive a Jaguar (no offense to Coventry, but that would be a bit too common for him), and past rides with BMWs were alarmingly out of character for a, you know, British secret agent. As in the last flick, the model featured in the upcoming film will be the high-end DBS; unlike the last time, it'll reportedly be equipped with at least some gadgetry. We hope this doesn't lead to the same brand of absurdities that it has before, but would it be too much to ask for a girl-tied-up-in-the-road-ahead detector to preserve the car?
5- RIP Q; no change for MoneypennyDespite John Cleese's admirable assumption of the role in Die Another Day, Q was MIA in Casino Royale — as was Moneypenny. It'll stay that way in 22. The characters historically signaled comic banter and innuendo, which would be an ugly clash with the current tone. If Bond 22 is to continue along its grittier and serious storyline, how could either character be the same without causing an onscreen train wreck? Nope, can't happen. Acknowledgment or mentions of them would be fine and even expected, but appearances for the time being are off.
It's been a long time since we've been assured of 007's upcoming adventure at the end of the previous film's credits. And it would have been cool to see capitalization on this summer's "perfect" Bond film release date of July 7th or any date in 2007. The wait should be worth it though. And as we're learning, there will be no shortage of surprises. A continuation of storyline (a Bond first), though with a different director, leaves us curious to discover how well the story and "feel" of the two segments will mesh. For that matter, will Daniel Craig continue to win audiences' and critics' approval?
The enthusiasm of Bond fans is exceeded only by that of Trekkies and Star Wars zealots, but just because they don't play dress up or hold conventions, that doesn't mean that they're not equally passionate. What started as a series of novels and became films in the '60s has now become a part of our collective consciousness, and while old fans may bury their heads in the sand, new ones are proudly born every day. There will always be public interest in the Bond franchise. And if Angelina Jolie ever becomes a Bond Girl, said interest will go through the roof, and Ms. Jolie will be able to afford another adoption.
AskMen.com's Analysis
Longevity of this term's popularity: 9/10


text:
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text: ITEM NO. 6292T DESCRIPTION 27" Brushed Nickel Table Lamp, one GU24 socket, on/off rocker base switch, 8' 45° SPT-2 power cord, 14x15x11 White Linen hardback shade. Recommend 27 watt CFL or 10 watt LED bulb GU24 base. SHIPPING CODE: S - Special Order This is a non-stocked item. The minimum order quantity is 100 with a turnaround time of approximately 14 weeks. AVAILABILITY SCHEDULE: In Stock Today: 3 Total Available in 1-2 Weeks: 3 Total Available in 2-4 Weeks: 3 Total Available in 4-6 Weeks: 3 Total Available in 6-14 Weeks: 3 MINIMUM ORDER: 100 Request Information for 6292T * = Required. *Name: Don't fill this out: *Email: Phone: (Used for contacting you instead of email, if entered.) How Can We Help You? How would you like to Modify this Lamp? DO NOT FILL OUT:


text:
Red Curry Thai Soup
First Secret Recipe Club post of 2015!!!! About a month ago, there was a request for someone to take over for a blogger in Group D that was no longer able to participate. While it turns out she was partnered with me for the cookie exchange, I was able to adopt her "normal" blog: Life on Food. I quickly identified three recipes that looked fantastic: Cream of Broccoli Soup, Skillet Lasagna, and Red Curry Soup. In the end, the curry won out as it was so different than anything else I had tried out and with all the winter weather we've been having I needed something on the spicy side. While Emily's version features beef, I simply doubled all the other ingredients and used a thicker rice noodle.
1 lb rice noodles
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion, sliced
2 Tbsp oil
4 cups vegetable broth
1 15oz can coconut milk
4 Tbsp red curry paste
1 tsp lemongrass
- In a large wok, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion. Cook for 5-7 minutes and then add the sweet potatoes, cooking until just soft.
- Add 4 cups of vegetable broth, coconut milk, red curry paste, and lemon grass to pan simmering until the sweet potato is tender, around 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and then stir in noodles and top with the fresh basil.
Emily was right on in saying that this is "a hot meal that warms you from the inside out" – and I've already made it again! The trick with the noodles is to add them at the very last moment in order to keep them from soaking up all the broth. However the broth is one that can't be wasted so nothing really wrong with that happening. Needless to say this was a fantastic dish and I can't wait to pick up some more curry and make another batch. The only hard part of this recipe was finding a curry paste that was free of shrimp – but in end was able to find some at Whole Foods.