A semiconductor device comprises: a first semiconductor layer 6 having a first conductivity formed on a substrate having a surface of an insulating material 4; a source region 16a and a drain region 16b, which are formed on the first semiconductor layer so as to be separated from each other and which have a second conductivity different from the first conductivity; a channel region 6 formed on the first semiconductor layer between the source region and the drain region; a gate electrode 10 formed on the channel region a gate sidewall 14 of an insulating material formed on a side of the gate electrode; and a second semiconductor layer 18 having the first conductivity formed on at least the source region. This semiconductor device can effectively suppress the floating-body effect with a simple structure.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to a semiconductor device formed on an insulating material and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of The Prior Art
In recent years, the high integration of semiconductor integrated circuits, particularly dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), has progressed remarkably. However, the area of a memory cell tends to decrease as the integrated degree thereof increases, so that it is difficult to ensure sufficient cell capacity to prevent so-called soft-error caused by alpha rays radiated from package materials.
Therefore, a semiconductor device has been trying to form on a single crystal silicon film on an insulator film. This semiconductor device is called a Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) element and promises to serve as a high-performance element which can operate at a high speed and with a low electric power consumption.
As shown in FIG. 15, a SOI MOSFET generally comprises: a semiconductor substrate 62; a buried oxide film 64 formed thereon; a single crystal silicon layer 66 of a first conductivity (e.g., p-type) formed thereon; diffusion layers 76a, 76b of a second conductivity (e.g., n-type) formed in the silicon layer 66 so as to serve as a source and a drain, the second conductivity being different from the first conductivity; a gate oxide film 69 formed on the silicon layer 66; and a gate electrode 70 formed on the gate oxide film 69. Using this SOI element, electron and hole pairs produced by alpha rays can be controlled so as to be located in the single crystal silicon layer (which will be also hereinafter referred to as a "SOI" layer), so that it is possible to greatly improve the soft-error immunity.
However, there are critical drawbacks caused by floating-body effect in that the SOI element (SOI MOSFET) has instabilities that drain breakdown voltage is lowered as shown in FIG. 16 and that the overshoot of output current is caused in switching operation as shown in FIGS. 17A-17F. That is, as shown in FIG. 16, the SOI MOSFET has a lower drain breakdown voltage than that of a MOSFET having the same gate length. In addition, when input voltages (gate pulses) shown in FIGS. 17A, 17C and 17E are applied to the gate electrode, output currents (drain currents) occur as shown in FIGS. 17B, 17D and 17F, respectively. In these output currents, overshoot occurs as shown by arrows in FIGS. 17B, 17D and 17F.
There have been provided methods for effectively preventing carriers produced by the impact ionization, which may cause the floating-body effect in such a SOI element, from accumulating in a channel region (e.g., for effectively preventing holes from accumulating in the case of a MOSFET of n-type SOI structure). For example, the aforementioned methods include: a method for forming a body contact; a method for providing a p-type silicon layer in a diffusion layer to directly connect the silicon layer to a channel region in the case of a n-type Si-MOSFET; and a method for forming, in a source region, a layer of a material (e.g., Si.sub.1-x Ge.sub.x) having a narrower bandgap than that of a channel region.
However, in the case of the body contact method, there are problems in that the area of a cell increases and that the sheet resistance of the region which connects the body-contact and the channel region can not be ignored as the size decreases. In the case of the method for providing the p-type silicon layer in the source region on the n-MOSFET, it is difficult to form the p-type silicon layer since the n.sup.+ layer and the p layer are stacked in the source. Moreover, there are problems in that the sheet resistance may increase, that the thickness of the n.sup.+ layer and the p layer can not be accurately controlled unless the heat treatment is suitably controlled, and that although it is desired to cause a hole-absorbing layer to approach a channel region by the lateral diffusion, such control can not be easily performed since the hole-absorbing layer reaches the channel region in some heat treatment conditions. There is also a problem in that it is not possible to prevent the thickness of the SOI layer from increasing in order to realize such a formation, so that it goes against the scale down trend such as the decrease of the SOI thickness for the scale down of the device.
In particular, as shown in FIG. 18A, in a case where a p-type silicon layer 75 is provided below a source region 76a so as to be directly connected to a channel region 66, there are problems in that the source region 76a and a drain region 76b are not symmetrically arranged with respect to a gate, and that it is not possible to apply a MOSFET of the aforementioned SOI structure to a transistor forming a memory cell of a DRAM. Furthermore, the reason why it can not be applied to a DRAM is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 19, a memory cell of a DRAM generally comprises a MOSFET 50 and a capacitor 55. A gate 51 of the MOSFET 50 is connected to a word wire WL, a source 52a is connected to a bit line BL, and a drain 52b is connected to one end of the capacitor 55. Furthermore, the other end of the capacitor 55 is grounded.
When a transistor shown in FIG. 18A is used as a transistor of the aforementioned memory cell, it can be clearly seen from the energy band diagram (see FIG. 18B) of a source region (p.sup.+ layer 75), a channel region (p-layer 66) and a drain region (n.sup.+ layer 76b) when a source potential is in a high level that electrons flow between the source and drain independent of a gate voltage V.sub.G. That is, when writing (when the source potential is in a high level), the control of the gate may be lost to cause the malfunction of the transistor shown in FIG. 18A, so that it is unsuitable for a device such as a DRAM wherein carriers move in both directions.
Thus, in a case where the p-type silicon layer 75 is arranged below the n-type source region 76a so as to be directly connected to the channel, when the source potential is in a high level, the pn junction between the channel region and the drain region is conducted, so that it can not be applied to many MOS devices including DRAMs.
In addition, in the case of the method for forming the region of a narrow-bandgap material in the source region, if the ion implantation is used to form the region of the narrow-bandgap material, the damage caused by the ion implantation into the diffusion layer region may cause problems with respect to the element characteristics.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof


A method for mixing a water-absorbent resin and a surface cross-linking agent-containing solution to repress aggregates is equipped. The water-absorbent resin and the surface cross-linking agent-containing solution is mixed with a plow-shaped mixing device which is equipped with an inner wall formed of material manifesting an interfacial contact angle of not less than 60° to water and possessing a temperature of heat distortion of not lower than 70° C., a plow-shaped stirring vane and a disintegrating blade.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for modifying a water-absorbent resin comprising a step of mixing a water-absorbent resin and an aqueous solution and a method for producing a modified water-absorbent resin. More particularly, this invention relates to a method for modification of a water-absorbent resin comprising a step of uniformly mixing a water-absorbent resin and an aqueous solution by using a mixing device of a specific construction, or by adding the aqueous solution in a specific range to the water-absorbent resin, and a mixing device optimally suitable for the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
The water-absorbent resin possesses a characteristic property of absorbing a large volume of water and is used for materials forming sanitary articles such as disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, and incontinence pads, water-retaining agents for soil, and drip sheets for foodstuffs. Particularly for application to such hygienic articles as disposable diapers, the desirability of developing a water-absorbent resin having a high absorption capacity under pressure has been requested with a view to conferring decreased thicknesses on such products. The water-absorbent resin of this sort is generally produced by undergoing such steps as formation of a hydrated gel polymer, drying, pulverization, and classification. For the purpose of imparting further exalted absorption properties, the water-absorbent resin is modified frequently by the addition of various water-soluble compounds. The surface cross-linkage of the water-absorbent resin is one conceivable approach to the modification and it necessitates a step of mixing a water-absorbent resin powder and an aqueous solution containing a surface cross-linking agent (JP-A-1992-214734).
The solid-liquid system is stirred and mixed in order to suspend solid particles and uniformly diffuse the liquid phase encircling the solid particles. When the solid is a water-absorbent resin, the solid and the liquid are not easily mixed uniformly and are liable to form aggregates because the water-absorbent resin after addition of the aqueous solution immediately absorbs the liquid.
With a view to effecting the mixture satisfactorily, JP-A-1992-214734 indicates use of a high-speed stirring type mixer having an inner surface formed substantially of material manifesting an interfacial contact angle of not less than about 60° to water and possessing a temperature of heat distortion of not lower than about 70° C. As concrete examples of the high-speed stirring type mixer, mixers of the type having rotary vanes equipped on the inner surface of the bottom part of a stirring tank such as Henschel Mixer, New Speed Mixer, and Heavy Duty Matrix and mixers of the type equipped on the inner side thereof with a cylindrical container and adapted to effect continuous mixture of two or more kinds of powder or a liquid and a powder by high-speed rotation of a rotor fitted with a multiplicity of paddles such as Turburizer and Sand Turbo may be cited. This publication has a mention that a continuous mixer possesses high productivity.
Then, as a means to perform covalent bond type surface cross-linkage on dried and finely divided hydrogel particulates, a method which obtains a product by introducing a hydroxy gel powder and a solution of ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, water, and 1,2-propane diol as kept mixed into a plow-shaped mixing device over a period of 5-10 minutes and subsequently heating, and cooling the resultant mixture is described (Example 7 in JP-A-2002-527547). From the embodiment given in this example that the mixing operation was continued over a period of at least five minutes and the product was classified with sieves to remove particles measuring 120-850 μm in diameter, it is inferred that aggregates are generated in this example.
A method has been known which, in mixing water-absorbent resin particles and liquid drops by the use of a mixing device equipped with a stirring axis fitted with a plurality of paddles, operates the device with the linear velocity of the leading terminals of paddles set in a rang of 250-3,000 m/min (JP-A-1999-349625). In one working example cited in this publication, a surface cross-linking agent-containing solution was mixed by spraying with a water-absorbent resin by using a high-speed stirring mixing device such as Turburizer, with the rotational frequency of the Turburier set at 2,160 rpm. The mixing device, as described in the specification, was furnished with an inner surface coated with Teflon and equipped on the circumferences of paddles (vanes) with protrusions so disposed as to induce turbulence and consequently exalted the mixing property of the device.
A method has been disclosed which produces a water absorbing agent endowed with prescribed properties by mixing a carboxyl group-containing water-absorbent resin and an aqueous solution by means of a stirring continuous extrusion type mixing device equipped around a rotary shaft in the inner part of a stationary cylinder with at least one stirring member adapted to exert extruding thrust force on the water-absorbent resin (JP-A-1997-235378). Since this mixing device has the stirring member so disposed as to secure a mixing region on the discharge side of a diffusing region, the mixture of the water-absorbent resin and the aqueous solution proceeds in two or more states of agitation, namely dispersion and admixture.
A method has been disclosed which, for the purpose of enabling uniform mixture of a water-absorbent resin and a liquid substance to proceed very easily and stably for a long time, causes the water-absorbent resin and the liquid substance to be mixed by the use of a mixing device equipped with a spray nozzle (JP-A-2002-201290). This method is supposed to comprise spraying a water-absorbent resin through a spray nozzle in the shape of an empty cone describing an annular spray pattern or in the shape of an elliptic cone describing a biconvex lens spray pattern, drying the product of spraying, pulverizing the dry water-absorbent resin, and heat-treating the pulverized water-absorbent resin in an atmosphere having a dew point of not higher than 60° C. and a temperature of not lower than 90° C. As the mixing devices which are available for this method, a cylindrical mixing device, a double wall conical mixing device, a V-shaped mixing device, a ribbon type mixing device, a screw type mixing device, a fluidized type furnace rotary disc type mixing device, an air flow type mixing device, an inner mixing device, a pulverizer type kneader, a rotary type mixing device, and a screw type extruding device are cited. In the working examples, a Turburizer was used as a continuous high-speed stirring and mixing device.
For the modification of the surface of a water-absorbent resin, the step of mixing the water-absorbent resin and an aqueous solution containing a surface modifying agent indeed is an indispensable requirement. Since the water-absorbent resin, on contacting an aqueous solution, immediately absorbs the aqueous solution and swells or exerts stickiness, the aqueous solution is uniformly mixed with the water-absorbent resin only with difficulty. Even the method mentioned above, therefore, suffers occurrence of aggregates.
Further, since the water-absorbent resin swells and retains the stickiness, it adheres to the interior of the device. The aggregates occur also in consequence of the growth of the resultant deposit. Further, the occurrence of the deposit possibly renders continuous operation of the device difficult. This invention, therefore, aims to provide a mixing method which efficiently executes uniform mixture of a water-absorbent resin and an aqueous solution.
The water-absorbent resin is generally preferred to contain particulates of particle diameters of not more than 150 μm in the smallest possible amount. These particulates in such a water-absorbing product as a disposable diaper clog in the product and constitute a factor for degrading the ability of the product to pass liquid. Even when the particulates are treated with a surface cross-linking agent, the treatment does not easily attain exaltation of various solid state properties such as an absorption capacity under pressure but entails such problems as incurring loss due to the disposal of useless scrap and consequently degrading the yield and adding to the cost of waste disposal. This invention is directed toward providing a method for producing a water-absorbent resin which does not appreciably contain particulates.

Method for production of water-absorbent resin and plow-shaped mixing device


A rotating cylindrical treatment apparatus for accomplishing rolling and heat-treatment of a treated material continuously and with high reliability. The apparatus includes a deviation detecting device provided at a suitable position for detecting deviation of an endless belt to generate a signal and an axis inclination structure for varying an inclination of at least one of belt support rollers depending upon the signal generated from the deviation detecting device, so that the deviation may be automatically corrected without interrupting the operation of the apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rotating cylindrical treatment apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for supplying, in the form of a suitable shape such as a sheet-like shape or the like, a material to be heated or cooled such as synthetic resin, smashed fish, smashed meat or the like and pressing the sheet-like material against a heated or cooled surface of a rotating cylindrical body to treat it.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A rotating cylindrical treatment apparatus of this type is known in the art, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 225882/1987 and generally constructed in such a manner as shown in FIG. 4. More particularly, the conventional rotating cylindrical treatment apparatus generally includes a cylindrical body 1 of which a revolving axis is orientated in a horizontal direction, a heating or cooling mechanism 2 provided in the cylindrical body 1, a feed section 3 for feeding a material 4 to be treated (hereinafter referred to as "treated material") which is positioned above the cylindrical body 1, a pressure roller 5 for pressing the treated material 4 fed to the cylindrical body 1 against the cylindrical body to roll it, an endless belt 6 for conveying the treated material 4 while keeping it pressed upon the cylindrical body 6, and a crusher 7 for crushing the treated material 4 separated from the cylindrical body 1. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 8 designates a spray nozzle provided at a feed pipe 9 for spraying an inner surface of the cylindrical body 1 with a gas-liquid mixture comprising pressurized air and a heating or cooling medium for heating or cooling the cylindrical body 1.
The conventional rotating cylindrical treatment apparatus constructed as described above has a disadvantage in that the endless belt 6 tends to shift or deviate in an axial direction of guide or support rollers around which it is passed, to thereby cause the treated material to deviate from a material carrying position predetermined on the cylindrical body 1, resulting in a part of the treated material being relatively dislocated from the endless belt 6. Also, the conventional apparatus exhibits a further disadvantage of causing the endless belt 6 to be contacted with various components arranged on both sides of the cylindrical body 1, leading to damage of the endless belt. In order to avoid the above problems, the conventional rotating cylindrical treatment apparatus adopted an approach in which the operation of the apparatus is visually monitored, so that the operation is stopped to correct a deviation of the endless belt upon the observation of the start of the deviation. Thus, the conventional apparatus does not provide for a continuous running with a high reliability.
In addition, in the conventional rotating cylindrical treatment apparatus, the cylindrical body 1 comprises only a hollow cylindrical plate member opened at both side ends and end plates arranged to close both ends of the cylindrical plate member and is free of any rib structure for reinforcing the cylindrical plate member. This is because the cylindrical body of the conventional rotating cylindrical treatment apparatus is relatively small in size, therefore, it is not required to provide a means for preventing deflection of the cylindrical body. Recently, a volume of the treated material 4 to be handled has been highly increased, so that it is required to form the cylindrical body 1 into a large size. Unfortunately, the cylindrical plate member of the cylindrical body is made of a metal sheet of a relatively small thickness, therefore, an increase in diameter and length of the cylindrical body fails to permit the cylindrical body to exhibit desired functions while permitting only both end plates to keep the cylindrical plate member properly cylindrical. Thus, the large-sizing of the cylindrical body requires the arrangement of a rib structure in the cylindrical plate member. However, in order to permit the cylindrical body to effectively exhibit a desired heating or cooling function, it is required to not only constantly introduce a cooling or heating medium into the cylindrical body but successively discharge it through an outlet port while keeping a predetermined amount of the medium stored in the lower portion of the, cylindrical body. Therefore, the arrangement of the rib structure in the cylindrical body blocks the flowing of the cooling or heating medium to the outlet port, to thereby cause the cylindrical body to be non-uniformly heated or cooled, leading to a failure in uniform cooling or heating of the treated material depending upon a position on the cylindrical body.

Rotating cylindrical treatment apparatus


An artificial tree apparatus having a plurality of tree trunk segments that couple together to provide electrical power to receptacles on each of the segments. An electrical line is connected to a first trunk segment electrical connector, such that when the first trunk segment is brought into juxtaposition with the second trunk segment, a detent on the first trunk segment can be brought into alignment with and slidably engage with a guide slot on the second trunk segment to permit connection of the first trunk segment electrical connector (socket) with the second trunk segment electrical connector (plug). The recessed location of the plug on the second segment protects the plug prongs, and connection with the corresponding socket on the first segment is only possible when the detent on the first segment has been aligned with the guide slot on the second segment.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,052,156 to Primeau discloses a combination artificial tree-lighting arrangement including a generally elongated tree trunk. The combination also includes a plurality of connecting components mountable on the tree trunk and a plurality of display components mountable on the connecting components. Each display component has tree limbs and lighting cables extending therefrom. The lighting cables are provided with decorative lights. An electrical circuitry connectable to an electrical power source is attachable to the connecting components. The electrical circuitry includes a connecting component-to-light coupling arrangement for electrically coupling the connecting components to the decorative lights. The connecting component-to-light coupling arrangement allows the display components to rotate relative to the connecting components about a rotation axis substantially parallel to the trunk longitudinal axis while maintaining the electrical coupling between the connecting components and the decorative lights.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,663 to Kao describes a panel branch for an artificial tree. The panel branch includes a plurality of twigs, a channel element, a number of inserts, and a hook-like member. Each twig is inserted through an aperture in the insert and the insert, in turn, is placed in and secured in the channel element. The hook-like member has a short side used to secure the branch to an artificial trunk and a long side secured in the channel element. Optical fibers are associated with the twigs of the panel branch. Each optical fiber is threaded through an aperture in an insert and gathered into a bundle. A socket with a light source is provided to receive the bundle of optical fibers such that the branch is lighted.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,773,134 to Harvey teaches an illuminated artificial tree having a display position and a folded position constructed of an odd number of upright wire mesh panels hingedly attached at their vertical inner edges, the panels including a first end panel, a second end panel and a plurality of intermediate panels between the first and second end panels. A string of decorative lights are attached in a plurality of spaced, reversed loops, the string extending from adjacent the lower edge of the first panel around the intermediate panels to the second panel, then upwardly along the outer edge of the second panel, and then back around the outer edges of the intermediate panels to the first panel, thereby permitting folding of the tree without removal of the light string.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,914 to Tang discloses an artificial tree structure with decorative lamps, comprising a plurality of hollow tubes or iron wires of various lengths, in the shape of tree branches, arranged from top to bottom around the main trunk supported by detachable legs. On each side sticks are installed a plurality of iron wires to form the shape of tree branches. The exterior of the hollow tubes or iron wires is wound by dense tree leaves. The lamps installed in the hollow tubes or on the iron wires are serially connected to become decorative lamp strings. The decorative lamp strings are then combined in parallel connection, running down the main trunk to be connected to a control box and a power transformer. The structure described above provides the artificial tree with decorative lamps, using the control box to produce music and lighting effects of different luminosity and flashing speeds.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,458,435 to Lai describes an artificial tree with a central trunk, a number of main branches suspended from an upper portion of the trunk in a downwardly and outwardly inclined orientation, and a preformed tree top section extending upwardly from the upper portion of the trunk. Each main branch includes a number of sub-branch clusters and a bundle of fiber optic conduits which terminate in the sub-branches. The bundles of fiber optic conduits are received in an opaque enclosure housing a high intensity light source, which enclosure is attached to the upper portion of the trunk. Electric lights are disclosed as an alternative means to illuminate the tree. The trunk includes upwardly open hook elements which receive pin elements within the interior of rigid support members of the main branches. Each sub-branch cluster is pivotally connected to an associated rigid support member to articulate between a collapsed position for storage and shipping, and an extended position for display.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,559 to Woolford teaches an electrified, artificial Christmas tree, which comprises both the artificial tree, composed of a stand and trunk with attachable branches, and various electrical components. The trunk portion of the tree is composed of a plurality of coupled sections which are joined together in a vertical orientation, and each of which has holes for branches to be inserted. The trunk pieces also have electrical sockets which are internally connected to the base of the trunk. The base of the trunk has attached to it another electrical socket and a master power cable. In use, the tree is assembled as any standard artificial tree, connecting trunk pieces together, and inserting into them branches of various sizes. Any conventional ornament or lighting fixture may be hung on these branches, and plugged into the trunk for power requirements. A stand at the base of the trunk provides stability, and internal circuit breakers provide assurance against fire. A line from the trunk is plugged into a powered electrical to provide power to the entire tree.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,797 to Shattan discloses an illuminated artificial tree and its method of manufacture in which a plurality of branches extend from a trunk of the tree, each branch being formed by spirally winding a strip assembly of a plurality of juxtaposed fiber optic elements and simulated pine needles on an elongated support wire. The fiber optic elements and simulated pine needles extend around the wire in adjacent relation to provide an interspersed array of pine needles and fiber optic elements all along the length of the branch. The fiber optic elements are illuminated at the base of the tree to provide points of light substantially all around each branch along its entire length. A member of branches are assembled along the trunk from the top down.
The foregoing patents reflect the current state of the art of which the present inventor is aware. Reference to, and discussion of, these patents is intended to aid in discharging Applicant's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information that may be relevant to the examination of claims to the present invention. However, it is respectfully submitted that none of the above-indicated patents disclose, teach, suggest, show, or otherwise render obvious, either singly or when considered in combination, the invention described and claimed herein.


This invention discloses a method for coevolving products from two or more reactants, along with the nucleic acid that can facilitate the reaction for making the products. The invention further discloses the products and facilitating nucleic acids produced by said method.

A method for the in vitro evolution of nucleic acid molecules with highly specific binding to target molecules has been developed. This method, Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment, termed SELEX, is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/536,428, entitled Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment, now abandoned, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/714,131, filed Jun. 10, 1991, entitled Nucleic Acid Ligands (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,096), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/931,473, filed Aug. 17, 1992, entitled Nucleic Acid Ligands, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,163 (see also PCT/US91/04078(WO 91/19813)), each of which is herein specifically incorporated by reference. Each of these applications, collectively referred to herein as the SELEX Patent Applications, describes a fundamentally novel method for making a nucleic acid ligand to any desired target molecule.
The SELEX method involves selection from a mixture of candidate oligonucleotides and step-wise iterations of binding, partitioning and amplification, using the same general selection scheme, to achieve virtually any desired criterion of binding affinity and selectivity. Starting from a mixture of nucleic acids, preferably comprising a segment of randomized sequence, the SELEX method includes steps of contacting the mixture with the target under conditions favorable for binding, partitioning unbound nucleic acids from those nucleic acids which have bound specifically to target molecules, dissociating the nucleic acid-target complexes, amplifying the nucleic acids dissociated from the nucleic acid-target complexes to yield a ligand-enriched mixture of nucleic acids, then reiterating the steps of binding, partitioning, dissociating and amplifying through as many cycles as desired to yield highly specific high affinity nucleic acid ligands to the target molecule.
It has been recognized by the present inventors that the SELEX method demonstrates that nucleic acids as chemical compounds can form a wide array of shapes, sizes and configurations, and are capable of a far broader repertoire of binding and other functions than those displayed in biological systems.
The dogma for many years was that nucleic acids had primarily an informational role. Through the application of SELEX it has become clear to the present inventors that nucleic acids have three dimensional structural diversity not unlike proteins. As such, the present inventors have recognized that SELEX or SELEX-like processes could be used to identify nucleic acids which can facilitate any chosen reaction in that nucleic acid ligands can be identified for any given target. In theory, within a candidate mixture of approximately 10.sup.13 to 10.sup.18 nucleic acids, the present inventors postulate that at least one nucleic acid exists with the appropriate shape to facilitate a broad variety of physical and chemical interactions.
Studies to date have identified only a few nucleic acids which have only a narrow subset of facilitating capabilities. A few RNA catalysts are known (Cech,1987.Science 236:1532-1539 and McCorkle et al., 1987.Concepts Biochem. 64:221-226). These naturally occurring RNA enzymes (ribozymes) have to date only been shown to act on oligonucleotide substrates. Further, these molecules perform over a narrow range of chemical possibilities, which are thus far related largely to phosphodiester bond condensation/hydrolysis, with the exception of the possible involvement of RNA in protein biosynthesis. Despite intense recent investigation to identify RNA or DNA catalysts, few successes have been identified. Phosphodiester cleavage, hydrolysis of aminoacyl esters (Piccirilli et al.,1992.Science 256:1420-1424), ligation of an oligonucleotide with a 3' OH to the 5' triphosphate end of the catalyst (Bartel et al.,1993.Science 261:1411-1418), amide bond cleavage (Dai et al., 1995.Science 267:237-40), biphenyl isomerase activity (Schultz et al.,1994.Science 264:1924-1927), and polynucleotide kinase activity (Lorsch et al.,1994. Nature 371:31-36) have been observed. Illangasekare et al., (Science. 1995 267:643-47) describe the first RNA molecules that catalyze a carbon-oxygen bond formation. The nucleic acid catalysts known to date have certain shortcomings associated with their effectiveness in bond forming/breaking reactions. Among the drawbacks are that they act slowly relative to protein enzymes, and as described above, they perform over a somewhat narrow range of chemical possibilities.
The basic SELEX method has been modified to achieve a number of specific objectives. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/960,093, filed Oct. 14, 1992, entitled Method for Selecting Nucleic Acids on the Basis of Structure, now abandoned, describes the use of SELEX in conjunction with gel electrophoresis to select nucleic acid molecules with specific structural characteristics, such as bent DNA (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,796). U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/123,935, filed Sep. 17, 1993, entitled Photoselection of Nucleic Acid Ligands, now abandoned, describes a SELEX based method for selecting nucleic acid ligands containing photoreactive groups capable of binding and/or photocrosslinking to and/or photoinactivating a target molecule. Copending PCT/US94/10562 (WO 95/08003), filed Sep. 19, 1994 which is a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/123,935, specifically incorporated by reference, discloses that certain nucleic acid sequences that contained 5-iodouracil residues were identified that covalently bind to HIV-1 Rev protein. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/134,028, filed Oct. 7, 1993, entitled High-Affinity Nucleic Acid Ligands That Discriminate Between Theophylline and Caffeine, now abandoned, describes a method for identifying highly specific nucleic acid ligands able to discriminate between closely related molecules, termed Counter-SELEX (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,737). U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/143,564, filed Oct. 25, 1993, entitled Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential Enrichment: Solution SELEX, now abandoned, describes a SELEX-based method which achieves highly efficient partitioning between oligonucleotides having high and low affinity for a target molecule (See U.S Pat. No. 5,567,588). U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/400,440, filed Mar. 8, 1995 entitled "Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment: Chemi-SELEX," describes methods for covalently linking a nucleic acid ligand to its target.
The SELEX method encompasses the identification of high-affinity nucleic acid ligands containing modified nucleotides conferring improved characteristics on the ligand, such as improved in vivo stability or improved delivery characteristics. Examples of such modifications include chemical substitutions at the ribose and/or phosphate and/or base positions. SELEX-identified nucleic acid ligands containing modified nucleotides are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/117,991, filed Sep. 8, 1993, entitled High Affinity Nucleic Acid Ligands Containing Modified Nucleotides, that describes oligonucleotides containing nucleotide derivatives chemically modified at the 5- and 2'-positions of pyrimidines. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/134,028, supra, describes highly specific nucleic acid ligands containing one or more nucleotides modified with 2'-amino (2'-NH.sub.2), 2'-fluoro (2'-F), and/or 2'-O-methyl (2'-OMe). U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/264,029, filed Jun. 22, 1994, entitled Novel Method of Preparation of 2' Modified Pyrimidine Intramolecular Nucleophilic Displacement, describes oligonucleotides containing various 2'-modified pyrimidines.
The SELEX method encompasses combining selected oligonucleotides with other selected oligonucleotides and non-oligonucleotide functional units as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/284,063, filed Aug. 2, 1994, entitled Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment: Chimeric SELEX and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/234,997, filed Apr. 28, 1994, entitled Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment: Blended SELEX, respectively. These applications allow the combination of the broad array of shapes and other properties, and the efficient amplification and replication properties, of oligonucleotides with the desirable properties of other molecules. Each of the above described patent applications which describe modifications of the basic SELEX procedure are specifically incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
Recently some attempts have been made to use combinatorial chemistry as a way to discover new drugs. A few elaborate schemes have been devised to produce combinatorial libraries having an array of different structures. The structures associated with known combinatorial libraries include nucleic acids as described previously for the SELEX process, peptides (Brenner, et al.,1992.PNAS 89:5381-5383; Needles, et al., 1993. PNAS 90:10700-10704; Alper, 1994. Science 264:1399-1401; Longman, 1994. In Vivo 23-31, Fodor et al., 1991. Science 251:767-773), and a much smaller number directed to small organic molecules (Ohlmeyer, et al.,1993. PNAS 90:10922-10926). There are certain drawbacks associated with each of the known combinatorial library approaches.
First, some of the schemes used for preparing peptide or small molecule combinatorial libraries require rigorous recordkeeping systems to keep track of which chemistries occurred at any point in the array/matrix. Moreover, peptides and small organic molecules are not amplifiable and therefore relatively large quantities of each individual product must be present in the library to enable testing and identification of desirable products. In order to obtain large enough quantities of specific products, the reactions that make up the array must be highly efficient. More importantly, for these approaches to work, it is not possible to have a mixture of products and side products at the same site in the array. Diversity is generated by polymeric combination of multiple steps, each of which consists of a single reaction with a predictable outcome. However, the extent of polymeric combination is limited by yield and recordkeeping constraints.
Another limitation of small molecule combinatorial approaches is that the schemes generally exclude bond formation reactions that produce new stereocenters by asymmetric reactions. By eliminating asymmetric reactions, these approaches do not provide chemical diversity that can be generated at a single step. Often, asymmetric reactions are difficult to control, so if reactions that form new chiral centers are included in the combinatorial scheme, it would be likely that racemic product mixtures would result. When more than one chiral center is present, diastereomeric product mixtures can result in background problems. For example, it is possible that the ideal atoms and groups are introduced for assembly, but that the chirality of the product is crucial to the desired properties and the correct enantiomer is only present as a small percentage of the total. In this example, it is quite likely that the correct enantiomer will not be made in a quantity sufficient to be identified. Further, it is impossible to accurately predict the chirality of each individual reaction when a large array of reactants is included in an asymmetric transformation. Therefore, it is unlikely that the difficulty associated with racemic mixtures can be overcome by traditional means. The labor and time necessary to include asymmetric catalysis in conventional combinatorial library approaches is generally impractical. Therefore, asymmetric reactions are generally excluded to circumvent the described problems.
Nevertheless, asymmetric reactions include one of the most powerful of all bond forming reaction types. The absence of asymmetric reactions in combinatorial library approaches significantly limits the types of products that can be made and the breadth of the library. The following example illustrates the immense diversity afforded by asymmetric reactions. In general, the number of potential products produced from a matrix of reactants is M.times.2.sup.n where M=the number of reactants and n=the number of chiral centers. Consider a matrix comprised of bond forming reactions where one asymmetric bond is formed. The number of potential products increases as two times the product of the matrix. Note that for each bond formed the possibility exists to generate two chiral centers, so that for a single transformation the number of possible combinations is 4 or 2.sup.2. Consider a specific example of an asymmetric reaction, the Diels-Alder reaction, where two carbon-carbon bonds are formed and the potential for producing 4 chiral centers exists. ##STR1## For the Diels-Alder reaction, the relative stereochemistry of the two ends of the dienophile reactant are coupled as are the two ends of the diene reactant, reducing the number of possibilities to 2.sup.3 for each diene/dienophile pair. This means that for a single dienophile in combination with 10 dienes, the number of possible product molecules that could be formed is 1.times.10.times.2.sup.3 =80. To get the same level of diversity from traditional combinatorial approaches using only a single bond forming step would require the direct synthesis of 81 compounds. For an array of 10.times.10 reactants, the standard combinatorial approach yields 100 compounds. Expansion of the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction array to 10.times.10 reactants has the potential to yield 800 new compounds from the original 20. Current combinatorial strategies cannot screen for all potential products of asymmetric transformations because it is generally not possible to obtain each of the products desired. As described above, the elimination of asymmetric reactions is a serious limitation of conventional combinatorial library approaches.
An ideal combinatorial library approach would be complementary to the SELEX method, where yield is not a concern, due to the ability to amplify the oligonucleotide products, and yet yield small organic molecules which are generally orally active and relatively inexpensive to produce. The present invention combines the power of SELEX with a novel approach for generating a large, structurally diverse library of products. The approach taken in the present invention overcomes many of the inadequacies associated with other combinatorial library approaches and represents a revolutionary concept in future drug discovery.


Adjustable light emitting diode lighting assembly, kit and system and method of assembling an adjustable light emitting diode lighting assembly. The adjustable light emitting diode lighting assembly comprises a mounting can adapted to be mounted in a housing and an upper locking ring adapted to be mounted to the mounting can. A lower base ring is spaced-apart from the upper locking ring. An adjustable collar coupled to the upper locking ring and the lower base ring and interposed therebetween is provided for adjustably supporting a light emitting diode module over a plurality of light distribution angles. Conductive, radiative and/or convective heat sinks are provided for removing heat produced by the light emitting diode module to maintain luminous efficiency and service life of the light emitting diode module.

There have been many different types and kinds of light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as "LED") light fixtures. For example, reference may be made to the following United States patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,769 B2 to Sell discloses an LED conversion system that is used in connection with a recessed light housing mounted in a ceiling. The housing has a can with apertures through it and an electrical socket mounted inside. An electrical source of AC current is connected to the socket. A lamp fitting into the can has a shell with a flat or domed top and a plurality of LEDs. A power supply converts AC to DC current to power the LEDs.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,670,021B2 to Chou discloses a lighting assembly that comprises a light fixture. The light fixture includes a trim formed by a stamping or die casting process. The trim has thermally conductive properties and includes a flange around a perimeter of the trim. The light fixture includes a light source mounted to a central portion of a front surface of the trim, and a heat sink formed by an extrusion or die casting process. The heat sink has thermally conductive properties and is mounted to a back surface of the trim. A recessed can housing mounted to a surface may be provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,618,150B2 to Chien discloses a multiple LED light device with adjustable angle function and that has multiple LED-units, each including a housing and extensions that fit within tracks to adjust the LED's light beam angle, thereby enabling a plurality of the LED-units to direct light beams to different desired locations.
While the above-mentioned features are satisfactory for some applications, it is clear that none of the above-mentioned U.S. patents appear to expressly disclose minimizing heat loss by conductive heat transfer. Neither do any of these patent documents appear to disclose (1) minimizing heat loss by active cooling of the LED lighting apparatus; (2) a light fixture which has an LED swivel feature for convenient directional control of the LED light; (3) active cooling of the light fixture; (4) the need for cooling the plurality of LED units; nor (5) the ability to easily customizing LED units in the field for accommodating existing recessed ceiling housing boxes of different sizes.
More particularly, none of these U.S. patents teach or disclose minimizing substantial heat loss by a plurality of interconnected heat conducting members. Nor do they suggest or teach minimizing heat loss by combining a plurality of interconnecting heat conductive members with an active cooling system. In addition, none of these U.S. patents disclose or suggest coupling the interconnected heat conductive members in such a manner as to provide the LED light fixture with a swivel feature to provide convenient directional control of the spread of LED light over a multiple number of user selected light distribution angles. Still yet, none of these U.S. patents teach or disclose a cooling system and method that permits a plurality of the LED lighting fixtures to be cooled. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, none of these U.S. patents disclose an LED light fixture that can be quickly and easily customized in the field to retrofit existing lighting units with recessed ceiling housing boxes of different sizes, such as housing boxes of 3-inch to 8-inch diameters or more, for example.
In short then, the prior art approaches mentioned, hereinabove do not appear to provide an adjustable LED lighting assembly, kit and system and method of assembling an adjustable LED lighting assembly, as described and claimed hereinbelow.
Therefore, there is a need to provide an adjustable LED lighting assembly, kit, and system and method of assembling an adjustable LED lighting assembly, as described and claimed hereinbelow.


A pressure measuring device for a bicycle has a housing that includes a pressure chamber. The pressure chamber has a valve disposed in a first opening and a second opening into or out of a tire assembly volume of a tire assembly. A sense element is in pressure communication with the pressure chamber along a flow path between the first and second openings.

A bicycle may be equipped with pneumatic tires. Characteristics of these pneumatic tires are dependent on the pressure contained within the tires. An optimal pressure for modern bicycle tires can range from slightly above to many times greater than atmospheric pressure. Variables including tire size, tire type, bicycle and rider weight, surface conditions, and riding style all affect an optimal tire pressure for a bicycle pneumatic tire. Size, weight, and packaging constraints on certain bicycle tires and tire assemblies can dictate significant pressure loss rates, making regular pressure measurement important even to maintain a fixed optimal pressure. Defects in, or damage to, tires or tire assemblies can cause slow pressure leaks that regular pressure measurement may identify before these leaks become problematic. Additionally, frequent pressure adjustments due to changing variables mean that a rider will benefit from convenient and accurate pressure measurement.
Traditionally the pressure within bicycle tires is measured using an external pressure gauge such as may be found on a floor-based tire pump. Such a gauge must be connected to the tire assembly to measure pressure and cannot measure the tire pressure while the bicycle is in use and the tire assembly is rotating. The use of such a gauge for the identification of leaks is not ideal as many of these leaks may begin from damage incurred while the bicycle is being ridden and thus when such an external device cannot detect them. The requirement of a separate or external pressure gauge, not designed to be a permanent or semi-permanent component of the bicycle, limits when a rider can make accurate pressure adjustments. For instance, a tire pressure may commonly be increased with a tire inflating device such as a pressurized cartridge inflator or a portable tire pump without a pressure gauge and may be decreased by selectively opening a tire valve. However, without a device for accurately measuring the tire pressure, there is limited utility to these pressure adjustment techniques in achieving an optimal tire pressure.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A new and distinct cultivar of Lobelia plant named ‘Balwalila’, characterized by its violet-colored flowers, dark green-colored foliage; and vigorous, compact-mounded, semi-trailing growth habit.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Lobelia plant botanically known as Lobelia erinus and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Balwalila'.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Südlohn, Germany during the summer of 2002. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Lobelia cultivars with unique flower coloration and a vigorous, mounded, and semi-trailing growth habit.
The new Lobelia cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Lobelia erinus breeding selection designated 02P616, not patented, characterized by its pink-colored flowers, small, fine dark green-colored foliage, and loose, moderately vigorous growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Lobelia erinus breeding selection designated 02P508, not patented, characterized by its large intensely blue-colored flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and upright growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during the spring of 2003 in a controlled environment at Südlohn, Germany.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since late summer 2003 at Südlohn, Germany has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.


In a failure determination system that performs failure determination of an exhaust gas purification apparatus having a NOx selective catalytic reduction catalyst (NOx catalyst) that is disposed in an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine and uses ammonia as a reducing agent, the failure determination of the exhaust gas purification apparatus is performed by a failure determination unit, based on a detected value of a NOx sensor that detects NOx in exhaust gas. Then, based on an adsorption amount difference at assumed failure that is the difference between an ammonia equilibrium adsorption amount in the NOx catalyst in an equilibrium state of ammonia adsorption, assuming that the exhaust gas purification apparatus is in a predefined failure state, and an actual ammonia adsorption amount in the NOx catalyst, the failure determination itself by the failure determination unit is inhibited or the use of the NOx sensor in the failure determination is restricted. Accordingly, in the failure determination system of exhaust gas purification apparatus having the NOx selective catalytic reduction catalyst, erroneous determinations at the time of failure determination are suppressed, thereby further improving the accuracy of the failure determination.

There has been known an exhaust gas purification apparatus having a NOx selective catalytic reduction catalyst (hereinafter, referred to simply as a "NOx catalyst") which removes NOx contained in exhaust gas discharged from an internal combustion engine by using ammonia as a reducing agent. In the exhaust gas purification apparatus, there is provided a supply valve or the like which serves to supply ammonia or a precursor of ammonia into the exhaust gas at a location upstream from the NOx catalyst, so that an ammonia adsorption amount in the NOx catalyst can be in a state adequate for removal of NOx.
Here, in a technology disclosed in a first patent literature, in cases where an actual NOx removal rate calculated based on detected values from NOx sensors, which are disposed upstream and at downstream side of a NOx catalyst, respectively, does not reach a target NOx removal rate correlated with the temperature of the NOx catalyst, adjustment is made to increase the addition amount of urea water as a precursor of ammonia. At this occasion, if the NOx removal rate after the increasing adjustment is not increased from the NOx removal rate before the increasing adjustment, it is judged that an ammonia slip is occurring in the NOx catalyst, and then, under other predefined conditions, it will be judged that an exhaust gas purification apparatus is in failure.

Failure determination system of exhaust gas purification apparatus


Complex magnetic head of the present invention eliminates relative magnetic interference between the magnetic heads and relative gap position drift between magnetic heads. The complex magnetic head has high performance and is compatible with lower rank FDDs. The complex magnetic head comprises R/W core track width regulation grooves (52a, 52b, 53a, 53b) filled with glass, erase core track width regulation grooves (55a, 55b, 56a, 56b) filled with glass, R/W core (18, 22) and erase core (20, 24) between shield members formed by these core track width regulation grooves (52a, 52b, 53a, 53b, 55a, 55b, 56a, 56b).

The invention relates to a complex magnetic head and manufacturing method thereof for writing and reading magnetic data on the magnetic recording medium by a plurality of data tracks.
In recent years, the size of floppy disks and floppy disk drives (FDD) are becoming smaller such as 8 inches.fwdarw.5.25 inches.fwdarw.3.5 inches. In more recent years, since the need for the note book type of personal computer is especially increasing, demand for the small FDD of 3.5 inch type is rapidly increasing.
Regarding the capacity of FD (Floppy disk), unformatted 1 MB, 1.6 MB and 2 MB type are widely used. The FDD system for these FD uses a tunnel erase system. The upper rank 4 MB FDD using an advanced erase system is going to be shipped in the FDD market. The computer software is becoming larger in proportion to the progress of the information society, and also the demand is increasing for large capacity of FDD which is larger than that of existing FDD by more than 10 times. In order to realize such large capacity FDD using 3.5 inch size FD, it is necessary to use the servo-tracking technology adopted in the hard disk apparatus for increasing the track density, and also to use high recording density medium (e.g. metal disk) and high recording head (e.g. MIG head) for increasing line recording density. Further, in order to use the existent software effectively, it is necessary to provide compatibility with lower rank FDD. That is, the large capacity FDD has to read and write for 4/2/1.6/1 MB disks which have the same track width. Most of the existing higher rank apparatus has this function for the lower rank apparatus. The complex magnetic head apparatus of the present invention can realize the above mentioned large capacity FDD having compatibility with lower rank FDD.
It is said that FDDs have been popular because they have high compatibility between systems via floppy disk, that is between FDDs. In order to assure data compatibility, the data is recorded in a little narrower track width compared with the track pitch. For example, in the 3.5 inch 4 MB FDD using advanced erase head and having 135 TPI (track number per inch) track density, the track pitch is 188 .mu.m and the data track width is 120 .mu.m (track width of R/W head). The remaining 68 .mu.m is called a guard band, and in that area there is no recorded data and no signals. If there is no position drift (off-track), the guard band is not needed. It is sufficient to provide only a R/W head track width. In order to assure the guard band between the data in the case of the off-track situation, an erase head having 250 .mu.m track width is arranged at some distance before the R/W head. Since the existing low density FDD adopts the above recording system, it is difficult to increase the track density. In order to increase the track density, a closed loop system has been proposed instead of the existing open system using a stepping motor. But the closed loop is very expensive because it uses a track servo apparatus.
FIG. 28 is a perspective view of the prior art complex magnetic head shown in the laid-open patent publication No. 63-103408. In the figure, 1 is a slider. 2 is a first R/W (read write) core assembled in the slider 1. 3 is a first R/W coil coiled around the first R/W core 2. 4 is a first R/W gap formed by the first R/W core 2. 5 is a first R/W head assembled from these elements 2.about.4. 6 is a second R/W core assembled in the slider 1 together with the first R/W core 2. 7 is a second R/W coil wound around the second R/W core 6. 8 is a second R/W gap formed by the second R/W core 6. 9 is a second R/W head assembled from these elements 6.about.8.
10 are first erase cores for erasing both side of the data track on the magnetic disk (not shown in the figure) recorded by the first R/W gap 4. 11 are first erase gaps formed by the first erase cores 10. 12 is a first erase coil wound around the first erase cores 10. 13 is a first erase head assembled by the elements 10.about.12. 14 are second erase cores for erasing both side of the data track on the magnetic disk (not shown in the figure) recorded by the second R/W gap 8. 15 are second erase gaps formed by the second erase cores 14. 16 is a second erase coil wound around the second erase core 14. 17 is a second erase head assembled by the elements 14.about.16.
The track width of the R/W cores 2 is formed wider than that of the R/W track 6. A first complex head assembled from the first R/W head 5 and the first erase head 13, and a second complex head assembled from the second R/W head 9 and the second erase head 17, are separately formed. then the two complex heads are assembled into one slider 1. The complex head with narrower track width is called a higher rank complex magnetic head, and the complex head with wider track width is called a lower rank complex magnetic head.
The operation of the above conventional complex magnetic head is explained here. Generally, the magnetic head operates as an electro-magnetic transducer or magneto-electric transducer when the magnetic head reads or writes the information on the magnetic disk. In the case of writing information on the data track on the low density magnetic disk, the signal current flows in the first R/W coil 3 of the lower rank complex magnetic head having wider track width. In response to the signal current flowing the first R/W coil 3, a strong magnetic field is generated around the first R/W gap 4 and the information is written in the magnetic recording medium on the surface of the magnetic disk.
The magnetic head reads the information on the data track by amplifying voltage induced to the fist R/W coil 3 when the flux of the magnetic recording medium passes through under the first R/W gap 4. On the other hands, for the data track of the high density magnetic disk, the higher rank magnetic head having narrow track width, that is, the second R/W head 9 reads or writes the information on the data track by the same process described above.
As described above, in the conventional complex magnetic head apparatus, one complex head assembled from the first R/W head 5 and the first erase head 13, and another complex head assembled from the second R/W head 9 and the second erase head 17 are separately formed, then the two complex heads are assembled into one slider 1. Accordingly, there arises some problems in that the productivity of the magnetic head is low, the magnetic cross talk is generated by the leakage magnetic flux between the higher rank complex magnetic head and the lower rank complex magnetic head. Also, it easily happens that the relative position drifts of the gaps 4, 8, 11 and 15 of the heads 5, 9, 13 and 17, respectively, and the resultant performance of the head is derated.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a complex magnetic head and manufacturing method thereof having high performance and superior productivity but no relative magnetic interference between both heads and no relative position drift between the gaps of both heads.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a complex magnetic head having large capacity and high compatibility with lower rank FDDs. The complex magnetic head has a wide-write-narrow-read system which writes signals with a wide head and reads signals with a narrow head.


A fiducial for aligning an integrated circuit die. In one embodiment, the fiducial is configured to be exposed by laser chemical etching through a silicon substrate through the back side of a C4 packaged integrated circuit die. The presently described fiducial includes floating diffusion regions disposed in the substrate. An oxide layer free of metal contacts is disposed over the diffusion regions within the fiducial region of the integrated circuit. A metal pattern layer is disposed beneath the oxide layer to provide alignment information. The metal pattern layer is configured to be visible through the oxide layer after the silicon substrate has been removed from the fiducial region. A light block is disposed between the metal pattern layer and an underlying epoxy underfill layer to minimize the risk of an excessive amount of light from being exposed to the underlying epoxy layer, which minimizes the risk of the epoxy layer from damaging the integrated circuit from excessive light exposure. Since the presently described fiducial does not include any contacts in the oxide layer, the additional step of utilizing a focus ion beam mills no longer necessary and the presently described fiducial therefore only needs to be etched with a laser chemical etcher to be exposed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of integrated circuit testing and more particularly to an alignment mark in an integrated circuit die for aligning and navigating through an integrated circuit die.
2. Description of the Related Art
Once a newly designed integrated circuit has been formed on a silicon substrate, the integrated circuit must be thoroughly tested to ensure that the circuit performs as intended. Any portion of the integrated circuit which does not function properly must be identified so that it can be fixed by modifying the design of the integrated circuit. This process of testing an integrated circuit to identify problems with its design is known as debugging. After debugging the integrated circuit and correcting any problems with its design, the final fully functional integrated circuit designs are used to mass produce the integrated circuits in a manufacturing environment for consumer use.
During the debugging process, it is often necessary to navigate to certain locations in the integrated circuit to access certain integrated circuit nodes to, for example, collect important electrical data and information.
When debugging integrated circuits, it is sometimes impossible to obtain an electrical signal of interest from a pin or a bond pad from the integrated circuit package or die. In these instances, the electrical signal of interest is located at an internal integrated circuit node to which there is no connected probe point. In this situation, the substrate of the integrated circuit die is milled to expose the electrical node of interest to allow signals to be obtained directly. Naturally, it is important that the integrated circuit die is properly aligned so that probe point locations can be accurately located and determined. That is, the location of a probe hole must be determined with very high precision since the milling of an improperly placed hole can destroy the integrated circuit die if milled through an important integrated circuit components such as for example a transistor.
In order to ensure that an integrated circuit die is properly aligned and positioned so that navigation to the probe locations that will be milled can be precisely determined, alignment marks or fiducials are disposed directly in the integrated circuit die. FIG. 1 illustrates a surface view of the bottom of a controlled collapse chip connection (C4) chip 101 from which it is desired to collect electrical data from an integrated circuit node 103. C4 packaged chip 101 includes an integrated circuit die 111 mounted on a C4 package 113. Integrated circuit node 103 is buried beneath the surface of the integrated circuit die 111.
In order to probe integrated circuit node 103, the substrate above integrated circuit node 103 must be carefully removed so that integrated circuit node 103 can be exposed. Before the substrate of the integrated circuit die is milled, the precise location of integrated circuit node 103 must be accurately determined. In order to accurately determine the location of integrated circuit node 103, fiducials 105, 107 and 109 are formed in integrated circuit die 111 to provide points of reference when positioning and navigating through integrated circuit die 111. Since fiducials 105, 107 and 109 are formed beneath the substrate of integrated circuit die 111, they must also be exposed so that they can be accessed during the debug process.
FIG. 2 is an illustration of a cross-section of a fiducial 201. Fiducial 201 is disposed in a fiducial region located between dotted lines labeled 203 and 205 of an integrated circuit die. As shown in FIG. 2, fiducial 201 includes diffusion regions 207, 209 and 211 disposed in the substrate 213 of the integrated circuit die. Tungsten metal contacts 215, 217 and 219 are disposed in an oxide layer 221. Metal contacts 215, 217 and 219 provide electrical access to diffusion regions 207, 209 and 211 respectively. A metal pattern 223 is disposed beneath oxide layer 221. Metal pattern 223 provides alignment information for use during the positioning of and navigation through the integrated circuit die. An epoxy layer 225 is disposed beneath the integrated circuit die to bond the integrated circuit die to the C4 package (not shown).
In order to access fiducial 201 for alignment purposes, it is necessary to remove the substrate 213 within the fiducial region bounded by dotted lines 203 and 205. Present day techniques utilize a laser chemical etcher to remove most of substrate 213. The laser chemical etch procedure is stopped just short of reaching oxide layer 221. A focused ion beam (FIB) milling tool is used to remove the final remainder of substrate 213 down to oxide layer 221.
It is noted that the FIB milling tool must be used to mill the remaining portion of substrate 213 since metal contacts 215, 217 and 219 are exceptionally sensitive to laser chemical etching. In particular, it is noted that if a laser chemical etch is performed all the way down to oxide layer 221 using present day techniques, a catastrophic acceleration of the etching process occurs at metal contacts 215, 217 and 219. This catastrophic acceleration is the result of metal contacts 215, 217 and 219 being etched at a much higher rate than oxide layer 221 when using a laser chemical etch. Consequently, fiducial 201 may be damaged when contacts 215, 217 and 219 are etched with a laser chemical etcher. By stopping short of oxide layer 221 with the laser chemical etcher and completing the fiducial exposure process with an FIB milling tool, the risks of the catastrophic etching of contacts 215, 217 and 219 are reduced. The requirement of stopping short of oxide layer 221 and the additional of the step of milling the remaining portion of substrate 213 with a FIB milling tool results in an undesirable increase in the amount of time required to expose fiducial 201.
It is also noted that after substrate 213 is removed from fiducial 201, special care must be given to fiducial 201 to prevent excessive amounts of light from being exposed to the epoxy layer 225. For example, in some instances when epoxy layer 225 is exposed to an excessive amount of laser light, epoxy layer 225 may boil and expand, consequently rupturing the adjacent substrate and destroying the fiducial and the surrounding integrated circuit.
Therefore, what is desired is a fiducial that does not require both a laser chemical etch and a focused ion beam mill to expose a fiducial for aligning an integrated circuit. Such a fiducial should have the ability to be exposed using only a laser chemical etch. The fiducial should not suffer from the risk of being destroyed because of the catastrophic etching of metal contacts in the oxide layer. In addition, the fiducial should also have a minimal risk of being damaged from the exposure light to an epoxy underfill layer.

Method of forming a fiducial for aligning an integrated circuit die


Provided is a polymerizable liquid (or “resin”) for producing three-dimensional objects by additive manufacturing, which may include one or more of: (a) a polyvinyl siloxane; (b) a polythiol crosslinker; (c) a photoinitiator (e.g., a free radical photoinitiator); (d) optionally, a urethane (meth)acrylate oligomer; (e) optionally, a reactive diluent; (f) optionally, but in some embodiments preferably, a pigment or dye; (g) optionally, but in some embodiments preferably, a reactive or non-reactive filler; and (h) optionally, an odor scavenger.

A group of additive manufacturing techniques sometimes referred to as "stereolithography" create a three-dimensional object by the sequential polymerization of a light polymerizable resin. Such techniques may be "bottom-up" techniques, where light is projected into the resin onto the bottom of the growing object through a light transmissive window, or "top down" techniques, where light is projected onto the resin on top of the growing object, which is then immersed downward into the pool of resin.
The recent introduction of a more rapid stereolithography technique known as continuous liquid interface production (CLIP), coupled with the introduction of "dual cure" resins for additive manufacturing, has expanded the usefulness of stereolithography from prototyping to manufacturing (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,211,678; 9,205,601; and 9,216,546 to DeSimone et al.; J. Tumbleston, D. Shirvanyants, N. Ermoshkin et al., Continuous liquid interface production of 3D Objects, Science 347, 1349-1352 (2015); see also Rolland et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,676,963, 9,453,142, and 9,598,606).
In the "dual cure" compositions for additive manufacturing, the light polymerizable resins usually comprise methacrylate or acrylate-based oligomers and monomers that undergo free radical chain-growth polymerization during printing. Due to the nature of the chain-growth polymerization mechanism, the molecular weight of the polymer increases rapidly in a short period of time, leading to fast printing speeds and good mechanical strengths in the final parts. However, the evolution of the crosslinked network can be hindered by termination reactions such as oxygen inhibition and radical-radical recombination that compromise the network properties.
In contrast, step-growth polymerization such as thiol-ene radical addition usually requires longer reaction or printing time but has better network homogeneity as the chemistry is less sensitive to oxygen inhibition. Recently, chain-growth and step-growth polymerization mechanisms were combined by including both the thiol-ene resins and (meth)acrylates in the formulations to yield a combination of desirable properties for additive manufacturing (see, e.g., US 2017/0291357 to J. Fong & P. Xu). However, thiol-ene resins that are substantially free of (meth)acrylates have not been widely adopted in three-dimensional printing, in part because the thiol crosslinkers can give a strong odor to the formulations and the final parts.
There is a need for new thiol-ene resin compositions suitable for additive manufacturing.

Light-curable siloxane resins for additive manufacturing


A construction for a circular saw wherein the two parts of the clamshell housing are secured directly to the motor assembly from different respective sides thereof.

This invention relates to the construction of a motor driven tool and, more particularly, to such a construction which provides ease of assembly and added stability and rigidity for the tool.
Motor driven tools are typically constructed with a two part clamshell type housing wherein the motor fits within recesses molded as part of the interior of the housing, the attachment together of the two parts of the housing acting to secure the motor therein. This form of construction suffers from a number of disadvantages, among which is the relatively loose containment of the motor in the housing. Such loose containment leads to a certain amount of instability for the overall tool.
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a tool construction which results in enhanced stability and rigidity of the tool.


A slot machine comprises a central processing unit (CPU) and a reel mechanism. The CPU operates the slot machine and randomly determines a game outcome in response to a wager. The reel mechanism includes a motor, a symbol-bearing reel, and a reel driver. The motor includes a rotatable shaft, and the reel is mounted to the shaft. The reel driver includes a local microcontroller distinct from and coupled to the CPU. The reel driver is coupled to the motor to cause the motor to rotate the reel. The CPU issues high-level commands to the reel driver related to rotation of the reel. The high-level commands may, for example, include a start spin command for starting rotation of the reel and a stop command for stopping the reel at a specified position. However, to free up the CPU for other tasks, the local microcontroller performs low-level reel driver operations related to the rotation of the reel. The low-level reel driver operations may, for example, include sampling a state of the reel in real time, performing calculations, and responding with control changes.

Conventional slot machines include a plurality of symbol-bearing reels that are rotated and stopped to place the symbols of each reel in visual association with one or more pay lines. Although some of these machines now simulate the reels using images on a video screen, many slot machines still employ mechanical reels. Each mechanical reel is mounted to the rotatable shaft of a stepper motor under the control of a central processing unit (CPU). The CPU includes reel driver software that monitors the reel and controls its positioning. This requires the CPU to sample the state of each reel in real time. The CPU must read the status of each reel hundreds of times per second, perform calculations, and respond with control commands. Because the CPU must perform a variety of other tasks, its overall performance is diminished by having to perform low-level reel driver operations in addition to these other tasks.

Slot machine reel mechanism with dedicated local microcontroller


An electrical connector with a locking mechanism includes a housing and a locking mechanism provided in the housing. The locking mechanism includes a first support portion extending from the housing, a lock main body supported by the first support portion in a swingable manner, an engagement tab capable of engaging with and disengaging from an engagement portion provided in a counterpart electrical connector according to swinging of the lock main body, and an operating portion arranged to be pressed in order to swing the lock main body. The operating portion includes a second support portion provided in the lock main body and an operating portion main body supported by the lock main body via the second support portion. A space for allowing the operating portion main body to bend is formed between the operating portion main body and the lock main body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector with a locking mechanism, the electrical connector being equipped with a locking mechanism for inhibiting disconnection of the electrical connector from a counterpart electrical connector.
2. Description of Related Art
As disclosed in, for example, JP 2009-230895A, wired connectors to be joined to connectors mounted on circuit boards have locking mechanisms that prevent disconnection from the connectors mounted on the circuit boards. A wired connector disclosed in JP 2009-230895A has a housing made of a synthetic resin and a plate-like locking engagement portion provided in the housing. The locking engagement portion is supported by the housing via a supporting point portion. Moreover, a locking claw is provided at tip end of the locking engagement portion.
When the housing of the wired connector fits into a housing of a connector mounted on a circuit board, the locking claw of the locking engagement portion gets over an engagement claw portion formed in an outer face of the housing of the connector mounted on the circuit board and is caught on the engagement claw portion. Thus, the connector mounted on the circuit board and the wired connector lock to each other, and disconnection of the wired connector is inhibited.
An operating portion in the form of a projection is formed in the locking engagement portion disclosed in JP 2009-230895A. The operating portion is formed at a base end of the locking engagement portion opposite from the tip end at which the locking claw is formed. A projecting portion is provided in order that an operator operating the wired connector places his/her finger on the projecting portion. The operator places his/her finger on the projecting portion and presses the operating portion, thereby swinging the locking engagement portion on the supporting point portion, so that the engagement between the locking claw and the engagement claw portion can be released. In this state, the wired connector is pulled out of the connector mounted on the circuit board, and thus, the wired connector can be removed from the connector mounted on the circuit board.

Electrical connector with locking mechanism


A rail vehicle with at least two impact-absorbing posts (RS1, RS2) which are disposed in a front end region (END) and extend vertically to the floor (BOD) of the rail vehicle. A deformable area (KZO) is provided on the front side of the floor (BOD) and each impact-absorbing post (RS1, RS2) is connected to the roof section (DAB) of the rail vehicle via the upper-end region (OE1, OE2) thereof, each impact-absorbing post having, in the respective upper-end region thereof, a pre-determined collapsible region (OE1, OE2) where the buckling (SK1, SK2) of said post should occur in the event of a collision.

The invention relates to a railroad vehicle with at least two collision posts disposed in an end region of the railroad vehicle and extending perpendicularly to a floor of the railroad vehicle, wherein a crumple zone is disposed in a front end region of the floor and each of the collision posts is connected at its upper end to a roof region of the railroad vehicle, each of the collision posts being provided with a buckling knuckle in its upper end region.
The front end region of a railroad vehicle must bear strong forces without being permanently deformed and to this end it is generally constructed with appropriate rigidity. In the event of a collision, however, a crumple zone in the end region of the railroad car must be capable of undergoing a defined degree of deformation. An example of a railroad vehicle having an end crumple zone is disclosed in DE 199 56 856 A1. The rigidity of the front part, however, must not hinder the deformation of the crumple zone in the event of a collision. At this juncture it should be noted that the region of a railroad vehicle that is deformed and thus absorbs energy is generally designated as a crumple zone. In a collision of two railroad vehicles, the crumple zone must absorb a large part of the released energy through plastic deformation, but in order to function correctly, the crumple zone must not tilt up during the deformation process. The floor region in the vehicle end zone must therefore remain level despite the deformation of the crumple zone.
Furthermore, to prevent the crumple zone of a railroad vehicle from tilting upwardly during deformation thereof, disclosures in EP-A 1,295,772 and the article by Wolter. W. "Kollisionssi-chere Schienenfahrzeuge—Empfehlungen fur Hersteller und Betreiber (Crashworthy Rail Vehicle—Recommendations for Manufacturers and Operators)" Glasers Annalen, Georg Siemens Verlag, Berlin, DE, Vol. 128, June 2004 (2004-06), pages 196 to 206, XP001196844 ISSN-1618-8330, reveal that each collision post has a buckling region in its upper end region.
A buckling region is to be understood here as being a region that has a weaker construction than the rest of the collision post, such that the collision post buckles in the region of the buckling site in the event of a major stress, such as when there is a collision thereof with another railroad vehicle. By means of this solution, the collision post is buckled in the buckling region in the event of a deformation of the crumple zone, in which case, a knuckle is formed in the buckling region, and the floor region or the crumple zone is guided by the collision posts. An upward tilt of the crumple zone or the front end floor region is prevented by the guidance provided by the collision posts. Thus the structure of the front part, namely the collision posts, stabilizes the deformation of the crumple zone in the event of a collision.

Rail vehicle with impact-absorbing posts


A method for purification of a sulfatase using metal chelating chromatography without using tags such as His-tag, etc. is disclosed. An embodiment provides a method for purifying a sulfatase including the steps of: (a) providing a sulfatase-containing solution comprising one or a plurality of impurities; (b) performing a first chromatographic separation of the sulfatase-containing solution using a metal affinity chromatography resin; (c) performing a second chromatographic separation using a cation exchange chromatography resin; and (d) performing a final chromatographic separation using an anion exchange chromatography resin, wherein the impurities are removed thereby.

The mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are a group of rare, inherited lysosomal storage disorders caused by the deficiency or absence of specific lysosomal enzymes. The absence of these enzymes results in the accumulation of complex sugar molecules in the cells and tissues, as well as in cellular organelles called lysosomes. In the presence of normal lysosomal enzymes these sugars are transformed into other substances and used by the body. These complex sugars are known as mucopolysaccharides or glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and serve as the building blocks for connective tissues in the body.
MPS III results from the lack of four different enzymes necessary to degrade the GAG. Each enzyme deficiency defines a different form of Sanfilippo syndrome: type IIIA (Sanfilippo A), type IIIB (Sanfilippo B), type IIIC (Sanfilippo C), and type HID (Sanfilippo D).
Heparan-N-sulfatase (HNS) is an enzyme that participates in the stepwise degradation of heparan sulfate. HNS hydrolyzes the sulfate moiety attached to the amino group of the glucosamine residue of heparan sulfate, a type of GAG. A deficiency of this enzyme is associated with mucopolysaccharidoses IIIA (MPS, Sanfilippo's syndrome A). Patients affected by MPS type III A have mutations in the gene coding for HNS, resulting in a dis-function, deficiency or absence of this enzyme.
Symptoms of MPS IIIA (Sanfilippo A) usually arise between 2 to 6 years of age, although in some cases diagnosis is made as late as 13 years of age. The clinical symptoms of the condition present with differing degrees of severity. The central nervous system is the most severely affected system in patients with MPS IIIA. HNS and other secondarily stored compounds accumulate primarily in the central nervous system. Problems in language development, motor skills, and intellectual development characterize the condition. Overall, individuals with MPS IIIA have a marked developmental delay, and long-term survival is poor. The condition is chronically debilitating and life-threatening.
Presently no approved therapeutic treatments for MPS IIIA are available. Bone marrow transplant has been used in an attempt to slow disease progression. Because heparan sulfate is the natural substrate of HNS, animal studies have shown that HNS may be useful for the treatment of lysosomal storage disorders, such as MPS IIIA, in which there is an increase in heparan sulfate.
Immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), also known as metal chelate affinity chromatography (MCAC), is a specialized aspect of affinity chromatography. The principle behind IMAC lies in the fact that many transition metal ions, i.e., zinc, copper, nikel, cobalt and others, can coordinate to the amino acids histidine, cysteine, and tryptophan via electron donor groups on the amino acid side chains. To utilize this interaction for chromatographic purposes, the metal ion must be immobilized onto an insoluble support. This can be done by attaching a chelating group to the chromatographic matrix.
The most common chelating group used in this technique is iminodiacetic acid (IDA). It is coupled to a matrix such as SEPHAROSE 6B, via a long hydrophilic spacer arm. The spacer arm ensures that the chelating metal is fully accessible to all available binding sites on a protein. Another popular chelating group for IMAC applications is tris-(carboxymethyl)-ethylenediamine (TED). This particular group lends different properties to the gel than IDA. TED gels show stronger retention of metal ions and weaker retention of proteins relative to that of IDA gels. TED gels form a complex (single coordination site) vs a chelate (multiple coordination sites for IDA gels. Nitrilo triacetic acid (NTA) is a tetradentate ligand which attempts to balance the metal anchoring strength with metal-ion protein interaction properties (Hochuli, E., H. Dobeli, A. Schacher [1987] J. Chromatography 411:177-184). Other chelating ligands have been reported and are mentioned. See, e.g., Porath (1992), supra. The most commonly used metals for IMAC are zinc and copper; however, nickel cobalt, and calcium have also been used successfully and should be tested at development step.
The development of IMAC in purification processes can be vacillated considerably by accurate prediction of the protein affinity of a given protein for IMAC resins before performing separations in the laboratory. If the affinity for an IMAC resin could be reliably and easily predicted from its protein structure, then the researcher would be better informed when deciding on a development strategy. A protein predicted to have a high affinity, for example could be bound to a resin under relatively stringent conditions and eluted with a simple isocratic step. In contrast, IMAC should not be considered as a primary purification step for a protein predicted to possess a low affinity to the metal-chelating resins.
Zn-Chelating Chromatography has been utilized in the clinical production of human interleukin-4 (h IL-4), human interleukin-10 (h IL-10) and human tissue plasminogen activator (h tPA). IMAC relies primarily on the interaction between Histidine (His) and a metal ion reversibly bound to a stationery phase. Although immobilized, Zn is extensively used because its selectivity, other metal ions like Cu2+, Ni2+, and Co2+ are also applied for certain proteins. Interactions between immobilized metals and tryptophan, tyrosine, or cysteine residues of proteins have been reported, however, these are generally weaker interactions. Furthermore, when a histidine lies in close proximity to an aromatic residue or another histidine (e.g. on the same position of successive turns of an alpha helix), a cooperative effect leading to high affinity is observed. Although protein leader sequences containing His-Tyr, His-Trp, His-X-X-His, have been engineered to take advantage of this phenomenon, these sequences are relatively rare in nature. With naturally occurring proteins, therefore, one can generalize that affinity of a protein for conventional IMAC resins is dictated by the availability of His side chain, imidazole.

Method for purifying a sulfatase protein


A device capable of showing both navigation and safe driving warning information includes a computer, a display unit, a video camera, and a navigation unit. The information captured by the video camera, and the navigation unit and a safe driving warning unit are processed by the computer and then can be simultaneously displayed on the single display unit, so that the driver can see sufficient information, including real time road condition, navigation information, and safe driving information, directly from the display unit without having to look at different positions to see different information, thus improving driving safety.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a navigation device, and more particularly to a device capable of showing both navigation and safe driving warning information.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Focus is the most important thing to ensure safe driving. With the development of network information, and the popularity of mobile devices, navigation device or mobile devices using navigation software has almost become a necessity when it comes to driving. It will jeopardize the safety of driving when a driver is distracted during driving by bending head down to read the navigation information.
To reduce the safety hazards associated with the fact that the driver will be distracted during driving by looking down at the dashboard or the navigation device, head up display was invented and has been installed on some of the luxury cars. However, the head up display is too expensive to be widely used. Besides, with the current technology, the head up display is unable to display sufficient driving information, which also affects the willingness of the consumers' to buy.
Taiwan Patent publication No. 200742689 also discloses "driveway safety monitoring device and method", which essentially comprises a video camera, and the video image shows the safe distance to the front car, so as to remind the driver to keep a safe distance from the front car, thus ensuring safe driving. Taiwan Patent publication No. 20084870 discloses a "navigation assistant device using video camera", which is also used in combination with a video camera and the navigation information is also displayed on the video image, so that the driver can see the road condition and read the navigation information by watching the video image. However, this driveway safety monitoring device is still unable to show sufficient information on the real driving condition, navigation information and safe driving warning information.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

Device capable of showing both navigation and safe driving warning information


Provided is a semiconductor device including a deep doped region of a first conductivity type, a well region of a second conductivity type, a base region of the first conductivity type, an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS). The well region is disposed in the deep doped region. The base region is disposed in the well region and is not connected to the deep doped region. The IGBT is disposed on the well region at the first side of the base region, and includes a first doped region of the second conductivity type disposed in the base region. The MOS is disposed on the well region and the deep well region at the second side of the base region, and includes a second doped region of the second conductivity type disposed in the base region.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of Related Art
The latest technology development focuses on high-voltage power integrated circuits. Such high-voltage power integrated circuits can be applied to fields such as switching mode power supply (SMPS), lighting, motor control or plasma display drivers, so as to enhance efficiency, reliability and flexibility of products and ultimately reduce the system-level cost.
Generally, the high-voltage power integrated circuits are mainly applied to power switch devices for providing power management apparatuses with power switch functions. Two parameters of breakdown voltage and on-state resistance influence the market of power switch devices and can be determined upon different needs. The designs of high-voltage power integrated circuits are for reducing on-state resistance while maintaining high breakdown voltage. In fact, a product usually meets the breakdown voltage specification requirement at the expense of on-state resistance. In other words, the breakdown voltage and on-state resistance are in a trade-off relationship.

Semiconductor device and method of fabricating the same