A user inputs whether a reading object film is negative film, positive film, or monochrome film. A suitable profile for use in color matching is selected based on this input.

This application is based on Patent Application No. 11-322967 filed in Japan, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a film scanning system and a storage medium recorded color matching program. The present invention particularly relates to a film scanning system and a storage medium recorded color matching program capable of color matching in accordance with film characteristics.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, image digitalization has progressed rapidly in recent years due to the popularization of personal computers and digital cameras. On the other hand, images photographed using conventional analog silver halide film cameras can be practically digitized, and film scanners can be effectively used for this purpose.
Color matching art for matching colors among devices has become extremely desirably in conjunction with the colorization of so many imaging devices. Image input devices including film scanners are not exceptions, and color matching an original film image and the image displayed on a CRT is desirable when an input image is displayed on an output device such as a CRT (cathode ray tube) or the like. For this reason the color matching function often has been provided in film scanners in recent years.
In systems capable of incorporating various input and output devices, a means is required for knowing the characteristics of the connected devices in order to realize color matching. Such a means is being determined in a scheme using a file recording device characteristics (profiles) in a format called the ICC profile determined by the international color consortium (ICC).
In the case of a film scanner, the input film (i.e., film to be processed) may be a positive film or a negative film. Positive film is itself the ultimately appreciated medium, and there is no particular problem in color matching the film as a target. However, negative film is only an intermediate medium which is printed on printing paper, and color matching the film as a target is meaningless. The color matching process is particularly meaningless because there is no color in a monochrome negative film. Such a meaningless process increases the time required for image processing.
In scanners provided with a conventional color matching function, when color negative film is processed, a color balance process is executed to reverse the tones of the read image and correct the coloring of the negative beforehand to improve color reproducibility. In addition to these processes, a color matching process is performed for color conversion. However, the various processes performed for positive film are also directly performed for negative film. Since the tone characteristics are obviously opposite for positive film and negative film, the spectral characteristics of the coloring matter used also differ. For this reason correct color matching cannot be attained when using the processes of positive film directly for negative film. Furthermore, A result of performing the color matching process makes it unclear relative to what the color matching was performed.
On the other hand, when processing negative film in the case of scanners which are not provided with a color matching function, the tones are reversed, and a color balance correction process is performed. Although a sufficiently appreciable image may be obtained by such processes, color matching cannot be completely ensured.
Accordingly, in the conventional art, meaningful color matching is not provided when reading color negative film whether the scanner is provided with a color matching function or the scanner is not provided with a color matching function.
An object of the present invention is to provide a film scanning system and recorded medium recorded color matching program capable of suitable color matching in accordance with film type.
These objects are attained by the film scanning system of the present invention comprising film scanner for scanning an image recorded on the film; a discriminator for discriminating a type of film; a selector for selecting a profile for use in color matching based on the discrimination result of the discriminator; and image processor for performing the color matching based on the selected profile.
These objects are further attained by a storage medium on which is stored a program implementing the steps of: discriminating a type of film to be scanned; selecting a profile for use in color matching based on the discrimination result in the discrimination step; scanning an image recorded on the film; and performing the color matching based on the profile selected in the selection step.


A blast resistant window system includes a plurality of anchor members disposed in a wall and first and second mounting bodies at first and second opposite ends of an opening in the wall secured with the anchor members. The first mounting body has a first pair of spaced brackets connected thereto, and the second mounting body having a second pair of spaced brackets connected thereto. First and second energy dampening devices are disposed between the first and second pairs of spaced brackets. First and second restraining cables extend between the first and second mounting bodies across the inside surface of the window pane. These cables have first and second ends connected to the first and second pairs of spaced brackets. The cables are coupled together at the first and second opposite ends of the opening by the first and second energy dampening devices.

Physical security for buildings, offices, residences, etc. is a growing concern. One such security concern is damage caused by explosions, such as a bomb detonation, that may occur exterior to a structure. Though a building's inherent structural integrity can often mitigate the impact of some types of explosions, the impact can be aggravated by the presence of windows in the building. Glass shards from breaking windows can cause substantial damage and injury to persons and property inside a building even if the structural damage to the building is minimal. It has been reported that glass shrapnel from shattering windows causes over eighty percent (80%) of the serious injuries from a bomb blast event.
Many useful devices have been developed to secure and protect structures from blast events. These devices can be divided into two broad categories: (i) replacement of the existing glass and framing window system with a blast resistant window system, and (ii) installation of a retrofit product or products onto or in front of the existing glass and framing system on the interior of the building, while keeping the original window unit in place.
Typically, the most effective method is to completely replace the existing window system with a blast resistant window system designed specifically for the building's structure and the estimated blast load; however, it can be cost prohibitive to treat an entire building in this manner. Another option is to install retrofit products such as fragment retention films that can be anchored to the existing window frame; however this approach has its own limitations and may not be a viable option for many reasons, such as, for example: (i) hardening the window with current retrofit treatments may actually cause greater structural damage to the building in a blast event; (ii) the window, glass, or frame construction may not allow hardening using current retrofit treatments; or (iii) the available retrofit treatments that are technically possible are not aesthetically acceptable.
The typical minimum protection technique for retrofitting windows is to apply a fragment retention film (FRF) or shatter-resistant window film (SRWF) (collectively, "blast protection film") to the visible portion of the glass in what is termed a "daylight configuration." Although the fragment retention film will hold the glass shards together during a blast event, the window pane may fly into the room as one piece, possibly causing blunt trauma injury.
The fragment retention film can be anchored to the existing window frame using various techniques. This application usually is sufficient for low level blasts if the existing window frame has sufficient structural integrity to accept the blast load generated by the film and anchoring system. In some window systems, however, it is not feasible to install an anchored fragment retention film. Therefore other retrofit fragment retention film configurations must be used in conjunction with products that catch the filmed glass after it leaves the window frame in a blast event.
In the mid 1990s, the US Army Corps of Engineers developed a retrofit "catchbar system" that consisted of a steel tube placed across a window and mounted securely into the structure's wall. The window glass was treated with a fragment retention film. During a blast, the bar literally caught the filmed glass as it exited the window frame. The US Army Corps of Engineers published its blast results and design in an Engineering Technical Letter for use by manufacturers, designers, and end users describing the design and implementation of this concept. This method worked well for lower blast pressures, but at higher blast pressures the film tore from impact with the rigid catch bar, allowing two pieces of filmed glass to fly into the room.
A solution to this problem was developed in the form of a deployable catchbar. The deployable catchbar system consists of a catchbar which contains and conceals a steel cable that is fastened on each end to the window frame or to the building's structure as appropriate. In a blast, the filmed glass is blown into the catchbar, which is mounted an inch or two from the glass window on the inside of the building. The catchbar engages the glass and exits the frame as well; however, the steel cable allows the catchbar to travel a short set distance but then stops the catchbar and glass sheet from traveling any further. The advantage of this system is that it allows the blast pressure to vent around the glass sheet and decelerates the glass sheet less abruptly. The assignee of the present application blast tested this product and presented its results to the Protective Glazing Council Symposium in 2000 at the General Services Administration (GSA) Headquarters Building in Washington, D.C. Many variations of this product have been developed and sold by different manufacturers. Some manufacturers even use a cable or strap system without the catchbar depending on the design blast load and aesthetics.
The catchbar concept, while effective, does has some drawbacks. Its effectiveness depends on the number of catchbars mounted across the window, and even the deployable version may cause the filmed glass to split where the catchbar engages the filmed glass in large blasts, at least with bare cable catchbars. Also, this approach is relatively ineffective when used in conjunction with insulating glass since only the interior pane is treated with fragment retention film.
U.S. Published Application No. 2006/0032160A1 to Gazaway et al. entitled "Retrofit Glass Fragment Catching System" describes a blast resistant window blind system, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
An improved blast resistant window system is desired.

Blast protection window retention system


In a multi-call scenario, a UE can receive an incoming call while an active call is already established on the UE. In response to receiving the incoming call, a process for handling the incoming call in a user-customizable manner can include accessing a history of user input received by the UE in context of handling multiple contemporaneous calls on the UE, and handling the incoming call based at least in part on the history of the user input. By the UE considering past user input received by the UE in context of handling multiple contemporaneous calls, the UE is configured to learn from past user behavior during multi-call scenarios, and adjust its call handling approach for the incoming call based on the past user behavior.

Current user equipment (UE) (e.g., mobile phones) can establish up to two calls at the same time by having one active call and another call on hold. Handling more than two calls (i.e., a third incoming call) at the same time creates an issue because current UEs are not capable of establishing all three calls at the same time without a conference bridge. Thus, a UE that receives a third incoming call provides limited options for handling the third incoming call. Some UEs simply reject the third incoming call without giving a user an option to answer the third incoming call. However, not giving a user the chance to answer an incoming call is unacceptable from a customer service standpoint. Other UEs are configured to give the user an option to answer the third incoming call, but the options provided to the user are limited.
For example, the user can be given the option to answer or reject the third incoming call, sometimes along with a preconfigured text message that is sent to the rejected third caller. When answering the third incoming call, the user must choose between dropping either a first active call or a second call that is either incoming or on hold. These limited options are also not acceptable from a customer service standpoint. For example, a caller of an "on-hold" call that was dropped to answer an incoming call in the above scenario may be left wondering why his/her call was dropped; the caller not having had a chance to talk to the user on the other end before the on-hold call was dropped. Furthermore, the system-generated text messages that are sent to rejected callers are often unacceptable as either lacking desired formalities for business relationships, being too formal for personal relationships, or otherwise not "sounding like" the user that sent the message.

User customizable handling of multiple calls


An 8051 microprocessor core having an ability to operate via an external crystal oscillator or be switched to operate in a low power mode via an internal ring oscillator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to integrated circuit electronic devices, and, more particularly, to microcomputers, microcontrollers, and microprocessors.
2. Background and Objects of the Present Invention
The demand for ever higher performance from computers generally, and microprocessors and microcontrollers in particular, has led to various enhancements, including higher clock rates and simpler instruction sets. Consequently, the control and flexibility of clock speeds and rates for all circuits, especially microprocessor and microcontroller integrated circuits, has become critical, as designers attempt to design faster and faster microprocessors and microcontrollers. Previous control systems for oscillators were simplistic and/or relied primarily on prewired hardware circuits, which are not very flexible.

Microcontroller with selectable oscillator source


A process for the preparation of compounds of formula (1), wherein R1 is C1-C6alkyl and X is hydrogen, a hydrocarbon radical or a cation, wherein a compound of formula (2), wherein R1 is as defined above and R2 is hydrogen or a hydrocarbon radical, is reduced, the resulting compound of formula (3) is reacted with a compound that introduces the radical of formula xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR3, wherein R3 has the meanings given above for R2, and the resulting compound of formula (4) is reduced and optionally hydrolysed.

The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of indole derivatives and to novel intermediates.
Indole derivatives of the formula (1) hereinbelow are known as pharmaceutical active ingredients (e.g. from U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,073). Fluvastatin, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, that is, a cholesterol-biosynthesis inhibitor, is an important indole derivative that is used in the treatment of hyperlipoproteinaemia and arteriosclerosis.
Known processes for the preparation of the indole compounds of formula (1) do not in all cases meet the demands made in terms of yield and economy of the process.
It is accordingly the aim of the present Application to make available a novel process for the preparation of indole compounds of formula (1) by means of which such compounds can be obtained in as high a yield as possible.
The present invention thus relates to a process for the preparation of compounds of formula
wherein R1 is C1-C6alkyl and
X is hydrogen, a hydrocarbon radical or a cation,
in which process a compound of formula
wherein R1 is as defined above and R2 is hydrogen or a hydrocarbon radical, is reduced, the resulting compound of formula
wherein R1 and R2 are as defined above, is reacted with a compound that introduces the radical of formula xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR3 wherein R3 has the meanings given above for R2, and the resulting compound of formula
is reduced and optionally hydrolysed.
There come into consideration as C1-C6alkyl radicals for R1, for example, methyl, ethyl, n- or iso-propyl, n-, iso-, sec- or tert-butyl, and straight-chain or branched pentyl or hexyl. C1-C4Alkyl radicals are preferred. R1 is preferably propyl, especially isopropyl.
There come into consideration as hydrocarbon radicals for R2, R3 and X, each independently of the others, for example unsubstituted or substituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl and phenyl radicals. Special mention may be made of unsubstituted or substituted C1-C12alkyl, C3-C12-alkenyl, C3-C12alkynyl and phenyl radicals. Preferably, R2, R3 and X are each independently of the others unsubstituted or substituted alkyl radicals, especially C1-C12alkyl radicals and preferably C1-C6alkyl radicals. There may be mentioned as an example of substituents of the alkyl radicals, for example, phenyl that is unsubstituted or further substituted on the phenyl ring by nitro or by hydroxy. There may be mentioned as examples of R2, R3 and X methyl, ethyl, n- or iso-propyl, n-, iso-, sec- or tert-butyl, allyl, benzyl, nitrobenzyl and also hydroxybenzyl. R2, R3 and X are especially preferably C1-C4alkyl. R2 is more especially preferably methyl or ethyl, especially methyl. R3 and X are more especially preferably butyl, especially tert-butyl.
When the radical X is a cation, it may be, for example, sodium or potassium, especially sodium.
The reduction of the compound of formula (2) to the compound of formula (3) can be carried out according to commonly used methods, such as are described, for example, in Houben-Weyl, Methoden der organischen Chemie, Volume 7/2b, pages 1991 ff, Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, 1976. The reduction can be effected, for example, with a metal hydride, such as lithium aluminium hydride, diisobutylaluminium hydride or, especially, sodium borohydride, in an anhydrous, inert organic solvent, for example an ether, such as tetrahydrofuran, diethyl ether, 1,2-dimethoxyethane or 1,2-diethoxyethane. When sodium borohydride is used, it is preferable to use as solvent a mixture of such ethers with a lower alcohol, especially methanol. There comes into consideration as the temperature for the reaction, for example, a range of from xe2x88x9280 to 25xc2x0 C. Preferably, the reaction is carried out in an inert gas atmosphere.
The reaction of the compound of formula (3) to form the compound of formula (4) can be carried out, for example, according to the procedure described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,199. For example a compound of formula CH3xe2x80x94COOR3, such as tert-butyl acetate, may be used as the compound that introduces the radical of formula xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR3, R3 having the meanings and preferred meanings mentioned above. The reaction is generally so carried out that, in the presence of a strong base, such as lithium diisopropylamide, a monoanion of the compound of formula CH3xe2x80x94COOR3 is formed. The reaction is usually performed in an anhydrous, inert organic solvent, for example an ether, such as diethyl ether, 1,2-dimethoxyethane, 1,2-diethoxyethane or, especially, tetrahydrofuran, the reaction generally being carried out in an inert gas atmosphere, at a temperature of from xe2x88x9280 to 25xc2x0 C. In a next step, the monoanion formed is reacted with the compound of formula (3), that reaction usually being performed in the same solvent and in an inert gas atmosphere, at a temperature of, for example, from xe2x88x9280 to 25xc2x0 C.
The reduction of the compound of formula (4) can be carried out, for example, by way of a cyclic boronate using sodium borohydride, as in O. Tempkin, Tetrahedron, Vol. 53, No. 31, 10659-10670 (1997). The reduction is effected, for example, in an ether and/or lower alcohol, such as tetrahydrofuran or methanol, at a temperature of, for example, from xe2x88x9250 to xe2x88x9280xc2x0 C. As borane there comes into consideration, for example, diethyl methoxyborane. The reduction can alternatively be carried out with diisobutylaluminium hydride or tributyltin hydride, as described in S. Kiyooka, Tetrahedron Letters, Vol. 27, No. 26, 3009-3012 (1986), or with zinc borohydride, as described in F. Kathawala, Helv. Chim. Acta, Vol. 69, 803-805 (1986). The reduction can also be carried out with NaBH4 in the presence of triethylboranes as complexing agents, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,073.
The hydrolysis of the compound obtained after reduction of the compound of formula (4) can be carried out, for example, by conventional basic hydrolysis of the ester. For that purpose, the compound obtained after reduction of the compound of formula (4) is treated with approximately one mole of an inorganic base, such as an alkali metal hydroxide, for example potassium hydroxide or, especially, sodium hydroxide, in a mixture of water and a water-miscible organic solvent, for example a lower alcohol or an ether, such as methanol, ethanol or tetrahydrofuran, at a temperature of, for example, from 0 to 80xc2x0 C. It is also possible to proceed with slightly less than the stoichiometric amount of base and then remove excess ester by means of extraction with a water-immiscible organic solvent, for example tert-butyl methyl ether; freeze-drying can then be carried out. In order to form the free acid, the ester can also be hydrolysed in an acidic medium, it being possible for such a hydrolysis to be carried out according to procedures known per se. It is preferable, following the reduction of the compound of formula (4), for hydrolysis, preferably with sodium hydroxide, to be carried out.
The compounds of formula (2) are novel and can be obtained, for example, according to the following processes:
According to a process variant a) for the preparation of compounds of formula (2), a compound of formula
wherein R1 has the meanings and preferred meanings given hereinbefore and Y is bromine, chlorine, iodine, xe2x80x94OSO2CF3 or xe2x80x94COCl, especially bromine,
is reacted with a compound that introduces the radical of formula xe2x80x94CHxe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94Z, wherein
Z is the radical xe2x80x94COOR4, xe2x80x94COR5 or xe2x80x94CN, R4 is hydrogen or a hydrocarbon radical and R5 is a hydrocarbon radical or unsubstituted or substituted amino,
and the resulting compound of formula
optionally after conversion of the compound of formula (6) wherein Z is the radical xe2x80x94COOR4 into the corresponding acid chloride or into the free acid,
is reacted with a compound that introduces the radical of formula xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR2.
When R4 and R5 are hydrocarbon radicals, the meanings and preferred meanings for hydrocarbon radicals given hereinbefore for R2 apply. For R5 as unsubstituted or substituted amino there comes into consideration, for example, amino substituted by C1-C12alkyl and/or by C1-C12alkoxy. In that case there preferably comes into consideration a radical of formula xe2x80x94N(OR6)R7 wherein R6 and R7 are hydrogen or hydrocarbon radicals, especially C1-C6alkyl and preferably methyl.
When R6 and R7 are hydrocarbon radicals, the meanings and preferred meanings for hydrocarbon radicals given hereinbefore for R2 apply.
Preferred as radicals Z are the radicals of formula xe2x80x94COOR4 or xe2x80x94COxe2x80x94N(OR6)R7 wherein R4, R6 and R7 have the meanings and preferred meanings given hereinbefore.
The compounds of formulae
are therefore of particular importance as compounds of formula (6).
The reaction of the compound of formula (5) to form the compound of formula (6) can be carried out according to methods known per se. The process can be carried out, for example, by the so-called Heck reaction, in which especially aromatic iodine or bromine compounds are reacted with olefins in the presence of palladium catalysts. The methodology is described, for example, in R. F. Heck, Acc. Chem. Res. 1979, 12,146; R. F. Heck, Org. React. 1982, 27, 345; and in R. F. Heck, Palladium Reactions in Synthesis, Academic Press, London 1985, S. Brxc3xa4se and A. De Meijere in Metal-catalyzed Cross-coupling Reactions, Chapter 3, Wiley-VCH, DE-Weinheim 1998 and in WO-A-99/47474.
There come into consideration as palladium catalysts especially those described under the general formula (Vlla) in WO-A-99/47474, preferably the catalysts denoted K1 to K11 in the examples documented in that specification, it being possible for the catalysts to be used especially in the amounts indicated therein.
As compounds that introduce the radical of formula xe2x80x94CHxe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94Z wherein Z is xe2x80x94COOR4 there come into consideration, for example, those of formula CH2xe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94COOR4, for example acrylic acid. As compounds that introduce the radical of formula xe2x80x94CHxe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94Z wherein Z is xe2x80x94COxe2x80x94N(OR6)R7 there come into consideration, for example, those of formula CH2xe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94COxe2x80x94N(OR6)R7, for example N-methoxy-N-methylacrylamide. Mention may also be made of the compound of formula CH2xe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94CN as compound that introduces the radical of formula xe2x80x94CHxe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94Z.
The molar ratio of the reaction partners (compound of formula (5)/compound introducing the radical of formula xe2x80x94CHxe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94Z) of such coupling reactions is generally in the range from 1:1 to 1:10, with preference being given to a ratio in the range from 1:1 to 1:2. The reaction is carried out with cooling up to the boiling temperature of the solvent, especially at from room temperature up to the boiling temperature of the solvent (reflux conditions). Suitable solvents are customary, especially higher-boiling, solvents, for example non-polar aprotic solvents, e.g. xylene or toluene, or polar aprotic solvents, e.g. dimethylformamide, dimethoxyethane or dimethylacetamide. The reaction product (6) obtainable can be worked up and isolated in a manner known per se by means of customary purification methods, for example by removal of the solvent and subsequent separation procedures, for example fine distillation, recrystallisation, preparative thin-layer chromatography, column chromatography or preparative gas chromatography.
When, in the resulting compound of formula (6), Z is the radical xe2x80x94COOR4 and R4 is a hydrocarbon radical, that compound can subsequently be converted into the free acid by acid hydrolysis of the ester. If desired, that compound can be converted into the acid chloride before being further reacted. Both the acid hydrolysis and the conversion into the acid chloride can be effected in conventional manner according to known procedures.
The reaction of the compound of formula (6), especially the compound of formula (7), with a compound that introduces the radical of formula xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR2 can be carried out, for example, as described in A. Nudelman, Synthesis, No. 4, 568-570 (1999). The conversion of the compound of formula (6) into the acid chloride and the reaction with a compound that introduces the radical of formula xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR2 can be carried out, for example, as in W. Wierenga, J. Org. Chem., Vol. 44, No. 2, 310-311 (1979). As compounds that introduce the radical of formula xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR2 there may be mentioned, for example, compounds of the formula HOOCxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR2, such as monomethyl malonate or monoethyl malonate, such compounds being understood as including also salts thereof, for example the potassium salt.
The reaction of the compound of formula (6), especially of the compound of formula (8), with a compound that introduces the radical of formula xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR2 can be carried out, for example, analogously to the process described above for the reaction of the compound of formula (3) to form the compound of formula (4). As compounds that introduce the radical of formula xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR2 there may be mentioned in that connection, for example, compounds of the formula CH3xe2x80x94COOR2, such as ethyl acetate. A typical reaction by means of a Claisen reaction is described in J. A. Turner, J. Org. Chem., Vol. 54, 4229-4231 (1989).
The compound of formula (5) can be obtained, for example, by halogenating a corresponding compound in which Y is hydrogen. The halogenation can be carried out according to generally known methods. For the bromination, reference is made, for example, to Houben-Weyl, Methoden der organischen Chemie, Volume 5/4, pages 233 if, Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, 1960. There come into consideration for the bromination, for example, elemental bromine, N-bromosuccinimide, pyridinium bromide perbromide or triphenylphosphine dibromide, in an inert, preferably halogenated solvent, such as carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, chlorobenzene or dichlorobenzene. The bromination is generally carried out at a temperature of from xe2x88x925 to 25xc2x0 C., and in the case of N-bromosuccinimide at approximately from 40 to 85xc2x0 C.
The starting compounds wherein Y is hydrogen are known or can be obtained analogously to known procedures, for example the procedures indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,073.
According to a further process variant b) for the preparation of compounds of formula (2), a compound of formula
is reacted with a compound of formula CH3xe2x80x94COxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR2 and, optionally, then with a compound that introduces a protecting group, to form a compound of formula
wherein R1 and R2 have the meanings and preferred meanings indicated hereinbefore and R8 and R9 are hydrogen or a protecting group,
a double bond is introduced under acidic or basic conditions, and any protecting group that may be present is removed.
As compounds that introduce a protecting group it is possible to use the compounds customary for that purpose, such as, for example, compounds that form readily removable esters or carbonates. Examples include acid anhydrides of formula (R10xe2x80x94CO)2O and acid chlorides of formula R10xe2x80x94COxe2x80x94CI, wherein R10 is C1-C4alkyl or C1-C4alkoxy.
R8 and R9 are preferably each independently of the other hydrogen, C1-C4alkylcarbonyl or C1-C4alkoxycarbonyl, especially hydrogen, acetyl or ethoxycarbonyl.
The reaction of a compound of formula (9) with a compound of formula CH3xe2x80x94COxe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR2 is effected, for example, by formation of the dianion of the latter compound by means of a strong base, and reaction of the dianion with a compound of formula (9). There come into consideration as strong bases, for example, n-butyllithium, lithium diisopropylamide and sodium hydride. Sodium hydride forms only the monoanion, with the result that, when it is used, a further base, such as n-butyllithium or lithium diisopropylamide, is used for the formation of the dianion from the monoanion. The reactions as a whole can be carried out at a temperature of from xe2x88x9280 to 25xc2x0 C. in an anhydrous, inert organic solvent, such as tetrahydrofuran, diethyl ether or 1,2-dimethoxyethane, in an inert gas atmosphere. The compound so obtained can be intercepted using a readily removable protecting group and then the double bond can be introduced under acidic or basic conditions in an inert solvent, such as tetrahydrofuran, diethyl ether, 1,2-dimethoxyethane or toluene. The protected enol can then be hydrolysed likewise under basic or acidic conditions. It is also possible to hydrolyse the intermediate dianion and eliminate the alcohol under acidic conditions.
According to a further process variant c) for the preparation of compounds of formula (2), a compound of formula
is reacted with a compound of formula
to form a compound of formula
and that compound is reacted with a compound that introduces the radical of formula xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94COOR2 wherein R1 and R2 have the meanings and preferred meanings given hereinbefore, R6 and R7 are hydrogen or hydrocarbon radicals, R11 is C1-C4alkyl or phenyl, especially methyl or ethyl, preferably ethyl, Ph is phenyl and Anxe2x88x92 is an anion.
R6 and R7 have the meanings and preferred meanings indicated hereinbefore. R6 and R7 are preferably C1-C6alkyl, especially methyl or ethyl, preferably methyl.
In the compound of formula (11b), there comes into consideration as anion especially halogen, such as bromine or preferably chlorine.
The reaction of the compound of formula (9) with a compound of formula (11a) or (11b) is generally carried out in the presence of a base, such as n-butyllithium or especially sodium hydride, in an organic solvent, such as an ether, for example diethyl ether or tetrahydrofuran, at a temperature of, for example, from xe2x88x9210 to 30xc2x0 C. Corresponding reactions are described in J. Boutagy, Chemical Reviews, Vol. 74, No. 1, 87-99 (1974).
It is preferable in this process variant to carry out the reaction of a compound of formula (9) with a compound of formula (11a).
The reaction of the compound of formula (8) to form the compound of formula (2) can be carried out as described hereinabove.
For the preparation of compounds of formula (2), preference is given to process variants a) and b), especially process variant a).
The compounds of formula (3) may be obtained in the form of a racemate or in the form of enantiomerically pure compounds of formula (3a) in the following (R) configuration
or especially in the form of enantiomerically pure compounds of formula (3b) in the following (S) configuration
The racemate can be resolved into the optically pure antipodes by means of known methods for the separation of enantiomers, for example by means of preparative chromatography using chiral supports (HPLC) or by esterification and crystallisation out using optically pure precipitating agents, for example D-(xe2x88x92) or L-(xe2x88x92)-mandelic acid or (+)- or (xe2x88x92)-10-camphor-sulfonic acid.
Enantiomerically pure or stereoisomerically pure compounds are to be understood here and hereinafter as compounds that are in at least 60%, especially 80% and, preferably, 90% pure form. Especially preferably they are in at least 95%, preferably 97.5% and, especially, 99% enantiomerically pure or stereoisomerically pure form.
The compounds of formula (1) may be obtained in the form of a mixture of stereoisomers or in pure form, especially in the following (3R,5S) configuration:
Further stereoisomers that may be mentioned are those of the corresponding (3R,5R), (3S,5S) and (3S,5R) configurations.
Stereoisomerically pure compounds of formula (1), such as those of formula (1a), can be obtained according to procedures known for that purpose. Racemate cleavage can be carried out as indicated above under formulae (3a) and (3b).
The present invention relates also to the novel compounds of formulae (2), (3), (5) and (8), to processes for the preparation thereof, and also to the use of compounds of formula (2), (3), (5) or (8) as intermediates in the preparation of compounds of formula (1). The present invention relates also to the use of compounds of formula (5) or (8) as intermediates in the preparation of compounds of formula (2).
The preferred meanings mentioned hereinabove apply to the novel compounds of formulae (2), (3), (5) and (8).
As process for the preparation of compounds of formula (2) there comes into consideration, for example, the preparation according to process variant a), b) or c), especially according to process variant a) or b), preferably according to process variant a).
As process for the preparation of compounds of formula (3) there comes into consideration, for example, the reduction of the compound of formula (2). Preferably, the preparation of the compound of formula (2) is in that case carried out according to process variant a), b) or c), especially according to process variant a) or b), preferably according to process variant a).
As process for the preparation of compounds of formula (5) there comes into consideration, for example, the above-described halogenation, especially bromination, of the corresponding compound wherein Y is hydrogen.
As process for the preparation of compounds of formula (8) there comes into consideration especially the reaction of a compound of formula (5) with a compound that introduces the radical of formula xe2x80x94CHxe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94COxe2x80x94N(OR6)R7 or the reaction of a compound of formula (9) with a compound of formula (11a) or (11b), preference being given to the first-mentioned reaction.
The following Examples illustrate the invention:

Process for the preparation of indole derivatives and intermediates of the process


The present invention provides a method and apparatus for wave field separation. The method includes accessing a marine seismic data set acquired by a plurality of receivers deployed at a first plurality of depths in response to a plurality of acoustic signals provided by a plurality of seismic sources deployed at a second plurality of depths and forming at least one de-ghosted marine seismic data set based upon the plurality of seismic data sets.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to marine seismic surveying, and, more particularly, to source and receiver side wave field separation for seismic data acquired in a marine seismic survey.
2. Description of the Related Art
Seismic exploration is widely used to locate and/or survey subterranean geological formations for hydrocarbon deposits. Since many commercially valuable hydrocarbon deposits are located beneath bodies of water, various types of marine seismic surveys have been developed. In a typical marine seismic survey, such as the exemplary survey 100 conceptually illustrated in FIG. 1, marine seismic streamer 105 is towed behind a survey vessel 110. The seismic streamer 105 may be several thousand meters long and contain a large number of sensors 115, such as hydrophones and associated electronic equipment, which are distributed along the length of the each seismic streamer cable 105. The survey vessel 110 also includes one or more seismic sources 120, such as airguns and the like.
As the streamer 105 is towed behind the survey vessel 110, acoustic signals 125, commonly referred to as "shots," produced by the seismic source 120 are directed down through the water column 130 into strata 135, 140 beneath a seafloor 145, where they are reflected from the various subterranean geological formations 150. Reflected signals 155 are received by the sensors 115 in the seismic streamer cable 105, digitized, and then transmitted to the survey vessel 110. The digitized signals are referred to as "traces" and are recorded and at least partially processed by a signal processing unit 160 deployed on the survey vessel 110. The ultimate aim of this process is to build up a representation of the subterranean geological formations 150. Analysis of the representation may indicate probable locations of hydrocarbon deposits in the subterranean geological formations 150.
Seismic bandwidth may be limited by source and receiver ghosts caused by reflection of the acoustic signals 125 at the surface 165. Seismic bandwidth is the width of the amplitude spectrum, which may be defined as the frequency difference between the highest and lowest frequency at which the amplitude is above 6 dB. When the seismic bandwidth is larger, more frequencies contribute to the signal, which may increase the temporal resolution. On the source side, the effective source signature is a combination of the source signature and at least one source ghost formed when the source signature is reflected by the surface 165 before traveling to the sea floor 145. On the receiver side, the recorded pressure wave field is a combination of the up-going wave field traveling from the seafloor 145, which includes the source ghost, and a down-going wave field traveling from the surface 165 that includes the receiver ghost.
Receiver ghosts in the seismic data recorded by the receivers 115 may be at least partially removed, or de-ghosted, using a marine seismic survey that includes data collected by the streamer 105 when deployed at both a shallow depth and at a greater depth. For example, the streamer 105 may be deployed at a depth of 6 meters during a first pass over the seafloor 145 and then may be deployed at a depth of 9 meters during a second pass. Alternatively, the receivers 115 may be deployed at varying depths. This arrangement of the streamers 105 is sometimes referred to as an over/under combination of the streamers 105. The term "over" is typically associated with the shallow streamer 105 and the term "under" is typically associated with the deep streamer 105. The over/under combination technique is also known as a dual-streamer de-ghosting technique, an acoustic wave field decomposition, and the like. Moreover, the vertically-separated seismic sensors 115 may be referred to as a vertical receiver array.
FIG. 2 conceptually illustrates an alternative embodiment of a conventional system 200 that may be used to perform a marine seismic survey using an over/under combination technique. The system 200 includes a survey vessel 205, which tows a shallow streamer 210(1) and a deep streamer 210(2). The shallow and deep streamers 210(1-2) each include at least one receiver 220(1-2). A source 215 provides a seismic signal 225 that is received by receivers 220(1-2). As indicated in FIG. 2, the source 215 is typically deployed at a different depth than the receivers 220(1-2). One or more receiver ghost signals 230(1-2) are also received by the receivers 220(1-2). Thus, seismic data acquired by the receivers 220(1-2) includes contributions from at least the seismic signal 225(1-2) and the one or more receiver ghost signals 230(1-2).
FIGS. 3A-D conceptually illustrate portions of received seismic signals. In particular, FIGS. 3A and 3B conceptually illustrate a seismic signal that may be received by the shallow streamer 210(1) as a function of time (in FIG. 3A) and as a function of frequency (in FIG. 3B). As shown in FIG. 3A, the seismic signal includes an up-going wave field 310, which is approximately a delta-function corresponding to a flat amplitude spectrum seismic signal 315 in the frequency domain shown in FIG. 3B. A down-going wave field 320, corresponding to a receiver ghost signal, is depicted in FIG. 3A as an approximate delta function with a negative amplitude that arrives at a later time than the up-going wave field 310. The "over" recorded seismic data 325 acquired by the shallow streamer 210(1) is a combination of the up-going wave field 310 and the down-going wave field 320. Accordingly, the "over" recorded seismic data 325 may include one or more notches 330 that may not be present in the flat amplitude spectrum seismic signal 315.
FIGS. 3C and 3D conceptually illustrate a seismic signal that may be received by the deep streamer 210(2) as a function of time (in FIG. 3C) and as a function of frequency (in FIG. 3D). As shown in FIG. 3C, the seismic signal includes an up-going wave field 350, which is approximately a delta-function corresponding to a flat amplitude spectrum seismic signal 355 in the frequency domain shown in FIG. 3D, and a down-going wave field 360, corresponding to a receiver ghost signal, which is depicted in FIG. 3C as an approximate delta function with a negative amplitude that arrives at a later time than the up-going wave field 350. The "under" recorded seismic data 365 acquired by the source 215(2) on the deep streamer 210(2) includes one or more notches 370 that may not be present in the flat amplitude spectrum seismic signal 355.
The notches 330, 370 may result in resolution loss in the acquired seismic data. Thus, over/under combination technique attempts to estimate the up-going and down-going wave fields 310, 350 and 320, 360 by combining the "over" recorded data 325 and the "under" recorded data 365. For example, the up-going wave field 350 and a down-going wave field 360 of the deep streamer 210(2) are separated by a different time lag than the up-going wave field 310 and the down-going wave field 320 of the shallow streamer 210(1). The location of the notches 330, 370 depends on the depth of the streamers 210(1-2) and, consequently, the frequencies of the notches 370 are different than the frequencies of the notches 330. This property may be used to combine the "over" and "under" recorded data 325, 365 to reduce the effect of the notches 330, 370 in the combined data set. However, these conventional methods do not account for source ghosts.
Over-under source configurations have been used to attempt to attenuate source ghosts in ocean bottom cable data. However, these techniques rely on an approximate solution based on vertical seismic profiling (VSP) processing. Moreover, receiver side de-ghosting cannot be performed with ocean bottom cables, since these cables typically rest on the sea floor and thus cannot be deployed in an over-under configuration. Consequently, conventional methods of de-ghosting seismic data are not able account for both receiver and source ghosts, as well as the interactions between them, such as the effect of source ghosts on receiver-side seismic data.
The present invention is directed to addressing the effects of one or more of the problems set forth above.

Method and apparatus for source and receiver side wave field separation


Athletic performance may be improved by administering a composition comprising galanthamine as an active ingredient to an athlete before and during sports activities. Also provided is an herbal sports performance composition comprising whole plant extract of Leucojum aestivum.

Motive nerve impulses are transmitted as electrical signals along a motorneuron until they reach the neuron ending located on a muscle. The nerve ending contains vesicles filled with acetylcholine, which is the main neurotransmitter in the human body. The nerve impulse stimulates the vesicles to release acetylcholine into the synapse through the pores in the pre-synapse membrane. The acetylcholine diffuses through the synapse gap very quickly (within 1 millisecond) and reaches the post-synapse membrane. The acetylcholine depolarizes the post-synapse membrane, generating an electrical impulse which spreads along the muscle fiber and causes the muscle to contract. This system of neuron-synapse-muscle operates as an "all-or-none" response, that is the stimulus must overcome an excitatory threshold in order for the signal to be transmitted and the muscle to contract. The thresholds of excitation are different for different muscle motor units. A motor unit is defined as the system of one motor nerve, its branches, the synapses located at the end of the branches, and the muscle fibers that are stimulated by the nerve. Both the threshold of excitation and the strength of the incoming nerve impulses can vary to a great degree. An increase in stimulus intensity may bring progressively more units to respond. In fact, improvement in strength, speed and endurance depend mainly on the body's ability to mobilize a greater number of muscle fibers in the contraction. This ability is greatly influenced by temporary factors such as fatigue, stress level and food intake, and by long-term factors such as genetics, general fitness level, conditioning, hormonal levels, age, etc. In the average non-training individual, only about 20-30% of the available muscle fibers become actively involved in the muscle contraction. This percentage is raised in professional athletes to about 40-50% by regular and intensive workouts. Regular workouts, good nutrition and appropriate supplementation lead to an increase in the energy levels of the muscle cell, as well as to an extended growth and branching out of the capillary network, and the optimization of the work of numerous enzyme systems, etc., the result of all this being the lowering of the excitation threshold of the muscle fibers, which facilitates muscle contraction.
The passage of the impulses through the synapse is brief and unidirectional. Once acetylcholine has conveyed the nerve impulses across the synapse, it must be cleared from the gap. The body does this by breaking it down, or hydrolyzing it, to choline and acetyl, using acetylcholinesterase, or simply cholinesterase. Cholinesterase however eliminates some acetylcholine that has not reached the post-synapse membrane, therefore an 100% effective transmission of the nerve impulse through the synapse does not occur. In addition, after continuous or repetitive movement or exercise, fatigue reduces the strength and duration of the impulses generated, and stimulates the release of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma aminobutyric acid, which overpolarizes the post-synapse membrane. The amount of acetylcholine released by the pre-synapse membrane also decreases. As a result of these factors, the energy level of the muscle cell is decreased and the excitation threshold becomes more difficult to overcome.
Galanthamine is a known acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. Galanthamine reversibly binds to acetylcholinesterase, inhibiting its action and resulting in an increase in local concentrations of acetylcholine. Galanthamine has been used in the treatment of different diseases of the nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease (U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,903) and Parkinson's disease (U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,571); the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,817); as an erectogenic agent in the treatment of male sexual dysfunction (U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,070) as well as the treatment of glaucoma, myasthenia gravis and senile dementia.
Galanthamine is typically used in pharmaceutical compositions in purified form and is obtained by complex chemical extractions from plant sources (U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,172) or chemically synthesized (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,777,108 and 5,958,903). These processes may be disadvantageous in that they utilize undesirable chemicals such as chlorohydrocarbons and purification processes forming galanthamine salts.
There is great interest in improving the strength, speed and endurance of physical performance, particularly in athletes. One factor which enables athletes to achieve high level performance in sports, particularly in strength and power events, such as weightlifting and body building, is to increase muscular quality, that is to increase the effectiveness of muscle fiber contraction. An inexpensive, non-toxic preparation, preferably in an herbal formulation containing a whole plant extract that enhances the performance of muscle contraction in individuals, thereby improving physical performance, has heretofore not been disclosed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Herbal supplement for increased muscle strength and endurance for athletes


Embodiments provide optimized deployment of workloads. A first workload to be deployed in at least one data center of a plurality of data centers is received. A first plurality of candidate data centers is selected from the plurality of data centers, and the first workload is deployed to each of the first plurality of candidate data centers. A first performance metric is collected from each respective data center of the first plurality of candidate data centers based on execution of the first workload deployed at the respective data centers, and a first optimal data center from the first plurality of candidate data centers is identified based on the first performance metrics. The first workload is removed from each of the first plurality of candidate data centers, other than the identified first optimal data center.

The present invention relates to workload deployment, and more specifically, to identifying optimal data centers for deployment of workloads.
Providers of cloud services frequently manage a number of servers, which can be spread across several data centers in disparate geographic locations. Cloud providers may offer cloud services in the form of software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and the like. These services can generally be accessed from any physical location and on any device that is connected to the network. In some cloud services, clients of the cloud provider provide workloads to be deployed in the cloud (i.e., on one or more servers that make up the cloud). The cloud provider then selects one or more data centers on which to deploy the workload. However, with increasing numbers of data centers under the control of the cloud provider, it is difficult or impossible to choose a data center that provides the best fit for the workload.

Determining a location of optimal computing resources for workloads

International Business Machines Corporation


A signal processing system for a video camera uses a single neural network to implement multiple nonlinear signal processing functions. In one example, the neural network implements gamma correction and contrast compression, in another example, color correction and aperture correction are added to the combined function emulated by the network. The network is trained using back propagation to emulate one function then a combination of two functions, then a combination of three functions, and so on. The programmed neural network replaces multiple pipelined signal processors in the video camera. The use of a single neural network in place of the multiple dedicated processing functions reduces engineering effort to develop the product and may reduce the cost of the total system.

The present invention concerns apparatus and a method for processing video signals to implement a plurality of signal processing functions in a single operation, and in particular to apparatus which uses a neural network to perform these functions.
In many signal processing systems, functions are applied to data sequentially. That is to say one function is applied to the input data and the output values produced by that function are applied as the input values to the next function. This type of processing is commonly referred to as pipeline processing.
An exemplary system which employs pipeline processing is a video camera. One such camera is described in an article by K. A. Parulski et al. entitled "A Digital Color CCD Imaging System Using Custom VLSI Circuits," IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 382-389, August, 1989.
The camera described in this paper employs a CCD sensor which collects samples representing successive video images. These samples are then digitized and processed by a color filter array (CFA) signal processor and a red, green, blue (RGB) signal post-processor. The CFA processor generates, from the single image samples provided by the CCD device, a complete set of Red (R), Green (G) and Blue (B) samples. In addition, the CFA processor performs color balance corrections on the RGB signals. The RGB post-processor performs black-level adjustments, gamma correction and aperture correction.
As described in the referenced article, the circuitry used to perform these processing functions is implemented in two VLSI integrated circuits. These circuits represent a relatively large amount of special purpose circuitry produced only after an expensive development cycle.
In addition to requiring a relatively large amount of special purpose circuitry, systems such as that shown in the referenced paper introduce a delay in their processing paths due to the pipelining of the signal processing operations. Parallel signal processing paths may exist in the system, for example, if audio information from the observed scene were being processed in parallel with the video information. The delays caused by the pipeline processing of the video information are desirably compensated for in the audio signal processing circuitry.
While the delays for the referenced video camera processing circuitry are relatively small, other video signal processing apparatus may employ one or more frame delay elements in its processing circuitry. These elements introduce more substantial delays for which compensation is more difficult.
Furthermore, in systems of the type described in the referenced article, there is an inherent conflict between the precision of the design and its cost, as reflected by its complexity. Many of the processing steps performed in a video camera are modeled as relatively simple mathematical functions, even though these functions do not strictly conform to the desired processing steps. These functional models are used only because it would not be cost effective to implement the desired processing steps according to a more rigorous model or to implement multiple independent functions as a single model.


In a device composed of a light guide plate, the light emitted from a light source is guided by components in a direction parallel to the main surface of the plate and issues from projections (3) formed on the surface of the plate. The smooth surface of the plate is coated with a continuous, transparent, intermediate layer (2) having on one side closely spaced projections (3) with a height and width lying in a range between 0.5 mm and 0.001 mm. The light guide plate thus obtained radiates light uniformly.

The invention relates to a device composed of a light guide plate, in which light emitted from a light source is guided by components in a direction parallel to the main surfaces of the plate and issues from projections on a surface of the plate.
With a known device of this type (German Offenlegungsschrift 3,240,942), the projections are situated spaced out directly on the plate. No details are given on their size and spacing. For the exemplary embodiments i is assumed that these values are in the centimeter range. The reflection of the light from the surface of the plate is uneven because only the regions of the surface which have projections emit light.
The underlying object of the invention is to develop the known device further in such a way that the resulting density of surface illumination is even to the eye.
According to the invention this object is achieved by the fact that the smooth surface of the plate is coated with a continuous, transparent intermediate layer having on one side closely spaced projections with a height and width lying in a range between 0.5 mm and 0.001 mm.
Since, according to the invention, the sizes and spacing of the light regions in the form of the projections are of such a nature that their upper limits coincide approximately with the lower limit of the resolving power of the human eye (this resolving power is present when the distance between two points is greater than 0.2 mm when the points are located at a distance of 1 m from the eye, see Grimsehl, Lehrbuch der Physik, vol. 3, 1955, page 309), the main surface of the device according to the invention appears to be evenly luminous. The provision of the intermediate layer on the other hand enables the projections to be produced; without the intermediate layer the projections of the type according to the invention could not be created. The lower limit for the sizes of the projections is thus meaningful since smaller projections could hardly, if at all, be manufactured.


A receiver includes a first amplifier and a second amplifier, a first mixer, a second mixer and a third mixer, a first baseband signal path and a second baseband signal path. A signal output of the first amplifier is coupled to a signal input of the first mixer and a signal input of the second mixer. A signal output of the second amplifier is coupled to a signal input of the third mixer. A signal output of the first mixer and a signal output of the third mixer are coupled to the first baseband signal path. A signal output of the second mixer is coupled to the second baseband signal path.

In a multiband receiver several LNAs are connected to a single mixer in order to save chip area. Due to the limitation of broadband RF performance of the components, the receiver is typically structured with several receive band groups, e.g. low band for the RF bands or frequencies from 700 to 1000 MHz and high band for the RF bands or frequencies from 1700 to 2700 MHz. If at a given time only one band with one carrier is active, all mixer outputs can be combined to one baseband signal path.
Some receiver architectures are capable of simultaneously receiving two carriers from a single or multiple RF bands. These receiver architectures typically have a switch to connect any LNA to any mixer, wherein the mixers are required to be broadband enough for both low band and high band operation, and two parallel baseband signal paths are required to generate two parallel baseband signals for each carrier.
Typically a switch is implemented in the RF path between the LNAs and the mixers to connect the RF signal to the appropriate baseband signal path. Nevertheless, a huge drawback of switches in the RF path is that the linearity requirements are degraded by additional elements. As a result, the current consumption increases to compensate for additional elements.

Receiver, method and mobile communication device


A method and system of provisioning resources installed in a network element. Resources are installed in the network element. As resources are placed into service, a notification is transmitted to the vendor. The vendor generates an invoice, and the service provider generates a purchase order. Furthermore, a capacity planning system may monitor the system as resources are placed into service. If the amount of spare resources fall below a predetermined limit, the capacity planning system may transmit a request to the vendor for the additional equipment. In this manner, resources may be installed prior to the actual need for the resources. The resources may then be paid for by the service provider as the resources are needed and placed into service, thereby enabling a risk-sharing arrangement between the service provider and the vendor.

The telephony network generally comprises one or more switches and network elements. The network elements are generally configured with one or more resources that allow services, such as additional wavelengths, bandwidth, application services, voice mail, single-number services, and the like. As additional services are desired, additional resources are generally installed into the network elements and brought into service such that a customer may begin using the additional resources.
The provisioning of a new service, however, may be time consuming, expensive, and require coordination between a vendor and a service provider. Generally, the service provider negotiates a contract for the purchase and installation of equipment to support a predetermined capacity of one or more services. After purchase, the vendor installs and tests the equipment. It is only after the equipment has been installed and tested that the service provider may offer services and generate income.
The length of time required to perform these actions may result in a loss of revenue and a loss of a competitive advantage. To offset these losses, the service provider generally installs excess capacity or sufficient capacity, such that the service provider believes will be sufficient for a period of time. Installing excess capacity, however, requires a larger initial outlay of funds to purchase the equipment.
Furthermore, this type of system does not lend itself to risk-sharing arrangements between the service provider and the vendor. Because of the cost of purchasing and installing the additional resources, it is desirable to enter into risk-sharing agreements with vendors. Generally, risk-sharing agreements allow the service provider to pay for the resources as the resources are placed into service, rather than paying for the resources as the resources are installed.
Thus, a system and a method are desirable that allow for provisioning of new network services in a fast and cost-effective manner that lends themselves to a risk-sharing agreement.

Provisioning system for network resources


Process for manufacturing a semiconductor power device, wherein a trench is formed in a semiconductor body having a first conductivity type; the trench is annealed for shaping purpose; and the trench is filled with semiconductor material via epitaxial growth so as to obtain a first column having a second conductivity type. The epitaxial growth is performed by supplying a gas containing silicon and a gas containing dopant ions of the second conductivity type in presence of a halogenide gas and occurs with uniform distribution of the dopant ions. The flow of the gas containing dopant ions is varied according to a linear ramp during the epitaxial growth; in particular, in the case of selective growth of the semiconductor material in the presence of a hard mask, the flow decreases; in the case of non-selective growth, in the absence of hard mask, the flow increases.

In the last few years the endeavor has been to increase the efficiency of the above devices for increasing their breakdown voltage and reducing their output resistance.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,586,798 B1, 6,228,719 B1, 6,300,171 B1 and 6,404,010, all commonly assigned and incorporated by reference, describe methods for solving the problems set forth above. These patents describe power MOS devices comprising column structures having a first conductivity type (for example, a P type), spaced by epitaxial layer portions having a second conductivity type (here, an N type). Basically, in order to form the column structures, a plurality of epitaxial layers of N type are sequentially grown, each growth being followed by an implantation of dopant of P type. Stacking of the implanted regions thus forms column structures, which represents an extension of the body regions of the device within the epitaxial layer that constitutes the drain region of the device. The charge concentration of the dopant introduced via the implantations, i.e., the concentration of the column structures of P type thus formed, is equal to, but of opposite sign with respect to, the concentration of charge introduced epitaxially. Consequently, by virtue of the charge balance thus obtained, vertical-conduction power devices can be provided with high breakdown voltage and with low output resistance, on account of the high concentration of the epitaxial layer (MD technology).
In addition, it is also known that, by increasing the density of the elementary strips that form the device, i.e., by increasingly packing the device, it is possible to further increase the charge concentration of the epitaxial layer, obtaining devices which, given a same breakdown voltage (linked to the height of the columns), have increasingly lower output resistance.
On the other hand, however, in order to increase the density of the elementary strips of the device, one increases the number of steps of epitaxial growth and reduces the thermal change undergone by the device. This may bring about an increase in the device cost, in the cycle time, and in the defects created by the various steps of epitaxial growth. In particular, with reference to the latter problem, each defect left at the interface between one epitaxial layer and the subsequent one may render the device less efficient.
Moreover, solutions exist for obtaining charge balance by forming trenches and filling the trenches with successive polysilicon, thermal oxide, and deposited oxide layers. However, these solutions may not solve the problem of defectiveness.

Process for manufacturing a semiconductor power device comprising charge-balance column structures and respective device


Thermal regulation of a coated work-piece during the reconfiguration of the work-piece is provided. One method embodying the invention comprises placing an externally coated reconfigurable work-piece, whose hardness has been temporarily modified to resist damage during the reconfiguration of the work-piece, into a reconfiguration chamber of a reconfiguration apparatus and reconfiguring the work-piece from a first configuration to a second configuration via physical communication between the external coating of the reconfigurable work-piece and the reconfiguration apparatus.

The present invention regards protecting a coated work-piece during its manufacture or reconfiguration. More specifically the present invention regards reducing the probability of damaging the coating of a work-piece during the work-piece""s manufacture by managing or regulating the temperature of the coating.
Articles of manufacture are regularly coated for numerous and varying reasons. For example, they may be coated to protect them from the intrusive handling they may be subjected to during their manufacture or to protect them from the environmental effects they may endure after they are manufactured. In either of these, as well as in others, damage to the coating of a work-piece, resulting from the handling or reconfiguration of the work-piece, is an unwanted result.
When the coating of a work-piece becomes scratched or otherwise damaged during the work-piece""s manufacture, the scratches can promote the deterioration of the work-piece by exposing the work-piece""s surface to its surroundings. Should the work-piece, upon its completion, be employed in a corrosive environment, the exposed surface of the finished product would be more vulnerable to corrosion than if its coating were completely intact. Moreover, the scratches and inconsistencies in the coating of the work-piece may also reduce the effectiveness of the finished product. For example, should the coating be used to uniformly deliver some type of releasable substance, inconsistencies in the surface of the coating can foster uneven and inconsistent delivery of the releasable substance to the deployed product""s final surroundings.
An expandable coated stent is one specific example of the coated work-pieces described above. Expandable stents are tube-like medical devices designed to support the inner walls of a vessel within the body of a patient. These stents are typically positioned within a targeted lumen of the body and then expanded to provide internal support for the lumen. These stents may be self-expanding or, alternatively, may require external forces to expand them. In either case they are typically deployed through the use of a catheter of some kind. These catheters typically carry the stent at their distal ends. In use, a practitioner will position the catheter""s distal end near the target area of the lumen. Once properly positioned the stent will be deployed by the practitioner such that it comes to rest near or in direct contact with the inner walls of the lumen. There, the stent will remain to provide support for the lumen.
Due to the interaction of the stent with the inner walls of the lumen, stents have been coated to enhance their effectiveness. These coatings may, among other things, be designed to facilitate the acceptance of the stent into its applied surroundings or to enable the delivery of therapeutic to the lumen and its surroundings. Thus, when the coating is haphazardly applied or has somehow been removed during the stent""s manufacture, both the stent""s longevity and its effectiveness can be reduced.
The coatings on the stent may be applied at various times during its life cycle including its manufacture, its placement onto the distal end of the delivery catheter, and contemporaneous with the medical procedure. At each of these times the coating may be at risk of being scratched, damaged or otherwise removed from the surface of the stent. For example, during their manufacture, stents are often crimped onto the distal end of a delivery catheter. This crimping process requires the exertion of significant forces against the coating of the stent to facilitate a reduction in the stent""s circumference to secure it to the catheter. During this crimping, the mechanical arms of a crimper may come in contact with the coating of the stent as they reduce the diameter of the stent. This compressive contact can scratch, indent, wipe-off or otherwise breach the integrity of the coatingxe2x80x94an undesirable result.
Thermal regulation of a coated work-piece during the reconfiguration of the work-piece is provided. One method embodying the invention comprises placing an externally coated reconfigurable work-piece, whose hardness has been temporarily modified to resist damage during the reconfiguration of the work-piece, into a reconfiguration chamber of a reconfiguration apparatus and reconfiguring the work-piece from a first configuration to a second configuration via physical communication between the external coating of the reconfigurable work-piece and the reconfiguration apparatus.
An apparatus embodying the invention includes a reconfiguration chamber, a nozzle in fluid communication with the reconfiguration chamber, a regulator in fluid communication with the nozzle, the regulator adapted to regulate the flow of a thermal transfer fluid, and a controller in communication with the regulator. Wherein the controller is adapted to send control signals to the regulator to maintain the surface temperature of the external coating of the reconfigurable work-piece within a predetermined temperature range and wherein the predetermined temperature range affords a predetermined minimum hardness for the external coating of the reconfigurable work-piece.

Thermal regulation of a coated work-piece during the reconfiguration of the coated work-piece


A micro-fluid ejection assembly including a silicon substrate having accurately formed fluid paths therein. The fluid paths are formed by a deep reactive ion etching process conducted on a substrate having a surface characteristic before etching selected from the group consisting of a dielectric layer thickness of no more than about 5000 Angstroms, and a substantially dielectric material free pitted surface wherein a root mean square depth of surface pitting is less than about 500 Angstroms and a maximum surface pitting depth is no more than about 2500 Angstroms. Fluid paths in such substrates having improved flow characteristics for more reliable fluid ejection operations.

Micro-fluid ejection assemblies typically include a silicon substrate material that contains fluid openings, trenches, and/or depressions formed therein. The fluid openings, trenches, and/or depressions are collectively referred to herein as "flow features." Such flow features may be formed by a wide variety of micromachining techniques including sand blasting, wet chemical etching and reactive ion etching. As the devices become smaller, such as for ink jet printhead applications, micromachining of the substrates becomes a more critical operation. Not all micromachining techniques are reliable enough to produce accurately placed flow features having similar flow characteristics in the substrates. Accordingly, the micro-fluid ejection assembly art is constantly searching for improved micro-fluid ejection assemblies that can be produced in high yield at a minimum cost.


A method for facilitating synchronization between a communications network (102) and a wireless communications device (104, 106, 200) operating in a Continuous Packet Connectivity, CPC, discontinuous transmission, DTX, mode, comprises monitoring (304) at the wireless communications device (104, 106, 200) the radio conditions of downlink communications using control bits received from the communications network (102) to determine when the wireless communications device (104, 106, 200) is at a nearly out of synchronization state with the communications network (102). In response to determining the wireless communications device (104, 106, 200) is at a nearly out of synchronization state, the wireless communications device (104, 106, 200) sends (310) to the communications network (102), additional control information on a control channel. The wireless communications device (104, 106, 200) receives (312) additional control bits sent by the communications network (102) in response to the communications network (102) receiving the additional control information sent by the wireless communications device (104, 106, 200).

3rd generation (3G) systems, such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) have been developed and deployed to further enhance the communication services provided to mobile users compared to those communication services provided by the 2nd generation (2G) communication system known as the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM).
High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) have been developed to optimise UMTS with increased data rate and capacity for packet data services in downlink and uplink, respectively. HSDPA and HSUPA are referred together as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA). Standards for HSPA have been established within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP): HSDPA was introduced as a release 5 feature in 3GPP and HSUPA was introduced in release 6. Within 3GPP release 7, further improvements to HSPA have been specified in the context of HSPA+ or HSPA evolution.
As is well known, cellular communication systems, such as UMTS, provide communication to mobile devices via a plurality of cells, with each cell served by one or more base stations. The base stations are interconnected by a radio network controller which can communicate data between the base stations. A mobile device communicates via a radio communication link with a base station of the cell within which the mobile station is situated. In UMTS, the base stations which are part of the UTRAN are known as Node Bs and a mobile device is known as User Equipment (UE).
3GPP release 7 introduced Continuous Packet Connectivity (CPC) which is aimed at providing improved user experience. For example, CPC allows a UE to stay connected over longer periods and so avoids frequent connection termination and re-establishment, even though the UE may only occasionally have active periods of data transmission. CPC includes features to reduce the uplink and downlink control channel overhead so as to reduce uplink noise, reduce power consumption in the UE (and so preserve UE battery) and increase downlink capacity. These features include an Uplink Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) mode for reducing uplink control channel overhead and a Downlink Discontinuous Reception (DRX) mode for reducing downlink control channel overhead. During the DTX and DRX modes (i.e. during temporary HSPA data transfer inactivity periods), the UE is in an active state known as a DCH state. The 3GPP Technical Specification TS 25.308 V7.12.0 gives an overview of CPC (see section 11) and 3GPP Technical Specification TS 25.214 V7.17.0 provides details of the physical layer impacts of CPC (section 6C).
The communications network configures the UE with DTX/DRX parameters which allow the UE to enter the DTX and DRX modes and which define the patterns or cycles of the DTX and DRX modes.
If the UE has no data to transmit, the UE enters a DTX mode during which the UE automatically stops the continuous transmission of control information on the Uplink Dedicated Physical Control Channel (UL-DPCCH) and applies a known DTX pattern for transmission of control information on UL-DPCCH. Typically, the DTX mode includes two DTX patterns or cycles configured by the communications network: one short pattern or cycle (DTX1) and one long pattern or cycle (DTX2). The pattern defines the length of the transmission cycle, the number of slot and slot position in the transmission cycle that the UE shall transmit uplink DPCCH (UL-DPCCH). The choice of the pattern depends on data activity and is determined by the UE. The UE will initially switch to the short pattern when there is no data to be transmitted and then after a certain period of time and when there is still no data to be sent, the UE will switch to the long pattern. In one example, for the long pattern DTX2, the UE transmits control messages on UL-DPCCH for 2 ms every 320 ms. The UL-DPCCH when received is used by the network to evaluate UE transmit power and generate downlink Transmit Power Control commands (DL-TPC) in order to control the transmission power of the UE. The control information on UL-DPCCH also include uplink Transmit Power Control (UL-TPC) commands or bits which are used by the communications network to control its downlink transmission power towards the UE.
When in the DTX mode, the UE does not send uplink Transmit Power Control (UL-TPC) commands in all uplink slots. This means that it takes longer for the communications network to react which results in the downlink power control being slower. Thus, when a UE operates in a CPC DTX mode, there is a higher risk of de-synchronisation in the downlink.
The downlink TPC (DL-TPC) commands are only transmitted by the communications network when it has received an UL-DPCCH from the UE. This means that it takes longer for the communications network to react which results in the uplink power control also being slower. Thus, when a UE operates in a CPC DTX mode, there is a higher risk of de-synchronisation in the uplink and added unwanted uplink interference (as the power is not correctly adjusted).
With the higher risk of de-synchronisation in the downlink and uplink, there is a higher risk that the connection will be lost. Indeed, the UE is monitoring the DPCH quality in order to detect a loss of the signal at a physical level (as specified in TS 25.224). Thresholds Qout and Qin specify respectively at what DPCH quality levels the UE shall shut its power off and when it shall turn its power on. In CPC mode, with the higher risk of de-synchronisation, the UE can more easily enter a state where it has shut down its transmitter because the threshold Qout has been reached.
US patent application no. 2009/0086682 describes a mechanism for downlink out-of-sync detection in CPC which requires the serving Node B to send valid TPC bits even while the UE is in DTX mode. By continuously transmitting TPC bits to all UEs in a cell, such a mechanism increases the amount of interference.

Method for facilitating synchronisation between a communications network and a wireless communications device operating in a CPC DTX mode and a wireless communications device


The invention provides rubber composition usable for the manufacture of tires, comprising at least (i) one diene elastomer, (ii) one white filler as reinforcing filler and (iii) one coupling agent (white filler/elastomer), the white filler comprising a titanium oxide having the following characteristics:

The present invention relates to diene rubber compositions usable for the manufacture of tires or semi-finished products for tires, in particular treads for tires, and to reinforcing fillers capable of reinforcing such rubber compositions.
In order to reduce fuel consumption and pollution emitted by motor vehicles, major attempts have been made by tire designers to obtain tires having all of the following characteristics: very low rolling resistance, improved grip, both on dry ground and on wet or snow-covered ground, and very good wear resistance.
Numerous solutions have been proposed to lower the rolling resistance and to improve the grip of tires, but these generally result in a very great decline in wear resistance. It is known that the incorporation of conventional white fillers such as conventional silicas or aluminas, chalk, talc, titanium oxides, clays such as bentonite or kaolin in rubber compositions used in the manufacture of tires, in particular treads, results in a reduction in the rolling resistance and an improvement in grip to wet, snow-covered or icy ground. However, such compositions also result in an unacceptable decline in wear resistance, because such conventional white fillers do not have a sufficient reinforcement ability in such rubber compositions. Thus, these white fillers are generally referred to as non-reinforcing fillers or, alternatively, inert fillers.
One solution to this problem was described in Patent Application EP-A-0 501 227, which discloses a diene rubber composition reinforced by a special precipitated silica (SiO2) which allows manufacture of a tire having substantially improved rolling resistance, without adversely affecting the other properties, particularly grip, endurance and wear resistance. European Patent Application EP-A-0 810 258 discloses a diene rubber composition reinforced by another special white filler, a specific alumina (Al2O3) of high dispersibility, which allows production of tires or treads having an excellent compromise of contradictory properties.
Because of these new white fillers, referred to as reinforcing fillers, it has also been possible to begin commercializing colored tires, in particular, those with colored treads. For aesthetic reasons, the ability to produce such tires meets a real expectation of users, in particular for passenger vehicles while, at the same time providing a substantial saving in terms of fuel.
Applications WO99/02590 and WO99/06480 disclose rubber compositions, based on reinforcing silicas or aluminas, used for manufacturing tires having treads or sidewalls of different colors. One or more inert fillers (i.e., non-reinforcing ones), such as kaolin, talc or titanium oxide, that function as a pigment or pastelizing agent are used as complementary white fillers in these compositions.
Among inert fillers, titanium oxides, in particular, are well-known as white pigments in different matrices such as paints, inks, cosmetics, plastics materials and polymers, such as rubber compositions intended to be incorporated in tire sidewalls (cf. for example CA-A-2054059, CA-A-2058901, CA-A-2228692, GB-A-836716, EP-A-697432, and applications JP1991/006247, JP1995/149950 and JP1996/059894).
In addition to their pigmentation or pastelizing properties, titanium oxides also are effective anti-UV agents, that can provide beneficial anti-aging protection of colored rubber compositions. Such compositions are normally devoid of carbon black (which is an excellent UV absorber) and thus are sensitive to the degrading action of sunlight (see applications WO99/02590 and WO99/06480 referred to above). Moreover, they cannot be protected by antioxidants (paraphenylenediamine type) conventionally used in black tires, because of the staining effect of these antioxidants.
During the course of research, the inventors have found that there are special titanium oxides which may be used, not only as anti-aging or pigmentation agents, but as true reinforcing fillers capable of replacing conventional carbon blacks in rubber compositions for tires. These titanium oxides unexpectedly represent an advantageous alternative to the use of reinforcing silicas or aluminas, in rubber compositions, particularly colored rubber compositions. In other words, compositions can comprise a single filler, a titanium oxide, which has several functions (reinforcement, pigmentation, anti-aging), instead of several fillers having single functions.
The rubber compositions reinforced with these special titanium oxides, hereinafter referred to as reinforcing titanium oxides, not only have better hysteresis and grip properties than those of conventional compositions filled with carbon black, but also have significantly improve wear resistance compared to those compositions of the prior art filled with conventional non-reinforcing titanium oxides.
The invention relates to a rubber composition usable for the manufacture of tires, comprising, as base constituents, (i) one or more diene elastomer(s), (ii) a white filler as reinforcing filler and (iii) a coupling agent (white filler/elastomer) linking the reinforcing filler and the elastomer, wherein the white filler comprises a titanium oxide having the following characteristics:
(a) its specific BET surface area is between 20 and 200 m2/g;
(b) its average particle size (by mass), dw, is between 20 and 400 nm; and
(c) its disagglomeration rate, xcex1, measured by the ultrasound disagglomeration test, at 100% power of a 600-watt ultrasonic probe, is greater than 2xc3x9710xe2x88x922 xcexcmxe2x88x921/s.
The prior art neither describes nor suggests the titanium oxide as described above in a rubber composition as reinforcing filler. As noted, the above titanium oxide is referred to as a xe2x80x9creinforcing titanium oxidexe2x80x9d, which, without anything other than an intermediate coupling agent (white filler/elastomer) can reinforce rubber compositions usable for the manufacture of tires, in particular treads of tires, having a high wear resistance. In particular, the prior art, e.g., CA-A-2054059, CA-A-2058901 or CA-A-2228692 referred to above, teaches the non-reinforcing nature of titanium oxides and the necessity of adding a reinforcing filler, such as carbon black or silica, to give a minimum level of reinforcement to the rubber compositions described.
Another aspect of the invention is the use of a rubber composition according to the invention for the manufacture of rubber articles, in particular tires or semi-finished rubber products intended for such tires, these semi-finished articles selected from the group consisting of treads, underlayers intended to be positioned beneath the treads, crown plies, sidewalls, carcass plies, beads, protectors, inner tubes and airtight internal rubbers for tubeless tires. The composition of the invention is particularly suitable for the manufacture of sidewalls or tire treads for tires intended to be fitted on passenger vehicles, vans, 4xc3x974 vehicles, two-wheelers and heavy vehicles, aircraft, construction machinery, agricultural machinery or handling machinery. The treads may be used in the manufacture of new tires or for recapping worn tires.
Another subject of the invention are the tires and semi-finished rubber products themselves comprising a rubber composition according to the invention.
A further subject of the invention is the use of a reinforcing titanium oxide for reinforcing a diene rubber composition usable for manufacturing tires.
A still further aspect of the invention is a process for reinforcing a diene rubber composition usable for the manufacture of tires, comprising incorporating a reinforcing titanium oxide into the diene rubber composition in the uncured state by thermo-mechanical kneading.
The rubber composition of the invention are particularly suited for the manufacture of colored tires or colored semi-finished articles, such as treads or sidewalls. xe2x80x9cColoredxe2x80x9d rubber compositions, tires or rubber articles in the present description are understood to be rubber compositions, tires or articles, at least part of which is of a color, including white, other than the conventional black.

Rubber composition for a tire, based on diene elastomer and a reinforcing titanium oxide

Abstract: (c) its disagglomeration rate, xcex1, measured by the ultrasound disagglomeration test, at 100% power of a 600-watt ultrasonic probe, is greater than 2xc3x97102 xcexcm1/s.

Abstract: The invention also provides for the use of a rubber composition according to the invention for the manufacture of rubber articles, in particular tires or semi-finished rubber products intended for these tires. The composition of the invention is particularly useful for the manufacture of colored tires or colored semi-finished articles such as tire treads or sidewalls.


Borated glycerol hydroxyesters are effective friction reducing additives when incorporated into lubricating compositions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to lubricant additives and compositions thereof and, more particularly, to lubricant compositions comprising oils of lubricating viscosity or greases prepared therefrom containing a minor friction reducing amount, of a borated glycerol hydroxy-ester.
2. Background of the Related
Many means have been employed to reduce overall friction in modern internal combustion engines, particularly automobile engines. The primary reasons are to reduce engine wear thereby prolonging engine life and to reduce the amount of fuel consumed by the engine thereby reducing the engine's energy requirements or fuel consumption.
Many of the solutions to reducing fuel consumption have been strictly mechanical, as for example, setting the engines for a leaner burn or building smaller cars and smaller engines. However, considerable work has been done with lubricating oils, mineral and synthetic, to enhance their friction properties by modifying them with friction reducing additives.
Glycerol hydroxyesters may be used for their friction reducing properties when added to lubricant fluids. However, glycerol hydroxyesters do not adequately control bearing corrosion when used in automotive engine oil lubricants possibly because of their reactive OH groups. Borated glycerol hydroxyesters and borated sulfur containing hydroxyesters provide better friction reduction than their unborated counterparts and, in addition, reduce bearing corrosion to minimal, acceptable levels. The borated glycerol esters of the present invention to the best of applicants' knowledge and belief are novel and have not been used as friction reducing additives or as anti-corrosion or antioxidant additives in lubricating compositions.

Friction reducing additives and compositions thereof


An EUV radiation source comprising a fuel supply configured to deliver droplets of fuel to a plasma formation location, and a collector configured to collect EUV radiation emitted by a plasma at the plasma formation location, wherein the collector has a reflective surface that is a modified ellipsoid shape, the modified ellipsoid shape providing improved intensity uniformity of collected EUV radiation in the far field compared with a perfect ellipsoid shape.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an EUV radiation source and a method of generating EUV radiation. The EUV radiation source may form part of a lithographic apparatus.
2. Background Art
A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that instance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g., comprising part of one or several dies) on a substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned.
Lithography is widely recognized as one of the key steps in the manufacture of ICs and other devices and/or structures. However, as the dimensions of features made using lithography become smaller, lithography is becoming a more critical factor for enabling miniature IC or other devices and/or structures to be manufactured.
A theoretical estimate of the limits of pattern printing can be given by the Rayleigh criterion for resolution as shown in the following equation:
  CD  =            k      1        *          λ      NA      where λ is the wavelength of the radiation used, NA is the numerical aperture of the projection system used to print the pattern, k1 is a process dependent adjustment factor, also called the Rayleigh constant, and CD is the feature size (or critical dimension) of the printed feature. It follows from equation (1) that reduction of the minimum printable size of features can be obtained in three ways: by shortening the exposure wavelength λ, by increasing the numerical aperture NA or by decreasing the value of k1.
In order to shorten the exposure wavelength and, thus, reduce the minimum printable size, it has been proposed to use an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation source. EUV radiation is electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength within the range of 5-20 nm, for example within the range of 13-14 nm, or example within the range of 5-10 nm such as 6.7 nm or 6.8 nm. Possible sources include, for example, laser-produced plasma sources, discharge plasma sources, or sources based on synchrotron radiation provided by an electron storage ring.
EUV radiation may be produced using a plasma. An EUV radiation source for producing EUV radiation may include a laser for exciting a fuel to provide the plasma, and a source collector module for containing the plasma. The plasma may be created, for example, by directing a laser beam at a fuel, such as particles of a suitable material (e.g., tin). The resulting plasma emits output radiation, e.g., EUV radiation, which is collected using a collector. The collector may be a mirrored normal incidence collector, which receives the radiation and focuses the radiation into a beam. The EUV radiation source may include an enclosing structure or chamber arranged to provide a vacuum environment to support the plasma. Such an EUV radiation source is typically termed a laser produced plasma (LPP) source.
A problem associated with LPP sources is that there is considerable non-uniformity in the intensity of radiation that they generate.
It is desirable to provide an EUV radiation source that provides radiation with an improved intensity uniformity compared with at least some known EUV radiation sources.

EUV radiation source and method of generating EUV radiation