Methods and systems for consolidating the workflow of various devices into a wireless, voice-enabled workflow. A method includes establishing a connection between a wireless, voice-enabled device and a data system using an interface and accessing the data system using voice commands via the connection between the wireless communication device and the data system. Voice commands may be used to facilitate data acquisition, data retrieval, order entry, dictation, audio playback, voice over IP conferencing, paging, and/or data analysis, for example. A plurality of connections may be established between the wireless, voice-enabled device and a plurality of data systems. WiFi wireless technology or other standard for voice and data transfer between devices without use of cables, for example, may be used to facilitate hands-free hygienic, centralized operation of a plurality of data systems using the wireless, voice-enabled device and the interface.

The present invention generally relates to wireless speech communication in a clinical environment. In particular, the present invention relates to use of wireless voice technology to improve clinical workflow.
A clinical or healthcare environment is a crowded, demanding environment that would benefit from organization and improved ease of use of imaging systems, data storage systems, and other equipment used in the healthcare environment. A healthcare environment, such as a hospital or clinic, encompasses a large array of professionals, patients, and equipment. Personnel in a healthcare facility must manage a plurality of patients, systems, and tasks to provide quality service to patients. Healthcare personnel may encounter many difficulties or obstacles in their workflow.
In a healthcare or clinical environment, such as a hospital, a large number of employees and patients may result in confusion or delay when trying to reach other medical personnel for examination, treatment, consultation, or referral, for example. A delay in contacting other medical personnel may result in further injury or death to a patient. Additionally, a variety of distraction in a clinical environment may frequently interrupt medical personnel or interfere with their job performance. Furthermore, workspaces, such as a radiology workspace, may become cluttered with a variety of monitors, data input devices, data storage devices, and communication device, for example. Cluttered workspaces may result in efficient workflow and service to clients, which may impact a patient's health and safety or result in liability for a healthcare facility.
Data entry and access is also complicated in a typical healthcare facility. Speech transcription or dictation is typically accomplished by typing on a keyboard, dialing a transcription service, using a microphone, using a Dictaphone, or using digital speech recognition software at a personal computer. Such dictation methods involve a healthcare practitioner sitting in front of a computer or using a telephone, which may be impractical during operational situations. Similarly, for access to electronic mail or voice messages, a practitioner must typically use a computer or telephone in the facility. Access outside of the facility or away from a computer or telephone is limited.
Thus, management of multiple and disparate devices, positioned within an already crowded environment, that are used to perform daily tasks is difficult for medical or healthcare personnel. Additionally, a lack of interoperability between the devices increases delay and inconvenience associated with the use of multiple devices in a healthcare workflow. The use of multiple devices may also involve managing multiple logons within the same environment. A system and method for improving ease of use and interoperability between multiple devices in a healthcare environment would be highly desirable.
In a healthcare environment involving extensive interaction with a plurality of devices, such as keyboards, computer mousing devices, imaging probes, and surgical equipment, repetitive motion disorders often occur. A system and method that eliminates some of the repetitive motion in order to minimize repetitive motion injuries would be highly desirable.
Additionally, in a healthcare workflow, healthcare providers often consult or otherwise interact with each other. Such interaction typically involves paging or telephoning another practitioner. Thus, interaction between healthcare practitioners may be time-and energy-consuming. Therefore, there is a need for a system and method to simplify and improve communication and interaction between healthcare practitioners.
Healthcare environments, such as hospitals or clinics, include clinical information systems, such as hospital information systems (HIS) and radiology information systems (RIS), and storage systems, such as picture archiving and communication systems (PACS). Information stored may include patient medical histories, imaging data, test results, diagnosis information, management information, and/or scheduling information, for example. The information may be centrally stored or divided at a plurality of locations. Healthcare practitioners may desire to access patient information or other information at various points in a healthcare workflow. For example, during surgery, medical personnel may access patient information, such as images of a patient's anatomy, that are stored in a medical information system. Alternatively, medical personnel may enter new information, such as history, diagnostic, or treatment information, into a medical information system during an ongoing medical procedure.
In current information systems, such as PACS, information is entered or retrieved using a local computer terminal with a keyboard and/or mouse. During a medical procedure or at other times in a medical workflow, physical use of a keyboard, mouse or similar device may be impractical (e.g., in a different room) and/or unsanitary (i.e., a violation of the integrity of an individual's sterile field). Re-sterilizing after using a local computer terminal is often impractical for medical personnel in an operating room, for example, and may discourage medical personnel from accessing medical information systems. Thus, a system and method providing access to a medical information system without physical contact would be highly desirable to improve workflow and maintain a sterile field.
Imaging systems are complicated to configure and to operate. Often, healthcare personnel may be trying to obtain an image of a patient, reference or update patient records or diagnosis, and ordering additional tests or consultation. Thus, there is a need for a system and method that facilitate operation and interoperability of an imaging system and related devices by an operator.
In many situations, an operator of an imaging system may experience difficulty when scanning a patient or other object using an imaging system console. For example, using an imaging system, such as an ultrasound imaging system, for upper and lower extremity exams, compression exams, carotid exams, neo-natal head exams, and portable exams may be difficult with a typical system control console. An operator may not be able to physically reach both the console and a location to be scanned. Additionally, an operator may not be able to adjust a patient being scanned and operate the system at the console simultaneously. An operator may be unable to reach a telephone or a computer terminal to access information or order tests or consultation. Providing an additional operator or assistant to assist with examination may increase cost of the examination and may produce errors or unusable data due to miscommunication between the operator and the assistant. Thus, a method and system that facilitates operation of an imaging system and related services by an individual operator would be highly desirable.
Thus, there is a need for a system and method to improve clinical workflow using wireless communication technology.

Method and system for utilizing wireless voice technology within a radiology workflow


Problems aligning a slider with a dimple post in manufacture of head gimbal assemblies for disk drive suspensions are obviated by defining left and right optically readable indicia that are visible when the dimple post is not and that serve as a reference for positioning apparatus rather then the dimple post itself.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to manufacture of head gimbal assemblies, known as HGAs. More particularly, the invention relates to manufactures and manufacturing steps that simplify and make more accurate and less time-consuming the juxtaposing of the slider with the dimple when mounting the slider to the flexure tongue. The invention substitutes added optically readable indicia for the outlines of the dimple as the locating criteria for the slider, thus ensuring accurate placement of the slider every time.
2. Related Art
In the manufacture of suspensions comprising a load beam, a flexure attached to the load beam and having a tongue, and a slider, mounted for gimbaling movement around a dimple defined by the flexure tongue or the load beam rigid portion, the positioning of the slider by automatic equipment is essential to efficient manufacture. A misplaced slider, that is a slider that is not properly aligned with reference to the dimple, will not gimbal properly or predictably and is a costly defect that reduces manufacturing yield. Taking additional time to properly place the slider increases costs in a very cost conscience industry.
This application refers to sliders as the mounted element. The term slider herein is used to encompass not only the slider itself, a typically ceramic body designed to fly over the rotating disk in a disk drive, but also to include the read-write head carried within the slider body and connected to the device electronics.
The need for increased accuracy in positioning of sliders must be met at no greater expenditure of manufacturing time. This can be achieved by the use of automatic positioning apparatus using optical reading to locate the correct position. Presently available optical readers, known per se, cannot, however, read with certainty the location of the dimple because the dimple, being an upset or etch formed boss, lacks clear delineation at its junction with the surrounding wall of the flexure tongue or load beam rigid portion. That is, there is not a sufficiently sharp, or uniformly distributed, target for the optical reader to use as a marker for positioning the slider relative to the dimple.
It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide markers of such sharpness and uniformity of distribution that positioning equipment can read and position the slider with reference to them, as opposed to the dimple, with increased accuracy, better speed and fewer defects. It is a further object to provide a system of optically readable indicia, typically geometric shapes, arranged in a pattern useful in the invention method. It is a further object to provide a series of such indicia arranged in such proximity and uniformity of pattern relative to the dimple as to be useful as a proxy for the dimple in locating the slider properly on the flexure tongue. It is a further object to provide an etched dimple in the form of a dimple post that is so small as to be normally hidden below the flexure tongue. It is a further object to provide optical readable indicia laterally adjacent the dimple post to enable optical reading of the indicia although the dimple post is hidden from view, and thus to enable the mounting of the slider with great accuracy.
These and other objects of the invention, to become apparent hereinafter, are realized in a head gimbal assembly of a load beam comprising a wall, a flexure attached to said load beam and having a tongue, and a slider attached to a first side of the flexure tongue, the load beam defining a dimple comprising a solid post extending normal to the load beam wall and positioned, sized and shaped to allow gimballing movement of the slider by contact with a second side of the flexure tongue, the dimple post being hidden from view from the flexure tongue first side, and optically readable indicia formed in the load beam wall laterally of the dimple sufficiently to be visible from the first side of the flexure tongue for precisely locating the slider opposite the dimple post be reference to the optically readable indicia rather than the dimple post.
In typical embodiments, the load beam is locally etched to define the dimple and flexure tongue is locally narrowed opposite the indicia to facilitate location of the indicia immediately adjacent the dimple post while maintaining the indicia visible from the flexure tongue first side, the dimple post is cylindrical, and the optical readable indicia comprise left and right hand holes on a common axis with the dimple post, the flexure tongue having a dog-bone shape to expose the optically readable indicia.
In its method aspects the invention contemplates the method of mounting sliders onto load beams of flexure tongues in position opposite the dimple in a head gimbal assembly comprising a load beam, a flexure having a tongue and a slider, and wherein the load beam defines a dimple as an upstanding post smaller in width than the flexure tongue, that includes marking the situs of the dimple with optically readable indicia comprising left and right load beams holes laterally spaced from the dimple post sufficiently to be visible when the dimple post is not visible, and guiding placement of the slider on the flexure tongue with reference to the optically readable indicia rather than the dimple.
In this and like embodiments, also, there is included forming the dimple post by etching the load beam, and shaping the flexure tongue to expose the optically readable indicia for reading.

Alignment of sliders with a dimple post in head gimbal assemblies


Forces are minimized in an object supported relative to a surface by providing a first, preferably static force sufficient to retain the object is position when at rest, preferably through a clamping arrangement having a first actuator, measuring or predicting an acceleration and applying a second, preferably dynamic force corresponding to the acceleration. The first and second forces are preferably arranged to be additive or reinforcing but the arrangement can be made fail-safe at the expense of increased power consumption by arranging the first force in accordance with the maximum anticipated acceleration and counteracting the first force with the second force for lesser or zero accelerations. The second force is preferably provided by a clamp of arbitrary configuration which can be moved into and out of engagement with the object. By minimizing forces applied to the object in such a manner, damage such as creep and propagation of crystal lattice dislocations over time can largely be prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to frictionally engaged assemblies of parts which are subject to intermittent accelerations and, more particularly, to arrangements for the clamping together of parts which are subject to degradation due to application of high levels of internal stress over time in which the forces caused by the clamping arrangements are maintained at minimal levels even during acceleration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many devices are known in which some of the constituent parts are held together in precise juxtaposition by clamping arrangements of various forms. Clamping arrangements and frictional engagement between parts are often preferred since precise alignment in the mounting plane can be more readily achieved. However, facilitating precise alignment in such a fashion with clamping arrangements often makes the assembly subject to relative shifting of parts in the mounting plane under strong acceleration forces having vector components in the mounting plane (hereinafter referred to as "in-plane" forces) such as impacts on the assembly or its supports (e.g. packaging) either in use or during shipping. This tendency, while undesirable, is often tolerated where one or more of the clamped parts is made of a more or less brittle material and repairable loss of alignment is preferable to breakage of a part during unexpected accelerations while the parts may be maintained in accurate alignment under anticipated in-plane accelerations. For example, a shipping specification may be to withstand accelerations of either three or six "G's" (e.g. three or six times the force of gravity on the mass of the part) during shipping which may be accommodated by the device/assembly, its mounting or protective packaging or a combination thereof. Many clamping arrangements are known which may be used singly or in combination to develop static forces to counteract or withstand virtually any anticipated acceleration up to the level of producing damage to individual parts without relative shifting of parts while providing a degree of protection from breakage.
For an optical system relying on a clamping system to secure optics in place and in alignment, large clamping forces may be required to meet the 6 G specification where the clamping force must at least equal the mass of the optic multiplied by six times the acceleration of gravity. Due to various factors such as available space, materials costs and the like, space for holding the optics may be very small. Large clamping forces applied over small areas for holding or mounting the optic also generate high levels of stress. Unfortunately, some materials from which some parts of an assembly may be made may be subject to degradation of important properties when subjected to stresses for substantial periods of time.
Perhaps more importantly for some optical systems, glass will exhibit stress-induced birefringence (which can be observed, for example, as colors or color fringes when the object is placed between crossed polarizers and transilluminated) which will gradually become permanent over time. Permanence of stress-induced birefringence can also be caused by a relatively few limited temperature excursions in a potentially short period of time or a single temperature excursion if sufficiently great while stress is applied. This phenomenon is well-recognized and has been used for the study of stresses in solid objects for many years. However, in systems where permanent stress induced birefringence is not a desired result and latent and constant stresses are present, it should be recognized that small and uncontrolled changes in environmental conditions can unpredictably accelerate the occurrence of permanent stress-induced birefringence and render an optical system, for example, unusable in a very short time.
Some materials used for the optics may be vulnerable to high stress under accelerations and may fail or break under those conditions. Varying the clamping force, and ultimately the stress, during accelerations may reduce the possibility of damage to the optic.
In other applications such as for clamping of a wafer and/or reticle (both of which are generally subjected to repeated movement and accelerations when in use) in a projection lithography tool where the clamped part has a crystalline structure, small imperfections in the crystal lattice may be caused and/or propagated leading to increased brittleness and possibly breakage.
The amount of force which must be placed on an object to maintain it in a given relative position under a given maximum specified or anticipated acceleration can vary greatly, depending on the material and elasticity of contiguous parts and the mass of the clamped part. Therefore, the amount of stress which is induced in a part by such a force also may vary greatly but once determined and developed by springs, piezoelectric devices and the like which are known for clamping the parts together, generally remains unchanged notwithstanding the fact that important properties of the part(s) may be degraded over time by such a force. In any case, the force required to prevent relative shift of parts under acceleration is greater than the force required to do so when the assembly is at rest, but, by the same token, minimization of clamping forces to limit degradation over time will be insufficient to maintain alignment of parts when an acceleration is encountered.


A method of forming multiple gate oxide thicknesses on active areas that are separated by STI isolation regions on a substrate. A first layer of oxide is grown to a thickness of about 50 Angstroms and selected regions are then removed. A second layer of oxide is grown that is thinner than first growth oxide. For three different gate oxide thicknesses, selected second oxide growth regions are nitridated with a N2 plasma which increases the dielectric constant of a gate oxide and reduces the effective oxide thickness. To achieve four different gate oxide thicknesses, nitridation is performed on selected first growth oxides and on selected second growth oxide regions. Nitridation of gate oxides also prevents impurity dopants from migrating across the gate oxide layer and reduces leakage of standby current. The method also reduces corner loss of STI regions caused by HF etchant.

The present invention relates to methods for the manufacture of semiconductor devices. In particular, the methods involve forming multiple gate oxide thicknesses during the fabrication of integrated circuits for system on a chip (SOC) technology and for embedded DRAM technology.
Complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) field effect transistor (FET) technology involves the formation of n-channel FETs (NMOS) and p-channel FETs (PMOS) to form low current and high performance integrated circuits. These devices contain a substrate having various electrically isolated active areas that are separated by regions of insulating material such as shallow trench isolation (STI) features or field oxide isolation (FOX). A gate oxide which is normally silicon dioxide is grown on the substrate in active areas and then a polysilicon gate electrode is formed on the gate oxide. Ion implantation is then typically used to form source/drain regions in the substrate adjacent to the channel which is below the electrode and gate oxide. For example, boron can be implanted to form p-channels and arsenic can be implanted to form n-channels. The final steps in the process of forming the device consist of depositing an insulating layer on the substrate and forming contacts to the source/drain regions and to the gate electrodes.
The thickness of the gate oxide is critical to the performance of the device. There is a constant need for thinner oxides to allow a higher speed device with lower power consumption. Current technology requires gate oxide thicknesses of about 50 Angstroms or less, One concern associated with a thin gate oxide is that it will not be thick enough to prevent migration of impurities such as boron dopant from occurring between the gate electrode and channel regions which will degrade the device performance. U.S. Pat. No. 6,197,647 describes a method of depositing a thin gate oxide thickness of 5 to 15 Angstroms followed by deposition of a polysilicon layer that contains nitrogen to inhibit the migration of impurities across the gate oxide layer.
For ultra thin silicon dioxide gates, leakage current will increase tremendously as thickness is reduced. This will cause a large current in the standby mode (lOFF) and a large standby power consumption, thereby making products with these devices commercially unacceptable.
Another concern associated with thin gate oxides is that an excessively high voltage applied to the gate electrode can cause a gate breakdown resulting in a short circuit between the gate electrode and source region. A thicker gate oxide will allow a higher breakdown voltage but at the expense of a slower speed for the circuit. To partially alleviate the thickness requirement, a dual gate oxide technology has been developed that consists of thicker oxides in circuits such as I/O applications where higher speed is not needed. A higher voltage of about 5 V can be applied and the thicker oxide will provide good reliability. A second gate oxide thickness that is thinner than the first is used to form integrated circuits that require high speed. These circuits typically operate at a lower voltage of about 2 V.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,972 mentions that dual oxide thicknesses can be formed by means of a nitridation of the substrate in active areas where growth of a thinner oxide thickness is desired. The two different oxide thicknesses are grown simultaneously in the same chamber because growth on the nitrogen implant d active area is retarded compared to growth on an active ar a without a nitrogen implant. A drawback to this approach is that after nitrogen is introduced into the active channel region in the silicon substrate, significant mobility degradation occurs. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,080,682 and 6,232,244 also involve nitridation of a substrate and deposition of a blocking layer to prevent loss of nitrogen during a subsequent annealing process in formation of dual gate oxide thicknesses. Nitridation also has a negative impact on the quality of the silicon interface with silicon dioxide.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,911, a method of forming a dual gate oxide is described. Gate oxides are formed in separate steps and a second thinner oxide thickness is grown after removing a previous thicker growth in regions where a thinner thickness is desired. Another feature of this patent is that the annealing step is performed in a hydrogen atmosphere to reduce the native oxide thickness and improve its quality. A native oxide of 10 Angstroms or less generally forms on a substrate if the surface is exposed to air. Contaminants are removed in the annealing process and the layer is densified from about 10 Angstroms to about 4 Angstroms with improved uniformity.
Oxides are generally grown in a thermal oxidation furnace using a dry oxygen ambient at a temperature of between 600xc2x0 C. and 800xc2x0 C. Other methods of forming thin thermal oxides are by RTO (rapid thermal oxidation) or by ISSG (in-situ steam generation).
With the introduction of system on a chip (SOC) technology, there is a need to form multiple gate oxide thicknesses on a substrate to enable the fabrication of multiple circuits with diff rent functions that can all perform at once. For example, circuits for I/O connections with a relatively thick gate oxide of about 50 Angstroms, circuits for high speed devices with a relatively thin gate oxide thickness of about 20 Angstroms and circuits for low power devices with intermediate gate oxide thicknesses are required to operate simultaneously on a substrate. In some cases, more than three different oxide thicknesses may be necessary. Methods of generating more than two oxide thicknesses usually require etch back of unwanted oxide regions resulting in undesirable STI corner loss. Moreover, a large gate leakage is observed on the thinnest oxides. Therefore, an improved method of making multiple gate oxide thicknesses is needed. The improved method should minimize STI corner loss caused by etching, lower the leakage current for thin oxide layers, and prevent boron mobility between the gate electrode and underlying channel. An improved process will also avoid nitridation of a silicon substrate that leads to a poor silicon/silicon oxide interface and reduced ion mobility.
A recent technology called embedded DRAM or e-DRAM involves a combination of memory and logic functions on a chip. Memory circuits require an effective gate oxide thickness of about 50 Angstroms while low power circuits require an effective gate oxide thickness of 12 to 15 Angstroms and high performance circuits need an effective gate oxide thickness in the range of 8 to 12 Angstroms. Traditional ultra-thin silicon dioxide gates are unacceptable because of a high leakage current and a high mobility of doped impurities such as boron between the gate electrode and channel regions. Therefore, an improved method of making e-DRAM devices is needed so that higher performance can be combined with high reliability to satisfy the demand of new technologies.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a method of forming multiple gate oxide thicknesses during the fabrication of a semiconductor device, micro-electromechanical (MEMS) device, or other device requiring the formation of patterned features on a substrate. Preferably the method will provide a lower effective gate oxide thickness so that a thickness sufficient to prevent gate breakdown can be maintained while improving the performance or speed of the device.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a method of forming multiple gate oxide thicknesses that prevent mobile impurities, especially boron, from migrating between the gate electrode and channel regions of the transistor.
A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a method of forming multiple gate oxide thicknesses that has little or no effect on the integrity of the STI regions in the device, especially minimizing corner rounding that occurs with etch back methods.
A still further objective is to reduce the leakage current across the thin gate oxide layers in the resulting MOSFET to avoid degradation in device performance.
These objectives are achieved by first providing a substrate with active areas separated by regions of insulating material such as STI features. In the first embodiment where a triple oxide thickness is generated, a first layer of silicon dioxide is grown on the active areas. Some regions of the oxide layer are selectively removed by patterning a photoresist layer on the substrate and then etching away the oxide that has been exposed through openings in the photoresist layer. The photoresist is stripped and a second oxide layer is grown on the active areas. The second oxide layer is thinner than the first oxide layer and the second growth adds to the oxide thickness in first growth areas that have not been removed by etching. In first growth regions where the oxide was previously removed by etching, the second growth forms a thinner oxide thickness than was removed by the previous etch. A photoresist is then patterned on the substrate to selectively expose some of the second growth regions. A plasma nitridation is performed which introduces nitrogen into the second growth oxide regions that are uncovered in the photoresist pattern. The nitridation reduces the effective oxide thickness of the second growth gate oxide relative to second growth regions that are not subjected to nitridation. The photoresist is stripped and the substrate is ready for further processing. An annealing step can be performed to remove moisture and contaminants from the substrate and to density the gate oxides into more uniform layers. As a result, there are three effective oxide thicknesses formed. The thinnest oxide layer contains nitrogen which prevents mobile impurities such as boron from migrating between the underlying channel and the gate electrode once the device fabrication is complete. Another advantage is that the number of etch steps has been reduced from two in prior art to one. This reduces the corner rounding damage to the STI features.
In a second embodiment, multiple oxide layers involving four different oxide thicknesses are generated. The first embodiment is followed to the point where a photoresist is selectively patterned over the first and second oxide growth regions. In this case, some of both first and second growth regions are uncovered by the photoresist pattern. Nitridation of the uncovered first and second oxide growth regions reduces the effective oxide thickness in these areas relative to the first and second oxide growth regions that are protected by photoresist. The photoresist layer is then removed, and the substrate is cleaned and annealed. The substrate is ready for subsequent processing in which the gate electrode and source/drain regions are formed. As a result, there are four different effective gate oxide thicknesses on the substrate which can be used to form different types of circuits. Nitridation of two of the four gate oxides helps to prevent boron migration through the gate oxide and reduces leakage of standby current through the gate oxide in the final device. The number of etch steps has been reduced from two in prior art to one which minimizes damage to STI features.
In a third embodiment, multiple oxide layers involving four different oxide thicknesses are generated. The previous embodiment is followed to the point where the etch step after the first oxide growth is shortened so that about 20 Angstroms of first growth oxide remains in regions that are uncovered in the photoresist pattern. This reduces the etching effect on the STI features such that little or no corner rounding occurs. After the photoresist is stripped, another photoresist pattern is formed to selectively expose some of first oxide growth regions that were not reduced in thickness by etch and some first oxide growth regions that were thinned to 20 Angstroms by the etch. Nitridation of the uncovered oxide regions reduces the effective oxide thickness in these areas. The second photoresist layer is then stripped and the substrate is cleaned and annealed. As a result, four different effective oxide thicknesses have been generated on the same substrate that can be used to form four different types of circuits, including I/O, low power, and high performance circuits on the same chip for SOC technology applications. Two of the gate oxides have nitrogen implants that prevent boron migration between the gate electrode and channel regions and reduce leakage of standby current through the gate.
In a fourth embodiment, triple gate oxide layers involving three different oxide thicknesses are generated. A thin RTO oxide is grown on all active regions including one DRAM and two logic regions of the substrate and then HfO2 is deposited. This is a higher k dielectric material than silicon dioxide and reduces the effective oxide thickness and thereby improves performance for a given physical thickness of oxide layer. The oxide is selectively removed from logic regions and a RTO oxide is grown on the active regions. The growth on the high performance active region is retarded because of a previous nitrogen implant. Plasma nitridation is then performed on all gate oxide layers followed by an annealing process. As a result, the hafnium oxide/silicate formed on the DRAM region lowers the effective oxide thickness compared to silicon dioxide which essentially means that the same physical oxide thickness can be maintained to prevent gate breakdown while providing a higher circuit speed that is normally realized only with a thinner thickness. The higher k dielectric material in the gate oxide provides a lower effective oxide thickness. Since all gate oxide regions have nitrogen implants, resistance to boron migration between gate electrode and channel regions has been improved and leakage of standby current is reduced. The method involves only one etch to minimize the effect on STI corners. In this manner, a device for e-DRAM applications can be fabricated which contains DRAM circuits in addition to low power and high performance logic circuits.

Method of generating multiple oxides by plasma nitridation on oxide

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company


Embodiments of the present invention disclose an intelligent device, a task processing method, and a baseband processor. An intelligent device includes a baseband processor and an application processor. The baseband processor is configured to obtain task trigger information which is used to trigger a task corresponding to an application in the intelligent device. Additionally, the baseband processor is configured to determine whether the task is a hosting task of the application, where the hosting task is a task that the application processor instructs in advance the baseband processor to process. Also, the baseband processor is configured to call and execute hosting code corresponding to the task if a detection result is that the task is the hosting task of the application.

With continuous development of the computer field and the wireless communications field, intelligent devices such as a smartphone, a tablet computer and an e-book reader become more popular. Most intelligent devices provide a user with a service by using a third party application that is installed in advance or subsequently.
An intelligent device generally includes an application processor and a baseband processor. In a task processing method provided in the prior art, various local or network tasks corresponding to an application installed in a smartphone need to be processed coordinately by the application processor and the baseband processor. To control power consumption and improve battery life of the intelligent device, when the intelligent device is in a screen locked state and there is no task to be processed coordinately by the application processor and the baseband processor, the application processor enters a sleep state, and the application processor is woken up for processing only when a task that needs to be processed coordinately by the application processor and the baseband processor is triggered.
In a process of implementing the present invention, the applicants find that at least the following defect exists in the prior art.
Most applications installed in an intelligent device need to maintain communication with a server. However, in a process of maintaining communication, many tasks that need to be processed by an application processor are generated. When many such applications are installed in the intelligent device, the application processor is frequently woken up, thereby causing a relatively poor power consumption control effect of the device.

System and method for obtaining task trigger information by a baseband processor of an intelligent device and triggering a hosting task


A method and a system for in-vehicle function control are disclosed herein. In an example of the method, an in-vehicle controller recognizes that a predetermined driver is operating a vehicle. The in-vehicle controller receives data from at least one vehicle system, the data being indicative of a driving behavior of the predetermined driver. The in-vehicle controller compares the data with any of i) positive metrics or ii) negative metrics to categorize the driving behavior. In response to the categorized driving behavior, a signal is provided. In response to the signal, access is granted to any of (i) an infotainment function or (ii) an increased number or range associated with an infotainment function, if the categorized driving behavior is associated with a predetermined number of the positive metrics.

Vehicles may be equipped with telematics units or other in-vehicle controllers that enable hands free calling, vehicle tracking, navigation instruction transmission, and other like features. Telematics units or other in-vehicle controllers may also be configured to activate vehicle settings that are personal to the vehicle user. A user may select desirable settings and configure the telematics unit or other in-vehicle controller from within the vehicle or remotely from the vehicle (e.g., via an Internet-enabled program).

Method and system for in-vehicle function control


The present invention is to provide a stacked type electro-mechanical energy conversion element comprising a stack of superimposed layers with an electro-mechanical energy conversion function having an electrode film formed on a superimposed surface so as to improve the driving efficiency thereof. A part of the electrode film is connected to an electrode film formed on an edge portion of a layer, and on a side face of the stacked electro-mechanical energy conversion element, there are provided a connection terminal connectable to an external power supply, and a wiring portion connecting the connection terminal to the electrode film formed on the edge portion of the layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stacked type electro-mechanical energy conversion element and a vibration wave driving apparatus of stacked structure consisting of a stack of a plurality of piezoelectric bodies and, more particularly, to a configuration for connecting electrodes between layers in the stacked type electro-mechanical energy conversion element.
2. Related Background Art
Piezoelectric elements having the electro-mechanical energy conversion function are used in various use applications. The piezoelectric elements are generally classified into the structure comprised of a single piezoelectric body of plate shape and the stacked structure comprised of multiple piezoelectric bodies of plate shape. The piezoelectric elements of the stacked structure can generate greater distortion with supply of a lower applied voltage than the piezoelectric elements of the structure comprised of only one piezoelectric body of plate shape.
A stacked type piezoelectric element is comprised of a plurality of piezoelectric layers of piezoelectric ceramics and electrode films (hereinafter referred to as internal electrodes) provided on surfaces of the respective piezoelectric layers. For connecting the internal electrodes on the respective piezoelectric layers to each other, it is common practice to provide electrode portions disposed on an outer peripheral surface or an inner peripheral surface of the stacked type piezoelectric element (hereinafter referred to as external electrodes), or to provide through holes along the stack direction in the piezoelectric layers and provide through electrodes (through holes) formed by burying an electrode material in the through holes.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show configurations of stacked type piezoelectric elements used in a vibration body of a rodlike vibration wave motor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,916.
The internal electrodes 103 indicated by hatching are formed on the surfaces of the second and lower piezoelectric layers 102 in the stacked type piezoelectric element 101 shown in FIG. 5. The internal electrodes 103 are not formed on the outer peripheral edges of the piezoelectric layers 102. In other words, the internal electrodes 103 are formed inside the outside diameter of the piezoelectric layers 102. Further, the internal electrodes 103 are out of contact with each other. Connection electrodes 103a (black solid portions in the drawing) are formed on the outer peripheral edges of the piezoelectric layers 102, and the connection electrodes 103a are in contact with the internal electrodes 103.
The internal electrodes 103 on the respective piezoelectric layers 102 are stacked so as to be aligned in identical phases, and the connection electrodes 103a are formed at identical positions on every other layer. Then the external electrodes 104 are formed at positions to be superimposed on the connection electrodes 103a, on the outer peripheral surface of the stacked piezoelectric element 101, so as to connect the connection electrodes 103a on every other layer. Namely, the internal electrodes 103 located in identical phases are arranged as electrically conductible on every other layer.
A plurality of surface electrodes 105 are provided along the circumferential direction and in the phases matched with those of the connection electrodes 103a, on the outer peripheral edge of the surface of the uppermost piezoelectric layer forming the stacked piezoelectric element 101. The surface electrodes 105 are connected to the external electrodes 104.
On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows another stacked piezoelectric element 201, in which the internal electrodes 203 are formed in structure similar to that shown in FIG. 5, on the surfaces of the piezoelectric layers 202 and in which the internal electrodes 203 are connected by the through electrodes (through holes) 204. The through electrodes 204 are exposed at their ends in the surface of the uppermost piezoelectric layer of the stacked piezoelectric element 201, thereby forming the surface electrodes 205.
Further, FIG. 7 shows an application example in which the aforementioned stacked piezoelectric element 101 of FIG. 5 is applied to the vibration body of the rodlike vibration wave motor. A wiring board 111 is kept in contact with the surface electrodes 105 of the stacked piezoelectric element 101, and the stacked piezoelectric element 101 and the wiring board 111 are placed between hollow metal members 21 and 22 of the vibration body. A bolt 23 penetrating a center hole of the stacked piezoelectric element 101 is inserted from the side of the metal member 22 to be screwed into the metal member 21. By tightening this bolt 23, the stacked piezoelectric element 101 and wiring board 111 are pinched and fixed between the two metal members 21 and 22. The wiring board 111 is connected to an unrepresented drive circuit and the drive circuit applies alternating voltages for driving, to the stacked piezoelectric element 101.
Likewise, in the case where the stacked piezoelectric element 201 shown in FIG. 6 is applied, the stacked piezoelectric element 201 and the wiring board 211 in contact with the surface electrodes 205 are also pinched and fixed between the metal members 21 and 22. The stacked piezoelectric element 201, which uses all the through electrodes as means for connecting the internal electrodes to each other, is incorporated into the vibration wave motor of the structure shown in FIG. 7, which is now under practical use as a driving source for driving a camera lens to effect autofocus.
The principle of driving of the rodlike vibration wave motor is as follows: a plurality of different bending vibrations with a temporal phase difference are generated in the vibration body equipped with the stacked piezoelectric element to force the distal end of the metal member 21 forming the vibration body, to perform a motion like a swinging motion. This motion rotates a rotor 24 kept in press contact with the metal member 21, through friction.
An example of the structure of the internal electrodes suitable for such driving is the quartered internal electrodes, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Let us suppose that these internal electrodes are phase A, phase B, phase AG, and phase BG in the circumferential direction. Two internal electrodes located in the positional relation of 180xc2x0 (phase A and phase AG; and phase B and phase BG) are polarized in directions different from each other. These phases A to BG are formed so as to be identical among the second and lower piezoelectric layers, and the internal electrodes of identical phases on the different layers are electrically connected to each other by the aforementioned external electrodes or through electrodes.
When with the phases AG and BG being ground a high-frequency voltage (alternating signal) having a frequency approximately equal to the natural frequency of the vibration body is applied to phase A and to phase B different 90xc2x0 from the phase of phase A with a temporal phase difference between them, two bending vibrations perpendicular to each other are generated in the vibration body.
The method of interposing the stacked piezoelectric element 101, 201 and the wiring board 111, 211 between the metal members 21 and 22 as described above is high in reliability of electrical conduction between the stacked piezoelectric element 101, 201 and the wiring board 111, 211, and easy to assemble.
However, since the wiring board 111, 211 is interposed between the metal members forming the vibration body of the vibration wave motor, this wiring board 111, 211 causes damping of the vibrations. For this reason, there is conceivably plenty of scope for improvement in drive efficiency.
In addition, in the case of the stacked piezoelectric element 101 shown in FIG. 5, where the surface electrodes 105 are formed, for example, by inexpensive screen printing, the heights of the surface electrodes tend to become uneven. Therefore, more careful processing was needed.
The stacked piezoelectric element 201 shown in FIG. 6 required a system for forming the through electrodes and took a lot of processing time.
One of the features of the present invention is to provide a stacked type electro-mechanical energy conversion element comprising a stack of superimposed layers with an electro-mechanical energy conversion function having an electrode film formed on a superimposed surface, wherein part of the electrode film is connected to an electrode film formed on an edge portion of a layer,
wherein on a side face of the stacked electro-mechanical energy conversion element there are provided a connection terminal connectable to an external power supply, and a wiring portion connecting the connection terminal to the electrode film formed on the edge portion of the layer.
When this stacked electro-mechanical energy conversion element is applied to a vibration wave driving apparatus, the alternating signals can be applied from the side to the stacked electro-mechanical energy conversion element, which can obviate the need for interposing a circuit board between an elastic member forming an vibration body and the stacked electro-mechanical energy conversion element.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.

Stacked type electro-mechanical energy conversion element and vibration wave driving apparatus using the same


A light emitting element includes a first electrode, an organic layer formed on the first electrode, a resistance layer formed on the organic layer, a second electrode, and a conductive resin layer formed between the resistance layer and the second electrode.

The present disclosure relates to a light emitting element and a method of manufacturing the same. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an organic electroluminescence element and a method of manufacturing the same.
In recent years, organic electroluminescence displays (hereinafter referred also to simply as "organic EL displays") using an organic electroluminescence element (hereinafter referred also to simply as "organic EL element") have been paid attention to as displays capable of substituting for liquid crystal displays. The organic EL displays are of the self-luminous type, and is characterized by small power consumption. In addition, the organic EL displays are considered to have sufficient response to high-definition, high-speed video signals. In view of these points, developments of organic EL displays for putting them to practical use and commercialization thereof are being conducted vigorously.
In general, an organic EL element has a structure in which a first electrode, an organic layer having a light emitting layer formed from an organic light emitting material, and a second electrode are stacked sequentially. In the organic EL elements, in addition, attempts to control the light generated in the light emitting layer so as to improve the purity of luminescent color or to enhance the luminous efficiency have been made by introducing a resonator structure, that is, by optimizing the respective thicknesses of the layers constituting the organic layer (refer to, for example, WO 01/39554 pamphlet (described as Patent Document 1 hereinafter)).
Here, a problem may arise in connection with the dependencies of chromacity and luminance on viewing angle. That is, as the viewing angle increases, the peak wavelength in the spectrum of light emitted from an organic EL display may be shifted largely or the intensity of the light may be lowered considerably. It is desirable, therefore, to suppress the intensity of resonance to a level as low as possible, or, in other words, to make the thickness of the organic layer as small as possible (refer to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1). Where the organic layer is small in thickness, however, there is a problem that if a particle (foreign matter) or a projected part is present on the first electrode as schematically shown in FIG. 16, the coverage of the organic layer would become imperfect, possibly leading to short circuit between the first electrode and the second electrode. If such a short circuit occurs, in an organic EL display based on the active matrix system, the pixel involving the short circuit constitutes a defective pixel, thereby deteriorating the display quality of the organic EL display. In a passive-matrix type organic EL display, on the other hand, the pixel involving the short circuit would constitute a missing line, thereby again deteriorating the display quality of the organic EL display. Such a problem is exaggerated particularly in large-type organic EL displays, because of severer requirements as to viewing angle characteristics and a reduced number of allowable defects per unit area.
Hitherto, a variety of approaches have been tried to restrain short circuits between the first electrodes and the second electrodes. For instance, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-035667 (referred to as Patent Document 2 hereinafter) discloses a technology of intermittently providing a high-resistance layer between anodes and an organic film, in a bottom emission type organic EL display. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2006-338916 (referred to as Patent Document 3 hereinafter) discloses a technology of forming anodes in a two-layer structure and setting the layer constituting the anodes nearer to an organic layer to be high in resistance, in a top emission type organic EL display. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-209647 (referred to as Patent Document 4 hereinafter) discloses a technology of forming cathodes in a two-layer structure and setting the layer constituting the anodes nearer to an organic layer to be high in resistance, in a bottom emission type organic EL display.

Light emitting element and method of manufacturing the same


In a camera which includes a magnetic head which writes into and/or reads from a magnetic storage portion provided on a film while the film is conveyed. A magnetic head is positioned to stay away from a film when the film is conveyed without being exposed, such as during pre-winding, and is positioned to contact the film when the film is conveyed one frame after an exposure. Such positioning operation is drivingly connected to film-conveying operation by a simple mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in a pre-wind type camera which employs a film having a magnetic storage portion and which comprises: a magnetic head for writing to and/or reading from the magnetic storage portion provided on the film; a pressing element for pressing the magnetic head and the storage portion to touch each other; and a motor for conveying the film.
The above mentioned pre-wind type camera refers to a camera which winds the entire film on a film-winding spool and then rewinds the film one frame at a time.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional film-loading method, a film is loaded by engaging a tip portion, i.e. the leader, of the film protruding from the film cartridge with a sprocket or winding spool and then by rotating the sprocket or the winding spool. In such a method, a user has to take the trouble of setting the leader of the film in a designated position. If the leader is not set in the proper position, the film may not be loaded properly. Further, when setting the leader, the user may draw out and expose the film more than is necessary.
To solve this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,306 discloses a new type film cartridge which is described below and is illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 12.
As shown in the FIGS. 10 to 12, a slit 37 is provided to guide the film out of the cartridge. The film 34 is coiled around a film spool 38 with one of its ends fixed to a recess 38a provided on the film spool 38. Stopper elements 39 having restricting portions 39a are provided concentrically with the film spool 38. The restricting portions 39a keep the outermost layer of the film 34 from radially expanding and touching the inside wall 35a of the film cartridge 35. Releasing elements 40 are provided for deforming portions of the stopper elements 39 to continuously release the outermost layer of the film from radial restriction by the stopper elements 39. The released portion of the film 34 is guided to the slit 37 by guiding elements 41. In this construction, the film 34 can be pushed out of the cartridge 35 by rotating the film spool 38 in the uncoiling direction, since the outermost layer of the film 34 tends to expand by the uncoiling rotation of the spool 38 and presses the stopper elements 39 firmly enough to prohibit sliding between the stopper elements 39 and the outermost layer of the film 34.
In using this kind of cartridge (referred to as a "thrust-type film cartridge"), the user does not have to touch the leader of the film 34 when loading the film 34 in the camera. After the film cartridge 35 is set in the camera, the film 34 is forced out of the film cartridge by the rotation of the film spool 38 transmitted from a fork of the camera until the tip portion of the film 34 hooks or curls around the film spool in the camera. Then the film spool 38 of the camera winds and draws the film 34 to complete the film loading operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,332 discloses a camera wherein a magnetic head writes photographic data, such as shutter speed, aperture, date and title into a magnetic storage portion provided in the film and reads out the data upon request.
Also, Wo90/04203 (PCT/US89/04343) discloses a camera wherein a magnetic head writes into a magnetic storage portion of the film only when one frame has been exposed and the film is being advanced to the next frame.
For accurate writing and/or reading in such a camera, the magnetic head and the storage portion of the film must be pressed to securely touch each other when the head writes to and/or reads from the storage portion. Accordingly, a film-pressing means such as a pressing pad must be provided on the other side of the film from the magnetic head. When the thrust-type film cartridge is employed to accommodate a film having a magnetic storage portion, there exist the following problems:
1) In a construction where the film-pressing means is always pressed to the head by an elastic element such as a spring: PA1 2) In a construction where the film-pressing means or the magnetic head is designed to be moved by a motor or the like in the direction of the thickness of the film so that the film-pressing means or the magnetic head stays away from the path of the film until the tip of the film has passed thereby:
when the film is being pushed out for loading, the tip of the film may be stopped at the film-pressing means or the magnetic head. In such a case, loading the film is no longer possible. PA2 installing another drive source such as a motor raises costs. Also, a complicated electric circuit is required due to the complicated timing involved in pressing the film onto the head.
The magnetic storage portion of the film extends in the lengthwise direction thereof at a predetermined position. To respond to increasing information to be written and/or read, the magnetic head must be precisely positioned at the predetermined position.
The inventor has made an application for a camera comprising a film platen which has a magnetic head fixed thereto and a guide portion and which is movable substantially perpendicular to the film surface and is rotatable on a plane parallel with the film surface, and wherein the film platen is pressed by an elastic element such as a spring so that the guide portion pressingly touches a film edge and thus a magnetic storage portion of the film is precisely positioned with respect to the magnetic head.
When the thrust-type film cartridge accommodating a film having a magnetic storage portion is set in such a camera as constructed above and the film is pushed out for automatic loading, the film tip pushes the guide portion against the restoration force of the elastic element and then the guiding portion abuts against an edge surface of the film. However, there is a possibility that the film may be bent or caught at the guide portion when film is pushed against the force of the elastic element. In such a case, the film can no longer be pushed out.

Camera having a magnetic recording device


A rotation sensor comprising a Y-shaped strip and a conducting strip is disposed in a digital imaging device. The conducting strip is disposed below the Y-shaped strip. The Y-shaped strip has two sensing arms and a fixed arm. A metal piece is disposed on each of the two sensing arms. When the sensing arm hangs down due to the weight of the metal piece to touch the conducting strip, the Y-shaped strip and the conducting strip will form a closed circuit and send out a signal. Whether the digital imaging device is rotated is determined based on this signal. Whether the device body is horizontal or vertical can thus be accurately and quickly determined. Moreover, because the detection is accomplished through gentle deformation or rotation of the sensing arms, there will be no noise during the detection process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor and, more particularly, to a rotation sensor applied to digital imaging devices.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, owing to the continual progress of electronic technologies, digital photography products such as mobile phones, digital cameras and digital camcorders have become indispensable articles in everyday lives of many people. A digital camcorder or a digital camera with the video-capturing function can simultaneously record image and sound to allow people to recall the situation at that time through the cooperation of image and sound.
Among various digital imaging devices, digital cameras are the most popular. When one uses a conventional digital camera, he can only take pictures in accordance with the set horizontal or vertical angle of the viewfinder window and the LCD screen of the digital camera. Therefore, the storage of digital image frames depends on the angle of the digital camera relative to the horizontal direction of the camera body at the time when taking pictures. If the user holds the digital camera in the horizontal direction to capture images, the photographed sceneries in the stored image frames will show a normal erected state. If the user holds the digital camera in the vertical direction to capture images, the photographed sceneries in the stored image frames will show a laid-down state. Therefore, when the user views the photographed images on the LCD screen of the digital camera or edits the photographed images on a display using a computer, the photographed sceneries will show an erected or a laid-down state according to the photographing angle. This not only will cause inconvenience and discomfort in image viewing, but will also result in visual misjudgment during image editing to affect the editing efficiency and effect.
Many manufacturers have added a rotation sensor in the digital camera to solve the above problem. The most common rotation sensor is shown in FIG. 1. A receiving room 12 is disposed on a circuit board 10 of a digital camera. Conducting strips 14 are disposed on all the walls of the receiving room 12. A metal bead 16 is placed in the receiving room 12. When the body of the digital camera is rotated, the metal bead 16 will roll with the rotation of the camera body to allow the metal bead 16 to touch the conducting strips 14. Through the detection of the conducting strips 14, the digital camera can know whether the camera body is horizontal or vertical when taking an image so as to store the taken picture into a corresponding image frame for accurate display of the taken image.
In addition to the picture-taking function, today's digital cameras usually have a video-capturing function and a sound-recording function. During the video-capturing process, however, the digital cameras will also record the rolling sound of the metal bead in the rotation sensor, hence generating noise during the video-capturing process. Besides, the rolling bead type rotation sensor will easily misjudge during detection because that the rolling speed of the metal bead is generally slower tan the photographing speed. Furthermore, the rolling bead type rotation sensor is complicated and expensive in structure and manufacturing cost, hence making digital cameras having the rotation sensor very expensive.
The present invention aims to propose a rotation sensor to solve the above problems in the prior art.


The joint (36) comprises a tubular body (37) having two connecting zones (38, 39) each connected by an end to a tubular element (40) of a fluid transport line, giving continuity to passage of fluid. The tubular body is made of a mixture of an electrically-conductive material such as PVC, with carbon black to give it electrical conductivity. The joint has an internal surface (41) which is destined to come into contact with the transported fluid, and an external surface which is destined to have a grounded galvanic contact. The joint is inserted in the discharge fluid drainage line of a dialyzer filter, in an apparatus for intensive treatment of acute renal insufficiency, for eliminating ECG artefacts due to functioning of peristaltic pumps in the apparatus.

The invention relates to a joint for fluid transport lines for medical use, to a fluid transport line comprising the joint, to an infusion device comprising the line, to a circuit for extracorporeal blood treatment comprising the line, to a machine for extracorporeal blood treatment which is operatively associable to the circuit, and to an apparatus for extracorporeal treatment of blood comprising the machine and the circuit.
Specifically, though not exclusively, the invention can be usefully applied in the field of intensive treatment of acute renal insufficiency.
In the prior art, renal insufficiency, both chronic and acute, is treated by extracorporeal dialytic treatment, in which blood is removed from the patient through a withdrawal line (arterial line) of an extracorporeal circuit; is sent to a first chamber (blood chamber) of a device for extracorporeal blood treatment (dialyzer or dialyzer filter, or artificial kidney), and is returned to the patient through a return line (venous line) of the extracorporeal circuit.
The treatment device comprises a second chamber (dialysis chamber) which is separated from the first by a semi-permeable membrane. The second chamber has an outlet, fluidly connected to a drainage line for a discharge fluid, and generally also has an inlet, fluidly connected to a supply line of a fresh dialysis fluid.
In some treatments, especially in intensive therapy for treatment of acute renal insufficiency, one or more infusion lines can be provided, in particular a first infusion line, for supply of a first infusion fluid into the blood withdrawal line upstream of the dialyzer filter (pre-infusion), and a second infusion line, for supply of a second infusion fluid into the blood return line, downstream of the dialyzer filter (post-infusion).
To set up the treatment, the extracorporeal circuit is associated to a dialysis machine, which comprises at least one blood pump, in general a peristaltic pump, which is predisposed on the withdrawal line and is for the circulation of the blood. Usually the machine also comprises various other pumps, also usually peristaltic, for the circulation of the various fluids which flow in the other fluid transport lines: a drainage pump for circulating the discharge fluid along the drainage line; a pump for circulation of the fresh dialysis fluid along the supply line to the second chamber of the dialyzer filter; and an infusion pump for each infusion line.
Normally, during the course of extracorporeal treatment, some of the patient's physiological parameters are monitored, in particular it is usual to perform the patient's ECG.
One of the problems encountered during a dialysis treatment, especially in cases of intensive therapy, is that the rotation of the peristaltic pumps, in particular the blood pump, causes disturbances (known as artefacts) in the ECG.
This interference problem in the ECG is found both in complex apparatus, such as a dialysis machine for intensive treatment, as well as in more simple apparatus, such as an infusion device comprising an infusion line with a peristaltic pump.
The alteration in the ECG recording can lead to an indistinguishable tracing, or can cause distortions that might be wrongly interpreted and confused with signs of cardiac anomalies.

Joint for fluid transport lines for medical use


A semiconductor device including an insulating film, a plurality of word lines parallel to one another, a gate insulating film and a first conductivity type semiconductor layer that are formed in this order, wherein the surface of said insulating film is rendered flat with respect to the surface of the word lines, and the first conductivity type semiconductor layer includes bit lines comprising a plurality of second conductivity type high concentration impurity diffusion layers crossing the word lines and parallel to one another.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device and a production method thereof. More particularly, this invention relates to a semiconductor device having a novel ROM cell array structure and a production method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A flat cell structure that is simple in construction and can be fabricated easily has been used in the past as a NOR type memory cell of a mask ROM (MROM), as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. A unit memory cell of the MROM having such a flat cell structure is generally referred to as a xe2x80x9csingle drain type memory cellxe2x80x9d. The unit memory cell comprises a MOS transistor that in turn comprises two bit lines 31 formed of two diffusion layers containing a high concentration impurity and adjacent to each other, and a word line 32 formed of a poly-silicon film and crossing the bit lines 31.
Such a memory cell is programmed by a low threshold voltage (Vth=0.5 V, for example) or a high threshold voltage higher than a power source voltage (Vth=5V and power source voltage Vdd=3 V, for example). The memory cell is connected to selection transistors QBTOP and QBBOT and constitutes a NOR type ROM array as shown in an equivalent circuit diagram of FIG. 9.
Generally, sub-micron channel MOSFETs employ an LDD (Lightly Doped Drain) structure in order to cope with degradation resulting from a short channel effect and hot carriers.
However, it is not so easy to apply this LDD structure to the memory cell having the flat cell structure described above for the following reasons. The LDD structure is fabricated by the steps of forming a gate electrode, forming a low concentration impurity diffusion layer with this gate electrode as a mask, forming further a side wall spacer on the gate electrode, and then forming a high concentration impurity diffusion layer using these gate electrode and side wall spacer as masks. In the flat cell structure, on the other hand, a high concentration impurity diffusion layer to serve as bit lines and source/drain regions are first formed and word lines are then so formed as to cross the high concentration impurity diffusion layer. Therefore, the low concentration impurity diffusion layer cannot be formed in self-alignment between the high concentration impurity diffusion layer and a region that is to function later as the channel.
If the low concentration impurity diffusion layer is formed in self-alignment with the high concentration impurity diffusion layer, a series of the following process steps are necessary in addition to the ordinary fabrication steps of:
{circle around (1)} forming an oxide film on the entire surface of a substrate and forming openings of those regions of this oxide film which are to function as the low concentration impurity diffusion layer and as the high concentration impurity diffusion layer;
{circle around (2)} implanting impurities at a low dose by using the oxide film as a mask;
{circle around (3)} depositing further an oxide film on the oxide film having the openings, and etching back this oxide film to form a side wall spacer in the openings;
{circle around (4)} implanting impurities at a high dose using this oxide film and the side wall spacer as the mask; and
{circle around (5)} etching and removing the oxide film and the side wall spacer used as the mask.
As the size of transistors has further been reduced to the size in the sub-micron order, the size of the high concentration impurity diffusion layer is also reduced, and the resistance of the high concentration impurity diffusion layer increases with this scale-down. This increase of the resistance results in the decrease of a driving current of the transistor constituting the cell, and delays the access time to the MROM.
A salicide technology has been employed ordinarily as means for lowering the resistance of the high concentration impurity diffusion layers to function as bit lines. However, the salicide technology that uses the word line as the mask cannot be applied easily to the memory cell having the flat cell structure described above because the word line crosses the bit line and the thickness of an insulating film to be formed on the bit line is equal to the thickness of an insulating film to be formed in regions other than the bit line region and the word line region.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. HEI 6(1994)-291284 proposes, as a NOR type memory cell of another MROM, a high density MROM shown in FIGS. 10(a) to (d).
This MROM has the following construction. Gate electrodes 42 are formed on a bulk Si substrate 40 in which high concentration impurity diffusion layers 41 are formed as bit lines. A silicon layer 43 is formed on the gate electrodes 42, and high concentration impurity diffusion layers 43a are formed in the silicon layer 43. The upper and lower high concentration impurity diffusion layers 41 and 43a are connected to one another at contact portions 44, in consequence, a high integration density is achieved by using in common the gate electrodes 42. In other words, the high integration density is achieved by combining each MROM having the flat cell structure with each MROM having the inverted flat cell structure in such a manner as to share the gate electrode 42 between them.
Nonetheless, the MROM having this construction cannot cope with the short channel effect and lowering of the resistance of the high concentration impurity diffusion layer resulting from scale-down.
The present invention provides a semiconductor device comprising an insulating film, a plurality of word lines parallel to one another, a gate insulating film and a first conductivity type semiconductor layer that are formed in this order: wherein the surface of said insulating film is rendered flat with respect to the surface of said word lines, and said first conductivity type semiconductor layer includes bit lines comprising a plurality of second conductivity type high concentration impurity diffusion layers crossing said word lines and parallel to one another.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of: (a) forming an insulating film and word lines, and flattening the surface of said insulating film with respect to the surface of said word lines; (b) forming a gate insulating film and a first conductivity type semiconductor layer on said insulating film and said word lines; (c) forming a plurality of line-like insulating films parallel to one another and crossing said word lines, on said semiconductor layer; (d) implanting a second conductivity type impurity into said semiconductor layer with said line-like insulating film as a mask, and thereby forming a plurality of second conductivity type low concentration impurity diffusion layers; (e) forming an insulating side wall spacer on said line-like insulating film, and implanting a second conductivity type impurity into said semiconductor layer with said line-like insulating film and said side wall spacer as masks, and thereby forming a plurality of second conductivity type high concentration impurity diffusion layers; (f) forming a salicide film on the surface of said second conductivity type high concentration impurity diffusion layer with said line-like insulating film and said side wall spacer as masks; and (g) forming an inter-layer insulating film on said semiconductor layer inclusive of said line-like insulating film and said side wall spacer.
In still another aspect, the present invention provides a method of producing a semiconductor device which comprises an insulating film, a plurality of word lines parallel to one another, a gate insulating film and a first conductivity type semiconductor layer that are formed in this order: wherein the surface of said insulating film is rendered flat with respect to the surface of said word lines, and said first conductivity type semiconductor layer includes bit lines comprising a plurality of second conductivity type high concentration impurity diffusion layers crossing said word lines and parallel to one another comprising the steps of: (a) forming an insulating film and word lines, and flattening the surface of said insulating film with respect to the surface of said word lines; (b) forming a gate insulating film and a first conductivity type semiconductor layer on said insulating film and said word lines; (c) forming a plurality of line-like insulating films parallel to one another and crossing said word lines, on said semiconductor layer; (d) implanting a second conductivity type impurity into said semiconductor layer with said line-like insulating film as a mask, and thereby forming a plurality of second conductivity type high concentration impurity diffusion layers.

Semiconductor device with bit lines formed via diffusion over word lines


An anti-malware approach uses a storage drive with the capability to lock selected memory areas. Platform assets such as OS objects are stored in the locked areas and thus, unauthorized changes to them may not be made by an anti-malware entity.

Malware (or malicious code) is a catch-all term used to refer to various types of software that can cause problems or damage a computer. It encompasses viruses, worms, Trojan horses, macro viruses, rootkit malware, and backdoors. Malware has evolved to be increasingly more stealthy and targeted.
Malware has become stealthier, in some cases, hiding deep inside the core operating system by infecting kernel modules (e.g., rootkits). Rootkits, especially the ones executing with Ring 0 privileges are very difficult or impossible to detect by current anti-virus solutions (AVS). For example, Ring 0 rootkits may feed incorrect information to anti-virus solutions and thereby disrupt their normal functioning.
Accordingly, new approaches for protecting platforms against malware may be desired.

Storage drive based antimalware methods and apparatuses


A method settling accounts of buyers and sellers of telecommunications services by an online exchange system includes storing data representing a financial account of at least one seller and at least one buyer, wherein the financial account includes at least one of accounts receivable and cash receipts. A service node receives an offer to sell the services from the at least one seller and requests to buy the services from the at least one buyer. The service node then matches the offer and requests in accordance with one or more parameters specified in the offers and requests. A route table is generated based on the routes specified in the matched offers and requests and a switch node is configured based on the route table. Fees are computed based on the usage of the matched routes and the financial accounts of the at least one seller and at least one buyer based on the computer fees.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to online trading exchange systems and, more particularly, to an online telecommunications trading exchange that is capable of automatically settling trading accounts for buyers and sellers of telecommunications services.
2. Description of the Related Art
The cost of a long distance telephone call is usually paid by the calling party rather than by the called party. Payment for the call is typically collected from the calling party by the carrier that originated the service, either directly or through the agency of the caller""s local telephone service provider. Consequently, when a call is placed from a first location served by an originating carrier to a second location served by a different terminating carrier, provision must be made to share with the terminating carrier some of the revenue collected by the originating carrier from the calling party.
For international telephone calls, this revenue sharing has traditionally been accomplished through the use of settlement agreements. Settlement agreements typically establish an accounting rate related to the cost of connecting the call between the countries, and specify how the accounting rate will be split between the two carriers. This split is typically 50xe2x80x9450.
For example, assume that a United States carrier and an overseas carrier negotiate a settlement agreement with a one dollar per minute accounting rate and a 50xe2x80x9450 revenue split. In accordance with the agreement, the U.S. carrier must pay 50 cents for every minute of connect time to called locations serviced by the overseas carrier. Conversely, the overseas carrier must pay 50 cents for every minute of connect time on calls terminated by the U.S. carrier.
As has been recognized, however, the negotiated accounting rate is frequently significantly higher than the actual cost of completing the international call. See, e.g., Frieden, Accounting Rates: The Business of International Telecommunications and the Incentive to Cheat, 43 Federal Communications Law Journal 111, 117, which is hereby incorporated by reference. For this reason, and because outbound calling volumes from the United States are significantly greater than inbound calling volumes from many foreign countries, U.S. carriers make large outbound payments to overseas carriers. In large measure, these charges are ultimately passed on to rate payers.
This payment imbalance is exacerbated when overseas carriers route inbound U.S. traffic under their control via private telephone lines into the United States. In this way, the overseas carriers are able to avoid paying high accounting rate settlements for calls to the United States from their countries, while receiving high accounting rate settlements from U.S. carriers who are forced to route outbound U.S. traffic through the overseas carrier because the overseas carrier is a monopolist in its home country. Moreover, overseas carriers often employ these alternative less-expensive routings for inbound U.S. traffic despite express contractual provisions in settlement agreements prohibiting such behavior.
To date, U.S. carriers have been forced to suffer such payment imbalances and have no immediate way to respond to breaches of contract by overseas carriers because of the significant time and expense required to reconfigure the global network to reroute calling traffic. The cumbersome reconfiguration process gives foreign carriers the opportunity to route inbound U.S. traffic via private lines, and otherwise run up settlement balances, without fear of retaliation from U.S. carriers.
More generally, this inflexible routing structure precludes telephone service providers from taking advantage of fluctuations in world-wide telephone rates. It would be desirable to provide a way for dynamic routing in response to rate changes so as to pass the savings onto the consumer. There is also a need to provide telephone companies with means to dynamically purchase and sell blocks of telephone connection bandwidth.
The need for flexible allocation of connection routes and for an ability to trade connection bandwidth accordingly exists not only in the international arena but in any internal market allowing competition in the field of communications.
The present invention provides a system and method for flexibly routing communications transmissions between networks of different service providers in an efficient manner.
In a preferred embodiment, service providers submit to a server node through a wide-area network offers to sell telecommunications services and requests to purchase telecommunications services. Each of the service offers and service requests includes price or rate, information and the level of quality associated with a telecommunications route defined by an origination location and a destination location. The server node matches the service requests to the service offers and, preferably at the end of each trading cycle, generates a routing plan or rate table based on the matched service requests and service offers. The routing plan is translated or otherwise encoded into a set of routing instructions for a network switch or router connected to the networks of the service providers. Upon receipt of the instructions, the network switch or router routes communications (e.g., voice, fax, or data packets) from a requesting service provider (i.e., buyer) to the corresponding matched offering service provider(s) (i.e. seller) according to the instructions. The network switch or router may include a module for measuring or monitoring the level of quality of transmission of a route through the seller""s network. In the case where the seller""s network is a circuit switched network, network performance parameters such as Post Dial Delay (PDD), Answer Seizure Ratio (ASR), and Average Call Duration (ACD). These quality measurements are then fed back to the server node, which then determines whether the seller""s specified level of quality for the route differs from the quality measurements. If the quality measurements fall below the specified level, a new routing plan will be generated such that the buyer""s telecommunications traffic will be routed through another seller""s network that meets the quality requirements specified by the buyer. If subsequent quality measurements of the original seller""s network indicate compliance once again, a new routing plan is generated such that the buyer""s telecommunications traffic will be once again routed through the original seller""s network.
The server node may be programmed to substantially optimize the routing plan or rate table with respect to one or more parameters such as price, network utilization, traffic volumes, etc.
Telecommunications services such as connect time (e.g., minutes of usage or a fixed period of usage) may be purchased on a transaction-by-transaction (e.g., call-by-call) basis or in larger blocks. Service requests may be submitted manually by an operator of the requesting service provider through a wide-area network such as the Internet, or automatically by a telecommunications node associated with the requesting service provider. The telecommunications node may also be programmed to dynamically monitor current volume and sale or purchase of communication time or bandwidth on the basis of actual and predicted network requirements.
In one embodiment, the server node administers all aspects of the network including authentication of carriers, risk management, financial transactions, settlement, and contract management. The server node is connected to a database that maintains accounting information including its cash receipt accounts, account receivables of each buyer and account payables of each seller, etc. The server node is also connected to a financial service node operated by, for example, a bank. The financial service node maintains financial accounts for the buyers, the sellers, and the server node. When the server node determines a trade has been cleared, e.g., when bids and asks have been matched and calls from a buyer have been routed through a seller""s telecommunications network, the server node informs the financial service node the appropriate amount (based on, for example, Call Detail Records information) to credit and debit from the accounts of the respective buyer and seller. The server node then adjusts the balance of the accounts of the buyer and seller stored in its database.
In the case where the buyer wishes to pay the seller only after a period of, for example, thirty (30) days, from the date the trade is cleared, and the seller wants a shorter payment period, there will be a pre-approved procedure for settling the buyer""s and seller""s accounts. In one embodiment, the server node transmits a pledge to the financial service node, pledging its cash receipt accounts and/or account receivables as collateral or security in exchange for advance payments from the financial service node to the seller who requires a shorter payment period. Upon receipt of the pledge, the financial service node charges the server node""s account a previously agreed fee and credits the seller""s account by the amount of the advance payment. In turn, the server node debits the buyer""s account, maintained in its database, the amount of the advance payment plus the fee incurred by the advance payment.

Method and a system for settlement of trading accounts


A method for providing television advertising includes receiving user input for selecting an advertising parameter and providing a user with an advertisement corresponding to the advertising parameter.

Cable television systems are now capable of providing many services in addition to analog broadcast video. In implementing enhanced programming, the home communication terminal ("HCT"), otherwise known as the settop box, has become an important computing device for accessing various video services. In addition to supporting traditional analog broadcast video functionality, digital HCTs (or "DHCTs") now also support an increasing number of two-way digital services such as video-on-demand.
A DHCT is typically connected to a cable or satellite television network and includes hardware and software necessary to provide various services and functionality. Preferably, some of the software executed by a DHCT is downloaded and/or updated via the cable television network. Each DHCT also typically includes a processor, communication components and memory, and is connected to a television or other display device. While many conventional DHCTs are stand-alone devices that are externally connected to a television, a DHCT and/or its functionality may be integrated into a television or personal computer, as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art.
A DHCT provides users with television programming and television advertising. Many DHCT users, however, often avoid viewing television advertisements. Television advertisements may be avoided in a number of ways including, for example, by switching television channels during an advertisement or by recording a television program and then using trick mode functionality to skip recorded advertisements. One reason for why a viewer may avoid viewing an advertisement is because the viewer may not be interested in the product or service being advertised. Advertisement avoidance results in lower advertisement exposure for advertisers and, therefore, in lower potential revenue for television service providers. Therefore, there is a need for systems and methods for increasing the viewing of television advertisements.

Tracking of presented television advertisements


The disclosure generally relates to compounds of formula I, including compositions and methods for treating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The disclosure provides novel inhibitors of HIV, pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds, and methods for using these compounds in the treatment of HIV infection.

The disclosure generally relates to compounds, compositions, and methods for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The disclosure provides novel inhibitors of HIV, pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds, and methods for using these compounds in the treatment of HIV infection.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been identified as the etiological agent responsible for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), a fatal disease characterized by destruction of the immune system and the inability to fight off life threatening opportunistic infections. Recent statistics indicate that as many as 35.3 million people worldwide are infected with the virus (UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2013). In addition to the large number of individuals already infected, the virus continues to spread. Estimates from 2012 point to close to 2.3 million new infections in that year alone. In the same year there were approximately 1.6 million deaths associated with HIV and AIDS.
There are currently a number of antiviral drugs available to combat the infection. These drugs can be divided into classes based on the viral protein they target or their mode of action. In particular, saquinavir, indinavir, ritonavir, nelfinavir atazanavir darunavir, amprenavir, fosamprenavir, lopinavir and tipranavir are competitive inhibitors of the aspartyl protease expressed by HIV. Zidovudine, didanosine, stavudine, lamivudine, zalcitabine, emtricitibine, tenofovir and abacavir are nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors that behave as substrate mimics to halt viral cDNA synthesis. The non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors nevirapine, delavirdine, efavirenz and etravirine inhibit the synthesis of viral cDNA via a non-competitive (or uncompetitive) mechanism. Enfuvirtide and maraviroc inhibit the entry of the virus into the host cell. An HIV integrase inhibitor, raltegravir (MK-0518, Isentress®), has also been approved for use in treatment experienced patients, and it is clear that this class of inhibitors is very effective as part of a combination regimen containing HIV inhibitors of different classes.
Used alone, these drugs are effective in reducing viral replication: However, the effect is only temporary as the virus readily develops resistance to all known agents used as monotherapy. On the other hand, combination therapy has proven very effective at both reducing virus and suppressing the emergence of resistance in a number of patients. In the US, where combination therapy is widely available, the number of HIV-related deaths has dramatically declined (Palella, F. J.; Delany, K. M.; Moorman, A. C.; Loveless, M. O.; Furher, J.; Satten, G. A.; Aschman, D. J.; Holmberg, S. D. N. Engl. J. Med. 1998, 338, 853-860).
Unfortunately, not all patients are responsive and a large number fail this therapy. In fact, initial studies suggest that approximately 30-50% of patients ultimately fail at least one drug in the suppressive combination. Treatment failure in most cases is caused by the emergence of viral resistance. Viral resistance in turn is caused by the replication rate of HIV-1 during the course of infection combined with the relatively high viral mutation rate associated with the viral polymerase and the lack of adherence of HIV-infected individuals in taking their prescribed medications. Clearly, there is a need for new antiviral agents, preferably with activity against viruses already resistant to currently approved drugs. Other important factors include improved safety and a more convenient dosing regimen than many of the currently approved drugs.
Compounds which inhibit HIV replication have been disclosed. See WO2007131350, WO2009062285, WO2009062288, WO2009062289, WO2009062308, WO2010130842, WO2011076765, WO2012003497, WO2012003498, WO2012033735, WO2012065963, WO2012066442, WO2013012649, WO2013043553, WO2013062028, WO2013073875, WO2013134113, WO2013134142, WO2014021867, WO20140028384, and WO2014164428.
The invention provides technical advantages, for example, the compounds are novel and are useful in the treatment of HIV. Additionally, the compounds provide advantages for pharmaceutical uses, for example, with regard to one or more of their mechanism of action, binding, inhibition efficacy, target selectivity, solubility, safety profiles, or bioavailability.

Imidazopyrimidine macrocycles as inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus replication