There is provided an image reading device including: a manuscript table on which a manuscript is placed; an image reading section that optically reads an image from the manuscript placed on the manuscript table; an information acquisition section that acquires information in wireless communication from an IC chip attached to the manuscript placed on the manuscript table; and a control section that controls a timing of image reading by the image reading section in accordance with a timing of information acquisition by the information acquisition section.

For example, JP2006-134054(A1) discloses an IC card reader/writer that includes an image scanning section which optically reads an image on the ticket surface of a non-contact type IC card.
Further, JP2006-203630(A1) discloses an image reading device including: a manuscript table on which a manuscript is placed; a manuscript scanning section that moves a manuscript placed on the manuscript table in a sub-scanning direction to scan it optically; and an image reading section that optically reads an image of the scanned manuscript and converts it into electronic data, the image reading device including a section that includes, on the manuscript scanning section, at least one communication antenna which communicates with a wireless communication element including a memory and an antenna, thereby reading information from and writing it to the memory in the wireless communication element via the communication antenna.

Image reading device and information input method


A cable installation tool includes a baseboard having a containing space for containing a circuit board, a support base disposed on the baseboard, a sliding base slidably disposed on the baseboard and located at a side of the support base, a sliding rod slidably passing through the support base to be connected to the sliding base, a link, and a driving rod having a bending portion and a handle portion. An end of the link is pivoted to the sliding rod. The bending portion is pivoted to another end of the link and the support base respectively for driving the sliding rod via the link to slide relative to the support base, so that the sliding base could be pushed by the sliding rod to drive a cable device placed on the sliding base to insert into a slot of the circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool, and more specifically, to a cable installation tool for inserting a cable device into a slot of a circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, a conventional computer apparatus (e.g. a notebook or a desktop computer) adopts a cable connecting method to establish electricity or signal transmission between a circuit board and other computer components (e.g. a power supply or a hard disk drive). The cable connecting method commonly seen in the prior art is to push a cable device to insert into a corresponding slot on the circuit board by a user's fingers. Furthermore, for preventing disengagement of the cable device from the slot when the computer apparatus receives sudden impact, the cable device usually needs to be inserted into the slot in a tightly fitting manner, so that the cable device could be installed on the circuit board steadily.
However, since the cable device needs to be inserted into the slot tightly, the aforesaid method requires the user to utilize his fingers to push the cable device hard. Thus, it is time-consuming and strenuous for the user to perform the cable installation operation of the computer apparatus, so as to cause the user much inconvenience. Furthermore, it may also cause the problem that the cable device or the slot could damage easily due to excessive force exerted by the user as well as the problem that the user's fingers could be cut by the cable device or the slot accidentally due to the improper operation of the user.


An apparatus and method for generating electrical energy and for vaporising a cryogenically liquefied gas, the device having a conduit for the cryogenically liquefied gas, a pump located in the conduit, a heat engine, and a waste-heat recovery system downstream of the heat engine, wherein a branch conduit branches off from the conduit and the branch conduit leads into the heat engine, and wherein the apparatus also has a fluid circuit with the following components arranged successively in the flow direction of the fluid: a first heat exchanger which is also connected in the flow direction of the cryogenically liquefied gas past the pump into the conduit; a compressor; a second heat exchanger; parallel to one another, a third heat exchanger with a first side, and the waste-heat recovery system; a depressurising machine having a coupled generator; and the third heat exchanger with a second side.

After it has been extracted, natural gas is usually transported via pipelines to appropriate terminals in a port. There, it is stored, treated and finally liquefied by high compression and cooling (down to −162° C.) for transport over longer distances on appropriate specialty ships. After transport, the liquefied natural gas is regasified before introduction into a gas grid. The liquid natural gas is in this case typically vaporized by means of ambient heat (air/sea water) or chemical heat. US 2009/0211263 A1 discloses, for example, an apparatus and a process in which a liquid natural gas stream is vaporized.
As an alternative, concepts which had the objective of utilizing the energy of the low-temperature cold by means of cascaded ORCs have been developed.


A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product are provided in connection with facilitating hybrid unicast/broadcast service distribution. In one example, a communications device is equipped to provide a parity portion of titles in a channel of a service to a plurality of UEs at a first time, receive, from a UE at a second time, a request to access a title of the one or more titles, and provide an enablement item, to the requesting UE, which is a portion of the requested title that, when processed with the provided parity portion of the requested title, is sufficient to allow the requesting UE to decode and access to the requested title. In an aspect, the parity portion may be a parity portion of a fountain code encoded title, and the enablement item may be repair symbols of the fountain code encoded title.

The disclosed aspects relate generally to communications between devices and specifically to methods and systems for facilitating improved distribution of service content through unicast and/or broadcast transmissions.
Advances in technology have resulted in smaller and more powerful personal computing devices. For example, there currently exist a variety of portable personal computing devices, including wireless computing devices, such as portable wireless telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and paging devices that are each small, lightweight, and can be easily carried by users. More specifically, the portable wireless telephones, for example, further include cellular telephones that communicate voice and data packets over wireless networks. Further, many such cellular telephones are being manufactured with relatively large increases in computing capabilities, and as such, are becoming tantamount to small personal computers and hand-held PDAs.
Currently, there are certain classes of services that depend on unicast communications to provide a per user customized service. These services may be nominally entertainment based and file delivery based. Further, this type of service may become constrained by network congestion and thereby potentially reducing a user's enjoyment/use of the service. Network congestion can be an issue for services that provide per user real time unicast customized services. The network may either provide too low a throughput or too great a delay, even with an adaptive streaming solution such as dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP (DASH), to provide even a lowest grade of service.
Further, content available through an entertainment based service may be constrained by various digital rights management (DRM) agreements. As a result, using DRM is more expensive for a service provider, which must pay licensing fees under these DRM agreements. In addition, implementing the key management aspects of DRM, including establishment of chain of trust on the device, can further increase the service provider's costs.
Thus, improved apparatus and methods for reducing network congestion while maintaining an individualized service are desired.

Methods and apparatus for providing hybrid unicast broadcast services


A novel polymerizable high-refractive index compound which is useful as an optical material, and a holographic recording medium using the same, which has high diffraction efficiency, high light transmittance and small rate of shrinkage, are provided. A composition for forming a holographic recording layer containing a reactive compound represented by the following formula 1, a holograph recording material, and a holographic recording medium provided with a recording layer containing the same, are disclosed.

In recent years, resins having extensive optical characteristics as compared with conventional optical resins have been demanded in various optical applications. In particular, high-refractive index materials are being energetically studied in view of the extent of their application ranges including various resin lenses for optical data storage for next-generation DVD, camera for mobile phone, etc., liquids for immersion microscope lens, optical recording materials and so forth. Above all, in optical recording materials, especially holographic recording materials, the development of a material capable of attaining high refraction and low shrinkage is of an important issue.
The holography is a terminology meaning the whole of techniques in which a pattern made by an interference fringe formed from two lights (object light or information light and reference light) is recorded on a photosensitive material, and when light is applied thereto at the same angle as in the reference light, a recorded image or information of the object can be read. In view of the fact that by treating light as a plane, recording and reading can be achieved in a wide portion within a short period of time, in recent years, the holography is a technique which is very expected as a high-capacity, high-speed recording material.
Though the holography is classified into several types from the standpoint of a recording mode of interference fringe, it is considered that phase holography (volume holography) is high in performance in view of high diffraction efficiency and wavelength selectivity.
As a material capable of achieving such a technique, an organic material using a monomer polymerizable with light, which is named a so-called photopolymer, is exemplified.
The photopolymer as referred to herein expresses a material composed of at least a matrix resin, a polymerizable reactive compound and a photoinitiator.
At the time of recording a hologram, when a recording layer is present in an area where two lights intersect to become strong, the photoinitiator causes a chemical reaction to convert into an active material, and this acts on the polymerizable reactive compound, whereby the reactive compound is polymerized. On that occasion, when there is a difference in a refractive index among polymers formed from the matrix resin and the polymerizable reactive compound, an interference fringe becomes the difference in a refractive index and is immobilized in the recording layer. Also, on the occasion when the polymerizable reactive compound is polymerized, diffusion of the reactive compound occurs from the surroundings, and concentration distribution of the reactive compound or polymer of the reactive compound is generated in the inside of the photopolymer. Though when only reference light is irradiated, a record on the basis of the object light or information light is reproduced from the interference fringe, in the case of using the reference light having the same wavelength, by irradiating it on the recording layer at the time of reproduction, an unreacted polymerizable reactive compound should be similarly polymerized at the time of recording. However, as described previously, in view of the fact that concentration distribution of the reactive compound or polymer of the reactive compound is generated in the inside of the photopolymer, in an area where the two light intersect to become weak, namely an unrecorded area, since the concentration of the reactive compound relatively decreases, even when the reactive compound is polymerized in this area, the difference in a refractive index from the recorded area still remains. Accordingly, even when the same wavelength is irradiated at the time of reproduction, the record does not vanish (Non-Patent Document 1).
As a representative polymerizable monomer as such a reactive compound for photopolymer, N-vinylcarbazole and tribromophenyl acrylate are investigated (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). These compounds are sufficiently large in a refractive index of a polymer formed upon being polymerized as compared with a matrix resin, high in compatibility with the matrix resin in a stage before the polymerization and also high in compatibility with the matrix resin even after the polymerization, since unnecessary scattering is small; and therefore, even when repeatedly recorded, the diffraction efficiency is high, so that these compounds are suitable for holographic recording.
Also, it is reported in Patent Documents 3 to 5 that by using a polymerizable sulfur atom-containing compound or the like, a holographic recording material and a recording medium each having high diffraction efficiency and sensitivity are obtained. However, in general, there is a trade-off relation between diffraction efficiency and rate of shrinkage, and when a concentration of a polymerizable compound is increased for the purpose of enhancing the diffraction efficiency, polymerization shrinkage following recording becomes large. Even polymerizable compounds of the working examples exemplified in these patent documents are insufficient from the standpoints of diffraction efficiency, light transmittance and rate of shrinkage, and creation of further polymerizable compounds is being demanded.

Photoreactive composition, optical material, composition for forming holographic recording layer, holographic recording material, and holographic recording medium

Abstract: (In the formula (1),        A is an optionally substituted ring;        Ar is an optionally substituted (hetero)aryl group formed by condensation of two or more rings;        R is hydrogen or a methyl group;        n is an integer of from 1 to 7; and        when n is 2 or more, then plural Ars may be the same as or different from each other,        provided that when A is an aromatic heterocyclic ring, and Ar is an optionally substituted (hetero)aryl group formed by condensation of two or more rings, then in the structure in which A and Ar are connected with each other, those partial structures that are in the structure of each of A and Ar, and are connected directly with each other, do not contain a heteroatom.)


A wireless mesh network survey tool is provided. The tool includes a user interface and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to access a scaled floorplan of a building site, and identify a receiver device location on the scaled floorplan. The processing circuit is further configured to instruct a user to position a transmitter device at a number of test locations to determine a signal strength at each of the test locations. The processing circuit is also configured to determine a device count for a proposed mesh network based on the signal strength at each of the test locations. The device count includes a number of repeater devices. The processing circuit is further configured to display the proposed mesh network to the user via the user interface. The proposed mesh network includes recommended locations for the repeater devices on the scaled floorplan.

The present disclosure relates generally to building management systems. The present disclosure relates more particularly to systems and methods for extending a wireless mesh network of multiple wireless BMS devices to allow for wireless communication from various BMS monitoring devices to one or more BMS controllers.
A building management system (BMS) is, in general, a system of devices configured to control, monitor, and manage equipment in or around a building or building area. A BMS can include a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a security system, a lighting system, a fire alerting system, another system that is capable of managing building functions or devices, or any combination thereof. BMS devices may be installed in any environment (e.g., an indoor area or an outdoor area) and the environment may include any number of buildings, spaces, zones, rooms, or areas. A BMS may include a variety of devices (e.g., HVAC devices, controllers, chillers, fans, sensors, etc.) configured to facilitate monitoring and controlling the building space. Throughout this disclosure, such devices are referred to as BMS devices or building equipment.
Currently, when designing and implementing a wireless mesh network, such as a Zigbee (IEEE 802.15.4) mesh network, there are no tools or services to help an installer or technician to decide potential test routes. For example, the technician might inadequately test a mesh network in the field, as they must rely on their own discretion and judgement when testing or designing the mesh network. This can be particularly difficult in larger networks. Further, many building or systems include multiple broadcasts in the 2.4 GHz (as well as other) spectrum. For example, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, wireless AV devices, wireless headsets, and other devices all broadcast in the 2.4 GHz spectrum. While some tools, such as Chanalyzer or WiSpy are available, their costs can be prohibitive for use in all situations.
In many current systems, the technician may be required to draw out multiple radius circles on a scaled floor plan to determine the required location of wireless repeaters for use in the mesh network. For example, some systems may require wireless repeaters for every twenty-five foot radius for proper operation. However, the scaled diagrams used by the technician may not include other wireless devices, such as Wi-Fi access points (AP), which may cause adverse interference in the mesh network. Further, this visual analysis may not take into account certain barriers or other objects within the space which may result in a rapid decline in signal strength from a wireless repeater, thereby resulting in weak spots in the mesh network. Finally, there is generally no generated report which can list the quality and strengths of the signal across the network and the feasibility for a potential wireless installation on the site. Rather, the technician provides a qualitative analysis regarding the wireless health of the site.
Further, for an existing wireless mesh network it can be difficult to accurately diagnose issues within the mesh network using existing tools. For example, network data is needed at the time when one or more devices within the mesh network toggle between an online or offline condition, or show some sort of unexpected behavior. Further, as more wireless devices are implemented at the site, the air space, particularly in the 2.4 GHz spectrum, may become saturated, resulting in a loss in communication within the mesh network over a period of time. Often, a technician will need to be dispatched to the site to determine the issues, resulting in additional costs for the site. Further, the data may not be graphically represented, requiring a trained technician to accurately analyze the status of the mesh network. Furthermore, current tools do not allow for the network traffic on the wireless mesh network to be accurately monitored, adding additional complexity when trying to accurately diagnose issues within the wireless mesh network.

Systems and methods for network design, monitoring and visualization


The impurity diffusion method includes: transferring an object on which the thin film is formed into a processing chamber (operation 1); raising a temperature of the object to a vapor diffusion temperature in the processing chamber (operation 3); and supplying an impurity-containing gas that contains the impurities into the processing chamber, together with an inert gas and diffusing the impurities in the thin film formed on the object of which the temperature is raised to the vapor diffusion temperature (operation 4), wherein in the operation 4, an impurity diffusion acceleration gas for accelerating the diffusion of the impurities into the thin film is supplied into the processing chamber, together with the impurity-containing gas and the inert gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an impurity diffusion method, a substrate processing apparatus, and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A transistor functions as an active device in a semiconductor device. Recently, many of highly integrated semiconductor devices have mounted therein a field effect transistor, for example, a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), including a gate electrode for controlling turning-on/turning-off.
A gate electrode is formed by using a conductive material, and one of important factors with respect to the gate electrode is a work function thereof. Unless the work function of the gate electrode is controlled, a threshold value, for example, of the transistor may exceed a designed range, and thus, normal operations may not be performed.
If a gate electrode is formed by using polysilicon or amorphous silicon, a work function of the gate electrode is controlled by controlling an amount of a donor or accepter, which is so-called impurities, doped on the polysilicon or the amorphous silicon. Also, the amount of impurities doped on the polysilicon or the amorphous silicon affects a resistance value of the gate electrode.
As described above, since the amount of the doped impurities affects the work function and the resistance value of the gate electrode, the amount has to be strictly controlled. A technology of growing a film on which impurities are doped is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1.
In Patent Document 1, a surface of a substrate, that is, Si1 . . . xGex(100), is cleaned under a hydrogen atmosphere, and after that, a BCl3 gas is supplied with an inert gas that is H2 gas to grow a boron (B) layer of about one atomic layer thickness or less on the surface of the substrate. Then, a mixture gas of SiH4—GeH4—H2 is supplied to epitaxially grow a Si1 . . . xGex layer of a few to hundreds of nm.
In Patent Document 1, by repeatedly performing the growth of the B layer and the epitaxial growth of the Si1 . . . xGex layer, the Si1 . . . xGex layer on which boron, that is, an acceptor, is doped at a high concentration may be epitaxially grown on the surface of the substrate (for example, refer to paragraphs No. 0036 to 0040).
As described above, since the amount of the impurities doped on the polysilicon or the amorphous silicon forming the gate electrode affects the work function and the resistance value of the gate electrode, the amount of the impurities has to be strictly controlled.
Recently, along with the miniaturization of transistors, variations in the work function and the resistance value of the gate electrode caused by the impurities that are lost during surface oxidation or an etching process of the gate electrode have greatly increased, wherein the variations have not been apparent so far due to being excessively fine.
In order to compensate for the impurities lost during the surface oxidation or the etching process, it has suggested that impurities of a vapor phase are diffused toward the polysilicon or the amorphous silicon. However, it takes a long time by using vapor diffusion to diffuse the impurities to a high concentration. Thus, there is concern about degradation of throughput.
Also, Patent Document 1 discloses an epitaxial growth of a Si1 . . . xGex layer on which boron of a high concentration is doped. However, Patent Document 1 only discloses the Si1 . . . xGex layer doped with the high concentration boron, but does not teach a technology of compensating for lost impurities.    (Patent Document 1) Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-53605

Impurity diffusion method, substrate processing apparatus, and method of manufacturing semiconductor device


A method of forming a metal pattern comprising forming a metal film having a lower layer made of a metal and an upper layer made of a metal different from the metal of the lower layer, forming a resist film having a predetermined pattern on the upper layer, and patterning the metal film by etching the metal film using the resist film as a mask. Here, patterning the metal film comprises etching the upper layer, immersing the resist film and the upper layer in a pretreatment liquid containing a nonionic surfactant after the first etching process, and etching the lower layer after the immersing process.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of forming a metal pattern. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of forming a metal pattern including a plurality of metal layers.
2. Related Art
Wires of ICs and LSICs or liquid crystal displays are generally created by forming a metal film on a substrate and etching the metal film into a predetermined metal pattern using a resist film patterned by a photolithography method. For example, when a gold (Au) wire is formed, a close adhesion layer made of Nichrome (NiCr) is generally placed between the substrate and the Au layer so as to create a close adhesion between the Au layer and the substrate. When a wire formed of a metal pattern including an NiCr layer and an Au layer is formed, the NiCr layer and the Au layer are also etched using a resist film. Often, however, the etching liquid also reaches the side surfaces of the NiCr and Au layer that are not masked by the resist film acting and side etching occurs when the etchant undercuts the resist film. Thus, side etching may reduce the width of the NiCr layer and the Au layer more than the width of the etching mask, causing the side surfaces of the wire to become tapered. In addition, other difficulties arise when the resist film is peeled off from the metal film during the etching process, causing additional incidences of side etching. Thus, it is often difficult to obtain a wire having a desired width using the etching process.
In order to suppress side etching, it has been attempted to improve the etchant itself by adjusting the concentration of the etchant and the like. A technique of controlling an etching speed of gold or similar metal by performing an etching process using as an etchant an aqueous solution containing iodine and a compound (surfactant) having at least one alcoholic hydroxyl group in a side chain thereof has been disclosed (see JP-A-2003-229420 and JP-A-2003-109949). However, these attempts to improve the etchant generally result in poorer etching performance than found with traditional etchants.
Thus it is difficult to obtain a metal pattern having a desired width which includes a plurality of metal layers.


An item of clothing has a strip 502 of a reflective tape surrounded by florescent material. Embedded light-emitting devices 113 are connected to a loom of power and data cables and are supported on a flexible printed circuit board 101. Respective windows 1213 are provided for each light-emitting device, in which a hole cut through the reflective tape is covered by a clear plastics material having a first flap 1203 and a second flap 1204. The first flap is folded around the flexible printed circuit board and is secured by the second flap being further folded around the first flap. The clear plastics material is secured to the clothing fabric by an adhesive film 701 through which the holes have also been cut.

The present invention relates to a method of attaching a light-emitting device to an item of clothing.
The present invention also relates to an apparatus defining an item of clothing having a strip of a reflective tape surrounded by fluorescent material.
It is known to provide garments with light emitting diodes that may provide permanent illumination or that may be activated in response to detecting a particular condition. For example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,992,516, assigned to the present application, red light-emitting diodes are illuminated in response to a local detection of a toxic substance and blue light-emitting diodes are activated if a substance is detected by a co-worker. In these known systems, the light-emitting diodes are supported by a rubber cover that is externally stitched to an item of clothing. Although such an approach does provide a degree of protection for the light-emitting diodes, the devices themselves are exposed and may be damaged, possibly due to the presence of dust. Furthermore, it is possible for the rubber covers to bend resulting in greater exposure of the light-emitting diodes, that may in turn result in them becoming damaged or chipped.
Increasingly, higher levels of sophistication are being provided by items of clothing of this type, including internal communication between detection devices and data transmission and storage etc. As the overall value of the items of clothing increase, there is a greater requirement for providing overall reliability; it would be undesirable for an item of clothing to be rejected due to a relatively inexpensive failure.

Attaching light emitting devices to items of clothing


A collision avoidance and warning system and method are provided. The system includes a sensor and a controller. The sensor senses an object in a field of view, wherein the sensor determines a direct range measurement between the sensor and the object and an angle measurement of the object with respect to the sensor. The controller receives the direct range measurement and angle measurement from the sensor, and determines if the object is in an in-path area based upon the direct range measurement and angle measurement, as a function in a pseudo polar coordinate frame.

Generally, vehicles can be equipped with collision avoidance and warning systems for predicting potential collisions with external objects, such as another vehicle, a pedestrian, or a stationary object. These systems typically include driver interface and initiate countermeasures (e.g., enunciate driver alerts, enact vehicle dynamic actions, and deploy occupant protection/restraint devices) in order to anticipate crash scenarios and eliminate or mitigate the impact of those crashes. An example of a system where predicting a collision is desirable is an adaptive cruise control systems that generally tracks multiple leading vehicles and automatically controls both the speed and distance of the host vehicle.
Some vehicle avoidance systems generally require one or more object detection sensors for tracking one or more targets within a field of view. Some such target tracking systems can require yaw rate sensors for tracking a motion path of the host vehicle, and relatively complex and expensive detection sensors to acquire the range, range rate, azimuth angle to the detected objects. Other vehicle avoidance systems generally have object detection sensors that monitor markers on the roadway. Object detection sensors for requiring such data can be costly and require intensive calculations, analysis, and/or processing when analyzing the data, which adversely affects the processing or reaction time of the vehicle target tracking system or require the roadway to have markers.
Other collision avoidance systems view targets in the field of view by determining the crossing location or a miss distance. One such approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,138, entitled "COLLISION DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ESTIMATING MISS DISTANCE EMPLOYING CURVE FITTING," the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,016,782, entitled "COLLISION DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ESTIMATING MISS DISTANCE," the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Another approach is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0197770, entitled "COLLISION DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ESTIMATING TARGET CROSSING LOCATION," the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. While the aforementioned approaches use at least one sensor to determine an object in a field of view, the above systems can create a situation where, due to the data being collected and the analysis, calculations, and/or processing of the data, the processing or reaction time of the system is longer than desired. Further, in some situations, the above approaches can create false identifications or false alarms where an object is within the field of view, and the system identifies this object as being in the in-path area, which enables a collision warning and/or an avoidance countermeasure, but the vehicle would not contact the object due to the vehicle's range of motion.

Collision avoidance and warning system and method


A method and apparatus for measuring an abrasion amount and a friction force of a polishing pad using a thickness change of a slurry film in a chemical mechanical polishing operation are provided. In a preferred method, for example, a first displacement of a semiconductor wafer with respect to a polishing pad is measured during an initial stage and a first reference range of the thickness change of the slurry film is preferably set to determine a replacement time corresponding to the abrasion amount of the polishing pad. A conditioning condition of the polishing pad conditioning can also be set, and a second displacement of the semiconductor wafer with respect to the polishing pad can be measured when the surface of the semiconductor wafer is polished by the polishing pad. The first displacement is then preferably compared with the second displacement to calculate the thickness change of the slurry film formed between the polishing pad and the semiconductor wafer. When the thickness change of the slurry film is out of the first reference range, the polishing pad is preferably replaced. When the surface state of the polishing pad corresponding to the thickness change of the slurry film fails the conditioning condition, a conditioning operation to condition the surface of the polishing pad is preferably performed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer process, and more particularly, to a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method and apparatus for measuring an abrasion amount and friction force of a polishing pad using the thickness change of a slurry film in a CMP process.
2. Description of the Related Art
To manufacture a semiconductor device, various layers are deposited on a surface of a semiconductor wafer and patterned to form a circuit. In this stacking structure, wiring layers formed on different layers are connected to each other through vias and contact nodes. An intermediate layer is formed on the top surface of a lower wiring layer and planarized to expose the lower wiring layer. Then, an upper wiring layer is formed on the intermediate layer, thereby forming a stacked structure of wiring layers. A CMP process is generally performed to planarize the lower layer.
The CMP process is performed by a polisher. The polisher presses a contact surface of a polishing pad onto a contact surface of a semiconductor wafer to be polished. The polisher further supplies abrasive slurry in the space between the semiconductor wafer and the polishing pad and generates a mechanical motion of the polishing pad relative to the semiconductor wafer. The motion of the polishing pad relative to the semiconductor wafer can be generated using a belt type linear motion so that the polishing pad moves linearly, or a disk type rotational motion so that the relative motion is circular. In the CMP process, since the contact surface of the polishing pad is pressed on the contact surface of, and moves relative to the semiconductor wafer, a friction force is generated between the contact surfaces of the pad and the semiconductor wafer. The abrasive slurry supplied onto the contact surfaces thereby effectively removes the layer of the semiconductor wafer. The polishing pad should have a proper surface roughness such that a desired friction force can be generated as the polishing pad rubs the semiconductor wafer. The slurry should also be properly supplied into the space between the polishing pad and the semiconductor wafer. Since the surface condition of the polishing pad affects the polishing rate and polishing uniformity of the layer removed from the semiconductor wafer, the surface roughness should be maintained within an acceptable predetermined range.
To maintain the surface roughness of the polishing pad, a pad conditioning operation can be performed. In the pad conditioning operation, the contact surface of the polishing pad is continuously or intermittently mechanically rubbed either during the CMP process or after the CMP process. Unfortunately, although the pad conditioning operation helps maintain the surface roughness of the polishing pad in an acceptable range, the operation reduces the thickness of the polishing pad, and decreases the lifetime of the polishing pad. As the polishing pad is rubbed, the depths of grooves formed in the polishing pad decrease. When the depths of the grooves in the polishing pad are less than a predetermined value a proper amount of slurry cannot be supplied into the groove. Accordingly, under a predetermined pressure, the average thickness of a slurry film formed between the polishing pad and the semiconductor wafer changes. This thickness change of the slurry film reduces the pressure and the friction force between the contact surface of the polishing pad and the semiconductor wafer, thereby reducing the ability to remove the layer in the polishing operation.
Accordingly, since the polishing ability decreases due to the thickness decrease of the polishing pad, the polishing pad should be replaced when the thickness of the polishing pad is less than a predetermined acceptable value. In a conventional CMP process, the replacement time of the polishing pad is determined based on the accumulated use time of the polishing pad using a predetermined safety standard for managing the distribution of the CMP process. However, replacing the polishing pad based on the predetermined safety regulation does not provide an effective way of determining when to replace the polishing pad.
Various methods of optimally determining the replacement time of the polishing pad have been suggested. U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,974 discloses a non-contact method in which a laser sensor is used to directly measure a distance from the laser sensor to a surface of a polishing pad to calculate an abrasion amount of the polishing pad. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,434 discloses a method in which an abrasion amount and abrasion profile of a polishing pad are monitored using ultrasonic or electromagnetic radiation transmitters arranged at a predetermined distance from the surface of the polishing pad to directly measure a distance to the surface of the polishing pad. However, in these methods, it is difficult to directly measure the distance between the semiconductor wafer and the polishing pad in a polishing operation because the polishing pad is always wet with water and slurry.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,784 discloses a method in which an abrasion state of the surface of a polishing pad is monitored in a conditioning operation, thereby determining an end point of the conditioning operation for the polishing pad. In this method, a disk type head is fixed on the surface of a polishing pad, and a friction force between the disk type head and the polishing pad is measured using a load cell. This determines the end point of the conditioning operation for the polishing pad. Unfortunately, however, the friction force between the disk type head and the polishing pad is significantly dependent on the conditioning degree of the polishing pad. Thus, this method is not suitable to monitor the abrasion or wear state of a polishing pad to determine its remaining useful life.

Method and apparatus for measuring abrasion amount and pad friction force of polishing pad using thickness change of slurry film


The present invention relates to a method of producing an electroconductive cellulose-based film having high uniformity and transparency and excellent in optical properties while preventing a bleaching phenomenon at the time of forming an electroconductive layer. The method of producing an electroconductive cellulose-based film according to the present invention is a method of producing an electroconductive cellulose-based film by coating a cellulose-based film with a coating solution containing a binder, superfine particles and a solvent to form an electroconductive layer thereon, wherein the coating solution comprises at least one kind of glycol monoalkyl ether-based solvent selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, and propylene glycol monoethyl ether in an amount of 20 to 40% by weight based on the total solvent, and a ketone-based solvent in an amount of 20 to 50% by weight based on the total solvent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of producing an electroconductive cellulose-based film. The electroconductive cellulose-based film, which in various optical films, is used as a hard coating film having a hard coating layer formed thereon and an anti-reflection film having an anti-reflection layer formed thereon. For example, the film applied to an optical element such as a polarizing plate etc. can be utilized preferably in various image displays such as a liquid crystal display, organic EL display, PDP and CRT. The film can also be used preferably as a constituent member or an attachment member in a polarizing filter, an anti-reflection filter etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Owing to research and development in recent years, a liquid crystal display panel comes to secure a firm position as display. However, a car-navigation monitor or a video-camera monitor which is used highly frequently under high illumination undergoes a significant reduction in visibility and recognizability because of occurrence of surface reflection. Accordingly, it comes to be essential that a polarizing plate used in the liquid crystal display panel be subjected to with anti-reflection treatment, and the polarizing plate subjected to anti-reflection treatment is used in almost all liquid crystal displays used frequently outdoors.
The anti-reflection treatment is designed so as to achieve the maximum reduction in the reflection, in the visible light range, of a multilayer laminate of plural films made of materials different in refractive index which is prepared generally by a dry process such as vacuum deposition, sputtering and CVD or by a wet process using a die or a gravure roil coater. Particularly, the wet process is used preferably because the cost of facilities is low, a film of large area can be continuously produced, and the process is excellent in productivity.
In the wet process, however, a small amount of water may be mixed in a coating solution in the coating operation, in preparation of the coating solution, and depending on the humidity of an atmosphere for storage. In this case, there has been a problem that a lower boiling organic solvent in the organic solvent starts evaporation in a drying step after application of the coating solution so that as the evaporation proceeds, the solubility of water in the organic solvent reaches a saturation state to cause phase separation, and during this process, hydrophilic superfine particles are transferred predominantly to the aqueous phase where they are aggregated to cause bleaching, thus significantly deteriorating optical properties such as transmittance.

Electroconductive cellulose-based film, a method of producing the same, an anti-reflection film, an optical element, and an image display


The present application is directed to new and improved apparatus for use in analytical instruments which includes an elongated dosing tube having a tip at one end which is constructed and arranged to move between a sample vessel, a rinsing vessel and an analytical instrument; the other end of the dosing tube being connected in fluid flow communication to a rinsing liquid supply vessel through a sample pump assembly and a rinsing liquid pump assembly; the liquid pump assembly including a pump cylinder having an inlet and an outlet; a pump piston arranged for reciprocal movement in the pump cylinder between a first end position in the discharge direction and an opposite second end position in the intake direction; a first check valve mounted on the inlet of the pump cylinder and a second check valve mounted on the outlet of the pump cylinder; a seal mounted adjacent the outlet which cooperates with the pump piston to sealingly close the outlet when the pump piston is positioned in its first end position in the discharged direction.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,051 describes method and apparatus for sample feeding systems utilized in flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy, in which a sample is withdrawn from a sample vessel by a dosing tube and then the dosing tube is moved to an atomizing device, e.g. a graphite tube atomizer and the sample is dispensed therein. The other end of the dosing tube communicates with a sample pump and with a rising fluid pump for delivery in one direction only. A rinsing process is employed between the individual dosing processes if successively different samples are dosed, wherein the free end or tip of the dosing tube is dipped into a rinsing vessel. Rinsing liquid is pumped by the rinsing liquid pump from a rinsing liquid container through the dosing tube into the rinsing vessel, which is formed as an overflow vessel, whereby the tip of the dosing tube is rinsed on its inside as well as on its outside. The dosing tube is filled with rinsing liquid and a small air volume is taken in by the sample pump or a separate air pump after the dosing tube has been lifted out of the rinsing vessel. Then the tip of the dosing tube is guided to a sample vessel and a well-defined sample volume is taken in by means of the sample pump. This sample volume is supplied to the atomizing device by a return stroke of the sample pump. A return stroke of the air pump ejects at least a part of the air volume taken in, whereby residue of the sample liquid is blown off the wall of the dosing tube.
The rinsing liquid pump comprises a pump cylinder having an inlet and an outlet. A pump piston is arranged in the pump cylinder, which is movable by a servomotor between a first end position in the discharge direction and a second opposite end position in the intake direction. One check valve is arranged on the inlet side and a second check valve is arranged on the outlet side of the pump cylinder. Rinsing liquid is taken in through the check valve in the pump cylinder on the inlet side with the intake stroke of the pump piston. This rinsing liquid is forced into the dosing tube through the check valve on the outlet side during the subsequent discharge stroke.
Very small sample volumes are dosed with such devices which, for example, is very desirable in flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy. It is very important that these sample volumes be observed very exactly, because atomic absorption spectroscopy is a quantitative measuring method, and depends on the quantity of atoms of a looked for element in a cloud of atoms generated in the graphite tube and as a result, an error in the dosed sample volume directly and substantially affects the end results.
Similar problems also appear in the high pressure liquid chromatography.
It has been found that the test results are sometimes inconsistent when employing the above described testing methods. It is one object of the present invention to avoid these measuring errors.
One of the aspects of the invention is based on the discovery that the described measuring errors are due to leakages of the check valves in the rinsing liquid pump. Such check valve leakage can be caused in the outlet of the rinsing liquid pump by particles in the rinsing liquid. Also, the surface tension of the rinsing liquid can affect the valve. These leakages become more apparent when the dosed sample volume is small.

Rinsing liquid apparatus for analytical instruments


An adapter assembly for removably connecting two parallel cable protectors having side ramps in an adjacent side-by-side relationship employs a central member to bridge the void between the side ramps of the cable protectors. A number of cable protector connectors extend from the central member to removably secure the cable protectors to the central member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of modular cable protectors. More specifically, the present invention discloses an adapter assembly for removably connecting cable protectors in parallel.
2. Statement of the Problem
Hose and cable bridging protective devices have been used in the past to prevent damage for hoses, cables, wiring and the like by vehicles and pedestrians. These cable protectors also help to minimize the risk of pedestrians tripping over cables. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term xe2x80x9ccablexe2x80x9d should be broadly interpreted to include cables, hoses, electrical wiring, conduits, optical fibers, pneumatic tubing, plumbing, and the like.
Conventional cable protectors include one or more channels extending in parallel between the ends of the cable protector to receive the cables. Side ramps or beveled edges extend laterally outward from both sides of the cable protector to allow vehicles to roll over the top of the cable protector. Each cable protector typically includes a set of end connectors that enable a series of cable protectors to be attached together in a modular end-to-end fashion to any desired length.
A problem arises if two or more sets of cable protectors with side ramps must be used in parallel. This creates an uneven traveling surface with multiple inclines and declines for vehicles or pedestrians crossing the cable protectors. Therefore, a need exists for an adapter assembly that can be used to combine cable protectors in parallel to create a structure with a relatively uniform top surface. In addition, it is desirable to be able to hold sets of cable protectors in fixed lateral positions relative to one another so as to minimize movement and stress on the cables.
3. Solution to the Problem
Nothing in the prior art shows a adapter assembly for removably connecting two cable protectors having side ramps in an adjacent side-by-side relationship. The present invention bridges the void between adjacent cable protectors and also fixes the relative positions of parallel sets of cable protectors. Optionally, the present invention can include channels to carry additional cables.
This invention provides an adapter assembly for removably connecting two parallel cable protectors having side ramps in an adjacent side-by-side relationship. A central member bridges the void between the side ramps of the cable protectors. A number of cable protector connectors extend from the central member to removably secure the cable protectors to the central member.

Adapter assembly for removably connecting cable protectors


A method, apparatus, and computer program product for balancing transmission unit traffic over network links, including disposing transmission units into flows; grouping flows into first flow lists, each corresponding to a selected network link; determining a traffic metric representative of a traffic load on the selected network link; responsive to the traffic metric, regrouping flows into second flow lists corresponding to the selected network link, the regrouping balancing the transmission unit traffic among the network links; and transmitting the respective second flow list over the respective selected network link. The invention also can include a method for transmitting transmission units through a network, including receiving a transmission unit from a transmission unit source; classifying the transmission unit according to a predetermined flow characteristic; selecting a preselected network link over which the transmission unit is to be transmitted; and transmitting the transmission unit over the preselected network link.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications apparatus and methods, particularly to computer networking apparatus and methods, and more particularly to computer networking apparatus and methods for balancing data flow therethrough.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
A common problem in communication networks is maintaining efficient utilization of network resources, particularly with regard to bandwidth, so that data traffic is efficiently distributed over the available links between sources and destinations. Prior art solutions include apparatus and methods that balance data traffic over homogeneous (same-speed) links between heterogeneous or homogeneous computing platforms (servers, clients, etc.). Increasingly, high-performance computing platforms communicate with other computers, routers, switches, and the like, using multiple links which, for a variety of reasons, may operate at disparate link speeds. For example, a server may communicate with other devices using a combination of new and legacy network cards, thus producing a heterogeneous-link-speed environment; or adverse network conditions may degrade the performance of one or more links, effectively presenting a heterogeneous-link-speed environment to the server and its link partner(s). What is needed is a method to dynamically balance transmission unit traffic in a heterogeneous-link-speed environment, and an apparatus and computer program product therefor.

Dynamic network load balancing over heterogeneous link speed


The present invention is concerned with improved swirl burners, particularly, but not limited to, swirl burners used in fuel cell systems.

Teachings of fuel cells, fuel cell stacks, fuel cell stack assemblies, and heat exchanger systems, arrangements and methods are well known to one of ordinary skill in the art, and in particular include WO02/35628, WO03/07582, WO2004/089848, WO2005/078843, WO2006/079800, WO2006/106334, WO2007/085863, WO2007/110587, WO2008/001119, WO2008/003976, WO2008/015461, WO2008/053213, WO2008/104760, WO2008/132493, WO2009/090419, WO2010/020797, and WO2010/061190, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Unless the context dictates otherwise, the term "fluid" incorporates both liquids and gases.
Legislation and the general trend of improved environmental responsibility encourages an interest in reducing the emissions produced by the burning or combustion of fuel in all operations. In fuel cell operation in particular, there is legislation which sets maximum limits for emission levels, such as European standard EN 50465:2008 which applies to a fuel cell gas heating appliance when in domestic use. Of particular importance in controlling emissions is the reduction of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrous oxides (NOx) emissions.
Burner design is of great importance when it comes to controlling combustion emissions. Factors such as the air flow, the mixing of reactants and the position of the flame must all be considered along with the chemical composition of the fuel to be burned. A change in the composition of a fuel combusted in the same burner can result in very different emissions. Therefore, it is often necessary to design a burner for a specific fuel in order to adhere to the required emission limits. Despite this, there are situations where a burner must be fuelled by various fuels, and where combustion stability and emission control is important in each of these modes.
Burners are often used in fuel cell systems to provide thermal energy to raise the temperature of the fuel cell system and its related system parts to operating temperature. A fuel cell system typically includes at least one fuel cell stack.
Where reference is made herein to a fuel cell or fuel cell system then more preferably, the reference is to a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) or SOFC system, more preferably to an intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) or IT-SOFC system. A fuel cell system will comprise an at least one fuel cell stack, each fuel cell stack comprising at least one fuel cell. More preferably, the fuel cell has, or fuel cells of the fuel cell stack have, an operational temperature range of 450-650 deg C., more preferably 500-610, or 500-615 or 500-620 deg C., and possibly 615 to 620 deg C.
When utilizing solid oxide fuel cells, it is preferable that the burner is fuelled by both a low calorific value (LCV) fuel and a high calorific value (HCV) fuel. It should be noted that these terms are distinct from e.g. "lower calorific value" (also referred to as "LCV") and "higher calorific value" (also referred to as "HCV")—all fuels have both a lower calorific value and a higher calorific value. Examples of low calorific value (LCV) fuels are those with a high fraction of H2, CO, and optionally with a low fraction of CH4. The Wobbe index for a LCV fuel is typically between 18 and 35 MJ/m3. Examples of high calorific value (HCV) fuels are those comprising of methane, ethane or propane or any combination therein, the Wobbe index for a HCV fuel is typically between 36 and 85 MJ/m3.
The fuel cell stack uses a hydrogen-rich HCV fuel for the electrochemical reaction. As a result of the electrochemical reaction, the fuel gas changes composition with some of the reactive elements being oxidised, such as hydrogen becoming water vapour and carbon monoxide becoming carbon dioxide. As a result, the off-gases from this process are an LCV fuel. It is therefore clear that a HCV fuel is distinct from an LCV fuel.
The LCV fuel formed from the electrochemical reaction can then be combusted in a burner. However, the combustion of a HCV fuel is typically required to initially heat the fuel cell system (e.g. at start-up) until the fuel cell reaches operating temperature. Thus, at start-up it is necessary to combust an HCV fuel. During steady-state operation of the fuel cell it is necessary to combust a predominantly LCV fuel. During the transition between fuel cell operating point states (i.e. when the electrical power output of the fuel cell is changed), the composition of the fuel to be combusted changes accordingly, and similarly changes during the transition from steady-state to shut-down. To maintain low emissions with the combustion of each of these fuels, different configurations of burner are required: an HCV fuel burner favours a great degree of mixing with an oxidant prior to combustion; whereas an LCV fuel burner favours a low amount of mixing with an oxidant prior to combustion. Furthermore, a greater airflow is preferred for an HCV fuel compared to an LCV fuel. However, due to requirements elsewhere in the system, such as the oxidant flow being used to control the temperature of the fuel cell stack, it is rarely possible to control airflow to the burner solely for combustion control purposes. It is therefore clear that in the situation described, utilizing a burner designed for one of the fuels or for a specific airflow would result in unfavourable combustion for the other fuel.
It is therefore desirable to produce a burner which is able to combust both LCV and HCV fuels either at the same time, or individually, without separating the combustion or utilizing complex systems, whilst maintaining low emissions and coping with the varying airflows and, in particular, a wide ranging air to fuel ratio, lambda.
Prior art devices can also suffer from a lack of flame stability over a wide range of operating conditions, including different lambdas. In addition, it is also desirable to achieve a compact flame in order to reduce product size.
The present invention seeks to improve upon prior art burners. In particular, it seeks to address, overcome or mitigate at least one of the prior art issues.

Swirl burner with fuel injection upstream and downstream of the swirler

Ceres Intellectual Property Company Limited


Disclosed are methods and compositions for determining the average length or abundance of a first target nucleic by calculating the abundance of a first target nucleic acid (T) relative to the average abundance (S) of a second and a third target nucleic acid, in a single well using a separate detection label for each target nucleic acid. In various aspects, the first target nucleic acid is a telomere. In exemplary aspects, the disclosed methods and compositions can be used to determine the average telomere length in a biological sample. The average telomere length determined using the disclosed methods and compositions can be correlated to a variety of clinically important conditions and indices. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention.

The statements in the Background are not necessarily meant to endorse the characterization in the cited references.
Telomeres, the tips of eukaryotic chromosomes, protect the chromosomes from nucleolytic degradation, end-to-end fusion, and recombination. Telomeres are structures at the ends of chromosomes characterized by repeats of the nucleotide sequence (5′-TTAGGG-3′)n. Telomeres shorten as a consequence of normal cell division and critically short telomeres lead to cellular senescence or apoptosis. A rich body of epidemiological and clinical studies in humans in the past decade has linked short telomere length to high risks of aging-related disease and all-cause mortality (Puterman, E. and E. Epel, Soc Personal Psychol Compass, 2012. 6(11) 807-825; Zhu, H., M. Belcher, and P. van der Harst, Clin Sci (Lond), 2011. 120(10) 427-40; and Fyhrquist, F. and O. Saijonmaa. Ann Med, 2012. 44 Suppl 1 S138-42). Genetic, environment, lifestyle, and behavioral factors collectively impact telomere length. Therefore, telomere length has become an index for overall health, disease, and mortality risk.
While average telomere length was measured in almost all the clinical studies published and has demonstrated utility in stratifying patient disease and mortality risk, recent work in mice has also shown that the population of short telomeres is the triggering signal to senescence or apoptosis (Hemann, M. T., et al. Cell, 2001. 107(1) 67-77), and thus disease and mortality risk. In a study reported by Hemann et al, 6th generation telomerase RNA knockout mice (mTR−/− G6) with short telomeres were crossed with mice heterozygous for telomerase (mTR+/−) with long telomeres. The phenotype of the telomerase null offspring mirrors that of the mTR−/− parent despite the fact that half of their telomeres are long, suggesting that the quantity of short telomeres, and not average telomere length, is critical for cell viability and chromosome stability. In people taking a natural product-derived telomerase activator (TA-65®), a significant reduction in the percentage of short (<3 or <4 kbp) telomeres (as measured by a quantitative FISH technology; see (Canela, A., et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2007. 104(13) 5300-5) was detected in the leukocytes, although no change in mean telomere length was seen (Harley, C. B., et al., Rejuvenation Res. 2011. 14(1) 45-56). Changes in the percentage of short telomere abundance therefore is expected to be a more sensitive measurement of the effects of lifestyle and pharmacological or other interventions on telomeres. Another study (Vera et al., "The Rate of Increase of Short Telomeres Predicts Longevity in Mammals", Cell Reports (2012), world wide web URL: dx.doi.org/10.1016/.celrep.2012.08.023) found that "the rate of increase in the abundance of short telomeres was a predictor of lifespan".
Various methods have been developed for the measurement of telomere length, including Southern blotting (Kimura, M. et al., Nature Protocols, 2010, 5:1596-1607), Q-FISH (Rufer, N. et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 1998, 16:743-747), flow FISH (Baerlocher, G. M. et al., Cytometry, 2002, 47:89-99), a higher throughput modification of the Q-FISH assay (HTQ-FISH; see Canela, A. et al., PNAS, 2007, 104: 5300-5305), dual-label centromeres and telomeres FISH (Cen/Tel FISH) (Vander Griend D. J., et al. Prostate 2009 Oct. 1; 69(14):1557-64. doi: 10.1002/pros.21001), dot blot (Kimura M, Aviv A. 2011 NAR), and qPCR (Cawthon, R. M., Nucleic. Acids Res., 2002, 30(10):e47; and Cawthon R M. Nucleic Acids Res. 2009, 37(3):e21).
q-PCR-telomere length (qPCR-TL) measures the abundance of average telomeres normalized with a single copy gene, expressed as T/S ratios. To convert T/S ratios to absolute length in number of bp, telomere restriction fragment length (TRF) various methods have been reported. For example, it was previously reported that this conversion could be determined by Southern blot analysis and compared to T/S ratios (Cawthon, ibid). A linear regression formula was obtained and used to calculate the TRF length of an unknown sample based on its T/S ratio. One critical issue with this conversion is that TRF contains a region of non-telomeric sequence at its centromeric end (subtelomeric sequence). Because the length of subtelomeric sequence varies among individuals, the converted by from T/S ratios based on TRF is only an approximation.
Thus, despite advances in materials and methods for facile determination of relative telomere length or abundance, there remains a need for improved methods and materials for determining differences in telomere length or abundance in subjects compared to appropriate control populations. In particular, there remains a need to determine with great accuracy differences in the relative telomere length or abundance in a subject in order to improve clinical assessments and/or therapeutic regimens in those same subjects. These needs and other needs are addressed by the present invention.


A sheet humidifier which executes a humidifying process to a sheet, the sheet humidifier including: a pair of humidifying rollers each of which has a first surface layer formed of rubber containing plasticizer, the pair of humidifying rollers nipping and conveying the sheet; and two water supply rollers each of which has a second surface layer formed of rubber containing the same kind of plasticizer as the plasticizer of the first surface layer, the two water supply rollers contacting each of the pair of humidifying rollers and supplying water to the each of the pair of humidifying rollers, wherein a hardness of the first surface layer is higher than the second surface layer.

In an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process, a toner image is fixed onto a sheet by heating. However, moisture evaporates from the sheet having been heated in the process of fixing. This causes an uneven distribution in the percentage of water content in the sheet, with the result that sheet bending known under the name of "lenticulation" occurs.
To avoid such lenticulation, a sheet humidifying technology has been developed to supply water to the sheet with an image formed thereon. In such a sheet humidifying process, when a sheet is to be humidified, the entire surface of the sheet must be uniformly humidified. Uniform humidifying processes are proposed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-8282 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,832,359 and 5,895,154.
In the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-8282, water is supplied to the surface of a humidifying roller so that sheets are humidified, when sheets are held and conveyed by a pair of humidifying rollers. A regulating device for regulating the amount of supplied water is built into a water-supplying device for supplying the humidifying roller with water.
In the proposal made in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,359, when sheets are held and conveyed by a pair of humidifying rollers, water is supplied to the surface of a humidifying roller so that the sheets are humidified. The water layer on the surface of the roller for supply water to the humidifying roller is optically detected. Based on the result of detection, water supply is controlled, whereby uniform humidifying is achieved.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,154 proposes a sheet humidifier wherein sheets are humidified by water supplied to the surface of a humidifying roller when the sheets are held and conveyed by a pair of humidifying rollers, and wherein the surface of the humidifying roller is made of fiber.
When a sheet humidifier has been used for a long time, the problem is a failure in ensuring uniform humidifying because of the deteriorated surface of the humidifying roller. The Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-8282, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,832,359 and 5,895,154 disclose inventions of uniformly humidifying all the sheet surfaces. However, the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-8282, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,832,359 and 5,895,154 fail to consider the problem of uniform humidification being disabled by long-term operations.

Sheet humidifier, sheet finisher, and image forming system

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


A micro sensor device for measuring a concentration of a substance within a sample comprises an integrated sensor head having a tip portion adapted to be inserted into a sample, a light source for emitting a beam of light into and through the tip portion with the tip portion capable of interacting with a substance within a sample to produce a reflected pattern of light, and a detector for receiving the reflected pattern of light, and a body portion coupled to the integrated sensor head, the body portion comprising a processor operatively connected to the light source and the detector, the processor for controlling the light source for emitting the beam of light, for receiving the pattern of reflected light from the detector, and for processing the reflected pattern of light to determine the concentration of a substance within a sample.

This invention relates generally to a sensor device and more particularly to a micro sensor device which may be employed in a variety of sensor applications to monitor, sense, or measure a concentration of a material within a sample.
There are numerous applications in which a device is used to monitor or detect a concentration of material within a substance. For example, it may be required to know the concentration of a chemical in a sample of material such as knowing the concentration of sodium, calcium, or some other chemical composition in a sample. Monitoring or detecting a concentration of a substance typically requires a set up of relatively complex, sensitive, and expensive equipment or instrumentation. Sometimes space requirements make it difficult to use the set up of complex equipment and it would be advantageous to have equipment which has small dimensions and is easily transportable. Additionally, such complex equipment may not provide results which are of a high resolution.
One known and important application for monitoring a concentration of a material within a sample deals with checking blood glucose for diabetics. There are at least two known techniques for monitoring blood glucose levels in humans. The first technique is invasive which involves extracting samples with the use of needles or syringes. Typically, for the invasive method, a patient employs a small lancet device which is used to prick or puncture a finger. Blood is then collected onto a strip which has incorporated therein a chemical reagent. The strip is then placed inside of a device that optically reads the chemical reaction of the blood on the strip and converts this to a blood glucose level. It has been found very important to control glucose levels in diabetics to reduce any complications associated with diabetes. Many samples or finger pricks may be required to be taken for analysis during the course of a day. Self monitoring of blood glucose by a patient is therefor very important in the treatment of diabetes. Since finger pricking or lancing is required for self monitoring levels of glucose in a patient, many patients avoid this because it is painful and inconvenient. Therefore, a less invasive procedure would be desirable. The second technique is known as noninvasive and does not require that the skin be punctured. The noninvasive technique typically involves a devices which uses near infrared light to detect blood glucose levels. These devices measure a glucose concentration in blood or an organism's tissue by use of an optical device without the need to collect blood or fracturing a part of the organism's tissue. Although these devices use noninvasive methods, in that no blood is collected, none of these devices have been commercially accepted or viable.
The present invention is designed to obviate and overcome many of the disadvantages and shortcomings associated with the prior use of complex testing and monitoring equipment. Additionally, the present invention is simple to use, provides extremely quick results and high resolution, and is easily transportable. The present invention uses relatively inexpensive components which results in a commercially viable product. Further, the micro sensor device of the present invention is relatively noninvasive since it does not require the drawing of blood and provides immediate results which does not require related blood processing such as centrifugation, storage, transportation, and other time consuming testing.


An earth boring tool for forming a bore underground at a desired percent of grade and a grade sensor (A) for sensing percent of grade as the bore is formed are disclosed. The earth boring tool includes a pipe casing (10) and cutting head (12). Sensor (A) includes dielectric fluid chambers (30b, 32b) formed by chamber plates (30, 32) and a sandwiched capacitor plate (34). Capacitors (34a, 34b) are contacted by the dielectric fluid in the chambers. A differential capacitance signal is produced as a fluid level (80) variably covers and uncovers capacitors (34a, 34b) to produce a varying differential output signal. The differential output signal is converted into a linearly changing percent grade signal (64) by a conversion circuit (44a). The percent of grade signal is displayed on a monitor (C) by which an operator may steer the casing to a desired grade.

In the laying of pipe underground such as in the laying of sewer lines, it is necessary to bore and lay the pipe casing underground at a desired percent of grade. It thus becomes necessary to monitor and control the grade of the casing as the bore is cut and the casing is simultaneously pushed through the underground bore to maintain the desired percent of grade. However, the bore and casing cannot be seen as it is formed through extended links underground and the problem of monitoring and maintaining the desired percent of grade is a problem to which considerable attention must be given in order to avoid re-boring.
Heretofore, remote hydraulic grade indicators have been utilized, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,716, which include a sight tube on an indicator board at a boring station connected to a water line which is affixed to the top of the casing being bored and pushed through the ground. Any deviation in the leading edge of the casing from the desired grade either up or down provides a corresponding response to the water level in the sight tube located in the boring pit. Based on the reading of the sight tube, the operator in the boring pit may pivot the head of the casing which carries a cutting head by means of a mechanical linkage. However, the problem arises that the water line connected to the sight tube must be vented on both ends and if the apparatus is utilized below the water table, water can enter the tube and interfere with the reading at the sight tube. The apparatus also has inherent vibration problems which necessitate that the apparatus be shut down to take a reading of the sight tube. The sight tube cannot be monitored simultaneously with the boring operation. With the vibrations, air locks are often create which interfere with the accuracy of the reading in the sight tube. The above inaccuracies can result in the final line being off grade often requiring re-boring. The range of this apparatus is also limited since it reaches its practical limits owing to the mechanical nature of the system. Due to the pivotable connection of the casing head utilized to steer the casing up and down, there is an open space between the casing head and the casing pipe being laid. This space creates a problem if the apparatus is utilized in soft or sandy soil whereby the soil feeds in through the space resulting in cavein.
Applicant is the inventor of U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,820 disclosing an improved percent grade sensor which includes a light emitting diode and a linear light sensor photopotentiometer arranged in a reservoir filled with a predetermined level of oil. Any changes in the percent grade of the casing head of the boring tool creates a change in the inclination of the oil level in the reservoir. In response, the light transmitted and the intensity of light received by the photopotentiometer is changed. The resulting voltage signal is converted to a digital or decimal readout of percent grade deviation which is used to steer the casing head back to a desired percent grade. While the sensor performs well, it is costly and is highly susceptible to inaccuracies caused by deviation of the casing head and sensor in a roll direction. It has been found that if four or five degrees of roll are exceeded, the reliability of the sensor is effected.
There is a considerable need for an earth boring system and percent grade sensor which is insensitive to vibration, loss of accuracy due to wear of mechanical parts, low end unit cost price, and insensitive to roll movements.
All plan grades are given in percent of grade, for example, point A to point B at 0.5 percent of grade, results in a straight grade from point A to point B with a desired slope. Percent of grade is continuous slope. The use of a water level such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,324,564 monitors differences in elevation from the starting point to the distance of the leading edge of the bore at any time. This has to be converted into a rate of fall or slope which is practically impossible to do and maintain a highly accurate grade. The water level system is highly susceptible to vibration and requires this continuance of boring operations every few feet to allow the system to settle down for the taking of readings. While this time of slope could have deviated by as much as 4-5%. While there are many sensors which read in degrees of angular position, this is undesirable for boring applications. For example, an electronic clinometer manufactured by Schaevitz Sensing Systems, Inc. of Phoenix, Arizona under the trademark ACCUSTAR which senses angular displacement in terms of degrees. The device has been used in many robotic, aircraft, automotive, railroad, and manufacturing applications to measure angular degrees. The device includes two ground plates which sandwich a capacitor plate. Liquid and an inert gas is sealed between the capacitor plates in each half of the housing. When rotated, the sensor provides a linear variation in capacitance which may be electronically converted into degrees of angular position. However, the device does not have an output for percent of grade readings. The output of the sensor is typically a sinusoidal function which is converted into angular degrees.
Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a percent grade monitor for accurately monitoring the grade of pipe casing being bored and pushed underground which is reliable and inexpensive.
Still another important object of the present invention is to provide a grade monitor for monitoring the grade of associate mechanical equipment and machinery which is highly accurate and not susceptible to vibrations, or roll movement.
Still another important object of the present invention is to provide grade monitoring and boring apparatus which accurately senses deviations in the percent of grade of casing being bored and laid and changes the direction of the cutting head accordingly in a highly responsive manner.

Percent grade boring and monitoring apparatus


The present invention provides a capacitive microphone having a capability of acceleration noise cancelation. The microphone includes (1) a moveable functional membrane comprising a basic functional membrane with an area Ao; and (2) a moveable reference membrane comprising a basic reference membrane. The basic reference membrane has one or more holes through the membrane's thickness, and the moveable reference membrane would be identical to the moveable functional membrane if the basic reference membrane does not have said one or more holes. The total area of said one or more holes is Ah, and a hole density HD is defined as Ah/Ao (%), and HD is in the range of e.g. from 0.012% to 2.647%.

A capacitance microphone converts acoustic signal to its mechanical vibration, and further converts to a capacitance signal. FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of parallel capacitive microphone in the prior art. Two thin layers 101 and 102 are placed closely in almost parallel. One of them is fixed backplate 101, and the other one is movable/deflectable membrane/diaphragm 102, which can be moved or driven by sound pressure. Diaphragm 102 acts as one plate of a capacitor, and the vibrations thereof produce changes in the distance between two layers 101 and 102, and changes in the mutual capacitance therebetween.
"Squeeze film" and "squeezed film" refer to a type of hydraulic or pneumatic damper for damping vibratory motion of a moving component with respect to a fixed component. Squeezed film damping occurs when the moving component is moving perpendicular and in close proximity to the surface of the fixed component (e.g., between approximately 2 and 50 micrometers). The squeezed film effect results from compressing and expanding the fluid (e.g., a gas or liquid) trapped in the space between the moving plate and the solid surface. The fluid has a high resistance, and damps the motion of the moving component as the fluid flows through the space between the moving plate and the solid surface.
In capacitive microphones as shown in FIG. 1A, squeeze film damping occurs when two layers 101 and 102 are in close proximity to each other with air disposed between them. The layers 101 and 102 are positioned so close together (e.g. within 5 μm) that air can be "squeezed" and "stretched" to slow movement of membrane/diaphragm 102. As the gap between layers 101 and 102 shrinks, air must flow out of that region. The flow viscosity of air, therefore, gives rise to a force that resists the motion of moving membrane/diaphragm 101. Squeeze film damping is significant when membrane/diaphragm 101 has a large surface area to gap length ratio. Such squeeze film damping between the two layers 101 and 102 becomes a mechanical noise source, which is the dominating factor among all noise sources in the entire microphone structure.
Co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 15/393,831 to the same assignee, which is incorporated herein by reference, teaches a so-called lateral mode microphone in which the movable membrane/diaphragm does not move into the fixed backplate, and the squeeze film damping is substantially avoided. An embodiment of the lateral mode microphone is shown in FIG. 1B. First electrical conductor 201 is stationary, and has a function similar to the fixed backplate in the prior art. A large flat area of second electrical conductor 202, similar to movable/deflectable membrane/diaphragm 102 in FIG. 1A, receives acoustic pressure and moves up and down along the primary direction, which is perpendicular to the flat area. However, conductors 201 and 202 are configured in a side-by-side spatial relationship, not one above another. As one "plate" of the capacitor, conductor 202 does not move toward and from conductor 201. Instead, conductor 202 laterally moves over, or "glides" over, conductor 201, producing changes in the overlapped area between 201 and 202, and therefore varying the mutual capacitance therebetween. A capacitive microphone based on such a relative movement between conductors 201 and 202 is called lateral mode capacitive microphone.
However, such a lateral mode capacitive microphone suffers a problem. An acceleration of the microphone may affect the accuracy of sound detection. An acceleration of 1G on the direction that is normal to the flat area of conductor 202 (or membrane 202) causes a signal to be detected, whose value may be 13% of 1 Pa sound pressure. Signal to Acceleration Ratio (SAR) may be used to define this effect. For example, the SAR for a single slot design structure disclosed in the co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 15/393,831 can be around 7.6, which is much smaller than the typical SAR 70-100 for a conventional MEMS microphone. A microphone with low SAR will suffer from inaccurate signal detection when the microphone vibrates at low frequency. For example, if the microphone, or a device using such a microphone (e.g. a cellphone), is being used in a running automobile, the shake or vibration of the device along the automobile is actually an acceleration applied on membrane 202 and may be "misread" as a sound signal.
Co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 15/623,339 to the same assignee, which is incorporated herein by reference, provides an improved lateral mode capacitive microphone, in which the low SAR effect is compensated. Co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 15/623,339 teaches a motional sensor is used in the microphone to estimate the noise introduced from acceleration or vibration of the microphone for the purpose of compensating the microphone output through a signal subtraction operation. In an embodiment, the motional sensor is identical to the lateral microphone, except that the movable membrane in the motional sensor has air ventilation holes for lowering the movable membrane's air resistance, and making the movable membrane responsive only to acceleration or vibration of the microphone.
However, random air ventilation holes will not have the most desired SAR compensation. Advantageously, the present invention provides a solution to such a problem.

Capacitive microphone having capability of acceleration noise cancelation


In accordance with an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, there is provided an analysis system for classifying possible defects identified within an inspection image of an inspected object, the system comprising a pattern matcher configured to determine an anchor location with respect to the inspection image, based on a matching of a template and a portion of the inspection image; wherein an accuracy of the determining of the anchor location exceeds a resolution of the inspection image; a distribution analysis module configured to determine, based on the anchor location and a mask which defines different segments within an area, a distribution of a potential defect with respect to one or more of the segments; and a classifier, configured to classify the potential defect based on the distribution.

In many implementations, inspected objects are imaged and are searched thereafter to discover target patterns. For example, aerial images may be searched for enemy tanks, textile fabric imaged during manufacture may be searched for holes, and electronic circuits, such as wafers, may be imaged and searched for defects.
Taking the case of defects searched during manufacture of wafers as an example, it is clear that while defects can damage the proper operability of the electronic circuit, impact of different defects on the operation of the electronic circuit may vary. Therefore, some defects may be of no substantial interest to the inspecting party, e.g. if their impact on circuit operation is low. Furthermore, knowledge regarding the different defects may be useful for manufacturing of future similar electronic circuits.
FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate two types of defects in an electronic circuit, wherein each of FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrates an electronic circuit (such as a wafer), scanned using electron beam inspection. The grey level in each one of the circuits illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B is indicative of the pattern of the electronic circuit in that part of the wafer. For example, materials of different conductivity (such as a conducting material and an isolating material) may have different reflection indexes which may be translated to different grey levels. The following discussion pertains to an example in which substantially different grey level values in the image are indicative of different materials of substantially different electrical conductivity.
Defects 10a and 10c (also denoted "edge roughness" defects) are located on the boundary of an area of the imaged layer of the wafer between two different materials. Therefore, the electronic effect of such a defect is relatively limited, and under some circumstances such a defect may be of little interest.
Defects 10b and 10d, on the other hand (also denoted "short gate" defects), are located between two areas of the imaged layer of similar materials, and may indicate a conductive connection between two parts of the electronic circuits which ought to be isolated from each other. Since the electronic effects of such a defect may be relatively significant, under some circumstances such a defect may be further inspected—e.g. in a higher inspection resolution and/or using slower and more in-depth image analysis.

System, method and computer program product for classification within inspection images


Disclosed is a novel adsorbent for use in a 99Mo/99mTc generator, which is a medical diagnostic radioisotope generator, and in a 188W/188Re generator, which is a therapeutic radioisotope generator. The adsorbent composed of sulfated alumina or alumina-sulfated zirconia exhibits adsorption capacity superior to that of conventional adsorbents, and is stable and is thus loaded in a dry state in an adsorption column so that the radioisotope 99Mo or 188W can be adsorbed. Thus, it is possible to miniaturize the column, and such a miniaturized column is small, convenient to use, and highly efficient, and extracts a radioisotope satisfying the requirements for pharmaceuticals, and thus can be useful for radioisotope generators extracting 99mTc or 188Re.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel adsorbent for use in a 99Mo/99mTc generator, which is a medical diagnostic, radioisotope generator, and in a 188W/188Re generator, which is a therapeutic radioisotope generator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Technetium-99m (99mTc), which is a very important radioisotope in the medical field, has been used for various types of medical diagnosis. 99mTc, acting as a γ-ray emitter having a half life of 6 hours, is the daughter radionuclide of molybdenum-99 (99Mo), which is produced through neutron absorption or fission of molybdenum-98 (98Mo), and is useful for medical diagnosis of incurable diseases, such as cancers and cardiac diseases.
In addition to the diagnostic use, recently, as an interest is taken on therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, 188Re is receiving attention as an attractive therapeutic nuclide.
188Re is used for various therapeutic purposes including radioimmunotherapy, synovectomy, and bone pain palliation, and is produced through the decay of the parent nuclide 188W (half life: 69 days), and may be easily obtained in a carrier-free form from a 188W/188Re generator. 188Re has a half life of 16.9 hours and is decayed with β particles, and the β particles have average energy of 764 keV (Emax=2.11 MeV) and emit γ rays (15%) of 155 keV. Therefore, 188Re is advantageous in that an image representing the biodistribution of a compound labeled therewith may be obtained, and pharmacokinetics or uptake quantity in target organs and dosimetry may also be estimated.
Such 99mTc or 188Re may a be repeatedly separated from the parent-daughter mixture using a solvent extraction method or a chromatographic method. The chromatographic method is more easily used than other methods because it needs a small device, is easily operated, and is less limited by temporal constraints. The chromatographic extraction system of 99mTc or 188Re is referred to as a "99Mo/99mTc generator" or "188W/188Re generator". These generators facilitate the extraction of 99mTc or 188Re in hospitals, thanks to convenience and portability, and thus have been generalized in the field of nuclear medicine throughout the world.
Most 99mTc generators that are presently commercially available utilize 99Mo produced through the fission of highly enriched 235U, and such fission 99Mo has extremely high specific activity, and may thus be adsorbed on a small alumina column (1˜1.5 g of alumina). However, the fission of 235U is disadvantageous because gases and solid radioactive materials are produced in large amounts, undesirably causing waste disposal problems which are burdensome and incur high costs.
Among the many methods for extracting 99Mo from various target materials irradiated in an atomic reactor, U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,971 discloses a method and system for generating 99Mo in the uranyl sulfate nuclear fuel of a homogeneous solution nuclear reactor. In this disclosure, the nuclear fuel containing 99Mo is passed through an organic adsorbent for extracting 99Mo to thus recover 99Mo along a closed-loop path. U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,597 discloses a specific organic adsorbent for extracting 99Mo from the solution nuclear reactor mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,971.
Korean Patent Application No. 2002-7007625 discloses an inorganic adsorbent for effectively and selectively extracting 99Mo from an irradiated uranium solution. The adsorbent has high radiation resistance, permitting its use in the high radiation zone of a nuclear reactor. This facilitates a closed cycle extraction process that maintains the uranium concentration of the nuclear fuel through many 99Mo extraction cycles while minimizing radioactive waste disposal problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,053 discloses a 99mTC generator containing zirconium molybdate (ZrOMoO4) gel produced from 99Mo. In this disclosure, the gel is prepared by dissolving 99Mo in a slight excess of aqueous ammonia or sodium hydroxide solution. Specifically, an acid is added to adjust the pH to 1.5˜7, and the produced solution is added to the stirred aqueous zirconium solution to thus form a molybdate precipitate, which is then collected through filtration or liquid distillation, dried in air, and pulverized to a size suitable for use in the generator, thus obtaining zirconium molybdate.
However, because the method of preparing the zirconium molybdate gel includes a plurality of steps of forming the slurry, adjusting the pH, filtering the slurry, conducting washing and drying, and crushing the resultant precipitate to a preferred particle size, it is technically difficult to produce high-quality radioactive zirconium molybdate gel on a commercial scale through so many steps, and the method is thus undesirable.
Further, 98Mo may be irradiated with neutrons, thereby producing (n,γ) 99Mo. This reaction merely results in 99Mo having low specific activity. In the case where a generator is prepared using the same, the use of a column having a large volume is essential. Accordingly, because the volume of an eluent is also increased, only a 99mTc solution having a low activity concentration is produced.
Currently, the international supply of fission 99Mo is mainly dependant on Canada, and thus there is a need to develop alternatives to technetium generators using fission 99Mo as a feed, in order to realize stable supply and avoid long-distance transport. Because the parent nuclide 118W for generating 188Re is not produced by the fission of highly enriched 235U, the introduction of a generator system using a radioisotope produced by radiating a target material in addition to the fission material onto the nuclear reactor is necessary.
However, in the case where the radioisotope is produced through the irradiation of the target material in addition to the fission material, the production yield, which is in proportion to the square of neutron flux, is greatly decreased under conditions in which the nuclear reactor has low neutron flux. The neutron flux of almost of nuclear reactors in Korea, Europe, and North America is relatively low, within the range from about 2×1014 to about 5×1014 n/cm2·s, so that 99Mo or 188W is obtained in a state having low specific activity. Further, upon the preparation of 188W, 186W needs to be subjected to two neutron capture reactions, leading to further decreased yield. In contrast, diagnostic or therapeutic radioactive atoms require high specific activity, and thus, high-performance adsorbents for radioisotope generators are required.
At present, a generator system using an adsorbent having high adsorption capacity for molybdenum has been devised by Kaken Co., Japan. The generator system utilizes a zirconium polymer (PZC) as an adsorbent and (n,γ) molybdenum (having low specific activity) as a 99mTc source. However, the manufacture of the generator column using the above material suffers in that molybdenum is prepared in a batch type and the solution should be heated for a long period of time for the batch reaction, and thereby complicated radiations are required, and furthermore, even if the column is manufactured, the operating performance thereof is deteriorated.

Adsorbents for radioisotopes, preparation method thereof, and radioisotope generators using the same