A phase change memory cell includes a MOS select transistor having a gate coupled to a word line, and a source and drain region coupled between first and second bit lines, respectively. A first phase change element is coupled between the first bit line and the source region of the MOS select transistor. A method of reading a selected cell in the array is provided by evaluating a body effect impact of a state of the phase change element associated with the selected cell on a MOS select transistor.

In the case of conventional memory devices, in particular conventional semiconductor memory devices, it is sometimes common to differentiate between functional memory devices (e.g., PLAs, PALs, etc.) and table memory devices. For example, some table memory devices include ROM devices (Read Only Memory) such as PROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, flash memories, etc., and RAM devices (Random Access Memory or read-write memory) such as DRAMs and SRAMs.
In the case of SRAMs (Static Random Access Memory), individual memory cells consist of several, for example, six, transistors configured as a cross-coupled latch. In the case of DRAMs (Dynamic Random Access Memory), generally only one single, correspondingly controlled capacitive element (e.g., the gate-source capacitance of a MOSFET) is employed, wherein charge may be stored in the capacitance. The charge in a DRAM, however, remains for only a short time, and a periodic refresh must be performed, to maintain a data state. In contrast to the DRAM, the SRAM requires no refresh, and the data stored in the memory cell remains stored as long as an appropriate supply voltage is fed to the SRAM. Both SRAMs and DRAMs are considered volatile memories, wherein a data state is only retained as long as power is supplied thereto.
In contrast to volatile memory, non-volatile memory devices (NVMs), e.g., EPROMs, EEPROMs, and flash memories, exhibit a different property, wherein the stored data is retained even when the supply voltage associated therewith is switched off. This type of memory has several advantages for various types of mobile communications devices such as, for example, in an electronic rolodex on cell phones, wherein the data therein is retained even when the cell phone is turned off.
One type of non-volatile memory that has recently been developed is called resistive or resistively switched memory devices. In such a resistive memory, a memory material positioned between two appropriate electrodes (i.e., an anode and a cathode) is placed, by appropriate switching processes, in a more or less conductive state, wherein the more conductive state corresponds to a logic "1", and the less conductive state corresponds to a logic "0", for example (or vice versa). Suitable resistive memories can be, for example, perovskite memory, as described in W. W. Zhuamg et al, "Novell Colossal Magnetoresistive Thin Film Nonvolatile Resistance Random Access Memory (RRAM)", IEDM 2002, resistive switching in binary oxides (OxRAM), as, for example, described in I. G. Baek et.al., "Multi-layer crosspoint binary oxide resistive memory (OxRAM) for post-NAND storage application", IEDM 2005, or phase change memory.
In the case of phase change memory, an appropriate chalcogenide compound (e.g., a GeSbTe or an AgInSbTe compound) may, for instance, be used as the active material that is positioned between the two corresponding electrodes. The chalcogenide compound material can be placed in an amorphous, i.e., relatively weakly conductive, or a crystalline, i.e., relatively strongly conductive state by means of appropriate switching processes, and thus behaves like a variable resistance element, which as highlighted above, may be exploited as differing data states.
In order to achieve a change in the phase change material from an amorphous state to a crystalline state, an appropriate heating current can be applied to the electrodes, wherein the current heats the phase change material beyond the crystallization temperature thereof. This operation is sometimes called a SET operation. Similarly, a change of state from a crystalline state to an amorphous state may be achieved by application of an appropriate heating current pulse, wherein the phase change material is heated beyond the melting temperature thereof, and the amorphous state is obtained during the rapid cooling process thereof. This operation is sometimes called a RESET operation. The combination of SET and RESET operations is one means by which data can be written to a phase change memory cell.
Conventionally, phase change memory devices were organized in one or more arrays of phase change cells in a core area of the device, wherein each phase change memory cell was composed of a phase change memory element coupled to a selection switching device. One conventional arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein a phase change element 10 is coupled between a bit line 12 and a bipolar select transistor 14. A word line 16 is coupled to the base terminal of the transistor 14. By properly addressing the bit line 12 and word line 16 associated therewith, data may be written thereto and read therefrom. An array of phase change memory cells configured in the manner described above is sometimes called a NOR type memory array.
It is often desirable to increase the density in a memory, that is, to increase the amount of data that can be stored within a given area. In some instances, attempts have been made to increase memory density by storing multiple bits of data within a single memory cell. Such a solution in phase change memory cells, however, disadvantageously results in an increase in power consumption when reading data from or writing data to the cell. Consequently, another solution to increase the memory density is to reduce the physical size of an individual memory cell.
One attempt to reduce the size of an individual phase change memory cell employed a cross-point array-like structure, where a bit line and a word line are used to select a phase change cell using an additional two-port element that was similar to a diode. This solution, however, suffers from a variety of disadvantages such a signal integrity, and difficulties arise in the integration of the diode-like structure into a standard process flow. Therefore there is a need in the art for improved memory cell architectures for phase change memory devices.

Integrated circuit including resistivity changing material element


In a dispersion for electrophoretic display, used in an electrophoretic display device having i) charged electrophoretic particles and ii) a dispersion medium in which the charged electrophoretic particles stand dispersed, the dispersion medium contains at least one of an ethylene acrylate copolymer and a styrene copolymer. The styrene copolymer is in a content of from 0.0001 part by weight to 3 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the dispersion medium.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dispersion for electrophoretic display and an electrophoretic display device making use of the dispersion for electrophoretic display, which performs display by movement of charged electrophoretic particles between electrodes.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, with advancement of information machinery, there is an increasing need for display devices of low power consumption and small thickness, and research and development are energetically made on display devices adapted for such need. In particular, liquid crystal display devices can change optical characteristics of liquid crystal by controlling the alignment of liquid crystal molecules electrically, and they have energetically been developed and have been commertialized as display devices that can accord with the above need.
From the viewpoints of low power consumption and less tasking eyesight, hopes are entertained of reflection type display devices. As one of them, the electrophoretic display device invented by Harold D. Lees et al. is known in the art (U.S. Pat. No. 3,612,758). Besides, an electrophoretic-display device is also disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-185087. This electrophoretic display device is described below.
FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate an example of the structure of such an electrophoretic display device (an example in which particles move horizontally). The electrophoretic display device of this type is constituted of a pair of substrates 13a and 13b disposed leaving a stated space between them, a dispersion medium 12 with which the space between the substrates is filled, charged electrophoretic particles 11 stand dispersed in the dispersion medium 12, a first electrode 14a and a second electrode 14b which are so disposed as to lie along one substrate 13b, partition walls 15 so disposed as to divide the space between the substrates 13a and 13b for each pixel, and an insulating layer 16.
In this device, the charged electrophoretic particles 11 are kept charged to positive polarity or negative polarity (those shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B are kept charged to positive polarity), and hence they migrate electrically to either of the electrodes 14a and 14b in accordance with the polarity of a voltage applied to the electrodes 14a and 14b. Areas in which the charged electrophoretic particles 11 and the electrodes 14a and 14b are disposed stand colored, and hence the display device can display an image as a whole.
FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an example of an electrophoretic display device in which particles move vertically. In FIG. 6A, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 5A denote like constituent members. In the device shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the dispersion medium 12 is colored a color different from the charged electrophoretic particles 11 so that an image can be displayed. In either of the electrophoretic display devices shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B, the distance between both substrates is kept constant by the partition walls 15. As the result, these electrophoretic display devices can perform high-contrast display at reflection-type angles of view.
In such electrophoretic display devices, there is a problem that the charged electrophoretic particles may agglomerate with time of electrophoresis or the charged electrophoretic particles may adhere to electrode surfaces and inner-wall surfaces, to cause a lowering of contrast. Thus, from the viewpoint of improving display stability, their performance is desired to be more improved.
In order to improve the display stability of electrophoretic display devices, various proposals have been made.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-105990 discloses a proposal that, charged electrophoretic particles of 0.001 μm to 0.1 μm in diameter are used so as to maintain the dispersibility of particles stably by the aid of the Brownian movement of charged electrophoretic particles.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-53224 discloses a proposal that a vibrator fitted to a cell which makes charged electrophoretic particles undergo electrophoresis is used so as to keep the particles from agglomerating or keep the particles from adhering to the electrode surfaces and inner-wall surfaces, to maintain display quality for a long time.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-227612 discloses a proposal that hollow resin particles coated with a pigment or pigment particles made hollow or porous are used as charged electrophoretic particles to make small the difference in specific gravity between the particles and the dispersion medium to improve long-term dispersibility of the particles.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-25139 discloses a proposal that charged electrophoretic particles or electrode substrates are coated with a fluorine resin so as to keep the particles from agglomerating or keep the particles from adhering to the electrode surfaces to obtain a practical display device.
These proposals, however, can not be said to have sufficiently solved the above problem.

Dispersion for electrophoretic display, and electrophoretic display device


An automatic retrieval system for retrieving selected articles, such as articles of clothing, provided on hangers at predetermined storage locations arranged in rows includes a transporter moving along a path above the row of storage locations for transporting retrieved articles to a delivery point. The transporter has a pivotal arm for moving retrieved hangers clear of the other hanging articles and for rotating the retrieved hangers so as to be transported end-on, thus producing a compact storage/retrieval facility. A pick-off/gripping device is provided at the end of the transporter arm for disengaging the selected hangers from the storage location at which they are held. Where the hangers are suspended from slots in a rail, the transporter may carry magnetic field detectors for detecting the open tops of the slots.

The present invention relates to an automatic retrieval system. More particularly, the invention concerns the automatic retrieval of one or more selected items from among a set of items stored at respective known locations.
The following description is given in terms of the automatic retrieval of selected garments retained on hangers in a storage area; however, is to be understood that the invention is more generally applicable.
There are several known systems for the storage and automatic retrieval of garments. Such systems may be broadly classified into two groups by reference to the type of retrieval system which is used.
In the first group of systems, the garments are provided in a movable storage facility so that the whole set of storage locations moves (usually by rotation) until a selected garment is adjacent to a delivery point where it is manually or automatically picked off. An example of a system in this first category is described in British patent No. 1107988. In the second group of systems, the garments are provided at stationary storage locations and there is a retrieval device which is moved to the known location of a selected garment, picks off the selected garment and then delivers it to a delivery point. An example of a system of the second type is described in British patent No. 1317306.
In general the second type of storage and retrieval system is preferable over the first type because less power is required and quicker retrieval is obtained by moving only the retrieval device rather than moving the whole set of stored garments.
In the system described in GB 1317306 the garments are arranged on hangers which are suspended on storage rails via hanger clips. The hanger clips have a loop at one end, an enlarged head at the other and a connecting stalk between the two ends. The hook of each hanger is threaded through the loop at the bottom end of a hanger clip. The stalk of each hanger clip is slid into a slot in a storage rail and the enlarged head at the top of the clip rests on the rail.
In this known system, rails are provided in pairs and the retrieval device is an overhead pick off gantry which moves along a straight track midway between the two rails. The motion of the gantry is microprocessor controlled so as to correctly line up the gantry with the known storage location at which a selected garment is held. Once at the correct location, a lower portion of the gantry slides sideways and lifts the head of the relevant hanger clip using the inclined plane principle. The lower gantry portion plus selected garment slides back to the running track and then the gantry is conveyed to one end of the track which serves as a delivery point. After the delivered garment is returned to a customer, the hanger clip is ejected and is then available for re-use.
Although this prior art system has been demonstrated to be operable (by being implemented as an automatic dry cleaning system and as a uniform exchange system by Autovalet Systems International), it wastes space in the gap provided between the pair of rails, and thus the system as a whole occupies an undue amount of space. Furthermore, the speed of garment retrieval is restricted in the prior art system because of the relatively great weight of the retrieval device. Also, by making use of hanger clips, the complexity of the system is increased and the weight of the load to be carried by the retrieval device is increased further, slowing garment delivery.
GB-A-2155451 describes a garment retrieval similar to that of GB 1317306. Both systems use as the retrieval device a gantry moving between and selecting garments from a parallel pair of storage rails. Also, in both systems hanger clips are used to suspend the hangers from the storage rails. However, in the system of GB-A-2155451 the hanger holding a selected garment is rotated to a position at which it is held edgewise for transportation. This is achieved by means of a rigid loop member which is carried by the retrieval device. In its normal position the loop is above the level of the storage rails. However the loop may be swung down (through the action of an electric motor carried by the retrieval device) so that the loop will push against a suspended garment and cause it to turn into the edgewise orientation.
The present invention provides an improved storage and retrieval system of the second general type described above but which is simpler, lighter and more compact than prior art systems. The light weight of the retrieval device used in embodiments of the present invention means that the speed of delivery of a selected item is considerably enhanced.
In a first aspect the present invention provides apparatus for retrieving articles from predetermined storage locations and delivering the articles to a delivery point, the articles being provided on hangers, the apparatus comprising:
a row of storage locations, each storage location being adapted to enable one or more of said hangers to be removably held there in a first orientation; PA1 control means for designating the storage location at which is located one or more of said articles to be retrieved; PA1 means for removing one or more hangers from the designated storage location, the removal means being adapted to disengage said one or more hangers from the designated storage location and to move the one or more hangers into a second orientation for transportation, the second orientation being transverse to the first orientation in which hangers are held at storage locations; and PA1 a transporter for transporting the one or more removed hangers from the designated location to the delivery point; PA1 wherein the removal means is adapted to contact the hangers to disengage the hangers from the designated storage location. PA1 a row of storage locations, each storage location being adapted to enable one or more of the hangers to be removably held there in a first orientation; PA1 control means for designating the storage location at which is located one or more of the articles to be retrieved; PA1 means for removing one or more hangers from the designated storage location, the removal means being adapted to disengage the one or more hangers from the designated storage location and to move the one or more hangers into a second orientation for transportation, the second orientation being transverse to the first orientation in which hangers are held at storage locations; and PA1 a transporter for transporting the one or more removed hangers from the designated location to the delivery point; PA1 wherein the transporter is provided with at least one sensor for detecting storage locations as they are passed by the transporter; PA1 the row of storage locations comprises a row of slots provided in a rail; and PA1 the sensor(s) provided on the transporter are magnetic field sensors arranged to detect the discontinuities caused by the tops of the slots in the rail.
An advantage provided by the first aspect of the invention is that hanging items may be retrieved by direct removal of the hanger, thus avoiding the use of intermediate hanging clips. This simplifies the overall system and somewhat lightens the load to be transported.
In a second aspect the present invention provides apparatus for retrieving articles from predetermined storage locations and delivering the articles to a delivery point, the articles being provided on hangers, the apparatus comprising:
a row of storage locations, each storage location being adapted to enable one or more of the hangers to be removably held there in a first orientation;
control means for designating the storage location at which is located one or more of the articles to be retrieved;
means for removing one or more hangers from the designated storage location, the removal means being adapted to disengage the one or more hangers from the designated storage location and to move the one or more hangers into a second orientation for transportation, the second orientation being transverse to the first orientation in which hangers are held at storage locations;
a transporter for transporting the one or more removed hangers from the designated location to the delivery point; and
a path substantially directly above the row of storage locations, the transporter being adapted to move along the path.
An advantage of the second aspect of the invention is that the transporter is lighter and more compact than in the prior art systems. This speeds retrieval and delivery of selected articles. Furthermore, in a system using multiple storage rails, the speed of retrieval of selected garments is considerably faster if there is one transporter per rail as in the present invention. This is in contrast to the prior art systems in which one transporter is used to serve a pair of rails.
In a third aspect the present invention provides apparatus for retrieving articles from predetermined storage locations and delivering the articles to a delivery point, the articles being provided on hangers, the apparatus comprising:
An advantage provided by the third aspect of the invention is that a high degree of positioning accuracy is achieved. This allows the stored articles to be spaced closer together along the storage rail.

Wigginton, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 6ED


A flexible nose support and eyeglasses thereof are disclosed. The eyeglasses include an eyeglass body and the flexible nose support. The eyeglass body has a bridge portion, and the flexible nose support has a mounting pad, at least one engaging member, and two flexible support arms, where all are integrally formed in one piece. By mounting the flexible nose support upwardly onto the bridge portion, the flexible nose support is secured to the eyeglasses.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant disclosure relates to a vision correction device and a nose support thereof; more particularly, to a flexible nose support and eyeglasses having the same.
2. Description of Related Art
As one of the primitive senses of human beings, sight (or vision) plays an important role in the daily life. However, people often suffer from the loss of vision due to aging or other inherent/acquired reasons. Optical correction device such as eyeglasses were therefore developed to alleviate certain types of impaired vision. By utilizing optical lenses of different nature, various types of eyeglasses are available to correct different types of eyesight deficiency or provide eye-protection. For example, optical glasses (i.e. short-sighted glasses, presbyopia glasses, astigmatism glasses, etc.), sunglasses, sports glasses (e.g. sandstorm glasses, UV safety glasses, etc.), goggles, ski glasses, safety glasses (e.g. welding glasses, IR laser glasses), ornamental eyeglasses, etc., each serves its specific purpose for eyesight enhancement/protection. Classifying by the material, the eyeglasses may employ glass lenses, plastic lenses, acrylic lenses, etc. Based on frame types, there are rimmed glasses, semi-rimless glasses, rimless glasses, etc. The structural design of the nose pads is essential to the wearing comfort of a user. While the structural design of nose pads may subjectively affect its aesthetics, the structural arrangement will directly affect the wearing comfort for a user. In particular, the nose support portion of the eyeglasses plays a key role in the overall comfort level.
Conventional eyeglasses often include nose pads that fit over the bridge portion for providing facial support. FIG. 1 shows conventional eyeglasses 1′ having a pair of rigidly-shaped nose pads 11. Screws (not shown) are often used on the frame unit 10′ for fixing the nose pads 11′ thereon. According to the shape of the nose, the nose pads 11′ can be adjusted correspondingly to provide wearing comfort and stability. However, the position of the threaded holes is often a tedious factor that requires careful attention in eyeglasses designed, which makes the conventional frame structure more complex and less cost-effective. Also, the angle between the nose pads 11′ is fixed, and the nose pad 11′ is attached to the eyeglasses 1′ perpendicularly. The disadvantages of this conventional design is that when the nose pads 11′ and the eyeglasses 1′ are not securely fixed to each other, the nose pads 11′ can fell off and be lost. In addition, the nose pads 11′ may not be soft enough to provide comfort to the nose.
Another common eyeglasses design utilizes integrally formed nose piece on the frame. Being made of the same rigid material as the frame unit, the hard nose piece may cause discomfort to a user. Moreover, because the nose piece is made of rigid material with limited flexibility, little to none adjustment can be made to enable better fitment to the nose.
To address the above issues, the inventor conducted related study and research and proposes the following solution as described by the instant disclosure.

Flexible nose support and eyeglasses having the same


An improved head-up display enables a user to view a light emitting display and an ambient environment simultaneously. The improved display comprises a light-transmissive block allowing the transmission of light from the ambient environment to the user""s eye through the block from a first surface to a second surface opposing the first surface. A light emitting display is located on a third surface of the block, the third surface being substantially perpendicular to the first and second surfaces. A beam splitter has a plane surface arranged at substantially 45 degrees to the first and second surfaces, so as to reflect light from the light emitting display through the second surface. A shutter is located on the first surface and is adapted to block the transmission of light from the ambient environment to the user""s eye. This provides a dark background for the light emitting display.

The present invention relates to a head-up computer display and in particular to a head-up computer display having an increased contrast range and/or an increased range of colours that may be displayed.
So-called xe2x80x9chead-upxe2x80x9d displays are well known in many different areas of usage. An early usage of such head-up displays was for the presentation of flight, navigation and weapon information in an aircraft pilot""s line of sight. This allows the pilot to see such information whilst also looking in the direction of travel of the aircraft.
Wearable computing is an effort to make computers a totally integral part of our everyday lives by embedding computers into our clothing such as, for example, shoes, or by arranging computers that can be used like clothing, for example, sunglasses. This level of access to computation will revolutionise the applications for which computers are used. Typically, such computers are about the size of a palmtop computer with wires that attach to a display that sits in front of one or both eyes.
The display for a wearable computer is a head up type. The image is projected into the eye from a small display transducer such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) that is worn on the head. A deliberate design feature of this is that the user is able to see xe2x80x9cthroughxe2x80x9d the display to the environment behind, such as the office, home, outdoors and the like. The projected image from the wearable computer is added onto the user""s view of the environment and the projected image appears to xe2x80x9cfloatxe2x80x9d in space.
This works well for many projected images, but has the disadvantage that the maximum available contrast is determined by the ambient environment behind the projected image. For dark ambient environments the contrast range will be relatively high. However, in for example, brightly lit offices, the contrast range will be severely limited. Additionally, the display cannot show any black areas of the image as black. In order to display black, the liquid crystal display tries to entirely prevent the light from the backlight from being seen by the user, so no light image is projected at these points and thus the ambient light level predominates. Additionally, for a colour display, such an arrangement has the disadvantage that it cannot display low level primary (red, green or blue) or secondary (cyan, magenta, yellow) colours. Consequently, the visibility is determined by the ambient environment. For example, if such a display is used in a room with a predominantly red background, difficultly would be experienced in distinguishing low level red data generated by the display.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art display 100 for a wearable computer. The primary image source is a small LCD 102 with its own backlight. The image produced by the LCD 102 travels through a transparent block 104 (typically made of perspex or glass), through a beam splitter 106 and impinges on a mirror 108 at the end of the block. It is reflected from the mirror 108 and hits the beam splitter 106 again, where it is merged with the incoming light 110 from the environment and reaches the user""s eye 112.
This inability to display black or low intensity colours has far-reaching implications for the application of such displays to wearable computers. An extension to the display of FIG. 1 is to add a second display for the other eye. Since each eye may receive a different image, there is potential for stereoscopic or xe2x80x9c3Dxe2x80x9d images, that is, the images can have perceived depth. However, without some means of displaying dark colours, the contrast ratio is so reduced as to limit the usefulness and effectiveness of such a system in all but the darkest environments.
M G Tomilin, A P Onokhov, N T Firsov, xe2x80x9cNew eyeglass systems with local light protection from blinding objectsxe2x80x9d, J. Opt. Technol. (USA) Vol.64, No.5 May 1997 P489-92 discloses modifications of eyeglasses with local light protection of an observer""s eyes from blinding objects, based on the use of space time light modulators using liquid crystals operating in the transmission and reflection regimes. The purpose is to use a display device to replace conventional welding goggles. The object to be welded is viewed through an LCD and the visual field is light, enabling the welder easily to view the surroundings. When an arc is struck, its position in the visual field is identified by means of a photoconductor, using a beam-splitting device and the LCD is made opaque in that area, protecting the welder""s eyes.
So it would be desirable to provide an ability to display black or low intensity colours on the displays of wearable computers.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a display enabling a user to view a light emitting display and an ambient environment simultaneously, the display comprising: a light-transmissive block allowing the transmission of light from the ambient environment to the user""s eye through the block from a first surface to a second surface opposing said first surface; a light emitting display located on a third surface of the block, the third surface being substantially perpendicular to said first and second surfaces; a beam splitter having a plane surface arranged at substantially 45 degrees to said first and second surfaces, so as to reflect light from the light emitting display through the second surface; and a shutter, located on said first surface, adapted to block the transmission of light from the ambient environment to the user""s eye, for providing a dark background for the light emitting display.
This has the advantage that when a dark area is displayed on the light emitting display, the user sees a dark area instead of seeing the light from the ambient environment without a superimposed display.
Preferably, the display further comprises a mirror located on a fourth surface of the block, the fourth surface opposing said third surface.
In another embodiment, the shutter blocks the transmission of light from the ambient environment to the user""s eye when a dark background is selected for a window of a windowed operating system. Typically, the backgrounds of text applications and of computer games may be dark and so the present invention provides the advantage that these backgrounds are correctly displayed.
Another embodiment has the shutter adapted to block the transmission of light from the ambient environment to the user""s eye over the entire area of the shutter, thereby simulating a conventional desktop display.
Another embodiment has the shutter adapted to allow the transmission of light from the ambient environment to the user""s eye over the entire area of the shutter, thereby simulating a conventional head up display.
In an alternative embodiment, for each portion of the screen, the transmission of the shutter is directly dependent on the intensity of the light emitting display for that portion of the screen. This has the advantage of providing an enhanced contrast ratio for intermediate intensity levels.
Preferably, the shutter is arranged so as to be coincident with the image from the light emitting display.
Further preferably, the shutter has a number of pixels equal to that of the light emitting display, the pixels having the same apparent size as those of the light emitting display.
In an embodiment, the light transmission of the light-transmissive block outside the pre-defined area of the shutter is substantially greater than the light transmission of the shutter in its open state. This has the advantage that the user is aware of where the background of the projected image is, regardless of the background intensity of that projected image.
The invention also provides a display system comprising a display as described above for each of the eyes of a user.

International Business Machines Corporation


A p-type InP buffer layer containing Zn in a low concentration and an undoped InP buffer layer having a carrier concentration of 3×1017 cm−3 or less are stacked on a p-type InP substrate containing Zn. On the undoped InP buffer layer, a Mg-doped p-type InP cladding layer, an InGaAsP optical confinement layer, an InGaAsP MQW active layer, an n-type InGaAsP optical confinement layer, and an n-type InP cladding layer are successively stacked. The diffusion of Zn from the p-type InP substrate into the InGaAsP MQW active layer is suppressed. Moreover, a steep doping profile can be formed in the vicinity of the active layer so that deterioration of device characteristics is suppressed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser and, more particularly, to a structure of a semiconductor laser using a p-type InP substrate.
2. Background Art
Semiconductor materials from such systems as an InGaAsP system and an AlGaInAs system are used for a material of a semiconductor laser for use in communication with a 1.3 μm band and a 1.55 μm band. These materials have bandgap energies corresponding to the above-mentioned wavelength range and can be lattice-matched to the InP of the substrate. Moreover, as a substrate of the above-mentioned semiconductor laser, a p-type substrate is in wide use. This is because an NPN type bipolar transistor operable at a high speed can be used as a driving circuit.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional InGaAsP system semiconductor laser element formed by employing a p-type substrate.
This semiconductor laser is produced by using a p-type substrate 1 containing Zn. A Zn-doped p-type InP clad layer 4, an InGaAsP optical confinement layer 5, an InGaAsP MQW (Multiple Quantum Well) 6, an n-type InGaAsP optical confinement layer 7, and an n-type InP clad layer 8 are successively stacked on the p-type substrate 1 to be formed in a film. This stacked film has slopes on both sides thereof. A p-type InP buried layer 10, an n-type InP current blocking layer 11, and a p-type current blocking layer 12 are provided outside these slopes. Moreover, an n-type InP contact layer 13 is formed on the n-type InP clad layer 8 and the p-type current blocking layer 12 so as to cover the entire area of both layers (for example, it should be referred to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-53385).


A process for forming the lower and upper electrodes of a high dielectric constant capacitor in a semiconductor device from an organoruthenium compound by chemical vapor deposition. This chemical vapor deposition technique employs an organoruthenium compound, an oxidizing gas, and a gas (such as argon) which is hardly adsorbed to the ruthenium surface or a gas (such as ethylene) which is readily adsorbed to the ruthenium surface. This process efficiently forms a ruthenium film with good conformality in a semiconductor device.

The present invention claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-086930 filed on Mar. 26, 2001.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processes for fabricating semiconductor devices with a high dielectric constant capacitor.
2. Description of the Background
Semiconductor devices such as dynamic random access memories (DRAM) have achieved high capacity through reduction in the cell area. An inevitable consequence of this reduction is a decrease in the area available for capacitors. Nevertheless, it is still essential for a semiconductor device to store a certain amount of stored charge necessary for memory reading without soft errors. In other words, for high capacity semiconductor devices, it is necessary to provide some means by which to increase the amount of stored charge per unit area. One way to address this need is to form the capacitor insulating film from an oxide dielectric material having a high dielectric constant.
A conventional capacitor insulating film used for memory LSI (Large Scale Integration) is SiO2 film (with a dielectric constant of 3.8) or Si3N4 film (with a dielectric constant of 7 to 8). There materials are currently being replaced by Ta2O5 film (with a dielectric constant higher than 20). To store a much larger amount of charge, it has been proposed to form the capacitor insulating film from an oxide dielectric material having a dielectric constant greater than 100, as exemplified by strontium titanate (SrTiO3, xe2x80x9cSTOxe2x80x9d for short), barium strontium titanate ((Ba,Sr)TiO3, xe2x80x9cBSTxe2x80x9d for short), lead titanate zirconate (Pb(Zr,Ti)3, xe2x80x9cPZTxe2x80x9d for short), or bismuth-based laminar ferroelectrics. However, these oxide dielectric materials (including Ta2O5) have the disadvantage of requiring post heat treatment at high temperatures (e.g., 300-700xc2x0 C.) in an oxidizing atmosphere to obtain these improved electrical properties. This heat treatment typically causes the lower electrode to be oxidized by oxygen in the oxidizing atmosphere, which may result in an insulating film having a lower dielectric constant than the capacitor insulating film. Consequently, there may be a substantial decrease in the capacity of capacitor.
A promising way to address this problem is to form the lower electrode from platinum (Pt), ruthenium (Ru), iridium (Ir), or the like. Pt is comparatively stable when subjected to a high temperature and oxidizing atmosphere. Ru and Ir retain electrical conductivity even after oxide formation. Of these materials, Ru is suitable for microfabrication and is the most desirable as the lower electrode for oxide dielectric material. In addition, a Ru electrode has a large work function and prevents leakage current due to the height of the Schottky barrier at the interface between the capacitor insulating film and the electrode. Therefore, Ru is also a promising material for the upper electrode.
Even though capacitors on a memory LSI of Giga-bit scale may be formed from the Ru electrode and the above-mentioned oxide dielectric material, it is not conventionally possible to secure the amount of stored charge necessary for reading because the area for capacitors is too small. Thus, there arises a need to make the capacitor three-dimensional in order to substantially increase the capacitor area. One way to address this need requires the several steps of: (1) forming a three-dimensional lower electrode from Ru; (2) forming an oxide dielectric material as a capacitor insulating film; and (3) forming an upper electrode from Ru on the oxide dielectric material. These steps essentially involve chemical vapor deposition to form the Ru electrodes.
An exemplary process for forming a Ru film by chemical vapor deposition from an organoruthenium compound as a precursor is described in Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 38 (1999), p. 2194. This process uses bis(cyclopentadienyl) ruthenium (Ru(C5H5)2) as a raw material to form the Ru film.
The three-dimensional lower and upper electrodes are preferably formed by making deep holes in the surface of silicon oxide film (which permits easy microfabrication) and subsequently depositing Ru by chemical vapor deposition. This procedure may involve the problems explained below with reference to FIG. 11 (a sectional view).
It is assumed that a plug 1 of titanium nitride and an insulating interlayer 2 of SiO2 (in the plug area) have been formed. The procedure starts with depositing a 700-nm thick insulating interlayer 3 of SiO2 (in the capacitor area). Subsequently, deep holes are formed in the insulating interlayer 3 by well-known photolithography and dry etching techniques such that the bottom of the holes reaches the surface of the insulating interlayer 2. These holes preferably have a round, elliptical, or rectangular opening. The diameter of the opening is smaller than 130 nm in a memory LSI of Giga-bit scale.
If each capacitor is to have a capacity larger than 30 fF per bit, the insulating interlayer 3 should have a thickness (equivalent to a hole depth) of at least 700 nm, even in the case where the insulating film of BST has a thickness of 0.4 nm in terms of SiO2. Thus, the deep hole requires an aspect ratio no smaller than 5, wherein the xe2x80x9caspect ratioxe2x80x9d is defined as the ratio of a hole depth to an opening diameter. If the capacitor insulating film is formed from Ta2O5 with a thickness of 0.8 nm in terms of SiO2, then the insulating interlayer 3 needs to be thicker than 1500 nm or the hole needs to be deeper than 1500 nm (with an aspect ratio of 11 at least). In this deep hole is formed the lower ruthenium electrode 10 (20 nm thick) by chemical vapor deposition. See, FIG. 11(a).
Several potential problems as pointed out below are involved in the conventional chemical vapor deposition from an organoruthenium compound as a precursor. According to the above-mentioned paper, the procedure uses bis(cyclopentadienyl) ruthenium (C5H5)2) as a precursor, and the ruthenium film is formed by reactions in two stages. The reaction in the first stage is limited by the surface reaction which has an activation energy of 2.48 eV at a film-forming temperature no higher than 250xc2x0 C. and at an oxygen partial pressure of 0.07 Torr. As the temperature exceeds 250xc2x0 C., the reaction in the second stage takes place which is limited by the mass transport. In this second stage, the film forming rate becomes constant at approximately 23 nm/min. This procedure results in such a high conformality so as to form a ruthenium film with a step coverage of nearly 100% in a deep hole (having a diameter of 130 nm and an aspect ratio of 4) at a film-forming temperature of 230xc2x0 C. Unfortunately, the film-forming rate at 230xc2x0 C. is only about 2.8 nm/min. Therefore, because it takes about 7 minutes to form a 20-nm thick film, the procedure mentioned above may not be suitable for mass production because of the low throughput. In addition, if the above procedure is to be applied to the capacitors of a Giga-bit DRAM, it should be able to form ruthenium film for the upper electrode in a deep hole having an aspect ratio no smaller than 12, even in a case where BST is used for the capacitor insulating film.
After the ruthenium film has been formed as shown in FIG. 11(a), subsequent steps are carried out in the following manner. The lower electrode which has been deposited on the insulating interlayer 3 is removed by sputter etching so as to electrically isolate adjacent capacitors from each other. Thus, a three-dimensional lower electrode structure is obtained, as shown in FIG. 11(b).
Subsequently, an oxide dielectric material 6 is the deposited by chemical vapor deposition. In the case of BST, the thickness of the deposit is 20 nm. In the case of Ta2O5, the thickness of deposit is 10 nm. Thereafter, the upper ruthenium electrode 7 is formed by chemical vapor deposition. In this way the capacitor is completed as shown in FIG. 11(c). It is necessary that the upper ruthenium electrode should completely cover the inside wall of the deep hole having a diameter no larger than 60 nm, a depth no smaller than 700 nm, and an aspect ratio no smaller than 12. It should be noted that the xe2x80x9cstep coveragexe2x80x9d is defined as a ratio of b/a, where a is the thickness of the film deposited on the surface surrounding a hole and b is the thickness of the film deposited on the sidewall near the lower part of a hole (or b may represent the thickness of the film at the thinnest part).
The foregoing may be summarized as follows. The chemical vapor deposition of an organoruthenium compound should be carried out under surface reaction conditions that permits deposition on the sidewall of a deep hole having an aspect ratio of at least 12. In addition, it is also necessary that the film-forming rate should be high (or the reaction probability should be high) for high productivity, and the reaction should take place without an incubation period.
In at least one embodiment, the present invention preferably provides a process for fabricating semiconductor devices involving the efficient formation of ruthenium film with good conformality (i.e., an even thickness or a step coverage of approximately 1). An exemplary process according to the present invention to achieve the above comprises a step of forming a ruthenium film on a surface of a substrate having holes by chemical vapor deposition from an organoruthenium compound as a precursor. This step is preferably carried out in the presence of oxygen and a gas which prevents the substrate surface from adsorbing oxygen in such a way that the decomposition of the organoruthenium compound on the surface is adequately controlled.
In addition, the process of the present invention comprises a-step of forming the lower and upper electrodes of a high dielectric constant capacitor for the semiconductor device by chemical vapor deposition from an organoruthenium compound as a precursor. This step is carried out in the presence of oxygen and a gas which prevents the substrate surface from adsorbing oxygen in such a way that the decomposition of the organoruthenium compound on the surface is adequately controlled.
In either case, the gas used to prevent oxygen adsorption should preferably be one which is liquid at room temperature, has a boiling point no higher than 150xc2x0 C., and dissolves the organoruthenium compound in a concentration of at least 0.001 mol/L. The gas should preferably be at least one compound selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, isobutyl alcohol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, tetrahydrofuran, tetrahydropyran, 1,4-dioxane, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, and toluene.
Additionally, the chemical vapor deposition should preferably be preceded by a step of forming a seed layer comprised of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of ruthenium, platinum, iridium, rhodium, osmium, palladium, cobalt, iron, and alloys thereof.
The above-mentioned method makes it possible to control the amount of oxygen adsorbed on the surface inside the hole. The process of the present invention is explained more fully below in which the organoruthenium compound is bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium (Ru(C2H5C5H4)2 or Ru(EtCp)2) and the oxygen absorption preventing gas is tetrahydrofuran (THF).
Ru(EtCp)2 is used in the form of gas after heating and vaporization (liquid bubbling method). THF is introduced into the reaction chamber in the form of a gas after heating (at least 80xc2x0 C.) for vaporization. The partial pressure of each gas in the mixture (which is comprised of the organoruthenium compound, oxidizing gas, inert gas, and oxygen adsorption preventing gas which are present in the film-forming chamber) is defined as the value obtained by multiplying the mole fraction of each gas supplied by the total pressure of the mixture gas.
The film-forming rate depends on the film-forming temperature as shown in FIG. 6. Film forming was carried out on SiO2 or Ru in the absence or presence of THF (at a partial pressure of 2.8 Torr), at an oxygen partial pressure of 0.24 Torr. A Ru layer was previously formed in the hole by the long throw sputtering (LTS method). When a 50-nm thick film was formed on the flat surface at a film-forming temperature of 300xc2x0 C., a Ru seed layer (about 1-2 nm thick) was formed on the inside wall of the hole. It should be noted that the hole has a diameter of 130 nm, a depth of 800 nm, and an aspect ratio of 6.1.
In the case where THF is not introduced, the film-forming rate is limited by the surface reaction with an activation energy of 0.37 eV regardless of the underlayer at a film-forming temperature below 300xc2x0 C. This surface reaction is limited by the amount of oxygen adsorbed onto the surface, as explained below with reference to FIG. 7. At a film-forming temperature above 300xc2x0 C., the reaction is limited by the amount of precursor supplied. The conformality is comparatively good in the reactions which are limited by the amount of oxygen adsorbed onto the surface; however, the step coverage is only about 40% at a film-forming temperature of 230xc2x0 C. This reaction has a certain amount of incubation period before the formation of the Ru film commences. However, the incubation period for the film on Ru is shorter than that for the film on SiO2. At a film-forming temperature of 230xc2x0 C., there is an incubation period of 5 minutes for the film on SiO2 but there is no incubation period for the film on Ru. This may occur because more oxygen is adsorbed on Ru in a shorter time.
By contrast, the film-forming reaction differs greatly depending on whether the film is formed on SiO2 or Ru in the presence of THF at a partial pressure of 2.8 Torr. On SiO2, the Ru film is formed by an oxidative decomposition reaction with an activation energy of 0.37 eV. However, the reaction region is shifted higher by about 130xc2x0 C. compared to the case where no THf is introduced. This suggests that THF prevents oxygen adsorption in the low temperature region. An incubation period exists as in the case where no THF gas is introduced, and the step coverage is less than 20%. By contrast, the Ru film on Ru, unlike on SiO2, is formed at nearly a constant rate at film-forming temperature of at least 200xc2x0 C. No incubation period exists, and the step coverage in the hole is almost 100%.
In order to elucidate the above-mentioned reactions, experiments were carried out in which the partial pressure of THF was kept constant at 2.8 Torr and the partial pressure of oxygen was varied. The step coverage and the film-forming rate depend on the oxygen partial pressure as shown in FIG. 7(a) and FIG. 7(b), respectively. The film-forming temperature is 300xc2x0 C. and the film-forming time is 2 minutes. It is noted from FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) that reactions take place differently depending on whether the oxygen partial pressure is lower than or higher than about 0.4 Torr. It is also noted that the rate of film forming on Ru increases linearly in the region of low oxygen partial pressure (at 0.07 Torr and above) and reaches a plateau in the region of high oxygen partial pressure. By contrast, the step coverage uniformly (but not necessarily linearly) decreases in the region of low oxygen partial pressure and converges to a constant value of 50% in the region of high oxygen partial pressure. FIG. 7(b) also shows the rate of film forming on SiO2. It is noted that the film-forming rate increases steeply in the region of high oxygen partial pressure at around 0.4 Torr and above. The film-forming rate in the region of low oxygen partial pressure below about 0.4 Torr is zero because of an incubation period longer than 2 minutes.
The mechanism of film forming on Ru differs depending on the oxygen partial pressure. In the region of low oxygen partial pressure below approximately 0.4 Torr, the reaction is limited by the oxygen supply because the sticking probability increases in proportion to oxygen partial pressure. Conformality in this region is good because the surface reaction depends on the amount of oxygen adsorbed, and the organoruthenium compound and oxygen diffuse into the inside of the hole so that the density of oxygen adsorption is equal to that on the substrate surface. On the other hand, the rate of film forming in the region of high oxygen partial pressure does not vary regardless of the oxygen partial pressure, and the reaction is limited by the supply of precursor in the temperature region for the saturated film-forming rate as shown in FIG. 7(a). It is considered that conformality is poor because the precursor gas is captured by the flat surface of the substrate, and the supply of precursor gas into the inside of the hole is limited.
The effect of the partial pressure of THF gas on the step coverage is evaluated in FIG. 8. FIG. 8 shows how the step coverage and film-forming rate depend on the partial pressure of THF gas, with the partial pressure of oxygen kept constant at 0.11 Torr. Experiments were performed on three kinds of substrates varying in the aspect ratio of holes. On the inside of the hole, a Ru seed layer (1-2 nm thick) was formed by long throw sputtering. The hole with the largest aspect ratio (15.4) has a diameter of 130 nm and a depth of 2000 nm. When the partial pressure of THF is lower than 1.0 Torr, the step coverage and film-forming rate do not depend on the partial pressure of THF gas. There is no difference from those in the conventional case where THF (as the gas to prevent oxygen adsorption) is not present. However, at a partial pressure of THF gas in excess of 1.0 Torr, the step coverage increases. Further, when the partial pressure of THF gas reaches 2.9 Torr, the step coverage is nearly 100% (at an aspect ratio of 15.4). In the case of a hole with a small aspect ratio, the partial pressure of THF gas that permits 100% step coverage is as low as 1.5 Torr. On the other hand, the film-forming rate decreases as the partial pressure of THF gas increases.
The foregoing suggests that the partial pressure of THF gas controls the oxygen adsorption density and the distribution of oxygen density in the hole. It is considered that when the partial pressure of THF gas is small, the oxygen supplied is mostly adsorbed by the patterned flat part or the upper inside of the hole and hence does not reach deep inside the hole. Thus, it is further considered that the oxidation decomposition reaction of the organoruthenium compound, which is limited by the amount of oxygen adsorbed, proceeds, thereby aggravating conformality at the bottom of the hole. On the other hand, it is considered that when the partial pressure of THF is high, THF gas sufficiently adsorbs to the surface of the Ru seed layer, thereby preventing the adsorption of oxygen but permitting the diffusion of oxygen to the bottom of the hole, and a constant low density of oxygen adsorption is realized. This causes good conformality at the bottom of the hole. In addition, it is considered that the density of oxygen adsorption decreases with an increasing partial pressure of THF gas, and, hence, the film-forming rate also decreases as shown in FIG. 8(b).
FIGS. 6 through 8 show that the introduction of THF gas controls the state of oxygen adsorption on the substrate surface and permits the Ru film to be formed with good conformality at a high rate without an incubation period. Since the Ru film is formed by the decomposition reaction of a precursor which is limited by the density of oxygen adsorbed, it is possible to optimize the supply of precursor. The present invention addresses the limitations of the conventional technology by preferably providing a process in which the film-forming time is shorter and the precursor is used more efficiently, which leads to increased productivity and decreased production cost. Thus the present invention may be useful for forming capacitor electrodes in Giga-scale DRAMs.
The above-mentioned effect may also be obtained even though THF (as the oxygen adsorption preventing gas) is replaced by at least one compound selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, isobutyl alcohol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, tetrahydropyran, 1,4-dioxane, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, and toluene.
It is possible to simultaneously supply both the organoruthenium compound and the oxygen adsorption preventing gas if the former is dissolved in the latter in liquid form (e.g., THF and the like mentioned above) and the resulting diluted solution is vaporized by heating. It is also possible to adequately control the partial pressure of oxygen and the partial pressure of gas (evolving from the diluted solution) in the film-forming chamber if the supply of the diluted solution is controlled and the oxygen adsorption preventing gas is introduced through another route. In practice, for example, Ru(EtCp)2 as an organoruthenium compound may be dissolved in THF, and the resulting solution is fed after vaporization in a constant temperature bath at 150xc2x0 C. If the partial pressure of oxygen and THF gas is adjusted to 0.1 Torr and 3.0 Torr in the film-forming chamber, respectively, it is possible to realize the reaction condition which permits high step coverage as mentioned above.
The organoruthenium compounds that may be used, in addition to the bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium (Ru(C2H5C5H4)2) mentioned above include: bis(cyclopentadienyl)ruthenium (Ru(C2H5)2); bis(methylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium (Ru(CH3C5H4)2); and tris (dipivaloylmethanate) ruthenium (Ru(C11H19O2)3): These compounds undergo chemical vapor deposition by the same mechanism as that of bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium (Ru(C2H5C5H4)2). These organoruthenium compounds permit the substrate temperature and oxygen partial pressure to be optimally controlled if the oxygen adsorption preventing gas is introduced.
Table 1 shows the substrate temperature, the partial pressure of oxygen, and the partial pressure of oxygen adsorption preventing gas which are optimal for the individual organoruthenium compounds. Any organoruthenium compound other than those listed in Table 1 may be used for the above-mentioned film-forming process so long as it is an organic compound of noble metal which is decomposed by surface-adsorbed oxygen.
A ruthenium film with good conformality is formed by supplying a gas which is hardly adsorbed to Ru surface in the following manner. In order to deposit a ruthenium film with good conformality as mentioned above, it is necessary to keep the adsorption density of oxidizing gas on the growth surface (Ru surface) constant and low. An example of a practical procedure is given below in the case where the organoruthenium compound is Ru(C5H4C2H5)2 or Ru(EtCp)2 and the oxidizing gas is oxygen. The precursor is supplied by the liquid bubbling method.
The procedure starts with the formation of a Ru seed layer (20 nm thick) by sputtering, and then the desired film is formed. The seed layer reduces the incubation period required for growth nucleation. The supply of oxygen and the supply of argon (not as a carrier gas) are controlled so that oxygen and argon each have a desired partial pressure.
FIG. 13 shows how the activation energy for decomposition reaction of Ru(EtCp)2 varies with the partial pressure of O2 and the partial pressure of Ar. It is noted from FIG. 13 that a shift takes place from the decomposition mechanism with an activation energy of about 1.4 eV to the decomposition mechanism with an activation energy of about 0.4 eV at a certain partial pressure of oxygen, which rarely depends on the partial pressure of argon. It is also noted that the lower the partial pressure of oxygen, the better the conformality, with very little dependence of the partial pressure of argon. Hatching in FIG. 13 denotes the region for high step coverage (with an aspect ratio of 15). It is noted that good coverage of Ru film is formed on the sidewall of a deep hole with an aspect ratio of 15 when the partial pressure of oxygen is lower than 0.007 Torr, regardless of the partial pressure of argon. This suggests that the density of oxygen adsorbed on the surface is determined mainly by the partial pressure of oxygen.
The same results as above were obtained with a rare gas (such as Ne, He, and Xe) in place of argon. In the case of nitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2), the partial pressure of oxygen (which changes the activation energy) shifts to the higher side as their partial pressure increases, as shown in FIG. 13. In this case, the high-coverage region (hatched with horizontal lines in FIG. 13) shifts to the higher partial pressure of oxygen by no more than about 0.01 Torr. However, this change is smaller as compared with that shown in FIG. 14 (explained below). It is therefore considered that the density of oxygen adsorbed to the surface is determined almost entirely by the partial pressure of oxygen in this case too.
These gases (Ar, He, Xe, N2, and CO2) have the common disadvantage in that they are not adsorbed to Ru as easily as oxygen. This implies that the absolute value of their heat of adsorption on Ru is smaller than that of oxygen. It is reasonable to consider that the density of adsorption of oxygen on the surface of Ru is determined mainly by the partial pressure of oxygen. One effective way to improve conformality is to increase the supply of a gas hardly adsorbable to Ru, thereby decreasing the partial pressure of oxygen. This is accomplished by controlling the amount of exhaust such that the total pressure in the film-forming chamber is kept constant (at 5 Torr, for instance).
For good conformality in practice, it is necessary to control the partial pressure of oxygen in the film-forming chamber so that it is as low as 0.01 Torr, as shown in FIG. 13. It is also necessary to adjust the position of the shower head and the amount of gas supply so that the partial pressure of oxygen does not fluctuate on the wafer. Despite such adjustment, it may be difficult to keep the partial pressure of oxygen constant when the partial pressure of oxygen is lower than 0.003 Torr, because under such conditions, the thickness of the Ru film varies greatly on the wafer.
In the above-mentioned experiments, Ru(C5H4C2H5)2 is used as a typical precursor for CVD. The same effect may also be produced even if it is replaced by any of Ru(OD)3, Ru(CH3C5H4)2, Ru(C5H5)2, and Ru(C11H19O2)3. (The latter three are solid at room temperature.) The gases to be introduced to reduce the partial pressure of oxygen include Ar, Ne, He, Xe, N2, and CO2, which are hardly adsorbed to Ru. The same effect is also produced by a non-polar hydrocarbon compound without multiple bonds. In the above-mentioned experiments, oxygen is used to decompose the precursor for CVD; the same effect is also produced if the oxygen is replaced by an oxidizing gas such as N2O, H2O, NO, and O3. The optimal substrate temperature is approximately 200-400xc2x0 C.
A ruthenium film with good conformality may also be formed by supplying a gas which is readily adsorbed to Ru surface in the following manner. In this case, the organo-ruthenium compound as a precursor is Ru(EtCp)2, the oxidizing gas is oxygen, and the gas readily absorbable to Ru surface is THF. The precursor is supplied by the liquid bubbling method employing argon as a carrier gas. The procedure begins with the formation of a Ru seed layer (20 nm thick) by sputtering, and then the desired film is formed. The seed layer reduces the incubation period required for growth nucleation. The supply of oxygen, the supply of THF, and the supply of argon (not as a carrier gas) are controlled so that oxygen and THF each have a desired partial pressure. The pressure in the film-forming chamber is kept at 5 Torr by controlling the amount of exhaust.
FIG. 14 shows how the activation energy for decomposition reaction of Ru(EtCp)2 varies with the partial pressure of oxygen and the partial pressure of THF. It is noted from FIG. 14 that a shift takes place from the decomposition mechanism with an activation energy of about 1.4 eV to the decomposition mechanism with an activation energy of about 0.4 eV at a certain partial pressure of oxygen, which increases with the increasing partial pressure of THF. It is also noted that the lower the partial pressure of oxygen and the higher the partial pressure of THF, the better the conformality. Hatching in FIG. 14 denotes the region for high step coverage (with an aspect ratio of 15).
It is noted that Ru film with good coverage is formed in a deep hole with an aspect ratio of 15 when the supply of THF liquid is 5 sccm, the supply of oxygen gas is 50 sccm, and the supply of total argon (including carrier gas) is 900 sccm. Under these conditions, the partial pressure of oxygen and THF in the film-forming chamber are 0.11 Torr and 2.95 Torr, respectively. This implies that the density of oxygen adsorbed on the surface is determined by both the partial pressure of oxygen and the partial pressure of THF. The density of oxygen adsorbed on the surface can be reduced by increasing the partial pressure of THF. The same result may be obtained when THF is replaced by carbon monoxide (CO), ethylene (C2H4), or acetylene (C2H2). As shown in FIG. 14, it is possible to reduce the density of oxygen adsorbed on the Ru surface by increasing their partial pressure.
The results shown in FIG. 14 may be better understood by examining the adsorption of mixed gas on Ru surface. Gases such as THF, CO, C2H4, and C2H2 are characterized by a larger absolute value of heat of adsorption on Ru surface than the above-mentioned inert gases such as Ar, Ne, Xe, N2, and CO2. This implies that they are readily adsorbed to the Ru surface. In general, when a mixed gas is adsorbed to a metal surface, the density of individual gases adsorbed is determined by the partial pressure of each gas, heat of adsorption, density of saturated adsorption, substrate temperature, and surface roughness. In other words, if a gas, such as THF which is readily adsorbed to Ru surface, is introduced and its partial pressure is controlled, it is possible to change the ratio of the density of an oxidizing gas adsorbed to Ru surface to the density of other gases adsorbed to Ru surface.
Reducing the density of oxygen adsorbed to the Ru surface by introducing a gas which is readily adsorbed to the Ru surface is an effective way to improve conformality. The introduction of these gases makes it possible to set the optimal oxygen partial pressure above 0.01 Torr, and this offers the advantage of keeping the distribution of oxygen partial pressure uniform on the wafer and to minimize the variation of Ru film thickness and step coverage on the water surface.
In the above-mentioned experiments, Ru(C5H4C2H5)2 was used as a typical precursor for CVD. The same effect is also produced if it is replaced by any of Ru(OD)3, Ru(CH3C5H4)2, Ru(C5H5)2, and Ru(C11H19O2)3. (The latter three are solid at room temperature.) The gases to be introduced to reduce the density of oxygen adsorbed on Ru include THF, CO, C2H4, and C2H2 (with polar, multiple bond structure) which are readily adsorbed to Ru. Those which are liquid at room temperature can also be used if they have a boiling point lower than 150xc2x0 C. and can be vaporized for supply.
The condition for high conformality is indicated by the hatched region in FIG. 14. Also, since the above-mentioned organoruthenium compound itself, such as Ru(C5H4C2H5)2, is readily adsorbed to the Ru surface, its increased supply decreases the amount of oxygen adsorbed and increases the step coverage. For improved conformality, the amount of organoruthenium compound should be more than about one-fifth of the amount of oxygen in terms of gas. This leads to an increased consumption of Ru precursor and an increased production cost. In the above-mentioned experiments, oxygen is used to decompose the precursor for CVD; the same effect is also be produced if the oxygen is replaced by an oxidizing gas such as N2O, H2O, NO, and O3. The optimal substrate temperature is approximately 200-400xc2x0 C. irrespective of the kind of organoruthenium compound and oxidizing gas and other gas used.

Fabrication method for semiconductor integrated devices


[Problem] To provide a terminal registration system and a terminal registration method for improving user convenience in registration of a new terminal to a plurality of service sites.

As a user authentication technique that replaces password authentication, there is a Web service user authentication technique using public key encryption known as Fast IDentity Online (FIDO), which is a de facto standard technology of the passwordless authentication (see NPL 1).
In FIDO, a different public key and private key pair is generated for each service, and the public key is placed on the service site side and the private key is locked in a terminal.
The use of the private key (the signature in challenge and response authentication) is based on the assumption that biometric authentication is performed on the terminal, and the use of the private key takes place within an Authenticator, which prevents the private key from exiting the terminal so high security is achieved.In order to utilize FIDO authentication, Registration of a terminal needs to be performed on a service site in advance, and a public key of the terminal needs to be associated with the account. In standard technology, Registration is assumed to be performed after logging into an account with an authentication method other than FIDO.Providing a plurality of authentication schemes is a large operation burden for a service operator and may also cause security holes. Thus, it is conceivable that only FIDO is used for the authentication after the Registration of the terminal is performed at the timing of account creation or the like. Consider a use case of associating another different terminal with the account in such an environment.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating features of the standard technology (FIDO). As illustrated in FIG. 9, a terminal 1 and a terminal 2 are access controlled by biometric authentication or the like. The terminal 1 and the terminal 2, and a service site A21 and a service site B22 are authenticated by a FIDO protocol. The user accesses the service site A21 and the service site B22 using the terminal 1, and accesses the service site A21 and the service site B22 using the terminal 2.
The service site A21 and the service site B22 register individual keys for each terminal.
The terminal 1 and the terminal 2 generate individual key pairs for each site.
Public keys 1-A and 2-A have been registered for the service site A21, and public keys 1-B and 2-B have been registered for the service site B22.
An Authenticator 10 (secure region) of the terminal 1 stores a private key 1-A paired with the public key 1-A and a private key 1-B paired with the public key 1-B.
The Authenticator 10 (secure region) of the terminal 2 stores a private key 2-A paired with the public key 2-A and a private key 2-B paired with the public key 2-B.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating registration of a new terminal with the standard technology (FIDO). A terminal 2 in FIG. 10 is a newly added terminal (hereinafter referred to as a new terminal 2) in addition to the terminal 1. The new terminal 2 results from addition or change of a terminal (for example, having two of a smartphone and a tablet terminal, or changing the terminal). In order to utilize FIDO authentication by the new terminal 2, Registration of a terminal needs to be performed on the service site in advance, and a public key of the terminal needs to be associated with the account.
As illustrated in FIG. 10, in a case where the new terminal 2 is used, there is no key in an Authenticator 10 of the new terminal 2, so it is necessary to generate a key pair again for each service to register.
A Client To Authenticator Protocol (CTAP) is defined as a protocol for performing FIDO authentication using an Authenticator external to a terminal (see NPL 2).
As methods to perform Registration of a key of a new terminal (the terminal 2 in FIG. 10) after performing FIDO authentication using a private key of a registered terminal (the terminal 1 in FIG. 10) and having logged in using the CTAP, technique 1 and technique 2 described below are conceivable.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating technique 1 for Registration of a key of a new terminal using the CTAP. Note that CTAP, which is illustrated by a cylindrical shape in FIG. 11, indicates CTAP use, and Session, which is illustrated by a cylindrical shape, indicates that a Session has been established in the communication path.
Procedure 1: Access a registration target service site with a new terminal 2.
Procedure 2: The new terminal 2 logs in using a terminal 1 as an external Authenticator (using the CTAP) and performing FIDO authentication with a registered private key.
Procedure 3: Establish a communication session between the service site (the service site A21) and the new terminal 2.
Procedure 4: Register a key of an Authenticator of the new terminal 2 itself via the established communication session.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating technique 2 for Registration of a new terminal key using the CTAP.
Procedure 1: Access a registration target service site (the service site A21) with a terminal 1.
Procedure 2: Log in by performing FIDO authentication with a registered private key in an Authenticator of the terminal 1 itself.
Procedure 3: Establish a communication session between the service site and the terminal 1
Procedure 4: The terminal 1 utilizes a new terminal 2 as an external Authenticator (using the CTAP) and registers a key of the external Authenticator (the new terminal 2).

Terminal registration system and terminal registration method

Abstract: [Solution] The registered terminal 1 includes an Authenticator 10 including service site list information 110 that associates private keys and URLs for access to service sites with each other. A Registration Manager 100 acquires the service site list information 110 from the Authenticator 10 of the registered terminal 1. Then, the Registration Manager 100 performs FIDO authentication for a registration target service site using a private key of the registered terminal 1, on the basis of the acquired service site list information 110, and performs Registration of a newly generated cryptographic key at the new terminal 2.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


A protective case comprises a body, a camera-exposing cutout, a detachable lens cover, and an earphone jack fastener. The camera-exposing cutout is provided at an edge of the body for exposing the camera lens of the mobile device. The detachable lens cover comprises a slide cover and a plug-in cover, and the slide-cover portion is slid into and along the two side edge portions of the camera-exposing cutout and cover the camera lens, and the plug-in cover is plugged in to the camera-exposing cutout perpendicularly to a surface of the body and cover the camera lens. The earphone jack fastener has a first end connected to the detachable lens cover and a second end configured to be plucked into and held in an earphone jack of the mobile device.

The present invention relates to a camera lens cover for a cell-phone case. More particularly, this invention relates to a camera lens cover for a cell-phone case, which protects the camera lens of cell-phone.
A cellular phone is like a body part to a modern human being. However, cellular phone itself may be too customized to a basic functions by the manufacturers.
A need for an expendable and collapsible sound amplifying cellular phone case has been present for a long time considering the expansive demands in the everyday life. This invention is directed to solve these problems and satisfy the long-felt need.


The invention generally relates to methods to prevent and/or inhibit viral infection as well as to inhibit inflammation and/or pathogen infection by administering at least one xylitol lipid analog or compositions comprising at least one xylitol lipid analog to an individual. The invention also relates to methods to prevent or inhibit respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection by administering at least one xylitol lipid analog or compositions comprising at least one xylitol lipid analog to an individual.

Phospholipids are the major constituents of pulmonary surfactant and play critical roles in regulating immune functions of the lung. Previous studies reported that the minor pulmonary surfactant lipid, palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylglycerol (POPG), inhibits RSV-induced inflammation and infection in mice, and in vitro viral transmission. POPG, acts as a potent antagonist of the activation of TLRs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 and suppresses inflammatory responses in airways and alveoli but has a short half-life in the mouse lung.
The innate immune system is the first line of defense against foreign microorganisms entering the body. Upon detection of a pathogen, the innate immune system launches an inflammatory response, recruits immune cells to the site of infection, and signals for the activation of the adaptive response (A. S. Kenneth Murphy, et al. Janeway's Immunobiology, vol. 7, no. 6. 2008). A major component of the innate immune system is pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). The Toll-like receptor (TLR) family comprises a major subset of the PRRs. TLRs detect the presence of invading pathogens by recognizing conserved molecular patterns expressed by Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, viruses and fungi, and selectively identify them as foreign (O. Takeuchi and S. Akira, "Pattern Recognition Receptors and Inflammation," Cell, vol. 140, no. 6, pp. 805-820, 2010; S. Akira, et al. "Pathogen Recognition and Innate Immunity," Cell, vol. 124, no. 4, pp. 783-801, 2006). Although TLRs play a necessary and critical role in detection of foreign invaders, and downstream activation of the appropriate response genes; several of these receptors also have been implicated in contributing to an overly robust inflammatory response that leads to tissue damage.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in newborns, the elderly, and those with chronic respiratory disease. There is no vaccine for RSV, nonatural development of enduring immunity, and reinfection occurs throughout life. Currently, there is an urgent need for new approaches to prevent and treat RSV infection. RSV, begins as an upper respiratory tract infection but also has the ability to move down into the lower respiratory tract and cause pneumonia and bronchiolitis (B. S. Graham, "Biological challenges and technological opportunities for respiratory syncytial virus vaccine development.," Immunol. Rev., vol. 239, no. 1, pp. 149-66, January 2011). RSV infects humans of all ages and populations but is especially serious in infants, the elderly, people with underlying lung conditions and immunocompromised individuals. Lasting immunity is not developed following RSV infection and severe RSV infection in children has been linked with the development of chronic respiratory problems, such as asthma (T. Saraya, et al, "Epidemiology of virus-induced asthma exacerbations: with special reference to the role of human rhinovirus.," Front. Microbiol., vol. 5, p. 226, 2014).
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a severe inflammatory disease resulting in a 30% mortality rate (V. M. Ranieri, et al., "Acute respiratory distress syndrome: the Berlin Definition.," JAMA, vol. 307, no. 23, pp. 2526-33, June 2012). Although current therapy for ARDS improves lung function in some patients, the death toll of ARDS remains the same. Respiratory viruses are primary causes of acute lung injury (ALI) including the most severe form, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (Y. Imai, et al., "Identification of oxidative stress and Toll-like receptor 4 signaling as a key pathway of acute lung injury.," Cell, vol. 133, no. 2, pp. 235-49, April 2008; M. A. Matthay, et al., "The acute respiratory distress syndrome.," J. Clin. Invest., vol. 122, no. 8, pp. 2731-40, August 2012). Among the most common respiratory pathogen implicated in pulmonary viral infections is RSV. Severe RSV is the leading cause of bronchiolitis, pneumonia and acute lower respiratory tract infections, and is a leading cause of global child mortality (W. P. Glezen, et al., "Epidemiologic patterns of acute lower respiratory disease of children in a pediatric group practice.," J. Pediatr., vol. 78, no. 3, pp. 397-406, March 1971). Exacerbation of chronic pulmonary diseases as well as ALI/ARDS affects millions of people and in many cases current therapies are inadequate. The development of novel therapeutics to target respiratory viruses can make management and resolution of ALI/ARDS more attainable. Specifically targeting the respiratory pathogen, RSV, as a known factor in development of ALI, could provide significant protection for patients.
There is currently an unmet need for pharmacologic agents that have antagonist activity against specific TLRs. Such antagonists would enable clinicians to tailor immune responses or inhibit harmful over-activation of specific TLRs. Current treatments for RSV infections are lacking and in need of innovative approaches for the development of preventative and therapeutic agents, especially because no vaccines have yet been approved for this virus. The recent discovery that the endogenous surfactant lipid, POPG, possesses anti-inflammatory and antiviral activity, suggests a new pharmacological approach for modulation of innate immunity (P. Kandasamy, et al., "Structural analogs of pulmonary surfactant phosphatidylglycerol inhibit toll-like receptor 2 and 4 signaling," J. Lipid Res., vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 993-1005, 2016; P. Kandasamy, et al., "Pulmonary surfactant phosphatidylglycerol inhibits Mycoplasma pneumoniae-stimulated eicosanoid production from human and mouse macrophages," J. Biol. Chem., vol. 286, no. 10, pp. 7841-7853, 2011; K. Kuronuma, et al., "Anionic Pulmonary Surfactant Phospholipids Inhibit Inflammatory Responses from Alveolar Macrophages and U937 Cells by Binding the Lipopolysaccharide-interacting Proteins CD14 and MD-2," J. Biol. Chem., vol. 284, no. 38, pp. 25488-25500, September 2009; M. Numata, et al., "Nanodiscs as a therapeutic delivery agent: Inhibition of respiratory syncytial virus infection in the lung," Int. J. Nanomedicine, vol. 8, pp. 1417-1427, 2013).
Phospholipids are the major constituents of pulmonary surfactant and play critical roles in regulating immune functions of the lung. Previous studies reported that the minor pulmonary surfactant lipid, palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylglycerol (POPG), inhibits RSV-induced inflammation and infection in mice, and in vitro viral transmission. POPG, acts as a potent antagonist of the activation of TLRs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 and suppresses inflammatory responses in airways and alveoli but has a short half-life in the mouse lung.

Methods and compositions for treating and preventing respiratory related diseases and conditions with xylitol-headgroup lipid analogs


A sector level sweep method and apparatus are provided. A local end generates a first sector sweep packet at the local end sector sweep stage, and the local end sends the first sector sweep packet to a peer end by using a first beam. A quantity of bytes of the first sector sweep packet is not greater than 27, the first sector sweep packet includes beam indication information of the first beam, the beam indication information includes antenna identification information of the beam, and a maximum quantity of antennas indicated by the antenna identification information is at least 8.

In high-frequency communication, especially on a millimeter-wave band, attenuation of a transmit signal is far greater than that in a case of a low frequency (6 GHz). To resist signal attenuation in the high-frequency communication, a signal is usually sent by using a beam.
The IEEE 802.11ad standard defines a beam training manner for a single data stream, so as to obtain a preferred transmit/receive beam of an initiator and a preferred transmit/receive beam of a responder, and perform reliable directional transmission between a transmit end and a receive end, to resist signal attenuation. The beam training manner includes two procedures: sector level sweep (Sector Level Sweep, SLS) and beam refinement (Beam Refinement Protocol, BRP). In the two procedures, in two devices that perform beam training, a station (Station, STA) that initiates the beam training may be referred to as an initiator, and a STA that responds to the initiator may be referred to as a responder.
In an existing SLS procedure, the initiator and the responder may perform transmit/receive beam training by mutually transmitting a sector sweep (Sector Sweep, SSW) frame. To increase a data rate, a multi-antenna technology is introduced in the IEEE 802.11ay standard based on the IEEE 802.11ad standard. During SLS training, training on a plurality of antennas is allowed. In addition, as multi-antennas are introduced, a quantity of beams that need to be trained by a single device greatly increases. However, multi-antennas that can be indicated by the sector sweep frame, such as a directional multi-gigabit (Directional Multi-Gigabit, DMG) SSW frame or a DMG beacon frame, transmitted in the conventional existing SLS procedure cannot meet a current scenario of a plurality of antennas.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Hydrometallurgical processes are provided for the recovery of metal values, including cesium, from epithermal mineral deposits, including pharmacosiderite-containing ores. Aspects of the process involve the preferential formation of a cesium alum, and preparation of cesium hydroxide from the cesium alum.

The concentration of cesium in the earth's crust is understood to be approximately 3 ppm by weight. Economic ores of cesium are seldom found in nature, and may for example include the minerals analcime, cesium-thallium arsenic sulfosalts (thioarsenates), and cryptomelane group minerals. An economically important ore source mineral for caesium is pollucite (Cs(AlSi2O6)), but economic sources of pollucite are rarely found in nature. One such deposit is the Bernic Lake Deposit in Manitoba, Canada, which contains pollucite that has been mined and processed for cesium recovery. Processes for recovering cesium from a cesium ore such as pollucite are for example described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,808,313, 3,112,169, 3,207,571, 3,322,531, 4,597,955, 5,900,221, 7,323,150 and 9,045,812. The processing of cesium alums is for example discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,469,670, 6,015,535, 6,436,879, and 6,652,820.
The shortage of economic deposits of cesium has led to a long felt need for new sources of cesium to be identified.

Recovery of cesium from epithermal mineral deposits


Apparatus and methods using conveyor belts with activated diverting rollers to maintain the leading edge of a conveyed article while changing the direction of conveyance. A first conveyor belt advancing in a first direction abuts a second conveyor belt advancing in a second direction transverse to the first direction. Both conveyor belts have diverting rollers that rotate on axes oblique to the direction of conveyance. The diverting rollers of each are activated by rolling on an underlying bearing surface to rotate in the vicinity of the junction of the two conveyor belts. The diverting rollers in the first conveyor belt direct the article toward the second conveyor belt. The rollers in the second conveyor belt direct the article toward a side of the second conveyor belt. An article lying on both belts simultaneously rotates by the combined action of the two sets of diverting rollers acting on opposite ends of the article. The orientation of the rollers and their rotation maintain the leading edge of the article unchanged relative to the conveying direction after the transfer to the second conveyor belt.

The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and, more particularly, to sorters or diverters constructed of conveyor belts having article-diverting rollers arranged to be rotatable on axes oblique to the direction of belt travel.
Sometimes it is required that articles conveyed in a first direction along one conveyor be diverted to one or more second conveyors arranged to advance the articles in a transverse second direction. Examples of these conveyors range from a simple right- or left-turn conveyor to a sorter with multiple parallel exit conveyors. Some applications, such as automatic baggage inspection or other applications in which article orientation is important, further require that the leading edge of a conveyed article be maintained as the article is diverted from the first conveyor to the second conveyor. If the difference between the first and second conveyance directions is small—for example, 30° or less—the leading edge of the diverted article will usually be maintained. But, if the difference between the conveyance directions is large—for example, 90°—the leading edge of the article on the first conveyor becomes a side edge after transferring to the second conveyor. That's why the exit conveyors on sorters typically branch off the main conveyor on angles of less than about 30°.
Thus, there is a need for a sorter or other diverting conveyor that can maintain the leading edge of a conveyed article as the conveyance direction changes from a first direction to a transverse second direction.


An electrical card connector (100) includes an insulative housing (2), a number of terminals (6) received in the housing, a shell (3) shielding the housing, and a first and second switch contacts (41, 42) for write-protect and full insertion detection for an electrical card (7). The housing includes a pair of side walls and a receptacle portion. One of the side walls defines a first and a second slits for respectively receiving the first and the second switch contacts. The shell has a generally planar top wall (31) and a pad (33) extending downwardly from one side of the top wall. The first and the second contacts respectively include a first and a second spring portions (413, 423) extending into the receptacle portion of the housing. The electrical card, during being inserted into the receptacle portion, successively pushes the first and the second spring portion outwardly to electrically connect with the pad of the shell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to connectors, and especially to a card connector for electrically connecting an electrical card to an electrical device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical card connectors are usually provided with detect switches for write-protect or full-insertion detection. U.S. patent application Publication Ser. No. 2001/0053622 published on Dec. 20, 2001 disclosed an electrical card connector. The card connector comprises a frame defining a card receptacle portion, a metallic cover member covering the frame and a switch portion for identifying write inhibit for an IC Card. The switch portion includes a contact plate with V-shaped projecting portion extending into the receptacle portion. During insertion of an IC card, the contact plate is pushed outwardly to electrically connect with a side plate portion of the cover. Since the switch portion is constituted by utilizing the side plate portion of the cover member. It is not necessary to dispose two contact plates and thus permitting the reduction in thickness of the card connector. However, an electrically card connector usually has both write-protect and full-insertion switches.
JP Patent Application Publication No. 2001/135383 published on May 18, 2001 disclosed an electrical card connector. The electrical card connector comprises a base, a write-protect switch contact arranged in a longitudinal side wall of the housing, a U-shaped full-insertion switch contact mounted in a rear wall of the housing, and a spring contact also mounted in the longitudinal side wall of the housing and adjacent to the write-protect switch contact. The write-protect switch contact connects with the spring contact. An electrical card is inserted and pushes the write-protect switch contact to move laterally and disconnect with the spring contact. The electrical card is full inserted and pushes the full-insertion switch to connect with a rear portion of the spring contact. However, the write-protect switch contact and the spring contact enlarge the width of the longitudinal side wall and the full-insertion switch contact enlarges the dimension of the rear wall. A card connector with switch contacts with a compact arrangement is desired.
An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical card connector with switch contacts in a compact arrangement.
An electrical card connector of the present invention comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of terminals received in the housing, a shell shielding the housing, and a first and a second switch contacts for write-protect and full insertion detection for an electrical card. The housing includes a pair of side walls and a receptacle portion. One of the side walls defines a first and a second slits for respectively receiving the first and the second switch contacts. The shell has a generally planar top wall and a pad extending downwardly from one side of the top wall. The first and the second switch contacts respectively include a first and a second spring portions extending into the receptacle portion of the housing. An electrical card is inserted into the receptacle portion and successively pushing the first and the second spring portion outwardly to electrically connect with the pad of the shell.

Electrical card connector having write-protect and full-insertion switches


Systems and methods are provided for interactive advertising and program promotion that may attract and maintain user interest. The interactive advertisements may be displayed within interactive television application display screens, such as, an interactive television program guide display screen. A user may be able to select an interactive advertisement and may be presented with interactive content or features that may entice the user to view the advertisement. The interactive content or features may be related or unrelated to the product or service being advertised.

This invention relates to interactive television systems, and more particularly, to interactive television program guide systems having advertisements and program promotions that may attract and maintain user interest.
Interactive television systems may be used to provide an interactive television program guide in which program listings are presented to users. Pay-per-view and video-on-demand services, web browsing services, games, home shopping, and other interactive features may be provided using interactive television systems.
In known interactive television systems, a user has an in-home set-top box or other equipment with which the user can interact using a remote control or other user input interface. In a computer environment, the user can access interactive television program guide web sites.
Known interactive television systems provide interactive television program guides that display advertisements and program promotions alongside the program listings. However, known interactive television advertisements and program promotions struggle to attract and maintain user interest in advertisements and program promotions.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods for presenting interactive advertisements and program promotions that attract and maintain user attention and interest.

Interactive advertising and program promotion in an interactive television system