Resist film patterns are formed on a light shielding film formed on a surface of the glass substrate. The resist film patterns cover regions A and B of the surface of the substrate. Then, using the resist film patterns as a mask, the light shielding film is patterned to form the light shielding film pattern in the regions A and B. The light shielding film pattern formed in region B is used as a dummy pattern. Then, a further resist film is formed over the light shielding film patterns of the regions A and B. The resist film is patterned to provide only a resist film pattern covering the region A. Thereafter, an etching processing is applied for removing the light shielding film pattern in the region B using the resist film pattern as a mask. In this method, the presence of the dummy pattern is an important feature.

The present invention relates to a method of forming a pattern of a photomask used in the manufacture of a semiconductor device, a liquid crystal substrate and the like, and a method of forming a semiconductor device using the photomask.
In the conventional method of forming a pattern, for example a metal film pattern, on a substrate, a metal film is deposited on the entire surface of a substrate, followed by coating the entire surface of the metal film with a photoresist. Then, the photoresist is selectively exposed to light by using a photomask, followed by developing the patterned photoresist so as to form a resist film pattern. Thereafter, the metal film is selectively exposed to light by using the resist film pattern as a mask, followed by developing the exposed metal film so as to form a metal film pattern. This is also the case with the manufacturing method of a semiconductor device. Specifically, a metal film, i.e. a conductive film, is deposited on the entire surface of a semiconductor substrate, followed by coating the entire surface of the conductive film with a photoresist. Then, the photoresist is selectively exposed to light by using a mask, followed by developing the patterned photoresist so as to form a resist film pattern. Thereafter, the conductive film is subjected to etching by using the resist film pattern as a mask, so as to form a wiring or a gate electrode.
FIGS. 10A to 10C are cross sectional views collectively showing a conventional method of forming a wiring pattern or a gate electrode on a semiconductor substrate by using a photomask. In the first step, a light shielding film 101 consisting of chromium (Cr) is formed on the entire main surface of a transparent substrate 100 such as a glass substrate. Then, the entire surface of the light shielding film 101 is coated with a positive or negative resist 102, as shown in FIG. 10A. Then, a predetermined pattern is depicted on the resist layer 102 by irradiating the resist layer 102 with a light or an electron beam in a predetermined pattern, followed by developing the depicted pattern so as to form a resist film pattern 102, as shown in FIG. 10B. Further, the light shielding film 101 is selectively etched with the resist film pattern 102 used as a mask so as to form a light shielding film pattern 101. Then, the resist film pattern 102 is removed. As a result, a photomask consisting of the transparent substrate 100 and the light shielding film pattern 101 is formed, as shown in FIG. 10C.
The photomask is constructed in conformity with a circuit pattern of, for example, a wiring and a gate formed on a semiconductor substrate. To be more specific, the photomask comprises a transparent substrate such as a glass substrate, and light shielding film patterns e.g. chromium film patterns, formed on the main surface of the transparent substrate. The light shielding film patterns may be arranged collectively or at a high density in some region so as to form a collective or dense arrangement pattern and a single light shielding film pattern is independently formed in another region so as to form an independent or isolated arrangement pattern. The arrangement patterns are determined by the construction of a circuit formed on a semiconductor substrate. The main surface of the semiconductor substrate is classified into region A in which the light shielding film pattern or patterns are formed and region B in which the light shielding film pattern is not formed. In a region A in which the light shielding film patterns are collectively provided includes portions in which the light shielding film patterns are formed, portion or portions in which the light shielding film pattern is not formed, i.e., portion or portions located between the adjacent light shielding film patterns, and portions located between the outermost light shielding film pattern and region B. In another region A in which the single light shielding film pattern is independently provided includes a portion in which the light shielding film pattern is formed, and portions between the light shielding film pattern and region B. On the other hand, region B includes a portion in which nothing is formed on the main surface of the substrate.
In forming above mentioned photomask having collectively arranged light shielding film patterns and an independently arranged light shielding film pattern present together on the substrate, a difference in size is generated between the collectively arranged light shielding film patterns and the independently arranged light shielding film pattern. As a result, it is difficult to form a photomask having a uniform size of the collectively arranged light shielding film patterns and the independently arranged light shielding film pattern. Thus, if a resist film pattern is depicted by light or an electron beam in forming a mask, it is difficult to depict the pattern as designed because of the influence of the proximity effect. Further, in the step of developing the resist film, a size difference is generated depending on, for example, the regions developed. Also, in the step of etching the light shielding film by using the resist film as a mask, if a region, in which the etching amount is large in the etching step of the light shielding film, and another region, in which the etching amount is small, are present together, a size difference is also generated. As a result, it is difficult to form a wiring pattern and a gate pattern as designed on the semiconductor substrate. How to eliminate these difficulties is a serious problem to be solved in forming a photomask.

Method of forming photomask and method of manufacturing semiconductor device


Provided is an automated method for trimming a multi-ply structure having at least a first ply and a second ply, where the method includes applying the first ply over a platen, positioning a cutting board over a protected portion of the first ply, applying the second ply over the platen such that the cutting board is between the protected portion of the first ply and a superjacent portion of the second ply, and cutting the superjacent portion of the second ply.

Composite structures are widely used as high-strength, low-weight materials to replace metals, such as in aerospace applications. A composite structure (e.g., a composite laminate) is formed by one or more composite layers (also referred to as plies or lamina). Each composite layer includes a reinforcement material and a matrix material. The reinforcement material may include fibers. The fibers may be oriented in a single direction (e.g., unidirectional) or in two directions (e.g., bi-directional). The matrix material may include a resin.
Bundles of fibers may be laid up in layers to form a reinforcement layup, such as a preform. The resin is infused within spaces defined between the fiber bundles of the preform to form an integrated preform. The preform may be referred to as a wet preform (or a prepreg) when the fiber bundles have been pre-impregnated with resin or a dry preform when no resin is present. The integrated preform may be partially cured or fully cured to form the composite structure. One example of a composite structure is a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer.
It is desirable to trim or cut the plies being laid up to form a preform. It is also desirable to trim or cut the plies being laid up to form a preform though an automated process and/or automated system. Existing automated processes and/or automated systems only address trimming a single ply at a time or an entire laminate thickness. No solutions currently address differentially trimming the components of a multi-ply structure simultaneously.
Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue with research and development efforts in the field of automated methods and systems for trimming a multi-ply structure.

Automated method and system for trimming a multi-ply structure


This disclosure relates to a method of preventing or treating a recurrence of acute otitis media in a subject at risk comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a composition, at least once to the subject. The composition administered comprises at least one immunogenic polypeptide selected from the group consisting of Streptococcus pneumoniae PhtD, PhtE, PcpA, LytB and detoxified pneumolysin.

Otitis media is a common disease in children. The term "otitis media" encompasses a number of clinical disorders including myringitis, otitis media with effusion (OME), chronic suppurative otitis media and acute otitis media (AOM) (24). Acute otitis media (AOM) is a symptomatic illness associated with upper respiratory symptoms, pain, fever and otorrhea. It is the most common infectious disease worldwide, leading to excessive antibiotic consumption in children in most countries and to a substantial burden of deafness and other complications in the developing countries (1-3).
AOM is fairly common and about 60-70% of children experience at least one episode of AOM during the first 3 years of their life (4,5). A subpopulation of children experience recurrent otitis media. Those who experience 3 or more episodes of AOM within 6 months or 4 infections within a year are considered otitis-prone, and represent 10-30% of the total population of children (4;5).
Nasopharyngeal (NP) colonization with one or more otopathogens is a necessary precedent to the development of AOM. Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn), non-typeable Haemophilia influenzae (NTHi) and Moraxella Catarrhalis are the most common otopathogcns causing AOM, and of these three, Spn predominates (6). A direct relationship between frequency of colonization with NTHi and the frequency of AOM has been noted (J. Infect Dis 170:862-866).
Recurrent AOM is currently treated with different antibiotics of escalating strength on the presumption that the recurrent infections are caused by increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacteria. When recurrences occur at a frequency of 3 in 6 months or 4 in 12 months, then tymnpanostomy tube surgery is often performed, with or without concurrent adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy.
In regards to prophylactic measures, at present, there are two available types of pneumococcal vaccines. The first includes capsular polysaccharides from 23 types of S. pneumoniae, which together represent the capsular types of about 90% of strains causing pneumococcal infection. This vaccine, however, is not very immunogenic in young children (Fedson, and Musher 2004, "Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine", pp. 529-588; In Vaccines. S. A. Plotikin and W. A. Orenstein (eds.), W.B. Saunders and Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; Shapiro et. al., N. Engl. J. Med. 325:1453-1460 (1991)) as they do not generate a good immune response to polysaccharide antigens prior to 2 years of age. This vaccine is not recommended for the prevention of otitis media.
Conjugate vaccines represent the second available type of pneumococcal vaccine. These vaccines which include serotype specific capsular polysaccharide antigens conjugated to a protein carrier, elicit serotype-specific protection. Currently available are 7-valent and 13-valent conjugate vaccines: the 7-valent includes 7 polysaccharide antigens (derived from the capsules of serotypes 4, 6B, 9V, 14, 18C, 19F and 23F) and the 13-valent conjugate includes 13 polysaccharide antigens (derived from the capsules of serotypes 1, 3, 5, 6A, 7F, and 19A, plus those covered by the 7-valent). 9-valent and 11-valent conjugate vaccines have also been developed and each includes serotype-specific polysaccharides in addition to those in the 7-valent serotypes 1 and 5 in the 9-valent and types 3 and 7F in the 11-valent).
There are however limitations to conjugate vaccines. For example, as such vaccines elicit serotype-specific protection, to protect against additional serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae including those that dominate in the developing world, additional serotype-specific polysaccharides must be included which increases the difficulty of manufacture (Di Fabio et al., Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. 20:959-967 (2001); Mulholland, Trop. Med. Int. Health 10:497-500 (2005)). The use of the 7-valent conjugate vaccine has also led to an increase in colonization and disease with strains of capsule types not covered by the polysaccharides included in the vaccine (Bogaert et al., Lancet Infect. Dis. 4:144-154 (2004); Eskola et al., N. Engl. J. Med. 344-403-409 (2001); Mbelle et al., J. Infect. Dis. 180:1171-1176 (1999)). As for pneumococcal otitis media, the available conjugate vaccines do not work as well in protecting against the disease as they do to against invasive disease. In addition, AOM recurrences are still possible following vaccination; for example, the subpopulation of children who are particularly prone to recurrent episodes of AOM, experience a number of recurrences and go on to become otitis prone, despite conjugate immunization.
Therefore, there is still a need for compositions for use in, and methods of, preventing or treating recurring pneumococcal AOM.


A method and system for pre-encoding a cached CRL is described.

Identity management systems are information systems that support the management of identities. In particular, an identity management system establishes the identity of a subject or an object by linking a name (or number) with the subject or object. The identity management system may also describe the identity, for example, by assigning one or more attributes applicable to the particular subject or object to the identity. The identity management system may also modify the identity, such as by linking a new or additional name, or number, with the subject or object and/or change one or more attributes applicable to the particular subject or object. The identity management system can record and/or provide access to logs of activity by the identity.
One of the cornerstones of establishing a secure network environment is making sure that access is restricted to people who have the right to access the network. This access is allowed when the user can authenticate to the identity management system, meaning the user can verify his identity. The authentication may be managed by a public key infrastructure (PKI), such as implemented by a certificate system. For PKI, users and machines may present digital certificates to verify their identity. A digital signature is a mathematical representation of a message, using public key cryptography, which identifies the originator of the message, in a non-forgeable manner. Public key cryptography requires the use of two mathematically related keys—a public key and a private key (collectively referred to as a key pair). The private key is kept private by a single owner, and is not distributed to anyone else. The owner uses his or her private key, in conjunction with cryptographic algorithms, to digitally sign a message. The public key is made public, and can be used by anyone to verify the digital signature on a message. The fact that these two keys are mathematically related ensures that only a single private key can generate a digital signature that is verifiable by the corresponding public key, making the digital signature unforgeable. A digital certificate, commonly referred to as a certificate, is an electronic document used to identify an individual, a server, a company, or another type of entity and to associate that identity with a public key. The digital certificate binds a person's identity to his or her public key, and consequently, to his or her private key, and may be used to verify digital signatures. Digital certificates and digital signatures then provide the foundation for secure transactions over a network, such as the Internet.
Certificate authorities (CAs) validate identities and issue certificates. CAs can be either independent third parties or organizations running their own certificate-issuing server software, such as a certificate system. Before issuing a certificate, a CA must confirm the user's identity with its standard verification procedures. The certificate issued by the CA binds a particular public key to the name of the entity identified by the certificate. In addition to the public key, the certificates include the name of the entity it identifies, an expiration date, and the name of the CA that issued the certificate.
The CA can revoke a certificate or put a certificate on hold using a certificate revocation list (CRL). A CRL is a list of certificates that have been revoked or are no longer valid, and therefore should not be relied upon. The CRL may be a publicly available list of revoked certificates. A certificate is irreversibly revoked if, for example, it is discovered that the CA had improperly issued a certificate, or if a private-key is thought to have been compromised. Certificates may also be revoked for failure of the identified entity to adhere to policy requirements such as publication of false documents, misrepresentation of software behavior, or violation of any other policy specified by the CA operator or its customer. The most common reason for revocation is the user no longer being in sole possession of the private key (e.g., the token containing the private key has been lost or stolen). A certificate is put on hold to note the temporary invalidity of the certificate (e.g., if the user is unsure whether the private key has been lost). If, in this example, the private key was found and nobody had access to it, the status could be reinstated, and the certificate is valid again, thus removing the certificate from future CRLs.
A CRL issuer can publish a CRL immediately after a certificate has been revoked or released from being on hold. All CRLs have a lifetime during which they are valid (e.g., 24 hours or less). During a CRL's validity period, PKI-enabled applications may consult the CRL to verify a certificate prior to use. Conventional systems that publish the CRL every time a certificate is revoked or released from hold may engage a directory server for a considerable amount of time, especially if the CRL is large.

Pre-encoding a cached certificate revocation list


In the present invention, the position of a substrate on a thermal plate is detected when baking after exposure is performed in a first round of patterning. In a second round of patterning, the setting position of the substrate is adjusted based on a detection result of the position before the substrate is mounted on the thermal plate in the baking after exposure. In the baking after exposure in the second round of patterning, the substrate is mounted at the same position with respect to the thermal plate as that in the baking after exposure in the first round of patterning. In performing a plurality of rounds of patterning on a film to be processed, a pattern with a desired dimension is finally formed above the substrate, and the uniformity of the pattern dimension within the substrate is ensured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing method, a substrate processing system, and a computer-readable recording medium recording a program thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, for example, patterning processing is performed for forming a predetermined pattern in a specific film to be processed above a wafer. In the patterning processing of the film to be processed, for example, a resist coating treatment of applying a resist solution onto a top of the film to be processed above the wafer to form a resist film, exposure processing of applying light in a predetermined pattern to the resist film above the wafer surface to expose the resist film, heating processing of heating the wafer to accelerate the chemical reaction in the exposed resist film (post-exposure baking), developing treatment of developing the heated resist film, heating processing of heating the wafer after developing treatment (post-baking) and so on are performed in sequence using the photolithography technique, so that a predetermined resist pattern is formed in the resist film above the wafer surface. Thereafter, the film to be processed is etched using the resist pattern as a mask, and the resist pattern is then removed, whereby a predetermined pattern is formed in the film to be processed.
To form a finer pattern to further miniaturize the semiconductor device, conventionally the wavelength of light for use in the exposure processing in the above-described patterning processing has been increasingly reduced. Only by the method of increasing the reduction in the wavelength for exposure, however, it is difficult to form a fine semiconductor device at a level of, for example, 32 nm or 45 nm.
Hence, it is proposed to perform a plurality of rounds of patterning on the film to be processed at the same layer above the wafer surface to form a finer pattern, so as to miniaturize the semiconductor device (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-147219).
The heating processing in the above-described patterning processing, for example, the post-exposure baking is normally performed in a post-exposure baking unit and by mounting the wafer on a thermal plate which is adjusted to a predetermined temperature.
Incidentally, since the heating temperature in the post-exposure baking greatly affects the dimension of a final pattern, the temperature of the thermal plate in the post-exposure baking unit is controlled to be uniform within the mounting surface. However, slight unevenness of temperature having a certain tendency within the thermal plate actually occurs due to the performance of the thermal plate itself, the ambient environment or the like. Therefore, certain unevenness of dimension within the wafer according to the tendency of the unevenness of temperature of the thermal plate will occur in the pattern of the wafer processed by the thermal plate. In other words, according to the temperature tendency of the thermal plate, a portion Rw where the line width is relatively large and a portion Rn where the line width is relatively small are created in the pattern within the wafer, for example, as shown at (I) in FIG. 14.
When a plurality of rounds of performing are performed on the film to be processed at the same layer as described above, the post-exposure baking is performed for each of the rounds of patterning and the wafer is transferred to the post-exposure baking unit every time, so that the mount position of the wafer with respect to the thermal plate may be deviated, for example, in the rotation direction between the rounds of patterning. Along with deviation of the mount position of the wafer, the above-described unevenness of dimension of the pattern within the wafer also deviates, and a final pattern is formed having unevenness of dimension different in each of the rounds of patterning added in a plurality of rounds of patterning. This results in a failure to form a pattern with a desired dimension above the wafer and in a non-uniform dimension of the pattern within the wafer.
If the portion where the line width is relatively small in the second round of patterning is overlapped on the portion Rw where the line width is relatively large in the first round of patterning like the wafer W shown at (I) in FIG. 14, the line width of the final pattern becomes large as shown at (II) in FIG. 14. On the other hand, if the portion where the line width is relatively large in the second round of patterning is overlapped on the portion Rn where the line width is relatively small in the first round of patterning like a wafer W shown at (I) in FIG. 14, the line width of the final pattern becomes small as shown at (II) in FIG. 14. Thus, a pattern with a desired line width is not formed finally, and the line width within the wafer varies.
Accordingly, it is difficult to finally form a pattern with a desired dimension and ensure the uniformity of the pattern dimension within the wafer by the conventional method of performing a plurality of rounds of patterning.

Substrate processing method, substrate processing system, and computer-readable recording medium recording program thereon


A receiving apparatus, a recording apparatus, and a reproduction apparatus which can receive and record an interactive program. Time information generated by a CPU is composed by a composition unit in a transport stream that is decoded by a transport decoder, and the time information is recorded in a DVHS recording/reproduction apparatus. The transport stream reproduced by the DVHS recording/reproduction apparatus is decoded by the transport decoder, decoded by an AV decoder, and reproduced.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus, a recording apparatus and a reproduction apparatus, and, more particularly, to a receiving apparatus, a recording apparatus and a reproduction apparatus which is enabled to record an interactive program in a digital magnetic recording/reproduction apparatus in which the interactive program allows an interactive exchange of information between a viewer and a broadcasting station, by, for example, transmitting the program by digital CS broadcasting, adding additional video to original broadcast video, and making the viewer who viewed the video respond.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is no type of the above-described apparatus, but there are only home television receivers for receiving digital CS broadcasting.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the conventional digital CS television receiver.
In FIG. 12, reference numeral 1 denotes an antenna for receiving CS broadcasting. Numeral 2 denotes a receiving unit for receiving the CS broadcasting that is received by the antenna 1 and for demodulating the received CS broadcasting. Numeral 3 denotes a transport decoder for descrambling an MPEG transport stream that is received and demodulated by the receiving unit 2 and for extracting necessary information from the descrambled MPEG transport stream. Numeral 4 denotes an AV decoder for decoding MPEG data concerning video or audio (AV) data that is extracted by the transport decoder 3. Numeral 5 denotes an OSD (On Screen Display) inserting unit for performing superimposition to a video output among outputs of the AV decoder 4. Numeral 6 denotes a display for displaying an output of the OSD (On Screen Display) inserting unit 5. Numeral 7 denotes a speaker for outputting an audio output among the outputs of the AV decoder 4 as a sound.
Next, an operation of the conventional digital CS television receiver will be described. CS broadcast waves that are relayed from a broadcasting station (not shown) by a communication satellite (CS) are received by the antenna 1 for receiving the CS broadcasting, and the received CS broadcast waves are introduced into a digital CS television receiver.
In the digital CS television receiver, the receiving unit 2 selects a CS broadcasting station that is selected by a viewer and demodulates the CS broadcast waves of the selected CS broadcasting station.
Accordingly, an MPEG transport stream is demodulated from the waves of the selected CS broadcasting station and the demodulated MPEG transport stream is transmitted to the transport decoder 3.
The transport decoder 3 descrambles the MPEG transport stream, which was previously scrambled by the broadcasting station, so that original video can be obtained when the MPEG transport stream is later MPEG-decoded. Then, the transport decoder 3 extracts necessary information, i.e., MPEG data concerning video or audio (AV), from the descrambled MPEG transport stream.
The AV decoder 4 executes a MPEG decoding algorithm to the AV MPEG data that is extracted by the transport decoder 3, thereby expanding the data.
The On Screen Display inserting unit 5 generates On Screen information such as a channel that is selected by the viewer or a program table, and superimposes the On Screen information on an original video signal that is demodulated by the AV decoder 4 so as to output the signal.
The display 6 projects the output of the On Screen Display inserting unit 5, which thereby normally displays the original video of the CS broadcasting. When the channel is selected, the display 6 displays video which is obtained by superimposing the information such as the channel that is selected by the viewer on the original video until a predetermined time elapses thereafter.
The speaker 7 outputs an audio signal that is expanded by the AV decoder 4 as a sound.
The conventional digital CS broadcasting receiver is constructed as above, and as a result, multichannel broadcasting of a greater number of channels than the number of channels of the ground waves can be viewed.
With the spread of the digital CS broadcasting receivers, a request to record a broadcast program in a magnetic recording/reproduction apparatus, i.e., a so-called VTR, and to reproduce the program at a required time is naturally produced.
As described above, MPEG transport streams are transmitted as broadcasting information in the digital CS broadcasting. Therefore, a so-called DVHS-standard digital VTRs for recording the MPEG transport stream on a cassette similar to a widespread VHS-standard video cassette as the MPEG transport stream is in the digital format, and reproducing the same are suggested.
In the digital CS broadcasting, digital information other than the original MPEG transport stream can also be transmitted. However, some types of the digital information require time information, such as data that is called xe2x80x9cprogrammingxe2x80x9d for realizing an interactive program. The conventional digital VTR cannot cope with the recording and reproducing of such digital information, because the conventional digital VTR merely copes with the recording and reproducing of the MPEG transport streams.
In addition, when a medium on which the xe2x80x9cprogrammingxe2x80x9d is recorded is fast-forwarded and is then returned to the normal reproduction process, sometimes the xe2x80x9cprogrammingxe2x80x9d should be reloaded, and thus, when the xe2x80x9cprogrammingxe2x80x9d is one for performing the screen processing, sometimes the screen goes black for a while.
The present invention is made to solve the problems of the above-described prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a receiving apparatus, a recording apparatus and a reproduction apparatus which also enables digital information requiring time information to be recorded and reproduced.
In addition, the present invention is made to solve the problems of the above-described prior art. Another object of the present invention is to provide a receiving apparatus, a recording apparatus and a reproduction apparatus which do not need to reload the xe2x80x9cprogrammingxe2x80x9d even when the medium on which the xe2x80x9cprogrammingxe2x80x9d is recorded is fast-forwarded and returned to the normal reproduction process.
To solve the above-described problems, a receiving apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises: an interactive program receiving unit for receiving interactive program broadcasting which includes, in a TDT (Time and Data Table), an absolute time when the broadcasting is executed, and at least one of video and audio and interactive programming, which are indicated, to be a part of the broadcasting; and a broadcast time obtaining unit for obtaining information of the absolute time when the broadcasting is performed, and for managing the absolute time information.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information, which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A recording apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, which records the interactive program received by the receiving apparatus of the first aspect, comprises: a recording program information creation unit for creating an SIT as program information for the recording of the interactive program; a time information management unit for recording the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit, which information is recorded from the TDT, in either of a first descriptor or a second descriptor of the SIT (Selection Information Table); and a storage unit for storing the interactive program that is received by the interactive program receiving unit, in a recording area on a recording medium, and for storing the absolute time information that is obtained from the first descriptor or the second descriptor of the SIT in another area on the recording medium or in a recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the absolute time information, which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A reproduction apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, which reproduces the interactive program recorded in the recording apparatus of the second aspect, comprises: a reproduction time obtaining unit for receiving the absolute time information that is stored in the storage unit, and for reproducing a flow of time at the recording time; a reproduction instruction unit for detecting whether the interactive program is recorded in the storage unit, and for issuing a reproduction instruction automatically or in accordance with an instruction by a user; and an interactive program execution unit for receiving the reproduction instruction from the reproduction instruction unit and for receiving the interactive program from the storage unit to thereby execute the interactive program on the basis of the absolute time information that is obtained by the reproduction time obtaining unit. The reproduction apparatus makes the interactive program execution unit reproduce the interactive program from the recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information, which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting, and the interactive program broadcasting can be reproduced at the same absolute time as that of the recording time.
A reproduction apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, which reproduces the interactive program that is recorded in the recording apparatus of the second aspect, comprises: a reproduction time obtaining unit for obtaining the absolute time information that is stored in the storage unit; a relative time generation unit for generating relative time information on the basis of the absolute time information that is obtained by the reproduction time obtaining unit; a reproduction instruction unit for detecting whether the interactive program is recorded in the storage unit, and for issuing a reproduction instruction automatically or in accordance with an instruction by a user; and an interactive program execution unit for receiving the reproduction instruction from the reproduction instruction unit and for receiving the interactive program from the storage unit to thereby execute the interactive program on the basis of the relative time information obtained by the relative time generation unit. The reproduction apparatus makes the interactive program execution unit reproduce the interactive program from the recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting, and the interactive program broadcasting can be reproduced at a time which is different from that of the recording time.
A receiving apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention comprises: an interactive program receiving unit for receiving interactive program broadcasting which includes an absolute time when the broadcasting is executed and at least one of video and audio and interactive programming, which are indicated as a part of the interactive program broadcasting; and a broadcast time obtaining unit for obtaining information of the absolute time when the broadcasting is performed, and for managing the absolute time information.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A recording apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, which records the interactive program that is received by the receiving apparatus of the fifth aspect, comprises: a recording program information creation unit for creating program information for the recording of the interactive program; a time information management unit for performing management when the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit is recorded on a recording medium; and a storage unit for storing the interactive program that is received by the interactive program receiving unit in a recording area on the recording medium, and for storing the absolute time information in another area on the recording medium or in a recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the absolute time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A reproduction apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, which reproduces the interactive program that is recorded in the recording apparatus of the sixth aspect, comprises: a reproduction time obtaining unit for receiving the absolute time information that is stored in the storage unit, and for reproducing a flow of time at the recording time; a reproduction instruction unit for detecting whether the interactive program is recorded in the storage unit, and for issuing a reproduction instruction automatically or in accordance with an instruction by a user; and an interactive program execution unit for receiving the reproduction instruction from the reproduction instruction unit and for receiving the interactive program from the storage unit to thereby execute the interactive program on the basis of the absolute time information that is obtained by the reproduction time obtaining unit. The reproduction apparatus makes the interactive program execution unit reproduce the interactive program from the recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information, which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting, and the interactive program broadcasting can be reproduced at the same absolute time as that of the recording time.
A reproduction apparatus according to an eighth aspect of the present invention, which reproduces the interactive program recorded in the recording apparatus of the sixth aspect, comprises: a reproduction time obtaining unit for obtaining the absolute time information that is stored in the storage unit; a relative time generation unit for generating relative time information on the basis of the absolute time information that is obtained by the reproduction time obtaining unit; a reproduction instruction unit for detecting whether the interactive program is recorded in the storage unit, and for issuing a reproduction instruction automatically or in accordance with an instruction by a user; and an interactive program execution unit for receiving the reproduction instruction from the reproduction instruction unit and for receiving the interactive program from the storage unit to thereby execute the interactive program on the basis of the relative time information that is obtained by the relative time generation unit. The reproduction apparatus makes the interactive program execution unit reproduce the interactive program from the recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information, which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting, and the interactive program broadcasting can be reproduced at a time which is different from that of the recording time.
A receiving apparatus according to a ninth aspect of the present invention comprises: an interactive program receiving unit for receiving interactive program broadcasting which includes, in a TDT, an absolute time when the broadcasting is executed, and video and audio and interactive programming, which are designated as a part of the interactive program broadcasting; a time information changing unit for changing information of an absolute time of the interactive program that is received by the interactive program receiving unit into information of a relative time from a program start time; a broadcast time obtaining unit for obtaining the information of the absolute time when the broadcasting is performed, and for managing the absolute time information; and a relative time generation unit for generating information of a relative time from the starting (beginning) of the interactive program on the basis of the start time of the interactive program and the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A recording apparatus according to a tenth aspect of the present invention, which records the interactive program that is received by the receiving apparatus of the ninth aspect, comprises: a recording program information creation unit for creating an SIT as program information for the recording of the interactive program; a time information management unit for recording, in a second descriptor of the SIT the relative time information which is recorded from the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit; and a storage unit for storing the interactive program whose time information is changed by the time information changing unit in an area on a recording medium, and for storing the relative time information that is obtained from the second descriptor of the SIT in another area on the recording medium or in a recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the relative time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
According to a recording apparatus of an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the recording apparatus of the tenth aspect, the time information management unit records the absolute time information in a first descriptor or the second descriptor of the SIT, in addition to the relative time information.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the relative time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A reproduction apparatus according to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, which reproduces the interactive program that is recorded in the recording apparatus of either the tenth or eleventh aspect, comprises: a reproduction time obtaining unit for receiving the relative time information that is stored in the storage unit, and for reproducing a flow of time at the recording time; a reproduction instruction unit for detecting whether the interactive program is recorded in the storage unit, and for issuing a reproduction instruction automatically or in accordance with an instruction by a user; and an interactive program execution unit for receiving the reproduction instruction from the reproduction unit and for receiving the interactive program from the storage unit, to thereby execute the interactive program on the basis of the relative time information that is obtained by the reproduction time obtaining unit. The reproduction apparatus makes the interactive program execution unit reproduce the interactive program from the recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting, and the interactive program broadcasting can be reproduced at an absolute time which is different from that of the recording time.
A receiving apparatus according to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention comprises: an interactive program receiving unit for receiving interactive program broadcasting which includes an absolute time when the broadcasting is executed and video and audio and interactive programming, which are designated as a part of the interactive program broadcasting; a time information changing unit for changing information of the absolute time of the interactive program that is received by the interactive program receiving unit into information of a relative time from a program start time; a broadcast time obtaining unit for obtaining information of the absolute time when the broadcasting is performed, and for managing the absolute time information; and a relative time generation unit for generating information of a relative time from the beginning of the interactive program on the basis of the start time of the interactive program and the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A recording apparatus according to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, which records the interactive program that is received by the receiving apparatus of the thirteenth aspect, comprises: a recording program information creation unit for creating program information for the recording of the interactive program; a time information management unit for performing management when the relative time information which is recorded from the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit is recorded on a recording medium; and a storage unit for storing the interactive program whose time information is changed by the time information changing unit in an area on the recording medium, and for storing the relative time information in another area on the recording medium or in a recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the relative time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
According to a recording apparatus of the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the recording apparatus of the fourteenth aspect, the time information management unit records the absolute time information in addition to the relative time information.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the absolute time information and the relative time information, which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A reproduction apparatus according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, which reproduces the interactive program recorded in the recording apparatus of either the fourteenth or fifteenth aspect, comprises: a reproduction time obtaining unit for receiving the relative time information stored in the storage unit, and for reproducing a flow of time at the recording time; a reproduction instruction unit for detecting whether the interactive program is recorded in the storage unit, and for issuing a reproduction instruction automatically or in accordance with an instruction by a user; and an interactive program execution unit for receiving the reproduction instruction from the reproduction instruction unit and for receiving the interactive program from the storage unit to thereby execute the interactive program on the basis of the relative time information obtained by the reproduction time obtaining unit. The reproduction apparatus makes the interactive program execution unit reproduce the interactive program from the recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be transmitted together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting, and the interactive program broadcasting can be reproduced at an absolute time which is different from that of the recording time.
A receiving apparatus according to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention comprises: an interactive program receiving unit for receiving interactive program broadcasting wherein a time when the broadcasting is executed is indicated by a relative time from a start time of a program, which broadcasting includes video and audio and interactive programming, as a part of the broadcasting and includes an absolute time in a TDT; a start time receiving unit for receiving start time information of the interactive program; and a broadcast time obtaining unit for obtaining information of the absolute time when the broadcasting is performed, and for managing the absolute time information.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A recording apparatus according to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, which records the interactive program that is received by the receiving apparatus of the seventeenth aspect, comprises: a recording program information creation unit for creating an SIT as program information for the recording of the interactive program; a time information unit for recording the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit and relative time information from the start time of the program that is obtained by the interactive program receiving unit in a second descriptor of the SIT; and a storage unit for storing the interactive program that is received by the interactive program receiving unit in a recording area on a recording medium, and for storing the absolute time information and the relative time information, which is obtained from the second descriptor of the SIT, in another area on the recording medium or in a recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
According to a recording apparatus of a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the recording apparatus of the eighteenth aspect, the time information management unit records the absolute time information in a first descriptor of the SIT.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A reproduction apparatus according to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, which reproduces the interactive program that is recorded in the recording apparatus of either the eighteenth or nineteenth aspect, comprises: a reproduction time obtaining unit for receiving the absolute time information stored in the storage unit, and for reproducing a flow of time at the recording time; a reproduction instruction unit for detecting whether the interactive program is recorded in the storage unit, and for issuing a reproduction instruction automatically or in accordance with an instruction by a user; and an interactive program execution unit for receiving the reproduction instruction and for receiving the interactive program from the storage unit so as to generate relative time information on the basis of the absolute time information that is obtained by the reproduction time obtaining unit and the program start time information that is obtained from the storage unit, to thereby execute the interactive program. The reproduction apparatus makes the interactive program execution unit reproduce the interactive program from the recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be transmitted together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting, and the interactive program broadcasting can be reproduced at an absolute time which is different from that of the recording time.
A receiving apparatus according to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention comprises: an interactive program receiving unit for receiving interactive program broadcasting wherein a time when the broadcasting is executed is indicated by a relative time from a start time of a program, which broadcasting includes video and audio and interactive programming, as a part of the broadcasting, and which includes an absolute time; a start time receiving unit for receiving start time information of the interactive program; and a broadcast time obtaining unit for obtaining information of the absolute time when the broadcasting is performed, and for managing the absolute time information.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A recording apparatus according to the twenty-second aspect of the present invention, which records the interactive program that is received by the receiving apparatus of the twenty-first aspect, comprises: a recording program information creation unit for creating program information for the recording of the interactive program; a time information management unit for recording the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit and information of a relative time from the start time of the program that is obtained by the interactive program receiving unit; and a storage unit for storing the interactive program that is received by the interactive program receiving unit in a recording area on a recording medium, and for storing the absolute time information and the relative time information in another area on the recording medium or in a recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A reproduction apparatus according to a twenty-third aspetc of the present invention, which reproduces the interactive program that is recorded in the recording apparatus of the twenty-second aspect, comprises: a reproduction time obtaining unit for receiving the absolute time information stored in the storage unit, and for reproducing a flow of time at the recording time; a reproduction instruction unit for detecting whether the interactive program is recorded in the storage unit, and for issuing a reproduction instruction automatically or in accordance with an instruction by a user; and an interactive program execution unit for receiving the reproduction instruction from the reproduction instruction receiving unit and for receiving the interactive program from the storage unit, so as to generate relative time information on the basis of the absolute time information that is obtained by the reproduction time obtaining unit and the program start time information that is obtained from the storage unit, to thereby execute the interactive program. The reproduction apparatus makes the interactive program execution unit reproduce the interactive program from the recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be transmitted together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting, and the interactive program broadcasting can be reproduced at an absolute time which is different from that of the recording time.
A receiving apparatus according to the twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention comprises: an interactive program receiving unit for receiving interactive program broadcasting wherein a time when the broadcasting is executed is indicated by a relative time from a start time of a program, which broadcasting includes video and audio and interactive programming, as a part of the broadcasting and which includes an absolute time in a TDT; a start time receiving unit for receiving start time information of the interactive program; a broadcast time obtaining unit for obtaining information of the absolute time when the broadcasting is performed, and for managing the absolute time information; and a relative time generation unit for generating information of a relative time from the beginning of the interactive program, on the basis of the start time information of the interactive program, which is obtained by the start time receiving unit and the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A recording apparatus according to the twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, which records the interactive program that is received by the receiving apparatus of the twenty-fourth aspect, comprises: a recording program information creation unit for creating a SIT as program information for the recording of the interactive program; a time information management unit for recording relative time information which is recorded from the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit in a second descriptor of the SIT; and a storage unit for storing the interactive program in a recording area on a recording medium, and for storing the relative time obtained from the second descriptor of the SIT in another area on the recording medium or in a recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
According to a recording apparatus of the twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the recording apparatus of the twenty-fifth aspect, the time information management unit records the absolute time information in a first descriptor of the SIT.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the
A reproduction apparatus according to the twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, which reproduces the interactive program recorded in the recording apparatus of either the twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth aspect, comprises: a reproduction time obtaining unit for receiving the relative time information that is stored in the storage unit, and for reproducing a flow of time at the recording time; a reproduction instruction unit for detecting whether the interactive program is recorded in the storage unit, and for issuing a reproduction instruction automatically or in accordance with an instruction by a user; and an interactive program execution unit for receiving the reproduction instruction from the reproduction instruction unit and for receiving the interactive program from the storage unit to thereby execute the interactive program on the basis of the relative time information that is obtained by the reproduction time obtaining unit. The reproduction apparatus reproduces the interactive program from the recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be transmitted together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting, and the interactive program broadcasting can be reproduced at an absolute time which is different from that of the recording time.
A receiving apparatus according to the twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention comprises: an interactive program receiving unit for receiving interactive program broadcasting wherein a time when the broadcasting is executed is indicated by a relative time from a start time of a program, which broadcasting includes video and audio and interactive programming, as a part of the broadcasting; a start time receiving unit for receiving start time information of the interactive program; a broadcast time obtaining unit for obtaining information of the absolute time when the broadcasting is performed, and for managing the absolute time information; and a relative time generation unit for generating information of a relative time from starting of the interactive program, on the basis of the start time information of the interactive program, which is obtained by the start time receiving unit and the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A recording apparatus according to the twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, which records the interactive program that is received by the receiving apparatus of the twenty-eighth aspect, comprises: a recording program information creation unit for creating program information for the recording of the interactive program; a time information management unit for recording relative time information which is recorded from the absolute time information that is obtained by the broadcast time obtaining unit; and a storage unit for storing the interactive program in a recording area on a recording medium, and for storing the relative time in another area on the recording medium or in a recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
A reproduction apparatus according to the thirtieth aspect of the present invention, which reproduces the interactive program recorded in the recording apparatus of the twenty-ninth aspect, comprises: a reproduction time obtaining unit for receiving the relative time information that is stored in the storage unit, and for reproducing a flow of time at the recording time; a reproduction instruction unit for detecting whether the interactive program is recorded in the storage unit, and for issuing a reproduction instruction automatically or in accordance with an instruction by a user; and an interactive program execution unit for receiving the reproduction instruction from the reproduction instruction unit and for receiving the interactive program from the storage unit to thereby execute the interactive program on the basis of the relative time information obtained by the reproduction time obtaining unit. The reproduction apparatus reproduces the interactive program from the recording apparatus.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be transmitted together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting, and the interactive program broadcasting can be reproduced at an absolute time which is different from that of the recording time.
According to a receiving apparatus of a thirty-first aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the receiving apparatus of any of the first, fifth, ninth, thirteenth, seventeenth, twenty-first, twenty-fourth and twenty-eighth aspects, the time information transmitted together with a transport stream including the interactive program is information of a relative time from the starting of each program.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be received together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
According to a recording apparatus of a thirty-second aspect of the present invention, the recording apparatus of any of the second, sixth, tenth, fourteenth, eighteenth, twenty-second, twenty-fifth and twenty-ninth aspects comprises: recording medium running state change detection means for detecting a change in a running state of the recording medium in the storage unit; and running state information updating means for updating running state change information which reflects the change in the running state of the recording medium when the recording medium running state change detection means detect the change in the running state of the recording medium.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
According to a recording apparatus of a thirty-third aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the recording apparatus of the thirty-second aspect, the running state information updating means writes the running state change information in the SIT.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
According to a recording apparatus of a thirty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the recording apparatus of the thirty-second aspect, the running state information updating means updates the running state change information in program units.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.
According to a recording apparatus of a thirty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the recording apparatus of the thirty-second aspect, the running state information updating means updates the running state change information in recording apparatus units.
According to the present invention, the interactive program broadcasting can be recorded together with the time information which is required in the reproduction of the broadcasting.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Embodiments disclose a reference signal transmission method and an apparatus. The method includes receiving reference signal resource configuration information sent by a base station, where the reference signal resource configuration information includes antenna port quantity information and a resource configuration index. The method also includes determining a reference signal configuration from a reference signal configuration set according to the antenna port quantity information and the resource configuration index. The method also includes obtaining, according to the determined reference signal configuration, positions of the resource elements (REs) that are used to send the reference signal on the antenna ports in the antenna port set, and receiving reference signals according to the positions of the REs.

Generally, different types of reference signals are used in a communications system, where one type of reference signal is used for channel estimation, by which coherent demodulation is performed on a received signal including control information or data, and another type of reference signal is used for channel state or channel quality measurement, by which scheduling for user equipment (UE) is implemented. In a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) release 10 (R10) downlink system, a reference signal used for coherent demodulation is referred to as a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and a reference signal used for channel state information measurement is referred to as a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). In addition, reference signals also include a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) inherited from an R8/R9 system, where the CRS is used for UE channel estimation, which implements demodulation of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and other public channels.
In an LTE system, maximum quantities of antenna ports supported by the foregoing several types of reference signals are different. In LTE R10, the DMRS supports a maximum of eight antenna ports; in LTE R10, the CSI-RS supports a maximum of eight antenna ports, where a quantity of antenna ports may be 1, 2, 4, or 8; and in LTE R8 to R10, the CRS supports a maximum of four antenna ports, where a quantity of antenna ports may be 1, 2, or 4. In LTE R10, the DMRS supports a maximum of eight antenna ports, where a quantity of antenna ports may be 1 to 8. To improve spectral efficiency, the soon-to-be-launched LTE R12 standard has begun to consider introducing more antenna configurations, especially an antenna configuration of more than eight antenna ports based on an active antenna system (AAS). For example, a quantity of antenna ports may be 16, 32, or 64.
The prior art has at least the following problems: the prior-art CRS supports a maximum of four antenna ports, and direct expansion to support 16 antenna ports or more antenna ports may result in high overheads. The prior-art CSI-RS supports a maximum of eight antenna ports, and direct expansion in a PDSCH region to support 16 antenna ports or more antenna ports may result in interference to downlink data transmission of an existing system, causing performance degradation of a downlink system. If expansion is performed by using a neighboring resource block, correct CSI estimation cannot be performed by legacy UE. Therefore, no prior-art reference signal design solution can provide effective support for more antenna ports.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Reference signal transmission method and apparatus


An electronic business operations measurement system and method are provided. The system and method provide a measurement process in which a script is provided for execution by a first probe and a second probe in order to measure the performance of an application. The measurements of the first and second probes may then be mapped to threshold values. The first probe may execute the script on a first data processing device on which the application executes. The second probe may execute the script on a second data processing device remotely located from the first data processing device on which the application executes. The measurements of the performance performed by the second probe may be adjusted, through conversion of the measurement data using a conversion algorithm, to represent a type of network connection for communicating with the application that is common to end users of the application.

Various approaches have been proposed for monitoring, simulating, or testing web sites. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,966 B1 (Howard, et al., Aug. 21, 2001), Method and System for Emulating Web Site Traffic to Identify Web Site Usage Patterns. However, this example addresses substantially different problems (problems of simulation and hypothetical phenomena), and thus is significantly different from the present invention. Other examples include U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,956 (Bryant, et al., Jun. 20, 2000) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,254 (Maddalozzo, et al., Jul. 28, 1998). Other examples include services available from vendors such as Atesto Technologies Inc., Keynote Systems, and Mercury Interactive Corporation. These services may involve a script that runs on a probe computer. The examples mentioned above do not necessarily allow some useful comparisons.
It may be very useful to measure the performance of an application such as a web site, or some other application accessible to a number of users via a network. Concerning two or more such applications, it may be very useful to compare measurements of performance. However, accurate comparisons may be hampered by inconsistent measurements. Inconsistent or heavily customized measurement techniques are common. There are no generally-accepted guidelines or standards for measurement techniques to be used on applications that have been deployed in a production environment. Although the use of a probe is common, there are highly variable parameters for probing, such as values for timeouts, or sampling intervals for example. Inconsistent measurement techniques result in problems such as unreliable performance data, and increased costs for training and administration. Thus there is a need for systems and methods that solve problems related to inconsistent measurement.

International Business Machines Corporation


An amorphous carbon layer is implanted with one or more dopants that enhance the etch resistivity of the amorphous carbon to etchants such as chlorine and HBr that are typically used to etch polysilicon. Such a layer may be pattern to form a handmask for etching polysilicon that provides improved pattern transfer accuracy compared to conventional undoped amorphous carbon.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to fabrication of semiconductor devices, and in particular to fabrication techniques using an amorphous carbon hardmask for etching polysilicon.
2. Related Technology
An emphasis on increased semiconductor device performance has led to investigation of ways to increase device speed. One way of increasing device speed is to reduce the size of individual circuit components and the wiring that connects them. This enables circuit components to operate faster and to be placed closer together, and enables more circuit components to be used in a given device.
One obstacle to reduction of device sizes is the minimum feature size that can be produced through projection lithography, which is related to the wavelength of energy used by the projection lithography system. As a result, supplemental techniques have been developed to produce structures with dimensions that are less than the minimum projection lithography feature size. One such technique involves the trimming of mask structures by isotropic etches prior to patterning of underlying layers. FIG. 1 shows an example of a structure to which the trimming technique may be applied. In FIG. 1, a substrate 10 has formed thereon a silicon oxide gate insulating layer 12 and a polysilicon gate conductive layer 14 that are to be patterned to form a gate line and gate insulator. A hardmask layer 16 such as silicon oxynitride is formed over the polysilicon layer 14, and a photoresist mask 18 is formed over the hardmask layer 16. For purposes of this example, it is assumed that the photoresist mask has the minimum width that can be produced by projection lithography. In subsequent processing, the photoresist mask 18 is trimmed through exposure to an isotropic oxygen plasma that consumes part of the photoresist, thus reducing the width of the photoresist mask and structures patterned using the photoresist mask. The hardmask layer 16 is then patterned using the trimmed photoresist mask as an etch mask. The resulting hardmask structure is subjected to another trimming etch to reduce the width of the hardmask structure, and the trimmed hardmask is then used to pattern the underlying polysilicon to form a narrow gate line. Thus the width of the gate line is narrower than the minimum feature size of the projection lithography system used to produce the photoresist mask 18.
To further exploit the trim technique, it has been proposed to use additional layers in the hardmask structure so that further trimming may be performed at each additional layer. One proposed structure is shown in FIG. 2. The structure of FIG. 2 differs from the structure of FIG. 1 in that it includes a layer of amorphous carbon 20 between the polysilicon layer 14 and the silicon oxynitride layer 16. During pattern transfer, a hardmask structure formed in the amorphous carbon layer 20 may be trimmed prior to patterning of the underlying polysilicon layer 14 to achieve further reductions in feature size.
The use of an amorphous carbon layer as the bottom layer of a multi-layer hardmask structure as shown in FIG. 2 is desirable because any amorphous carbon remaining after completion of the polysilicon etch is easily removed by ashing in an isotropic oxygen or hydrogen plasma without damaging the polysilicon or other exposed materials. However, it has proven difficult to achieve accurate pattern transfer with amorphous carbon hardmasks because of the low resistivity of amorphous carbon to the chlorine or HBr chemistry used to etch the polysilicon. This problem is illustrated in FIGS. 3a and 3b. FIG. 3a shows a trimmed amorphous carbon hardmask 22 that overlies a polysilicon layer 14. FIG. 3b shows the structure of FIG. 3a after etching of the polysilicon. It may be seen by comparison of FIG. 3b to FIG. 3a that the polysilicon etch consumes a significant portion of the amorphous carbon hardmask 22, resulting in reduction of its width during the course of the etch and a corresponding tapering of the resulting gate line 24. In some instances, the loss of amorphous carbon may result in a gate line that is too thin, causing a pattern deformation that can result in loss of pattern control, loss of critical dimension control, and difficulty in controlling polysilicon line thickness. If the amorphous carbon is consumed completely, a reduction in the height of the gate line will result.
In view of the aforementioned problems of the background technology, there is a need for additional techniques to improve the pattern transfer accuracy of amorphous carbon hardmasks.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, an amorphous carbon layer is implanted with one or more dopants that enhance the etch resistivity of the amorphous carbon to etchants such as chlorine and HBr that are typically used to etch polysilicon. Such a layer may be patterned to form a hardmask for etching polysilicon that provides improved pattern transfer accuracy compared to undoped amorphous carbon.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a polysilicon structure is patterned using a doped amorphous carbon hardmask. Initially a substrate is provided. The substrate has a polysilicon layer formed thereon. An amorphous carbon layer is formed on the polysilicon layer. The amorphous carbon layer is then implanted with a dopant that increases the resistance of the amorphous carbon to etching by chemistry used to etch polysilicon. Examples of such dopants are nitrogen, argon, boron and arsenic. An amorphous carbon hardmask is then formed by patterning the amorphous carbon layer. In a preferred embodiment this is achieved through the use of an overlying hardmask layer that is patterned to form a hardmask for etching the amorphous carbon. However, one or more additional layers may be employed, and photoresists masks and hardmasks may be trimmed before etching of underlying layers. The polysilicon layer is then patterned using the amorphous carbon hardmask as an etch mask. Further processing may then be performed, such as ashing of the amorphous carbon hardmask, etching of a gate insulating layer to form a gate insulator, formation of source and drain diffusions, or formation of source and drain contacts.

Method for fabricating a semiconductor device using amorphous carbon having improved etch resistance


A wet etching process wherein the etchant bath is ultrasonically vibrated, preferably while a carrier member holding the workpiece to be etched is slightly agitated. An apparatus for practicing the process includes a first vessel for holding a coupling fluid; a second vessel for holding an etchant solution; means for suspending the second vessel in the coupling fluid of the first vessel; and an ultrasonic generator means coupled to the first vessel to impart ultrasonic vibrations to the coupling fluid and, via the coupling fluid and second vessel, to the etchant solution.

In the field of integrated circuit fabrication, wet chemical etching processes are widely used, to selectively etch regions in the successive layers of an integrated circuit, to form electronic components and conductors from the various layers of materials. One problem which arises when such wet chemical etching is used is that the etchant solution often will, at the microscopic levels of interest, exhibit substantial non-uniformity of concentration. Localized regions of low chemical concentration of the etchant may occur due to low mobility of the active elements of the solution, causing so-called "dead spots." These dead spots may also be the result of the etchant solution becoming saturated within localized regions. When this happens, the etching action is diminished in spots and overall is non-uniform. One obvious way to increase local concentrations is to increase the overall concentration of the etchant solution. This, however, does not resolve the problem of non-uniformity of concentration and may result in a solution which is so strong as to increase the etching rate in some areas to the point of producing undesireable effects, such as substantial undercutting of photoresist and resulting loss of control over geometrical considerations (e.g., line resolution and spacing). Another approach is to place in the etching bath a magnetic bead or beads which can be moved through the application of a magnetic field, to produce a stirring action. Magnetic bead stirring, though, creates vortices which aid macroscopic mixing without substantially changing the non-uniformity of etchant concentration at microscopic levels. Significant dead spots still result with magnetic bead stirring.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of wet chemical etching for use in integrated circuit fabrication, wherein dead spots are substantially alleviated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of wet chemical etching for use in integrated circuit fabrication, to improve the uniformity of the etching rate over the surface of the material to be etched.
A further object of the invention is to provide a wet etching process which avoids undercutting photoresist or other materials.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a wet etching process which allows use of weaker etching solutions.

Process for etching patterned substrates


The invention concerns a method and system for enabling collaborative document markup. Employing the invention involves the use of one or more forms which support interaction with a computer system or network. Each form is printed on sheet material such as paper and includes coded data which allows it to be used to interact with the computer system via a sensing device operated by a user.

The present invention relates generally to distributed computing systems and, more particularly, to a method and system for enabling collaborative document markup.
Interactive systems for allowing collaborative document markup are known. For example, networked computer terminals can be used to share information in real time between participants in mutually disparate geographical locations by way of conventional terminal display means. By making use of the Internet, Web pages displayed on the terminal screens can be used in carrying out a collaborative activity, such as collaborative document markup. Each participant has access to a computer means that is networked with the computer of the other participants. Each participant""s screen acts as a xe2x80x98virtual documentxe2x80x99, allowing the participant to add a markup to a working document, which document is then xe2x80x98deliveredxe2x80x99 to the other participants for display on their respective screens, and for subsequent printing if desired.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a new system and method for enabling collaborative document markup.
According to the invention in a first aspect, there is provided a method of enabling collaborative document markup between participants, the method including the steps of:
providing a participant with at least one document markup form containing information relating to a collaborative document markup session and including coded data indicative of an identity of the document markup form and of at least one reference point of the document markup form;
receiving, in a computer system, indicating data from a sensing device operated by said participant involved in the document markup session, said indicating data regarding the identity of the document markup form and a position of the sensing device relative to the document markup form, the sensing device, when placed in an operative position relative to the document markup form, sensing the indicating data using at least some of the coded data;
identifying in the computer system and from the indicating data, at least one parameter relating to the document markup session; and
providing at least one other participant remote from said participant with at least one document markup form containing information representative of the at least one parameter.
According to the invention in a second aspect, there is provided a method of enabling document markup between participants, the method including the steps of:
providing a participant with at least one document markup form containing information relating to a collaborative document markup session and including coded data indicative of at least one parameter of the document markup session;
receiving, in a computer system, data from a sensing device operated by said participant regarding said at least one parameter and regarding movement of the sensing device relative to the document markup form, the sensing device, when moved relative to the document markup form, sensing the data regarding said at least one parameter using at least some of the coded data and generating the data regarding its own movement relative to the document markup form;
interpreting, in the computer system, said movement of the sensing device as it relates to said at least one parameter; and
providing at least one other participant remote from said participant with at least one document markup form containing information representative of the at least one parameter.
According to the invention in a third aspect, there is provided a system for enabling collaborative document markup between participants, the system including:
at least one document markup form containing information relating to a collaborative document markup session and including coded data indicative of an identity of the document markup form and of at least one reference point of the document markup form;
a computer system for receiving indicating data from a sensing device operated by a participant involved in the document markup session, said indicating data regarding the identity of the document markup form and a position of the sensing device relative to the document markup form, the sensing device, when placed in an operative position relative to the document markup form, sensing the indicating data using at least some of the coded data, said computer system including means for identifying, from the indicating data, at least one parameter relating to the document markup session; and
means for providing at least one other participant remote from said participant with at least one document markup form containing information representative of the at least one parameter.
According to the invention in a fourth aspect, there is provided a system for enabling collaborative document markup between participants, the system including:
at least one document markup form containing information relating to a collaborative document markup session and including coded data indicative of at least one parameter of the document markup session;
a computer system for receiving data from a sensing device operated by the participant involved in the document markup session, said data regarding movement of the sensing device relative to the document markup form, and for interpreting said movement of the sensing device as it relates to said at least one parameter, the sensing device, when moved relative to the document markup form, sensing the data regarding said at least one parameter using at least some of the coded data, and generating the data regarding its own movement relative to the document markup form; and
means for providing at least one other participant remote from the participant with at least one document markup form containing information representative of the at least one parameter.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a system and a method which utilizes one or more forms capable of interacting with a computer system. Whilst the novel method and system of the present invention may be used in conjunction with a single computer system, in a particularly preferred form it is designed to operate over a computer network, such as the Internet.
Physically, the form is disposed on a surface medium of any suitable structure. However, in a preferred arrangement, the form is disposed on sheet material such as paper or the like which has the coded data printed on it and which allows interaction with the computer system. The coded data is detectable preferably, but not exclusively, outside the visible spectrum, thereby enabling it to be machine-readable but substantially invisible to the human eye. The form may also include visible material which provides information to a user, such as the application or purpose of the form, and which visible information may be registered or correlate in position with the relevant hidden coded data.
The system also includes a sensing device to convey data from the form to the computer system, and in some instances, to contribute additional data. Again, the sensing device may take a variety of forms but is preferably compact and easily portable. In a particularly preferred arrangement, the sensing device is configured as a pen which is designed to be able to physically mark the interactive form as well as to selectively enable the coded data from the form to be read and transmitted to the computer system. The coded data then provides control information, configured such that designation thereof by a user causes instructions to be applied to the software running on the computer system or network.
The nature of the interaction between the form and the sensing device and the data that each contributes to the computer system may vary. In one arrangement, the coded data on the form is indicative of the identity of the form and of at least one reference point on that form. In another embodiment, the interactive form includes coded data which is indicative of a parameter of the form, whereas the sensing device is operative to provide data regarding its own movement relative to that form to the computer system together with coded data from the form. In yet another arrangement, the form includes the coded data which at least identifies the form, and the sensing device is designed to provide, to the computer system, data based on the form coded data, and also on data which identifies the user of the device.
In a preferred arrangement, the system and method also employs specially designed printers to print the interactive form. Further these printers constitute or form part of the computer system and are designed to receive data from the sensing device. As indicated above, the system and method of the invention is ideally suited to operate over a network. In this arrangement, the printers are fully integrated into the network and allow for printing of the interactive forms on demand and also for distributing of the forms using a mixture of multi-cast and point-cast communication protocols.
Accordingly, in a preferred form, the present invention provides methods and systems which use a paper and pen based interface for a computer system. This provides many significant benefits over traditional computer systems. The advantage of paper is that it is widely used to display and record information. Further, printed information is easier to read than information displayed on a computer screen. Moreover, paper does not run on batteries, can be read in bright light, or robustly accepts coffee spills or the like and is portable and disposable. Furthermore, the system allows for hand-drawing and hand-writing to be captured which affords greater richness of expression than input via a computer keyboard and mouse.
The present invention therefore provides a system and method for enabling collaborative document markup, making use of novel interactive surface media.
Geographically distributed participants, who may be in telephone or video communication with one another, can mark up a shared document. A series of printed pages provides the user interface to the computer system that enables this collaborative activity. During a session, every time a participant adds a markup to the document the other participants can be given a new printed copy of the page. New pages can be started at any time, but older pages or older versions of pages can still be marked up and redistributed at any time during the session. Each participant""s contribution can be shown in a different color, in order that different contributions can be distinguished from one another.
The session invitation may contain details on how to establish a telephone or videoconference to accompany the document markup session. Where possible, the system of the invention controls the telephone or video system to initiate the conference.

Method and system for collaborative document markup

Abstract: Specifically, the method includes the steps of providing a participant with at least one document markup form containing information relating to a collaborative document markup session and including coded data indicative of an identity of the document markup form and of at least one reference point of the document markup form, receiving, in a computer system, indicating data from a sensing device operated by said participant involved in the document markup session, said indicating data regarding the identity of the document markup form and a position of the sensing device relative to the document markup form, the sensing device, when placed in an operative position relative to the document markup form, sensing the indicating data using at least some of the coded data, identifying in the computer system and from the indicating data, at least one parameter relating to the document markup session, and providing at least one other participant remote from said participant with at least one document markup form containing information representative of the at least one parameter.

Abstract: The invention can be employed by geographically distributed participants to mark up a shared document using interactive surface media, while engaged in a telephone conference or similar. Every time a participant adds a markup to the document the other participants can be provided with a printed copy of the updated page.


Techniques are disclosed that enable interconnects, vias, metal gates, and other conductive features that can be formed through electroless material deposition techniques. In some embodiments, the techniques employ electroless fill in conjunction with high growth rate selectivity between an electroless nucleation material (ENM) and electroless suppression material (ESM) to generate bottom-up or otherwise desired fill pattern of such features. Suitable ENM may be present in the underlying or otherwise existing structure, or may be provided. The ESM is provisioned so as to prevent or otherwise inhibit nucleation at the ESM covered areas of the feature, which in turn prevents or otherwise slows down the rate of electroless growth on those areas. As such, the electroless growth rate on the ENM sites is higher than the electroless growth rate on the ESM sites.

In the manufacture of integrated circuits, interconnects are generally formed on a semiconductor substrate using a copper dual damascene process. Such a process typically begins with a trench being etched into a dielectric layer and then filled with a barrier/adhesion layer and a seed layer using a physical vapor deposition (PVD) sputtering process. An electroplating process is then used to fill the via and trench with copper metal to form the interconnect. However, as device dimensions scale down and the features become narrower, the aspect ratio of the features becomes more aggressive. The line-of-sight PVD process gives rise to issues such as trench overhang of the barrier/adhesion, and seed layers, leading to pinched-off trench and via openings during plating, and inadequate gap fill.
As will be appreciated, the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale or intended to limit the claimed invention to the specific configurations shown. For instance, while some figures generally indicate straight lines, right angles, and smooth surfaces, an actual implementation of a structure may have less than perfect straight lines, right angles, and some features may have surface topology or otherwise be non-smooth, given real world limitations of the processing equipment and techniques used. In short, the figures are provided merely to show example structures.

Electroless filled conductive structures


A battery multi-series system and a communication method thereof. The battery multi-series system includes a master battery management system managing a battery; and a block master battery management system connected to the master battery management system and receiving data from at least one slave battery management system and storing the received data, wherein the master battery management system receives data periodically from the block master battery management system.

1. Field
Aspects of the present invention relate to a battery multi-series system and a communication method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a primary battery is not rechargeable, but a secondary battery can be charged and discharged. Thus, the secondary battery is extensively used in various fields such as a cellular phone, a notebook computer, a camcorder, and a hybrid car. Especially, since a lithium secondary battery has an output voltage of about 4.2 V, which is three times higher than a nickel-cadmium battery or a nickel-hydrogen battery, used for electronic equipment power) and has a high energy concentration per unit weight, usage of the lithium secondary battery has increased.
This lithium secondary battery includes a plurality of battery cells and is applied to diverse applications that require a high output, and also employs a Battery Management System (BMS) for managing controls of cell voltage sensing and battery cell balancing of the plurality of battery cells. Research has been conducted on the BMS in order to more efficiently control the plurality of battery cells.

Battery multi-series system and communication method thereof