A positional accuracy measurement pattern is formed such that the position of an edge portion required to have high positional accuracy in a device pattern and the position of the pattern center of the positional accuracy measurement pattern are arranged on the same straight line in accordance with a direction in which the high positional accuracy is necessary. On the basis of the pattern center of the positional accuracy measurement pattern and the difference between the measurement value and the design value of the pattern dimension, the positional accuracy (the difference between the measurement value and the design value) of an edge portion of the device pattern is calculated.

This application is based upon and claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-272291, filed on Sep. 7, 2001, the contents being incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reticle, and a pattern positional accuracy measurement device and method and, more particularly, to a reticle required to have high positional accuracy in, e.g., an edge portion of a device pattern, and a device and method of measuring the pattern positional accuracy of the reticle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the fabrication processes of devices such as semiconductor devices (including LSIs), magnetic devices, liquid crystal devices, and printed circuit boards, a reticle having device patterns to be transferred is used to transfer the device patterns onto (to expose) a semiconductor wafer (to be also simply referred to as a xe2x80x9cwaferxe2x80x9d hereinafter).
FIG. 5A is a view showing a reticle having device patterns formed on it.
Referring to FIG. 5A, a reticle 50 has, e.g., a glass plate as its substrate, and a plurality of device patterns 52 to be transferred are repeatedly formed at intervals in a device region 51 of this substrate. These device patterns 52 are formed by, e.g., chromium which functions as a light-shielding film during exposure.
A method of fabricating this reticle 50 will be explained below. First, a chromium layer is formed on a glass substrate. In the fabrication of the reticle 50 described above, a resist portion of the substrate coated with the resist is irradiated with an electron beam (EB) or a laser in accordance with the shape of the device patterns 52. After that, an unnecessary resist is removed by development. In addition, the residual resist is used as a mask to perform etching, thereby forming the device patterns 52 by chromium on the substrate.
FIG. 5B is a view showing device patterns 55 transferred onto a semiconductor wafer 53 by using the reticle 50 shown in FIG. 5A. As shown in FIG. 5B, the device patterns 55 having the same shape as the device patterns 52 formed at intervals in the device region 51 of the reticle 50 are transferred onto the wafer 53.
FIGS. 5C and 5D are enlarged views of a portion 54 having a plurality of transferred device patterns shown in FIG. 5B.
That is, FIG. 5C shows the device patterns 55 transferred onto the wafer 53 by using the reticle 50 in which no deviation occurs in the arrangement in the row direction of the device patterns 52. As shown in FIG. 5C, no deviation from a dotted line Y51 occurs in the arrangement in the row direction of the device patterns 55 transferred onto the wafer 53.
On the other hand, FIG. 5D shows the device patterns 55 transferred onto the wafer 53 by using the reticle 50 in which deviation occurs in the arrangement in the row direction of the device patterns 52. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5D, deviation having a distance L51 from the dotted line Y51 occurs in the arrangement in the row direction of the device patterns 55 transferred onto the wafer 53.
This deviation occurring in the arrangement of the device patterns 55 transferred onto the wafer 53 by the deviation in the arrangement of the device patterns 52 of the reticle 50 causes variations in the performance of the fabricated devices. In the fabrication of a reticle, therefore, the positional accuracy of the device patterns 52 on the reticle is measured to check whether the required positional accuracy is met, i.e., whether deviation has occurred in the arrangement of the device patterns 52.
A method of measuring the positional accuracy of device patterns on a conventional reticle will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.
FIG. 6 is a view showing a method of arranging positional accuracy measurement patterns for measuring the positional accuracy of device patterns on a conventional reticle. As shown in FIG. 6, cross-shaped positional accuracy measurement patterns 61 are evenly arranged in positions fixed regardless of layers in the perimeter outside a device region 51 of a reticle 50. xe2x80x9cLayersxe2x80x9d mean the layers of each device formed on a wafer.
To measure the positional accuracy of device patterns on the reticle, as shown in FIG. 7, each of the cross-shaped positional accuracy measurement patterns 61 arranged as above is scanned in an X direction 71 and a Y direction 72, thereby acquiring X-coordinates X71 and X72 and Y-coordinates Y71 and Y72. In addition, the position of a pattern center CP2 is calculated on the basis of the X-coordinates X71 and X72 and the Y-coordinates Y71 and Y72. More specifically, the X-coordinate of the pattern center CP2 is calculated by (X71+X72)/2, and the Y-coordinate of the pattern center CP2 is calculated by (Y71+Y72)/2.
The position of the pattern center CP2 calculated as above is compared with the central position of a positional accuracy measurement pattern based on the design value of the reticle. In this manner, the positional accuracy of device patterns on the reticle is measured and evaluated.
In the above method of measuring the positional accuracy of device patterns on a reticle, however, the positional accuracy of device patterns is measured and evaluated on the basis of the position of the pattern center of each positional accuracy measurement pattern formed. Therefore, even if the formed positional accuracy measurement pattern evenly becomes thick or thin, it does not change the center position of the positional accuracy measurement pattern, and the measurement result of the positional accuracy of device patterns is thus to be xc2x10. That is, it is determined that no deviation has occurred in the arrangement of device patterns.
Assume, for example, that a cross-shaped positional accuracy measurement pattern 81 having a design value Ld81 as a width as shown in FIG. 8A is to be formed. If, as shown in FIG. 8B, the pattern dimensions increase (the pattern becomes thick) symmetrically with respect to central lines in the X and Y directions of this positional accuracy measurement pattern 81, and if a positional accuracy measurement pattern 82 having a width Ly81 is formed, pattern centers CP3 and CP4 of these positional accuracy measurement patterns 81 and 82 are in the same position because the pattern dimensions increase symmetrically with respect to the central lines in the X and Y directions.
Analogously, as shown in FIG. 8C, if the pattern dimensions decrease (the pattern becomes thin) symmetrically with respect to the central lines in the X and Y directions of this positional accuracy measurement pattern 81, and if a positional accuracy measurement pattern 83 having a width Ly82 is formed, pattern centers CP3 and CP5 of these positional accuracy measurement patterns 81 and 83 are in the same position because the pattern dimensions decrease symmetrically with respect to the central lines in the X and Y directions.
Also, in the recent reticle fabrication, reticles are beginning to be required to have high device pattern positional accuracy, high pattern size accuracy, and the like, with the advancing downsizing and increasing storage capacity of devices, Accordingly, the positional accuracy and the like must be measured more accurately to guarantee the quality of reticles.
Additionally, the positional accuracy of device patterns on the conventional reticle is ensured on the basis of the pattern center of a measured positional accuracy measurement pattern. In a device such as a magnetic device, for example, high positional accuracy is sometimes required in an edge portion of a device pattern which is different from the pattern central position of a positional accuracy measurement pattern.
FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the relationship between the positional accuracy of a positional accuracy measurement pattern on the conventional reticle and the positional accuracy of device patterns of magnetic devices (MR heads: magnetoresistance heads).
That is, FIG. 9 shows an example in which patterns actually formed on a reticle are larger than their design values. Referring to FIG. 9, a positional accuracy measurement pattern 91 and device patterns 92 and 93, indicated by the dotted lines, are patterns based on design values. A positional accuracy measurement pattern 94 and device patterns 95 and 96, indicated by the solid lines, are patterns actually formed on the reticle. Also, in the device patterns 95 and 96 of MR heads shown in FIG. 9, high positional accuracy is required in the Y-coordinates of pattern edge portions P91 and P92, in order to prevent variations in the performance of these MR heads.
As shown in FIG. 9, assume that the positional accuracy measurement pattern 94 having a width Ly91 is formed, which is one size larger in every direction from a pattern center CP6 than the positional accuracy measurement pattern 91 having a designed width Ld91. In this case, the pattern dimensions of the actually formed positional accuracy measurement pattern 94 increase symmetrically with respect to central lines extending in the X and Y directions of the designed positional accuracy measurement pattern 91. So, both the pattern centers of these positional accuracy measurement patterns 91 and 94 are the point CP6. Accordingly, the measurement result of the device pattern positional accuracy on this reticle is xc2x10, i.e., it is determined that no difference from the design value is produced.
The Y-coordinates of the pattern edge portions P91 and P92, however, where high positional accuracy is required in the device patterns 95 and 96, produce a difference of a length H2 (=(Ly91xe2x88x92Ld91)/2) from the designed Y-coordinate. For example, if the design value Ld91 of the positional accuracy measurement pattern is 10 xcexcm and the actual width Ly91 is 12 xcexcm, the pattern edge portions P91 and P92 of the device patterns 95 and 96 produce a difference of H2=1 xcexcm from the designed position.
If a portion required to have high positional accuracy changes in accordance with device patterns on a reticle as described above, the conventional device pattern positional accuracy measurement method cannot accurately measure the positional accuracy of a portion required to have high positional accuracy. Accordingly, the conventional device pattern positional accuracy measurement method may determine that there is no deviation in the arrangement of device patterns on a reticle, even if arrangement deviation occurs in an arbitrary portion required to have high positional accuracy in a device pattern, e.g., in an edge portion of the device pattern. Consequently, the required device pattern positional accuracy of a reticle cannot be met.
The present invention has been made to solve the above conventional problem, and has as its object to accurately measure the positional accuracy of an arbitrary portion required to have high positional accuracy in a device pattern formed on a reticle.
In a reticle of the present invention, a positional accuracy measurement pattern for evaluating the positional accuracy of a device pattern formed in a device region is so formed that the position of a portion required to have high positional accuracy in the device pattern and the central position of the positional accuracy measurement pattern are present on the same straight line perpendicular to a direction in which the high positional accuracy is necessary.
In the reticle of the present invention constructed as above, the device pattern and the positional accuracy measurement pattern are so formed that the position of a portion required to have high accuracy in the device pattern and the central position of the positional accuracy measurement pattern are arranged on the same straight line in accordance with a direction in which the high positional accuracy is necessary. Therefore, the positional accuracy of the portion where the high positional accuracy is required in the device pattern can be evaluated from the actually measured central position of the positional accuracy measurement pattern.
A pattern positional accuracy measurement device of the present invention comprises a positional information detector for detecting positional information of a pattern formed on a reticle, an arithmetic unit for calculating the pattern central position and pattern dimension of the pattern on the basis of the positional information, and calculating the positional accuracy of a portion required to have high positional accuracy in a device pattern formed on the reticle, and an output unit for outputting the positional accuracy of the device pattern.
In the pattern positional accuracy measurement device of the present invention constructed as above, the pattern central position and pattern dimension of a pattern for calculating the positional accuracy of a device pattern are calculated on the basis of the detected positional information, thereby calculating the positional accuracy of the device pattern. Therefore, the positional accuracy of the device pattern can be calculated by taking account not only of the pattern central position of the pattern for calculating positional accuracy but also of a dimensional accuracy component of the pattern dimension with respect to a design value.

Reticle, and pattern positional accuracy measurement device and method


A method, computer program product, and computer system for identifying, by a computing device, a model for predicting conversational phrases for a communication between at least a first user and a second user. The model may be trained based upon, at least in part, an attribute associated with the second user. At least one conversational phrase may be predicted for the communication between the first user and the second user. The at least one conversational phrase may be provided to the second user as an optional phrase to be sent to the first user.

Instant messaging, or "chats" is a convenient method of communication between multiple people. Companies have adopted this technology to help address questions that a customer may have without requiring a phone call or email exchange with a customer service "agent." For example, a customer may go to a company's web site, and a pop-up may appear asking if the customer wishes to communicate with an agent to ask a question. Once the user selects the option to communicate with the agent, a chat may appear where the customer and agent are then connected to begin a conversation.

System and method for accelerating user agent chats


A system and method are provided for a pixel module to determine its location in a large scale LED display. The system and method determine the pixel module's location based upon the data received by the module and the identity of the module's port via which the data was received.

LED displays are known that are formed of a number of LED modules wherein each LED module is used for one pixel of the display. Each of the LED modules has a number of different color LEDs, the intensities of which are controlled to generate pixels of a large number of different colors. Examples of these known types of LED displays are shown in Phares U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,482 and Yoksza et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,328.
In both Phares U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,482 and Yoksza et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,328, the LED modules are connected in series in a string or daisy chain configuration wherein a data stream is input to one LED module that extracts a subset of data for its module from the data stream and passes the remaining portion of the data stream or the entire data stream to the next LED module in the series. Lys et al. U.S. Pat. No. 7,253,566 and Mueller et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,038 respectively disclose systems for lighting or illumination that include LED lighting units or nodes connected in a daisy chain configuration or a binary tree configuration with two nodes connected to the output of a single node. While Lys et al. U.S. Pat. No. 7,253,566 discloses a system in which addresses are assigned to each lighting unit by the system as opposed to being "manually pre-assigned," the "self configuration" methods of Lys are not suitable for systems that do not employ a daisy chain configuration.

Enumeration system and method for a LED display


A system (S) for mounting and aligning a detector (D) about an observation instrument (10) includes a first detector (12) movably coupled to the observation instrument (10) off an axis of observation centerline (14) for the observation instrument (10). A retainer (16) is mounted with the observation instrument (10) to secure the first detector (12) to the observation instrument (10). The retainer (16) permits rotatable movement of the first detector (12) about the axis of observation centerline (14). The retainer (16) also preferably includes an attachment point (20) for mounting the first detector (12) to the retainer (16). The first detector (12) should be adjustable at least about an axis (22) essentially perpendicular to the axis of the observation centerline (14) for the observation instrument (10).

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to the field of imaging systems and more specifically to a method and system for aligning a detector mounted on an observation instrument.
2. Background Art
Multiple sensor imaging systems generate an image of an object by fusing data that is collected using multiple sensors. Gathering image data using multiple sensors, however, has posed challenges. In some systems, the sensors detect light received from separate apertures. Data generated from light from separate apertures, however, describe different points of view of an object that need to be reconciled in order to fuse the data into a single image. Additionally, using separate apertures for different sensors may increase the bulk of an imaging system.
In other systems, light from an aperture is split into components before entering the sensors. Reflective and refractive elements are typically used to direct the light to different sensors. For example, the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,376 to Hall et al. includes multiple reflective and refractive elements such as a lens that reflects light towards one sensor and refracts light towards another sensor. Each individual sensor, however, detects only a component of light, for example, only specific wavelengths of light, and thus cannot generate image data from the full spectrum. Additionally, multiple reflective and refractive elements may add to the bulk and weight of an imaging system. Consequently, gathering image data from multiple sensors has posed challenges for the design of imaging systems.
Certain systems require timing of energy pulses be shared. For example, a laser beam may be initiated and the time that the light takes to be reflected is used to calculate distance to the point causing the reflection. In such an instance, detecting the time that the laser beam is initiated is critical.
While the above cited references introduce and disclose a number of noteworthy advances and technological improvements within the art, none completely fulfills the specific objectives achieved by this invention.
While known approaches have provided improvements over prior approaches, the challenges in the field of imaging systems have continued to increase with demands for more and better techniques having greater effectiveness. Therefore, a need has arisen for new methods and systems for movably mounting a detector to an observation instrument.
In accordance with the present invention, a system for mounting and aligning a detector about an observation instrument includes a first detector movably coupled to the observation instrument off an axis of observation centerline for the observation instrument. A retainer is mounted with the observation instrument to secure the first detector to the observation instrument. The retainer permits rotatable movement of the first detector about the axis of observation centerline. The retainer also preferably includes an attachment point for mounting the first detector to the retainer. The first detector should be adjustable at least about an axis essentially perpendicular to the axis of the observation centerline for the observation instrument.
Embodiments of the invention may provide numerous technical advantages. A technical advantage of one embodiment is that the detector can be rotated to a position such that a detected plane is in a common plane with a projected beam emanating from a source adjacent the observation instrument.
These and other objects, advantages and features of this invention will be apparent from the following description taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown the preferred embodiments of the invention.

Method and system for mounting a detector


A blade is disclosed for use in a mixing impeller assembly. The blade includes a top skin element and a bottom skin element without an internal framework in between the elements. A unitary pre-shaped tip element is attached at an end of the blade to the top and bottom skin elements. The tip is welded to the top skin and the bottom skin, and has a bevel at the weld location. The top skin has an edge that abuts the tip and the lower skin has an edge that abuts the tip, and respective bevels are provided on these edges.

Mixing and agitating devices are in wide use in industry. For example, mixing devices are well known in the industrial, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other materials processing industries. In one common type of mixer, a vessel contains the material to be mixed along with a rotating shaft that has one or more sets of radially extending impellers that extend radially from the shaft. Typically, a number of impellers are evenly circumferentially spaced around a central hub. The impellers may have for example a substantially flat blade profile shape, a curved blade profile shape, or an air foil type of blade profile shape, depending on the mixing application and the design considerations of the mixing device.
In the case of flat blades or simple curved or bent blades, it has been relatively convenient to manufacture these blades by taking metal sheet stock and bending it if necessary and welding the flat, bent or curved piece, made from a single sheet, to the hub.
In the case of blades having more complex or compound curved shapes, particularly in three dimensions, such as is needed for air foil (or wing) shaped blades, however, the construction process is more complex. In one type of prior art air foil shaped impeller blade, the blade has been constructed as follows. First, an internal skeleton has been constructed having a generally lattice type framework which has as a part of the framework a first piece of elongated bar stock that will become the leading edge of the blade and a second piece of elongated shaped stock that will become the trailing edge of the blade. The first bar stock has typically been circular in cross section. The second bar stock typically has a custom tapered shape in cross section.
A top skin and a bottom skin are then mounted over the lattice, with the front edge of the top skin being welded to an upper surface of the front bar stock, and the front edge of the bottom skin being welded to a lower edge of the front bar stock. Thus a leading edge of the blade is provided. In order provide smoother flow at the leading edge region, after the welds are made they are ground down smooth to form a smooth connection between the bar stock and the top and bottom plates respectively.
At the rear, or trailing, edge of the above described design, the top plate has also been welded to an upper surface of the trailing edge and the bottom plate has been welded to a lower surface of the trailing edge. Since it is desired for the trailing edge to have a relatively pointy taper, the trailing edge has been a relatively difficult piece to shape, and has generally been a custom machined part. The welds where the top skin meet the trailing edge piece and where the bottom skin meets the trailing edge piece have been generally ground down smooth to form a smooth contour between the top and bottom skins respectively and their connection at upper and lower portions of the machined trailing edge piece.
Further in the above described design, a tip piece has been mounted at the radial outside edge of the wing shaped impeller. This tip is required to have a relatively complex compound shape, since it needs to follow the air foil side profile when view from the end, and also generally has a rounded outer surface when seen in plan view. In the prior art, the tip was generally made of an oversized and somewhat blocked shaped piece that was then contoured in all three axes by labor intensive hand grinding to fit the desired 3-D profile.
The above described construction method, while providing satisfactory impellers, does suffer from some disadvantages. First, a total of four welds are required at the leading and trailing edges (that is, two welds at the leading edge and two welds at the trailing edge). Also, a piece of front bar stock and a piece of the rear bar stock are required. In addition, an interior skeleton is required for sparring between the front and rear bar stocks and locating them relative to each other during the assembly process. Due to the weight added by the skeleton, the overall weight of the finished impeller is thus increased for a given skin thickness. Impeller blades moving through material are subject erosion over time. The effective of erosion can be particularly pronounced with mixing abrasive material such as for example materials containing aluminum. Erosion is particularly undesirable at the welded area, because where the bar stock meets the weld, which in turn meets the top or bottom skin, the materials may wear at different rates causing roughness or discontinuity in the flow at that location, which further exacerbates the erosion problem at that location, leading to greater discontinuity and more erosion and so on.
In addition, high wear areas typically occur on the top surface of the air foil, and as a result the welds that are attaching the top skin tend to be the first to wear out since they are exposed to the top fluid path surface. Furthermore, the process of shaping the end tip after it has been welded onto the blade is somewhat labor intensive and is complicated by the fact that the shaping is not performed until the tip has been welded onto the end of the blade, instead of at a possibly more convenient time and location in the overall blade manufacturing process.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have an improved impeller blade structure and method that can alleviate the above described difficulties at least to some extent.

Mixing impeller with pre-shaped tip elements


An end mill includes a plurality of teeth and flutes. The teeth and their associated flutes include one or more correlated physical parameters. One such correlated parameter is that, at an axial location in a front half of an effective cutting length, at least one tooth of the plurality of teeth has a rake angle smaller than an average rake angle value of the plurality of teeth, and, at the same axial location, a flute preceding each such tooth has a helix angle larger than an average helix angle value of the plurality of flutes.

End mills designed for shouldering applications, i.e. milling around an external periphery of a workpiece, typically have a maximum effective cutting length of twice the diameter of the end mill (hereinafter "2D"; with similar length dimensions being represented similarly, e.g. two and a half times the diameter will be written as "2.5D" etc.). Unless stated to the contrary, references to end mill diameter in the specification and claims refer to a diameter of the cutting portion at the cutting end face.
While in theory end mills can have any effective cutting length, in practice it is exceedingly rare to find end mills that can mill effectively at a depth greater than 2D. This is because increasing depth exacerbates vibration of the end mill reducing both work piece surface finish and end mill tool life to standards lower than those accepted by industry. To elaborate, end mills bend during shouldering, since the end mill is only held at one end thereof and the other end thereof is forced against and impacts a rigidly held workpiece. Such impacts also cause a rebound type effect, with this effect being comparatively greater with increased end mill length.
Similarly, this effect is also more severe when milling comparatively harder workpiece materials since the milling forces exerted on the end mill are greater with each impact on the hard workpiece.
Another problem which is exacerbated with increased depth of milling is chip evacuation. To elaborate, large flute depth is most critical near the cutting end face since each chip is first contacted by the tooth starting near the cutting end face as it first enters the material. The chip remains within the flute near the cutting end face for comparatively more time than the remainder of the flute, since it only exits the flute when the end mill has rotated fully in the work piece and the flute exits the workpiece allowing the chip to be ejected. While not being bound by theory, if the flute is insufficiently sized to contain the chip, abutment of the chip (which protrudes from the insufficiently sized flute) against the end mill and workpiece can increase vibration and even cause end mill breakage. It will be understood that with increased distance from the secured shank portion of the end mill this effect will be more significant.
Due to the high performance requirements in today's industry, what was once considered insignificant changes to end mill design are now able to define whether an end mill is acceptable to industry standards of surface finish and chip removal or not. While any end mill can theoretically machine any material, only by providing a competitive tool life for a given material removal rate and a desired level of surface finish can an end mill actually be considered relevant for a particular application.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

End mill having teeth and associated flutes with correlated physical parameters


A lens actuating apparatus includes a fixed part, a moving part and at least one flexible part. The moving part is movably located on the fixed part. The flexible part has four contacting portions that form a hollow enclosed body. Two contacting portions that are located at the diagonal direction fasten the fixing part, and the other two contacting portions that are located at another diagonal direction contact the moving part. When the moving part has a movement related to the fixed part, the contacting portions of the flexible part contacted the moving part move far away from the fixed part. Thereby, the moved contacting portions exert a flexible recovery force to the moving part. The flexible part can be fully utilized in a limited space and does not affect the allocation of the other elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens actuating apparatus. In particular, this invention relates to a lens actuating apparatus that is applied to a mini image-capturing module for actuating the lens.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the image-capturing module becomes a popular module for hand-held devices, such as cell phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), etc. As the hand-held devices have a trend of having high quality functions and being smaller, the image-capturing module has to meet the requirements of having high image quality and being miniaturized. For enhancing the image quality of the image-capturing module, the first method is to increase the image pixels. The number of image pixels has been increased from three hundred thousands pixels, to one million pixels, two million pixels, three million pixels, four million pixels, and five million pixels. The second method is to improve the definition of the captured-image. The function of the image-capturing module of the hand-held device has been improved from constant focal distance image-capturing to automated optical focusing and zooming.
The operation principle of the automated optical focusing is to properly move the lens in the image-capturing module according to the distance of the target object so that the optical image of the target object is exactly focused on the image sensor to generate a clear image. The lens in the image-capturing module is actuated by a stepping motor, a piezoelectricity actuator, or a voice coil motor, etc.
The voice coil motor is to place a coil in a magnetic path of a permanent magnet. According to Fleming's left hand rule, the coil reacts with the permanent magnet to generate a pushing force when the coil is conducted, and the carrying base connected with the permanent magnet is moved. Thereby, the lens set fastened on the carrying base is moved. However, the actuating force from the voice coil motor has to be balanced with a recovering force to make the lens positioning on the target position. Therefore, a flexible plate is added to the voice coil motor to provide the recovering force. Then, by adjusting the current flowing through the coil, the optical zooming and focusing functions are achieved.
Taiwan patent M285846 (application number: 094217663) discloses a flexible plate with a voice coil motor. It locks flexible plate with the lens frame and the outer frame of the voice coil motor. By utilizing the flexible force of the flexible plate, the recovering force is obtained. However, the design of the flexible plate is similar to the design of an inner circular plate connected with an outer circular plate into one piece. The dimensions of the flexible plate cannot be reduced to meet the requirements of the image-capturing module being miniaturized.
Japanese patent 2005-128392 discloses a lens actuating apparatus. The lens actuating apparatus includes a front flexible plate and a rear flexible plate. By utilizing the front flexible plate and the rear flexible plate, the recovering force is obtained. However, the design of the lens actuating apparatus is also similar to the design of an inner circular plate connected with an outer circular plate into one piece. The drawback is the same as the above.
Furthermore, Japanese patent 2002-365514 discloses a lens actuating apparatus. The lens actuating apparatus also includes a front flexible plate and a rear flexible plate. The front flexible plate and the rear flexible plate respectively are composed of a semi-circular inner portion and a semi-circular outer portion. The design of the lens actuating apparatus is the same as to the design of an inner circular plate connected with an outer circular plate. It also has the same drawback. The design of the other elements is restricted by the dimensions of the lens actuating apparatus, and the image-capturing module cannot be miniaturized.


A solid-state imaging apparatus includes: a defective pixel detector (8) for extracting, from a signal output by a frame-reading solid-state image pickup element (2), pixel data for a target pixel for which a determination is to be made and pixel data for peripheral pixels thereof, and for employing pixel data for a pixel, selected from among the peripheral pixels, in the same filter as the target pixel, to determine whether the target pixel is a defective pixel; and a defective pixel correction circuit (9) for employing the pixel data for the peripheral pixels to correct pixel data for the defective pixel. With this configuration, the output signal of the defective pixel can be corrected without spreading the effect produced by the defective pixel to the peripheral pixels, and a natural image can be displayed.

The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging apparatus having a solid-state image pickup element used for a video camera, and relates in particular to a solid-state imaging apparatus having a correction device for correcting a signal that is output by a solid-state image pickup element for a defective pixel.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional solid-state imaging apparatus having a defective pixel correction function, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 5-41868. In the conventional solid-state imaging apparatus, image data is detected through a lens 101 by a frame-reading image pickup element. The obtained image signal is pre-processed by a pre-processor 103, and the resultant signal is converted into a digital image signal by an A/D converter 104.
This digital image signal is delayed one horizontal scanning period by a 1 H delay circuit 105, and is further delayed one horizontal scanning period (the total of two horizontal scanning periods) by a 1 H delay circuit 106. The digital image signal output by the A/D converter 104, the digital image signal delayed one horizontal scanning period, and the digital image signal delayed two horizontal scanning periods are transmitted to a color signal processor 107 to generate a color signal, and are also respectively transmitted, for filtering, to digital low-pass filters 108, 109 and 110.
The three image signals that have been filtered are transmitted to a defective pixel detector 111, and to detect a defective pixel, are compared with a threshold value 112. A defective pixel correction circuit 113 receives these three filtered image signals and a defective pixel detection signal obtained by the defective pixel detector 111, corrects the pixel signal for the defective pixel, and outputs the image signal to a luminance signal processor 114, which thereafter generates a luminance signal.
The conventional defective pixel detector 111 extracts, from the image signal, pixel data for a pixel for which a determination is to be made and adjacent, peripheral pixels, and performs for these pixel data an addition/subtraction procedure or a comparison to calculate a projection value (the difference between the pixel data for the target pixel and the pixel data for the peripheral pixels). The defective pixel detector 111 then compares the projection value with the threshold value 112 to determine whether the target pixel is defective.
From among the pixel data that are read by the frame-reading solid-state image pickup element 102, the conventional solid-state imaging apparatus adds data for two vertical pixels that are output by the filters 108, 109 and 110, and also adds data for two horizontal pixels to obtain a luminance signal. Then, the defective pixel correction device employs peripheral pixel data to correct the pixel data for the pixel that is determined to be defective. Therefore, the effect produced by the defective pixel spreads to the pixel data for the peripheral pixels, and it is impossible for the defective pixel to be detected correctly and the pixel data therefor to be corrected.

Defective pixel detection and correction apparatus using target pixel and adjacent pixel data

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The mechanisms for cleaning a surface of a semiconductor wafer for a hybrid bonding are provided. The method for cleaning a surface of a semiconductor wafer for a hybrid bonding includes providing a semiconductor wafer, and the semiconductor wafer has a conductive pad embedded in an insulating layer. The method also includes performing a plasma process to a surface of the semiconductor wafer, and metal oxide is formed on a surface of the conductive structure. The method further includes performing a cleaning process using a cleaning solution to perform a reduction reaction with the metal oxide, such that metal-hydrogen bonds are formed on the surface of the conductive structure. The method further includes transferring the semiconductor wafer to a bonding chamber under vacuum for hybrid bonding. The mechanisms for a hybrid bonding and a integrated system are also provided.

Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic applications, such as personal computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and other electronic equipment. Semiconductor devices are typically fabricated by sequentially depositing insulating or dielectric layers, conductive layers, and semiconductive layers of material over a semiconductor substrate, and patterning the various material layers using lithography to form circuit components and elements thereon. Many integrated circuits are typically manufactured on a single semiconductor wafer, and individual dies on the wafer are singulated by sawing between the integrated circuits along a scribe line. The individual dies are typically packaged separately, in multi-chip modules, or in other types of packaging, for example.
The semiconductor industry continues to improve the integration density of various electronic components (e.g., transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc.) by continual reductions in minimum feature size, which allow more components to be integrated into a given area. These smaller electronic components also require smaller packages that utilize less area than packages of the past, in some applications.
Three dimensional integrated circuits (3DICs) are a recent development in semiconductor packaging in which multiple semiconductor dies are stacked upon one another, such as package-on-package (PoP) and system-in-package (SiP) packaging techniques. Some 3DICs are prepared by placing dies over dies on a semiconductor wafer level. 3DICs provide improved integration density and other advantages, such as faster speeds and higher bandwidth, because of the decreased length of interconnects between the stacked dies, as examples. However, there are many challenges related to 3DICs.

Mechanisms for cleaning substrate surface for hybrid bonding

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


The present disclosure relates generally to flow sensors, and more particularly, to devices and methods for providing a pressure drop through a flow sensor at a given flow rate. In one illustrative embodiment, a sensor assembly includes a housing with a first flow port and a second flow port. The housing may define a fluid channel extending between the first flow port and the second flow port, with a sensor positioned in the housing and exposed to the fluid channel. The illustrative sensor may be configured to sense a measure related to the flow rate of a fluid flowing through the fluid channel. A flow restrictor may be situated in and integrally molded with at least one of the first flow port and the second flow port. The flow restrictor may be configured to accurately provide a pressure drop through the flow sensor at a given flow rate.

Flow sensors are often used to sense the flow rate of a fluid (e.g. gas or liquid) traveling through a fluid channel. Such flow sensors are often used in a wide variety of applications including, for example, medical applications, flight control applications, industrial process applications, combustion control applications, weather monitoring applications, as well as many others.


A field emitter structure is formed, having trench accessible cold cathode tips is fabricated by forming trenches in a substrate. The trenches are subsequently filled with a conformal insulating layer, a highly conductive layer, and a polysilicon layer. The layers are etched to form emitter tips which are disposed contiguous with the trenches. Electrical signals are propagated through the trenches permitting increased performance of the emitter structure.

Flat panel displays have become increasingly important in appliances requiring lightweight portable screens. Currently, such screens use electroluminescent or liquid crystal technology. A promising technology is the use of a matrix-addressable array of cold cathode emission devices to excite phosphor on a screen.
Spindt, et. al. discuss field emission cathode structures in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,665,241, and 3,755,704, and 3,812,559, and 5,064,396. To produce the desired field emission, a potential source is provided with its positive terminal connected to the gate, or grid, and its negative terminal connected to the emitter electrode (cathode conductor substrate). The potential source may be made variable for the purpose of controlling the electron emission current. Upon application of a potential between the electrodes, an electric field is established between the emitter tips and the low potential anode grid, thus causing electrons to be emitted from the cathode tips through the holes in the grid electrode, and then onto a phosphor coated anode screen.
An array of points in registry with holes in low potential anode grids are adaptable to the production of cathodes subdivided into areas containing one or more tips from which areas emissions can be drawn separately by the application of the appropriate potentials thereto.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,887, entitled, "Micro-structure Field Emission Electron Source," Smith et al describe a method of electrically isolating emission sites by appropriately doping the semiconductor substrate to provide opposite conductivity type regions at the field emission sites.
The field emission sites of the present invention are physically isolated by a dielectric layer which has a high resistance. The dielectric layer is deposited in a trough or trench created in the substrate. A polysilicon layer or other suitable conductive material, such as titanium salicide, is deposited on top of the dielectric layer, thereby providing good electrical signal propagation down the row (or column) of emitters.
One advantage of the present invention is an increase in process and design flexibility which results from the fact that the cathode material is decoupled from the substrate by the presence of the insulator. Another advantage is the greater range of materials which can be used for both the substrate and the emitters.
A further advantage of the trench isolated accessibility of the emitter tips according to the present invention, is the elimination of the need for costly implants. Leakage is also reduced.
A still further advantage is that the conductive material used to form the trench accesses can be different from the material used to form the cathode emitters, thereby increasing the speed and efficiency of the display. The highly conductive material deposited in the trenches can be selected from a group of materials having good electrical signal propagation abilities, and the cathode material can be selected for electron emission capabilities.

Method for formation of a trench accessible cold-cathode field emission device


A driving method of a touch display panel includes: selectively operating in a display mode and a touch detecting mode; when operating in the display mode during a first frame period, processing a first frame to generate an image processing indicator of a second frame for indicating an image processing level of the second frame; when operating in the touch detecting mode during the first frame period, generating a control signal when a touch is detected; wherein when the control signal is generated, processing the second frame according to an image processing indicator of the first frame for indicating an image processing level of the first frame when operating in the display mode during a second frame period, instead of using the image processing indicator of the second frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving method, and more particularly, to an image processing driving method, a driver integrated circuit (IC) applying the driving method, and a touch display system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Smartphone users may deal with a situation that requires changing a displayed image to another image by touching and swiping the display panel. The image here is not limited to a picture; it can be anything which is displayed on the touch display panel such as a webpage or an app. During the process of changing a displayed image to another, a conventional smartphone will process the image shown on the display panel dynamically. This kind of transient image process may cause severe quantization loss, however. For example, assuming that the display panel shows an image having a particular gray gradient, and the user changes the image to a wholly black image, as the image processor enhances the image processing level dynamically to optimize the display, the higher image processing level will result in greater quantization loss. Therefore, the user may sense a distortion in the image during this transient process.

Driver integrated circuit applying image processing driving method and touch display system


An energy absorbing assembly for a vehicle seat belt anchor. Two energy-absorbing members are carried on a seat belt anchor mounting bolt that connects an adjusting rail to a body pillar. One energy-absorbing member, upon contact with an object that is suddenly moving toward the bolt is initially crushed until the object contacts the adjusting rail. A second shock-absorbing member is disposed between the adjusting rail and the body pillar to absorb a continued motion of the object toward the body pillar.

Automotive manufacturers cushion certain vehicle interior components, such as the seat belt anchors, near that portion of the vehicle where an occupant""s head might impact the seat belt components.
Examples of prior art illustrating approaches to this problem, include U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,164 issued Oct. 13, 1998 to Rasik Patel and Francis Joseph Wickenheiser for xe2x80x9cEnergy Absorbing Seat Belt Component Fastenerxe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,012 issued Aug. 22, 2000 to Herbert Boegge et al. for xe2x80x9cDeflection Fitting for Seat Belts of Vehiclesxe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,567 issued Aug. 24, 1999 to Francis J. Wickenheiser for xe2x80x9cHead Impact Protection for an Automobile Seat Belt Anchor Fastenerxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,344 issued Jun. 25, 1996 to Shinichi Yasui et al. for xe2x80x9cSeat Belt Device for Automobilexe2x80x9d.
The broad purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved seat belt anchoring device for reducing head injuries in a vehicle. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the seat belt anchoring device comprises an elongated vehicle rail having a belt anchoring ring mounted in a slot. The position of the ring can be vertically adjusted to accommodate the tautness of the belt for the passenger.
The rail is mounted on a pair of vertically spaced bolts attached to a body pillar. The length of the bolts is such that the rail can be moved from its normal operating position toward the body pillar. Shock-absorbing (cushioning) elements are mounted on the rail and the bolts. One form of shock absorbing element encloses each bolt connecting the rail to the body pillar. An object suddenly moving toward the bolt encounters the vehicle trim, then crushes or deforms the shock-absorbing element to absorb part of the energy of the moving object. A second shock-absorbing element is mounted between the rail and the body pillar to accommodate a continued motion of the moving object toward the body pillar. The rail moves toward the body pillar crushing walls of both shock-absorbing elements, thereby absorbing further energy.
This arrangement also accommodates a condition in which the moving object does not impact the bolt but instead moves directly toward the seat belt rail or ring. In this condition, the rail, in response to the impact, moves toward the body pillar crushing walls of both shock-absorbing elements.
Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains upon reference to the following detailed description.


A power conversion apparatus includes positive-side and negative-side switching elements, positive-side and negative-side gate drive circuits, and a gate signal controller. The positive-side switching element is disposed between a positive-side direct-current bus and an output node. The negative-side switching element is disposed between a negative-side direct-current bus and the output node. The positive-side and negative-side gate drive circuit are configured to turn on and off the positive-side and negative-side switching elements, respectively. The gate signal controller is configured to transmit to the positive-side and negative-side gate drive circuits gate signals to instruct turning on and off the positive-side and negative-side switching elements. The gate signal controller is configured to, when a short circuit between the positive-side direct-current bus and the negative-side direct-current bus is detected, transmit to the positive-side gate drive circuit a first gate signal and transmit to the negative-side gate drive circuit a second gate signal.

The disclosure relates to a power conversion apparatus including switching elements turned on and off by gate drive circuits, and to a vehicle including the power conversion apparatus.
A power conversion apparatus includes pairs of switching elements, and each pair of switching elements are connected in series and inserted between a positive-side direct-current (DC) bus and a negative-side DC bus. An output node is connected between each pair of switching elements connected in series.
In the power conversion apparatus, switching elements may be fixed in an on state. This is called a short-circuit malfunction (a fixed "on" state). When both of a switching element between the positive-side DC bus and the output node (hereinafter referred to as a "positive-side switching element") and a switching element between the negative-side DC bus and the output node (hereinafter referred to as a "negative-side switching element") have a short-circuit malfunction, and when one of the positive-side switching element and the negative-side switching element is turned "ON" while the other has a short-circuit malfunction, a short circuit occurs between the DC buses.
In view of this, disclosed is a technique to reduce unfavorable influences such as breakage of various devices connected to the power conversion apparatus when the switching elements have a short-circuit malfunction to cause a short circuit between the DC buses (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-98790).


A method of making a spark plug includes providing a metal shell, an insulator at least partially disposed in the metal shell, a ground electrode coupled to the metal shell, and a center electrode disposed within the insulator. The method also includes depositing a tip substance on the spark plug to form an electrode tip.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a spark plug for use with an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a method of making a spark plug using a laser device.
Spark plugs are typically manufactured, in part, by laser welding a metal electrode to a center wire and side wire of the spark plug. The alloys are often alloyed, turned into wire form, then cut and processed into cylinders, balls, rivets, or other components, prior to welding to the center wire and/or side wire. Such a method undesirably requires two major operational steps and includes drawbacks associated with welding inefficiency. It also limits use to the metal alloys that are weldable and can be drawn into wire and/or formed into other shapes.
Accordingly, while existing methods of fabricating a spark plug are suitable for their intended purpose, the need for improvement remains, particularly in the fabrication of the electrode tip.


Method and circuitry for automatic resetting of an integrated circuit upon power up handles multiple clock sources and minimizes power dissipation. A robust voltage sensing circuit detects power up and triggers resetting of most of the circuit with the exception of the initialization circuit that includes an internal oscillator. After the circuit determines that the internal oscillator signal has settled, contents of non-volatile register are read to select the clock source for the circuit. Upon successful selection and clean up of system clock, the reset is removed.

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuits, and more particularly to method and circuitry for performing automatic power on reset of an integrated circuit (IC).
An IC is typically made up of various circuit blocks that operate together to provide the required functionality. In many applications, an IC may require an initialization routine for proper operation of the circuits upon power up. The initialization routine generally ensures that, for example, the power supply voltages have reached an acceptable threshold, the clock signal(s) has settled, internal registers have been reset to their proper values, and so on.
Most IC power on reset or initialization routines use a level detect circuit that monitors the power supply voltage level and enables operation of various blocks within the integrated circuit when the voltage level exceeds a predetermined threshold. Today""s more complex ICs often integrate different technologies and different types of circuitry on the same die, and tend to operate at lower supply voltage levels, and with wider supply voltage ranges. Conventional power on detect circuits fail to adequately meet the requirements of such circuits. Further, in some application, an IC may be required to operate from more than one clock sources, in which case the initialization routine is more complicated because of the need to select the appropriate clock and to determine when the respective clocks have settled so that only valid clock signals are used.
As can be seen, reliable and efficient techniques for performing automatic power on reset for these integrated circuits are highly desirable.
The invention provides method and circuitry for performing automatic power on reset for an integrated circuit. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a robust power on detect circuit that operates effectively with a wide ranging power supply voltage that may ramp up more slowly. In another embodiment, the present invention provides a power on reset routine for an IC that may have a number of different clock sources.
Accordingly, in one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for resetting an integrated circuit upon power up, the method including the steps of: detecting a voltage level on a power supply node and generating a power on detect signal when the voltage level reaches a predetermined level; asserting a reset signal in response to the power on detect signal, the reset signal disabling a plurality of internal circuitry except at least an internal oscillator; counting a first predetermined number of cycles of an oscillating output of the internal oscillator; reading contents of a first register to select a clock source, at about the completion of the counting step; if the contents of the first register indicate selection of the internal oscillator, coupling the oscillating output to system clock and de-asserting the reset signal; and if the contents of the first register indicate selection of a second clock source other than the internal oscillator, coupling an output of the second clock source to system clock.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides an integrated circuit including: a controller; a clock circuit coupled to the controller and configured to select between a plurality of clock sources including an internal oscillator; a voltage sensing circuit configured to detect a voltage level on a power supply node; a global reset circuit coupled to the voltage sensing circuit and configured to generate a global reset signal that, when activated, resets most of the integrated circuit except for at least the internal oscillator; and a register coupled to the clock circuit, and configured to store clock information, wherein, when the voltage sensing circuit detects a power up condition, the internal oscillator automatically runs for a predetermined number of cycles before the contents of the register are read to select one of the plurality of clock sources.
In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a power on detect circuit for signaling a power on condition in response to a voltage level on a power supply node, the power on detect circuit including a diode-coupled transistor having its gate-drain terminal coupled to the power supply node via a switch circuit; a weak transistor having a gate terminal coupled to the gate-drain terminal of the diode-coupled transistor; a first source/drain terminal coupled to the power supply node, and a second source/drain terminal coupled to ground via a delay capacitance; a Schmidt trigger circuit having an input coupled to the second source/drain terminal of the weak transistor; a first inverter having an input coupled to an output of the Schmidt trigger, and an output coupled to the switch circuit; a second inverter having an input coupled to an output of the first inverter, and an output coupled to carry a power on reset output signal.
A better understanding of the nature and advantages of the automatic power on reset method and circuitry of the present invention will be gained by referring to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Method and circuit for performing automatic power on reset of an integrated circuit


A flexible imaging member seam treatment method comprising bonding a thermoplastic polymer film to the seam of the flexible imaging member after placing the film on the seam. The film is bonded by heating the film above a glass transition temperature of at least one of a thermoplastic polymer from which the film is made and a polymer from which an imaging layer of the flexible imaging member is made. The film can be formed on a flexible, removable substrate. Treatment according to embodiments significantly improves seam region physical properties, greatly reducing cracking and delamination resulting from bending stresses induced by traversal of rollers.

Embodiments generally relate to a seam morphological improvement approach, and, more specifically, to a post ultrasonically-welded seam overcoat treatment for flexible imaging member belts.
Flexible electrostatographic belt imaging members are well known in the art. Typical electrostatographic flexible belt imaging members include, for example, photoreceptors for electrophotographic imaging systems, electroreceptors such as ionographic imaging members for electrographic imaging systems, and intermediate image transfer belts for transferring toner images in electrophotographic and electrographic imaging systems. These belts are usually formed by cutting a rectangular, a square, or a parallelogram shape sheet from a web containing at least one layer of thermoplastic polymeric material, overlapping opposite ends of the sheet, and joining the overlapped ends together to form a welded seam. The seam extends from one edge of the belt to the opposite edge. Generally, these belts comprise at least a supporting substrate layer and at least one imaging layer comprising thermoplastic polymeric matrix material. The imaging layer as employed herein is defined as and refers to any of the dielectric imaging layer of an electroreceptor belt, the transfer layer of an intermediate transfer belt, and the charge transport layer of an electrophotographic belt. Thus, the thermoplastic polymeric matrix material in the imaging layer is generally located in the upper portion of a cross section of an electrostatographic imaging member belt, the substrate layer being in the lower portion of the cross section of the electrostatographic imaging member belt. Although the flexible belts of interest include the mentioned types, for simplicity reasons, the discussion hereinafter will be focus on the electrophotographic imaging member belts.
Between the substrate and imaging layers, such flexible electrophotographic imaging members or multilayered photoreceptors also typically include an electrically conductive layer, an optional hole blocking layer, an adhesive layer, a charge generating layer, and, in some embodiments, an anti-curl backing layer. One type of multilayered photoreceptor comprises a layer of finely divided particles of a photoconductive inorganic compound dispersed in an electrically insulating organic resin binder to form a layer that is charge generating and charge transporting. A typical layered photoreceptor having separate charge generating (photogenerating) and charge transport layers is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,990, the entire disclosure thereof being incorporated herein by reference. In negatively-charged varieties of such photoreceptors, a charge generating layer is capable of photogenerating holes and injecting the photogenerated holes into the charge transport layer.
Although excellent toner images can be obtained with multilayered belt photoreceptors, it has been found that as more advanced, higher speed electrophotographic copiers, duplicators and printers are developed, fatigue-induced cracking of the charge transport layer at the welded seam area is frequently encountered during photoreceptor belt cycling. Moreover, the onset of seam cracking has also been found to rapidly lead to seam delamination due to fatigue, shortening belt service life. Dynamic fatigue seam cracking can possibly happen in ionographic imaging member belts as well.
As mentioned above, flexible electrostatographic imaging members are typically fabricated from a sheet cut from an imaging member web, generally in a rectangular or parallelogram shape, and a sheet is formed into a belt by joining overlapping opposite marginal end regions of the sheet. A seam is typically produced in the overlapping marginal end regions at the point of joining. Joining can be effected by any suitable means, such as by welding (including ultrasonic), gluing, taping, pressure heat fusing, and the like. Ultrasonic welding is generally the preferred method of joining because it is rapid, clean (no solvents), and produces a thin and narrow seam. In addition, ultrasonic welding is preferred because the mechanical pounding of the welding horn causes generation of heat at the contiguous overlapping end marginal regions of the sheet to maximize melting of one or more layers therein. A typical ultrasonic welding process is carried out by holding down the overlapped ends of a flexible imaging member sheet with vacuum against a flat anvil surface and guiding the flat end of an ultrasonic vibrating horn transversely across the width of the sheet, over and along the length of the overlapped ends, to form a welded seam.
When ultrasonically welded into a belt, the seam of multilayered electrophotographic imaging flexible members can occasionally contain undesirable high protrusions such as peaks, ridges, spikes, and mounds. These seam protrusions present problems during image cycling of the belt machine because they interact with cleaning blades to cause blade wear and tear, which ultimately affects cleaning blade efficiency and service life. Moreover, the protrusion high spots in the seam can also interfere with the operation of subsystems of copiers, printers and duplicators by damaging electrode wires used in development subsystems that position the wires parallel to and closely spaced from the outer imaging surface of belt photoreceptors. These closely spaced wires are employed to facilitate the formation of a toner powder cloud at a development zone adjacent to a toner donor roll and the imaging surface of the belt imaging member. Another frequently observed mechanical failure in the imaging belts during image cycling is that, after being subjected to extended bending and flexing cycles over small diameter belt support rollers, the ultrasonically welded seam of an electrophotographic imaging member can develop cracks that propagate and lead to delamination of the belt. Additionally, such cracking and delamination can result from lateral forces caused by mechanical rubbing contact against stationary web edge guides of a belt support module during cycling. Seam cracking and delamination is further aggravated when the belt is employed in electrophotographic imaging systems utilizing blade cleaning devices and some operational imaging subsystems. Alteration of materials in the various photoreceptor belt layers such as the conductive layer, hole blocking layer, adhesive layer, charge generating layer, and/or charge transport layer to suppress cracking and delamination problems is not easily accomplished. The alteration of the materials can adversely impact the overall physical, electrical, mechanical, and other properties of the belt such as well as coating layer uniformity, residual voltage, background, dark decay, flexibility, and the like.
As mentioned above, when a flexible imaging member used in an electrophotographic machine is a photoreceptor belt fabricated by ultrasonic welding of overlapped opposite ends of a sheet, the ultrasonic energy transmitted to the overlapped ends melts the thermoplastic sheet components in the overlap region to form a seam. The ultrasonic welded seam of a multilayered photoreceptor belt is relatively brittle and low in strength and toughness. The joining techniques, particularly the welding process, can result in the formation of a splashing that projects out from either side of the seam in the overlap region of the belt. The overlap region and splashings on each side of the overlap region comprise a strip from one edge of the belt to the other that is referred herein as the seam region. The seam region of a typical overlap seamed flexible belt is about 1.6 times thicker than the thickness of the body of the belt. Because of the splashing, a typical flexible imaging member seamed belt has a peak splashing height of about 76 micrometers above the surface of the imaging layer at the junction between the top splashing and the surface of the belt. The junction meeting point is the undesirable site of physical discontinuity which has been found to act as a stress concentration point that facilitates early onset of seam cracking/delamination under the dynamic fatigue-inducing conditions to which imaging members are subjected in normal use.
The photoreceptor belt in an electrophotographic imaging apparatus undergoes bending strain as the belt is cycled over a plurality of support and drive rollers. The excessive thickness of the photoreceptor belt in the seam region due to the presence of the splashing results in a large induced bending strain as the seam travels over each roller. Generally, small diameter support rollers are highly desirable for simple, reliable copy paper stripping systems in electrophotographic imaging apparatus utilizing a photoreceptor belt system operating in a very confined space. Unfortunately, small diameter rollers, e.g., less than about 0.75 inch (19 millimeters) in diameter, raise the threshold of mechanical performance criteria to such a high level that photoreceptor belt seam failure can become unacceptable for multilayered belt photoreceptors. For example, when bending over a 19 millimeter diameter roller, a typical photoreceptor belt seam splashing can develop a 0.96 percent tensile strain due to bending. This is 1.63 times greater than a 0.59 percent induced bending strain that develops within the rest of the photoreceptor belt. Therefore, the 0.96 percent tensile strain in the seam splashing region of the belt represents a 63 percent increase in stress placed upon the seam splashing region of the belt.
Under dynamic fatiguing conditions, the seam provides a focal point for stress concentration and becomes the point of crack initiation which is further developed into seam delamination causing premature mechanical failure in the belt. Thus, the splashing tends to shorten the mechanical life of the seam and service life of the flexible member belts used in copiers, duplicators, and printers.
Although a solution to suppress the seam cracking/delamination problems has been successfully demonstrated, as described in a prior art, by a specific heat treatment process of a flexible electrophotographic imaging member belt with its seam parked directly on top of a 19 mm diameter back support rod for stress-releasing treatment at a temperature slightly above the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the charge transport layer of the imaging member, nevertheless this seam stress release process was also found to produce various undesirable effects such as causing seam area imaging member set and development of belt ripples in the active electrophotographic imaging zones of the belt (e.g., the region beyond about 25.2 millimeters from either side from the midpoint of the seam). Moreover, the heat treatment can induce undesirable circumferential shrinkage of the imaging belt. The set in the seam area of an imaging member mechanically adversely interacts with the cleaning blade and impacts cleaning efficiency. The ripples in the imaging member belt manifest themselves as copy printout defects. Further, the heat induced imaging belt dimensional shrinkage alters the precise dimensional specifications required for the belt. Another key shortcoming associated with the prior art seam stress release heat treatment process is the extensive heat exposure of a large seam area. This extensive heat exposure heats both the seam area of the belt as well as the rod supporting the seam. Since the belt must be cooled to below the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic material in the belt prior to removal from the support rod to produce the desired degree of seam stress release in each belt, the heat treatment and cooling cycle time is unduly long and leads to very high belt production costs. Additionally, such seam heat treatment stress-release processing does not produce the desired seam surface smoothing and protrusion spot elimination.
Since there is no effective way to prevent the generation of localized high protrusions at the seam, imaging member belts are inspected, right after seam welding belt production process, manually by hand wearing a cotton glove through passing the index finger over the entire seam length and belts found catching the glove by the protrusions are identified as production rejects. Both the time consuming procedure of manual inspection and the number of seamed belts rejected due to the presence of high seam protrusions constitute a substantial financial burden on the production cost of imaging members.
The following references may be of interest:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,608, issued Mar. 2, 1993 to Darcy et al., discloses a flexible belt having an outwardly facing surface, a welded seam having irregular protrusion on the outwardly facing surface and a thin flexible strip laminated and covering the welded seam and protrusions. This belt can be fabricated by providing a flexible belt having an outwardly facing surface and a welded seam having irregular protrusions on the outwardly facing surface and laminating a thin flexible strip to the welded seam. The belt can be used in an electrostatographic imaging process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,999, issued Aug. 27, 1996 to Swain et al., discloses a process for coating flexible belt seams including providing a flexible belt having an outwardly facing surface and a welded seam, forming a smooth liquid coating comprising a hardenable film forming polymer on the welded seam, the coating being substantially free of fugitive solvent, and hardening the coating to form a smooth solid coating on the seam.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,949, issued Dec. 10, 1996 to Bigelow et al., discloses a process for coating flexible belt seams including providing a flexible belt having an outwardly facing surface and a welded seam, forming a smooth liquid coating on the welded seam, the liquid coating comprising a film forming polymer and a fugitive liquid carrier in which the belt surface is substantially insoluble, and removing the fugitive liquid carrier to form a smooth solid coating on the seam.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,922 B1, issued Dec. 11, 2001 to Mishra et al., discloses a process for post treatment of an imaging member belt including providing a support member having a smooth flat surface, proving a flexible belt having a welded seam, supporting the inner surface of the seam on the smooth flat surface, contacting the seam with a heated surface, heating the seam region with the heated surface to raise the temperature in the seam region to a temperature of from about 2xc2x0 C. to 20xc2x0 C. about the Tg of the thermoplastic polymer material, and compressing the seam with the heated surface with sufficient compression pressure to smooth out the seam.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,005, issued Sep. 3, 1996 to Mammino et al., discloses a flexible imaging sheet and a method of constructing a flexible imaging sheet. The method of constructing a flexible imaging sheet comprises overlapping, joining, and shaping first and second marginal end regions of a sheet to form an overlap region and a non-overlap region joined to one another by a seam in the overlap region with a generally planar surface co-planar with a surface of the non-overlap region. The first and second marginal end regions are secured to one another in the overlap region by the seam, and are substantially co-planar to minimize stress on the flexible imaging sheet. Minimization of stress concentration, resulting from dynamic bending of the flexible imaging sheet during cycling over a roller within an electrophotographic imaging apparatus, is particularly accomplished in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,504 to Yu et al., issued Jun. 13, 2000, discloses a process for treating a seamed flexible electrostatographic imaging belt including providing an imaging belt having two parallel edges, the belt comprising at least one layer comprising a thermoplastic polymer matrix and a seam extending from one edge of the belt to the other, the seam having an imaginary centerline, providing an elongated support member having at arcuate supporting surface and mass, the arcuate surface having at least a substantially semicircular cross section having a radius of curvature of between about 9.5 millimeters and about 50 millimeters, supporting the seam on the arcuate surface with the region of the belt adjacent each side of the seam conforming to the arcuate supporting surface of the support member, precisely traversing the length of the seam from one edge of the belt to the other with thermal energy radiation having a narrow Gaussian wavelength distribution of between about 10.4 micrometers and about 11.2 micrometers emitted from a carbon dioxide laser, the thermal energy radiation forming a spot straddling the seam during traverse, the spot having a width of between about 3 millimeters and about 25 millimeters measured in a direction perpendicular to the imaginary centerline of the seam, and rapidly quenching the seam by thermal conduction of heat from the seam to the mass of the support member to a temperature below the glass transition temperature of the polymer matrix while the region of the belt adjacent each side of the seam conforms to the arcuate supporting surface of the support member.
While these and other innovative prior art approaches provided improved flexible belt seam morphology, nevertheless it has been found that solution of one problem has also created new undesirable issues. For example, overcoating the seam of a photoreceptor belt with metallic foil can cause electrical seam arcing as the belt cycles beneath a charging device during electrophotographic imaging processes. Additionally, application of liquid overcoating layer over the seam induced charge transport molecule crystallization in the vicinity of the seam overcoat, not to mention that liquid overcoating layer can produce poor adhesion bond strength to the seam after solidification into a dried coat. Thus, there is a continuing need for electrostatographic imaging belts having improved welded seam design that is resistant to seam cracking/delamination, substantially free of seam protrusions, has improved seam region physical continuity, and is substantially free of factors that damage imaging subsystems.
Furthermore, there is an urgent need to provide seamed flexible imaging belts with an improved seam morphology which can withstand greater dynamic fatigue conditions thereby extending belt service life. It is also important, from the imaging member belt production point of view, that effective cutting of unit manufacturing cost of seamed imaging belts can be realized if an innovative post seaming treatment process can be developed and adopted for belt finishing implementation to provide the improvement of morphological seam surface smoothing free of protrusion spots and to effect the elimination of physical discontinuity at the junction meeting point where the top seam splashing making contact with the belt surface.
Embodiments of the instant invention provide such an improved electrostatographic imaging member that substantially overcomes the above-noted deficiencies by providing a morphologically improved seamed electrostatographic imaging member. Embodiments yield an improved electrostatographic imaging member with an ultrasonically welded seam which, after being subjected to post processing, exhibits greater resistance to onset of dynamic fatigue induced seam cracking/delamination problem. After being subjected to post processing according to embodiments, seams exhibit good circumferential dimension tolerance, robust mechanical seam function, and reduced cleaning blade wear. Seams treated according to embodiments are substantially free of seam protrusions, have smoother surface morphological profiles, have little or no seam region physical discontinuity, and have reduced seam area thickness that greatly reduces seam region bending stress when the electrostatographic imaging member flexes over small-diameter belt module support rollers.
These results are achieved according to embodiments by, for example, providing a flexible imaging member seam treatment method comprising bonding a thermoplastic polymer film to the seam of the flexible imaging member after placing the film on the seam; bonding comprises heating the film above a glass transition temperature of at least one of a thermoplastic polymer from which the film is made and a polymer from which an imaging layer of the flexible imaging member is made. This method can further comprise applying pressure to the film by exerting a compressive pressure of between about 70 lbs/in2 and about 770 lbs/in2 on the film and seam. Additionally, the method can include removing a substrate supporting the thermoplastic polymer film after bonding where a support substrate is used. The thermoplastic polymer film can be blended into the imaging layer as a result of the treatment, particularly by providing a thermoplastic polymer film compatible with the polymer of the imaging layer.
Such results can also be achieved according to embodiments by, for example, providing a flexible imaging member seam treatment method comprising providing a treatment strip including a thermoplastic polymer layer, placing the treatment strip over a seam of a photoreceptor belt with the thermoplastic polymer layer contacting the seam, applying pressure and heat to the strip, and removing the pressure and heat from the strip after sufficient time has passed for the thermoplastic polymer to bond to the seam. The treatment strip can include a thermoplastic polymer film, such as a polycarbonate, and can be supported by a high-temperature-resistant removable substrate, such as a high-transition-temperature flexible polymeric film or a flexible metallic film. Further, the thermoplastic polymer film can include a charge transport compound to better match the composition of the imaging layer of the flexible imaging member seam being treated.
Such results can further be achieved according to embodiments by, for example, providing a flexible imaging member seam treatment method comprising placing a flexible imaging member seam region on a support surface, placing a thermoplastic polymer film on the seam region, and heating the thermoplastic polymer film to a temperature falling in the range of from about 20xc2x0 C. to about 70xc2x0 C. above a glass transition temperature of at least one of a thermoplastic polymer of the thermoplastic polymer film and a polymer of an imaging layer of the flexible imaging member. Placing a thermoplastic polymer film on the seam region can further comprise forming a treatment article including the thermoplastic polymer film on a substrate and placing the treatment article on the seam region with the thermoplastic polymer film in contact with the seam region. Forming a treatment article can comprise providing a substrate comprising a high-temperature-resistant material, such as a flexible metallic film or a high-glass-transition-temperature flexible polymeric film like a biaxially-oriented PET film. The thermoplastic polymer film can comprise a thermoplastic polymer selected to form a polymer blend with a polymer from which the flexible imaging member is made. Heating the thermoplastic polymer film can comprise directing infrared radiation at the thermoplastic polymer film, such as with a lamp or infrared laser, or can comprise applying a heated element. When applying a heated element, the heated element can also apply pressure.
Additionally, such results can be achieved according to embodiments by, for example, providing an ultrasonically welded seamed flexible imaging member seam treatment process comprising:
providing an elongated support member having a smooth supporting surface;
providing a flexible belt having parallel edges and a welded seam extending from one edge to another edge, the belt seam including a seam region with an overlap and two adjacent splashings, the belt comprising a thermoplastic polymer material having a glass transition temperature, and inner and outer surfaces;
supporting the inner surface of the seam region on the smooth supporting surface with the seam region of the belt conforming to the supporting surface of the support member;
placing a thermoplastic polymer strip comprising a same material as a binder polymer of a top imaging layer directly of the seam region over the seam;
contacting the polymer strip above the seam with a heated surface comprising a smooth material with at least one of a low surface energy and an adhesive property with a profile that is substantially parallel to the smooth supporting surface;
heating the strip to a temperature of from about 20xc2x0 C. to about 70xc2x0 C. above a glass transition temperature (Tg) of at least a lower of the thermoplastic polymer material and the top imaging layer; and
compressing the strip above the seam with the heated surface to effect at least one of overcoat lamination, protrusion reduction, surface profile smoothing, seam region physical continuity enhancement, and seam region thickness reduction.
Although this invention deals with the seam overcoat material formulations, it also relates to apparatus and lamination process for effective flexible electrostatographic imaging member belts seam overcoating application, the following will focus only on seamed flexible electrophotographic imaging member belts to simplify discussion.


A functional device including on a substrate a first electrode layer, a second electrode layer opposed to the first electrode layer, a functional layer disposed between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer and a wiring for applying a potential to the first electrode layer or the second electrode layer, wherein there are provided a first insulating layer formed on the second electrode layer in such an arrangement that the side wall of the functional layer is covered and a contact hole formed in the first insulating layer extending to the second electrode layer in which the wiring for connecting the second electrode layer is provided.

1. Technical Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to a functional device comprising a photoelectric conversion layer and a luminescent layer deposited over a substrate and method for producing same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, devices comprising an organic material represented by organic luminescent device have made a remarkable progress. The production of organic EL displays which represent the organic luminescent device has been succeeded in practical utilization. Although the production of photoelectric conversion devices comprising an organic semiconductor has never been succeeded in manufacturing, these devices have made a remarkable progress in recent years and are likely to overcome the following problems with the related art imaging devices.
In the related art CCD type solid imaging devices or CMOS type solid imaging devices, a number of photoelectric conversion devices (photodiode) which are light-receiving portions and a signal readout circuit for reading a photoelectric conversion signal obtained in these photoelectric conversion devices to the exterior are formed on the surface of a semiconductor substrate. The signal readout circuit is formed by a charge transfer circuit and a transfer electrode if the solid imaging device is of CCD type or formed by an MOS transistor circuit and a signal wiring if the solid imaging device is of CMOS type.
Accordingly, the related art solid imaging device is disadvantageous in that a number of light-receiving portions and signal readout circuits must be formed on the surface of the same semiconductor substrate, making it impossible to raise the area of the light-receiving portions. When the area of the light-receiving portions cannot be raised, the percent utilization of light is drastically reduced. Accordingly, in the related art solid imaging device, the drop of percent utilization of light has been compensated by providing a microlens or inner lens in upper position to converge light rays into the light-receiving portions. However, such a measure has inevitable problems including an increase in light quantity loss due to optical reflection. It is said that the related art imaging devices have several tens of percentages of light quantity loss. Further, the demand for fine division of solid imaging devices has been growing more and more. Thus, a problem has arisen that when the light-receiving portions are divided more and more, the difference in angle of incidence of light between the periphery and the center of the imaging device makes difference in the percent convergence by microlens, causing shading.
Under these conditions, the configuration of the solid imaging device as described in JP-A-58-103165 has been reviewed. In accordance with this solid imaging device, light-sensitive layers are deposited on a semiconductor substrate having a signal readout circuit formed on the surface thereof. In this arrangement, these light-sensitive layers act as light-receiving portion. The photoelectric conversion signal obtained in these light-sensitive layers is read out to the exterior by a signal readout circuit. In other words, a photoelectric conversion layer-stacked structure is formed.
In this arrangement, the light-receiving portion can be provided with an aperture having a greater size, making it possible to solve the aforementioned problems. In recent years, photoelectric conversion layer-stacked solid imaging devices disclosed in JP-A-2002-83946, JP-T-2002-502120, JP-T-2003-502847, and Japanese Patent 3,405,099 have been proposed. The use of a device comprising an organic material as a photoelectric conversion layer having such an arrangement is very desirable from the following standpoints of view. The spectral wavelength of an organic material can be relatively easily adjusted by changing the structure thereof. A photoelectric conversion device comprising an organic semiconductor can be realized in a thickness on the order of 100 nm. Thus, the total thickness of the photoelectric conversion layers can be reduced even if they are deposited.
In order to further enhance the functional device comprising an organic material, etc., it is necessary the electrode on the organic semiconductor layer be finely worked. However, it is disadvantageous in that when this fine working is effected using the related art method, the properties of the functional device are remarkably deteriorated.
Thus, the functional device prepared according to the related art method is disadvantageous in that the device properties are remarkably deteriorated.

Functional device and method for producing the same


Provided is a method of polishing comprising providing a workpiece, providing a fixed abrasive article, providing conditioning particles, and relatively moving the workpiece and the fixed abrasive article in the presence of the conditioning particles to modify the surface of the workpiece and to condition the fixed abrasive. The fixed abrasive article comprises a substrate having a first surface and a region of abrasive composites distributed on the first surface of the substrate. The abrasive composites include a composite binder and abrasive particles, which may be in abrasive agglomerates together with a matrix material. The abrasive particles are harder than the workpiece. The conditioning particles are sufficient to condition one or more of the composite binder, matrix material, and abrasive agglomerates. The hardness of the conditioning particles is less than the hardness of the workpiece and they do not substantially polish the workpiece.

Coated abrasive articles typically consist of a layer of abrasive grits adhered to a backing. Three-dimensional, textured, fixed abrasive articles include a plurality of abrasive particles and a binder in a pattern. After use, the abrasive grits become dull and worn, so an additional process is used to expose fresh abrasive.
Slurries containing loose abrasive particles dispersed in a liquid and a polishing pad also have been used for polishing. Lapping is a grinding process that typically involves a slurry of loose abrasive grits, such as aluminum oxide in a liquid, flowed across a rotating lap plate, typically a metal such as cast iron. This provides an abrasive film between the polishing pad and the workpiece that enables stock removal from a single side or from both sides simultaneously.