A method of integrating a chip with a topside active optical chip is described. The topside active optical chip has at least one optical laser device, having an active side including an optically active region, a laser cavity having a height, an optically inactive region, a bonding side opposite the active side, and a device thickness. The method involves bonding the optical chip to the electronic chip; applying a substrate to the active side, the substrate having a substrate thickness over the active region in the range of between a first amount and a second amount, and applying an anti-reflection without a special patterning or distinguishing between the at least one optical laser device and any other device. A hybrid electro-optical chip is also described as having an electronic chip; and a topside active optical chip. The hybrid electro-optical chip having been created by one of the methods herein. A module is also described. The module has an optical chip having at least one topside active laser and at least one photodetector, the at least one topside active laser having opposed mirrors defining an active region therebetween, an electronic chip bonded to the optical chip, and an anti-reflection coating on top of the substrate over the active region that was applied without distinguishing between the at least one topside active laser and the at least one photodetector as part of an anti-reflection coating process.

This invention relates to opto-electric chip integration and, more particularly, to high yield dense integration of opto-electronic devices.
FIGS. 1 and, 2 illustrate approaches that have been used in the prior art to attach multiple bottom emitting (or detecting) (also referred to as xe2x80x9cbackside emitting (or detecting)xe2x80x9d) devices to form an integrated electro-optical chip.
According to the approach of FIG. 1, multiple lasers, are formed on a wafer substrate 102 in a conventional manner, as are multiple detectors (interchangeably referred to herein as photodetectors) on their own or on a wafer substrate in common with the lasers. Typically, the portion 104 of the substrate 102 closest to the junction between the optical devices 106, 108 and the substrate 102 is made of a material which is optically transparent at the wavelength at which the optical devices operate. The devices 106, 108 are then processed using conventional techniques such as wet or dry etching to form trenches 112 among the devices 106, 108 which separate them into a series of discrete individual lasers 106 or detector 108 devices. Depending upon the particular technique used, the etched trenches 112 may stop prior to reaching the substrates 102 or extend partly into the substrates 102. Following etching, the substrates 102 and their associated devices are inverted, aligned to the proper location over a Silicon (Si) electronic wafer 114, and bonded to the Si electronic wafer 114 using conventional flip-chip bonding techniques. Following bonding, the entirety of the substrates 102 are thinned extremely thin, by conventional mechanical polishing methods, conventional etch techniques or some combination thereof, to on the order of about 5 microns or less to allow for close optical access to the devices and create an integrated electro-optical wafer 116.
Optionally, the integrated electro-optical wafer 116 is then patterned, using conventional techniques, to protect the individual lasers and the individual detectors are coated with an anti-reflection (AR) coating 118.
A related alternative approach to the technique of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2. In this approach, lasers and detectors are formed as described above. However, when the technique of FIG. 2 used, the trenches 112 are etched into the substrates 102. The substrates 102 and their associated devices are then inverted, aligned to the proper location over a Silicon (Si) electronic wafer 114, and bonded to the Si electronic wafer 114 using conventional flip-chip bonding techniques. Following bonding, the substrates 102 are then wholly removed, by conventional mechanical polishing methods, conventional etch techniques or some combination thereof, to allow for close optical access to the devices and create an integrated electro-optical wafer 116.
Optionally, the integrated electro-optical wafer 116 is then patterned to protect the individual lasers and the individual detectors are coated with an anti-reflection (AR) coating.
The techniques of both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 make it possible to get optical fibers or optical lenses close enough to the devices to capture the appropriate light without allowing light coming from, or going to, adjacent devices to affect any of those adjacent devices, a problem known as xe2x80x9ccrosstalkxe2x80x9d. Typically, this requires that the separation distance between a device and an optical fiber or optical microlens be less than 100 microns.
Additionally, both techniques ensure that there are no significant absorbing layers over the active region of the devices that will prevent light from escaping since the thinning technique of FIG. 1 reduces the thickness of the entire substrate 102 to about 5 microns or less and the approach of FIG. 2 removes the substrate 102 entirely, leaving multiple wholly independent optical devices.
Both of these techniques however, characteristically create opto-electronic chips that have heat dissipation problems during use and leave the individual devices more sensitive to thermal and mechanical stresses produced during the manufacturing process, thereby reducing individual device lifetimes and, accordingly, decreasing yields and overall chip life.
Moreover, for the approach of both FIG. 1 (where the substrate is extremely thin) and FIG. 2 (where the substrate is completely removed), stresses experienced by the devices are primarily transferred to the very thin optical device layer which is the structurally weakest part of the device.
Thus, there is a need for a way to create an integrated opto-electronic chip that is not as sensitive to the thermal and or structural stresses resulting from processing and/or use.
In addition, a manufacturer of opto-electronic devices has two avenues for obtaining the optical and electronic waferxe2x80x94they can manufacture either or both themselves, or they can obtain one or both from a third party. By manufacturing both the optical devices (interchangeably referred to for simplicity as an xe2x80x9coptical chipxe2x80x9d) and the electronic wafer (interchangeably referred to for simplicity as an xe2x80x9celectronic chipxe2x80x9d), the manufacturer can take measures to ensure that the pads on each are properly placed so as to align with each other when the optical chip is positioned over the electronic chip. However, typically electrical and optical chips are not designed concurrently, even if they are designed and fabricated within the same organization. Thus, even with a single manufacturer, unless there is close coordination within the organization with regard to both the optical and electronic chip design, a lack of correspondence between contact pads on each can easily occurxe2x80x94particularly where one or both are also designed with sales to third parties in mind or integration with devices from other sources is contemplated. Moreover, subsequent improvements or changes in the design of either may necessitate altering the location of the contact pads, thereby introducing a pad misalignment where none previously existed.
Even worse, if the electronic chip is designed to be used with a variety of different optical chips, but the optical chips are commodity stock obtained from third parties (for example, chips containing: topside emitting vertical cavity lasers, bottom emitting vertical cavity lasers, distributed feedback (DFB) or distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) lasers (which each have better chirp and line width characteristics for long distance applications), topside receiving detectors or bottom receiving detectors) that are mass manufactured for distribution to multiple unrelated users, it is unlikely that the pads on the optical devices will all be located in the same place, even if they are otherwise compatible with the electronic chip.
For example, as shown in prior art FIG. 3, a single optical device 300 has contact pads 302, 304 placed in the position specified by its manufacturer. A portion of an electronic wafer 306 also has contact pads 308, 310, onto which an optical device can be connected, placed in the position specified by its manufacturer. If the optical device is flipped over, for flip-chip type bonding with the electronic wafer, the contact pads 302, 304, 308, 310, of each will not be aligned as shown in prior art FIG. 4.
This presents a problem in that it limits the ability to xe2x80x9cmix-and matchxe2x80x9d devices. Moreover, if a chip is designed with connection to a particular other chip in mind, and subsequent events create a need to use a different device with a different contact placement, all the planning and coordination done for the original device will be irrelevant to the new device.
Thus, there is a further need for a process that facilitates the ability to mix and match devices without there being any coordination between the designers of either or the use of a standard or common contact placement scheme.
In addition, in some cases it is sometimes desirable to coat some of the devices, specifically the detectors, with an AR coating.
An AR coating prevents light from hitting the top of a detector device and being reflected at the detector-air interface due to the differences in the indexes of refraction. This is important for detectors because reflected light is light that does not enter the detector itself and hence can not be converted into electrical signals (i.e. it is xe2x80x98lost lightxe2x80x99 from a system point of view). Thus an AR coating optimizes the collection efficiency of the detector because it prevents light from being reflected at that interface.
Lasers however, require a top mirror of very high in reflectivity in order to operate. AR coating on a laser changes the reflectivity of the top mirror. As a result, at a minimum it will detrimentally affect, the lasing action of the laser, if not prevent it from lasing altogether.
If a wafer has both lasers and detectors in an array, in order to AR coat only the detectors, conventional wisdom would mandate that special patterning of the wafer be performed to protect the lasers during the AR coating deposition phase to ensure that those laser devices were not covered by the AR coating.
The protection or disparate treatment of the various different devices on the wafer requires extra processing steps, which costs time, and hence increases the cost of processing. It also introduces the possibility of damaging the protected devices. Finally, it forces the electrical contact pads to be protected as well.
In addition disparate treatment of devices causes other processing problems when the processing must be performed on a chip having electrical contact pads in the same area. For example, if a chip has electrical contacts near the devices and electroplating, electroless plating, thermal evaporates, e-beam evaporated or sputtering techniques are used to place solder on the contact pads, the height of the resulting solder bumps, renders it difficult to pattern areas to protect lasers from AR coating because the solder bumps are much taller than the optical devices.
Prior art lacks a way to eliminate the need to pattern a protective layer over the lasers while allowing the entire wafer (i.e. lasers and detectors) to be AR coated.
Thus, there is a further need for a way to permit integration of multiple types of devices on an electronic chip so that any additional processing steps, such as anti-reflection coating, can be done on the whole wafer at one time and without special patterning after integration.
We have devised a way of creating electro-optical chips that, in various implementation variants, overcome one or more of the above shortcomings of the prior art, resulting in higher yields and longer life (i.e. more reliable) devices. In particular, we have devised a way to create opto-electronic chips which, in some variants, provides one or more of the following advantages: allows use of a lower operating current, thereby reducing power consumption and heat generation; provides better dissipation of heat that is generated, allowing the lasers to run at lower temperatures thereby increasing their usable life and/or providing better wavelength control; and/or having a higher structural integrity resulting in fewer defects and increased device lifetime.
We have further devised a way to integrate optical and electronic chips to create an integrated opto-electronic device, irrespective of whether the component devices are manufactured in a coordinated manner or have compatibly matching electrical contact points.
Still further, we have devised a way to create an integrated opto-electronic device that allows for an entire wafer having disparate devices to be AR coated, without special processing to protect the lasers or affecting their ability to lase.
When integrating optical devices intimately with electronic chips, four attributes are desirable to create reliable integrated optical devices.
First, it must be possible to get optical fibers or optical lenses close enough to capture the light without crosstalk. Second, there must be no absorbing layers above the active region of the devices that would prevent light from escaping or entering the particular devices. Third, there should be a large enough thermal mass attached to the devices to allow for efficient heat dissipation. Fourth, the structural integrity of the devices should be maintained during processing so that stresses or strains experienced by the devices do not impact device performance.
As noted above, the approaches of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 can satisfy the first two attributes however, neither of those approaches satisfies the third or fourth since neither approach results in a large thermal was attached to the devices (i.e. the substrate of the devices) or reduces stresses on the devices.
Although applicants are unaware of any such case existing in the prior art or otherwise, the approach of FIG. 1 could potentially be made to satisfy the fourth attribute by leaving a thicker layer of substrate on the device. However, this could likely only be accomplished if the operating wavelength of the particular devices were very transparent to the wavelength at which the devices operated. Moreover, for many cases, this would reduce, if not destroy, the ability to satisfy the first attribute and would likely also detrimentally impact the operation of a laser device unless the laser were redesigned to emit into, for example, a semiconductor material rather than being designed to emit into air. In addition, if thicker substrates were left, it would be necessary to AR coat the structure to prevent optical feedback into the laser. In addition, such an approach would likely also foreclose the use of commercially purchasable prefabricated semiconductor optical devices, such as most third party offered Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs), Distributed Feed Back (DFB) lasers or Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) lasers.
In sum, we have devised a way to closely integrate optical devices and an electronic chip to create an opto-electronic chip that can satisfy all four attributes. Moreover we can do so using devices acquired from third parties when desired. Still further, we offer advantages over the prior art in terms of lower cost to produce, higher yield and improved operating life.
A first aspect of the invention involves a method of integrating a chip with a topside active optical chip. The topside active optical chip has at least one optical laser device, having an active side including an optically active region, a laser cavity having a height, an optically inactive region, a bonding side opposite the active side, and a device thickness. The method involves bonding thee optical chip to the electronic chip; applying a substrate to the active side, the substrate having a substrate thickness over the active region in the range of between a first amount and a second amount, and applying an anti-reflection without a special patterning or distinguishing between the at least one optical laser device and any other device.
A second aspect of the invention involves a hybrid electro-optical chip. The hybrid electro-optical chip has an electronic chip; and a topside active optical chip. The hybrid electro-optical chip having been created by one of the methods herein.
A third aspect of the invention involves a module that has an optical chip having at least one topside active laser and at least one photodetector, the at least one topside active laser having opposed mirrors defining an active region therebetween, an electronic chip bonded to the optical chip, and an anti-reflection coating on top of the substrate over the active region that was applied without distinguishing between the at least one topside active laser and the at least one photodetector as part of an anti-reflection coating process.
These and other aspects described herein, or resulting from the using teachings contained herein, provide advantages and benefits over the prior art.


A leveling system for freshly poured concrete is provided comprising a hand screed and a hand float. The system includes a laser beam leveling system consisting of a laser transmitter mounted on the hand screed and a laser beam receiver target mounted on the hand float. The hand screed further includes an inclinometer mounted on top of the hand screed for maintaining the angle of the screed when the screed is used on sloped surfaces. Bubble levelers positioned on top of the hand screed and the hand float are used to maintain the hand screed and the hand float in a level position.

In the concrete industry, "screeding-boards" are common tools used to level concrete that has been freshly poured. For the purposes of this specification and the claims contained herein, the term "plastic concrete" shall refer to freshly-poured concrete that has not yet set up and hardened.
The types of screeds used in leveling plastic concrete vary from a 2×4 plank of wood, which is manually pushed or pulled through the concrete to a mechanical screed, which is gas and occasionally electrically powered. Often, the type of screed used depends upon the size and complexity of the surface area to be leveled. Conventional manual and power screeds have their distinct problems.
Power screeds are commonly used only for larger spaces and lack the versatility required to screed concrete in smaller spaces, such as doorframes, concrete pedestals, or floors with pipes and/or trenches. Mechanical screeds are often too expensive and bulky for the average individual to use (such as in a home-renovation project).
Manual screeds continue to be used in the majority of concrete projects. Manual screeds are necessarily used for small surface areas, slopes and around difficult spaces such as drains and columns. However, manual screeds are labourious to use and difficult to maneuver through the concrete. Manual screeds are also problematic due to difficulties in consistently and accurately maintaining the screed level throughout the screeding process.
The conventional method of guiding manual screeds is relatively inaccurate. Manual screed operators usually use string lines and, in large commercial projects, perhaps a laser leveling system to create reference guides in the plastic concrete and then attempt to move the screed blade on the guides to produce a flat and level floor. The laser leveling system usually comprises a reference laser and a laser receiver mounted on a post. Once the receiver is leveled relative to the reference laser, the foot of the post is at the desired concrete height. The post is then used to establish guide pins in the plastic concrete indicating the desired concrete height. The concrete is screeded using these guides.
Various attempts have been made to increase the accuracy of portable screeds by attaching a component of the laser leveling system directly to the portable screed. These are discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,156 provides a portable screed comprising: a stationary laser projector, which is separate from the screed, and a laser receiver, which is adjustably mounted on to the screed itself. The receiver can be vertically adjusted to receive the signal at different heights. The screed also contains a sight-level included on the screed for leveling of the entire screed. However, this reference fails to teach the use of an inclinometer for screeding sloped surfaces at different angles because the laser transmitter is stationary.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,166 involves a laser-operated automatic grade control system, having a laser projector and a laser receiver, which automatically detects elevation relative to the laser and adjusts the height of the finishing tool via an adjustable hydraulic cylinder. However, the system taught by this reference is too large to be used on sloped surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,631 provides a portable screed guidance system. Mounted on the screed are inclination measuring device(s) and leveling device components(s) (e.g. laser sensor) for measuring height relative to a stationary reference laser signal positioned in the worksite. This device is not suitable for use in leveling plastic concrete in confined spaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,787 Allen et al. provides a mechanical vibrating portable screed having laser sensors positioned on the screed. The screed derives elevation information from a remote laser, in response to which the gradient may be adjusted automatically or by the screed operator. This screed is bulky and does not provide a means for screeding on slopes of varying degrees or in small areas.
Plastic concrete can be screeded through the use of concrete elevation pins placed throughout the surface where concrete is to be poured. Screeding off elevation pins can be problematic in that costly time can be lost in correctly placing and re-adjusting the pins. Moreover, conventional laser systems provide only horizontal measurements and are not useful where screeding sloped concrete surfaces is required.
There is a need for a concrete-leveling system that can be used in small spaces and that is easy to control and comfortable to maneuver. The use of traditional hand screeds, having no handles or handles of rectangular shape, results in hand and finger injury, in missed work due to injury and in poor workmanship due to fatigue from using the traditional screed board.
It is, therefore, desirable to have a concrete-leveling system that overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art and the problems discussed above.


An imaging system for identifying camouflaged or concealed objects includes an image sensor for receiving at least a portion of reflected light from an interrogation region having foliage including at least an ultraviolet (UV) including band. The image sensor includes a 2-D photodetector array that has a plurality of photodetector pixels that provides sensitivity to the UV band. The 2-D photodetector array generates at least a first detection signal from at least the UV band. A green light filter can be added to exclude green light in the background from being detected. A processor for data processing is coupled to an output of the photodetector array that forms processed image data from at least the first detection signal. The processed image data can be used to generate a visual image that reveals camouflaged or concealed objects, or be used for automatic detection of camouflaged or concealed objects.

Although hyperspectral imaging can image a continuous band generally extending from the ultraviolet (UV) to the infrared (IR), and has promise to detect CC&D, hyperspectral imaging involves a large data collection and is thus computationally intensive, involves expensive/complex sensor configurations, and imposes high training/instructional demands on analysts. As compared to hyperspectral imaging, multispectral imaging over a plurality of discontinuous bands can provide less expensive, easier to use imagery. However, known multispectral imaging systems are poor at detecting modern CC&D (i.e., have low performance), such as military green/IR painted objects in a scene including natural greenery such as trees, shrubs and grass.

UV detection of objects hidden in foliage


Process for making 5FVN, comprising contacting in a reactor 3PN with CO and hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst, the catalyst comprising recycled catalyst that is reactivated using hydrogen.

The hydroformylation of 3-pentenenitrile (3PN) to 5-formylvaleronitrile (5FVN) is an attractive route to produce nylon intermediates. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,986,126, the reductive amination of 5FVN produces 6-aminocapronitrile and/or hexamethylenediamine, which are two key intermediates for the production of Nylon-6 and Nylon-6,6 respectively. The oxidation of 5FVN to 5-cyanovaleric acid, followed by hydrogenation to 6-aminocaproic acid, produces caprolactam, which is the monomer of choice to make Nylon-6.
A key element in the overall scheme is a stable catalyst that produces 5FVN by hydroformylation of 3PN. Typical catalysts involved in these reactions comprise a metal, such as rhodium, and an organic ligand, such as a bidentate phosphite. Such catalysts tend to deactivate upon recycle due to irreversible reactions believed to involve the metal center or the ligands coordinated to the metal center. In the case of hydroformylation of 3PN to 5FVN, the most active and selective catalysts comprise bidentate phosphite ligands.
When the hydroformylation of 3PN to 5FVN is performed in a continuous fashion, involving catalyst recycle, the catalyst loses activity continuously.
There is a need in the art, therefore, for making 5FVN in which the inactive form of the catalyst is reactivated.
This need is met by the present invention, which is a process for making 5FVN, comprising contacting in a reactor 3PN with CO and hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst comprising rhodium and a bidentate phosphite ligand to produce a product stream comprising 5FVN, unreacted 3PN and catalyst, separating at least a portion of said product stream into a low boiler fraction comprising 3PN and a major portion of the 5FVN and a high boiler fraction comprising a minor portion of the 5FVN and catalyst, contacting at least a portion of said high boiler fraction with hydrogen at a temperature in the range 50 degrees C. to 170 degrees C. and a pressure in the range 50 psig to 2000 psig to produce a hydrogen-treated high boiler fraction, and introducing at least a portion of said hydrogen-treated high boiler fraction into the reactor.

Process for making 5-formylvaleronitrile using reactivated catalyst


A polymer-bonded pencil lead for writing, drawing, and/or painting devices, including at least one polymer binder, one wax, and at least one filler. The pencil lead includes 0.5 to 2.5% by weight palm oil.

The invention relates to polymer-bonded pencil leads for writing, drawing, and/or painting devices.
The principle of pencil leads of such kind for writing, drawing, and/or painting is known. Polymer-bonded, graphite-based pencil leads for writing, drawing, and/or painting are understood to be leads that are solidly embedded in wood or other materials that are capable of being sharpened, and also leads that are retained in sliding manner inside a rigid enclosure. Examples of such are wood-encased pencils and pencil leads for mechanical pencils, also known as propelling pencils or clutch pencils, for example. In this context, the pencil leads usually have an outer diameter from about 0.3 mm to 6 mm.
Thus for example, polymer-bonded graphite pencil leads are known from German Patent No. DE 38 27 968 C1. Unfired pencil leads of this kind contain a polymer binder, lubricant and filler materials.
One of the problems in producing such leads is that with a high filler content of greater than 50% by weight, the writing and painting properties of such articles are very good, but the viscosity of the lead paste during extrusion is extremely high, and the extrusion pressure required in the tool and the extruder assumes very large values. The head pressure is about 350 bar. The effect of this is disadvantageous in that the extruder must be larger, and complex equipment must be used. The service life of the machines and tools is also significantly shortened by the high extrusion pressure.

Pencil lead for writing, drawing and/or painting devices


The present invention relates to a turbo-molecular vacuum pump comprising bearings for supporting the drive shaft and/or the rotor in relation to a pump body, wherein a first bearing is coupled to the rotor and disposed on supporting mount at the high vacuum side of the rotor and radial struts extend from the supporting mount and form an integral part of the body; the invention is characterised in that the radial struts comprise a hinge portion that can flex to allow relative movement of the inlet flange with respect to the supporting mount to reduce distortion effects.

Turbo-molecular vacuum pumps are well known to the person skilled in the art. Such pumps comprise a mechanism suited to pump gases at high vacuum pressures, including rotor and stator components each having blades extending radially from an axis. At high vacuum pressures the gas molecules behave in a molecular flow regime.
It can be advantageous to locate rotor bearings at each end of the rotor shaft, depending on the application that the pump is designed to serve. Thus, the rotor can be supported in a way that minimizes rotor movement during operational conditions. As a result, the bearing located on the rotor shaft nearest to the pump inlet is located in an area of high vacuum pressure.
In certain circumstances it may been necessary to use non-contacting bearings in this location in order to minimize contamination that might be caused by bearing lubricant. Such non-contacting bearings include magnetic bearings that can configured as passive magnetic bearings or active magnetic bearings. In all cases, the bearings located at the pump inlet side of the rotor are located on the rotor's axis and coupled to the pump body by a series of spokes extending from a central bearing support hub. Thus, the bearing is secured in the desired position coaxially with the axis of the rotor and/or drive shaft. The spoke and hub arrangement can be called a "bearing spider"; this arrangement for supporting the bearing resembles a spoked steering wheel used in automotive vehicles, typically having an outer circular rim and a central boss connected to the rim by three or more equally spaced spokes.
A typical turbo-molecular pump bearing system is disclosed in DE202013009660U1 where the bearing spider is a separate component that is inserted into the pump. An outer rim of the bearing spider is arranged to engage with the pump body to secure a passive magnetic bearing in the correct central location. A similar arrangement is disclosed in US2003/0170132. In both these documents, the bearing spider is shown as a separate component that is located in position during pump assembly.
It is also known to provide the bearing spider as a component that is integral with the pump body. Such arrangements are known from pumps sold by Pfeiffer Vacuum GmbH, such as the Hipace 80 and Hipace 300 pumps. Additionally the EXT555 vacuum pump sold by Edwards Limited has a similar arrangement. In this integral configuration the spokes of the bearing spider extend in a generally radial direction from the inner section of the pump's inlet flange towards the central hub. The pump body and bearing spider can be machined from the same block of material, thereby reducing the number of component parts. Furthermore, this integral configuration for the bearing spider has other advantages in that the number of assembly steps can be reduced, tolerance stack-up can be reduced, the length of the pump can be reduced and controls on the bearing assembly process can be improved.
There is a general desire to improve the performance of turbo-molecular pumps that have a bearing spider on the high vacuum side of the rotor where the bearing spider is an integral part of the pump body. Furthermore, there is a desire to reduce the size and power consumption of such vacuum pumps without reducing the performance parameters of the pump.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in the background.


A query suggestion to expand an initial query is calculated whereby the cost of the expanded initial query is bounded in both time and quality. The user validates a subset of the top-n answers Q(G) to a query Q and provides adjusted configuration parameters. The top-n diversified δ-expansion terms Q′ are calculated from the validated subset of answers Q(G) to the query Q and are provided to an interactive user interface for selection. Answers Q′(G) for the top-n diversified δ-expansion terms Q′ are cost bounded by cost threshold δ and exploration range r specified by the user. The user selects a new term of terms Q′ and an incremental query evaluation of the new term is invoked to compute expanded query answers Q′(G) by incrementally updating the validated subset of answers Q(G), without re-evaluating an expanded query Q′ including the new term from scratch.

Keyword search (KWS) has been routinely used to explore and understand graph data. A keyword query  is a set of terms {t1, . . . , tl}. Given a keyword query  and a graph G, KWS returns a list of answers (G), where each answer  is a subgraph of G that contains a set of content nodes that matches the keywords in . The answers  are usually defined as distinct rooted trees, minimum weighted Steiner trees, or subgraphs for distinct rooted-based (DR) queries, Steiner tree-based (ST), and Steiner graph-based (SG) queries, respectively. The subgraph can be, for example, a minimal single rooted tree, a weighted Steiner tree, or an r-clique (nodes with pairwise distance bounded by a threshold r), when  is defined as a DR, ST, or SG query, respectively. The answer cost of  is determined by aggregating the distance among its content nodes. Answers with low cost are preferred. In the following description, it will be appreciated that quality and cost may be used interchangeably and that the quality of answers is higher if their cost is lower. In practice, the top-k answers are often returned and ranked by a corresponding quality function F that minimizes the distance among content nodes.
Improvements in exploratory graph searching is needed due to the nontrivial task of query construction in large heterogeneous graphs. Recent efforts in exploratory methods for KWS use user-friendly interfaces that interleave query refinement and query evaluation for graph exploration. Beyond conventional query-response paradigms, an exploratory search involves a sequence of search sessions. Each session suggests queries, receives feedback from users on queries and results, and re-evaluates new queries.
However, effective graph exploration with KWS is challenging, as users may not be aware of the schema and structure of the graph. Query refinement may generate queries that have no or low-quality answers for established KWS models in databases. Due to the intrinsic ambiguity of the keywords, users often need to revise the queries multiple times to get answers that are relevant with low answer cost (and high quality). This is a daunting task especially when no prior knowledge of G is provided. Moreover, re-evaluating new queries from scratch is typically expensive. For example, computing optimal answers for a given ST or SG query is NP-hard. Users often have no control over either the answer quality or the time cost during the exploratory search and may have to wait a long time during exploratory sessions.
Existing KWS solutions are mostly designed for relational databases, document retrieval, and web search, not for large heterogeneous networks. Such solutions mostly assume the presence of query logs and a user's search history and do not suggest what to do when such information is not available. Moreover, existing solutions do not consider the cost and time of evaluating the suggested queries or provide any limits on the costs of the answers.

Quality-aware keyword query suggestion and evaluation


A reset circuit and a reset method are provided in order to operate a power switch of the main body of a communication device installed in an inaccessible place such as a remote place or a high-altitude place and to execute a reset by software in the case of having problems with firmware or software of a communication device installed in a remote place. In a reset circuit for a communication device, the device is reset by using link information, which indicates whether a physical layer is connected or disconnected to an external interface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reset circuit and a reset method. Especially, the present invention relates to a reset circuit and a reset method for a communication device installed in an inaccessible place such as a remote place or a dangerous place like a high-altitude place.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, for example, a reset circuit is applied to a communication processing circuit. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional reset circuit. Referring to FIG. 1, a communication processing circuit 13 is reset by a reset circuit 12. For resetting, software reset by a switch, software reset by software, power reset by a switch and the like are employed. The communication processing circuit 13 is reset by a system reset pulse 4 and a power reset pulse 6 output from the reset circuit 12.
The prior art described above is disclosed in the Japanese Patent application laid open No. 2000-276260 and in the Japanese Patent application laid open No. 10-11324.
The conventional reset circuit and the reset method have problems as below.
The first problem is that, in a communication device installed in an inaccessible place such as a remote place or a dangerous place like a high-altitude place where it is difficult to visit, it is difficult to operate the power switch of the main body of the device.
The second problem is that, in a communication device remotely installed, resetting by pressing a switch or resetting by software is impossible when there are problems with firmware or software.
Generally, for resetting a communication device, a switch or a multiplexed control signal has been used for resetting a power source or a system. Especially, in a communication device remotely installed, a power switch cannot be easily operated and the control signal cannot be used for resetting when there are problems with firmware or software of a communication device.


A memcapacitor device includes a memcapacitive matrix interposed between a first electrode and a second electrode. The memcapacitive matrix includes deep level dopants having a first decay time constant and shallow level dopants having a second decay time constant. The second decay time constant is substantially shorter than the first decay time constant. The capacitance of the memcapacitor device depends upon an initial voltage applied across the memcapacitive matrix and a time dependent change in capacitance of the memcapacitor device depends upon the first decay time constant. A method for forming a memcapacitive device is also provided.

The presence of dopants within an insulating or semiconducting matrix can dramatically alter the electrical characteristics and behavior of a device which incorporates the matrix. Dopants can be electron donors or acceptors which provide additional charge carriers within the matrix. These charge carriers add energy levels within an energy band gap of the semiconducting matrix. The presence of these dopants in the matrix may allow for alteration of certain important electrical characteristics of the device containing the matrix. For example, the dopants may be used to alter the width of a space charge region, which changes the capacitance of the device. The device may retain a "memory" of this capacitance for a period of time.
Devices which exhibit a "memory" of past electrical conditions based on changes in capacitance are called "memcapacitors" or "memcapacitive devices." Memcapacitive behavior is most strongly evident in nanometer scale devices, where conventional driving voltages can produce large electric potential gradients across the nanometer scale device. These memcapacitors could potentially be used for high density data storage, circuit calibration, or to provide self programming, fuzzy logic, or neural learning capabilities.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Provided herein are membranes including a blend of a propylene-based elastomer and an ethylene copolymer, a thermoplastic resin, a flame retardant, and an ultraviolet stabilizer.

Compositions and membranes comprising thermoplastic olefin (TPO) polymers have found widespread use in the roofing industry for commercial buildings. TPO membranes are often fabricated as a composite structure containing a reflective membrane (40 to 60 mils thick), a reinforcing polyester scrim fabric (1 to 2 mils thick), and a pigmented layer (40 to 60 mils thick). When the membrane is applied to the roof, the reflective white layer is exposed to sunlight while the pigmented layer (which is underneath the reflective layer) is attached to the roof insulation material.
For roofing and other sheeting applications, the products are typically manufactured as membrane sheets having a typical width of 10 feet (3 meters) or greater, although smaller widths may be available. The sheets are typically sold, transported, and stored in rolls. For roofing membrane applications, several sheets are unrolled at the installation site, placed adjacent to each other with an overlapping edge to cover the roof and are sealed together by a heat welding process during installation. During transport and storage, the rolls can be exposed to extreme heat conditions, such as from 40° C. to 100° C., which can lead to roll blocking of the rolls during storage in ware-house. After installation, the membranes can be exposed during service to a wide range of conditions that may deteriorate or destroy the integrity of the membrane. As such, a membrane is desired that can withstand a wide variety of service temperatures, such as from −40° C. to 40° C.
PCT Publication No. WO 2010/115079A1 is directed to roofing membranes that contain compositions of Formula I that comprises (a) 30 to 50 wt % of a propylene-based elastomer, (b) 9 to 20 wt % of a plastomer, (c) from 7 to 20 wt % of an impact polypropylene-ethylene copolymer, (d) 20 to 35 wt % of magnesium hydroxide, (e) 5 to 10 wt % of titanium dioxide, and (f) 1 to 2 wt % of additives; or compositions of Formula II that comprises (a) 32 to 48 wt % of a propylene-based elastomer, (b) 9 to 18 wt % of a plastomer, (c) 7 to 20 wt % of an impact polypropylene-ethylene copolymer, (d) 25 to 35 wt % of magnesium hydroxide, (e) 4 to 6 wt % of titanium dioxide, (f) 0.75 to 1.5 wt % of UV inhibitor, (g) 0.2 to 0.45 wt % of antioxidant/stabilizer, (h) 0.15 to 0.4 wt % of thermal stabilizer, and (i) 0.1 to 0.2 wt % of lubricant. The propylene-based elastomer used in WO 2010/115079A1 was Vistamaxx™ 6102 and the lubricant used was Asahi AX71 which is a mono or di-stearyl acid phosphate. The roofing membrane in WO 2010/115079A1 is formed around a scrim having reinforcing polyester threads.
PCT Publication No. WO 2014/001224A1 is directed to compositions comprising 40 to 75 wt % of at least one polypropylene-based elastomer and around 25 to 60 wt % of at least one random copolymer of polypropylene. The polypropylene-based elastomers used in WO 2014/001224A1 were Vistamaxx™ 3980, 6102, and 6202.
PCT Publication No. WO 2014/040914A1 is directed to thermoplastic mixtures that comprise at least one impact-resistant polypropylene copolymer and at least one ethylene-1-octene copolymer, where the weight ratio of impact-resistant polypropylene copolymer to ethylene-1-octene copolymer is in the range of 35:65 to 65:35.
U.S. Patent Ser. No. 62/121,230, filed on Feb. 26, 2015, is directed to a roofing membrane composition of a 10-50 wt % of a propylene-based elastomer, 5-40 wt % of a thermoplastic resin, at least one flame retardant, and at least one ultraviolet stabilizer.
There still remains a need for roofing membranes that demonstrate flexibility at service temperatures from −40° C. to 40° C. and resistance to roll blocking at elevated temperatures.

Propylene-based elastomers for roofing compositions and methods for preparing the same


Disclosure is an assembled plastic tray. The plastic tray includes a mainboard and strakes fixed at two sides of the mainboard. The mainboard includes two rib frames and multiple strip-shaped pad feel uniformly distributed between the two rib frames. The steps for assembling the plastic tray includes: respectively inserting first mainboard steel tubes and second mainboard steel tubes into first mainboard steel tube holes and second mainboard steel tube holes of the rib frames on the mainboard, subsequently, mounting the two strakes on the two side surfaces of the mainboard through a boss and penetrating slots and fixing the boss and the penetrating slots through strake connection blocks, then inserting strake steel tubes into strake steel tube holes on the two strakes, and then, fixing the strake steel tubes and the first mainboard steel tubes through steel tube connection members and steel blocks.

At present, since the most plastic trays are formed by adopting integrated injection molding, the whole tray is an entirety that cannot be separated. This facilitates the stabilization of the product, but there are defects in the process of actual use, namely, when an operator manipulates a forklift and when the plug board of the fork lift is inserted into the tray, the side surfaces of the tray are often collided and damaged because of incorrect alignment. Since the whole tray is an entirety, when the side surfaces of the tray are damaged and cannot continue to be used, there is a need for changing the whole tray. However, damaged positions are only side surfaces, and a middle region is still intact, so the entire change can result in great waste, which can bring huge use cost for storage enterprises. According to recent statistics, the service life of a plastic tray is often three years. For large-scale storage enterprises, because the quantity of the used tray s is usually more than 10,000 pieces, change of the tray will spend great cost.
Thus, it is urgent to need a tray which can be combined with strakes in different sizes, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of a mould and saving raw materials; also, after the tray of the forklift is damaged, there is no need for changing the whole tray, namely, it is only needed to change the strake.


A shovel has a pan connected to an end handle by a shaft. A lever is attached to the shaft to assist in lifting a load. The lever has an L-shaped member and a portion of the L-shaped member is received in the bight portion of a spring. The lever preferably is resiliently attached to the shaft and returns automatically to a position adjacent to the shaft when the load on the shovel is emptied. A method of using the shovel is disclosed.

There is a continuing need and desire to produce lifting instruments which can lift heavy loads without placing undue physical strain on the person doing the lifting. This is particulary true of shoveling snow where many times elderly folk do the shoveling and place undue strain on their back as well as their heart. The shovel of this invention is designed to allow the user to shovel the snow without placing undue strain on the back or the heart.
The problem presented in shoveling snow is the raising of the snow to dump it. The snow has to be raised to about waist level. That is what puts a strain on the back. Once the snow is gotten to about waist level, it is relatively easy to sling the snow to one side for disposal.


A method of converting first data into second data includes: determining a target symbol corresponding to the first data by utilizing a determining unit; and generating the second data corresponding to the determined target symbol. One of the first data and the second data is a syntax element, and the other of the first data and the second data is an entropy-coded result of the syntax element. The target symbol corresponding to the first data is determined adaptively according to occurrence probability of candidate syntax element values of the syntax element.

The disclosed embodiments of the present invention relate to image processing, and more particularly, to methods of utilizing tables adaptively updated for coding/decoding and related processing circuits thereof.
Regarding the video coding, a prediction block may be found in an intra-prediction mode. A prediction residue is derived from a difference between the found prediction block and a block to be encoded. Next, a transform (e.g., a block-based transform) operation is performed for transforming the prediction residue into a transform domain, and then a quantization operation is applied to a transform result. As a result, a two-dimensional matrix consisted of quantized transform coefficients is generated. The quantized transform coefficients are required to be coded as compactly as possible prior to storage and transmission. As the quantized transform coefficients include a few non-zero coefficients and a large number of zero-valued coefficients, reordering the quantized transform coefficients for grouping together non-zero coefficients is performed prior to the entropy coding. A scanning order is therefore required for converting the two-dimensional coefficient matrix into a one-dimensional coefficient array which has quantized transform coefficients reordered to group together non-zero coefficients. Regarding the video decoding, the same scanning order should be maintained and used for converting the one-dimensional coefficient array into the two-dimensional coefficient matrix for further entropy decoding. To put it simply, as the performance of grouping together non-zero coefficients depends upon the scanning order, how to properly set the scanning order becomes an important issue for designers in the pertinent field.
The entropy coding is widely needed in the video coding. For example, syntax elements, such as macroblock type, intra-prediction mode, transform coefficients, etc., are coded into an entropy-coded bitstream suitable for transmission and storage. Regarding a particular coding scenario, syntax elements are coded into codewords directly. However, such a coding manner may not be suitable for all possible coding scenarios. Regarding the entropy decoding widely needed in the video decoding, a proper decoding manner should be used for directly decoding the codewords into syntax elements. Similarly, such a decoding manner may not be suitable for all possible decoding scenarios. Thus, there is a need for a universal entropy coding/decoding method which can be applied to any coding/decoding scenario.

Methods of utilizing tables adaptively updated for coding/decoding and related processing circuits thereof


A computer-controlled automotive air conditioning system comprises an air conditioning unit which, when operated, produces a conditioned air fed to a passenger room of the vehicle. An outside temperature sensor, an inside temperature sensor, a temperature setter switch, a solar radiation sensor and an intake air temperature sensor are arranged for issuing first, second, third, fourth and fifth information signals. A computer-installed control unit is employed for controlling operation of the air conditioning unit in accordance with the first, second, third, fourth and fifth information signals. The computer is operated under a fuzzy system theory so that the magnitude of at least one of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth information signals is divided into a predetermined number of fuzzy labels of membership function to derive a parameter for operation of the air conditioning unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to automotive air conditioning systems and more particularly to computer-controlled automotive air conditioning systems. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with computer-controlled automotive air conditioning systems of a type which uses a fuzzy system theory for controlling the operation of the system.
2. Description of the Prior art
Hitherto, various types of computer-controlled air conditioning systems have been proposed and put into practical use particularly in the field of motor vehicles. Such conventional automotive air conditioning systems are almost of a type which uses a computer operated on PID control (viz., Proportional plus Integral plus Derivative Control).
In order to clarify the task of the present invention, one conventional computer-controlled automotive air conditioning system of such PID control will be described in brief with reference to FIG. 63 of the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIG. 63 of the accompanying drawings, there is schematically shown a control system of the conventional automotive air conditioning system, which is arranged to control the output power of an electric air blower 25 in accordance with information signals issued from various sensors and control switches. The air blower 25 is used for blowing a temperature-controlled air into the passenger room from an air conditioning unit.
In FIG. 63, denoted by numeral 1 is a switch "A/C" for energizing an air conditioning unit of the system, and denoted by numeral 2 is a switch "AUTO" for forcing the air conditioning unit to assume an automatic mode. Denoted by numeral 3 is a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the engine cooling water, and denoted by numeral 4 is a sensor "PBR" for detecting a pivot angle of an air-mix door. The air mix-door is pivotally installed in an air-mix chamber in which cold air and hot air are introduced. Thus, when the pivot angle of the air mix-door varies, the mixing rate of the hot and cold air changes thereby changing the temperature of the mixed air discharged from the air-mix chamber. Denoted by numeral 5 is a solar radiation sensor for sensing the quantity of solar radiation pouring on the vehicle body. Denoted by numeral 6 is an outside temperature sensor which senses the temperature of the surrounding air, and denoted by numeral 7 is an inside temperature sensor which senses the temperature of air in the passenger room. Denoted by numeral 8 is a blower speed control switch which, when manually handled, can fix the rotation speed of the blower motor 25 at a desired given level. Denoted by numeral 9 is a mode selection switch which selects the mode of the automatic air conditioning. More specifically, when the mode selection switch 9 is manipulated, air blowing apertures exposed to the passenger room are selected. Denoted by numeral 10 is a temperature setter switch which is manipulated by the passengers when they wish to change the room temperature.
Signals issued by the above-mentioned various sensor means 1 to 10 are introduced into a control unit 15 which comprises an input signal processing part 16, a temperature setting part 7, a temperature signal correction part 18, a microcomputer 19 and an output signal processing part 20. The signals from the sensor means 1 to 9 are fed to the input signal processing part 16, and the signal from the temperature setter switch 10 is fed to the temperature setting part 17. The signal outputted from the temperature setting part 17 is corrected by the temperature signal correcting part 18. By analyzing signals from the input signal processing part 16 and the temperature signal correction part 18, the microcomputer 19 outputs to the output signal processing part 20 a signal representative of a voltage suitable for operating the electric air blower 25. Upon receiving the signal from the microcomputer 19, the output signal processing part 20 outputs a switching signal for a transistor 22 and a control signal for another transistor 23. The voltage actually applied to the electric air blower 25 is controlled by these two transistors 22 and 23. That is, when the transistor 22 is switched ON, a relay 24 assumes ON condition. Under this condition, the electric air blower 25 runs at a high speed. While, when, with the transistor 22 being kept OFF, the other transistor 23 is in operation, the voltage actually applied to the electric air blower 25 varies in accordance with a voltage applied to the base of the transistor 23 by the output signal processing part 20. Accordingly, under this condition, the rotation speed of the blower 25 varies in accordance with the voltage of the base.
However, due to its inherent construction, the above-mentioned computer-controlled automotive air conditioning system has the following drawbacks.
(1) It is difficult to precisely control the rotation speed of the electric air blower 25 in accordance with a change in the environment which surrounds the vehicle. In fact, even when the environment of the vehicle changes, the rotation speed of the blower 25 is kept unchanged so long as the air-mix door keeps the same angular position.
(2) In the above-mentioned type of the air conditioning system, it tends to occur that the control of the system is oversensitive to the quantity of solar radiation. That is, in such type, each time the vehicle runs into or from the shadows of trees and clouds, the control mode is forced to meaninglessly change.
(3) In a type wherein a delayed control takes place when the temperature of the outside air is rising, such control may take place when the vehicle runs down from a higher place of lower temperature to a lower place of higher temperature. Of course, such delayed control is not necessary under such down-hill cruising.
(4) It is difficult to control the air conditioning system in accordance with the sensitivity or feeling possessed by the passengers. That is, in summer, it is preferable to make the fluctuation of the room temperature smaller than in winter upon changing a target room temperature, because in summer the passengers are thinly dressed and thus much sensitive to the temperature. However, the conventional control can not deal with this preferability.
(5) In a type wherein an intake door is installed in an outside air induction passage for varying the amount of outside air fed to the passenger room in accordance with an instruction from the computer 19, tuning of the intake door is difficult. If the tuning is improperly made, undesired "cycling" phenomenon tends to occur. That is, in such case, switching between outside air induction mode and inside air induction mode is overly and meaninglessly repeated.
(6) In the type wherein the temperature of air blown into the passenger room is controlled using the quantity of solar radiation as a control parameter, it is usual to determine the target temperature of the air blown into the passenger room by linearly processing the quantity of solar radiation. However, this linear processing tends to cause the temperature actually provided in the passenger room to differ from the temperature to which the feeling of passengers matches. That is, to a passenger who can easily bear coolness, it is preferable to allow the temperature control of the air blowing to be somewhat largely affected by the quantity of solar radiation, and at the time when in winter the passenger room is warmed, it is also preferable to allow the temperature control of the blown air to be largely affected by the quantity of solar radiation for protecting the passengers from having a rush of blood to the head. However, the conventional control can not deal with such preferability.
(7) In a type wherein the control of the air conditioning system uses as one parameter the temperature sensed by a temperature sensor installed in an aspirator duct through which the air in the passenger room flows back to the air conditioning unit, it tends to occur that due to the thermal capacity possessed by the aspirator duct the temperature sensor fails to make a prompt reply to a temperature change of the air which is flowing in the aspirator duct. That is, it takes a little time until the temperature sensor issues a signal which represents the exact temperature of the air. This causes a delayed control of the air conditioning system.

Computer-controlled automotive air conditioning system with fuzzy inference


A method for restoring a dielectric constant of a layer of a silicon-containing dielectric material having a first dielectric constant and at least one surface, wherein the first dielectric constant of the layer of silicon-containing dielectric material has increased to a second dielectric constant, the method comprising the steps of: contacting the at least one surface of the layer of silicon-containing dielectric material with a silicon-containing fluid; and exposing the at least one surface of the layer of silicon-containing dielectric material to an energy source selected from the group consisting of: UV radiation, heat, and an electron beam, wherein the layer of silicon-containing dielectric material has a third dielectric constant that is lower than the second dielectric constant after exposing the layer of silicon-containing dielectric material to the energy source.

The present invention relates to a method for restoring and/or enhancing the material properties of a dielectric material. More particularly, the invention relates to a method for restoring hydrophobicity to the surfaces of low dielectric films which have been subjected to an etching or ashing treatment in such a way as to remove at least a portion of previously existing carbon containing moieties, resulting in a film having reduced hydrophobicity and increased dielectric constant. Such films are used as insulating materials in the manufacture of semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits ("ICs").
As semiconductor devices scale to lower technology nodes, the requirement for lower and lower dielectric constant (k) has been identified to mitigate RC delay. Similarly, as feature sizes in integrated circuits are reduced, problems with power consumption and signal cross-talk have become increasingly difficult to resolve. To achieve lower k (2.6 to 3.0) in dense inorganic materials, carbon has been added to reduce the polarizability thus reducing k. To achieve ultra low k (<2.4) materials, porosity is typically added to the carbon-rich dense matrix. While the introduction of carbon and porosity have reduced k, new challenges during back end of the line (BEOL) processing have also been identified. Specifically during processes such as, for example, etching and ashing, reactive gases have been found to damage the carbon at the surface of dense materials. Other processes such as, for example, wet chemical stripping, CMP, and post-CMP cleaning are also known to damage the surface carbon. Porous low k's suffer more catastrophic effects from reactive etch and ash gases due to diffusion through the film, which causes a greater extent of damage throughout the film. Once the carbon has been removed from the films, the films react with atmospheric moisture and hydroxylate. These hydroxyls adsorb and hydrogen bond with water. Because water has a dielectric constant of about 70, small amounts that are absorbed for dense materials and adsorbed for porous materials cause the dielectric constant to increase significantly. Also, porous materials tend to void after copper annealing due to the high tensile stress fields which will destroy device yields.
It is believed that the integration of low dielectric constant materials for interlevel dielectric (ILD) and intermetal dielectric (IMD) applications will help to solve these problems. While there have been previous efforts to apply low dielectric constant materials to integrated circuits, there remains a longstanding need in the art for further improvements in processing methods and in the optimization of both the dielectric and mechanical properties of such materials. Device scaling in future integrated circuits clearly requires the use of low dielectric constant materials as a part of the interconnect structure. Most candidates for low dielectric constant materials for use in sub-100 nm generation ICs are carbon containing SiO2 films formed by either CVD or spin-on methods. During subsequent processing steps, such as plasma etching and photoresist removal using plasma or wet strip methods, significant damage occurs to these low-k materials, which causes fluorine addition and carbon depletion from the low-k material adjacent to the etched surface. In addition to a higher effective k, the resultant structures are susceptible to void formation, outgassing and blister formation. The voids in turn may cause an increase in leakage current at elevated voltages and reduction in breakdown voltage. Accordingly, there is a desire in the art to repair damage caused to a porous SiCOH-based low-k material.
One way to approach this challenge is to repair the damaged area on dense surfaces, or in the case of porous materials on the surface of the film as well as the internal pore walls with a re-methylating compound called a restoration agent. Restoration agents react with the damaged hydroxylated surfaces to re-alkylate or re-arylate them which in-turn restores the dielectric constant. The following reaction describes an exemplary re-methylation process: SiOH (damaged surface)+RxSi(Cl)y (restoration agent) yields SiOSiRx (repaired surface)+(HCl)y (hydrochloric acid). In the case of porous damaged internal pore wall surfaces, the re-methylation prevents void formation. Many times, the use of a restoration agent allows for conventional etch, ash, and wet cleaning processes to be utilized with low and ultra low dielectric constant materials. The treatment could result in replenishment of carbon to the low-k film, thereby restoring hydrophobicity and resistance to further damage. Additionally, it would be desirable if the repaired low-k material was found to be resistant to void formation, which generally occurs in untreated porous low-k inter-level dielectric regions during copper annealing processes. Re-methylating compounds or silylating agents (which are examples of restoration agents) can methylate the surface of SiO2 based materials. Contemplated exposure includes vapor exposure (with or without plasma), aerosol exposure, spin coating and supercritical CO2. Normally, organosilicate glass (OSG) porous low-k materials are susceptible to void formation in ILD during Cu damascene processing. After treatment with a restoration agent, the resulting structure is significantly more resistant to void formation. Without being bound to any specific theory or mechanism, it is believed that plasma damage causes carbon depletion in the dielectric, by replacing Si—CH3 bonds with Si—OH or SiH bonds depending upon the type of plasmas used, e.g oxidizing and reducing, respectively. In damaged porous dielectrics, the pore surface is now covered with Si—OH bonds. In the presence of tensile stress (such as after Cu annealing), adjacent Si—OH groups can condense, thus causing local densification. The evolving reaction products and the stretching of the molecules due to the new links formed, causes voids to occur near the center of the ILD space. Restoration agents prevent void formation by replacing most Si—OH bonds by Si—O—Si—Rx bonds, which avoid condensation reactions. Therefore void formation does not occur.
Treatment with a restoration agent performed after dielectric trench and via formation using etching, ashing, and wet chemical processes repairs carbon depletion and damage to the low-k materials. By this means, voids are deterred and the low-k materials can withstand internal stresses caused by annealing treatments to the metal filling the trenches and vias.
Treatment with a restoration agent is typically conducted by exposing the wafer surface to the silylating agent in liquid or gas form for a period sufficient to complete the reaction with the damaged low-k region. Optionally, a high temperature bake can be performed to remove remaining solvent and excess restoration agent. Also, optionally, a wet cleaning operation can be performed immediately before the restoration agent application using a material that is chemically compatible with the low-k dielectric material. Additionally a dehydration bake may be performed before the restoration agent treatment to increase effectiveness of the restoration agent.
The effectiveness of the restoration agent can be verified using unpatterned low-k dielectric films subjected to etching and ashing processing followed by treatment with the restoration agent. A successful treatment with a restoration agent results in increased carbon concentration that can be measured by FTIR, EDX, SIMS, or XPS techniques. Additionally, a water contact angle increase is seen after the application of the restoration agent, which demonstrates the hydrophobic nature of the post-treated surface. The restoration agent treated film also shows a lower dielectric constant extracted from C—V measurements, compared to an etched/ashed film that is not treated with restoration agent. In patterned wafers, the effectiveness of the restoration agent treatment is demonstrated by reduction or elimination of voids in the low-k dielectric in narrow spaces between Cu trenches after a copper anneal treatment following electroplating of copper, and also by lower profile change in trenches or vias after exposure to reactive solvents.
U.S. patent application Publication No. 2006/0057855 A1 to Ramos et al. ("the 855 publication") discloses a "toughening agent" composition for increasing the hydrophobicity of an organosilicate glass dielectric film when applied to said film. According to the 855 publication, the toughening agent includes a component capable of alkylating or arylating silanol moieties of the organosilicate glass dielectric film via silylation, and an activating agent selected from the group consisting of an amine, an onium compound and an alkali metal hydroxide. The 855 publication discloses that the toughening treatment is conducted by exposing the wafer surface to the silylating agent in liquid or gas form for a period sufficient to complete the reaction with the damaged low-k region. The 855 publication further discloses that the toughening treatment can also be conducted in the presence of a plasma derived from, for example, a silane compound, however, no such procedure is exemplified. The use of such plasma in a restoration process, however, is likely to suffer from significant drawbacks.
Plasma chemistry is a useful methodology employed in the manufacture of integrated circuit and other electronic devices to deposit and modify film chemistry for a variety of functions within the layers of dielectric material. Plasmas are employed, for example, to deposit interlayer dielectric materials, barrier materials, and capping materials. Other uses include the modification of surfaces using oxidative or reductive atmospheres to increase the surface roughness or change the chemistry in the surface to increase the adhesion between two films, e.g., metal barriers to interlayer dielectric materials or capping materials to copper lines. For the restoration of low dielectric materials after RIE, ashing, and wet cleaning, plasmas may not be the best solution.
Many of the chemistries used to repair dielectric materials will deposit a film under thermal or plasma enhanced CVD processes. Deposition is not necessarily desirable since it may affect the critical dimensions of the feature and may cause issues during packaging due to adhesion and cracking. Similarly, the pore size of many of the dielectric materials ranges from 10-30 Å, therefore small molecules of this dimension are required to insure that the restoration penetrates the damaged portions of the film. Since plasmas are energetic energy sources, there may be gas phase polymerization of the restoration chemistry resulting in molecular sizes greater than the pore size of the dielectric material. These polymerized species will only react at the upper surfaces of the film and not restore the electrical and composition of the entire damaged layer. Two other potential issues with the use of plasmas are: the plasma may cause additional damage to the film due to ion bombardment; and the plasma relies on the ions and other neutral species in the line of site of the features being formed and may minimally interact on the sidewalls of the trenches and vias where it is crucial to repair the damage, i.e., diffusion of plasma generated species may be slow. Plasmas also have the ability to roughen surfaces which may not be desirable for the sidewalls of trenches and vias.
Moreover, with either gas phase or liquid phase restoration processes, a potential exists for leaving residue or chemical species trapped within the dielectric material, particularly during BEOL processing. Although the surfaces of the film are made hydrophobic and the dielectric constant restored by applying silylating chemistries, the silylating species is known to become trapped in the dielectric layer followed by unwanted outgassing during subsequent processing steps, especially those steps that occur at elevated temperatures such as, for example, thermal cycling between temperatures of about 50° C. and about 450° C. Such outgassing causes defects (e.g., pinholes, adhesion, and delamination) created by vapors escaping from the dielectric material during the deposition of metal barriers and capping layers which typically leads to the re-adsorption of water, copper migration into the dielectric layer, and adsorption of other atmospheric contaminants. Each of these issues will cause decreased reliability and modify the performance of the final device. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method for restoring dielectric properties of a dielectric material that does not suffer from the above-identified drawbacks.

Activated chemical process for enhancing material properties of dielectric films


For each of a plurality of the work items, at least a first parameter to be associated with the work item can be received and associated with the work item. Each of the plurality of work items can be compiled in a work item list. In response to receiving a request to present the work item list to the user, the work item list can be filtered, via a processor, based on the first parameter and at least a second parameter associated with the user that corresponds to the first parameter. The filtered work item list can be presented to the user.

One or more arrangements described herein relate to computer information systems and, more particularly, to agile software development.
Agile software development is a group of software development methods. These methods are based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. Agile software development promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development and delivery, and encourages rapid and flexible response to change. In this regard, it is a conceptual framework that promotes interactions throughout the development cycle.
Scrum is an example of a software development framework that leverages agile software development to manage software projects, such as product or application development. Scrum implements methods of empirical process control for project management in situations where it is difficult to plan ahead. Scrum's approach to planning and managing projects is to bring decision-making authority to the level of operation properties and certainties. In lieu of traditional command-and-control management, Scrum uses feedback loops that constitute a core management technique.
Scrum is based on a team model, including personnel both for core roles and ancillary roles. The core roles typically include a product owner, a development team and a scrum master. The product owner represents the stakeholders and presents their input to the team. The development team is responsible for delivering potentially shippable product increments at the end of each sprint. The scrum master is accountable for removing impediments to the ability of the team to deliver the sprint goal/deliverables. A test and evaluation team also can be a core role if the development team does not perform test and evaluation. The ancillary roles typically include the stakeholders (e.g., customers, venders, etc.) and managers who control the work environment.
A "sprint" is the basic unit of development in Scrum. A sprint is a timeboxed effort. In other words, it is restricted to a specific duration. The duration usually is fixed in advance for each sprint. During each sprint, a team creates finished portions of a product. The set of features that go into a sprint are specified by a product backlog, which is an ordered list of requirements.

Presenting a filtered list of work items

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A fan assembly in which all of the major structural components of the assembly are mechanically fastened together by non-welding means, such as mechanical fasteners, is disclosed. The disclosure also relates to a fan assembly in which the major structural components have planar segments separated by bend lines that approximate a curved shape, and that can be formed, for example, by a press brake machine. Such a construction can eliminate the necessity for rolling, welding, and painting of the structural components of the fan assembly.

Fan assemblies for providing an airflow stream are known. One type of fan assembly is an in-line fan assembly including a housing containing a fan rotor for moving an airflow stream through the housing. Many in-line fan assembly housings are cylindrical in shape which requires specialized manufacturing equipment and processes in addition to limiting the types of materials that can be used. For example, in order to construct a traditional cylindrical fan housing, several pieces of equipment are required including: a roller, a seam welder, and a flanger. Secondary components that require connection to the main structure (i.e. motor plate, bearing plate, turning vanes, etc.) can also require welding. Due to the significant welding amounts, tubular designs are traditionally constructed from hot-rolled steel, thereby additionally requiring paint. Other higher strength materials, such as stainless steel, are not as frequently used due to the difficulty of manufacturing tubes and curved shapes from such materials. Accordingly, improvements in fan assemblies are desired.


The invention is notably directed to a computing system configured to perform linear algebraic operations. The computing system comprises a co-processing module comprising a co-processing unit. The co-processing unit comprises a parallel array of bit-serial processing units. The bit-serial processing units are adapted to perform the linear algebraic operations with variable precision. The invention further concerns a related computer implemented method and a related computer program product.

The disclosure relates to a computing system for performing linear algebraic operations. The disclosure further relates to a method for performing linear algebraic operations and a computer program product for performing linear algebraic operations.
Linear algebraic operations are a fundamental computational primitive and include in particular matrix-matrix multiplications. The latter primitive is of particular interest as it forms the basis of several linear algebraic operations and it is one of the most commonly used mathematical operations in science and engineering. A matrix is usually represented by a two-dimensional array of matrix elements and a vector by a one-dimensional array of vector elements. A matrix may be considered as array of vectors.
Accordingly there is a need for computing systems that support linear algebraic operations.

International Business Machines Corporation


Disclosed herein is a method which enables permanent current junction of a tape-type oxide superconducting wire and suppresses reduction of its critical current. An end portion of a tape-type wire (10) to be joined is removed to expose oxide superconductor filaments. Another tape-type wire (10') to be joined with the wire (10) is processed in a similar manner. The tape-type wires (10, 10') are so superposed that the surfaces exposing the filaments face with each other, and the superposed portions are pressed in a direction perpendicular to principal surfaces of the tapes and heat treated at a temperature of 800.degree. to 900.degree. C., to be completely joined with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of joining superconducting wires using an oxide high-temperature superconductive material, and more particularly, it relates to a method of joining superconducting multi-filament wires with each other and a method of joining a superconducting multi-filament wire with a superconducting single-filament wire.
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, ceramic superconductors, i.e., oxide superconductors are watched as superconductive materials exhibiting higher critical temperatures. Among such materials, yttrium, bismuth and thallium superconductors, which have high critical temperatures of about 90 K., 110 K. and 120 K. respectively, are expected for practical use. In relation to such high-temperature superconductive materials, long superconducting wires have been developed for application to a cable, a bus bar, a power lead, a coil and the like.
As to junction of superconducting wires which are formed by oxide high-temperature superconductors covered with a stabilizing metal such as silver, Sato et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,397 discloses a method using an alloy preferably containing a bivalent metal element belonging to the group IIA or IIB of the periodic table. According to this method, the alloy is interposed between superconducting wires and to join the wires with each other by brazing. This method brings a joint portion of low resistance. In the portions joined with each other through the alloy, however, resistance remains at the critical temperature of the oxide high-temperature superconductors. Therefore, this method is unsuitable for junction for holding a high critical current density or permanent current junction formed in a coil or the like.
In application of a superconducting wire, on the other hand, a multi-filament wire which is resistant against bending distortion is an extremely advantageous material. When such a multi-filament wire is applied to a coil or the like, identical or different types of wires must necessarily be joined with each other, while permanent current junction is required particularly in a permanent current coil.
In view of the aforementioned background, the present invention has been proposed noting junction of a superconducting wire using an oxide high-temperature superconductor.

Method of joining superconducting wire using oxide high-temperature superconductor


A method for selectively etching one exposed material of a substrate relative to another exposed material of the substrate includes a) arranging the substrate in a processing chamber; b) setting a chamber pressure; c) setting an RF frequency and an RF power for RF plasma; d) supplying a plasma gas mixture to the processing chamber; e) striking the RF plasma in the processing chamber in one of an electric mode (E-mode) and a magnetic mode (H-mode); and f) during plasma processing of the substrate, changing at least one of the chamber pressure, the RF frequency, the RF power and the plasma gas mixture to switch from the one of the E-mode and the H-mode to the other of the E-mode and the H-mode.

The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Substrate processing systems may be used to etch film on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. The substrate processing systems typically include a processing chamber, a gas distribution device and a substrate support. Examples of substrate processing systems for etching include transformer coupled plasma (TCP), inductive coupled plasma (ICP) and capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) systems.
During processing, the substrate is arranged on the substrate support. Different gas mixtures may be introduced into the processing chamber and radio frequency (RF) plasma may be used to activate chemical reactions. In some semiconductor manufacturing processes, several types of film may be exposed during an etching step. Normally, the etching process etches the various types of film at the same or similar etching rates.
Some semiconductor manufacturing processes may require one type of film on a substrate to be etched more than other types of film on the substrate. This type of etching is called selective etching since the etching process etches one film with little or no removal or damage to one or more other types of film. Highly selective etching is very desirable for some steps of the semiconductor manufacturing process. Examples of film that may need to be etched selectively include silicon nitride (SiN), polysilicon, pure silicon and silicon dioxide (SiO2).

Systems and methods for selectively etching film


Provided is a method for producing an optically active compound, in more detail, for producing an optically active compound by asymmetric hydrogenation in a high yield and asymmetric yield. The present invention also provides a catalyst for asymmetric synthesis for the above production method, especially a catalyst for asymmetric hydrogenation, containing a transition metal complex. Further, the present invention provides a new diphosphine compound useful as a ligand of the above transition metal complex and a new transition metal complex containing the above diphosphine compound.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel diphosphine compound characterized by introducing an oxygen-containing functional group bonded via an oxygen atom such as an alkoxy group to the benzene rings of an optically active diphosphine compound having two benzene rings of a biphenyl skeleton at the 4- and 4′-positions thereof, a transition metal complex containing said diphosphine compound, a catalyst for an asymmetric synthesis comprising said transition metal complex, and a method for producing an optically active compound characterized by subjecting an unsaturated compound to an asymmetric reduction in the presence of said transition metal complex.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, an asymmetric synthesis using a transition metal complex containing a diphosphine ligand has been desired a formulation of various diphosphine ligands so as to improve the performance of the reaction. Patent literature 1, for example, discloses various diphosphine ligands having a ((5,6),(5′,6′)-bis(methylenedioxy)biphenyl-2,2′-diyl) group, specifically ((5,6),(5′,6′)-bis(methylenedioxy)biphenyl-2,2′-diyl)bis(diphenylphosphine) (hereinafter referred to as SEGPHOS).
Patent literature 2 describes an asymmetric diphosphine compound introducing a methoxy group to a benzene ring that is different from methylenedioxybenzene, however, it does not describe an example of synthesis of the asymmetric diphosphine compound introducing a methoxy group, nor an example of synthesis of a symmetric diphosphine compound introducing a methoxy group, nor a reaction example of an asymmetric hydrogenation using the diphosphine compound as a ligand.
Non-patent literature 1 describes synthesis of a SEGPHOS derivative formed by substituting a methylene proton of methylenedioxybenzene with fluorine and its application to asymmetric hydrogenation as a ruthenium complex, but does not show any practical data thereof. Non-patent literature 2 describes synthesis of a SEGPHOS derivative formed by substituting a methylene proton of methylenedioxybenzene with an alkyl group and its application to asymmetric hydrogenation as a ruthenium complex, but hardly contributes to improvement of asymmetric recognition.
Patent literature 3 describes a ligand substituting at the 3- and 3′-positions, and patent literature 2 describes a ligand having different modes of substitution in two benzene rings, however, both ligands have a complicated synthesis route and are difficult to use industrially due to an insufficient substrate/catalyst ratio of about 100 in the symmetric hydrogenation.    Patent literature 1: JP-A-10-182678    Patent literature 2: WO 02/40492 pamphlet    Patent literature 3: WO 02/40491 pamphlet    Non-patent literature 1: Synthesis, 2004, 326    Non-patent literature 2: Tetrahedron: Asymmetry, 2004, 15, 2185

Substituted optically active disphosphine compound

Abstract: The present invention relates to a diphosphine compound represented by the following formula (1):

Abstract: a transition metal complex using the compound, a catalyst for asymmetric synthesis comprising the above transition metal complex and a method for producing an optically active compound using the above catalyst for asymmetric synthesis.