The arc tube is provided with a mercury-free arc tube main body that has a discharge light-emitting portion (closed glass sphere), and a cylindrical shroud glass tube that is airtightly integrated with the arc tube main body. In the mercury-free arc tube in which an inert gas is sealed in the shroud glass tube that surrounds the closed glass sphere, in the shroud glass tube, the adjustment is made so as to satisfy the light flux and the life span with respect to the pressure X (atmospheric pressure) of a rare gas sealed in the closed glass sphere, and an amount M (mg/ml) of sealed metal halide.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arc tube which for ms a main portion of a discharge bulb that is used for a light source of a vehicle headlamp or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mercury-free arc tube for a discharge bulb in which mercury is not contained in a closed glass sphere that serves as a discharge light-emitting portion of the arc tube.
2. Related Art
Generally, a discharge bulb has been used for a light source of a vehicle headlamp or the like. For example, as disclosed in JP-A-06-020645, this kind of discharge bulb has a structure in which it includes an arc tube main body having a closed glass sphere that serves as a discharge light-emitting portion in which electrodes are oppositely provided, and a cylindrical shroud glass tube that is airtightly integrated with the arc tube main body so as to surround the closed glass sphere. In the cylindrical shroud glass tube that surrounds the closed glass sphere, air (or nitrogen) is sealed (filled).
In addition, in the discharge bulb, mercury, together with an inert gas and metal halides, is generally sealed in the closed glass sphere of the arc tube main body so as to increase a light-emitting efficiency, as is also described in JP-A-06-020645. In recent years, however, there has been a heightened social need for reducing the use of mercury, which is an environmentally harmful substance. As a result, a so-called mercury-free arc tube has been developed in which mercury is not sealed in a closed glass sphere.
If mercury is sealed in the closed grass sphere, it is possible to obtain high vapor pressure even at a low temperature in comparison with other metals, ant the mercury acts as a thermal buffer with respect to a tube wall of the arc tube in the surroundings of the arc formed between the electrodes. However, in the mercury-free arc tube, since mercury does not exist (that is, a thermal buffering function of mercury does not exist), the temperature of the tube wall of the arc tube undesirably becomes high. Then, in the mercury-free arc tube, the heat of the closed glass sphere serving as the discharge light-emitting portion is transmitted to the shroud glass tube through the air surrounding the closed glass sphere (or nitrogen), so that the heat loss becomes large correspondingly. Thus, there is a problem in that a light-emitting efficiency of the arc tube becomes lowered.
In addition, since the surface temperature of the shroud glass tube rises due to the heat transfer from the closed glass sphere serving as the discharge light-emitting portion, there is another problem in that silicon gas or the like in a lighting device becomes attached to the surface of the shroud glass tube, and thus the shroud glass becomes whitened.
Accordingly, as described in JP-A-2004-063158, in order to resolve the above-mentioned problems (in that a light-emitting efficiency of the arc light source becomes lowered, and the shroud glass tube becomes whitened), sealed is gas that contains any one of Ar, Kr, and Xe, each having relatively lower thermal conductivity than air, by at least 50% in the shroud glass tube that surrounds the closed glass sphere, such that the thermal conductivity is remarkably lowered in a heat insulating space around the closed glass sphere formed by the shroud glass tube.
In the mercury-free arc tube of JP-A-2004-063158, the above-mentioned problems, in that a light-emitting efficiency of the arc tube becomes lowered and the shroud glass tube becomes whitened, are resolved, because the thermal conductivity is remarkably lowered in a heat insulating space around the closed glass sphere formed by the shroud glass tube surrounding the closed glass sphere. However, since the thermal conductivity is markedly lowered in the heat insulating space around the closed glass sphere formed by the shroud glass tube surrounding the closed glass sphere, the temperature in the closed glass sphere excessively rises, and flickering (flickering of arc) occurs with devitrification of an inner wall. As a result, a life span of the arc tube becomes shortened, which results in lowering performance.
Further, a maximum value of an outer diameter the shroud glass tube is regulated in a standard (ECER99). So, an inner diameter of the shroud grass cannot be large, since some inner thickness of the glass of the shroud grass is necessary in order to ensure the strength. In addition, since the closed glass sphere becomes a high temperature, it is necessary to increase an outer diameter of the closed glass sphere so as to ensure durability of the closed glass sphere. Therefore, the gap between the closed glass sphere and the shroud glass tube is set to 1 mm or less in a conventional discharge bulb.
The mercury-free arc tube is manufactured in a state in which a center axis of the shroud glass tube aligns with a discharge axis between electrodes (hereinafter, referred to as discharge axis). However, in the process of manufacturing the arc tube, the center axis and the discharge axis of the shroud glass tube may not accurately align with each other, and thus may deviate from each other (the gap around the closed glass sphere is not uniform in a circumferential direction). In addition, the arc tube, in which the center axis and the discharge axis of the shroud glass tube deviate from each other, is installed in the insulating plug unit so as to form the discharge bulb. When the discharge axis deviates from the center axis of the shroud glass tube in a downward direction of the center axis (when the center axis of the closed glass sphere deviates downward from the center axis of the shroud glass tube, and thus the minute gap δ1 between the shroud glass tube and a lower portion of the closed glass sphere is smaller than the minute gap δ2 between the shroud glass tube and an upper portion of the closed glass sphere), there is a problem in that the light flux of the arc tube becomes lowered. The reason why the light flux of the arc tube becomes lowered is considered as follows. That is, in the large heat insulating space above the closed glass sphere (minute gap δ2), the heat propagation from the closed glass sphere to the shroud glass tube is suppressed. In contrast, in the small heat insulating space below the closed glass sphere (minute gap δ1), the heat propagation from the closed glass sphere to the shroud glass tube is accelerated. As a result, since radiation of the heat is accelerated from the lower region of the shroud glass tube, the temperature of the cold point in the closed glass sphere rises and the vapor pressure rises, which results in increasing a light flux.

Mercury-free arc tube for discharge bulb


A semiconductor device, includes: a semiconductor substrate of 100 micrometers or less in thickness; an electrode pattern formed above the semiconductor substrate; and an insulation film of 50 micrometers or greater in thickness residing on parts of the upper surface side of the semiconductor substrate other than at least on the electrode pattern. And a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, includes: forming elements on a semiconductor substrate; forming electrodes in a predetermined part on the elements; affixing an insulator sheet of 50 micrometers or greater in thickness to the upper surface side of the semiconductor substrate, the insulator sheet being processed to remove some parts so as to be aligned with the electrodes or regions where the elements are provided, processing a back surface side of the semiconductor substrate affixed within the insulator sheet to form the semiconductor substrate of 100 micrometers or lower in thickness, and dicing the semiconductor substrate into semiconductor chips.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, it relates to a semiconductor device capable of having a wafer of reduced thickness by virtue of reinforcement and a method of manufacturing such a semiconductor device.
A semiconductor device typically uses a wafer of silicon or other material, and various elements, interconnections, electrodes, and the like are integrally formed thereon through a wafer process. Especially, it is known in the art that a device such as an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) dedicated to a switching device exhibits enhanced device performance, including a reduced turn-on voltage and a decreased switching loss, by reducing a thickness of its substrate.
Because of this teaching, wafers conventionally used in semiconductor devices have a thickness of 110 to 120 micrometers. But recently, even thinner wafers having a thickness of 100 micrometers or thinner have begun to be used.                With such semiconductor wafers of reduced thickness, however, semiconductor devices, while undergoing an ordinary semiconductor manufacturing process, may become defective, with cracks or chippings in the wafer due to its insufficient strength, which eventually reduces yields of the device products.
In another approach, the wafer process is performed with a relatively thick wafer and the wafer has its back surface ground and thinned immediately before the dicing. However, the thinned wafer may sometimes be warped due to stress which is generated through different coefficients of thermal expansion between the wafer and a passivation film formed at the final stage of a wafer process.
For grinding the back surface of the wafer, various approaches have been proposed as in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei9-64049(1997)) which discloses a resin reinforcing layer applied on the wafer surface, and as in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-open 2002-100589) which discloses surface protection adhesive tape applied on the wafer surface. Also, in order to avoid the cracking and chipping, manufacturing machines have been frequently improved to attain delicate handling of the wafer.
Such improvements of the manufacturing machine, however, lead to a cost increase in the machines and a degraded workability, and ultimately to a cost increase in the products.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


An image processing apparatus includes a first display unit which displays a material image and an original image in fast and second areas on a display device, respectively; a detection unit which detects a position on the display device designated from an outside; a relationship determining unit which determines a designated position in the first area and a designated position in the second area, and which determines a correspondence relationship between the first area and the second area based on the designated positions; an allocation region determining unit which determines an allocation region in the second area; a cut region determining unit which determines a cut region in the first area to correspond to the allocation region based on the correspondence relationship; and a second display unit which displays a partial image corresponding to the cut region in the allocation region to display a combined image.

A device has a media print function of directly printing out image data photographed by a digital camera and the like stored in a memory card by mounting the memory card in a slot provided in the device, without using a personal computer. A device is configured such that image data read from the memory card can be previewed on a display panel.
Further, a photographing apparatus, which is installed in an amusement facility and the like, automatically photographs a user in a set photo booth and prints a photographed image on print media, such as a seal, and then provides the seal to the user.
For example, JP-A-2007-181163 describes a photographing apparatus including an image arranging unit that arranges a fire image on the entire photographed image so as to overlap and an image detecting unit that deletes at least a part of the frame image arranged by the image arranging unit so that a user can edit the photographed image according to the user's preference.
However, in the apparatus described in JP-A-2007-181163, the photographed image and the frame image are displayed in a state of being combined in advance, and the user performs editing while viewing the combined state. Accordingly, for example, when the user wants to add an edit image little by little without breaking the atmosphere of the original photographed image, it becomes difficult to see the original photographed image itself.

Combining multiple images from different display areas using a plurality of reference positions


Methods of calibrating a position of a component include providing a robot with a gripper and crush and crash sensors, a calibration tool coupled to the gripper, and the component, which has a recess and a crush zone. The methods also include moving the gripper in a first direction to sense contact between the calibration tool and the crush zone, recording the contact position, and moving the gripper to insert the tool into the recess. The gripper is then moved in second directions to sense contact between the tool and the recess and moved in third directions to also sense contact between the tool and the recess. The methods further include recording and processing the contact positions to determine a surface location in the first direction and a physical center of the recess. Robot calibration apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed, as are other aspects.

In medical testing and processing, the use of robotics may minimize exposure to, or contact with, biological liquid samples (otherwise referred to as "specimens") and/or may increase productivity. For example, in some automated testing and processing systems (e.g., clinical analyzers), biological liquid containers (such as test tubes, vials, and the like) may be transported to and from sample racks (sometimes referred to as "cassettes") and to and from a testing or processing location of a testing or processing apparatus.
Such transportation may be accomplished by the use of an automated mechanism such as a robot having a coupled gripper that may have opposed gripper fingers configured to grasp the biological liquid containers. The gripper may be moved in two or more coordinate directions by the robot. In this way, the biological liquid containers (containing specimens to be tested or processed) may be gripped by the gripper, and then moved from one location to another location in relationship to the testing or processing location. For example, the biological liquid containers may be moved to and from receptacles of a sample rack.
Inaccurate calibration of the robot may result in inaccurate positioning of the gripper fingers, which may possibly cause collisions or jams between the gripper and the biological liquid containers, and/or between the biological liquid containers being moved and the testing or processing system and/or sample rack. Additionally, inaccurate calibration may possibly contribute to jarring pick and place operations of the biological liquid containers by the gripper, which may contribute to unwanted specimen spillage.
Accordingly, methods and apparatus that may improve accuracy of positioning of a gripper relative to an article, such as a sample rack, in testing and processing systems are desired.

Methods and apparatus to calibrate a positional orientation between a robot gripper and a component


The display apparatus includes a multi-sided or annular shell which may serve as a container per se for displaying an article or combined with a decorative outer shell to form a composite container. A suspension system for the container includes a plurality of brackets, each forming an aperture with adjoining side walls of the container or inner shell, flexible lines and a connecting element including a universal joint for suspending the apparatus from a support. The lower end of each line has a keeper for preventing withdrawal of the line from the bracket. The lines at their upper ends are secured to a wire loop having a hook superposed over a ball for forming a universal connection with the support.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for displaying an article, for example, a plant, flowers or the like, and particularly relates to a system for suspending a container for the article from a support and to the container per se.
There are many types and configurations of containers for displaying articles. For example, plants, flowers and the like are typically displayed in a container, e.g., a pot, oftentimes supported from below, for example, by a stand. Also, various types of containers for plants, flowers and the like have been suspended from an overhead hook. Suspended flower or plant-containing containers have not previously been particularly attractive or aesthetically pleasing. Also, the apparatus for suspending the container, especially from an inclined overhead support, have taken many forms, most of which are not easily utilized or aesthetically pleasing. Accordingly, there has developed a need for an aesthetically pleasing, highly functional and readily utilized support system for suspending a container, for example, for plants, flowers or the like, particularly adapted for supporting the container from an inclined support, and also for a leakproof, attractive container.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a display apparatus having a container, preferably watertight and formed of a plastic material, which is readily and easily suspended from a support, for example, an inclined support, in a manner affording an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Particularly, the container may be formed of a plastic material whereby the container is waterproof. To suspend the container, a plurality of brackets are disposed at spaced locations about interior surfaces of upper margins of the container for receiving the lower ends of flexible support lines, for example, thick strings formed of a textile, preferably decorative material. The brackets in part define an aperture for receiving the lower ends of the flexible lines. The lower ends of the lines include keepers which engage the brackets to prevent the lines, when taut, from passing through the apertures. The brackets are therefore readily secured to the inside margin of the container by threading the keepers and lower string ends through the apertures and pulling the strings taut.
The suspension system for the container also includes first and second links, secured to one another about a defined pivot axis. The first link may be threaded to a bolt secured to a support, e.g., a ceiling support, and surrounded by a decorative piece. A universal connection is provided between the second link and a connecting element to which upper ends of the flexible lines are attached. Preferably, the second link terminates at its lower end in a portion of a spherical ball. The connecting element preferably comprises a substantially closed loop, preferably formed of a wire having a decorative finish or a color plastic coating, and having a hook adjacent its upper end, e.g., formed by spaced side-by-side wire portions of the connecting element, for engaging about the spherical ball of the second link. This arrangement enables universal movement of the second link and element relative to one another. Thus, by securing the first link to a bolt secured to a support, with the second link depending from the first link about the first pivotal axis and with the upper ends of the flexible lines secured about the closed loop of the connecting element, the connecting element can be readily and easily secured to the spherical ball forming the universal joint therebetween. In this manner, the container is suspended from the ceiling support and without regard to the inclination of the ceiling support.
While the plastic container may be used separately, preferably, the plastic container is surrounded by a decorative second container forming a composite container. For example, the decorative second container may comprise a decorative module formed of finished wood for receiving the plastic container in a nested relation. By forming the interior portions of the second container to match the exterior portions of the first container and securing the two containers one to the other, for example, by an adhesive therebetween, the decorative, aesthetically pleasing, second container is exposed to view.
In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided a display apparatus comprising a container for receiving at least one article for display, a system for suspending the container from a support including a mounting assembly and at least three elongated flexible lines extending between the container and the mounting assembly, the mounting assembly having a first link for securing to the support, a second link coupled to the first link and an element connecting the second link and upper ends of the flexible lines, the container including a plurality of support brackets secured thereto, each bracket at least in part defining an aperture, a lower end of each flexible line being secured to the bracket and received through the aperture thereof, each of the flexible lines having a keeper for securing the lower end of the line to the bracket.
In a further preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided a display apparatus comprising a container for receiving at least one article for display and having a multi-sided upper margin, a system for suspending the container from a support including a mounting assembly and at least three elongated flexible lines extending between the container and the mounting assembly, the mounting assembly including an element forming at least in part a universal connection between upper ends of the flexible lines and the support, the container including a plurality of support brackets spaced from one another and secured about interior sides of the upper margin, each bracket at least in part defining an aperture, a lower end of each flexible line being secured to the bracket and received through the aperture thereof, each of the flexible lines having a keeper for securing the lower end of the line to the bracket.


The present disclosure includes a system and method for connecting an endpoint, such as a client device, to an active multimedia communications session on one network using metadata included in a communication initiated on another network. In some embodiments, the initial network is the PSTN and the second network is the Internet. In some embodiments, the system includes a multimedia contact center on the second network and only a telephone call on the first network.

Client devices—such as computers, smartphones, and the like—often support connections over more than one network to endpoints. For example, a smartphone may support communication through the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and communication through the Internet, among others. Situations may arise when it becomes desirable to link an end point client device, via a one network (e.g., the PSTN), and to establish a reciprocal active communications session with the endpoint client device back through another network (e.g., the Internet).
Conventional contact centers, which are examples of a point-of-contact (POC) for a customer seeking assistance for a product or service, generally rely on traditional communication systems connected by the PSTN to interact with customers. Interaction between customers seeking assistance and customer support agents is often limited to communications over standard telephone connections. Thus, customers without access to a telephone connection or desiring multimedia interaction are not accommodated.
More recently, multimedia contact centers that support both systems connected by the PSTN and systems connected by a network of computers, such as the Internet, have been proposed. A customer support agent at a multimedia contact center is generally provided with equipment that supports both telephone-based and computer network-based communications. For example, an agent's workspace may be provided with a telephone connected to a private branch exchange (PBX) that receives customer support requests via the PSTN, and a computer connected to a server that receives customer support requests via the Internet. In this example, the agent can provide support over either the telephone or the computer. However, since an agent is generally only able to provide support to one customer at a time, a problem arises when the agent receives simultaneous customer support requests over both telephone and computer. In this example, the agent cannot provide support to both customers, leaving one customer unsatisfied.
Consequently, there is a need for a system and method that supports blended PSTN and computer network, e.g., Internet, customer support interactions while alleviating agent workflow complications. Moreover, there is a need for a system and method that supports blended PSTN and computer network customer support interactions with intelligent routing of customer support requests to available agents.

System and method for connecting an endpoint to an active multimedia communications session on a data network by setting metadata associated with a telephone call


A thin film resistor device and method of manufacture includes a layer of a thin film conductor material and a current density enhancing layer (CDEL). The CDEL is an insulator material adapted to adhere to the thin film conductor material and enables the said thin film resistor to carry higher current densities with reduced shift in resistance. In one embodiment, the thin film resistor device includes a single CDEL layer formed on one side (atop or underneath) the thin film conductor material. In a second embodiment, two CDEL layers are formed on both sides (atop and underneath) of the thin film conductor material. The resistor device may be manufactured as part of both BEOL and FEOL processes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of semiconductor thin film resistors, and more particularly, to a novel integrated circuit thin film resistor having a current density enhancing layer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs), a resistor may be used to control the resistance of other electronic components of the IC. As is known to those skilled in the art, the resistance, R, of a resistor is proportional to the length, L, of the resistor and the reciprocal cross sectional area, 1 /A, of the resistor; the L and A are measured in the direction of current flow. The basic equation for resistance of a resistor is thus: R=L/A, where R, L and A are as defined above.
Prior art resistors are typically composed of polysilicon that has been doped. As the integration of semiconductor devices increases, each component within a semiconductor IC has to provide equivalent or better electrical properties. A downscaled resistor thus has to provide a constant resistance value that does not fluctuate much during use. However, due to the properties of polysilicon, a prior art resistor comprised of doped polysilicon can only provide a limited resistance within a limited space. Employing a polysilicon resistor to provide relatively high resistance then becomes a problem in designing and fabricating a highly integrated semiconductor device.
Recently, doped polysilicon resistors have been replaced with a single thin film resistor that is comprised of a material that has a higher resistivity than that of polysilicon. Examples of such higher resistivity materials include, but are not limited to: TiN and TaN. Tantalum nitride, TaN, containing 36% N2 is a material currently being used in the back-end-of-the line (BEOL) of most semiconductor devices.
BEOL resistors of high current carrying capability are highly desired by integrated circuit designers. Current TaN resistors (e.g., K1 resistor) offer only 0.5 mA/μm current/width and ever lower current density for 9SF and 10SF generations.
FIG. 1 depicts a BEOL resistor structure 10 according to the prior art. As shown, the BEOL resistor structure is formed atop of a first metallization level M1 comprising a metal such as aluminum or copper, that is electrically coupled by via structures V1, to FEOL device structures 15, e.g., CMOS FET or BJT or like transistor devices formed utilizing conventional techniques that are well known to those skilled in the art. The first metallization level M1 includes an interlevel dielectric material layer 12 in which the M1 metal layer structures are formed. As shown in the structure 10 of FIG. 1, formed atop the interlevel dielectric material layer 12 and M1 metallization is a first thin-film cap dielectric layer 14 of a material such as SiN and a thin dielectric layer 16 deposited thereon comprising an oxide, such as SiO2, or any other like oxide. The thin-film TaN resistor structure 20 of between 300 Å to 700 Å is shown formed on top of the dielectric layer 16, and a thin film capping layer, i.e., etch stop layer 25 of SiN or SiCN (nBLOK), for example, is formed over the resistor structure. Then, typical fabrication processes as known in the art are used to form a further interlevel dielectric material layer and a via structure V1 that connects the first metallization to a second metallization level M2.
For copper interconnects, better passivation and capping of the top surface of the metal has been proven to increase the electro migration performance of the copper. CoWP and reverse liner barrier films have be demonstrated to increase the performance of the interconnects. It is suspected, however, that for the TaN resistor, capping materials such as SiN or SiCN are not providing sufficient protection (and capping) for higher current performance.
Moreover, the currently provided etch stop layer, e.g., nBLOK (SiCN) or SiN, does not adhere well to the TaN film, and thus not as effective to prevent shifting of resistance during stress/aging.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. US 2004/0152299 describes a method of forming a thin film resistor. In this disclosure, a conductive layer 120 of TiN or TiW formed after the via hole (as in a linear) and a layer that comprises a typical etch stop layer (e.g., SiN). This "stack" actually is comprised of "Resistor film/SiN/Via.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. US 2004/0203192 describes methods for forming Cu lines with organic monolayers bonded to the surface for increased electro migration resistance.
It would be highly desirable to provide a novel thin film resistor structure and method of fabricating the resistor by providing a barrier material over the thin-film resistor structure to thereby enhance the current-carrying capability of the resistor.
It would be highly desirable to provide a novel thin film resistor structure and method of fabricating the resistor by providing a barrier material layer over a TaN film resistor structure that exhibits increased resistance to stress/aging.

Thin film resistor with current density enhancing layer (CDEL)

International Business Machines Corporation


Techniques and technologies described herein can generate and provide identifiers, such as unique identifiers, for individual records of aggregate data. Such identifiers allow systems to cache and reuse individual records of aggregate data. Also, such identifiers can facilitate simpler analytic views of aggregate data.

This application relates to techniques for modeling aggregation records, such as aggregation records associated with online analytical processing (OLAP).
There are many common ways for web services to model entities associated with online interactions and ecommerce. For example, there are many ways for web services to model a webpage, a blog post, an online audience member, an ad impression, and an invoice. Usually it is convenient to assign unique identifiers to entities, such as by assigning ID numbers incrementally. Systems can then use the unique identifiers to retrieve data from a database, memory, and/or an application programming interface (API), for example.
In the case of aggregate data, assigning unique identifiers can be difficult and using such identifiers may not be readily available. Often, data sources of aggregate data provide data without uniquely identifiable records. For example, online analytical processing (OLAP) data sources often do not use unique identifiers for their records. For instance, in a plurality of records of a collection of facts from an OLAP data source, each record may not include a unique identifier such as a serial number. Also, for instance, in a fact table of OLAP data, each row of facts in the table may not be unique or may not include a serial number or some other form of unique indicator for a row. In such systems, it can be difficult to retrieve individual records. Also, creating an entity map and caching and reusing such records can be complex. These technical problems can also make record sharing amongst various types of requesters (such as Javascript or PHP objects) problematic. This is especially the case when such sharing relies on cached records.
There is, therefore, a set of engineering problems that can be solved in generating and providing unique identifiers for records of aggregate data. Also, there is a set of technical problems to be solved in creating techniques to generate and provide unique identifiers for records of aggregate data. Resolution of such engineering problems is pertinent considering the vast benefits of using aggregate data (such as aggregate data from OLAP sources).
Additionally, aggregate data is especially useful for analytics in the competitive landscape of online advertising. The resolution of at least the aforementioned technical issues can benefit advertisers in providing more effective and efficient use of ad impressions and targeted advertising. For instance, such solutions may result in a greater number of user interactions with online ads. Also, these technical solutions can benefit online ad network providers in servicing advertisers and content providers providing ad spots for the ads. The novel technologies described herein also set out to solve a set of technical problems caused by the scope in analyzing data from online advertising sources. Today, there is room for improvement for resolving the aforementioned problems in uniquely identifying records of aggregate data and then using such records, efficiently and effectively, to improve analytical tasks. This is especially the case in online advertising.

Techniques for modeling aggregation records


A method and apparatus for mapping a wire network is disclosed. The method includes obtaining a reflectometry test signal of the wire network. An estimated network impulse response is estimated from the reflectometry response. A wire network model is then initialized, and iteratively improved by simulating an impulse response of the wire network model and adjusting the wire network model to reduce differences between the simulated impulse response and estimated network impulse response.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of electronic testing. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices and methods for mapping signal paths in electronic systems
2. Related Art
Electronic systems are ubiquitous. An essential component of these systems is their internal signal paths, most typically provided by wired interconnects. Failures in the wiring frequently result in failure of the system. For example, aging wiring in buildings, aircraft and transportation systems, consumer products, industrial machinery, etc. is among the most significant potential causes of catastrophic failure and maintenance cost in these structures. High profile airline crashes attributed to aging wiring have brought the need for improved wire testing systems to the forefront of industry attention.
Efforts to develop techniques for the characterization and fault detection of electronic signal paths have been underway for years, with many successes. For example, techniques such as time domain reflectometry (TDR), frequency domain reflectometry (FDR), and sequence time domain reflectometry (STDR) can be used to determine where a short or break in a wire has occurred. More recently, improvements such as spread spectrum time domain reflectometry (SSTDR) and noise domain reflectometry (NDR) have been developed to allow testing of a wire while operational signals are present.
A test instrument using these reflectometry techniques generally injects a reflectometry test signal into the wire to be tested. As the test signal propagates from the test instrument, impedance mismatches in the wire generate reflections that propagate back to the test instrument. Impedance mismatches can be caused by a variety of things, including for example, breaks in the wire, short circuits, branches, and wire gauge changes. These results are then measured either directly or indirectly, providing a reflectometry response of the wire under test. For example, in a TDR, the test signal is a fast rise time pulse, and the reflections of the pulse are observed on a display such as an oscilloscope. For a FDR, the test signal is a sine wave, and the frequency of the sine wave is swept or stepped in frequency to permit measuring the phase delay and associating this with corresponding mismatches. NDR operates slightly differently, as no test signal is injected. In NDR, an existing signal present on the wire is used as the test signal, and the reflections of the existing signal observed.
Interpreting the results obtained with a reflectometry instrument for anything other than simple wires typically requires great expertise, as the reflectometry response can be very complex. For example, mismatches can generate reflections to both a forward traveling signal (e.g., the test signal injected by the test instrument) and a reverse traveling signal (e.g., a reflection generated by a mismatch further down the line). Mismatches also affect the signal passing past the mismatch. For example, a pair of mismatches can result in an infinite, although decaying, train of reflections as a portion of the test signal bounces back and forth. In general, the resulting reflected and re-reflected signals within a network superimpose on each other to create a complex overall response.
For single wires, significant progress has been made in allowing automated interpretation of the reflectometry response, allowing useful information, for example, wire length, to be determined by the instrument and displayed to a user in an easily usable format. For example, distance to a mismatch can be determined by observing the delay between the injected test signal and the reflected signal.
Many electronic systems, however, use wiring that is interconnected into a branched network. Testing of networks of wires has proven challenging. This is because branches in the network add a further level of complexity to the reflectometry response. Junctions of wires create an impedance mismatch that can be difficult to distinguish from other types of impedance mismatch. Reflections from different branches of a network can be re-reflected by other branches, and overlap in time. The superposition of multiple reflections from different branches and branch ends can cancel each other out, reinforce, or otherwise combine so as to create erroneous distance measurements when simple analysis algorithms are used. The number of reflections also tends to grow exponentially with the number of branches in the network; hence, complex network topologies produce extremely complex reflectometry responses. As a result, even if a distance measurement to a fault can be obtained, the result may be ambiguous, since which branch the fault is located on is not provided. Analyzing networks of unknown topology can therefore be particularly difficult.

Wire network mapping method and apparatus using impulse responses


A light distribution device has a first light-guiding cable for transmitting light rays, a number of second light-guiding cables having light-receiving ends arranged together to form a light-receiving ring plane, a driving means for rotating the light-emitting end of the first light-guiding cable around the light-receiving ring-plane, a light coupler secured at the light-emitting end of the first light-guiding cable. The light coupler has a surface similar to that of a part composing the light-receiving ring-plane of the second light-guiding cables and makes a circular motion along the light-receiving ring-plane at a constant relation thereto.

The present invention relates to a light distribution device and more particularly to a device which is able to receive light transmitted through a single light-guiding cable and to time-sharingly distribute the same to a large number of light-guiding cables. More concretely, the present invention relates to a device which is capable of effectively supplying light necessary for the photosynthesis of living organisms such as algae, (for example, chlorella, spirulina etc.), photosynthesized bacteria and other artificially photosynthesized substances as for example callus and such living things as plants, mushrooms etc.
A chlorella culturing device, as an example of a photosynthetic reactor, has been proposed in which chlorella is cultured by feeding it with light and carbon dioxide for aiding in the process of photosynthesis. However, as a result of some detailed research into the phtosynthetic process it has been found that one cycle of phtosynthetic reaction in chlorella requires an instant light radiation duration of about 10 microseconds and the rest duration about 200 microseconds therein photosynthetic reaction can be conducted without light radiation, more exactly, the reaction can be more effectively conducted with no light radiation for the rest duration of the cycle. On the other hand, in the case of chlorella culturing it is usual to use such a phtosynthetic reactor (for instance, a chlorella culturing bath) wherein a large number of fluorescent lamps are arranged so as to allow photosynthetic substances to pass through the gaps between the lamps. Said conventional bath, due to the use of a large number of fluorescent lamps, is large and requires the consumption of much electricity. Furthermore it necessitates strong treatment of heat generated by the lamps. To solve these problems, the present applicant has previously proposed that solar rays or artificial rays be focused and introduced into a fiber optic cable and then transmitted therethrough to a light radiator which is used as a light source for a photosynthetic reactor. However, it is also evident that when a large scale photosynthetic reactor is constructed with the use of the above-mentioned light-radiating means, a large number of light radiators must be used or a large-sized device for focusing the sun's rays and/or artificial light rays is necessary.
To solve the above-mentioned problems, the present applicant has also proposed a light distribution device which is able to intermittently supply light energy to photosynthetic substances in order to more effectively promote the process of photosynthesis and therefore is sufficient to cover the need for light energy for any large-scale photosynthetic reactor at the fixed capacity of a solar ray and/or artificial light ray focusing device.
A photosynthetic reactor's light source previously proposed by the present applicant has a light-guiding rod or a light-guiding cable for transmitting solar rays or artificial light rays focused by lenses (not shown) and a transparent rotary rod. The light-emitting end of the light guide is placed opposite the rotating axis of the rotary rod, and a reflecting mirror is provided at the rotating axis of the rotary rod against the light-emitting end of the light guide. The light transmitted through the light guide and introduced into the rotary rod is reflected a the mirror and propagates toward the tip portion of the rotary rod, whereas the light is reflected again by a mirror provided thereat and then radiated out from the light-emitting surface of the rotary rod. A large number of light-guiding rods are arranged to form a ring, placed opposite to the light-emitting surface of the rotary rod. Consequently, when the rotary rod is rotated by a motor, the light-receiving faces of the light-guiding rods to be covered with the light-emitting surface of the rotary rod are changed in turn and each light-guiding rod receives an instant burst of light radiation for each rotation. The end portion of each light-guiding rod serves as a light radiator. The light radiators may be provided at a certain distance from each other in a photosynthetic reactor, or widely spread apart in a plant-cultivating room, a mushroom cultivating place and so on.
As described above, in the light-distribution device provided previously by the present applicant the light delivered thereto through the light guide is supplied momentarily into the light guides and in turn through the rotary rod being rotated and, accordingly, the distributed light is discharged momentarily from the output end of each light-guiding rod, once for each rotation of the rotary rod into a photosynthetic reactor wherein a photosynthetic substance is radiated with the light for a very short period, for instance about 10 microseconds and then initiates a cycle of a photosynthetic reaction and completes the cycle without the need for additional light radiation, and then at the next burst of light radiation, through one rotation of the rotary rod, it initiates a new cycle of photosynthetic reaction. A series of photosynthetic reactions in the reactor is thus continued with periodical light radiation of photosynthetic substances. For initiating the photosynthesis of the object it is necessary to supply no less than a specified amount of light energy. In the above-mentioned light distribution device a necessary amount of light energy may be easily obtained by increasing the density of the light for a very small area corresponding to the light-emitting surface of the rotary rod. Thanks to this construction feature, the device can work well with a compact solar ray or artificial light ray collecting device. Furthermore, since the light discharged from the light-emitting surface of the rotary rod is time-sharingly distributed to many light-guiding rods, the device can supply a sufficient amount of light energy into a photosynthetic reactor of a large capacity.
However, the above-mentioned light distribution device has some drawbacks in that the rotary rod is difficult to make and is expensive.


A polymer electrolyte fuel cell including a plurality of membrane electrode assemblies and a plurality of conductive separators, wherein the plurality of conductive separators include at least one separator comprising: a fuel gas inlet-side manifold aperture; a fuel gas outlet-side manifold aperture; a gas flow channel for fuel gas formed on an anode-side of the separator; an inlet-side through hole and an outlet-side through hole penetrating the separator which are formed at an inlet-side end and an outlet-side end of the gas flow channel for fuel gas; and an inlet-side connection groove and an outlet-side connection groove for connecting the inlet-side and outlet-side through holes with the fuel gas inlet-side manifold aperture and the fuel gas outlet-side manifold aperture, respectively, which are formed on a cathode-side of the separator.

The present invention relates to a fuel cell comprising a solid polymer electrolyte used for portable power sources, electric vehicle power sources, domestic cogeneration systems, etc.
A fuel cell comprising a solid polymer electrolyte generates electric power and heat simultaneously by electrochemically reacting a fuel gas containing hydrogen and an oxidant gas containing oxygen such as air. This fuel cell is basically composed of a polymer electrolyte membrane for selectively transporting hydrogen ions, and a pair of electrodes formed on both surfaces of the polymer electrolyte membrane. The electrode usually comprises a catalyst layer which is composed mainly of carbon particles carrying a platinum group metal catalyst and a diffusion layer which has both gas permeability and electronic conductivity and is formed on the outer surface of the catalyst layer.
Moreover, gaskets or gas sealing materials are arranged on the outer periphery of the electrodes with the polymer electrolyte membrane therebetween so as to prevent a fuel gas and an oxidant gas from leaking out or prevent these two kinds of gases from mixing together. The gaskets are combined integrally with the electrodes and polymer electrolyte membrane beforehand. This is called "MEA" (membrane electrode assembly). Disposed outside the MEA are conductive separators for mechanically securing the MEA and for connecting adjacent MEAs electrically in series. The separators have a gas flow channel for supplying a reaction gas to the electrode surface and for removing a generated gas and an excess gas at a portion to come in contact with the MEA. Although the gas flow channel may be provided separately from the separators, grooves are usually formed on the surfaces of the separators to serve as the gas flow channel.
In order to supply the gas to such grooves, it is necessary to use a piping jig, called "manifold", which branches out, depending on the number of the separators, into the grooves of the respective separators from a gas supply pipe. This type of manifold, directly connecting the gas supply pipe to the grooves of the separators, is specifically called "external manifold". There is also another type of manifold, called "internal manifold", which has a more simple structure. In the internal manifold, the separators with the gas flow channel formed thereon are provided with through holes, called "manifold aperture", which are connected to the inlet and outlet of the gas flow channel, and the gas is supplied directly from the manifold apertures.
Since the fuel cell generates heat during operation, it needs cooling with cooling water or the like to keep good temperature conditions. Thus, a cooling section for flowing the cooling water therein is generally inserted between the separators for every one to three cells, and the cooling section is often formed by providing the backside of the separator with a cooling water flow channel. In a general structure of the fuel cell, the MEAs, separators and cooling sections, as described above, are alternately stacked to form a stack of 10 to 200 cells, and the resultant cell stack is sandwiched by end plates with a current collector plate and an insulating plate interposed between the cell stack and each end plate and is clamped with clamping bolts from both sides.
In such a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, the separators need to have a high conductivity, high gas tightness, and high corrosion resistance to oxidation/reduction reactions of hydrogen/oxygen. For such reasons, conventional separators are usually formed from carbon materials such as graphite and expanded graphite, and the gas flow channel is formed by cutting the surface of the separator or by molding in the case of expanded graphite separator.
The fuel cell produced in the above-described manner is supplied with the fuel gas, oxidant gas and cooling water to examine the performance of the fuel cell or of a unit cell of the fuel cell.
The prior art fuel cell, comprising the cell stack in which the MEA is disposed between two conventional conductive separators, poses a large problem resulting from the separators. Specifically, in such a fuel cell, the gasket arranged on the periphery of the MEA is pressed to fall into the gas flow channel of one of the two separators due to the clamping pressure of the fuel cell, thereby to form a clearance between the gasket of the MEA and the other separator. Such a clearance is liable to occur at the ends of the gas flow channel in the vicinity of the manifold apertures. Through the clearance, two kinds of gases mix with each other, resulting in deterioration of cell performance. Also, the mixing of the gasses may cause explosion or firing, thus inviting dangerous situations.


Systems and methods of selecting a media content source based on monetary cost are disclosed. A particular method includes receiving media content at a network device and sending the media content from the network device to each of a plurality of source devices configured to provide the media content to a destination device. The method further includes receiving a request for the media content from the destination device and selecting a first source device of the plurality of source devices to provide the media content to the destination device based at least in part on a determination that a first monetary cost associated with providing the media content from the first source device is less than a second monetary cost associated with providing the media content from a second source device of the plurality of source devices.

The popularity of the Internet, coupled with the increasing capabilities of personal/mobile electronic devices, has provided consumers with the ability to enjoy multimedia content almost anytime and anywhere. For example, live (e.g., sports events) and video on demand (VOD) content (e.g., television shows and movies) can be streamed via the Internet to personal electronic devices (e.g., computers, mobile phones, and Internet-enabled televisions).
In a client-server system, a server may provide a multimedia stream to each client device that requests the stream. However, providing multiple copies of the stream may exhaust available bandwidth at the server. To alleviate the demand on the server, the stream may be syndicated to multiple servers and made available from any of the servers. A load balancing system may be utilized to determine which particular server should provide a stream to a particular destination device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Selecting a media content source based on monetary cost


A door with a sliding door leaf has guides that are arranged in the region of an edge of the door leaf. The guides include a belt so aligned that it extends by the belt length thereof longitudinally of the guide surface for the door leaf in the direction of sliding of the door leaf. When the door leaf is sliding, the belt runs with the door leaf in such a manner that a portion of the belt bears against the guide surface when the door leaf is open, closed and sliding and thereby guides the door leaf.

The present invention relates generally to a door with a sliding door leaf and an elevator installation with such a door.
Doors with sliding door leaves, which are also termed sliding doors, have numerous advantages; in particular, their need for space relative to the need for space of swinging doors is comparatively small, since the opening door leaves slide parallel to and in the immediate vicinity of the wall and thus do not demand any usable space in the region of the door opening.
The disadvantages of such doors with sliding door leaves reside particularly in that: the door leaves are not, or not sufficiently, guided and produce noises during their sliding, which can frequently be heard in remote areas of the building; the guide elements which serve for guidance of the door leaves during sliding thereof are subject to considerable wear; and the door leaves in closed state form only an unsealed or poorly sealed separation of the spaces connected by the door opening. This last-mentioned disadvantage is significant particularly in the case of shaft doors of elevator installations, since due to air currents, which are inevitable in an elevator shaft, a perceptible draft associated with a disturbing development of noise can be caused, for example, by the generally known "chimney effect" or by movements of an elevator car during travel through the shaft.
The mentioned disadvantages make themselves particularly noticeable in the case of a sliding door of the type shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,270 that is constructed for use in elevator installations and the door leaves of which are guided by means of slide elements, which elements are fastened to the door leaves, in guide grooves of a door threshold profile member. On sliding of such a door leaf the slide elements are exposed to a high level of sliding friction and accordingly are movable in a manner susceptible to wear and relatively noisily. Limits are imposed on optimization of the friction conditions by suitable material selection for the components of the door subject to friction, if only because of an inevitable contamination of the guide grooves in the door threshold profile member. Moreover, the slide elements have to be guided with a minimum amount of play in order to prevent jamming of the door leaf This is one cause of the mentioned sealing problems.

Door with sliding door leaf and with guide means


A technique performs a security operation. The technique includes receiving first activity data from a mobile device, the first activity data identifying activity by a user that is currently using the mobile device. The technique further includes receiving second activity data from an electronic wearable apparatus, the second activity data identifying physical activity by a wearer that is currently wearing the electronic wearable apparatus. The technique further includes, based on the first activity data received from the mobile device and the second activity data received from the electronic wearable apparatus, performing an assessment operation that provides an assessment result indicating whether the user that is currently using the mobile device and the wearer that is currently wearing the electronic wearable apparatus are the same person. With such a technique, authentication may be continuous but without burdening the user to repeatedly re-enter a password.

A conventional smartphone enables its user to access a variety of electronic resources. Examples of such resources includes a cellular telephone, messaging apps, a camera, the Internet, email, social media apps and games, among others.
To access such resources, the user typically authenticates by entering a password (e.g., a sequence of four numbers) on the touchscreen of the smartphone. If the entered password matches an expected password, the smartphone unlocks—thus enabling the user to access the resources. Additionally, the smartphone may re-lock after a period of smartphone inactivity, preventing further access to the resources.

Continuous seamless mobile device authentication using a separate electronic wearable apparatus


A memory cell array includes a plurality of active areas in which a plurality of memory cells are formed. A memory cell includes a storage capacitor, a transistor at least partially formed in a semiconductor substrate with a substrate surface, the transistor including a first source/drain region. A second source/drain region being formed adjacent to the substrate surface, a channel region connecting the first and second source/drain regions. The first source/drain region is formed adjacent to the substrate surface. The channel region is disposed in the semiconductor substrate, and a gate electrode. Rows of the active areas are separated from each other by isolation grooves that extend along a first direction. A first and a second word lines are disposed on either lateral sides of each of the rows of active areas. The first and the second word lines are connected with each other via the gate electrodes of the transistors of the corresponding row of active areas.

Memory cells of a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) generally comprise a storage capacitor for storing an electrical charge which represents an information to be stored, and an access transistor connected with the storage capacitor. The access transistor comprises a first and a second source/drain regions, a channel connecting the first and second source/drain regions and a gate electrode controlling an electrical current flowing between the first and second source/drain regions. The transistor is usually at least partially formed in a semiconductor substrate. The information stored in the storage capacitor is read out or written in by addressing the access transistor via the corresponding word line. In particular, the information is read out to a corresponding bit line via a bit line contact.
There is a lower boundary of the channel length of the access transistor, below which the isolation properties of the access transistor in a non-addressed state are not sufficient. The lower boundary of the effective channel length Leff limits the scalability of planar transistor cells with an access transistor, formed horizontally with respect to the substrate surface of the semiconductor substrate.
Vertical transistor cells offer a possibility of enhancing the channel length while maintaining the surface area necessary for forming the memory cell. In such a vertical transistor cell the source/drain regions of the access transistor and the channel region are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface. One of the problems involved with such a vertical transistor cell is the difficulty in providing a surface contact to a stacked capacitor. Accordingly, such a vertical transistor is difficult to integrate with a stacked capacitor.
Enhancing the effective channel length Leff by a recessed channel transistor is known. In such a transistor, the first and second source/drain regions are arranged in a horizontal plane parallel to the substrate surface. The gate electrode is arranged in a recess groove, which is disposed between the two source/drain regions of the transistor in the semiconductor substrate. Accordingly, the effective channel length equals to the sum of the distance between the two source/drain regions and the two fold of the depth of the recess groove. The effective channel width Weff corresponds to the nominal structural size F.
It is also known that a memory cell array has transistors formed in continuous active area lines. The active area lines are arranged in parallel with the bit lines. In particular, the gate electrodes of the transistors from part from the word lines and the word lines including the gate electrodes are implemented as buried word lines.
Further, it is know that a transistor is formed in an active area with the form of a ridge, where two gate electrodes each form part of a corresponding word lines and disposed along the lateral sides of the active area. The active area is recessed at a channel portion of the transistor.
An improved memory cell array and method of forming such a memory cell array are desirable.

Memory cell array and method of manufacturing the same


In one embodiment, a semiconductor target for detecting overlay error between two or more successive layers of a substrate or between two or more separately generated patterns on a single layer of a substrate is disclosed. The target comprises at least a plurality of a plurality of first grating structures having a course pitch that is resolvable by an inspection tool and a plurality of second grating structures positioned relative to the first grating structures. The second grating structures have a fine pitch that is smaller than the course pitch, and the first and second grating structures are both formed in two or more successive layers of a substrate or between two or more separately generated patterns on a single layer of a substrate. The first and second gratings have feature dimensions that all comply with a predefined design rules specification.

The present invention relates generally to overlay measurement techniques, which are used in semiconductor manufacturing processes. More specifically, the present invention relates to techniques for measuring alignment error between different layers or different patterns on the same layer of a semiconductor wafer stack.
An overlay measurement generally specifies how accurately a first patterned layer aligns with respect to a second patterned layer disposed above or below it or how accurately a first pattern aligns with respect to a second pattern disposed on the same layer. The overlay error is typically determined with an overlay target having structures formed on one or more layers of a work piece (e.g., semiconductor wafer). The structures may take the form of gratings, and these gratings may be periodic. If the two layers or patterns are properly formed, then the structure on one layer or pattern tends to be aligned relative to the structure on the other layer or pattern. If the two layers or patterns are not properly formed, then the structure on one layer or pattern tends to be offset or misaligned relative to the structure on the other layer or pattern.
There continues to be a need for improved overlay targets, as well as techniques and apparatus for measuring and determining overlay.

Device-like scatterometry overlay targets


An additive delivery laminate, suitable for cooking a food product and transferring a colorant, flavorant, and/or odorant to a food product, has an additive delivery layer comprising a thermoplastic layer and water-soluble granules containing a food additive. The laminate further comprises a substrate layer to which the additive delivery layer is bonded. The additive delivery layer is placed in contact with the food product to be packaged, with the granules thereafter dissolving and the additive being transferred to the food product. The additive can be transferred during cook-in or otherwise. Also disclosed is a process for preparing the additive delivery laminate and a process for preparing a packaged food product.

The commercial food packaging industry has for many years carried out processes in which a food additive is used to modify a food product by imparting a desired color, flavor, or odor to the product. In the meat industry, this has included modification of a meat product during cooking of the meat. Typically, smoke flavor and color, and caramel coloring, having been used to modify the meat product.
There remains a need to improve the manner in which color, flavor, and odor food additives are combined with food products, and to improve the quality of the resulting modified food product. Problems experienced in the prior art include, among others, uneven distribution of the food additive in or on the food product, inability to transfer enough food additive to the food product, inadequate adhesion of the food additive to the food product upon removing the package from the food product, and poor appearance of the food product after transfer of the food additive to the food product. It would be desirable to provide a process or product which addresses one or more of these areas.

Additive delivery laminate, process for making and using same and article employing same


Combined connector receptacles that provide isolation between individual connector receptacles and have structures arranged to reduce or eliminate damage to through-hole contact portions during insertion of the combined connector into a board.

The number of types of electronic devices that are commercially available has increased tremendously the past few years and the rate of introduction of new devices shows no signs of abating. Devices, such as tablet, laptop, netbook, desktop, and all-in-one computers, cell, smart, and media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors, and others, have become ubiquitous.
Power and data may be provided from one device to another over cables that may include one or more wire conductors, fiber optic cables, or other conductor. Connector inserts may be located at each end of these cables and may be inserted into connector receptacles in the communicating or power transferring devices.
These connector receptacles may be located in openings of enclosures in electronic devices. In some circumstances, it may be desirable to combine more than one connector receptacle into a single unit, which may be referred to as a combined connector receptacle.
Various problems may arise when connector receptacles are combined into a single unit. For example, contacts in one connector receptacle may convey a high-speed signal having relatively fast edges. High frequency signal components may couple onto contacts in another connector receptacle in the unit, thereby degrading the performance of the other connector receptacle. Similarly, contacts in one connector receptacle may convey a signal that is sensitive to coupling. Signal components may couple onto this contact, thereby degrading performance of that connector receptacle.
Also, contacts in a receptacle may terminate in through-hole contact portions that may be inserted into a board, such as a printed circuit board, during device assembly. Including more than one connector receptacle in a single unit may make the insertion of the through-hole contact portions more complicated. Specifically, the number of contacts and corresponding through-hole contact portions may increase, thereby making alignment of the through-hole contact portions more difficult.
Thus, what is needed are combined connector receptacles that provide isolation between individual connector receptacles and have structures arranged to reduce or eliminate damage to through-hole contact portions during insertion of the combined connector into a board.

Pin alignment and protection in combined connector receptacles


A ring resonator has a first optical waveguide arranged in a loop, a second optical waveguide tangentially connected to the first optical waveguide, and an electrical coil inductively coupled to the first optical waveguide.

Light beams or optical signals are frequently used to transmit digital data. For example, optical signals are used in fiber optic systems for long-distance telephony and internet communication. Additionally, optical signals are frequently used to transmit data between electronic components on a single circuit board or between electronic components on adjacent or nearby circuit boards.
Consequently, optical technology plays a significant role in modern telecommunications and data communication. Examples of optical components used in such systems include optical or light sources such as light emitting diodes and lasers; waveguides; fiber optics; lenses and other optics; photo-detectors and other optical sensors; optically-sensitive semiconductors; optical modulators, and others.
Such systems making use of optical components often rely upon the precise manipulation of optical energy, usually in the form of a light beam, to accomplish a desired task, such as data communication. This is especially true in systems utilizing light for high-speed, low-energy communication between two nodes.
Often, optical resonators are used to selectively filter, switch, or modulate light beams. Ring resonators are a type of optical resonator. Ring resonators typically have an optical waveguide in a closed loop coupled to a tangential waveguide. When light of the appropriate wavelength is coupled to the loop by the tangential waveguide, the light beam builds in intensity or amplitude over multiple round-trips through the closed loop due to constructive interference. The optical energy then exits the loop into the tangential waveguide. Ring resonators have a characteristic resonant frequency, which requires selective tuning in some systems.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.

Ring resonator with inductance coupled heat tuning

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The present application provides an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for a long duration flight. An exemplary UAV may include a UAV body assembly. The UAV may also include a flight control system (FCS) coupled to the UAV body assembly. The UAV may further include a motor coupled to the UAV body assembly at one end and coupled to a propeller at the other end. The FCS is communicatively connected to the motor. A center of gravity (CG) of the UAV is at a point between 21% and 25% of a mean aerodynamic chord (MAC) of the UAV.

UAVs are used in various applications, such as taking aerial images, building geographic models, survey and monitoring. For these applications, UAVs may need to fly for a long time or over a long distance. To allow UAVs to do, one approach is to use a higher capacity battery. However, the UAV may not be able to carry a battery of a large capacity. It would be desirable to have methods and UAVs for longer duration flights.

Methods and unmanned aerial vehicles for longer duration flights


A packet decoding method and apparatus of a digital broadcast system is provided for improving decoding performance by reordering blocks to be decoded and adjusting a number of decoding iterations of each block. A packet decoding method of the present invention includes measuring Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNRs) of individual packets within a slot, determining a decoding order of the packets according to the SNRs, and decoding the packets in the decoding order. The decoding method and apparatus of a digital broadcast system according to the present invention performs decoding on the packets having the highest channel estimation performance first with reduced number of decoding iterations and reallocates the saved number of decoding iterations to remaining packets having relatively low channel estimation performance, thereby improving the decoding performance of the received packets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital broadcast system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a packet decoding method and apparatus of a digital broadcast system for improving decoding performance by reordering blocks to be decoded and adjusting a number of decoding iterations of each block.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the advance of data compression and communication technologies, recent digital broadcast systems are designed to provide high quality audio and video broadcast services with fixed and mobile terminals. These advanced broadcast systems include Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), Digital Audio Radio Broadcasting System, and Digital Multimedia Broadcast (DMB) supporting various audio, video, and data services. In North America, Advanced Television System Committee-Mobile/Handheld (ATSC-M/H) is employed as a mobile extension of the digital television broadcast standard ATSC.
In such digital broadcast systems, the transmitter encodes packets of data, and the receiver decodes the received packets. In the conventional digital broadcast system, however, the receiver performs decoding in the same duration and number of decoding iterations on every packet, resulting in degradation of decoding performance per packet.

Packet decoding method and apparatus for digital broadcast system


A display device includes a beam index type cathode ray tube having a fluorescent screen on which red, green and blue fluorescent materials are formed in strip configurations and further index fluorescent materials are formed in strip configurations with a predetermined pitch, a sensor for converting light generated from the index fluorescent materials into an electric signal when an electron beam is impinged on the index fluorescent materials upon horizontal scanning of the electron beam with respect to the fluorescent screen, and for multiplying the converted electric signal, an index signal processing circuit for switching red, green and blue signals in accordance with the multiplied electric signal from the sensor, and for controlling luminance of the cathode ray tube in accordance with a luminance level control signal, and a driving voltage generating circuit for controlling a driving voltage applied to the sensor in accordance with the luminance level control signal to thereby control a multiplication ratio of the sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to display devices and, more particularly, is directed to a display device having a beam index type (beam-indexing) cathode ray tube (CRT).
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, the beam index type CRT has a fluorescent screen which is constituted by forming red, green and blue fluorescent materials in strip configurations and then by forming at a constant pitch material which generates secondary electrons or ultraviolet rays, that is, index fluorescent materials in strip configurations. The beam index type CRT selects a color to be illuminated in a manner that a position of an electron beam is detected by detecting secondary electrons or ultraviolet rays which are instantly generated from the fluorescent screen upon horizontal scanning of an electron beam and then the electron beam is controlled in accordance with the detected position.
The beam index type CRT has the following features since it does not need a color selection electrode such as a shadow mask for seizing a beam current:
(1) an electron beam is utilized at a high efficiency, and so luminance of the CRT is high and electric power consumption thereof is low; PA1 (2) the electron beam is a single beam, and so there is no problem of beam concentration; PA1 (3) the CRT is hardly influenced by earth magnetism; and PA1 (4) the construction of the tube is simple.
Recently, the beam index type CRT has been employed as a display device for a cockpit of an airplane, for example, due to the high luminance thereof. Namely, it is an absolute condition for the display device for the cockpit that image information can be surely recognized by a pilot in various conditions such as the day time where sunlight is directly incident on the display and the nighttime where there is no outdoor daylight. To this end, the display device is required to have a high luminance and a high contrast, so that the beam index type CRT has been employed as a display device for the cockpit due to the high luminance thereof.
However, the beam index type CRT has the disadvantage such that the screen is always illuminated since an electron beam is required to be always irradiated on the screen. The lowest luminance level of the screen due to this electron beam is called a black level or a black luminance level, in general. This black level does not cause any problem in the daytime about recognizing an image information on the screen, but causes an important problem in the nighttime. Namely, luminance of the background image of the screen due to the black level becomes brighter in the nighttime, so that it becomes difficult to recognize an image information.
In order to decrease the luminance of the black level, it is required to decrease an amount of the electron beam. However, if an amount of the electron beam is simply decreased, an amount of secondary electrons or ultraviolet rays generated from the fluorescent screen upon impingement of the electron beam thereon also decreases, so that the detection of the secondary electrons or ultraviolet rays becomes difficult.
In order to obviate this problem, the conventional display device employs, as an element for detecting the secondary electrons or ultraviolet rays, an element having a function of multiplying the detected beams or rays, for example, a photomultiplier. The photomultiplier is a photo sensor with a high sensitivity, a low noise and a high-speed responsibility having a function of multiplying secondary electrons.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows an example of conventional display devices utilizing the photomultipliers. Referring to FIG. 1, this display device comprises a photomultiplier 12 which detects, through an optical filter 11, light which is generated from the beam index type CRT (hereinafter referred to as a CRT) upon impingement of the electron beam on the fluorescent screen thereof and then generates an electric signal (index signal) Si depending on an amount of the detected light.
The index signal Si from the photomultiplier 12 is amplified by an amplifier 13 and then supplied to an index signal processing circuit 14. The index signal processing circuit 14 changes over inputted red (R), green (G) and blue (B) signals in accordance with the index signal Si from the photomultiplier 12 through the amplifier 13 to thereby output the R, G and B signals alternately in time sequence to the CRT.
A luminance level of the CRT is determined by adjusting a luminance level control volume 15. That is, the index signal processing circuit 14 controls a gain of each of the R, G and B signals in accordance with a luminance level control signal Sv from the volume 15.
The photomultiplier 12 is supplied with a power supply voltage Vd so as to maintain a constant multiplication ratio thereof from a power supply circuit 16 to which an external constant voltage V is supplied.
However, the thus constituted conventional display device has the following disadvantages.
When the multiplication ratio of the photomultiplier 12 is set to be low, since a signal level of the index signal Si becomes lower, it may become difficult to detect the position of the electron beam, so that it is required to set an initial luminance level of the CRT higher. As a result, the black level becomes higher and so image quality is degraded, thereby recognition of image information becomes difficult.
Conversely, when the multiplication ratio of the photomultiplier 12 is set to be higher, a level of the index signal Si saturates in a high luminance mode, so that it becomes impossible to detect the position of the electron beam, thereby a normal image can not be reproduced on the screen.
The fluorescent screen of the CRT has an ineffective screen area and an effective screen area. In the effective screen area, red, green and blue fluorescent materials are formed separately and carbon materials are formed therebetween, and further index fluorescent materials are formed on the carbon materials with a predetermined distance. In the ineffective screen area, carbon is formed on the entire surface of this area and index fluorescent materials are formed on the carbon with a predetermined distance.
The scanning by an electron beam is started from an end portion of the ineffective screen area. In this case, when light generated from the first index fluorescent material on the ineffective screen area is not detected, the change over timing of the R, G and B signals shifts from the correct timing. As a result, for example, the red fluorescent material is not excited by the R signal but excited by the G or B signal, so that a normal image can not be reproduced on the screen.
When the ineffective screen area is scanned by an electron beam, only a detection signal (white level signal) from the index signal processing circuit 14 is supplied to the CRT, whereby the index fluorescent materials on the ineffective screen area are excited by the detection signal. In contrast, when the effective screen area is scanned by an electron beam, one of the R, G and B signals selectively changed over by the index processing circuit 14 and the detection signal are added and then supplied to the CRT.
In the thus constituted conventional display device, since a level of the detection signal is kept to a constant value, a signal level of the index signal Si obtained from the photomultiplier 12 with the fixed amplification ratio by scanning the first index fluorescent material changes largely, whereby it is difficult to surely detect the index signal corresponding to the first index fluorescent material, thereby a normal image can not be reproduced.

Index type CRT having a photosensor with a function of amplifier


A Spin Valve GMR and Spin Filter SVGMR configuration where in the first embodiment an important buffer layer is composed of an metal oxide having a crystal lattice constant that is close the 1st FM free layer""s crystal lattice constant and has the same crystal structure (e.g., FCC, BCC, etc.). The metal oxide buffer layer enhances the specular scattering. The spin valve giant magnetoresistance (SVGMR) sensor comprises: a seed layer over the substrate. An important metal oxide buffer layer (buffer layer) over the seed layer. The metal oxide layer preferably is comprised of NiO or alpha-Fe2O3. A free ferromagnetic layer over the metal oxide layer. A non-magnetic conductor spacer layer over the free ferromagnetic layer. A pinned ferromagnetic layer (2nd FM pinned) over the non-magnetic conductor spacer layer and a pinning material layer over the pinned ferromagnetic layer. In the second embodiment, a high conductivity layer (HCL) is formed over the buffer layer to create a spin filter -SVGMR. The HCL layer enhances the GMR ratio of the spin filter SVGMR. The third embodiment is a pinned FM layer comprised of a three layer structure of an lower AP layer, a spacer layer (e.g., Ru) and an upper AP layer.

1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fabrication of magnetoresistive (MR) sensors employed within data storage and retrieval. More particularly, the present invention related to enhanced magnetoresistive (MR) spin valve filtering giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor elements.
2) Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, improvement in sensitivity of magnetic sensors and increase in density of magnetic recording are advancing. Concomitantly, development of magnetoresistance effect magnetic sensors (hereinafter abbreviated to MR sensors) and magnetoresistance effect magnetic heads (hereinafter abbreviated to MR heads) is making rapid progress. Each of the MR sensors and the MR heads is operable to read an external magnetic field signal as an electric resistance variation in a sensor in response to the external magnetic field. In these MR sensors and MR heads, reproduction outputs do not depend upon relative speeds with respect to recording media. This leads to high sensitivity of the MR sensors and high output levels of the MR head in high-density magnetic recording.
Recently, proposal is made of a magnetoresistance effect film which comprises at least two ferromagnetic layers or thin films stacked one over the other with a nonmagnetic layer or thin film interposed therebetween, and an antiferromagnetic layer or thin film underlying a first one of the ferromagnetic thin films so that the first ferromagnetic thin film is provided with antimagnetic force, that is, constrained by exchange anisotropy or exchange biasing.
A so-called soft magnetic material or a high permeability magnetic material is usually used for the ferromagnetic layers. The term xe2x80x9cnonmagneticxe2x80x9d is usually used to mean xe2x80x9cparamagneticxe2x80x9d and/or xe2x80x9cdiamagneticxe2x80x9d.
When an external magnetic field is applied to the magnetoresistance effect film, the direction of magnetization of the other second one of the ferromagnetic thin films is rotated with respect to that of the first ferromagnetic film. Thus, change in resistance takes place.
Disclosure is also made of a conventional magnetic read transducer, called an MR sensor or an MR head, which can read data from a magnetic surface with high linear density. The MR sensor detects a magnetic field signal through change in resistance as a function of the intensity and the direction of magnetic flux detected by a reading element. The above-mentioned conventional MR sensor is operated on the basis of an anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) effect. Specifically, one component of the resistance of the reading element changes in proportion to the square of the cosine of the angle between the magnetization direction and the direction of the sense current flowing through the element.
More recently, disclosure is made of a further remarkable magnetoresistance effect. Specifically, change in resistance of a stacked-type magnetic sensor results from spin-dependent transmission of conduction electrons between ferromagnetic layers with a nonmagnetic layer interposed therebetween and from interfacial spin-dependent scattering accompanying the spin-dependent transmission. Such magnetoresistance effect is called by various names such as xe2x80x9ca giant magnetoresistance effectxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ca spin-valve effectxe2x80x9d. Such magnetoresistance effect sensor made of an appropriate material has improved sensitivity and exhibits large rate of change in resistance. In the MR sensor of the type described, in-plane resistance between a pair of the ferromagnetic layers separated by the nonmagnetic layer changes in proportion to the cosine of the angle between magnetization directions in the two ferromagnetic layers.
It has been recognized that the electronic and structural natures of interfaces are key elements in the understanding of mechanism behind GMR effects. Improved electron reflectivity in the GMR/Insulator interface was found to improve significantly the GMR ratio.
There is a need to improve the electron reflectivity in the GMR/Insulator interface. This invention is directed towards this end.
The importance of overcoming the various deficiencies noted above is evidenced by the extensive technological development directed to the subject, as documented by the relevant patent technical literature. The closest and apparently more relevant technical developments in the patent literature can be gleaned by considering U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,589(Hoshiya et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,743(Fujikata et al.).
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for fabricating a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) with an enhanced spin filtering.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a structure for a spin filtering GMR configuration with an enhanced signal amplitude.
It is towards the forgoing objectives and other objective apparent in the specification below that the invention is directed.
The GMR configuration of the invention, in the first embodiment (a SVGMR), has an important buffer layer 13 composed of an metal oxide having a crystal lattice constant that is close the 1st FM free layer""s crystal lattice constant and has the same crystal structure (e.g., FCC, BCC, etc.). This metal oxide under layer replaces the Ta conductor used in the inventor""s previous process. The invention""s metal oxide buffer layer enhances the specular scattering. The invention""s buffer layer is comprised of oxides of metals that have a similar crystal lattice structure and constant to the adjacent FM layer.
In the second embodiment (a spin filter -SVGMR), a high conductivity layer (HCL or filtering layer) is formed over the buffer layer. The HCL layer enhances the GMR ratio of the spin filter SVGMR. The buffer layer is a key element of the Spin filter GMR sensor of the second embodiment.
In the third embodiment of the invention, the pinned ferromagnetic layer (2nd FM pinned ) is composed of a three layer structure comprising: (a) a lower AP1 layer, a non-magnetic spacer (e.g., Ru) layer and an upper AP layer (AP2 layer) wherein the spacer layer induces anti-ferromagnetic coupling between AP1 and AP2 which enhances the pinning effect. The buffer layer 13 is present in the GMR sensor of the third embodiment.
A preferred first embodiment of the invention""s spin valve giant magnetoresistance (SVGMR) sensor comprises: a substrate; a seed layer over the substrate, the seed layer being formed of a magnetoresistive resistivity sensitivity enhancing material selected from the group consisting of nickel chromium alloys, nickel -chromium-copper alloys and nickel-iron-chromium alloys; a metal oxide layer (Buffer layer) over the seed layer; said metal oxide layer comprised of NiO (nickel oxide) or alpha Fe2O3 (alpha ferros oxide); a free ferromagnetic layer over said metal oxide layer; a non-magnetic conductor spacer layer over said free ferromagnetic layer; a pinned ferromagnetic layer (2nd FM pinned) over the non-magnetic conductor spacer layer; and a pinning material layer over the pinned ferromagnetic layer; and a capping layer over said pinning material layer.
The second embodiment of the invention is a Spin filter SVGMR that further includes: a high conductivity layer (HCL) on said metal oxide layer and said free ferromagnetic layer on said high conductivity layer (HCL). The HCL layer changes a spin valve GMR to a spin filter GMR.
A third embodiment of the invention is a pinned FM layer comprised of a three layer structure of an lower AP layer (e.g., AP1), a spacer layer (e.g., Ru) and an upper AP layer (AP2). The AP1 and AP2 layers have anti-parallel magnetic orientation. AP stands for anti-parallel.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the append claims.

GMR configuration with enhanced spin filtering


A semiconductor device and fabrication methods are disclosed. The device includes a plurality of gate electrodes formed in trenches located in an active region of a semiconductor substrate. A first gate runner is formed in the substrate and electrically connected to the gate electrodes, wherein the first gate runner surrounds the active region. A second gate runner is connected to the first gate runner and located between the active region and a termination region. A termination structure surrounds the first and second gate runners and the active region. The termination structure includes a conductive material in an insulator-lined trench in the substrate, wherein the termination structure is electrically shorted to a source or body layer of the substrate thereby forming a channel stop for the device.

A DMOS (Double diffused MOS) transistor is a type of MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) that uses two sequential diffusion steps aligned to the same edge to form the channel region of the transistor. DMOS transistors are often high current devices for low and high voltages, used either as discrete transistors or as components in power integrated circuits. DMOS transistors can provide high current per unit area with a low forward voltage drop.
One particular type of DMOS transistor is a so-called trench DMOS transistor in which the channel is present on the sidewall of a trench, with the gate formed in the trench, which extends from the source towards the drain. The trench gate, which is lined with a thin oxide layer and filled with polysilicon, allows less constricted current flow than a planar gate DMOS transistor structure and thereby provides lower values of specific on-resistance.
However, a conventional method of making such a trench DMOS field effect transistor requires a five to six masks process that is expensive and time consuming.
It is within this context that embodiments of the present invention arise.

Method for making dual gate oxide trench MOSFET with channel stop using three or four masks process

Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Incorporated


An operating device for a screen comprises: a first operating mechanism with a first operating element which is connected to a first movement transfer element connected by means of a first transmission to a drive element for a screen shaft. The first operating mechanism is configured to convert a linear movement of the first operating element to a rotational movement of the drive element for operating the screen shaft in a first rotational direction. The operating device further comprises a second operating mechanism comprising a second operating element which is connected to a second movement transfer element connected by means of a second transmission to the drive element. The second operating mechanism is configured to convert a linear movement of the second operating element to a rotational movement of the drive element for operating the screen shaft in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction.

An example of such a known operating device is a chain operation with a chain loop or a cord loop with which the screen shaft can be rotated in two opposite directions in order to move a screen cover attached to the screen shaft upward or downward.
The present invention has for its object to improve the known operating device.

Universal operating device for a screen, such as a window covering