An expander for widening and holding apart an opening of a tissue. The expander may include a body configured to deform from a compacted state into a pre-determined shape in an expanded state in response to a pre-determined physiological condition the body is exposed to. The body with the pre-determined shape in the expanded state may be configured to hold apart the opening of the tissue.

Cataract is the clouding of the eye's natural lens and commonly results in blindness. In Singapore alone, cataract affects more than 80% of people aged 60 and above. As life expectancy continues to increase, it is expected that every individual will at some point of his life undergo cataract surgery. Today, cataract surgery is in fact the most common surgery across all fields of medicine with an estimated 20,000,000 surgeries performed each year worldwide. Cataract surgery involves removing the 'cloudy' lens and replacing it with an optically clear implant, referred to as an intraocular lens (IOL) implant.
To ensure the success of cataract surgery, there is a strong clinical need for a clear and unobstructed view of the lens for the surgeon. The lens is covered in part by the iris—the muscle tissue that is responsible for opening the pupil. In other words, for cataract surgery to succeed, the ophthalmic surgeon requires an adequately large pupil opening.
Several clinical options are already available to enlarge the pupil during cataract surgery. The most common approach is pharmacological, and involves using dilating eye drops. Eye drops, however, are controlled substances, which can cause side effects such as allergic reactions and conjunctival injection. Eye drops have been found to be ineffective, either through a partial or total lack of dilation, in a substantial number of patients.
An alternative approach to enlarge pupils is mechanical, and relies on temporarily inserting a mechanical device (iris/pupil expander) into the front chamber of the eye (anterior chamber) to apply a mechanical force to the iris, thus enlarging the pupil.
Iris (or pupil) expanders have been available since the 1980s. Earlier iterations were made from flexible resilient materials like silicone, directly inserted into the eye via a corneal incision. The ring pushes against one portion of the pupil and is then slotted in to the remainder of the iris to create mechanical circular dilation of the pupil. The Iris Retractor (U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,706), developed by Robert M. Glass, was one such example. However, an issue with using such pupil expanders is that large corneal incisions are required which may lead to prolonged post-operative recovery.
To temporarily stretch the pupil, the surgeon can use instruments such as a Sinskey hook, or a Beehler pupil dilator. For these hooks, they are introduced through two incisions in the cornea and engage the iris at opposite ends. The hooks are then pulled apart in opposite directions to cause micro tears in the iris sphincter that result in a slightly enlarged pupil size. But the use of these hooks can be counter-productive if done incorrectly and may cause iris prolapse out of the incision by rendering it too floppy.
There are other drawbacks to mechanical stretching and sphincter cuts. Firstly, the micro tears caused to the iris sphincter muscle are irreversible. Although, usually asymptomatic, in some cases they could lead to postoperative bleeding, pigment dispersion, atonic pupil shape and minimal dilation. For Sinskey hooks, the mean pupil size achieved is 4.9±0.7 mm while for Beehler pupil dilators, the mean pupil size achieved is 5.5±0.8 mm. The relatively small dilation size achieved may not justify the possible permanent damage to the iris.
One of the oldest and most popular iris expanders are iris hooks. Four iris hooks evenly spaced 90° apart from each other resulting in a diamond shaped opening. This method is relatively simple to execute, but adds on a mean time of 297±51 seconds for insertion to the surgery (Akman et al, 2004) and sometimes lifts the pupil edge up, making surgery more challenging. Having four additional incisions also increases the chances of infection and post-operative inflammatory response. Even so, the maximum pupil dilation achieved was reported to be only a 5.5 mm diameter circle. Iris hooks can also damage the pupillary margin, which results in prolonged abnormal dilation. The unique advantage is their flexibility in being able to also hook into the capsular bag, if needed, to stabilize this in cases of zonulysis and the crystalline lens is tipping downwards.
Recent designs of pupil expanders have favored slimmer and flexible rings e.g. the Malyugin Ring, whose four corner helical loops engage the iris. Similarly the Oasis Ring, substitutes pockets for loops. However, the ring can flip out of plane and damage the cornea. The iris margin can also become temporarily caught by the helical loops and some force is required to pull out the ring, and it can be traumatic to the iris margin to insert through a small pupil and may interfere with surgery becoming dislodged during the phacoemulsification. Further, the downside of such rings is that insertion through a very small 3 mm pupil is impossible and such ring can only be used to expand a moderately dilated pupil to a larger one. The Bhattacharjee Ring is an alternative that has six points of capture, but is fiddly to insert and remove. The Assia pupil expander is a new, metallic, crude square pupil expander that is not widely used but requires additional moderate size incisions.
The Perfect Pupil is a flexible polyurethane iris expansion ring. It has a luxurious internal diameter of 7 mm. The Perfect Pupil is first inserted fully into the anterior chamber of the eye so that it is resting on the iris. The surgeon then engages the primary fenestration before proceeding around. It will typically take an average of 4 minutes for insertion and withdrawal. In addition, the attachment of the fenestrations can cause iris chafing to occur. The Perfect Pupil is also not fully circular in configuration, but rather is a configured into a 270°-320° circle sector.
Older pupil expansion rings include the Morcher 5S Pupil and the disposable silicone Eagle Vision Graether Ring both of which are threaded along the pupillary margin using an injector. However, these rings are difficult to position if the anterior chamber is shallow or the pupil is less than 4 mm wide.
As can be seen, most of these pupil expanders are crude and poorly designed. Most of these pupil expanders are also difficult to insert, deploy and retract into a truly small diameter pupil and if so, do not manage to dilate the pupil very dramatically. Furthermore, some of these pupil expanders require corneal incisions for insertion. Some of these pupil expanders deform the pupil to a square-shaped opening, which is unnatural. In addition, some of these pupil expanders can result in considerable damage and trauma to the iris, thus highly impacting its functionality. As such, they cannot be considered as true substitutes for pupil dilation with drops prior to surgery or prior to Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery (FLACS).
Accordingly, example embodiments seek to provide an expander for widening and holding apart an opening in a tissue and a method of operating the expander that addresses at least some of the issues identified above.

Expander for holding apart an opening in a tissue and method of operating the same


A crystalline compound of 7-[(3R)-3-amino-1-oxo-4-(2,4,5-trifluorophenyl)butyl]-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]pyrazine (INN: Sitagliptin) of formula 1

Diabetes refers to a disease process which stems from a number of causal factors and is evident from increased plasma glucose levels or hyperglycemia during the fasting state or following the administration of glucose during an oral glucose tolerance test. Persistent or uncontrolled hyperglycemia is associated with an increased and premature morbidity and mortality. An abnormal glucose homeostasis is often associated both directly and indirectly with changes in the lipid, lipoprotein and apolipoprotein metabolism and with other metabolic and hemodynamic diseases. Consequently, for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, there is a particularly high risk of macrovascular and microvascular complications, including coronary heart disease, apoplexy, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, nephropathy, neuropathy and retinopathy. The therapeutic control of glucose homeostasis, lipid metabolism and hypertension is of decisive importance for the clinical handling and treatment of diabetes mellitus.
There are two generally recognized forms of diabetes. In type 1 diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), the patients produce little or no insulin, a hormone which controls the glucose utilization. In type 2 diabetes or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), the patients often have plasma insulin levels which correspond to or are even higher than those of non-diabetic patients. However, these patients have developed a resistance to the insulin-stimulating effect on the glucose and lipid metabolism in the large insulin-sensitive tissues, which are muscle, liver and fatty tissue, and the plasma insulin levels, although increased, are insufficient for overcoming the marked insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance is not primarily the result of a reduced number of insulin receptors, but the result of a post insulin receptor binding defect which has still not been explained. This resistance to insulin sensitivity leads to inadequate insulin activation of the glucose absorption, oxidation and storage in the muscle and to inadequate insulin suppression of lipolysis in fatty tissue and the production and secretion of glucose in the liver.
It has been found that there are a large number of compound classes which can be used for the treatment of diabetes. Those worthy of particular mention here are the inhibitors of the dipeptidylpeptidase-IV enzyme ("DP-IV inhibitors") which are suitable for the treatment or prevention of diseases in which the dipeptidylpeptidase-IV enzyme is involved, such as e.g. diabetes and in particular type 2 diabetes.
WO 03/004498 A1 proposes as such DP-IV inhibitors substances with a pyrazine structure, among which 7-[(3R)-3-amino-1-oxo-4-(2,4,5-trifluorophenyl)butyl]-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]pyrazine (INN: Sitagliptin) is also mentioned. In particular, a sitagliptin hydrochloride is also described. This hydrochloride is hygroscopic.
In WO 2005/003135 describes a sitagliptin dihydrogenphosphate salt which has evidently been obtained as hydrate but is phase-unstable at temperatures above 40° C. This implies that the production of relatively large amounts on an industrial scale leads to a drying process that is difficult to control.
WO 2005/072530 A1 discloses further salts of sitagliptin. These compounds too are said to be used as DP-IV inhibitors for treating diabetes. Neither WO 03/004498 A1 nor WO 2005/072530 A1 discloses compounds comprising sitagliptin and fumaric acid.
Kim et al., J. Med. Chem. 2005, 48, 141-151 have investigated orally active DP-IV inhibitors for treating type 2 diabetes. Inter alia, sitagliptin is reacted with fumaric acid for an in vivo investigation. In this process, a solid is obtained in which the ratio of sitagliptin to fumaric acid is 1:0.5. A characterization takes place only by means of NMR and HRMS. It is not stated whether the resulting solid is crystalline.
In the prior art, there is the need to provide compounds comprising sitagliptin which allow improved administration. In particular, the aim is to provide an administration form of sitagliptin which takes into consideration the requirements of the pharmacokinetics of the active ingredient and moreover can be used in the formulation of an oral administration form. In particular, the aim is to provide a compound which has an optimized low water absorption upon storage.

Crystalline compound of 7-[(3R)-3-amino-1-oxo-4-(2, 4, 5-trifluorophenyl)butyl]-5, 6, 7, 8-tetrahydro-3-(tri fluoromethyl)-1, 2, 4 -triazolo[4,3-A]pyrazin

Abstract: with fumaric acid or a hydrate thereof, where the molar ratio of the compound of formula 1 to fumaric acid is 1:0.6 to 1:1.3 is described.


A container for distributing doses of a treatment fluid to a mass of water in a toilet tank which has a level which falls and rises upon slushing of the toilet tank comprises a fluid chamber at the top, a neck at the bottom, and a dosing device mounted in the neck. The fluid chamber contains the treatment fluid and a first mass of air above the treatment fluid, and has a single opening therein. The neck points downwardly into the toilet tank for alternate immersion and removal from the mass of water as the level of the mass of water rises and falls, is in fluid communication with the fluid chamber through the single opening in the chamber, and has a free edge. The dosing device has a first stage of operation when the level of the mass of water in the tank is rising and a second stage of operation when the level of the mass of water in the tank is falling, and comprises a transverse wall at a distance from the free edge of the neck means defining an air chamber and having an aperture therethrough, the aperture defining an evacuation hole means in the air chamber, a passage having an upper end which opens into the evacuation hole and a lower end having an opening defining a discharge hole, and gravity-operated, movable, mechanical regulating device positioned in the passage for regulating the doses distributed as the fluid chamber is emptied, the regulating device supporting a column of the treatment fluid.

There are numerous embodiments for containers for distributing doses of treatment fluid, comprising a dosing device mounted in the neck of the container, the container being intended to function with the neck pointed towards the bottom, alternatively immersed in and taken out of a mass of water, in particular a toilet tank.
In the first embodiment, which has numerous variations, the dosing device comprises a float suspended under the neck of the container, fixed to one or two mobile valves operating together with one or two fixed seats accommodated in the neck of the container (patents: French 2 572 749, European 182 671, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,346,483, 4,285,074, 3,778,850, 3,774,808, 3,698,021, 2,722,394, 2,967,310, 3.908,209, 3,841,524, 4,189,793, 4,131,958, 2,726,406, 4,036,407, 4,066,187, 3,965,497). This first embodiment is based on the principle that the variation of the water level in the water tank causes ascending or descending vertical slide of the float which itself causes the opening and closing of the valve or valves, which are of a mechanical or air type. According to certain variations, the valves, the seats and the neck of the container are put together to create the dosage chambers, with the aim of issuing defined doses of treatment fluid. Containers with dosing devices according to this first embodiment have the disadvantages that their functioning is linked to the movement of the float with all resulting imprecisions; that the halting of the flow is very random; that the mechanical-type closures are rather weak; and finally numerous pieces are required.
In a second embodiment, a discharge hole is accommodated in a transverse wall distanced from the free edge of the neck accomodating an air chamber. The container is only partially filled with the maintenance fluid. This second embodiment is based on the principle that the rise in the water level in the water tank above the free edge of the neck traps a mass of air in the air chamber. Then, when the level continues to rise, this mass of air is compressed and, when there is sufficient excess pressure, partially ejected into the container above the treatment fluid or it causes a certain excess pressure in relation to the external atmosphere. When the level of water in the water flush goes down to below the free edge of the neck, the excess pressure which exists in the air chamber disappears, as a result of its contact with the external atmosphere. The excess pressure existing in the container causes the expulsion of the treatment fluid until there is an equilibrium of pressure again on both sides of the discharge hole. This second embodiment is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,806,965, 3,787,904, 3,864,763, 2,688,754, 3,073,488 and English patents 710 796, 2 094 846. This second embodiment has two advantages over the previously described first embodiment. On one hand, a "hydraulic" function resulting from the single variation of pressure in the time following the filling and emptying of the water tank and the resulting difference in pressure between one side of the discharge hole and the other, this functioning being theoretically continuous in contrast to the "mechanical" functioning operating the drive of a float commanding one or more valves which eventually jam causing functioning to be forcably discontinued. Meanwhile, the forms of execution of this second embodiment have the disadvantage that, from the functioning principle, the quantity of maintenance fluid issued is not invariable in the period, as soon as the container is emptied itself. In effect, as soon as the container is emptied, on one hand, the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the maintenance fluid on the discharge hole reduces and, on the other hand, the volume of air in the container which must have excess pressure to evacuate the maintenance fluid, increases.

Container for distributing doses of treatment fluid


A cascade sense amplifier includes section separated sense amplifiers, a cascade wiring and a main sense amplifier. The main sense amplifier has a capacitance regulation element provided at a base potential of input transistors constituting a data input end. The element is comprised of a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor for forming a capacitance corresponding to a potential V.sub.SS mainly forming a capacitance by the cascade wiring. A size of the element is determined in the manner that the base potential drop time of the transistors is equal to a potential drop time of the cascade wiring when a power source voltage V.sub.CC drops. Even though the power source voltage V.sub.CC drops, the transistors have no cut-off condition so as to prevent the read-out time from delaying. Especially, if the element is comprised of a MOS transistor, it is possible to use an extremely thin gate insulation layer as a dielectric, thereby suppressing an increase of a chip size.

The present invention relates to a cascade sense amplifier for reading out data stored in a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a cascade sense amplifier which includes a plurality of section separated sense amplifiers provided in each of a plurality of section cell array each storing data, a pair of cascade wires in which signals respectively showing different logic levels flow and its one end to which the section separated sense amplifiers are commonly connected, and a main sense amplifier provided at the other end of the pair cascade wires.
There are conventionally semiconductor memory devices which have cascade amplifiers constituted by bipolar transistors and metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors, and sectional cell arrays storing data which are read by the cascade amplifiers.
FIG. 1 shows a circuitry with respect to such a kind of the conventional semiconductor memory devices.
In FIG. 1, at respective ends (not shown) of data line D.sub.IN and *D.sub.IN, there are provided a plurality of memory cell array (not shown in FIG. 1) each of in which a plurality of memory cells are arranged in a matrix. Here, in this specification, a symbol of "*" means an inverted signal line, and *D.sub.IN is a signal line in which an inverted signal of D.sub.IN flows. A cascade sense amplifier 1 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a plurality of section separated sense amplifiers 2 to which the other respective ends of the data lines D.sub.IN and *D.sub.IN are connected, a cascade wiring portion 3 including pair of cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1 each having one respective ends to which the section separated sense amplifiers are commonly connected, and a main sense amplifier 4 which is connected to the other respective ends of the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1.
The section separated sense amplifier 2 includes a differential pair comprised of NPN-type transistors Tr.sub.D and Tr.sub.E, and a constant current source 2a constituted such by an N-channel metal oxide layer semiconductor (MOS) transistor or the like. Emitters of the transistors Tr.sub.D and Tr.sub.E are commonly connected to the constant current source 2a. A base of the transistor Tr.sub.D is connected to the data line *D.sub.IN, and a base of the transistor Tr.sub.E is connected to the data line D.sub.IN.
The cascade wiring portion 3 comprises the cascade wire D.sub.1 connected to a collector of the transistor Tr.sub.D, and the cascade wire *D.sub.1 connected to a collector of the transistor Tr.sub.E. Here, symbols C.sub.D1 and *C.sub.D1 show parasitic capacitance existing in the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1, respectively.
The main amplifier 4 comprises NPN-type bipolar transistors Tr.sub.A, Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C, collectors of which are connected to the power source V.sub.CC and outputs D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1, respectively, constant current sources 4a and 4b comprised of such as N-channel MOS transistors provided on emitter sides of transistors Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C, respectively, and a constant current source 4c provided on an emitter side of the transistor Tr.sub.A. The transistors Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C constitute a differential pair, two resistors, and the constant current sources 4a and 4b supply the constant current i.sub.0 for a bias respectively corresponding to the transistors Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C. The transistor Tr.sub.A is connected by a diode connection, and the transistor Tr.sub.A and the constant current source 4c are connected to bases of the transistors Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C through a node N.sub.O to bias these transistors Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C. A symbol C.sub.Base denotes a parasitic capacitance existing in the main amplifier.
In the above-mentioned semiconductor memory device, the section separated sense amplifier (SA.sub.sec) 2 senses a logical condition of data by an amplitude of scores mV, and the main sense amplifier (SA.sub.main) 4 amplifies a sensed condition of data to an amplitude of "I.sub.O.R" to output, thereby suppressing a potential change to be smaller on the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1, and preventing as smaller as the deterioration of the invert speed on the basis of the parasitic capacitance between the semiconductor substrate and metal wiring of the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1.
The above condition will now be described more detail by using a parasitic capacitance shown in FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1 have parasitic capacitance C.sub.D1 and *C.sub.D1, respectively. Accordingly, inverted time of respective potentials V.sub.D1 and *V.sub.D1 of the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1 are represented as follows: EQU t.sub.O =.DELTA.V.sub.D1 .times.C.sub.D1 (or *C.sub.D1)/i.sub.O
where t.sub.O is inverted time, .DELTA.V.sub.D1 is a potential change in the cascade wire D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1.
Accordingly, the smaller the potential change .DELTA.V.sub.D1 is, the shorter the inverted time is, thereby enabling a high-speed read-out for the data.
However, since the data read-out cycle shows a tendency to be shortened by the high-speed operation in the conventional semiconductor memory device, the power sources V.sub.CC and V.sub.SS change easily by circuit noises activated in the read-out cycle, thereby providing new troublesome for obstructing the high-speed read--out of the data.
Namely, if the source v.sub.CC does not change, the sense output of the main sense amplifier (SA.sub.main) 4 complies with an inversion of the cascade wire D.sub.1 or *D.sub.1 with high fidelity as shown in FIG. 2.
However, when the power source V.sub.CC drops at inverting potentials in the data lines D.sub.IN and *D.sub.In, there occurs a defective phenomenon shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. This phenomenon can be analyzed as follows:
The amplifier first has a parasitic capacitance C.sub.D1 and *C.sub.D1 in the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1 and has a parasitic capacitance C.sub.Base between the semiconductor substrate and the bases of the transistors Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C.
When the power source V.sub.CC changes, the potential of the cascade wires C.sub.D1 and *C.sub.D1 and the base potential of the transistors Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C comply with the change of V.sub.CC. The base potential change time t.sub.1 of the transistors Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C and the potential change time t.sub.2 of the cascade wires C.sub.D1 and *C.sub.D1 are represented by the followings: EQU t.sub.1 =C.sub.Base .times..DELTA.V.sub.CC /i'.sub.O EQU t.sub.2 =C.sub.D1 (or *C.sub.D1).times..DELTA.V.sub.CC /i.sub.O.
Accordingly, since the potentials C.sub.Base and C.sub.D1 (or *C.sub.D1) are the large factors to determine the potential change times t.sub.1 and t.sub.2, the relationship for sizes between the capacitances C.sub.Base and C.sub.D1 (or *C.sub.D1) results to generate the problem.
Namely, the capacitance C.sub.D1 (or *C.sub.D1) in the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1 is schematically constituted from a wiring capacitance C.sub.1 necessary for wiring the cascade wire D.sub.1 (or *D.sub.1) and a collector capacitance C.sub.j of the bipolar transistors which are necessarily added with each section cell array. Since a number of the sense amplifiers (SA.sub.sec) 2 increase according to the enlargement of the memory capacity and the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1 are formed for a long distance on the chip, both of the wiring capacitance C.sub.1 and the collector capacitance C.sub.j increase. Accordingly, a relationship for an amount of the capacitance C.sub.Base and C.sub.D1 (or *C.sub.D1) is "C.sub.Base <C.sub.D1 (or *C.sub.D1)" as clearly understood from a number of the sense amplifier (SA.sub.sec) 2. In this connection, there is a large difference between the capacitance C.sub.Base and C.sub.D1 (or *C.sub.D1) because C.sub.Base is 0.1 pF while C.sub.D1 (or *C.sub.D1) is 2-3 pF.
The relationship for an amount between capacitance C.sub.Base and C.sub.D1 (or *C.sub.D1) cause a relationship between the potential change times t.sub.1 and t.sub.2 to generate the difference (t.sub.1 <t.sub.2), thereby resulting a shortage condition in a voltage V.sub.BE between a base and emitter of the transistor Tr.sub.B (or Tr.sub.C) by the differential .DELTA.t. Here, the voltage V.sub.BE between a base and emitter can be represented as follows: EQU V.sub.BE =V.sub.B -V.sub.E =(V.sub.CC -V.sub.BI)-(V.sub.CC -2V.sub.BI -.alpha.)=V.sub.BI +.alpha.
Where .alpha. is scores mV. In order to maintain an On state of the transistor Tr.sub.B (or Tr.sub.C), the relationship of "V.sub.BE >V.sub.BI +.alpha." should be satisfied. On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 4, when the base potential of the transistor Tr.sub.B (or Tr.sub.C) drops faster than the potential drop of the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1, thereby resulting a condition of "V.sub.BE <V.sub.BI +.alpha." during .DELTA.t, and causing the transistor Tr.sub.B (or Tr.sub.C) to be a cut-off condition. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4(c), the sense outputs V.sub.Dout and *V.sub.Dout become an unfixed condition during the period of .DELTA.t, thereby disabling the amplifier from reading out the data. Accordingly, the read-out of the data delays by At and requires an extra time.
In conclusion, in FIG. 1, when the voltage V.sub.CC changes (increases or drops), the node n.sub.O changes in accordance with the change of the voltage V.sub.CC. However, the potential of the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1 changes slowly in comparison with the potential change of the node N.sub.O. An original potential difference between the base and emitter of the transistors Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C should be near V.sub.BI, but discrepancy between the changes of the node N.sub.O and the cascade wires D.sub.1 and *D.sub.1 on the basis of the change of the voltage V.sub.CC causes the potential difference between the base and emitter of both transistors Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C to be smaller than V.sub.BI (in case of V.sub.CC drop), and to be larger than V.sub.BI (in case of v.sub.CC increase). As a result, respective collector current of the transistors Tr.sub.B and Tr.sub.C flows little (when V.sub.CC drops), and flows too much (when V.sub.CC increases), so that the amplitude of output is not correct.

Cascade sense amplifier for reading out data stored in semiconductor memory device


A method of reducing optical fringing of a coated substrate is described. The method comprises providing a (e.g. light transmissive) substrate; providing a primer having an unmatched refractive index, and applying the primer to the substrate forming a primer layer having an optically significant thickness. The primer layer in combination with the substrate has a percent reflectance at a maximum at a wavelength of interest. Also described are articles comprising a substrate, a primer having an unmatched refractive index, a high refractive index layer, and optional low refractive index layer such as an antireflective film article.

Optical films having a high refractive index layer have been described. Such optical films can be used as an intermediate construction in an antireflective ("AR") film. AR films are often constructed of alternating high and low refractive index ("RI") layers of the correct optical thickness. With regards to visible light, one example is a thickness on the order of one-quarter of the wavelength of the light to be reflected. The human eye is most sensitive to light around 550 nm. Therefore, it is desirable to design the low and high index coating thicknesses in a manner that minimizes the amount of reflected light (e.g. 2.5% or lower) at around 550 nm.
As described for example in U.S. Patent Publication US2007/0286994, in order to reduce or eliminate optical fringing, it is preferred that the antireflective film substrate has a refractive index close to that of the high refractive index layer, i.e. differs from the high refractive index layer by less than 0.05, and more preferably less than 0.02. Further, a primer can be provided on the film substrate, the primer being chosen to closely match the refractive index of the high refractive index layer and the substrate.
Primers have also been employed to improve adhesion. When a primer is applied at a low coating thickness, of for example 30 nm, the primer does not substantially affect the optical fringing or the antireflective properties.

Substrate comprising unmatched refractive index primer at optically significant thickness


A method of depositing a platinum based metal film by CVD deposition includes bubbling a non-reactive gas over an organic platinum based metal precursor until the non-reactive gas is saturated with the precursor. The platinum based metal film is deposited onto a substrate in a CVD deposition chamber in the presence of both oxygen and nitrous oxide at a predetermined temperature and under a predetermined pressure. The resulting film is consistently smooth and has good step coverage.

The invention relates generally to the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of platinum group metals on an integrated circuit structure as a continuous film and with good step coverage. The invention also relates to integrated circuits having a platinum group metal layer, used, for example, as the lower electrode in a capacitor.
Because of their high corrosion resistance, microelectronic devices having platinum group metals are desired in applications where great reliability is desired and also where a corrosive atmosphere may be present. It is desired to so develop a process for continuous good step coverage using platinum group metals.
The invention relates to the formation of a continuous film layer of platinum group metal by CVD. The invention may find many uses where a thin uniform layer of platinum group metal is needed. For example, the invention is useful in the computer microchip industry, such as for the undercoating electrode of a dielectric memory in a semiconductor device. The invention relates to a chemical vapor deposition method to deposit the platinum group metal onto a surface. The starting material for preparation of the platinum group metal film may be any organic platinum group metal precursor suitable for deposition of the platinum group metal.
Unfortunately, the conventional methods of depositing platinum films suffer drawbacks in that these methods are unable to consistently create a continuous uniformly thin platinum film that additionally has good step coverage. These conventional prior methods include vacuum deposition methods, sputtering methods and even chemical vapor deposition. Even in the conventional chemical vapor deposition methods it is difficult to create a continuous uniform platinum film and one with good step coverage.
This is likely due to the fact that when conventional platinum precursors are used in the conventional chemical vapor deposition methods, it is difficult to control the nucleation rate of the platinum films. At the outset of the platinum deposition process, the nucleation rate of the platinum film onto the surface of the substrate is very slow; however, once nucleation does begin the deposition rate of the platinum film onto the surface increases significantly. In fact, it is difficult to control or even slow the rate of deposition once the conventional methods begin depositing platinum onto the surface of the substrate. In the conventional methods therefore, it is difficult to begin the deposition process and even more difficult to control the deposition rate so as to arrive at a uniform thin platinum film having good step coverage.
In semiconductor processing, controlling the rate of deposition of a film is one important characteristic to a processing method. The conventional platinum deposition methods are unable to consistently control the deposition rate of the platinum film so as to consistently arrive at a platinum film that has sufficient physical properties to be useful in integrated circuits.
One example of the use of a platinum metal according to the conventional methods is discussed with reference to FIG. 12. A platinum layer 210 is deposited onto the surfaces of a deep container capacitor 200. The platinum layer 210 is formed by CVD deposition using a conventional platinum precursor. As the process begins, a platinum film 210 forms on the upper layer 220 of the capacitor 200. Since it is difficult to control the deposition rate of the platinum layer 210, the platinum layer 210 quickly forms a thick layer on the upper layer 220 of the capacitor 200. As a result, the quickly formed platinum layer 210 pinches together over the opening 230 in the capacitor 200 and very little platinum is able to form on the inside walls 240 or the bottom 250 of the capacitor 200. Thus, in this process, an inconsistent platinum film is formed on the inside walls 240 and the bottom 250 of the capacitor 200 without good step coverage.
One prior solution to increase the smoothness of the film deposited was to increase the temperature at which the metal is deposited. When the temperature at which the conventional CVD process operates is increased, the growth rate of the platinum also increases. While increasing the temperature does result in a smoother film, the increased temperature also increases the deposition rate, resulting in poor step coverage, as previously described. If the temperature of the CVD process is decreased, the growth rate of the platinum also decreases, resulting in better step coverage; however, when the temperature of the CVD process is decreased the carbon content of the film increases, resulting in poor film quality.
To reduce the carbon content of the film, the conventional methods added oxygen to the CVD process. The oxygen removed some of the carbon from the platinum film; however, the oxygen also increased the deposition rate of the platinum resulting in a film similar to the high temperature deposited film described above. Thus, the conventional methods are unable to achieve both good step coverage and a smooth continuous film, which is especially important in the manufacture of an integrated circuit.
The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the conventional methods and provides a CVD method that produces a smooth, uniform, continuous film of a platinum group metal that also has good step coverage. The invention includes the addition of nitrous oxide (N2O) and oxygen in combination as a component during the CVD process in order to control the deposition rate of the platinum group metal, which results in a continuous film having good step coverage.
The invention provides a process for depositing a platinum metal on a substrate which includes the steps of flowing a gas having saturated therein a platinum precursor over the substrate at a selected temperature and pressure in the presence of both oxygen (O2) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The selected operating temperature is a temperature at which the platinum group metal deposits on the substrate, but less than a temperature at which the platinum group metal fails to smoothly deposit on the substrate. The pressure at which the process operates is a pressure at which the platinum group metal will deposit on the substrate in a continuous film while maintaining good step coverage. By carrying out this process, a platinum group metal film may be deposited on the exposed portions of the substrate in a uniform film.
The above and other advantages and features of the invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description which is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Continuous good step coverage CVD platinum metal deposition


An ice and snow removal tool includes a telescopically adjustable pole with cross members attached to one end. A container is suspended from one end of the cross member and a brush is attached to the opposite end of the cross member. A cable extends along the pole to the bottom of the container to permit the contents of the container to be poured onto the roof by pulling the cable.

In cold climates, ice dams commonly form along the edge of a roof. An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms along the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow from draining off the roof. The water backs up behind the ice dam and may leak into the home causing damage to walls, ceilings, insulation and other areas. Ice dams form when there is a temperature differential between the higher portions and lower portions of a roof. The roof's outside surface must be above 32° F. (0° C.) while the lower surfaces are below 32° F. (0° C.). Typically this occurs when the outside air temperature is in the low 20s (degrees Fahrenheit). Heat escapes from the house through the ceiling and walls into the attic space and heats the inside surface of the roof causing the snow to melt. The water from the melted snow runs down the outside surface of the roof and refreezes at the colder edge of the roof. The dam grows as it is fed by the melting snow above it. Water above the ice dam remains a liquid and begins to backup. This water finds cracks and openings in the roof covering and flows into the attic space of the house or structure.
Various devices have been proposed to control or eliminate snow accumulation and ice dams. Such devices include electric heating systems using resistive heating wires, strips or other elements. These systems are expensive and often require professional installation. Other manual systems include blades to cut or chop the ice and snow, and scrapers to pull the ice or snow from the roof. These devices are often bulky, heavy and are prone to damaging the roof in order to remove the ice. Accordingly, there is a need for a lightweight device to remove ice dams which doesn't damage the roofing material.


A supply passage extends through an inner sleeve in a radial direction and conducts hydraulic oil received from a hydraulic oil supply source. An axial passage is located between an outer sleeve and the inner sleeve and extends in an axial direction. The supply passage opens to one end portion of the axial passage while another end portion of the axial passage is configured to connect with a valve timing adjustment device. A supply check valve is installed in the axial passage and is located on a radial side of the supply passage where a radially outer side of the inner sleeve is placed. The supply check valve enables a flow of the hydraulic oil from the supply passage toward the axial passage and limits a flow of the hydraulic oil from the axial passage toward the supply passage.

Previously there is known a hydraulic oil control valve that controls a flow of hydraulic oil. In the hydraulic oil control valve, an inner sleeve is placed at an inside of an outer sleeve that is shaped in a tubular form, and a check valve, which is resiliently deformable in a radial direction, is placed at an annular space formed between the outer sleeve and the inner sleeve. The check valve controls a flow of the hydraulic oil between an outside of the outer sleeve and an inside of the inner sleeve.

Hydraulic oil control valve and valve timing adjustment device


A method is applied to regenerate particulate matter in a particulate filter of a hybrid electric vehicle having a combination of a combustion engine and an electric motor for propelling the vehicle, the hybrid electric vehicle having an electrically heated catalyst disposed in flow communication with the particulate filter in an exhaust system of the vehicle. The method determines whether the combustion engine is or is not combusting fuel, and under a condition where the combustion engine is not combusting fuel, the catalyst is electrically heated until it has reached a temperature suitable to cause ignition of the particulate matter. The electric motor is used to facilitate rotation of the combustion engine at a rotational speed suitable to draw air into and be exhausted out of the combustion engine into the exhaust system, across the catalyst, and into the particulate filter to facilitate ignition of the particulate in the filter.

PHEVs can have significant periods of engine-off operation during charge depletion modes of operation, creating a situation where the engine may be cold-started multiple times that potentially increases the creation and emission of particulate matter (PM).
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and system for collecting and regenerating PM to avoid an increase in PM emissions in HEVs and PHEVs.

Hybrid electric vehicle particulate regeneration method and system


A method of three dimensional heterogeneous integration including forming HBT devices on a first substrate, each HBT device having a collector, removing the first substrate, forming first bonding pads on each collector of the heterojunction bipolar transistor devices, forming high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) devices on a first side of a growth substrate, wherein the growth substrate comprises a thermally conductive substrate, such as SiC or diamond, forming second bonding pads on the first side of the growth substrate, aligning and bonding the first bonding pads to the second bonding pads, forming CMOS devices on a Si substrate, bonding the CMOS devices on the Si substrate to a second side of the growth substrate, and forming selectively interconnects between the HBT devices, the HEMT devices, and the CMOS devices by forming vias and first and second level metal interconnects.

There is great interest in three dimensional (3D) heterogeneous integration (HI) technology in the integrated circuit industry, because with high heterogeneous device density in 3D integrated system, complex RF/mixed-signal ICs and systems can be achieved. Inevitably power density of an integrated system can easily exceed that of a conventional system, which can achieve up to an approximate value of 100 W/cm2. As more devices and functionalities are added, the power density increases, which can result in reduced device performance and shortened device lifetimes.
Heterogeneous integration of digital and non-digital devices into compact systems has a wide range of applications, including application in communication, automotive, environmental control, healthcare, security and entertainment. A few examples are phased array radars, high power transceivers, high power digital to analog converters (DACs), analog to digital converters (ADCs), and monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs).
Much of prior art 3D integration effort has been focused on 3D silicon integration with through silicon vias (TSVs). The conventional thermal management approach for this effort is dissipating heat through copper (Cu) filled TSVs, as described in "Thermal Management of 3D IC Integration with TSV (Through Silicon Via)", Electronic Components and Technology Conference, 2009. ECTC 2009. 59th and "Thermal analysis of a 3D die-stacked high-performance microprocessor", GLSVLSI '06 Proceedings of the 16th ACM Great Lakes symposium on VLSI pp 19˜24.
The TSV method mainly extracts heat vertically and does not provide horizontal heat spreading. For the case of concentrated local heat generation often seen in heterogeneous integration, this method is not sufficient, because this method will simply transfer heat generated in a local hot spot in one layer to the level above or below resulting in other hot spots. Also for multiple chip stacking integration, chips that are stacked at higher level benefit less from this vertical thermal management solution.
For a bump bonding integration approach, there have been efforts to extract heat through bonding metal pads or metal interconnect lines, as described in "3D wafer-scale integration for RF and digital applications", ECS Trans. 2008 volume 16, issue 8, 243-249. This approach also focuses on heat extraction through interconnect lines vertically and does not provide an adequate solution for local heat generation.
Another approach for cooling using interlayer fluid cooling technology for 3D integrated circuit packaging is described in "Interlayer Cooling Potential in Vertically Integrated Packages," Microsystem Technol. 15(1) (2009) 57-74. This is a good packaging solution to extract heat from multiple stacked layers; however, this approach has increased costs, potential for a leak of cooling fluid, a system volume increase, and a questionable system lifetime.
For CMOS 3D integration, there is a prior art approach of fabricating thermal vias on a Si substrate and filling the vias with higher thermal conductivity metal, such as Cu. Such an approach has been described in "B. Goplen and S. S. Sapatnekar. IEEE Trans. Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems, Vol. 25(4), pp. 692-709", and "T. Y. Chian et al., Proc. IEEE Int. Electron Devices Meeting Tech. Dig., San Francisco, Calif., 2000, pp. 261-4". Although this approach addresses vertical heat extraction, it does not provide for heat spreading. Also this approach is not applicable to integrated circuits with a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate, because SiC has a thermal conductivity similar to Cu, so a thermal via filled with Cu does not reduce thermal resistance, but rather increases thermal resistance due to the added thermal boundary resistance between Cu and SiC.
There have been efforts directed at growing a diamond layer on the back of a device, such as a Si, InP, or GaN device. The diamond layer acts as a heat spreading layer and has been described by SP3 Diamond. Technologies, for example, in a presentation titled "The Role of High Thermal Conductivity Substrates in Future CMOS Technologies" by Jerry Zimmer. This approach reduces the thermal resistance of native bulk substrates, such as Si, InP, and SiC by lowering junction temperatures. However, this approach is focused on low thermal resistance packaging approach for a single junction device, and maybe not be suitable as a growth platform or an integration platform due to the amorphous nature of this film and the high process temperature of diamond film.
What is needed is improved thermal management for multiple technology device technologies especially in the context of 3D integration. The embodiments of the present disclosure answer these and other needs.

Thermal management for heterogeneously integrated technology


Approaches are described for release-time-driven (RTD) prioritization of on-board content scheduling and delivery to in-transit transport craft via communications systems. In context of a constrained network, content is scheduled to be delivered to those in-transit on-board media servers in a manner driven by respective release times and other prioritization factors associated with the updated content. Each content is associated with a RTD priority profile that can define a release time, a release priority, and a profile plot for the content. The RTD priority profiles can be used to compute priority surfaces that define priority scores over a multidimensional space for a particular time. A subset of the content can be selected for delivery based on the priority surfaces, and can be scheduled for delivery according to network capacity determinations.

It is becoming more common for users to desire to consume streaming media while in transit on a transport craft. For example, passengers consume media on mobile phones, laptop computers, tablet computers, integrated media terminals, and/or other in-transport terminals while travelling by car, airplane, bus, train, cruise ship, or other transport craft. In many cases, some or all of the media is provided to the passengers from an in-transit media server, which includes local storage of various media options for consumption. Providing a desirable in-transit experience to passengers can involve frequently updating the stored content.
Conventional approaches generally involve exploiting the times when the transport craft are docked to update the content stored by the in-transit servers disposed in those craft. For example, in-flight entertainment servers on airplanes are typically updated while the aircraft is parked at an airport terminal, parked in an airport hangar, or otherwise on the ground. In some cases, ground crew personnel board the parked aircraft with a portable server that is loaded with updated content, and manually couple the portable server with the in-flight entertainment server on-board the aircraft. In other cases, the parked aircraft can couple with a local airport network that delivers updated content wirelessly by WiFi, or otherwise.

Release-time based prioritization of on-board content


A spin addition method for catalyst elements is simple and very important technique, because the minimum amount of a catalyst element necessary for crystallization can be easily added by controlling the catalyst element concentration within a catalyst element solution, but there is a problem in that uniformity in the amount of added catalyst element within a substrate is poor. The non-uniformity in the amount of added catalyst element within the substrate is thought to influence fluctuation in crystallinity of a crystalline semiconductor film that has undergone thermal crystallization, and exert a bad influence on the electrical characteristics of TFTs finally structured by the crystalline semiconductor film. The present invention solves this problem with the aforementioned conventional technique. If the spin rotational acceleration speed is set low during a period moving from a dripping of the catalyst element solution process to a high velocity spin drying process in a catalyst element spin addition step, then it becomes clear that the non-uniformity of the amount of added catalyst element within the substrate is improved. The above stated problems are therefore solved by applying a spin addition process with a low spin rotational acceleration to a method of manufacturing a crystalline semiconductor film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a crystalline semiconductor film containing silicon that is applied in an active layer of a thin film transistor (hereafter referred to as a TFT), and more particularly, to a spin addition method for a metallic element that has an effect of promoting crystallization. Further, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device having the crystalline semiconductor film.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, techniques of forming semiconductor integrated circuits by forming TFTs on an insulating substrate, such as a glass substrate, have been progressed rapidly, and electro-optical devices, typically active matrix liquid crystal display devices, utilizing these techniques have been put into practical use. In particular, active matrix liquid crystal display devices having integrated driver circuits are monolithic liquid crystal display devices in which a pixel matrix circuit and a driver circuit are formed on the same substrate, and the demand for these active matrix liquid crystal display devices has increased along with the demand for making them higher definition. In addition, developments are also advancing toward the realization of system on panels having built-in logic circuits such as xcex3 compensation circuits, memory circuits, and clock generator circuits or the like.
However, it is necessary that driver circuits and logic circuits operate at high speed, and therefore the application of amorphous silicon films to the active layers, which form regions such as channel forming regions, source regions and drain regions in TFTs, is unsuitable. TFTs having a polycrystalline silicon film as an active layer are coming into the mainstream at present. The application of low-cost glass substrates as substrates for forming TFTs is demanded, and the development of processes capable of being applied to glass substrates is flourishing.
For example, a technique is known in which a metallic element having a crystallization promotion effect, such as Ni (nickel) (hereafter referred to simply as a catalyst element) is introduced into an amorphous silicon film, and then a crystalline silicon film is formed by heat treatment. It is clear that crystallization is possible by heat treatment if a temperature on the order of 550 to 600xc2x0 C., less than the heat resistant temperature of the glass substrate, is used as the heat treatment temperature. It is necessary that the catalyst element be introduced into the amorphous silicon film with this crystallization technique. Methods such as plasma CVD, sputtering, evaporation, and spin addition can be given as introduction methods.
A spin addition method, in which a solution containing a catalyst element (hereafter referred to as a catalyst element solution) is added by spinning, is disclosed in JP 07-211636 A as a method of efficiently introducing a catalyst element into the vicinity of the surface of an amorphous silicon film. The spin addition method for the catalyst element solution as disclosed in the aforementioned unexamined patent application publication has the following characteristics:
(Characteristic 1) The amount of the catalyst element added to the surface of the amorphous silicon film can easily be controlled by controlling the concentration of the catalyst element within the catalyst element solution;
(Characteristic 2) The minimum amount of the catalyst element required in crystallization can therefore be added easily to the surface of the amorphous silicon film; and
(Characteristic 3) It is necessary to reduce the amount of the catalyst element within the crystallized crystalline silicon film as much as possible for reliability and electrical stability of the semiconductor device. The smallest amount of the catalyst element necessary for crystallization can be easily added by regulating the catalyst element concentration of the catalyst element solution with the spin addition method, and therefore the introduction of an excess amount of the catalyst element can be suppressed, which is advantageous for reliability and electrical stability of the semiconductor device.
The size of the glass substrates used in manufacturing of liquid crystal display devices has been becoming larger in view of the goal of applications to large size screens and increasing productivity. It has been projected that in the future, glass substrates that exceed 1 m on a side will be in use.
The above stated spin addition method for the catalyst element is one in which a liquid builds up on the substrate by dripping the catalyst element solution down onto the substrate surface, and the catalyst element solution that has been dripped down is then spun off by rotating the substrate at high velocity, thus adding a desired amount of the catalyst element to the substrate surface. This spin addition method is characterized in that the amount of the catalyst element added to the surface of the substrate can be easily controlled, and the like, and therefore it is a very important technique that is currently undergoing consideration for being put into practical use. However, there is a problem in that the uniformity of the amount of added catalyst element becomes poor as the substrate size becomes larger. In particular, the non-uniformity becomes a problem that cannot be ignored when the diagonal length of the square substrate is equal to or larger than 500 mm.
The main reason that the uniformity becomes poor is thought to be because at the spin drying state after the catalyst element solution has been applied to the substrate, the relative motion velocity with respect to air between the central portion of the substrate and regions in the periphery of the substrate differ. Caused by this, the evaporation speed of solvent components of the catalyst element solution varies within the surface of the substrate, and as a result, drying unevenness develop between the central portion and the peripheral regions.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the size of the square substrate and the motion velocity at the edge portions of the substrate, and the following can be considered as causes of the generation of drying unevenness. For example, if the catalyst element solution is added to a 250 mm square substrate by spin addition, the motion velocity of the central portion of the substrate with respect to air is 0 m/min when the rotational velocity is 500 rpm (500 rotations/minute), while the edge portions of the substrate rotate at a motion velocity of approximately 400 m/min. Motion with respect to air thus becomes higher speed with increasing distance from the central portion of the substrate, and therefore friction with the air becomes severe, and the solvent components of the catalyst element solution evaporated very rapidly. Drying unevenness therefore develop due to the differences in evaporation speed of the solvent components between the central portion of the substrate and the edge portions of the substrate.
In addition, the drying unevenness caused by the different drying speeds of the solvent components tend to manifest at corner regions of the square substrate. It is thought that this is because air is pushed aside along with rotational motion in the corner regions of the substrate, and therefore the friction with the air becomes exceptionally severe there. These types of drying unevenness are large problems that influence the amount of deposited catalyst element, and that influence various fluctuations, such as fluctuations in the final crystallization ratio, the size of crystal grains, and their alignment after crystallization.
The present invention has been made in view of solving the above problems. Specifically, an object of the present invention is to resolve problems with uniformity in the amount of added catalyst element within a substrate, caused by drying unevenness in a spin addition method.
As stated above, there is a fear of a problem of non-uniformity in the amount of added catalyst element within a substrate, caused by drying unevenness during spin drying of a catalyst element solution in a spin addition method for a metallic element (catalyst element) for promoting crystallinity. In order to resolve the non-uniformity in the amount of added catalyst element within the substrate, it is necessary to eliminate the drying unevenness that occur during spin drying and which are surmised to be the cause of the non-uniformity. The drying unevenness during spin drying are thought to occur due to the development of a difference in evaporation speed for solvent components that accompanies friction with the air when the substrate is rotating.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and, in the spin addition process for the catalyst element, to improve the uniformity within the substrate of the amount of the catalyst element deposited thereon. The present invention takes a measure in which the rotational acceleration speed up through a switch over to high velocity rotation is optimized in accordance with the substrate size, thereby improving the uniformity of the amount of added catalyst element within the substrate.
Specifically, a method of manufacturing a crystalline semiconductor film has: a first step of depositing an amorphous semiconductor film containing silicon on an insulating substrate; a second step of adding a catalyst element for promoting crystallization to the entire surface of the amorphous semiconductor film by a spin addition method; and a third step of forming a crystalline semiconductor film containing silicon by heat treating the amorphous semiconductor film; in which the spin addition method for the catalyst element is performed with a rotational acceleration speed from 5 to 120 rpm/sec. Alternatively, the rotational acceleration speed y in the spin addition process for the catalyst element is determined by the equation y less than =Axxe2x88x92B (where x is the diagonal size of the substrate and A and B are constants).
Note that, in the case of adding the crystallization promoting catalyst element by the spin addition method, an addition method in accordance the following spin addition method may also be employed. A mask insulating film may be deposited onto an amorphous semiconductor film, and an opening region may be formed in a portion of the mask insulating film, after which the crystallization promoting catalyst element may be added to the mask insulating film by a spin addition method. The spin addition method for the catalyst element is performed at a precondition of a maximum fixed rotational velocity value of 800 to 1200 rpm. Addition of the solution containing the catalyst element is performed by dripping the solution during acceleration or during constant velocity rotation of the substrate, distributing the catalyst element over the entire surface.
Compared to a circular shape substrate, uniformity becomes poorer in the case where the diagonal length of the square substrate is equal to or greater than 500 mm with a conventional spin addition method. However, uniformity can be improved even if the diagonal of the substrate is equal to or greater than 500 mm by applying the aforementioned structure of the present invention. The amount of fluctuation in the amount of added catalyst element within the substrate is lowered in the case where the catalyst element is added by the spin addition method, and therefore the uniformity in the crystallization ratio after crystallization, the grain size, the grain arrangement, and the like can be enhanced, and a uniform crystalline semiconductor film can be formed over the entire surface of a large surface area substrate.

Method of manufacturing a crystalline semiconductor film

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


Video content is identified by a source component via a processor from a plurality of media sources. The media sources can comprise a wireless broadcast media channel, a web site, a web data feed, and/or a wired broadcast channel for communication via a personalized video channel. A profile component can determine user profile data that includes user preferences associated with a first client device for the video content and the plurality of media sources. A control component can generate a set of viewing controls associated with the user profile data that control transmission of the video content via the personalized video channel. A streaming component is configured to communicate the set of predicted video content from the plurality of media sources to a mobile component via the personalized video channel based on the set of viewing controls and the user profile data. The personalized video channel can be re-configured to communicate, at different times, the video content identified from different media sources of the plurality of media sources.

Media content can consist of various forms of media and the contents that make up the different forms of media. For example, a film, video, movie or motion picture can comprise a series of still or moving images that are rapidly put together and projected onto/from a display. The video is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects. The process of filmmaking has developed into an art form and a large industry, which continues to provide entertainment to masses of people, especially during times of war or calamity.
Typical television or video programming provides a set programming schedule combining pre-set programming that is sequentially broadcast to a user via a particular channel. The user establishes what television programming, channel and the corresponding times that the programs are being broadcasted. The user is then able to select from among a set number of broadcast channels, programming and/or times for the video. As a result, the user relies on the taste of the broadcasting studio to provide interesting content, at available times and on available channels for viewing. If the content is not suitable, another broadcast channel is selected or the user can opt to find different television entertainment, such as a movie rental, paid programming, online streaming, and/or rely upon recording devices to store the video on a particular channel for later viewing. The above trends or deficiencies are merely intended to provide an overview of some conventional systems, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with conventional systems and corresponding benefits of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein may become further apparent upon review of the following description.


A stacked package structure for a chip, can include: a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite thereto; a first die having an active and back faces, where the active face of the first die includes pads; a first enclosure that covers the first die; an interlinkage that extends to the first enclosure to electrically couple with the pads; a first redistribution body electrically coupled to the interlinkage, and being partially exposed on a surface of the stacked package structure to provide outer pins for electrically coupling to external circuitry; a penetrating body that penetrates the first enclosure and substrate; a second die having an electrode electrically coupled to a first terminal of the penetrating body; and a second terminal of the penetrating body that is exposed on the surface of the stacked package structure to provide outer pins for electrically coupling to the external circuitry.

Integrated circuit dice are typically packaged prior to being integrated with other electrical elements or devices in the manufacturing process. The package structure may at least provide sealing of dice, as well as provide electrical connectivity ports to external circuitry. For example, the package structure can provide electrical connectivity between dice and base board of electrical or electronic products, protection from pollution, mechanical support, heat dissipation, and also may reduce heat mechanical strain.

Stacked package structure and stacked packaging method for chip

Silergy Semiconductor Technology (Hangzhou) LTD


Disclosed is a system and method for treating domestic and industrial biological waste using diffusers to force circulation and aerate a treatment lagoon. Several lagoons may be used in series to treat raw waste and different variations may be employed to stepwise process the waste. A blend of aerobic and anaerobic microbes is chosen to remove undesired species initially present in the waste or later formed therein, as well as to process the waste itself, depending on the nature of the waste. Aeration with slightly ozonated or oxygenated air facilitates rapid and complete processing of large amounts of waste.

Anaerobic animal waste treatment systems are generally characterized by systems with liners or covered lagoons designed to mitigate smell and odor problems. Other systems include large biogas digesters. Anaerobic processes are very slow and rely on microbial decomposition reactions and processes that break down waste with no oxygen present. In addition, the anaerobic processes generate strong, unpleasant odors. Due to the slow process of digestion, there may be a rapid buildup of solids in the digestion ponds that must be removed and disposed of later. Further, anaerobic digestion does not remove salt content from runoff water.
Anaerobic systems are expensive to construct and may require a large capital investment to treat the effluent from a typical dairy or other farm operation. Often, covers are fitted to an anaerobic lagoon to capture and dispose of odorous gases such as H2S and ammonia. Such covers are expensive and require periodic maintenance.
It would therefore be valuable to provide a system and method for processing waste quickly and efficiently, with a minimum of odor and as completely as possible. Further, it would be valuable to be able to process solid waste quickly enough that solid waste does not build up. Further, it would be valuable to provide a system and method that minimizes both the capital and recurring costs.


An ophthalmic device and method actively correcting possible movement of the eye of a patient with respect to the correct positioning during the examination are described. An illumination light beam is provided, that passes through a cross-section of the anterior chamber of the eye to capture an image on the corneal vertex.

Over the last few years a series of ophthalmic devices of the aforementioned type have been developed, based upon a slit illumination of a section of the cornea and upon the recording of such an illuminated section through a suitable observation system. Most of such devices capture and record images of various sections of the eye, through rotation of the capturing devices around the optical axis of the eye and, through suitable processing, they obtain a three-dimensional reconstruction of the anterior chamber of the same eye.
One of the main problems that has been experienced when using this kind of devices is that the eyes of the patient, however cooperative and concentrated he may be on correctly fixing the fixation point provided by the device, cannot keep absolutely still. On the other hand the scanning of the eye requires a certain period of time in order to be completed. Therefore, what occurs is that during the rotating scanning, the ideal position for capturing the eye becomes misaligned with respect to the rotation axis of the capturing device. This misalignment, when positioning the single sections with respect to one another and therefore in the three-dimensional reconstruction phase of the anterior chamber, can lead to artefacts and considerable errors.
In order to solve this problem, different "a posteriori" correction methods have been proposed and implemented in devices that are currently on the market. An example of such a way to approach the problem is provided by the device described in EP1430829. Indeed, a specific functional solution forms the object of such a patent, that is, simultaneously recording sectional images and front images, the latter showing an image of the illuminated sectional portion of the cornea, so as to make it possible to assign a section captured at a time T to the area that is indeed illuminated, formed by the front image.
This second solution has the following drawbacks:                saving the image twice (from the front and from the side) means an extra functional workload of the examination and an increase in the computational costs;        compensation a posteriori, in any case, does not offer a completely satisfactory solution, since it is necessary for there to be a mathematical interpolation of the data when assigning them to their position again, and an interpolation is of course less reliable than a direct data measurement.
Active correction solutions are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,712,899 describes a solution with two perpendicular channels for simultaneously recording two sections of the eye and a third video observation channel, that is capable of detecting the possible misalignment of the eye and the consequent correction through the movement of a considerable part of the two recording systems of the sections.
A system of this kind however, in turn, is structurally and operatively complex, and therefore its practical application comes up against constructive problems, control difficulties and inaccuracy of the results.

Costruzioni Strumenti Oftalmici C.S.O. S.R.L.


Disclosed herein are extracellular vesicles comprising an immunomodulating component. Also provided are methods for producing the extracellular vesicles and methods for using the extracellular vesicles for treating cancer, GvHD, and autoimmune diseases.

Immunotherapy is the treatment of disease by inducing, enhancing, or suppressing the immune response. Immunotherapy can stimulate the patient's own immune system to attack cancer cells. Cancer immunotherapy usually has fewer side effects than traditional cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Anti-inflammatory immunotherapy can down-regulate the patient's immune system for treating autoimmune diseases and graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). What is needed are improved methods for delivering immunomodulatory molecules to cells and tissues of the body.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Exosomes for immuno-oncology and anti-inflammatory therapy


A flow meter is disclosed with a hollow blocking rotor. The flow meter includes a housing that has a cavity with an inlet and an outlet. The flow meter also includes a pair of displacement rotors with a blocking rotor disposed between the displacement rotors. The blocking rotor includes a pair of convex walls and a pair of concave walls. The blocking rotor further includes a shaft coupled to the pair of concave walls. Each concave wall is disposed between and coupled to a pair of opposing convex walls. The concave walls provide clearance for rotation of the displacement rotors when the displacement rotors sweep along the concave walls. The hollow configuration of the blocking rotor reduces the impedance of the flow meter.

Gasoline storage tank facilities, gasoline transport trucks, underground natural gas delivery systems, or other fluid storage or delivery systems generally have a positive displacement flow meter connected in line in the fluid delivery system. Pumping of the fluid, whether gas or liquid, through the delivery line causes movement of the rotors in the flow meter which drives a mechanical or electrical counting device to measure precisely the volume of fluid flow through the meter.
Some flow meters have a housing that defines a cavity within which three rotors are rotatably mounted. The three rotors include a pair of displacement rotors and a blocking rotor disposed between the displacement rotors. One of the displacement rotors is disposed towards the inlet of the flow meter; the other displacement rotor is disposed towards the outlet. As the blocking rotor rotates, it mates with the inlet displacement rotor disposed to close off part of the cavity to define a flow path along which the fluid must pass, thereby causing the displacement rotors and blocking rotor to rotate. The rotation of the displacement and blocking rotors creates a motion that can be correlated to the fluid volume passing through the meter, making it possible to translate the rotation of the displacement rotors into a meter reading showing fluid volume flow.
Typically, the entire fluid flow through a conduit is diverted through the flow meter in order to provide a flow throughput reading. Therefore, it is desirable that the flow meter add as little flow impedance as possible to the flow to minimize energy losses and to maintain the intended flow rate. To that end, it is desirable to provide a flow meter with rotors having low mass but sufficient strength for a long and accurate service life. For obvious reasons, it is also desirable to provide housings for flow meters that are as compact as possible.
A continuing need then exists to provide flow meters of the type utilizing blocking and displacement rotors of lightweight yet strong construction. Specifically, flow meters used for dispensing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are subjected to sudden focus in the event the LPG flashes. As a result, prior art blocking rotors are prone to breakage. Specifically, despite the use of reinforcing ribs 1400, the blocking rotor 115 of FIG. 2A is prone to breakage along the ribbed wall 140 near the spindle 155 while the blocking rotor 315 of FIG. 2C is prone to breakage on the wall 340 on either side of the shaft 355. Finally, the shaftless blocking rotor 215 of FIG. 2B is prone to breakage near the axial center of the wall 240.
Another problem with the prior art blocking rotors 115, 215, 315 of FIGS. 2A-2C is the high moments of inertia associated with each rotor 115, 215, 315 that require more energy to initiate rotation of the rotors 115, 215, 315 and more time to stop rotation of the rotors 115, 215, 315. The slower stopping ability of the rotors 115, 215, 315 in unwanted leakage through the flow meter after the dispensing has stopped thereby compromising the accuracy of the dispense.

Liquid Controls Group, A Unit of IDEX Corporation


A locking arrangement includes a latch assembly, a locking mechanism, and a user operable opening member. The locking mechanism holds the latch assembly in a latching position when the locking mechanism is in a locked condition and allows the latch assembly to move to an unlatching position when the locking mechanism is in an unlocked condition. The opening member is movable from a normal position to an opening position. When the locking mechanism is in the unlocked condition, movement of the opening member to the opening position moves the latch assembly from the latching position to the unlatching position. The opening member is operatively connected to the latch assembly by a compressible member, such that when the locking mechanism is in the locked condition, movement of the opening member to the opening position compresses the compressible member without moving the latch assembly out of the latching position.

Lockable enclosures are used in many indoor and outdoor environments to restrict access to various items by providing the enclosure with a lockable door, lid, drawer, or other such barrier. The barrier can include a locking mechanism, such as, for example, a combination lock, padlock, set of pushbuttons, or key operated latch, to limit access to the contents of the enclosure to one or more authorized users. Some applications may require secure storage of one or more smaller items, such as keys, credit cards, or documents, for which restricted access by a limited number of authorized individuals is desirable. One example of such an enclosure is a key safe, which is affixed to an entry door (e.g., shackled around the doorknob) of a building for secure retention of an authorized key for the entry door. The key safe may employ, for example, a pushbutton or combination dial locking mechanism, such that authorized users informed of the unlocking combination may open the key safe to access the door key for entry into the building.


An operation mode of an engine and after-treatment system is determined based on a reductant-to-fuel cost ratio. The operation mode optimizes fuel consumption and reductant consumption in an engine system including an internal combustion engine and a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst while satisfying a target emissions emission level.

Diesel engines offer good fuel economy and low emissions of hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO). The air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber is compressed to an extremely high pressure, causing the temperature to increase until the fuel's auto-ignition temperature is reached. The air-to-fuel ratio for diesel engines is much leaner (more air per unit of fuel) than for gasoline engines, and the larger amount of air promotes more complete fuel combustion and better fuel efficiency. As a result, emissions of HCs and CO are lower for diesel engines than for gasoline engines. However, with the higher pressures and temperatures in the diesel engine, emissions of nitrogen oxides (e.g., NO or NO2), which are known collectively as NOx, tend to be higher because the high combustion chamber temperatures cause the oxygen and nitrogen in the intake air to combine as nitrogen oxides. Hence, emissions of nitrogen oxides are a result of very high thermal efficiencies of the diesel engine.
Additionally, as a further disadvantage, diesel engines produce an amount of exhaust particulate matter (PM), or soot, that is comparatively larger than that of gasoline engines. PM is a complex emission that includes elemental carbon, heavy hydrocarbons derived from the fuel and lubricating oil, and hydrated sulfuric acid derived from the fuel sulfur. Diesel particulates include small nuclei mode particles having diameters below 0.4 μm and their agglomerates of diameters up to 1 μm. PM is formed when insufficient air or low combustion temperature prohibits the complete combustion of free carbon. As such, PM is partially unburned fuel or lube oil and is often seen as black smoke.
NOx emissions from diesel engines pose a number of health and environmental concerns. Once in the atmosphere, NOx reacts with volatile organic compounds or hydrocarbons in the presence of sunlight to form ozone, leading to smog formation. Ozone is corrosive and contributes to many pulmonary function problems, for instance.
Moreover, the fine particles that make up PM in diesel exhaust can penetrate deep into the lungs and pose serious health risks including aggravated asthma, lung damage, and other serious health problems. PM from diesel engines also contributes to haze, which restricts visibility.
Due to their damaging effects, governmental agencies have imposed increasingly stringent restrictions for NOx as well as PM emissions. Two mechanisms can be implemented to comply with emission control regulations: manipulation of engine operating characteristics and implementation of after-treatment control technologies.
In general, manipulating engine operating characteristics to lower NOx emissions can be accomplished by lowering the intake temperature, reducing power output, retarding the injector timing, reducing the coolant temperature, and/or reducing the combustion temperature.
For example, cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is well known and is the method that most engine manufacturers are using to meet environmental regulations. When an engine uses EGR, a percentage of the exhaust gases is drawn or forced back into the intake and mixed with the fresh air and fuel that enters the combustion chamber. The air from the EGR lowers the peak flame temperatures inside the combustion chamber. Intake air dilution causes most of the NOx reduction by decreasing the O2 concentration in the combustion process. To a smaller degree, the air also absorbs some heat, further cooling the process. The use of EGR increases fuel consumption.
In addition to EGR, designing electronic controls and improving fuel injectors to deliver fuel at the best combination of injection pressure, injection timing, and spray location allows the engine to burn fuel efficiently without causing temperature spikes that increase NOx emissions. For instance, controlling the timing of the start of injection of fuel into the cylinders impacts emissions as well as fuel efficiency. Advancing the start of injection, so that fuel is injected when the piston is further away from top dead center (TDC), results in higher in-cylinder pressure and higher fuel efficiency, but also results in higher NOx emissions. On the other hand, retarding the start of injection delays combustion, but lowers NOx emissions. Due to the delayed injection, most of the fuel is combusted at lower peak temperatures, reducing NOx formation.
With EGR engines, one of the key components to emissions control is the turbocharger. Most manufacturers using EGR technology have developed versions of variable geometry turbochargers (VGT), which are designed to regulate the flow of cooled exhaust air back into the combustion chamber, depending on the engine's speed.
The precise amount of exhaust gas that must be metered into the intake manifold varies with engine load. High EGR flow is generally necessary during cruising and mid-range acceleration, when combustion temperatures are typically very high. On the other hand, low EGR flow is needed during low speed and light load conditions. No EGR flow should occur during conditions when EGR could negatively or significantly impact engine operating efficiency or vehicle driveability, e.g., during engine warm up, idle, or wide open throttle.
Reducing NOx by manipulating engine operation generally reduces fuel efficiency. Moreover, mere manipulation of engine operation may not sufficiently reduce the amount of NOx to mandated levels. As a result, after-treatment systems also need to be implemented. In general, catalysts are used to treat engine exhaust and convert pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, as well as NOx, into harmless gases. In particular, to reduce NOx emissions, diesel engines on automotive vehicles can employ a catalytic system known as a urea-based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system. Fuel efficiency benefits of 3 to 10% can result from using SCR systems that reduce NOx through chemical reduction rather than manipulating engine operation for NOx reduction which negatively impacts fuel efficiency. SCR catalysts (sometimes referred to herein as "SCR") currently are used in diesel after-treatment systems. The SCR is typically fluidly connected to, and positioned downstream a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) with a particulate filter (e.g., a diesel particulate filter (DPF)) provided between the SCR and DOC. The SCR requires a reductant dosing system, such as a diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) dosing system, which is provided upstream of the SCR to inject a reductant such as anhydrous NH3, aqueous NH3, or most often a precursor that is convertible to NH3 such as urea ammonia or urea, into the exhaust flow.
Urea-based SCR systems can be viewed according to four major subsystems: the injection subsystem that introduces urea into the exhaust stream, the urea vaporization and mixing subsystem, the exhaust pipe subsystem, and the catalyst subsystem. Several SCR catalysts are available for diesel engines, including platinum, vanadium, and zeolite.
A diesel vehicle, stationary engine system, portable engine system must carry a supply of urea solution, or DEF, for the SCR system. The DEF is typically 32.5% urea in water by weight and is stored in a container, such as a tank or removable and/or refillable cartridge. The DEF is pumped from the container and sprayed through an atomizing nozzle into the exhaust gas stream, although other types and forms of reductant dosing systems can be used such as solid ammonia stored in a refillable cartridge. Complete mixing of urea or ammonia with exhaust gases and uniform flow distribution are critical in achieving high NOx reductions.
Urea-based SCR systems use gaseous ammonia to reduce NOx. During thermolysis, the heat of the gas breaks the urea (CO(NH2)2) down into ammonia (NH3) and hydrocyanic acid (HCNO). The ammonia and the HCNO then meet the SCR catalyst where the ammonia is absorbed and the HCNO is further decomposed through hydrolysis into ammonia. When the ammonia is absorbed, it reacts with the NOx to produce water, oxygen gas (O2), and nitrogen gas (N2). The amount of ammonia injected into the exhaust stream is a critical operating parameter. The required ratio of ammonia to NOx is typically stoichiometric. The ratio of ammonia to NOx must be maintained to assure high levels of NOx reduction. However, the SCR system can never achieve 100% NOx reduction due to imperfect mixing, etc.
A common problem with all SCR systems is ammonia slip. Ammonia slip refers to tailpipe emissions of ammonia that occur when: i) exhaust gas temperatures are too cold for the SCR reaction to occur, or ii) the amount of ammonia introduced into the exhaust stream is more than is required for the amount of NOx present Ammonia that is not reacted will slip through the SCR catalyst bed and exhaust to the atmosphere. Ammonia slip is a regulated emissions parameter which may not exceed a fixed concentration in the SCR exhaust.
Although the approaches described hereinabove may be effective in reducing NOx emissions, it is generally difficult to reduce both NOx emissions and PM emissions simultaneously. Conventionally, efforts to reduce NOx through various aspects of engine design tend to increase PM, or vice versa. In particular, very high temperatures in the combustion chamber help reduce PM emissions, but produce higher levels of NOx. On the other hand, lowering the peak temperatures in the combustion chamber reduces the amount of NOx as described previously, but increases the likelihood of PM formation. For example, advancing injection timing creates higher peak cylinder temperatures which burn off PM but produce NOx. Meanwhile, retarding timing reduces temperatures to minimize NOx emissions, but the reduced temperatures result in less complete combustion and increases PM. For similar reasons, the use of EGR to cool lower combustion temperatures increases PM emissions.
Among various engine operating characteristics, PM emissions can be reduced by advancing injection timing, increasing fuel injection pressures, increasing the power output, reducing engine speed, and reducing oil consumption. Additionally, a turbocharger can be employed to increase the charge pressure which allows the engine to operate on a leaner mixture resulting in lower particulate emissions.
After-treatment devices, such as a particulate filter (e.g., DPF), also exist to reduce or remove PM in diesel exhaust. Such after-treatment devices are often required in order to meet both NOx and PM emissions requirements, due to the difficulty of simultaneously reducing NOx and PM emissions by altering engine parameters, such as fuel injection timing.
For example, the DOC and DPF combination can provide effective approaches to purify PM emissions from a diesel engine. A DOC is a catalytic device that is used in the abatement of HC, CO, and the soluble organic fraction (SOF) of PM in diesel exhaust. A DPF has a filter with very small pores which are designed to remove PM, or soot, from diesel exhaust. Efficiencies for a DPF can be 85%, and even over 90%.
Through a process known as regeneration, many DPF's burn off PM that accumulates on the filter. Regeneration may be accomplished passively by adding a catalyst to the filter. Alternatively, regeneration may be accomplished actively by increasing the exhaust temperature through a variety of approaches, e.g. engine management, a fuel burner, or resistive heating coils. Active systems use extra fuel to cause burning that heats the DPF or to provide extra power to the DPF's electrical system. Running the cycle too often while keeping the back pressure in the exhaust system low, results in extra fuel use.
A DOC may also be used as a heating-device in active regeneration of a DPF. The accumulated PM in the DPF is continuously oxidized by NO2 which is generated by oxidizing NO in a DOC that is upstream of the DPF. Such a system requires accurate control to maintain the mass ratio of NO/PM in engine-out exhaust gas over a critical value. In-cylinder dosing is employed in active regeneration, where fuel injectors add a dose of fuel into the cylinder after the primary combustion has taken place. Unburned fuel is exhausted out of the cylinder downstream to the DOC where it burns and generates additional heat for the DPF. The additional heat in the DPF helps to convert the accumulated PM into ash, which has lower volume.
Engine control modules (ECM's), which are also known as engine control units (ECU's), control the engine and other functions in the vehicle. ECM's can receive a variety of inputs to determine how to control the engine and other functions in the vehicle. With regard to NOx and PM reduction, the ECM can manipulate the parameters of engine operation, such as EGR and fuel injection.
ECM's can also control the operating parameters of exhaust after-treatment devices, such as a urea-based SCR system, a DOC system, or a DPF system. For instance, an ECM can meter urea solution into the exhaust stream at a rate calculated from an algorithm which estimates the amount of NOx present in the exhaust stream as a function of engine operating conditions, e.g. vehicle speed and load. As a further example, an ECM can monitor one or more sensors that measure back pressure and/or temperature, and based on pre-programmed set points, the ECM activates the regeneration cycle.

Method and system for optimizing fuel and reductant consumption


A micro-fluid ejection head has a resistor layer defining a heater element. An insulative layer underlies the heater element and a capping layer on the insulative layer substantially prevents ion mobility between the resistor and insulative layers. Resistance stability of the heater has been shown improved as has adhesion of the heater to the insulator. Representative layers include insulation of methyl silesquioxane (MSQ) in a thickness of about 5000 Angstroms or more, while the cap is a silicon nitride in a thickness of about 2000 Angstroms or less. Other capping layers include silicon carbide, silicon oxide or dielectrics. The resistor layer typifies TaAlN in a thickness of about 350 Angstroms, including overlying anode and cathode conductors that define the heater. Coating layers are also disclosed as are thermal barrier layers.

The art of printing images with micro-fluid technology is relatively well known. Familiar devices include fax machines, all-in-ones, inkjet printers, and graphics plotters, to name a few. Conventionally, an ejection head in an inkjet printer includes access to a local or remote supply of ink, a heater chip, a nozzle plate, and an input/output connector, such as a tape automated bond (TAB) circuit. The TAB circuit electrically connects the heater chip to the printer. The heater chip typifies thin film resistors or heaters fabricated by growing, forming, depositing, patterning and etching various layers on a substrate, such as a silicon wafer. One or more ink vias cut or etched through a thickness of the wafer serve to fluidly connect the ink to an individual resistive heater. To print or emit a single ink drop, a heater is uniquely addressed with a small amount of current from adjacent electrodes. The current causes heating of a small volume of ink which vaporizes in a local ink chamber. The ink ejects through the nozzle plate toward a print medium.
Thin films overlying a resistor layer traditionally include coating layers, such as silicon nitride (SiN) and tantalum (Ta) for reasons relating to passivation and ink cavitation protection. Underneath the resistor layer, a thermal barrier layer exists above the substrate. The oxide functions to prevent energy from the heaters from migrating into the substrate. While the design has proved adequate over the years, significant heat absorption from the heaters still remains in modern designs which keeps low the thermal efficiency of the micro-fluid ejection head. More recently, artisans have suggested bolstering the barrier layer with insulative materials, such as methyl silesquioxane (MSQ). Other layers are suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 7,390,078, incorporated herein.
During recent wafer qualification testing, however, the inventors have observed that direct contact between the MSQ and the resistor layer results in resistance instability over a long term life of the head. Particularly, the inventors have seen that resistance stability changes greatly over the course of tiring a printhead with substantial changes occurring around the five millionth firing. As is seen in FIG. 4, resistance instability 400 results in more than 30.0% change when traditional stability levels should range between 0 to 5.0% ΔR/Ri.
Accordingly, a need exists to significantly improve stability of heater resistance. Solutions, however, should only minimally affect thermal impedance. Additional benefits and alternatives are also sought when devising such solutions.

Capping layer for insulator in micro-fluid ejection heads


A vehicle showcase display badge is provided which includes a bezel, a substantially transparent front lens, and a rear lens comprising a light transparent front surface and a colored reflective rear surface. The badge also includes a graphic assembly disposed between the front lens and the rear lens, wherein the rear lens provides a three-dimensional appearance of the graphic assembly. The badge further includes an attachment for attaching the badge to a vehicle such that the graphic assembly is viewable. One or more curved surfaces may be employed on the rear lens to provide a shadow effect. One or more of the lenses may be overmolded.

Showcase display badges or emblems are commonly employed on vehicles to prominently display a vehicle manufacturer's logo, name or other graphic display. Showcase badges typically include a housing or bezel and a graphic assembly disposed within the bezel. The graphic assembly typically has a printed name or logo arranged in the bezel for prominent display. Additionally, a plastic protective transparent cover may be provided over the front of the graphic assembly. For some vehicles, it may be desirable to have a more prominent upscale showcase badge to enhance the attractiveness of the vehicle and the graphic display.