An image pickup apparatus certifies unchanged image data by photographing a person using the image pickup apparatus. Two steps are carried out with the image pickup apparatus, coding image data and enciphering the coded image data, which includes changing the original data to encryption data. The enciphering also includes adding a watermark to the coded data. The coding of the image data and enciphering of the coded data are performed before the coded data is stored in a medium or is transferred to another device.

The present invention relates to image pickup and enciphering image data. In the past an image pickup apparatus was a camera that makes an image on film at the time of shutter pressing by chemistry.
Therefore, the image that was picked up was fixed on the film. A alteration was only added on the photographic printing paper to which an image is transcribed from the film and it was done to judge the addition of a alteration to the image by looking at a film.
The digital camera that accumulates in a medium, such as a hard disc, an image that was picked up has in recent years appeared instead of a film camera. A digital data does not need to be developed, and it is done to send digital data immediately by using data communication. Digital camera is fast spreading from the easiness ease of use. There is a problem of a difficulty of a judgment whether there has been alteration to an image.
Protection can be done so that the third party, without the authority of access, cannot alter data due to that enciphering in a conventional data protection technical. But, there was a problem of not being able to prevent a present the image data that was picked up from being altered, even when there is a right of authorship and a third party without a authority uses it.
A guarantee cannot be made against alteration to a data on the receiving side.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the image pickup that can certify an addition or alteration in image data by a photographing person in another person. The another person is for example, a receiver of image data.
An other object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup that can certify an addition or alteration of image data by an image data addressee in the photographing person and a third party.
To achieve the object, two steps are coding an image data and enciphering the coded image data(ciphering to change: original data to an encryption data). The enciphering includes adding a watermark to the coded image data.
The enciphering is done before the coded data is stored in medium or is transferred to another device, when the expression is changed.
Processing unit enciphers an image marked image data in the present invention in the image pickup equipment. Case of transmitted data to external equipment such as a client terminal, enciphered image data is transmitted. The processing unit calculates a check-sum of image data, adds the check-sum to image data, and then enciphers the image data that has the added said check-sum. As a result, an addition or an alteration by an image data of photographing person can be certified to the image data addressee.
As a result, an addition or alteration of image data by an image data addressee can be certified to the photographing person and a third party.
And this Invention Includes as Follows
A digital camera for receiving an optical image and outputting trusted digital image data, is comprising, an optical-electrical system having an optical input for receiving the optical image, and an optical-electrical processor responsive to the optical image and generating the trusted digital image data representative of a security image superimposed with the optical image. In the digital camera, said optical-electrical processor generates a enciphered digital image data as the trusted digital image data. In the digital camera, the trusted digital image data is a still image data. The digital camera is comprising a storing device connected to said optical-electrical processor, and storing the trusted digital image data. The digital camera is further comprising a display device connected to said optical-electrical processor, and displaying the trusted digital image data. The digital camera is further comprising a communication control device connected to optical-electrical processor, and transferring the trusted digital image data to an external device. In the digital camera, the trusted digital image data is displayed with a data showing falsification, if anyone falsified the trusted image data.
A method performed by a single apparatus is comprising receiving an optical image, and outputting trusted digital image data representative of the optical image. In the method performed by a single apparatus, said apparatus is digital camera. The method is further comprising optical-electrical processing of the optical image, and generating digital image data representative of security image superimposed with the optical image as the trusted digital image data. The method is further comprising, performing all of said steps prior to outputting or storing the trusted digital image data. In the method, said outputting step outputs a enciphered digital image data as the trusted digital image data. In the method, the trusted digital image data is a still image data. The method is further comprising, storing the trusted digital image data. The method is further comprising, displaying the trusted digital image data. The method is further comprising, transferring the trusted digital image data to an external device. In the method, the trusted digital image data is displayed with a data showing falsification, if anyone falsified the trusted image data.
A digital camera for receiving an optical and outputting trusted image data, is comprising an optical-electrical system having an optical input for receiving the optical image, and means for generating the trusted digital image data as representative of a security image superimposed with the optical image and prior to storing or outputting of any digital image data representative of the optical image.
System for receiving an optical image and outputting trusted digital image data, is comprising, means for generating the trusted digital image data as representative of a security image superimposed with the optical image and prior to storing or outputting of any digital image data representative of the optical image.

Digital camera storing and outputting encrypted digital image data


The invention relates to a method for recovery of Nd2Fe14B grains from bulk sintered Nd—Fe—B magnets and/or magnet scraps. In this method the Nd—Fe—B magnets (1) and/or magnet scraps are anodically oxidized using a non-aqueous liquid electrolyte (5), said anodic oxidation releasing the Nd2Fe14B grains (6) in said Nd—Fe—B magnets (1) and/or magnet scraps. The released Nd2Fe14B grains (6) are collected during and/or after said anodic oxidation. The proposed method allows a more environmental friendly and cost-effective way for recycling EOL Nd—Fe—B magnets/Nd—Fe—B magnet scraps.

Diverse methodologies hitherto for recycling Nd—Fe—B magnets have been summarized in detail by many authors [1, 8, 11]. The recycling approaches can be broadly classified into physical/mechanical processing, pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical seperation & recovery. Physical/mechanical processing, including resintering [12, 13], hydrogenation disproportionation desorption and recombination (HDDR) [14-16], recasting and melt spinning [17] of sintered Nd—Fe—B magnet scrap will typically have a smaller environmental footprint compared to recycling routes, which rely on stripping of the REEs. However, the potential disadvantages arise about the high oxygen content (typically 2000-5000 ppm oxygen) entrained in the REE-rich grain boundary phase [18]. The oxide could not be extracted out, because of which grain boundary modification is required by adding REE metals or REEs-containing alloys [13, 19]. The pyrometallurgical routes can be used to remelt the REE alloys and extract the different REE in the form of oxide, halide, fluoride or other metallic compound which can then be reduced to metallic form [20-25]. However, these pyrometallurgical processes operate at a temperature of around 750-950° C. and are thus energy intensive. Hydrometallurgical recycling processes designed for Nd—Fe—B magnets are promising due to the mild operating temperature, relatively simple equipment and the continuous separation ability [4, 9]. In hydrometallurgical processes, however, Nd—Fe—B magnets are completely dissolved with an acid. The roasting pretreatment at 900° C. is generally required. Iron, which is the major component of Nd—Fe—B magnets (60-70%) consumes large amount of acid, alkali and other precipitation agents that cannot be recycled in the whole process [8, 9]. REEs are concentrated by solvent extraction and then are precipitated with either oxalic or carbonic acid. The precipitate is further calcined at 950° C. to form REOs, which can then be returned to the initial manufacturing process for Nd—Fe—B magnets [26]. To summarize, the magnet-REEs-magnet recycling requires large amounts of chemicals and considerable energy with harmful emissions to the environment. Generally, sintered Nd—Fe—B magnets contain 87-92% Nd2Fe14B phase which is barely oxidized due to the protection of the grain boundary (typically Nd-rich phase) [18, 27]. Therefore, in stead of recovering REEs from the end-of-life Nd—Fe—B magnets or magnet scraps, direct recovery of the Nd2Fe14B phase for fresh NdFeB magnets making would dramatically reduce the chemical usage and energy consumption. However, up to date a facile, energy efficient and environmentally friendly route for recovery of the Nd2Fe14B phase is yet to be presented.
The various approaches for recycling Nd—Fe—B magnets have been investigated worldwide. One of these approaches is to bulk-recycle all the materials in an Nd—Fe—B magnet without separation. This has been termed "magnet-to-magnet recycling". For instance, the hydrogenated Nd—Fe—B powder from voice coil motors (VCMs) was used to produce sintered magnets. After a brief milling treatment, the powder was aligned, pressed and re-sintered and this procedure was repeated four times with a progressive fall in the density (7.56-6.70 g cm−3) and in the magnetic properties (remanence: 1180-1053 mT, coercivity: 870-343 kA m−1). The chemical analysis indicated that this was due to the progressive oxidation of the Nd-rich material (oxygen content: 1.84-4.12 at. %) and to some Nd loss by evaporation (neodymium content: 13.78-13.02 at. %). On resintering, the grain boundary phase no longer melts due to the higher melting point of the oxide and therefore full density cannot be achieved in the resintered magnets. Therefore, extra REE metals/alloys has to be added to aid liquid phase in the grain boundary during sintering, in order to achieve full density. [Zakotnik, M., I. Harris, and A. Williams, Multiple recycling of NdFeB-type sintered magnets. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2009. 469(1-2): p. 314-321 and Zakotnik, M. and C. Tudor, Commercial-scale recycling of NdFeB-type magnets with grain boundary modification yields products with 'designer properties' that exceed those of starting materials. Waste management, 2015. 44: p, 48-54].
Other bulk-recycling approaches such as resintering, hydrogenation disproportionation desorption and recombination (HDDR), recasting and melt spinning of sintered Nd—Fe—B magnet scrap have been investigated as well. Since the bulk-recycling of Nd—Fe—B magnets leaves the REOs phase to remain in the grain boundary without seperation, higher REOs content with the repeated recycling could not be avoided which significantly degrades the magnetic properties. The addition of extra extra REE metals/alloys would results in higher cost for recycled magnets making. [Lalana, E. H., et al. Recycling of Rare Earth Magnets by Hydrogen Processing and Re-Sintering. in European Congress and Exhibition on Powder Metallurgy. European PM Conference Proceedings. 2016. The European Powder Metallurgy Association. Lixandru, A., et al., A systematic study of HDDR processing conditions for the recycling of end-of-life Nd—Fe—B magnets. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2017. 724: p. 51-61. Itoh, M., et al., Recycling of rare earth sintered magnets as isotropic bonded magnets by melt-spinning. Journal of alloys and compounds, 2004. 374(1-2): p. 393-396].
Extraction of all the REEs from NdFeB magnets for new magnet production is an alternative way for recycling. This could be termed "magnet-REEs-magnet recycling". High-temperature processing of Nd—Fe—B magnet is to selectively convert REEs in the magnet into another phase (i.e., from metallic RE to RE chlorides) which separates the main non-REE components. The separated REEs in the other phase can be used for RE metal production through molten salt electrolysis or metallothermic reduction. Nd—Fe—B magnet scrap can be selectively extracted using molten MgCl2—KCl salts at temperatures of 600-1200° C. REs in the scrap are transformed to RECl3 (2RE+3MgCl2=2RECl3+3Mg) where the overall extraction efficiency for REs can reach >90%, [Hua, Z., Wang, J., Wang, L., Zhao, Z., Li, X., Xiao, Y and Yang, Y., Selective extraction of rare earth elements from NdFeB scrap by molten chlorides. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2014. 2(11): p. 2536-2543].
Other selective extraction of REEs by liquid metal extraction, molten slag extraction, direct melting and direct electrochemical refining can also realize high REEs recovery efficiency. [Moore, M., et al., A route for recycling Nd from Nd—Fe—B magnets using Cu melts. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2015. 647: p. 997-1006. Yang, Y., S. Abrahami, and Y. Xiao. Recovery of rare earth elements from EOL permanent magnets with slag extraction. in Proceedings of the 3rd International Slag Valorisation Symposium, 2013. Bian, Y, et al., Recovery of rare earth elements from NdFeB magnet by VIM-HMS method. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2016. 4(3): p. 810-818. Kamimoto, Y., et al., Recovery of rare-earth elements from neodymium magnets using molten salt electrolysis. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 2016: p. 1-5].
High-temperature processing of Nd—Fe—B magnet generally operates at a temperature of around 750-950° C. and is thus energy intensive. Hydrometallurgical recycling processes operated at a mild temperature to recover REEs are alternative methods for Nd—Fe—B magnets recycling. Conventionally, Nd—Fe—B magnet scraps are milled with/without roasting (annealing in air). The obtained powders are completely dissolved in concentrated HCl/H2SO4 solutions. Subsequently, REEs can be precipitated from leach solutions by adding oxalic acid or hydrogen fluoride to form oxides or fluorides. The recovery of REEs can reach over 90%. [Bandara, H. D., K. D. Field, and M. H. Emmert, Rare earth recovery from end-of-life motors employing green chemistry design principles. Green Chemistry, 2016. 18(3): p. 753-759. Peelman, S., J. Sietsma, and Y Yang, Recovery of Neodymium as (Na, Nd)(SO4)2 from the Ferrous Fraction of a General WEEE Shredder Stream. Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy, 2018: p. 1-12].
Recently, studies on selective leaching of the REEs have been reported. However, selective leaching of REEs in the magnet scrap is challenging due to the presence of large amount of Fe in the magnet alloy and in the scrap. Quite often a high temperature treatment is needed to completely convert all the metallic phases to oxides which increases the selectivity of REEs over Fe and other transition metal elements. [Lee, C.-H., et al., Selective leaching process for neodymium recovery from scrap Nd—Fe—B magnet. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 2013. 44(13): p. 5825-5833. Yoon, H.-S., et al., The effect of grinding and roasting conditions on the selective leaching of Nd and Dy from NdFeB magnet scraps. Metals, 2015. 5(3): p. 1306-1314. Vander Hoogerstraete, T, et al., From NdFeB magnets towards the rare-earth oxides: a recycling process consuming only oxalic acid. RSC Advances, 2014. 4(109): p. 64099-64111].
In recent patents on recycling of spent or scrapped Nd—Fe—B magnets, efforts were paid on 1) resintering of milled waste materials mixed with raw sintered Nd—Fe—B powder/REE metal (alloys) and 2) selective recovery of REEs from completely leached magnet solution or high temperature molten salts. Selective recovery of Nd2Fe14B grains from waste Nd—Fe—B magnets has not yet reported up to date. [Sun, B. and Y Duan, High-performance NdFeB permanent magnet produced with NdFeB scraps and production method thereof. 2017, Google Patents. Berggren, M., et al., Rare Earth Materials Recovery System. 2018, Google Patents. Harris, I. R., A. Walton, and J. D. Speight, Magnet recycling. 2017, Google Patents. Taylor, P. R. and B. N. Carlson, EXTRACTION OF RARE EARTH METALS FROM NdFeB USING SELECTIVE SULFATION ROASTING. 2016, Google Patents. Harris, I. R., et al., Magnet recycling. 2014, Google Patents].
In summary, the "magnet-to-magnet recycling" of Nd—Fe—B magnets leaves the REOs phase to stay in the grain boundary without any seperation, higher REOs content with the repeated recycling could not be avoided which significantly degrades the magnetic properties. The addition of extra extra REE metals/alloys would results in higher cost for recycled magnets making. While the proposed "magnet-REEs-magnet recycling" of Nd—Fe—B magnets requires either high energy input or multiple process steps with consumption of large amount of chemicals which generates large amount of waste and effluents.


A flexible organic light emitting diode (OLED) device and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The manufacturing method includes forming a flexible base; forming a light emitting layer on the flexible base; evaporating a barrier material including a precursor polymer, a photoinitiator and a cross-linking agent on a surface of the light emitting layer; and irradiating a light beam on a surface of the barrier material during evaporating the barrier material, so as to form a barrier layer on a surface of the light emitting layer to block water and oxygen.

At present, organic light emitting diode (OLED) devices are widely used because of their low power consumption, high contrast ratio, wide viewing angles, light and thin flexibility. Main application fields of OLED display technology include mobile phones, TVs, micro display devices, VR devices, and vehicle display devices. OLED display technology will replace TFT-LCD products and become the next generation of mainstream display technology.
Most important performance indicators of OLED devices include luminous efficiency and service life of the devices. At present, improvement of the luminous efficiency of OLED devices mainly depends on development of new functional materials and optimization of device structures. However, the service life of the device depends on packaging of the device, in addition to development of materials and device structures. Since OLED devices are highly sensitive to water and oxygen gases, presence of water and oxygen are the main cause of reduced service life of the devices.
In order to extend the service life of the device, OLED devices are typically packaged using packaging technology. Currently, the most common packaging technology is forming an inorganic layer and an organic layer or the two alternating multilayer structure to block water and oxygen contact with OLED devices by using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD) methods. However, this packaging technology reduces production efficiency due to its long packaging time, and this packaging technology uses expensive equipment and higher material cost, which increases production costs.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide a flexible OLED device and a manufacturing method thereof to solve the problems existing in the prior art.

Flexible OLED device and manufacturing method thereof

Wuhan China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd.


A casing (10) of an indoor unit (1) contains an indoor fan (21), an air filter (30), and an indoor heat exchanger (22). The indoor unit (1) includes: a divider plate (25) which includes an air hole (26) for attaching the air filter (30) therein, and divides space inside the casing (10) into a room upstream of an air flow passing through the air filter (30), and a room downstream of the air flow passing through the air filter (30); a dust removing mechanism (50) for removing dust trapped on the air filter (30); and a dust container (90) for containing the dust which is removed by the dust removing mechanism (50), and is transferred through a transfer duct (88). The indoor heat exchanger (22) is arranged around the indoor fan (21), and the dust container (90) is arranged below the indoor heat exchanger (22).

Indoor units of air conditioners having an air filter at an air inlet have been known. In an indoor unit of this type, an air blowing fan and a drive motor are arranged substantially in the center of a casing, a heat exchanger is arranged outside the air blowing fan, a front panel having a suction grille is arranged on the front side of the casing, and an air guider is arranged between the front panel and the air blowing fan.
Room air is sucked through the suction grille by the air blowing fan, and is supplied to the heat exchanger through the air guider. Then, the air that exchanged heat in the heat exchanger is blown out through outlets formed in the front panel outside the suction grille.
An air filter for preventing dust contained in the sucked air from entering the casing is detachably attached to the front panel inside the suction grille. Therefore, a user has to regularly remove the dust adhered to the air filter.
For example, Patent Document 1 describes an indoor unit of an air conditioner having an air filter at an air inlet. The indoor unit includes a dust removing section for sucking the dust trapped on the air filter with a suction nozzle while rotating the air filter, and a dust collecting device for containing the dust removed by the dust removing section. With this configuration, the dust trapped on the air filter can be removed, and the removed dust can be collected in the dust collecting device without requiring user intervention.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-83612


The invention relates to a top framework of a folding top for vehicles, which comprises a trapezoidal main bow, which can pivot about a horizontally extending vehicle transverse axis. On both sides of the main bow in each case there is provided an at least one-piece lateral roof frame and a front roof frame interconnecting the lateral roof frames such that they can be deflected transversely outwards. The lateral roof frames are coupled to the main bow by further framework members in such a way that, during the shifting of the upright main bow, they are forcibly controlled into a stowage position near to the obliquely inclined strut sections of the lateral struts of the main bow. In order to retain substanially the width of the passenger compartment of the vehicle when the top is folded back, the inclined strut sections of the main bow run with an inward offset with respect to the lateral contour of the vehicle and clearly more steeply, and on the outside of the strut sections there is arranged on both sides of the vehicle a roof skin retaining rail which can be transferred from a stretching position lying essentially flush with the surface plane of the side wall into a folding position moved closer to the assigned strut section.

The invention relates to a top framework of a folding top for vehicles of the type which comprises a trapezoidal main bow which can pivot about a horizontally extending vehicle transverse axis. Lateral roof frames extend in the vehicle longitudinal direction at both lateral sides of the main bow. A front roof frame interconnects the lateral roof frames such that they can be deflected transversely outward during top folding operations. Further framework members couple the lateral roof frames to the main bow in such a way that during shifting of the upright main bow the lateral roof frames are forcibly controlled into a stowage position adjacent to and substantially parallel to obliquely inclined struts sections of lateral struts of the main bow as viewed both in the vehicle transverse plane and in the vehicle longitudinal plane.
Such a top framework is described in German Patent Specification 3,405,920, which concerns an embodiment with two-piece lateral roof frames which can for their part be folded onto each other during the course of the lowering movement of the folding top The trapezoidal main bow of this top framework is in this case designed such that, with main bow upright, its lateral struts lay in the plane of the front side windows of the convertible, since they secure the textile covering behind the rear edges of the side windows.
In order not to confine unnecessarily the seating width in the rear seat area of the convertible by the lateral roof frames swivelled into the transverse plane of the main bow, the roof frames can be swivelled outwards into an associated compartment for the top during the course of the folding-in movement of the folding top, so that they are laid down directly alongside or on top of the assigned struts when the top is fully folded back.
However, the seating width on the rear seat bench is also confined to a slight ex tent by the main bow being of trapezoidal design. Due to the material retaining function of the struts, the extent of this seating width confinement depends directly on the lateral inclination of the side windows, so that with exactly vertically extending side windows there would be no seating width confinement whereas with an increasing angle of inclination with respect to the vertical direction of extent of the side window the fully available seating width also decreases to the same degree.
Furthermore, a folding top for vehicles in which the struts of the main bow themselves only indirectly secure the material of the top behind the side windows is known from German Patent Specification 3,523,433. For direct securing of the material of the top, there is mounted on each of both sides of the main bow a material retaining rail on the assigned strut, which rail can be swivelled out of an outwardly deflected stretching position, in which it predetermines the lateral inClination of the textile covering when the folding top is closed, into a swung-in folded position, in which it runs parallel or virtually parallel to the assigned strut.
The width reduction of the folding top associated with the folding-in of the material retaining rails makes it possible to lower said top into a trapezoidal compartment for the top which is integrated into a tapered vehicle rear end.
However, the width reduction of the folding top does not benefit the seating width in the rear seat area since the lateral extensions of the compartment for the top have to be dimensioned wide enough for the lateral roof frames, mounted around a horizontal vehicle transverse axis, to be capable of being swung into this compartment as well.
An object of the invention is to further develop a folding top of the type mentioned above for vehicles to the effect that the passenger compartment width of the vehicle is affected as little as possible by the area taken up by the folded-back folding top.
This object is achieved according to the invention by providing an arrangement wherein the inclined struts of the main bow extend with an inward offset with respect to the lateral contour of the vehicle and clearly more steeply, and wherein on the outside of the strut sections there is arranged on both sides of the vehicle a respective roof skin retaining rail which can be transferred from a roof skin stretching position lying essentially flush with a surface plane of the side wall into a folding position moved closer to the assigned strut section. Due to the clearly steeper course of the inclined strut sections in relation to the lateral inclination of the side windows, a better approximation of the trapezoidal main bow to the rectangular shape of the same, to be aimed for due to the complete constancy of width, is produced.
Since the roof skin retaining rails can be folded in, seen in the vehicle transverse plane of the main bow, out of an outwardly spread-apart stretching position into a position in contact with the assigned strut section, whereas the lateral roof frames can be swung out during the course of the folding-back operation of the top framework into an approximately parallel position next to the inclined strut sections, when the main bow is shifted completely over, a compact cluster of all side wall framework parts on both sides of the vehicle is produced, which in each case only takes up a minimal design width.
Since, in addition, the direction of extent of these clusters follows that of the steeply running strut sections, only very little passenger compartment width is lost by the folded-back top.
A further advantage of this design is to be seen in that the necessary transverse deflection of the lateral roof frames is greatly reduced, since the envisaged axial direction for the lateral roof frame articulation can no longer run approximately perpendicular to the lateral inclination of the side windows but approximately perpendicular to the direction of extent of the assigned strut sections. This results in an increase in the smoothness of the action of the top framework during folding back and at the same time makes possible a simplification of the connections between the lateral roof frames and the roof cap, which now only has to permit a clearly smaller transverse deflection.
If the length necessary in terms of design of the lateral roof frames is not clearly greater than the length of the struts of the top, the roof frames may each be designed as a continuous bar profile, providing a greater transverse stability of the lateral roof frames together with a simplification of the seal in the connection region to the upper edge of the side windows. However, a precondition for this design is a turning-over control for the combination of lateral roof frames and front roof frames which can however, be performed forcibly by means of a rod transmission constructed in accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Top framework of a folding top for vehicles


A spacer displacement device for a wafer illumination unit comprises an actuator, a spacer which can be displaced between an active and an inactive position by the actuator, and a force transmission element which is coupled to the actuator. The force transmission element consists of wire.

In a photolithography process, a wafer illumination unit can be used for illuminating a photoresist applied to the wafer. The illumination takes place through a mask, in such a way that in accordance with the shadow of the mask particular regions of the photoresist are not illuminated. As a function of the illumination, physical properties of the photoresist change in such a way that it can be removed in part in a subsequent step, resulting in a (positive or negative) photoresist image of the mask being left on the surface of the wafer.
In subsequent steps, the wafer can subsequently be processed to produce three-dimensional structures. In this way, for example semiconductor chips or MEMSs (microelectromechanical systems) can be produced.
For correct illumination of the photoresist, it is important that the mask is positioned at a precisely defined distance from the wafer. For this purpose, a plurality of the spacers may be used which are displaced from the inactive to the active position by the spacer displacement device when they are required so as to position the mask.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a known wafer illumination unit 10 along with the spacer displacement devices used therein. A total of three spacer displacement devices 12, 14, 16 are attached to a base body 11 of the wafer illumination unit. These each contain an actuator 18 to which a pivot arm 20 is assigned. In each case a spacer, for example a spacer ball ("proximity ball") or a disc, a roller etc., is attached to the free end of the pivot arm 20, remote from the pivot axis.
To displace the pivot arms 20 from the inactive position shown in FIG. 1 to the active position shown in FIG. 2, each actuator 18 comprises a toothed rod which acts on a gearwheel segment 22 which is attached to each pivot arm 20 concentric with the pivot axis thereof. When the toothed rod is displaced in translation inside the actuator 18, this leads to a pivot movement of the pivot arm 20.
The known construction is relatively complex.
The object of the invention is therefore to provide a spacer displacement device which is of a simpler construction and operates more reliably.

Spacer displacement device for a wafer illumination unit and wafer illumination unit


A light beam is directed towards a surface along a direction normal to the surface. The surface is caused to move so that the beam scans the surface along a spiral path. An ellipsoidal mirror is placed with its axis along the surface normal to collect light scattered by the surface and any anomalies at the surface at collection angles away from the surface normal. In some applications, a lens arrangement with its axis along the surface normal is also used to collect the light scattered by the surface and any anomalies. The light scattered by the mirror and lenses may be directed to the same or different detectors. Preferably light scattered by the surface within a first range of collection angles from the axis is detected by a first detector and light scattered by the surface within a second range of collection angles from the axis is detected by a second detector. The two ranges of collection angles are different, with one detector optimized to detect scattering from large particles and defects and the other detector optimized to detect light from small particles and defects.

The invention described in the present disclosure relates to a process and an assembly for the non-destructive inspection of surfaces, particularly for the measurement of small particles, defects, and inhomogeneities on and/or just below the surface of a test object, such particles, defects, and inhomogeneities collectively referred to herein as anomalies. It relates in particular to an instrument described below as the preferred embodiment for inspecting a silicon wafer, the instrument having a light source that generates a light beam, a beam deflector, an optical system that projects the incident beam on a light spot perpendicular to the test object, a photodetector to which the collected light is guided, and an assembly by which the test object is moved by a coordinated translational and rotary movement, so that the light spot scans the whole of the surface along a spiral path.
Such types of process and/or assembly can be used, for example in microelectronics, for the non-destructive checking and inspection of the surfaces of wafers, magnetic storage media, and/or substrates for optical applications, to determine the presence of any particles and/or defects.
The development of wafer-exposure processes has made it possible to manufacture wafer surfaces with ever finer structures parallel to this development, inspection systems that permit the detection of ever more minute defects and particles have become increasingly important. Apart from particles that account for about 75% of all waste in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICS), inspection systems must be capable of detecting many other types of inhomogeneity, such as variations in the thickness of coatings, crystal defects on and below the surface, etc.
In the final inspection by wafer manufacturers and the inward-goods inspection by chip manufacturers, the unstructured, uncoated wafer must therefore be subjected to extremely searching examination for particle contamination, light-point crystal defects, roughness, polishing scratches, etc. If the test object has a rough surface, then a large amount of stray surface scattering will result. Thus, for this purpose, the test object has a well-polished surface that produces very little diffused light.
In chip manufacture it is usual to monitor each stage of the process, in order to recognize problems as early as possible and thus avoid undue waste. One method of process monitoring is to use so-called monitor wafers which remain unstructured but pass through some of the process stages. Comparison of two measurements, the first before the process stage and the other after it, can thus, for example, help determine the amount of particle contamination due to that process stage or indicate variations in the evenness of the process stage, for example the distribution of the coating thickness over the whole of the wafer. The surfaces subjected to inspection may be rough and metallized, and therefore, produce a great deal of diffused light, or they may be film-coated surfaces that cause interference-fringe effects. Thus, ideally the inspecting instrument has a wide dynamic range to permit defect and particle detection of a wide variety of surfaces.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process and assembly for non-destructive surface inspections


The present invention provides a method for decoding a video signal, which includes: generating a first prediction block according to a prediction mode of a current block; checking the prediction mode of a neighboring block adjacent to the current block; generating a second prediction block based on the prediction mode of the neighboring block; generating a final prediction block by applying a weight to the first prediction block and the second prediction block; and reconstructing the video signal by using the final prediction block.

Compression encoding means a series of signal processing technology for transmitting digitalized information through a communication line or for storing digitalized information in a form appropriate to a storage medium. Media such video, an image, and a voice may be a target of compression encoding, particularly, technology that performs compression encoding using video as a target is referred to as video compression.
Next generation video contents will have a characteristic of a high spatial resolution, a high frame rate, and high dimensionality of scene representation. In order to process such contents, memory storage, memory access rate, and processing power technologies will remarkably increase.
Therefore, there is a need to design a coding tool for processing next generation video contents more efficiently. In particular, an intra prediction generates a prediction block having various directions or no directionality with reference to an area adjacent to a current block. In this case, when a prediction mode of the current block differs from the prediction mode of a neighboring block, the difference value tends to increase in a boundary area of the prediction block, and as a result, it is necessary to improve a boundary area of a block in order to reduce an increased difference value.

Method and apparatus for encoding and decoding video signal using intra prediction filtering


A sponge with microfiber which includes a foam sponge having a front side, a back side, and a plurality of edges between the front and back sides and a microfiber material laminated to one side of the foam sponge. The microfiber material may be inset from all edges of the foam sponge on the side of the foam sponge to which it is laminated and one or more of the plurality of edges of the foam sponge may be contoured and comprise a beveled edge and/or a chamfered edge.

Sponges with microfiber are commercially available for everyday cleaning. However, existing sponges with microfiber typically have microfiber fabric or material sewn around the entire perimeter of an absorbent sponge. In some products, an absorbent sponge is enclosed within two pieces of microfiber material sewn together with one side comprising a microfiber material having scrubbing strips attached to it (also know as the grim buster side) and the other side comprising a microfiber material without such scrubbing strips (also known as the soft side).
Currently existing microfiber sponges all have absorbent sponges that are completely contained within a microfiber fabric or microfiber material. In addition, the sponges are contained within the microfiber fabric or microfiber material by sewing one or more pieces of microfiber fabric or microfiber material around the sponges. Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks with the currently existing microfiber sponges. For example, the sewn edges of the microfiber fabric or the microfiber material around the edges of the sponge can get caught and/or snagged while cleaning and, as a result, can get torn away from the sponge that is contained by them. Sewing the edges of the microfiber fabric or the microfiber material around the perimeter of a sponge is not the strongest and most durable process for enclosing the sponge within the microfiber fabric or microfiber material. As a result, the currently existing microfiber sponges are less durable and therefore have a shorter useful lifespan than other types of cleaning products. In addition, currently existing microfiber sponges cannot be used for a number of applications, such as in tile and grout applications, where a user needs to remove a specific amount of material (e.g. grout between tiles) during the clean up process.
Accordingly, there is a need for a strong, durable sponge with microfiber that can be used for a variety of applications including those applications where it would be beneficial to have both a sponge surface and a microfiber fabric or material surface available for cleaning.


Static and/or dynamic balancing of a CT gantry is provided by electronically positionable masses incorporated into the gantry structure that may be moved to nullify gantry imbalances caused by variation in components specifications or replacement of components on a balanced gantry.

Not applicable
Not applicable
Current computed tomography (CT) imaging systems may provide an annular gantry that receives a patient within a gantry bore and rotates about the patient.
The gantry supports an x-ray source to project, for example, a fan shaped x-ray beam extending along the plane of rotation of the gantry toward the bore. The x-ray beam will thus pass through the patient where it is then received by a detector array. The detector array is held on the gantry opposite to the x-ray source with respect to the bore.
As the gantry rotates, a series of x-ray projections of a xe2x80x9cslicexe2x80x9d of the patient are obtained at different angles. These projections are reconstructed mathematically, for example, using the well known filtered back projection algorithm, to create a tomographic image of that slice. The patient may be moved axially through the bore to obtain data on adjacent slices which may be assembled to provide data about arbitrary volumes of interest within the patient.
The rotational speed of the gantry affects the time necessary to obtain the tomographic image and thus, generally, higher speeds of rotation of the gantry are desired. Higher speeds increase the importance of static and dynamic balance of the gantry.
Current approaches to balancing the gantry attempt to control the center of gravity and mass of the components mounted on the gantry, to a tight specification, so that the assembled system is within balance. These components generally include the x-ray source and detector, signal processing circuitry, power supplies and cooling systems. The gantry may then be manually balanced by the addition of weights or movement of components, a time consuming and difficult task.
The need to precisely control of the center of gravity and mass of the components on the gantry increases the cost of these components. Tight specification of center of gravity and mass hamper design improvements and make multiple sourcing of the components more difficult. When a component is replaced in the field, the gantry may need to be rebalanced. Such field rebalancing is more difficult than balancing during manufacturing when the greater accessibility to the gantry, balancing weights, and balancing tools may be had.
The present invention attaches at least one electronically positionable weight to the gantry during the manufacturing process or in a retrofit operation. Movement of the weight corrects for imbalance and thereby allows much reduced tolerances for the mass and center of gravity of the gantry components. The weight may be optimally positioned on the gantry without concern for accessibility because it is electronically controlled. The electronic control further allows for the implementation of automatic balancing mechanisms that may be easily performed in the factory or in the field.
A key to the invention is the recognition that a limited set of such electronically positionable weights may provide for arbitrary static and dynamic gantry balancing, however, subsets of this ideal set of weights may also be used to advantage.

Dynamic balancing system for computed tomography gantry

GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC


A robotic tool changer removably attaches a robotic tool to a robotic arm. The changer includes a tool module connected to the robotic tool, and a master module connected to the robotic arm. To attach and detach the robotic tool, the changer couples and uncouples the tool module and the master module. A master electrical signal module (ESM) affixes to the master module and a tool ESM affixes to the tool module. In accordance with design requirements, the changer applies the same power supply to both the master ESM and the tool ESM. The changer, however, selectively suppresses application of the power supply to the tool ESM, while maintaining application of the power supply to the master ESM, during the coupling or uncoupling of the master module and the tool module. In doing so, the changer enables such coupling and uncoupling, while also preventing the formation of transient electric arcs.

Robots are widely utilized in industrial assembly line and other manufacturing applications to perform repetitive tasks very precisely without the need for human operation, interaction, or supervision. For example, robots are commonly used in the automotive industry to perform a number of tasks such as material handling, cutting, welding, and the like.
To amortize the considerable cost of an industrial robot over a variety of tasks, the robot arm is typically separate from a diverse array of robotic tools, which are removably attached to the end of the robot arm. Different tools are removably attached in such a way through use of a tool changer. The tool changer consists of a body for mechanically attaching the robot arm to a tool and one or more utility modules connected to that body for passing various utilities, such as electrical power, between the robot arm and the tool. Specifically, one half of the tool changer body, called the master module, is permanently affixed to the robot arm. The other half, called the tool module, is affixed to each tool that the robot may utilize. When the robot arm positions the master module adjacent the tool module connected to a desired tool, the master module actuates a coupler to mechanically attach the master and tool modules together.
With the master and tool modules so attached, utility modules may provide for the passing of utilities between the robot and a tool. For example, a master electrical signal module may be affixed to the master module and a tool electrical signal module may be affixed to the tool module. The master electrical signal module includes electrical contacts that mate with those of the tool electrical signal module when the master and tool modules are coupled together. With these electrical contacts mated, electrical power is transferred from one or more power supplies, across the master and tool electrical signal modules, and made available at the tool.
Design restrictions of many tool changer applications dictate that electrical power transferred to the tool electrical signal module must be shared with the master electrical signal module (i.e., the master electrical signal module and the tool electrical signal module must use the same one or more power supplies). Accordingly, because the master electrical signal module must provide electrical control signals to the master module for actuating the coupler, the one or more power supplies must remain on during the coupling and uncoupling of the master and tool modules. As a result, transient electric arcs form across the electrical contacts of the master electrical signal module and the tool electrical signal module during the coupling/uncoupling process. Especially when high inrush current exists, arcing accelerates the wear of the contacts and thereby diminishes the contacts' electrical life below their mechanical life.
Various methods are known to mitigate damage to the electrical contacts caused by arcing. Improving the material composition of the electrical contacts, for example, permits the contacts to better withstand the strain of arcing. These methods, however, merely prolong the electrical life of the contacts (e.g., to a point still short of their mechanical life) because arcing still occurs.


Provided are a perfluoroelastomer composition which contains 100 parts by weight of a perfluoroelastomer containing a constituent unit derived from a nitrile group-containing monomer, and 0.01 to 5 parts by weight of ketjen black; and a sealing material including a crosslinked product of the perfluoroelastomer composition.

Sealing materials (gasket, packing, etc.) are used for various applications, and are required to have characteristics depending on the applications. When sealing materials are used under a high temperature environment, for example, heat resistance is required. In a film-forming step in the production of a semiconductor device and a flat panel display, there is a case where ozone having a strong oxidation power is used. A sealing material used in a production device that uses ozone is required to have resistance to ozone (ozone resistance). In addition, when a sealing material is used under an environment exposed to plasma, it is required to have resistance to plasma (plasma resistance).
In the production of a semiconductor device including a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) device, cleaning with plasma may be carried out to remove unnecessary deposits generated in a process chamber during film formation. In particular, a method for cleaning by introducing fluorine radicals generated by NF3 remote plasma into a process chamber has been widely used because of excellent cleaning efficiency.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. H08-151450 (Patent Literature 1), Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-263038 (Patent Literature 2) and Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2010-037558 (Patent Literature 3) focus on the ozone resistance of a sealing material. Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-098609 (Patent Literature 4) and WO 2004/094527 (Patent Literature 5) focus on the plasma resistance of a sealing material.

Perfluoroelastomer composition and sealing material


Formulations of pesticides are disclosed, specifically pesticidal blends of essential oils and other ingredients, that have been found to enhance the activity of the active pesticidal ingredients. The formulations may be, for example, emulsions or dust formulations. For example, a composition for controlling a target pest is disclosed that comprises at least one active agent and a formulation agent, wherein: the active agent is capable of interacting with a receptor in the target pest; the active agent has a first activity against the target pest when applied without the formulation agent and the composition has a second activity against the target pest; and the second activity is greater than the first activity.

While the first recorded use of chemicals to control pests dates back to 2500 BC, only in the last 60 years has chemical control has been widely used. Early pesticides included hellebore to control body lice, nicotine to control aphids, and pyrithrin to control a wide variety of insects. Lead arsenate was first used in 1892 as an orchard spray, while at the same time it was discovered that a mixture of lime and copper sulphate (Bordeaux mixture) controlled downy mildew, a fungal disease of grapes. Many of the more recent pesticides have been developed to target specific biochemical reactions within the target organism, e.g. an enzyme necessary for photosynthesis within a plant or a hormone required for normal development in an insect.
Recently, there has been increased research into the deleterious effects of chemical pesticides, with concomitant efforts to develop safer alternatives to current commercial pesticides. Some of this research has focused on the use of natural products, such as combinations of chemicals obtained from plants, such as essential oils.
In general, synthetic chemical pesticides and natural pesticides are applied in particular formulations that facilitate their use against pests in the field. For example, hydrophobic pesticidal compounds, such as essential oils, have been used in formulations, such as emulsions, that permitted admixture with water to form a spray. However, in general, these formulations have simply been employed to facilitate application of the pesticide directly to the pests or to the surfaces or environments inhabited by the pests.
Microemulsions are clear uniform liquid mixtures of oil, water and surfactant. In part, because its surfactant component is a wetting agent that lowers the surface tension of liquid, microemulsions tend to consist of a mixture that can be spread easier than other mixtures and thus provide greater surface area. Perhaps for this reason, considerable attention has been directed toward microemulsion-based pesticidal formulations. Although the formulation of microemulsions is far from being an exact science, as many oil based pesticides are not able to microemulsify and the interactions between oil, emulsifiers and water molecules are still not completely understood, microemulsion formulations appear to be an emerging standard for the formulation of hydrophobic pesticides in water-based carriers.
Efforts to improve the activity of pesticides have been mainly directed toward discovering new compounds that may act as active ingredients of the pesticide. Heretofore, attention has not been focused on the optimization of formulations specifically as a route to improve the activity of the active pesticidal ingredients in the formulations.

Enhanced formulations, compositions and methods for pest control


A phase-change memory device has a phase-change layer, a heater electrode having an end held in contact with the phase-change layer, a contact plug of different kinds of material having a first electrically conductive material plug made of a first electrically conductive material and held in contact with the other end of the heater electrode, and a second electrically conductive material plug made of a second electrically conductive material having a specific resistance smaller than the first electrically conductive material, the first electrically conductive material plug and the second electrically conductive material plug being stacked in one contact hole, the heater electrode and the second electrically conductive material plug being held in contact with each other in overlapping relation to each other, and an electrically conductive layer electrically connected to the second electrically conductive material plug.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a phase-change memory device and a method of manufacturing a phase-change memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Phase-change memory devices employ in their memory cells a phase-change layer (a chalcogenide semiconductor thin film or the like) whose electrical resistance changes depending on its state. Chalcogenide semiconductors are amorphous semiconductors including chalcogen elements.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a portion of the periodic table which is illustrative of chalcogen elements. As shown in FIG. 1, chalcogen elements include S (Sulfur), Se (Selenium), and Te (Tellurium) in group 6 in the periodic table. Chalcogenide semiconductors are used in generally two fields, optical disks and electric memories. Chalcogenide semiconductors used in the field of electric memories include GeSbTe (hereinafter referred to as "GST") which is a compound of Ge (Germanium), Te (Tellurium), and Sb (Antimony), AsSbTe, SeSbTe, etc.
FIGS. 2A and 2B of the accompanying drawings are diagrams illustrative of the principles of a phase-change memory.
As shown in FIG. 2A, a chalcogenide semiconductor can take two stable states, i.e., amorphous state 10 and crystalline state 30. For switching from amorphous state 10 to crystalline state 30, the chalcogenide semiconductor needs to be supplied with heat in excess of energy barrier 20.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the amorphous state exhibits a higher electrical resistance corresponding to a digital value "1" and the crystalline state exhibits a lower electrical resistance corresponding to a digital value "0". This allows the chalcogenide semiconductor to store digital information. The amount of current flowing through the chalcogenide semiconductor or a voltage drop across the chalcogenide semiconductor is detected to determine whether the information stored in the chalcogenide semiconductor is "1" or "0".
Heat supplied to cause a phase change in the chalcogenide semiconductor is Joule heat. Specifically, pulses having different peak values and different pulse durations are applied to the chalcogenide semiconductor to generate Joule heat in the vicinity of contact surfaces of the electrodes and the chalcogenide semiconductor, and the Joule heat causes a phase change.
Specifically, after the chalcogenide semiconductor is supplied with heat at a temperature near its melting point, when the chalcogenide semiconductor is quickly cooled, it switches into the amorphous state. After the chalcogenide semiconductor is supplied with heat at a crystallizing temperature lower than the melting point for a long period of time, when the chalcogenide semiconductor is cooled, it switches into the crystalline state. For example, after the GST is supplied with heat at a temperature near the melting point (about 610° C.) for a short period of time (1 through 10 ns), when the GST is quickly cooled for about 1 ns, it switches into the amorphous state. After the GST is supplied with heat at a crystallizing temperature (about 450° C.) for a long period of time (30 through 50 ns), when the GST is cooled, it switches into the crystalline state.
As shown in FIG. 2B, switching from the amorphous state into the crystalline state is referred to as "setting" (crystallizing process), and a pulse applied to set the chalcogenide semiconductor is referred to as a "setting pulse". It is assumed that the minimum temperature (crystallizing temperature) required to crystallize the chalcogenide semiconductor is represented by Tc, and the minimum time (crystallizing time) required to crystallize the chalcogenide semiconductor is represented by tr. Conversely, switching from the crystalline state into the amorphous state is referred to as "resetting" (amorphizing process), and a pulse applied to reset the chalcogenide semiconductor is referred to as a "resetting pulse". Heat applied to the chalcogenide semiconductor for resetting the chalcogenide semiconductor is heat at a temperature near the melting point Tm. After the chalcogenide semiconductor is melted, it is rapidly quenched.
FIGS. 3A through 3D of the accompanying drawings are diagrams illustrating a basic structure of a phase-change memory device and the manner in which the phase-change memory device is set and reset.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the phase-change memory device is of a basic structure having chalcogenide semiconductor layer (phase-change layer) 46 sandwiched between upper and lower electrodes 48, 42. Lower electrode 42 is mounted on substrate 40 and isolated from upper electrode 48 by electric insulating film 44. Upper electrode 48 is connected to terminal P to which a setting pulse will be applied. Lower electrode 42 is connected to ground (reference electrode).
As shown in FIG. 3B, the phase-change memory device shown in FIG. 3A is equivalent to resistor R1. The resistance of resistor R1 varies depending on whether chalcogenide semiconductor layer 46 is in the amorphous state or the crystalline state. Setting pulse S1, i.e., a pulse having a peak value in excess of threshold value Vth, resetting pulse S2, i.e., a pulse having a peak value greater than setting pulse S1 and a shorter pulse duration than setting pulse S1, and reading pulse S3, i.e., a pulse having a peak value smaller than threshold value Vth and a longer pulse duration than setting pulse S1, are selectively applied to terminal P. Threshold value Vth represents a lower-limit voltage at which Joule heat required for crystallization can be generated.
FIG. 3C shows the relationship between setting pulse S1 and a temperature rise caused by the Joule heat that is generated when setting pulse S1 is applied to terminal P. In FIG. 3C, the upper curve represents the waveform of the voltage of setting pulse S1, and the lower curve 51 represents the manner in which the temperature increases due to the Joule heat.
The voltage value of setting pulse S1 is in excess of threshold value Vth, and the pulse duration of setting pulse S1 is represented by tcry. Pulse duration tcry is equal to or longer than crystallizing time tr, i.e., the minimum time required to crystallize the chalcogenide semiconductor. The temperature rise due to the Joule heat is considerably lower than melting point Tm and higher than minimum temperature Tc required for crystallization (crystallizing temperature).
Similarly, FIG. 3D shows the relationship between resetting pulse S2 and a temperature rise caused by the Joule heat that is generated when resetting pulse S2 is applied to terminal P. In FIG. 3D, the upper curve represents the waveform of the voltage of resetting pulse S2, and the lower curve 53 represents the manner in which the temperature increases due to the Joule heat.
As shown in FIG. 3D, resetting pulse S2 has a peak value much higher than threshold value Vth and a sufficiently small pulse duration. The temperature rise due to the Joule heat is in excess of melting point Tm of the chalcogenide semiconductor. The temperature falls from the peak value to crystallizing temperature Tc within sufficiently short time Tamo. Therefore, after the chalcogenide semiconductor is melted, it is quenched so that it returns to the amorphous state.
The phase-change memory device shown in FIGS. 3A through 3B has a circuit arrangement for supplying setting pulse S1 and resetting pulse S2 from terminal P. However, the phase-change memory device may have a circuit arrangement as shown in FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a circuit arrangement of the phase-change memory device.
In FIG. 4, resistor R1 is equivalent to the phase-change memory device and has an end connected to terminal P connected to power supply potential VDD. Resistor R1 has the other end connected to size-adjusted MOS transistors M1, M2, M3 having respective gates connected to setting pulse terminal P1, resetting pulse terminal P2, and reading pulse terminal P3, respectively.
Setting, resetting, and reading pulse signals are selectively applied to setting pulse terminal P1, resetting pulse terminal P2, and reading pulse terminal P3, respectively, to select which one of MOS transistors M1, M2, M3 is to be turned on, and to control the turn-on time of a selected one of MOS transistors M1, M2, M3. In this manner, the phase-change memory device operates in the setting, resetting, and reading modes.
FIG. 5 of the accompanying drawings is a circuit diagram showing the manner in which a phase-change memory device (phase-change memory IC) operates in a reading mode. Those parts shown in FIG. 5 which are identical to those shown in FIGS. 3A through 3D and 4 are denoted by identical reference characters.
In FIG. 5, a word line is represented by W, a ground line by G, a bit line (a pulse input line connected to terminal P for inputting setting pulse S1, resetting pulse S2, and reading pulse S3) by B, and a resistor equivalent to the phase-change memory device (comprising chalcogenide semiconductor layer 60) which serves as a memory cell by R1.
An NMOS transistor (switching device) for selecting a memory cell is represented by M4, a current-to-voltage converting resistor by R2, a sense amplifier by A1, a reference voltage source for sense amplifier A1 by 62, a current flowing through the memory cell in the reading mode by I1, and an output voltage of sense amplifier A1 (sensing output) by Vout.
In the setting mode (also in the resetting mode and the reading mode), word line W is activated to turn on NMOS transistor M4. Thereafter, one of pulses S1, S2, S3 is supplied from terminal P. In the reading mode, reading pulse S3 is supplied from terminal P.
The resistance of resistor R1 varies and hence the amount of current I1 flowing therethrough varies depending on whether chalcogenide semiconductor layer 60 of the memory cell is in the amorphous state or the crystalline state. By converting the amount of current I1 into a voltage and reading the voltage, it is possible to determine whether information stored in the memory cell is "1" or "0".
FIG. 6 of the accompanying drawings is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing specific structural details of a memory cell provided by a phase-change memory device (phase-change memory IC).
In FIG. 6, p-type semiconductor substrate 70 has n-type source layer 71 and n-type drain layer 72 disposed therein, and gate electrode 74 connected to word line W is disposed on gate insulating film 73 that is disposed on p-type semiconductor substrate 70.
Interlayer insulating films 75, 79 are disposed on gate insulating film 73. An electrode connected to n-type source layer 71 comprises contact plug 76 extending through interlayer insulating film 75 and gate insulating film 73 and electrode 78 connected to contact plug 76 and comprising a first conductive layer disposed in interlayer insulating film 79. The electrode is connected to ground line G.
Contact plug 77 made of tungsten (W), for example, extends through interlayer insulating film 75 and is connected to n-type drain layer 72. Contact plug 80 (heater electrode made of TiN) serving as a heater electrode extends through interlayer insulating film 79 and is connected to contact plug 77.
Phase-change layer 82 comprising a chalcogenide semiconductor is disposed on interlayer insulating film 79 with adhering layer 81 in the form of a thin metal film being interposed therebetween. Adhering layer 81 is interposed to hold phase-change layer 82 and interlayer insulating film 79 closely together because phase-change layer 82 and interlayer insulating film 79 will not adhere closely to each other.
Upper electrode 83 comprising a second conductive layer is disposed on phase-change layer 82 and extends over its upper surface. Interlayer insulating film 84 is disposed on upper electrode 83. Contact plug 85 connected to upper electrode 83 extends through interlayer insulating film 84. Electrode 86 comprising a third conductive layer is disposed on interlayer insulating film 84 and connected to contact plug 85. Electrode 86 serves as pulse supply terminal P.
Phase-change layer 82 includes a region surrounded by thick dotted line X, where a phase change occurs. Electrode 80 made of titanium nitride (TiN) is embedded in interlayer insulating film 79. Electrode 80 constricts a current flowing through phase-change layer 82 to increase the current density for efficiently generating Joule heat in phase-change region X. Therefore, electrode 80 is called a heater electrode (heating electrode), and will hereinafter referred to as heater electrode 80.
The current density of the current flowing through phase-change layer 82 increases and the generated Joule heat increases as the area of contact between heater electrode 80 and phase-change layer 82 decreases. Consequently, the area of contact between heater electrode 80 and phase-change layer 82 is set to a sufficiently small area, e.g., an area determined by photolithographically designed minimum dimensions.
A phase-change memory device with the phase-change layer sandwiched between the upper and lower electrodes is disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2003-332529, for example. The publication also discloses that the lower electrode (heater electrode) has a pointed end to minimize the area of contact between the electrode and the phase-change layer in order to prevent the thermal efficiency from being lowered in the phase-change process of the phase-change memory device.
The inventor of the present invention has studied the phase-change memory device shown in FIG. 6 and found that it suffers various disadvantages as described below.
The phase-change memory device shown in FIG. 6 has a heat radiation route for transmitting heat generated in phase-change region X of phase-change layer 82 downwardly through heater electrode 80 to contact plug 77 and for radiating the heat from contact plug 77. The heat radiation route necessarily occurs because of the structure of the phase-change memory device.
It should be noted that contact plug 77 and heater electrode 80 are made of different materials, and the heat radiation capability of contact plug 77 is high due to the different materials.
Specifically, contact plug 77 is made of a material of low resistance, e.g., tungsten, for the purpose of reducing the electrical resistance of contact plug 77, and heater electrode 80 is made of a material of high resistance, e.g., titanium nitride, for the purpose of efficiently generating Joule heat. Since a metal material having a higher electrical conductivity (the reciprocal of electrical resistivity) has a higher thermal conductivity, contact plug 77 having a lower resistance, i.e., a higher electrical conductivity, has a higher thermal conductivity than heater electrode 80 having a higher resistance, i.e., a lower electrical conductivity. Therefore, contact plug 77 functions as a heat sink (heat radiating fin) having good heat radiating capability.
Inasmuch as a phase change of the chalcogenide semiconductor is caused by Joule heat generated when a current flows therethrough, it is not preferable for Joule heat to be radiated through the heater electrode and the contact plug and interconnections positioned beneath the heater electrode because the heat radiation would lead to a reduction in thermal efficiency.
Such a reduction in thermal efficiency does not pose a significant problem when a single phase-change memory device or a phase-change memory IC of low integration degree is made as a prototype. However, it could be a large problem when highly integrated phase-change memory ICs are actually mass-produced according to a microfabrication process.
Specifically, for manufacturing a phase-change memory device having high storage capacity, it is necessary to reduce the size of a memory cell, and it is important to reduce the resetting current, i.e., a current required to shift the phase-change layer from the crystalline state to the amorphous state. The structure wherein the contact electrode layer held in contact with the bottom surface of the phase-change layer functions as a heat sink (heat radiating fin) having good heat radiating capability is responsible for reducing the thermal efficiency and for preventing the amount of resetting current from being reduced.
If, on the other hand, the contact plug is made of a material of high resistance to reduce heat radiation from the contact plug, i.e., to increase the thermal efficiency, then the contact resistance between the contact plug and the semiconductor substrate increases, and the current flowing therethrough decreases. In this case, the size (width/length) of the transistor for selecting the memory cell needs to be increased, posing an obstacle to efforts to reduce an element size, i.e., to increase the storage capacity of the phase-change memory device.
It is thus difficult to design a phase-change memory device having suppressed heat radiation immediately below the heater electrode and reduced contact resistance between the heater electrode and the semiconductor substrate.
One solution is to bring contact plug 77 of tungsten, which is held in contact with the drain layer of an NMOS transistor, into contact with heater electrode 80 through a new contact plug made of the same material (TiN) as heater electrode 80, rather than into direct contact with heater electrode 80.
Specifically, for electrically connecting the semiconductor substrate and the heater electrode to each other, a contact plug of low resistance, made of tungsten, for example, having reduced contact resistance between itself and the semiconductor substrate is provided, and another contact plug made of the same material, e.g., titanium nitride, as the heater electrode is disposed on the contact plug having low resistance. The heater electrode made of titanium nitride, for example, is disposed on the contact plug having high resistance.
However, since the two contact plugs disposed in respective different layers are present between the semiconductor substrate and the heater electrode, the number of layers of the phase-change memory device increases, and the number of man-hours required to manufacture the phase-change memory device also increases. Furthermore, the two contact plugs may possibly be shifted in position with respect to each other. Accordingly, difficulty arises in mass-producing large-scale phase-change memory devices of this design.
The invention disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2003-332529 addresses heat radiation in the contact interface between the phase-change layer and the heater electrode, and does not refer to or suggest radiation of heat transmitted through the heater electrode from the lower electrode, as addressed by the present invention. The disclosure of the above publication does not present any solution to the radiation of heat referred to above. According to the disclosure of the above publication, the end of the heater electrode needs to be pointed at a sharp angle. The need to produce a heater electrode having a pointed end, however, tends to make a method of manufacturing a phase-change memory device complex.

Phase-change memory device and method of manufacturing same


There is provided an active matrix substrate including, on a substrate: lattice-patterned wires, pixel electrodes arranged in an area surrounded with the wires, and switching elements electrically connected to the wires and the pixel electrodes with a conductive film therebetween, wherein an auxiliary conductive portion electrically connecting the pixel electrodes to the conductive film is further provided.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an active matrix substrate, a method of manufacturing the active matrix substrate, an electro-optical device, and an electronic apparatus.
2. Related Art
With the spread of portable apparatuses such as notebook computers and cellular phones, thin and light liquid crystal display devices are widely used. Such liquid crystal display devices have a liquid crystal layer interposed between an upper substrate and a lower substrate.
An example of the lower substrate (an active matrix substrate) is shown in FIG. 17. As shown in the figure, the lower substrate 1 includes a glass substrate 2, gate scanning electrodes 3 and source electrodes 4 disposed on the glass substrate 2 to intersect each other, drain electrodes 5 disposed on the glass substrate 2, pixel electrodes (ITO) 6 connected to the drain electrodes 5, insulating layers 7 disposed between the gate scanning electrodes 3 and the source electrodes 4, and TFTs (thin film transistors) made of thin semiconductor material.
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3261699, a technique of repeatedly performing a process in which a dry process and photolithography etching are combined is used for forming metal wires in the lower substrate 1.
A liquid droplet ejecting method is used for forming the drain electrodes 5 and the like in the active matrix substrate described above. That is, the drain electrodes 5 are formed by applying a conductive material between the TFTs 8 and the pixel electrodes 6 with a liquid droplet ejecting apparatus and solidifying the conductive material.
A semiconductor film constituting the TFTs 8 is subjected to a dewatering treatment and thus the semiconductor film and the pixel electrodes 6 have a height difference (the semiconductor film is higher than the pixel electrodes 6). As a result, when the conductive material is applied between the TFTs 8 and the pixel electrodes 6, the conductive material applied onto the semiconductor film flows out toward the pixel electrodes and thus the thickness of the drain electrodes 5 formed on the semiconductor film is reduced, thereby causing a problem that conductivity is deteriorated.

Active matrix substrate, method of manufacturing active matrix substrate, electro-optical device, and electronic apparatus


A wind and wave energy plant (1) comprises a windmill with a rotor (3) and a wave-actuated water pump that can drive a turbine whose output shaft is in driving connection with an electric generator. The windmill includes a tubular mill tower (2), which is firmly anchored to the seabed and encloses a storage tank between the sea surface and the mill rotor (3), which tank can be filled with water by means of the pump via a non-return valve, and from which water can be led to the turbine.

The present invention relates to a wind and wave energy plant, comprising a windmill with a rotor and a wave-actuated water pump that can drive a turbine whose output shaft is in driving connection with an electric generator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,445 describes a seagoing platform for wind and wave energy extraction, in which a turbine chamber open downwards is encircled by an annular pontoon. Around the pontoon, a large number of wave-actuated pumps are arranged, driven by submerged driving means and sucking water out of the turbine chamber so that the water rises up through the chamber and thus passes an electric generator with associated turbine submerged in the chamber. Above the turbine an impeller wheel is moreover arranged in the chamber, driven directly by a vertical-axis windmill and thus also pumping water up through the chamber past the turbine. The water which passes this impeller wheel is discharged to the surroundings through openings in the upper part of the turbine chamber wall.
In plants for extraction of energy from wind and waves, the final price of the energy produced depends partly on the construction costs and partly on the overall efficiency. The known plants are generally rather complex and therefore expensive to construct, and moreover the efficiencies achieved are not optimum.
The object of the present invention is to provide a wind and wave energy plant of a more simple design and yielding a higher output than prior-art plants.
In view of this object, the plant is characterized in that the windmill includes a tubular mill tower, which is firmly anchored to the seabed and encloses a storage tank between the sea surface and the mill rotor, which tank can be filled with water by means of the pump via a non-return valve, and from which water can be led to the turbine.
In this way it is possible by means of one and the same member, namely a firmly anchored mill tower, to achieve a combination of two substantial advantages, namely better utilization of the wind energy, as the mill rotor is raised to a height with strong winds, and at the same time better utilization of the wave energy, as by pumping seawater into the mill tower and storing the water there it is possible to achieve such a large pressure drop across the turbine wheel that the efficiency of the turbine is substantially higher than in the prior-art plants, for example up to approximately 20%. Thus a greater energy production can be achieved without extra costly structural members, such as separate foundations for a windmill and a wave energy plant, or more, larger pumps.
Furthermore better quality of the power produced can be achieved as the number of revolutions of the turbine can be kept substantially constant regardless of the fact that the water flow from the wave-actuated pump may vary depending on the velocity of propagation and size of the waves. A varying water flow from the pump is equalized by a buffer effect caused by the stored water volume in the storage tank. The generator, which is driven by the turbine, can consequently supply power at a more uniform frequency and voltage, which is a substantial quality parameter.
In an advantageous embodiment, the storage tank is elongated and extends substantially from the area around the sea surface to the area at the rotor. In this way largely the entire length of the mill tower can be utilized for obtaining a large pressure drop across the turbine with consequent high efficiency and at the same time a large volume of stored water, which enables the turbine to operate particularly evenly.
In a structurally particularly advantageous embodiment, the mill tower is constituted by a slender pipe which in itself forms the wall of the storage tank, thereby saving materials for making a separate storage tank in the tower, the tower merely having to be closed at the bottom.
The turbine and the associated electric generator may advantageously be arranged in the mill tower under the storage tank. This allows the turbine inlet to be arranged in immediate continuation of the storage thank, thus achieving particularly favourable flow conditions at the inlet, which results in further improvement of the efficiency as well as uniform operation. This furthermore obviates the need for a separate housing for the turbine and the generator, and these components are particularly well protected against the weather in the mill tower, as, owing to its height, it must be of heavy dimensions. Thus, a particularly reliable function is made possible.
The pump and the non-return valve may also preferably be integral with the mill tower, thus providing short flow paths with consequently smaller losses and furthermore a simple and robust structure.
In a particularly compact embodiment, the mill tower has a foot section in which the turbine and the generator are arranged centrally in continuation of each other, and in which a cast foundation for the mill projects centrally in an upward direction, and the pump is a piston pump with one or more pistons capable of reciprocating in an area enclosing one or more of the members: turbine, generator or foundation. In this way the turbine inlet can be placed near the surface level of the sea, which renders possible a larger head of water over the turbine while the pistons of the pump can have a suitably long stroke, being arranged on a level with the turbine, the generator or the foundation in the direction of height of the mill tower. As the pump pistons are thus located peripherally in the mill tower immediately inside its outer wall, they can be connected in a simpler way with wave-actuated driving means located outside the tower.
In a preferred embodiment the pump piston or pistons may be moved by a wave-actuated elongated driving means, such as a float, which extends substantially in a diametrical direction in relation to the tower, and which is journalled rotatably around the longitudinal axis of the tower at the foot section of the tower. In this way the driving means can rotate in relation to the incoming waves depending on their direction of propagation so that the longitudinal axis of the driving means is substantially parallel with the wave crests, whereby substantially the largest part of the wave energy is transmitted to the driving means, which is influenced by an even upward force along its entire length. By journaling the driving means around the longitudinal axis of the tower, it can be connected in a simple and robust manner with pump pistons located inside the tower. Another advantage obtained is that the driving means is influenced by an extra water rise occurring through the deceleration of part of an incoming wave, as the latter hits the foot section of the mill tower and the foundation located below it.
The driving means may further be in the form of a float which in the area around the tower has a particularly large buoyancy volume allowing better utilization of the extra water rise mentioned above.
In an advantageous embodiment, the plant includes a sensor for recording the direction of propagation of the waves, and a control system for adjusting the driving means in relation to the recorded direction and by means of a preferably electric actuator, so that the longitudinal axis of the driving means is substantially parallel with the wave crests. This allows the orientation of the driving means to be optimized in relation to the direction of propagation of the waves so that the driving means is influenced by the largest possible upward force from the wave crests. Furthermore, the driving means then need not be formed so that it adjusts stably to the direction of the waves by itself; an area with a particularly large buoyancy volume may, for example, by means of the actuator, be held constantly at the side of the mill tower that faces the incoming waves.
The foundation of the tower may have a downwardly increasing diameter below the sea surface. This may cause enhancement of the extra water rise that occurs by deceleration of an incoming wave, as the foundation may form an upward ramp for the waves.
In one embodiment, the part of the external wall located at the sea surface is made of metal, and means for electrical heating of this part of the outer wall are included. In this way, ice can be melted which may otherwise in some cases inhibit the, function of the driving means or damage the tower if ice packing occurs.


Organopolysiloxane compositions that are storage-stable under anhydrous conditions, but curable into elastomeric state in the presence of moisture and, thus, are well suited as sealants and coatings and which particularly strongly adhere to substrates used in the construction industry, contain at least one .alpha., .omega.-dihydroxydiorganopolysiloxane polymer; at least one ketiminoxysilane crosslinking agent therefor; a bonding agent including admixture, or reaction product of, (i) an aminoorganosilicon compound containing a primary amine group, with (ii) an organosilicon compound containing an epoxy functional group; and, advantageously, a filler material and a curing catalyst.

Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to novel organopolysiloxane compositions that are storage-stable in the absence of moisture, but curable into self-adhesive elastomeric state in the presence thereof, and, more especially, to novel storage-stable organopolysiloxane compositions containing an .alpha.,.omega.-dihydroxydiorganopolysiloxane, a ketiminooxysilane crosslinking agent and a bonding agent which comprises (i) admixture of an aminoorganosilicon compound bearing a primary amine substituent and an organosilicon compound bearing an epoxy functional group, or (ii) reaction product between such aminoorganosilicon/epoxyorganosilicon compounds.
Description of the Prior Art:
One-component organopolysiloxane compositions containing a ketiminoxysilane crosslinking agent, and, generally, also an inorganic filler and a curing catalyst have long been known to this art. Such compositions are described, for example, in FR-A-1,314,649, FR-A-1,371,250, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,678,003 and 3,986,999, in GB-A-1,468,467, in BE-A-901,479 and in EP-A-157,580.
These compositions are particularly useful in coating and jointing applications and, notably, as sealing agents in the construction industry for producing glazed structures.
For this particular application, the hardened elastomer must have a relatively low modulus of elasticity and, above all, adhere strongly to glass and to the material forming the structure in which the glass is mounted, such as wood, aluminum, concrete, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), natural and synthetic rubbers, stone, earthenware and brick.
However, the elastomers produced from compositions containing ketiminoxysilane crosslinking agents generally exhibit insufficient bonding to certain substrate materials employed in the construction industry, aluminum and PVC in particular. Various additives have been proposed to this art for incorporation into such compositions with a view to remedying this deficiency.
Thus, BE-A-901,479 proposes the use of titanium complexes, certain of which are described as crosslinking catalysts in FR-A-2,531,095.
FR-A-2,074,144 describes the use of an amino functional silane as a bonding agent in a composition containing a ketiminoxy compound. These bonding agents have also been used (for the same application) in compositions comprising a polyalkoxysilane crosslinking agent (see particularly EP-A-021,859). Such bonding agents are presented as not influencing the storage stability of the hardenable elastomer-forming starting materials without being any the less efficient.
The following are typical examples of this class of bonding agents:
(C.sub.2 H.sub.5 O).sub.3 Si(CH.sub.2).sub.3 NH.sub.2 (.gamma.-aminopropyltriethoxysilane); PA0 CH.sub.3 (C.sub.2 H.sub.5 O).sub.2 Si(CH.sub.2).sub.3 NH.sub.2 (.gamma.-aminopropylmethyldiethoxysilane); PA0 (CH.sub.3)(CH.sub.3 O).sub.2 Si(CH.sub.2).sub.3 NH(CH.sub.2).sub.2 NH.sub.2 (.gamma.-(.beta.-aminoethylamino)propylmethyldimethoxysilane).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,356 describes a trialkoxysilane bearing an epoxy functional group useful as a bonding agent for silicone elastomer compositions comprising a polyacyloxysilane crosslinking agent.
A typical such silane is: ##STR1## .gamma.-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane.
It is also known to the art that a bonding agent comprising the reaction product or a simple mixture of an aminopolyalkoxysilane and an epoxypolyalkoxysilane may be used in two-component (EP-A-178,751) and one-component (EP-A-221,644) silicone elastomer compositions containing polyalkoxysilane crosslinking agents. The preferred silanes are those indicated above.
In Japanese Pat. Application KOKAI 79/90,348, the product of a reaction between an organic primary amine and an epoxy functional polyalkoxysilane is described as a bonding agent in one-component compositions containing ketiminoxysilane crosslinking agents. The amino functional polyalkoxy-silanes are explicitly excluded because they lead to yellowing of the composition.
In consideration of the above prior art, it would appear that the amino functional polyalkoxysilanes have already been described as bonding agents for both classes of silicone elastomer compositions, those comprising alkoxy crosslinking agents and those comprising ketiminoxy crosslinking agents.
Nonetheless, one cannot extrapolate from one class of silicone compositions to another in respect of mutual efficacy of such bonding agents. This has been demonstrated in French Patent Application 86/12,892, filed Sept. 11, 1986, and assigned to the assignee hereof.
Furthermore, as shown in the comparative examples in this '892 application, it appears that the bonding agents of the prior art, in compositions comprising ketiminoxysilane crosslinking agents, exhibit at least one of the following drawbacks:
(1) The storage stability of the compositions is adversely affected by the presence of the bonding agent; PA1 (2) Crosslinking of the compositions into elastomers is too slow, particularly at room temperature; PA1 (3) The bonding agent does not provide for adequate adhesion of the elastomer to a given substrate; PA1 (4) The physical properties of the elastomer are mediocre or distinctly deficient, particularly for jointing applications; and PA1 (5) The elastomers are objectionably discolored by the bonding agent. PA1 (i) an aminoorganosilicon compound C.sub.1 bearing at least one amino functional group and comprising a primary amine substituent; and PA1 (ii) an organosilicon compound C.sub.2 bearing at least one epoxy functional group and having from 4 to 20 carbon atoms, in a ratio of 0.5 to 4 equivalents of primary amine group of C.sub.1 per one equivalent of epoxy functional group in C.sub.2 ; PA1 (a) oils of the formula HO[Si(CH.sub.3).sub.2 O].sub.y H, in which the symbol y represents any number ranging from 2 to 22; PA1 (b) resins in which the CH.sub.3 / Si ratio is 1.6 or higher, containing at least 2% by weight of hydroxyl groups, principally comprised of recurring units of the formulae (CH.sub.3).sub.3 SiO.sub.0.5, (CH.sub.3).sub.2 SiO and CH.sub.3 SiO.sub.0.5 ; PA1 (c) methylpolysiloxane resins MQ comprising (CH.sub.3).sub.3 SiO.sub.0.5 recurring units (M) and SiO.sub.2 recurring units (Q), with an M/Q molar ratio ranging from 0.4 to 1.2 and having an OH weight content of 2 to 6%.

Storage-stable organopolysiloxane compositions moisture-curable into elastomeric state