A nozzle for assemblies and gas turbines is provided. The nozzle exhibits destabilized flame holding characteristics, i.e., the nozzle is unable to stabilize flame up to an equivalence ratio of about 0.65. As a result, flame heat release is delayed resulting in lower peak flame temperatures and correspondingly lower NOx levels. Flame stabilization capability is retained for higher equivalence ratios to support operation of the combustor in other regions of the load range.

The embodiments disclosed relate generally to gas and liquid fuel turbines, including both can-annular or annular combustion systems, and methods of operating such combustion systems.
Dry Low NOx technology is routinely applied for emissions control with gaseous fuel combustion in industrial gas turbines with can-annular combustion systems through utilization of premixing of fuel and air. The primary benefit of premixing is to provide a uniform rate of combustion resulting in relatively constant reaction zone temperatures. Through careful air management, these temperatures can be optimized to produce very low emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (UHC). Modulation of a center premix fuel nozzle can expand the range of operation by allowing the fuel-air ratio and corresponding reaction rates of the outer nozzles to remain relatively constant while varying the fuel input into the turbine.
Fuel staging is well-understood by those experienced in the art as a means of achieving higher turbine inlet temperatures with uniform heat release. Axially staged systems employ multiple planes of fuel injection along the combustor flow path. Utilization of axial fuel staging requires special design considerations to inject fuel into the high temperature products of combustion. The high temperature and pressure environment of the latter stages of an axially staged combustor have prevented development of robust designs suitable for commercial applications.
It would therefore be desirable to develop new gas turbines having a fuel system configuration and/or utilizes a method of staging fuel so that lower peak fuel temperatures are achieved. Such gas turbines would be expected to have correspondingly low NOx and CO emissions. The ability of a new gas turbine to exhibit of an increased range of operability within such "Emissions Compliant" regimes would provide further advantages.

Fuel nozzle and assembly and gas turbine comprising the same


A magazine with a positioning device for a nail gun includes a magazine that has a nail loading port on one end thereof, and a gliding part that has a protruding part and a locking part. The magazine has fixing parts, penetrating parts and a stopping part. The gliding device has a nail storing part and is inserted into the receiving chamber. The gliding device is fixed by a positioning device, so that the gliding device will not depart from the magazine due to the bounce motion while nailing, and the protruding part and the locking part of the gliding device are not easy to get abrasion. The objectives of providing the operator a safe and secured working environment, prolonging the lifetime of the gliding device and securing the gliding device in position will be attained.

When a conventional nail gun is on the process of nailing, the nail chamber inside the magazine for gliding nails is rubbed against the nails frequently to cause abrasion on the inner of the nail chamber, and the nails are easy to get stuck because the space inside the nail chamber is too big. The operator is unable to carry on the nailing operation and replacement or maintenance is required, therefore improvement is necessary.
An improvement on relevant mechanism such as TW Appl. No. 083214748, which disclosed that the mechanism consisted of gliding block, connecting plate, fixing base, guiding plate and adjusting plate. The gliding block penetrates the fixing base and two corresponding guiding plates and keeps a proper distance inside the magazine cover, and the adjusting plate is arranged between two guiding plates, in addition, one end of the connecting plate is coupled to the notch of the adjusting plate. However, the inner portion of the magazine for gliding the nail has no protective structure, therefore improvement is necessary.
There is another improvement on relevant mechanism as shown in FIG. 5, which disclosed that a magazine includes a gliding device, via the gliding device to protect the inner portion of the magazine for gliding the nails. One end of the gliding device has a protruding part and a locking part for fixing with the magazine, and the magazine has an aperture of retaining part relative to the protruding part for fixing with the gliding device to reduce the abrasion on the inner wall of the magazine and avoid slant of nails. In addition, the gliding device may be replaceable.
Although the above-mentioned structures can achieve the objective of improvement on magazine, however such structures still have shortcomings in use, such as the protruding part and locking part of the gliding device are easy to get abrasion and unable to be fixed. The foregoing structure discloses that the gliding device is able to reduce the abrasion on the inner wall of the magazine and replaceable, but the protruding part and locking part of the gliding device will bear a reacting force while nailing, which will cause the gliding device to bounce. The protruding part only has one fixed point, which is unable to contact tightly with the magazine, so that the protruding part, the locking part and the retaining part will be attrited, and the gliding device is easy to come off the magazine so that the nails are unable to push to the barrel smoothly.
In addition, the inner wall of the magazine is easy to be attrited. Because the gliding device is not fixed exactly, after the protruding part, the locking part and the retaining part are attrited, the gliding device is easy to get loose. Besides, the nail heads are glided inside the gliding device and the rest portions of the nails are accommodated inside the magazine, which will cause an improper shake. The inner wall of the magazine is easy to rub with the nails while nailing, which will cause the abrasion on the inner wall. After a period of use time, the inner space will be enlarged and the nails will be easy to get stuck.

Magazine with positioning device for nail gun


A grain classifying device for accurately classifying the grains of uniform length, and an adhesive containing grains classified by the device and capable of connecting electrodes under a low pressure and being applicable to electrodes arranged in fine pitches. The grain classifying device (1) includes a dispersing means (2) for dispersing a plurality of grains (P). A grain orienting means (3) orients each of the dispersed grains in a transfer direction (X) of the grains (P) while spacing the grains apart from one another in the transfer direction (X) of the grains. A grain length measuring means (4) measures the length of each of the grains (P) oriented in the transfer direction (X). A grain separation means (5) separates the grains (P) having a predetermined length based on data related to the lengths of the measured grains (P).

In recent trends for electronic equipment having smaller sizes and greater functionality, connection terminals for components are becoming more miniaturized. Thus, in the field of electronic applications, various types of circuit connection adhesives are often used to facilitate the connection of such terminals. For example, to connect an electrode of an electronic component, such as an IC chip, with an electrode of a circuit substrate, such as glass substrate, a method for connecting the electrodes formed on the electronic component and the circuit substrate with a conductive adhesive containing conductive fine grains is employed.
The conductive adhesive is an adhesive in the form of film or paste in which conductive fine grains are dispersed in an insulative resin composition such as epoxy resin. The conductive adhesive is applied between the connection subjects, heated, and pressurized to adhere the connection subjects. More specifically, the heating pressurization moves the resin in the adhesive so as to seal, for example, gaps between a projection electrode (or bump) formed on the surface of an electronic component and a wiring electrode such as ITO electrode formed on the surface of a circuit substrate. At the same time, some of the conductive fine grains bite into the opposing projection electrode and wiring electrode to establish electric connection.
Due to recent trends for higher integration, the pitch between adjacent electrodes is becoming increasingly narrower, and pitches are becoming finer. Thus, electrode connection conductive adhesive must use conductive fine grains having small grain diameters.
Accordingly, various types of classifying devices for classifying conductive fine grains have been disclosed. More specifically, there has been a proposal for a current type classifying device including a disperser for dispersing fed dry grains into a primary grain state and continuously discharging dispersed fluid, and a cyclone tower connected immediately after a discharge port of the dispersed powder arranged in the disperser (see e.g., patent document 1).
The cyclone tower includes a spiral type powder inlet portion having a barrel, which serves as a main body for the cyclone tower and has a generally vertical tubular shape, and a powder guide inner wall surface arranged on the upper surrounding of the barrel. The disperser blows dispersed powder in the horizontal direction into the powder inlet portion, which gradually guides the dispersed powder radially inwardly with the power guide inner wall surface so as to produce a winding flow proceeding toward the inner wall surface of the lower barrel. Further, the cyclone tower includes a primary air outlet tube used to discharge grains. The primary air outlet tube extends downward over a certain length along the radially central position of the barrel from the ceiling of the cyclone tower and has an open lower end. The cyclone tower also includes a storage tank, which is connected to the lower open end of the cyclone tower, to store coarse grains that fall from the open lower end. During classification, a blower connected to the primary air outlet tube by way of a filter for collecting fine grains is operated under a predetermined flow rate to generate a current that circulates from the inside of the barrel of the cyclone tower and through the primary air outlet tube. Then, in this state, a power feeder continuously feeds powder to the disperser, and dispersed grains enter the powder inlet portion of the cyclone tower at a predetermined flow rate. The current containing the grains entering the powder inlet portion forms a winding flow along the spiral inner wall surface of the powder inlet portion. The winding flow descends as it is guided in a manner winding along the entire circumference of the inner wall of the barrel. Air is discharged out of the barrel through the primary air outlet tube. The current winding along the inner wall of the barrel generates a rising current at the central portion of the barrel while descending in the conical barrel. Therefore, in the grains contained in the current that descends while winding in the barrel of the cyclone tower, the grains having a large diameter and a relatively large weight settles downward and falls into the coarse powder storage tank connected to the lower open end of the barrel in accordance with the balance between the transfer action received from the current and the centrifugal force resulting from the mass of the grains. The grains having a small diameter and a relatively small weight pass through a fine grain transfer tube via the primary air outlet tube and are transferred to a filter by the action of the transferring force of the current discharged out of the primary air outlet tube. With this structure, grains having a diameter of 10 μm or smaller are sufficiently classified for industrial use.    Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2580193

Grain classifying device and adhesive containing grains classified by the device


A system for pumping liquid having a first reservoir at a first elevation, which stores a first liquid, a second reservoir at a second elevation, where the second elevation is substantially lower than the first elevation, the second reservoir stores a second liquid, a third reservoir at a third elevation, where the third elevation is substantially lower than the first elevation, the second elevation is higher than the third elevation, the third reservoir arranged to store the second liquid, and, at least one hydraulic pump connected to the first reservoir via a first conduit, connected to the second reservoir via a second conduit, connected to the third reservoir via a third conduit, the pump arranged to be powered by the first liquid when the first liquid is permitted to fall due to gravity, the pump arranged to pump the second liquid from the third reservoir to the second reservoir.

Finding and delivering clean drinking water is a challenge faced by many cities. Conventional methods to pump water from one place to another require electricity to run pumps, and power lines to get electricity to the pumping station. There are many losses between the initial generation of the electricity, the transfer of the electricity over power lines, and the mechanical inefficiency of the equipment to finally pump the water. These conventional methods have not developed an efficient pump that would convert a high-pressure primary fluid at low flow, into a low-pressure secondary fluid at high flow. In other words, there are currently no pumping systems which act as flow intensifiers. Since mountain reservoirs form naturally due to precipitation and melting cycles, there exists an untapped source of energy to power such a pump.
A number of patents relate to direct-acting reciprocating pumps, which transfer energy from one fluid to another using a piston or ram. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,914 (Pares Criville); U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,414 (Permar); and U.S. Pat. No. 157,617 (Loretz). However, these pumps are designed to intensify the pressure of the output liquid, not to intensify the volumetric flow. Also, these pumps do not include an efficient internal stroke reversing system, but instead rely on an external mechanism triggered by high-pressure fluid. This high-pressure fluid is later dumped and not used for pumping, which wastes fluid and lowers efficiency. Lastly, these pumps submit their piston rods to compression, which limits their stroke lengths.
Thus, it can be seen that there is a long felt need for an efficient water pump which can operate without the use the use of electricity. Furthermore, there is also a need to expand the use of renewable energy sources.


A photovoltaic device including a protective layer between a window layer and an absorber layer, the protective layer inhibiting dissolving/intermixing of the window layer into the absorber layer during a device activation step, and methods of forming such photovoltaic devices.

PV devices convert photo-radiation into electrical current. Generally, a thin film PV device includes two conductive electrodes sandwiching a series of semiconductor layers. The semiconductor layers include an n-type window layer and a p-type absorber layer providing a p-n junction, near which photo-conversion occurs. During operation, photons pass through the window layer and are absorbed by the absorber layer. This produces photo-generated electron-hole pairs, the movement of which, promoted by a built-in electric field, produces electric current that can be output to other electrical devices.
A thin film PV device typically has an optically transparent substrate. This substrate can be any suitable, transparent substrate material. Suitable materials include glass, such as soda-lime glass or float glass, etc., and polymer (sheet or plates). A first of two conductive electrodes is provided over the transparent substrate. This first conductive electrode can, in some instances, be just a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer (e.g., indium tin oxide, cadmium stannate, SnO2:F, or other transparent, conductive materials). In other instances, this first conductive electrode can be a TCO layer that is associated with a barrier layer (e.g., SiO2, SnO2 or a layered sequence of the two) between it and the transparent substrate for preventing diffusion of sodium from the substrate into other layers of the device, and an optional buffer layer (e.g., a metal oxide such as SnO2, ZnO, or ZnO:SnO2) over the TCO layer for providing a smooth surface upon which subsequently formed semiconductor layers may be deposited. The barrier, TCO and buffer layers are often referred to as a TCO stack since they may first be formed and then deposited unto the substrate as a stack.
The semiconductor layers can be a bi-layer that includes the n-type semiconductor window layer and the p-type semiconductor layer. The n-type semiconductor layer can be made of various semiconductor materials including, but not limited to, cadmium sulfide (CdS). The p-type semiconductor absorber layer can also be made of various semiconductor materials, including, but not limited to, cadmium telluride (CdTe). In some devices, the window layer is desired to be as thin as possible so as to allow the maximum amount of light to reach the absorber layer, but still be sufficiently thick so as to maintain a consistent junction with the absorber layer. Over the semiconductor bi-layer, the second of the two conductive electrodes may be provided. This second electrode is usually referred to as a back contact layer, which is generally made of a metal or alloy (e.g., Mo, Al, Cu, Ag, Au, or combinations of these).
A back cover can be provided over the back contact layer to provide, together with the substrate, support for the PV device. An interlayer (e.g., a polymer) can be provided between the back contact layer and the back cover and over the sides of the other layers of the PV device to seal the PV device from the environment. Such a PV device can be fabricated beginning with the substrate and subsequently depositing or providing the other layers in sequence, or it can be fabricated beginning with the back cover and proceeding with depositing or providing the other layers in the reverse order.
During the manufacture of conventional PV devices having a CdTe-based absorber layer and a CdS-based window layer, a chloride activation process is typically employed to improve efficiency and to reduce electrical anomalies. Such an activation process provides grain growth and repairs (or passivates) defects in the CdTe absorber layer by incorporation of Cl atoms (or ions) into the absorber layer. As discussed below, grain growth and defect repair improves device efficiency by increasing photocurrent and open-circuit voltage (Voc—one of the factors contributing to PV device efficiency and a measure of the maximum voltage the device can produce) and reducing shunting (i.e., unwanted electrically conductive regions in the absorber layer material due to compositional inconsistencies). Efficiency, in this instance, refers to the electrical power (energy) generated by the PV device compared to the equivalent energy of photons incident on the device.
Typically, the activation process includes a first step in which chlorine is introduced to the semiconductor layers, and a second step in which the semiconductor layers are annealed at an elevated temperature for a particular length of time. To introduce the chlorine to the semiconductor layers, CdCl2, for example, may be applied as an aqueous solution (CdCl2 is soluble in water) at a concentration of about 100-300 g/L. It is also possible to use other chlorine-doping materials as alternatives to CdCl2, such as MnCl2, ZnCl2, NHCl4, TeCl2 and MgCl2, for example. For example, the annealing temperature can be about 350°-450° C. and applied for about 60 minutes, with a soaking time of about 15 minutes. Soaking time refers to the time period where the annealing step plateaus at a maximum desired temperature.
Grain growth of the CdTe material occurs as the activation step enlarges the grains, or crystallites, of the CdTe material of the absorber layer. Typically after the CdTe material for the absorber layer is deposited over the CdS material of the window layer, the CdTe material is composed of separate crystallites of CdTe smaller than a micron in size. The activation step promotes recrystallization and grain growth of these crystals, which changes the morphology of the absorber layer. The recrystallization of the CdTe material can take two forms: (1) intragrain, or primary, recrystallization that changes grain orientation and (2) intergrain, or secondary, recrystallization resulting from grain coalescence. This recrystallization, particularly the intergrain type, results in grain growth and larger crystallites of CdTe. Both forms of recrystallization reduce the resistivity of the CdTe material and, by creating acceptor states caused by the incorporation of Cl, make the absorber layer material more p-type, which improves the p-n junction for photoconversion.
As mentioned above, the activation step can provide defect repair (passivation) of the absorber layer, which refers to mitigating photocurrent loss due to, for example, chemical impurities, vacancies, and chemical substitutions, particularly at the grain boundaries in the absorber layer material. Imperfections or defects disrupt the periodic structure in the absorber layer and can create areas of high resistance or current loss. During the CdCl2 anneal of the activation step, the CdS material of the window layer tends to dissolve into and intermix with CdTe of the absorber layer, which makes the CdS window layer have a non-uniform thickness or in some cases it may become discontinuous. This can cause device performance degradation. It would be desirable to use more chlorine-containing dopant, higher annealing temperatures, and/or longer anneal duration in an activation step to more aggressively treat the absorber layer, as this would increase the benefits conferred on the absorber layer by the activation step. However, using more aggressive process conditions during the activation step can cause further dissolving/intermixing of the CdS material (e.g., increased CdS/CdTe intermixing), thus further degrading or destroying the window layer, which causes more degradation in device performance.
An apparent solution to this problem would appear to be to simply increase the initial thickness of the CdS window layer so that if, and when, some of the CdS material is dissolved during the activation step, enough CdS material remains to maintain a good junction. This apparent remedy, however, causes other problems. CdS is relatively light absorbent and having a thicker CdS window layer after the activation step reduces the available light for photon harvesting at the absorber layer, thereby reducing photovoltaic efficiency. In general, it is desired to have a very thin CdS window layer to provide better light transmission to the absorber layer.
A PV device incorporating an absorber layer that can be activated with an aggressive activation step while maintaining the integrity of a thin CdS window layer is desired, as is a method of making such a PV device.

Photovoltaic device with protective layer over a window layer and method of manufacture of the same


To overcome the problem of limited backhaul capacity and limited wireless channel capacity when downloading videos to smart phones, a method for transmission of data across a mobile telecommunications network, includes providing each Smartphone or other user station (Ua-Ud) with a memory cache (12) and a download app (10), and providing a server (2) in the core network with a server cache memory (16) and a download control app (14). Each user registers with the server, the server gathers information of internet web sites (URLn) accessed by the users from which downloads may be made, monitors the websites, and as and when updates appear on the websites, selectively downloads the updates in the server cache. There is then established a common data channel from the server, across base stations (3), to the users in order to download the updates to the user's memory cache (12).

With increasing popularity of smart phones, the amount of internet data access by mobile phones is experiencing a so called "wireless data explosion". A smart phone is generally regarded as a mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform and including a mobile operating system, with advanced computing ability and connectivity and include functions such as portable media players and GPS navigation units. Smart phones typically include web browsers, and high-speed data access via Wi-Fi and mobile broadband. The most common mobile operating systems (OS) used by current smart phones include for example Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows Phone, Nokia's Symbian, RIM's BlackBerry OS. Operating Systems support "apps", which are software applications which carry out certain specific functions and are either pre-installed or are downloaded by the user from an "app store".
It is common knowledge that mobile (smart) phone users of many large telecom operators are experiencing connectivity problems. The two main reasons for this are that (1) the backhaul network capacity between the wireless base stations and the core network is limited and (2) the capacity of the wireless channels from the base station antennas to the mobile phones are not sufficient to handle the amount of data requested by the mobile phones.
It is known to address the issue of limited backhaul capacity by implementing a cache. In fixed networks, e.g. corporate networks, web caching, which is a mechanism for the temporary storage (caching) of web documents, such as HTML pages and images, is generally carried out at a proxy server. The proxy server is then used for a group of corporate users based on proxy server capacity, geographical locations, etc. Web caching may be extended to mobile systems, where the cache may be at the base station (i.e. at the antenna site). However a drawback is that a caching server has to be installed at the numerous base stations of the system, which is both expensive, both in terms of cost and time to install. As an alternative, the proxy server may not be located in the base station, but may be located in the core network of the mobile system and might serve multiple handsets via multiple base-stations. But this does not make efficient use of the radio channels, since each handset uses a dedicated radio channel for getting the data from the proxy server.
As regards the issue of limited wireless channel capacity in the air interface between a base station and mobile handsets, there is a broadcast feature available in the mobile networks but this is usually employed only for the TV like broadcasting. Here all users who want to view a certain content channel can connect to the already streaming channel. A proposal for streaming applications of real-time data such as video is multicasting, where selected users subscribe to a service, see for example Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS), which is a standard defined by 3GPP. The streaming service is transmitted over the wireless interface, but only those users who have subscribed to the service are permitted to view the real time data being transmitted. A disadvantage is that this multicast method is designed for real-time data such as video where the user needs to join and watch the current video.

Optimizing backhaul and wireless link capacity in mobile telecommunication systems


A protective cap has a hollow tubular cable clamp, a spacer integrally formed with and extending from mid-portion of the tubular cable clamp, a "T" shaped extension integrally formed on the free end of the spacer and two tubular caps respectively integrally formed on the ends of the extension. A cutout is defined in the tubular cable clamp and the side faces defining the cutout are inclined with respect to each other, such that the user is able to insert the fiber optic cable into the tubular cable clamp with ease.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective cap, and in particular to an improved car to detachably connect with the ends of a fiber optic cable.
2. Description of Related Art
After the introduction of fiberoptics into the communications field, fiberoptics quickly became the most popular media for transmitting signals of all kinds. Notwithstanding the numerous advantages and widespread popularity of fiberoptics, it was realized that fiberoptic material can be quite fragile. During fabrication, transportation, assembly, installation and even storage, the ends of the fiber optic connectors and filaments may be easily damaged. Heretofore, a protective cap, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, was developed to prevent the ends of the cables and filaments from being damaged. This prior type of protective cap comprises a loop (70), a first retainer (71) integrally formed with and extending from the loop (70), a first cap (72) integrally formed with the other end of the first retainer (71), a second retainer (73) integrally formed, with and extending from the first cap (72) and a second cap (74) integrally formed with the other end of the second retainer (73). With such a construction and design, the loop (70) is able to securely connect with the fiberoptic cable (60) by inserting the fiber optical (60) through the loop (70) before installing the connectors (61) on the ends of the cable (60). After the loop (70) is connected with the fiber optic cable (60), the first cap (72) and the second cap (74) are then able to cover both ends of the connectors (61) that contain the fiberoptic filaments (not shown) thereby avoiding any damage to either the end of the connector (61) or the fiberoptic filament from external sources. Although, the protective cap as described above is able to protect the ends of the fiberoptic cable (60) and the fiberoptic filaments from being damaged, it still suffers from the following disadvantages, such as:
1. Appearance:
Because of the way the loop (70) is attached to the fiberoptic cable (60), the protective cap is attached to the fiberoptic cable (60) at all times, which may make it difficult to handle the fiberoptic cable (60) and also decreases its visual appeal.
2. Increased cost
Because the loop (70), the first retainer (71), the first cap (72), the second retainer (73) and the second cap (74) are formed in one piece, their manufacture and handling is difficult. It has been necessary heretofore for manufacturers to be extra careful during production and later handling, which increases the cost.
3. Irreplaceable
When either one of the first cap (72) or the second cap (74) is broken, the user will not be able to replace the broken piece. To replace the protective cap, the user must remove one of the connectors (61), insert the fiberoptic cable (60) through the loop (70) of the new protective cap and replace the connector (61), which is troublesome and time consuming.
It is therefore a principal objective of the present intention to provide a protective cap for use with a fiberoptic cable that mitigates or obviates the foregoing and other disadvantages of the conventional protective cap.


A structure for use in forming an optical component and a method of making such a component is described. The structure comprises a non-waveguiding body of optical material having a concentration of a photorefractive-sensitive component in the body such that upon irradiation of a part of the body by a beam of actinic radiation, the refractive index of the irradiated part is increased. The method of making the optical component comprises providing a non-waveguiding body of optical material; providing a concentration of a photorefractive-sensitive component in the body; contacting the non-waveguiding body of optical material with an atmosphere comprising one of hydrogen, deuterium and mixtures thereof; and exposing a part of the non-waveguiding body of optical material to actinic radiation such that the refractive index of the exposed part is increased. Such a structure and method can be used to form symmetrical planar waveguides, optical fiber waveguides and other optical components such as gratings.

In-line optical fiber diffraction gratings are known. One method writing an in-line grating into optical fiber comprises interfering two beams of actinic (typically UV) radiation in a portion of the fiber. The two beams are incident on the fiber in a transverse direction, the angle between the two beams (and the wavelength of the radiation) defining the grating spacing. Typically fiber gratings are formed in germanium-doped fiber and the sensitivity of the germanium doped fiber to actinic radiation is enhanced by a thermal hydrogen treatment. The hydrogen loading is done at a pre-determined pressure and temperature. This method can be used to write gratings in fiber or planar silica waveguides and to write a channel into the core layer of planar optical waveguides. The waveguide glass, for example a silica glass, must contain a photorefractive-sensitive component, such as germanium dioxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,659 and related U.S. Pat. No. 5, 287, 427 disclose that large normalized refractive index changes can be obtained in silica-based optical waveguides (fiber or planar waveguides) by a treatment that comprises exposing at least a portion of the waveguide at a temperature of at most 250.degree. C. to hydrogen at moderate pressures and irradiating a part of the exposed portion with actinic radiation. In particular, there is disclosed a method for modifying the refractive index of planar waveguides (col. 5, line 34 to col. 6, line 9). A layered structure comprising, for example, a silicon substrate on which is formed a lower cladding layer of vitreous silica, an intermediate (core) germanosilicate layer, and an upper cladding layer of vitreous silica is formed. This structure has waveguiding properties in the vertical plane of the core layer but does not confine the radiation in the horizontal plane of the core layer. Horizontal confinement is achieved by loading the structure with hydrogen, irradiating the structure with focused actinic radiation normal to the layered structure, and moving the beam over the structure in a predetermined manner. The refractive index in the irradiated region of the germanosilicate core layer is raised above the adjacent lateral portions of the core layer, providing lateral guiding. The refractive index of the cladding layers remains essentially unchanged.
In such a structure, as described in U.S. Pat. 5,235,659, the writing is done in a layered structure already presenting planar waveguide properties because vertical confinement is already provided by the fact that the core layer containing germanium dopant has a refractive index above the refractive indices of the underclad and overclad layers which lack the dopant. After the writing is done the refractive index of the irradiated region of the core layer is further increased. The difference in refractive index between the written region of the core and the cladding layers above and below will be greater than the difference in refractive index between the written region of the core and the adjacent lateral regions of the core layer which contain dopant. A disadvantage of such a planar waveguide is that it is an unsymmetrical waveguide, i.e. the difference in refractive index between the written region and adjacent regions is not the same in all directions. In such a structure the difference in index is larger between the channel waveguide and the surrounding structure in the vertical dimension than in the horizontal one. Therefore the mode is less guided horizontally and expands in this direction.
Unsymmetrical waveguides are disadvantageous because of the asymmetric mode field propagated in such a structure. Consequences include an increase in the coupling losses with single mode fiber and a large polarization dependence. The mode field of the unsymmetrical waveguide can be made circularly symmetric by making the waveguide cross-section rectangular, for example, taller than it is wide. This approach will overcome the problem of higher coupling losses. However, this approach still suffers from the fact that coupling will occur between the channel waveguide and the planar or "slab" waveguide. This coupling will result in consmission losses at selected wavelengths corresponding to the equalization of the propagation constant of the eigenmode of the channel waveguide to those (several) of the planar waveguide. The invention for a symmetrical planar waveguide has no "slab" waveguide, so these losses will not occur.
It is an object of this invention to provide a non-waveguiding structure for use in making waveguides with symmetrical waveguide properties.

Method of making a symmetrical optical waveguide


A plurality of blocks are optimally placed within a short process time while minimizing the exceeding of the delay time. Input means receives information on a logic circuit having a hierarchical structure including a plurality of blocks, and RTL estimation means calculates a delay time in the blocks in advance. Path detection means detects a timing path extending via a plurality of blocks, and delay calculation means calculates a delay value while assuming that the inter-block interconnect length is zero. Delay margin setting means sets a delay margin obtained by subtracting the delay value from a predetermined delay time. The delay margin forms a part of an objective function as a weight on the virtual interconnect length between each of the inter-block terminal pairs in the placement process, and the blocks are automatically placed by using the objective function.

The present invention relates to a floorplanning device and a floorplanning method for a semiconductor integrated circuit for determining a placement of blocks based on delays along timing paths between the blocks.
In recent years, LSI designs have been more and more complicated along with the increase in the scale of integrated circuits, as in "system LSIs", and the miniaturization in the semiconductor process rules.
In the place-and-route phase of the LSI design process, the entire design is in some cases optimized in a "flat" manner or non-hierarchically or, in other cases, the entire design is divided into a plurality of circuit portions called "blocks" and optimized block by block or hierarchically. With the former method, since the entire design is optimized as a whole, a smaller circuit area is more likely to be achieved and the timing convergence is high. However, the process time is longer, and when a change is made to the circuit design, the whole optimization process need to be performed again. With the latter method, processes for different blocks can be run in parallel, thereby shortening the overall process time, and when a change is made to the circuit design, it is not necessary to perform the whole optimization process again. However, the timing convergence between blocks is poor, and the circuit area is likely to be larger.
When designing a system LSI, it is often the case that different design teams work on different blocks, and IPs (Intellectual Properties) are used in many cases in order to increase the design efficiency. In such cases, the hierarchical place-and-route method is more effective.
In the hierarchical place-and-route method, floorplanning for determining the placement of blocks within a chip is performed before more detailed place-and-route process is performed. Floorplanning is very important to improve the timing convergence between blocks and to realize smaller circuit areas. As the feature size is becoming so small that the interconnect delay is no longer negligible, it is becoming common to perform floorplanning as early as in the logic design phase or the RTL (register transfer level) design phase.
The placement of blocks in a floorplan can be determined by referring to the specifications of the LSI, or the blocks can be placed automatically by a floorplanning tool while visually checking the interconnections displayed by the graphic user interface (GUI) of the floorplanning tool.
FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of a conventional floorplanning method in which blocks are placed automatically taking timing into consideration. Based on the interconnect length for the inter-terminal connection in the initial placement (step 1000), the delay along the timing path is calculated in the path delay calculation step (step 1001). The obtained result is evaluated in the convergence determination step (step 1002) based on an evaluation formula for improving portions where a predetermined delay time is exceeded. If the evaluation formula does not converge, blocks are moved around in the placement changing step (step 1003), and the delay calculation is performed again for the new interconnect length after the change of the coordinates of the blocks. This is repeated until the evaluation formula converges.
In another conventional approach, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-339364 (page 7, FIG. 2), blocks having a larger number of paths therebetween for which a predetermined delay time is exceeded are placed adjacent to each other preferentially, based on the interconnect length calculated by using statistical interconnect length data without repeatedly performing the placement process and the delay calculation process.
Where the placement is manually determined, it is common to determine the placement while referring to the number of inter-block connections, which is displayed to the user. In another conventional approach, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-200835 (page 8, FIG. 2), for example, the direction in which a block is to be moved is determined and displayed to the user by analyzing changes in the interconnect delay while virtually moving the block around.
With a common conventional floorplanning device and method as shown in FIG. 10, the process time is long because it is necessary to repeat the delay calculation every time a block is moved.
With a conventional floorplanning device and method as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-339364, the inter-block interconnect delay is obtained based on statistical interconnect length data, whereby there may be an error in the actual inter-block interconnect length after the actual place-and-route process. If the inter-block interconnect length, which is significantly dependent on the floorplan, contains an error, the error will degrade the quality of automatic placement.
With a conventional floorplanning device that displays the number of inter-block connections, based on which the user determines which blocks should be placed adjacent to each other preferentially, the displayed information does not include timing-related information, whereby it is difficult to find blocks that need to be adjacent to each other for a timing-related reason from among all the blocks that should be adjacent to each other. Therefore, after the placement is once determined, it is necessary to review the placement based on the results of a timing analysis.
With a conventional floorplanning device and method as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-200835, the interconnect delay needs to be evaluated every time a block is moved for an improvement, whereby the process time increases in proportion to the number of nets.

Device and method for floorplanning semiconductor integrated circuit

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A gate valve for vacuum capable of preventing a seal member from being cracked or particles from being produced due to a stress concentration even if the seal member is repeatedly compressed in the state that the adhesive agent is separated from the open side of a seal member mounting groove and capable of suppressing particles from being produced due to the rub of the seal top part with the seal surface.

The work processing such as ion plating and plasma etching is carried out in a clean environment and in a high vacuum for a fabrication of a semiconductor such as a silicon wafer, a thin film, and liquid crystal.
As a valve structure for opening and closing an open part that requires an high air-tightness and that a processed substance such as a silicon wafer can be easily transferred into and from, a bonded-type gate valve for vacuum is publicly known.
For instance, the bonded-type gate valve for vacuum has advantages that a sealing performance is higher and a repeated opening and closing operation property is excellent as compared with a conventional seal apparatus in which a seal member is simply mounted in a dovetail groove formed in a plate body.
The plate body is made of a metal such as aluminum, and a seal member made of fluoro-rubber or the like is bonded to the plate body.
FIG. 6 shows a conventional gate valve for vacuum disclosed in Patent document 1. The gate valve for vacuum is disposed for instance on a gate opening section 16 for wafer transfer between a process chamber 2 and a transfer chamber 4.
A gate valve 6 for vacuum is composed of a plate body 8 made of a metal formed in a generally rectangular shape and a seal member 10 made of an elastic material bonded to the peripheral section of the plate body 8. The plate body 8 is fixed to a base 12 having a cross section in a generally L shape. A vertically movable axis or the like 14 is fixed through the center of the base 12 in the longitudinal direction.
In the case in which the gate valve 6 for vacuum has a configuration for opening and closing the gate opening section 16 by only a vertical movement of the axis 14, a sliding causes the plate body 8 to be easily scratched and metal particles to be produced. Consequently, the plate body 8 is pulled to the left in the drawing and is then moved vertically. More specifically, to close the gate opening section 16 in an open state with the plate body 8 being disposed at a lower position, the axis 14 disposed at a lower position is moved to a direction of an arrow X and the plate body 8 is then moved to a direction of an arrow Y. As a result, the seal member 10 is pressed to a valve seat surface 18 formed on the peripheral section of the gate opening section 16 to seal the process chamber 2 closely.
As shown in FIG. 7, for the gate valve 6 for vacuum, a cross-sectional shape of the seal member 10 mounted to the plate body 8 is a generally chevron shape, and a cross-sectional shape of a seal member mounting groove 23 formed on the plate body 8 is an L shape in which an end of the outer side is opened.
The most protruding apex T of the seal member 10 is positioned on the outer side from the center position C of S/2 (right side in FIG. 7), where the width of the bottom surface of the seal member mounting groove 23 is S. That is, A is larger than B.
For the seal member 10 of the gate valve 6 for vacuum, an outer sloped surface 26 is formed on the outer side from the apex T, and an inner sloped surface 28 is formed on the inner side from the apex T. A curve 30 in an arc shape is formed between the outer sloped surface 26 and the inner sloped surface 28.
An inclination θ2 of the inner sloped surface 28 against to the bottom surface of the seal member mounting groove 23 is larger than an inclination θ1 of the outer sloped surface 26. That is, θ2 is larger θ1.
As described above, the seal member 10 in which the apex T and the inclinations θ1 and θ2 are set is bonded to the seal member mounting groove 23 of the plate body 8 with an adhesive agent. The plate body 8 provided with the seal member 10 is disposed between the process chamber 2 and the transfer chamber 4 shown in FIG. 6. The seal member 10 in the plate body 8 is abutted to a wall 21 configuring the gate opening section 16 and compressed in the Y direction by degrees. As shown by an arrow Z in FIG. 8, the seal member 10 is then deformed in such a manner that the seal member 10 is swelled outside from the seal member mounting groove 23. As shown in FIG. 8, an end 10a of the seal member 10 is deformed in such a manner that a part of the seal member 10 hangs out of the seal member mounting groove 23. In the case in which the deforming movement is carried out repeatedly in the state that a part of the seal member 10 hangs out of the seal member mounting groove 23, the adhesive agent is separated. In the case in which the seal member 10 is repeatedly compressed and deformed after the adhesive agent is separated, a stress concentration is applied to the section abutted to the corner of the plate body 8, thereby easily generating a crack 24 in the section. In the case in which a compressive load is applied to the seal member 10 repeatedly after the crack 24 is generated, the crack 24 is grown by degrees. As a result, the seal member 10 is damaged disadvantageously. Even if the seal member 10 is not damaged, particles are produced unfortunately.
Moreover, the rub of the apex T of the seal member 10 with the opponent surface during deformation causes particles to be produced disadvantageously.
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-252184

Gate valve for vacuum and seal member used therefor


A photodiode array comprises a plurality of n channels, each channel having a photodiode which is reverse biased such that it acts as a current source. Each channel further comprises an A/D converter for providing a digital output signal (DATA) which is representative o the photo current (Iph) provided by the photodiode and therefore of the intensity of the light impinging on the photodiode. The A/D converter comprises a controllable current source, an integrator circuit, a comparator for comparing the output signal (Vout) of the integrator with a predetermined signal (Vthreshold), a logic circuit for controlling the current source in response to the output signal (Vcomp) of the comparator such that Vout is kept within a certain range. Preferably, the current source provides current in the form of charge dumps to and/or from the integrator. The number of dumps in one direction is counted by a counter and is a digital measure of the photo current (Iph). The photodiode array is particularly useful in spectrophotometers since the provision of a separate A/D converter for each channel allow simultaneous processing of all the photosignals in the array so that spectra distortions arising from time delays in processing the photosignals are avoided.

A spectrophotometer using a photodiode array is known from "A High-Speed Spectrophotometric LC Detector", Hewlett-Packard Journal, April 1984. This known spectrometer is used in a liquid chromatograph for analyzing the substances eluting from the chromatographic column. In this spectromter, a broad spectrum of ultraviolet and visible radiation is transmitted through a sample cell through which the sample eluting from the column passes. After transmission through the sample cell, the spectrum of the radiation as modified by the sample substances is derived by means of a diffraction grating which directs light rays of different wavelengths into different directions. A linear array of photodiodes is arranged to receive the light diffracted by the grating. Each diode thus receives light corresponding to a different wavelength range.
The photodiode array used in the mentioned spectrophotometer is of the type "selfscanning photodiode array". Such a selfscanning photodiode array is built on semiconductor material and comprises a plurality of photocells each photocell consisting of a photosensitive element (photodiode) and a capacitor which represents the junction capacitance of the photodiodes or which is separately added on the semiconductor chip. The photocells are connected via electronic switches to a common output line (video line) which in turn is connected to an external charge amplifier. The switches of the individual photocells are controlled by a shift register such that the photocells are read sequentially according to the clock signals of the shift register. In operation, the capacitors of the photocells which have initially been charged to a fixed value are discharged by the current generated by the photodiodes when light impinges on them. These capacitors are periodically recharged to the initial value whereby the amount of charge transferred is representative of the amount of light which has impinged on the photodiode during the integration period. The recharging of the capacitors is performed sequentially starting from the photocell at one end of the array to the photocell at the other end of the array. The transfer of charge to a photocell causes a voltage change at the output of the charge amplifier and thus produces a signal indicative of the light intensity on the photodiode. This signal is then converted to a digital signal by an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter common to all photodiodes of the array. The thus obtained digital signals can then be further processed by data processing means to generate a spectrum corresponding to the sample to be analyzed.
A second type of photodiode arrays are so-called "random access photodiode arrays". Their structure is similar to the selfscanning photodiode arrays in that they comprise a plurality of photocells connected to a common video line and to a subsequent common charge amplifier and an A/D converter. The difference to the selfscanning photodiode arrays consists in the way how the switches of the photocells are controlled : The shift register is replaced by an address decoder which gives the possibility to randomly select the switches to be activated so that any photocell can be chosen in any order.
A third type of photodiode arrays are so-called "multi element photodiode arrays". They typically comprise a number of less than about 50 photodiodes linearly arranged on a silicon chip without additional circuitry for operating the photodiode array on the chip. The one side of each photodiode is directly brought out from the chip while the other sides are commonly connected to the substrate on the chip . These photodiode arrays can be operated in two modes: In the first mode, each photodiode is connected to an operational amplifier which serves for signal conditioning. The output signals of these amplifiers are time multiplexed and supplied to a common A/D converter. Due to the amplifiers associated with each photocell, this configuration is very complex. In a less complex, alternative configuration, the multiplexer is arranged between the array of photodiodes and a common operational amplifier. In this configuration, however, the fidelity of the signals is impaired.
The multi element photodiode arrays thus operate in a sampling mode whereas the selfscanning and random access photodiode arrays operate in an integrating mode, i.e., the photocurrent of a photocell is accumulated during the time when the signal from a different photocell is processed.
The photodiode arrays operated in an integrating mode, i.e., selfscanning and random access photodiode arrays, lead to a problem called spectra distortion which will be explained in the following:
This problem of spectra distortion occurs in spectrophotometers wherein the sample to be analyzed is changing as a function of time. A typical example is a spectrophotometer used to detect the sample substances eluting from the column of a liquid chromatograph. In that case, different sample components are detected by the spectrophotometer at different times; furthermore, even with a pure sample substance, the corresponding sample concentration is a function of time in accordance with the chromatographic peak having a rising edge, a top, and a falling edge. Since the signals from the individual photocells in an integrating phototdiode array are processed sequentially, the photodiodes on one side of the array, corresponding to the shorter wavelengths of the spectrum, monitor the short wavelength radiation earlier than the photodiodes on the other side monitor the long wavelength radiation. When monitoring a chromatographic peak corresponding to a certain substance separated in the column, the resulting wavelength spectrum obtained at the top of such a peak (apex spectrum) is different to the spectrum obtained at the rising edge of the peak (upslope spectrum) which again is different to the spectrum obtained at the falling edge of the peak. In the upslope spectrum, the higher wavelengths are over-accentuated because the sample concentration rises during the spectrum accumulation which proceeds from lower to higher wavelengths. In the downslope spectrum, the lower wavelengths are over-accentuated because the sample concentration decreases so that upon processing of the higher wavelengths a smaller sample concentration prevails than at the processing of the lower wavelengths.
Since sample substances are identified by comparison of the measured spectra with spectra stored in an electronic library, the above described spectra distortion limits the capabilities to identify unknown sample substances.
In liquid chromatography, it may occur that two different sample constituents are not completely separated in the chromatographic column so that the corresponding peaks in the chromatogram are not resolved but form a single peak. A method for determining if a peak in a chromatogram represents a single or more constituents is the "peak purity check". This peak purity check consists in the comparison of the upslope wavelength spectrum of a peak with the downslope spectrum at the corresponding sample concentration. If both spectra coincide closely, there is a confirmation that the chromatographic peak represents a single constituent. However, if the spectral scans do not coincide, there is a strong indication that another constituent is contributing to the peak. Due to the above mentioned spectra distortion, the peak purity check can only be applied if the change in sample concentration during the integration interval is small or if the sample concentration is kept constant for a while by stopping the flow of the sample substances. The stopping of the flow through the separation column and the sample cell, however, is often not desirable because this introduces disturbances which impair the quantitative accuracy of the chromatographic measurement.
A prior art approach for coping with the described problem of spectra distortion is described in EP-A-0 192 200. According to this prior art, the photodiode array is of the type multi element photodiode array having 35 diodes wherein each photodiode is connected to an operational amplifier for signal conditioning and a sample and hold circuit for sampling and holding the output signals of the operational amplifiers. The output signals of the sample and hold circuits are multiplexed by a multiplex switch and then sequentially converted by a single A/D converter into digital signals. The circuitry of this known device is very complex because it requires an operational amplifier and a sample and hold circuit for each of the photodiodes as well as a multiplexer with a number of channels corresponding to the number of photodiodes and a high performance A/D converter. Furthermore, all electronic components are built discretely on a printed circuit board thus requiring a large board space and a great amount of supply power.
An additional problem with known photodiode arrays originates from the A/D conversion of the signals corresponding to the light incident on the photodiodes. In all of the above mentioned types of photodiode arrays, a single A/D converter is used which successively converts the signals from the individual photodiodes. Since the number of photodiodes used in spectrophotometic applications is very large (up to 1024 photodiodes), the conversion rate of the A/D converter has to be very high, e.g., above 100 kHz, in order to achieve a time resolution of 100 data points per second for each photodiode. Furthermore, in order to ensure high measuring accuracy in spectrophotometric applications, the resolution has to be high (preferably larger than 16 bit) and a good linearity must be ensured. In order to fully meet these requirements, a complex and expensive A/D converter would be required. As a compromise between speed and resolution on one side and cost and complexity on the other side, most prior art photodiode arrays use A/D converters of the type "successive approximation". Such A/D converters, however, suffer from differential non-linearities, known as "missing codes". Such errors in the A/D conversion limit the detection limit in spectrophotometry for chemical analysis where small differences in intensity have to be measured.


An electronic device comprising a processor utility configured and operable for processing image data, determining whether an abnormality exists in an image of a subject's eye, and generating corresponding output data, said processor utility comprising: a first processor configured and operable for selecting in the image data an image comprising a region of interest including predetermined eye features of at least one of two eyes of the subject, the first processor further configured and operable for pre-processing the image to determine whether it is suitable for image processing and for providing an indication of the determined suitability of the image; an eye feature detection utility configured and operable for applying an image processing algorithm to a suitable image for determining one or more parameters of the eye features from a set of predetermined parameters; and an eye condition identifier utility configured and operable for processing and analyzing said one or more parameters and generating data indicative of whether an abnormality exists in the image.

Strabismus is the misalignment of the visual axis between the two eyes, and is the chief cause of amblyopia—reduced visual acuity in one eye which cannot be improved by glasses. Amblyopia is responsible for loss of vision in one eye in children and young adults more than all other causes combined in the Western world. It was found that 2%-4% of children develop strabismus at an early stage. Therefore, early detection of strabismus and amblyopia is essential if it is to be treated effectively. The efficiency of known treatment techniques reduces with age up until 7 or 8 years, after which the loss of vision is permanent. Numerous medical bodies around the world, such as the American Academy of Paediatricians, recommend vision screening no later than the age of 4, if not earlier. Nevertheless, children younger than 5 are difficult to screen, and less than 1 in 3 from this age group in the US undergo vision tests. Also, there are various other conditions which may cause amblyopia, such conditions include anisometropia which is a difference in refractive power between the two eye lenses, and opacities being a condition of cataract.
The conventional tests for strabismus detection and diagnosis are typically manual tests, and have to be performed by professionals. These manual tests include the Hirschberg Test and the Cover Test and are best performed by ophthalmologists and orthoptists. The Hirschberg test involves shining a light into patient's eyes and visually inspecting the eyes for symmetry in the reflection of light (the Purkinje image) from the corneal surface. The Cover Test involves covering one eye at a time and observing eye movement while the patient fixates on a specific target. Strabismus and other conditions may also be inspected via the Bruckner Test, which is also a manual (visual) test. These tests are difficult to perform on non-cooperating patients, such as infants and young children. Front line medical staff, such as general practitioners and paediatricians, typically screen patients for strabismus, but as they are not skilled experts for these manual tests, this leads to both under-referrals and over-referrals.
Attempts have been made to develop techniques facilitating determination of various eye diseases/abnormalities. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,854,509 describes an article and method for screening vision that does not require verbal input from a test person or the test person to maintain a fixed position during the screening. The article includes an image capture device, at least one test light, a processing unit that includes an interpretive program, and a display. The method comprises capturing an image of a person's eyes, verifying the image, studying the image, evaluating the image, and displaying the results. Conveniently, the article and method require no special training by an operator.
General Description
There is a need in the art for a novel technique for simple, automatic detection of various eye conditions, such as strabismus, anisometropia, anisocoria, as well as retinoblastoma and cataract.
The present invention provides a device according to claim 1. Further optional embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in claim 2 et seq.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus and method for fully automatic detection of eye conditions associated with abnormalities in a subject's eyes. The technique can be used for identifying eye conditions in children or infants or other subjects which may be less cooperative using an inspection procedure. The inspection procedure may be simple and quick and does not require a skilled professional operator. Moreover, the inspection may utilize data indicative of a single image of the subject's eyes, where the image may be acquired by a digital camera typically installed in most portable electronic devices, such as mobile phone devices, smartphones, as well as portable computer, PDA, etc. Also, a device of the present invention may be installed in a digital camera or ophthalmoscope, specifically designed for implementing the invention.
The conventional tests for diagnosing strabismus, e.g. the Hirschberg test, are manual tests which require a skilled professional and are limited to detection of medium to large amplitude strabismus. When testing for eye conditions in children/infants, who are typically less cooperative, the test is even less accurate or reliable. An automatic (computerized) system for identifying eye conditions can provide more accurate diagnostics, and can provide at least preliminary results in a very short time, while requiring less patient cooperation.
The present invention provides for a novel approach for processing and analyzing image data, which enables the technique or processor utility of the present invention to be embedded in any electronic device, being a personal computer, laptop, or any hand held computing device such as a smartphone, tablet, digital camera, or ophthalmoscope. The electronic device may utilize a camera unit installed therein to acquire one or more images of a region of interest and provide image data, or it may be connectable (via wires or wireless signal transmission) to an external camera unit or storage device to receive image data therefrom, thus operating in either on-line (real time) or off-line inspection mode. The electronic device configured for carrying out the present invention thus comprises a processor utility which is configured as a software application preprogrammed to receive and analyze image data, and may also include or be connectable to an output utility (e.g. screen) for providing analysis results and other instructions to an operator.
In the non limiting examples described below, the device of the invention is referred to as a computing device which includes a camera unit integral with the device. It should, however, be understood that the present invention is not limited to such an integral device configuration, and may be implemented as a chip or software/hardware utility that may be embedded in any electronic or computing device for receiving and processing image data including but not limited to cameras, smartphones, mobile phones, ophthalmoscopes.
In the simplest example, where the electronic device of the invention is integral with a camera unit (e.g., a hand held computing device including a camera unit), a user operates the camera unit to acquire one or more images of a subject's face utilizing flash light or other light source. Image data is received by the processor utility which is preprogrammed according to the invention for analyzing this data, identifying abnormal eye conditions of the subject, and generating output data indicative thereof. To this end, the processor utility performs a so-called pre-processing to identify existence and location of a region of interest (i.e. the left and/or right eye region(s) of a subject) within the image in order to determine whether said image is a proper one to be used for further processing or another image is needed. The proper zone/region is that including desired eye features for detection of one or more abnormalities in the subject's eye(s). Such eye regions may for example include a pupil and a bright zone associated with reflection of a light source (light reflection from the eye surface is commonly known as a Purkinje image) for at least one of the left and right eyes of a subject.
According to one broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a portable electronic device comprising a processor utility configured and operable for processing image data, determining one or more conditions indicative of an abnormality in a subject's eye, and generating corresponding output data, said processor utility comprising: a first processor configured and operable for selecting in the image data an image comprising a region of interest including predetermined eye features of at least one of two eyes of the subject; an eye feature detection utility configured and operable for applying an image processing algorithm to the region of interest in the selected image for determining one or more parameters of the eye features from a set of predetermined parameters; and an eye condition identifier utility configured and operable for processing and analyzing said one or more parameters and generating data indicative of a condition of the subject's eyes.
The set of predetermined parameters of the eye features may include at least one of geometrical, positioning and color related parameters of the eye features. Such parameter(s) of the eye features may comprise one or more of the following: location of the pupil for at least one of the eyes; location of the Purkinje image for at least one of the eyes; physical dimension of at least one of the pupils; physical dimension of at least one Purkinje image, average color of the pupils of both eyes, and average color of the Purkinje images of both eyes.
The region of interest is a part of the selected image including at least one of left and right eye regions, and preferably both of these eye regions. The region of interest in the selected image may also be that comprising at least one feature corresponding to predetermined imaging conditions. Such a feature corresponding to the predetermined imaging conditions may comprise a Purkinje image.
The device preferably comprises a memory utility for storing predetermined reference data. The latter includes first reference data indicative of pixel values corresponding to face features, and second reference data indicative of pixel values corresponding to eye features.
In some embodiments of the invention, the first processor module is configured and operable for carrying out the image selection by processing an image using the first reference data to obtain rough data about the region of interest in said image based on classifying pixels in the image according to the first reference data and grouping pixels into different categories relating to the region of interest.
In some embodiments of the invention, the eye feature detection module is configured and operable for processing the region of interest using the second reference data to obtain rough value of said one or more of the geometrical and/or positioning and/or color related parameters of the eye features by classifying pixels in the region of interest according to said second reference data and counting pixels relating to at least one eye feature. The eye feature detection module may use the rough values of one or more of such parameters for re-classifying the pixels related to said at least one feature, and weighting values of said re-classified pixels.
The eye features to be determined comprise at least one of pupil and Purkinje image in at least one of left and right eye regions. As indicated above, the parameters of the eye features may comprise location of the pupil for at least one of the eyes; location of the Purkinje image for at least one of the eyes; physical dimension of at least one of the pupils; physical dimension of at least one Purkinje image; and/or average color of the pupil and/or Purkinje images of one or both eyes.
In some embodiments of the invention, the eye condition identifier module is configured and operable to determine a relation between the parameters of at least two eye features, wherein said at least two eye features relate to the same eye region or to the different eyes' regions.
In some embodiments of the invention, the eye condition identifier module determines the relation between relative positions of the center of the Purkinje image and the center of the pupil in the right eye to those of the left eye, and identifies a deviation of said relation from a predetermined value. Such deviation is indicative of a degree of asymmetry corresponding to strabismus condition. The predetermined value may be a certain function of a difference between the relative positions in the left and right eye regions and a distance between the left and right pupils.
In some embodiments of the invention, the eye condition identifier module determines said relation in the form of a vector distance between the center of the pupil and the center of the Purkinje image in at least one of the left and right eye regions in the image, and identifies a deviation of said relation from a predetermined value. This deviation is indicative of strabismus condition of said at least one eye.
In some embodiments of the invention, the eye condition identifier module determines a relation between radii of the Purkinje image of the left and right eye regions, and identifies a deviation of said relation from a predetermined value being indicative of anisometropia condition.
In some embodiments of the invention, the eye condition identifier module determines a relation between average colors of pixels in the Purkinje image and/or pupil of the left and right eye regions, and identifies a deviation of said relation from a predetermined value. For example, such deviation from a predetermined value (threshold value) is indicative of anisometropia condition.
In some embodiments of the invention, the eye condition identifier module determines a relation between average colors of pixels in the pupil of the left and right eye regions, and identifies a deviation of said relation from a predetermined value being indicative of the presence of retinoblastoma or of a cataract in the eye.
In some embodiments of the invention, the eye condition identifier module is configured and operable to determine a relation between radii of pupils in the left and right eye regions, and to identify a deviation of said relation from a predetermined value being indicative of anisocoria condition.
The device of the present invention may be configured as or incorporated in a phone device (e.g. smartphone), a PDA device, a personal computer, a digital camera, tablet, laptop, or a specially designed ophthalmoscope.
The first processor module may be configured and operable for processing the image data and upon identifying image data pieces in the selected image corresponding to the subject's eyes, extracting said image data pieces to be processed by the eye feature detection module.
The processor utility may be configured and operable to operate the imager (internal or external) for generating the image data including a stream of images to be processed by the first processor module to select the proper image. In some embodiments, the processor utility selectively operates to generate a request data for additional image(s).
In a specific embodiment of the invention, the processing of the image data comprises the following: locating right and left eye regions in the selected image; locating a zone in the eye region corresponding to a Purkinje image, for right and left eyes of the subject; determining a dimension of the Purkinje image for the right and left eye regions; determining a relation between the dimension of said right and left Purkinje images, analyzing data indicative of said relation and generating data indicative of a anisometropia condition of the subject.
In a specific embodiment of the invention, the processing of the image data comprises the following: locating right and left eye regions in the selected image; locating zones corresponding to pupils of the right and left eye regions; locating a zone in the eye region corresponding to a Purkinje image, for right and left eyes of the subject; determining a relative location of the Purkinje image with respect to the pupil, for the right and left eye regions; and analyzing said relative location, and generating data indicative of a strabismus condition of the subject.
According to another broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a hand-held electronic device comprising: a frame grabber for acquiring images of the surroundings and generating image data including at least one image of at least one eye of a subject, a light source for illuminating said surroundings at least during a time of image acquisition, and a processor utility connected to said imager and configured and operable for processing said at least one image, determining one or more conditions indicative of an abnormality in the subject's eye(s), and generating corresponding output data.
According to yet further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for non-invasively screening subjects for certain one or more eye conditions using a hand-held device comprising a camera unit, a processor utility, a memory utility and a user interface utility. The method comprises:
a. operating the camera unit for providing image data indicative of one or more images taken by the camera unit at a certain distance from a subject, said distance ranging from a few centimeters to a few meters,
b. processing said image data for validating presence therein of at least one image of one or both eyes of the subject;
c. processing said at least one image of one or both eyes of the subject and determining at least one of position, dimension and color related parameter of at least one eye feature including at least one of pupil and Purkinje images, and analyzing said at least one of the position, dimension and color parameters of at least one eye feature with respect to predetermined threshold data; and
d. generating data indicative of existence or absence of one or more of the eye conditions.
According to yet another broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a control unit for embedding in an electronic device, said control unit comprising a connection utility for connecting to an imager, and a processor utility configured and operable for processing image data received from the imager and generating output data indicative of one or more abnormalities in a subject's eyes being imaged, said processing comprising determination of at least one of geometrical, positioning and color related parameters of eye features in at least one of right and left eyes of a subject.
According to yet further broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product embedded on a non-transitory computer-accessible medium and comprising a computer readable program code configured and operable for processing image data corresponding to subject's eyes and generating output data indicative of one or more abnormalities in the subject's eyes, said processing comprising determination of at least one of geometrical, positioning and color related parameters of eye features in at least one of right and left eyes of a subject.
The computer program product is capable selecting in the image data an image comprising a region of interest including predetermined eye features of at least one of two eyes of the subject; applying an image processing algorithm to the region of interest in the selected image for determining one or more parameters of the eye features from a set of predetermined parameters; and processing and analyzing said one or more parameters and generating data indicative of a condition of the subject's eyes. To this end, the computer program product accesses certain first and second reference data indicative of pixel values corresponding to respectively face features and eye features. Such reference data may be stored in an external storage utility to which the program has access or may actually be a part of the program itself. The program uses the first reference data for processing the image data to obtain rough data about the region of interest based on classifying pixels in the image according to said first reference data and grouping pixels of different categories relating to the region of interest, thereby selecting in the image data a proper image comprising a region of interest. Then, the second reference data is used for processing the selected proper image to obtain rough value of said at least one parameter of the eye features by classifying pixels in the region of interest according to said second reference data and counting pixels relating to at least one eye feature.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided an electronic device comprising a processor utility configured and operable for processing image data, determining one or more conditions indicative of an abnormality in a subject's eye, and generating corresponding output data, said processor utility comprising:
a first processor configured and operable for selecting in the image data an image comprising a region of interest including predetermined eye features of at least one of two eyes of the subject, said selecting comprising processing an image using a first reference data indicative of pixel values corresponding to face features to obtain rough data about the region of interest in said image based on classifying pixels in the image according to said first reference data and grouping pixels of different categories relating to the region of interest;
an eye feature detection utility configured and operable for applying an image processing algorithm to the region of interest in the selected image for determining one or more of geometrical and positioning parameters of the eye features, said applying of the image processing algorithm comprising using second reference data indicative of pixel values corresponding to eye features to obtain a value of said one or more of geometrical and positioning parameters of the eye features by classifying pixels in the region of interest according to said second reference data and counting pixels relating to at least one eye feature; and
an eye condition identifier utility configured and operable for processing and analyzing said one or more geometrical and positioning parameters and generating data indicative of a condition of the subject's eyes.

System and method for identifying eye conditions


Disclosed is a semiconductor device having an align key and a method of fabricating the same. The semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate having a cell area and an align key area. An isolation layer that defines a cell active area is disposed in the cell area of the semiconductor substrate. A cell charge storage layer pattern is disposed across the cell active area. An align charge storage layer pattern is disposed in the align key area of the semiconductor substrate. An align trench self-aligned with the align charge storage layer pattern is formed in the align key area of the semiconductor substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same and, more particularly, to a semiconductor device having an align key and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A photolithography process plays an important role in manufacturing a highly-integrated semiconductor device having a stacked structure. The semiconductor device is completed through a set of photolithography processes, each of which requires a photomask to be exactly aligned on a semiconductor substrate in order to minimize misalignment between layers. To this end, in conventional photolithography and etching processes, processes of aligning the photomask and the semiconductor substrate, measuring alignment accuracy, and correcting an alignment error are performed. In order to perform such processing steps, an align key and an overlay key are disposed in predetermined areas of the semiconductor substrate.
The align key is used for aligning the photomask with a wafer before exposure during the photolithography process. The overlay key is used to measure whether a pattern on the photomask is exactly overlapped on the semiconductor substrate after exposure and development. Generally, the align key and the overlay key are formed in a structure having a step against surface within a scribe lane between main chips. For example, the align key and the overlay key are formed in a trench type structure or in a protrusion structure bulged from the semiconductor substrate. In the photolithography process, a method of making alignment and correcting thereof with the align key and the overlay key is as follows. When a light source in an alignment unit of a stepper is illuminated on the align key or the overlay key formed in the semiconductor substrate, an interference pattern is formed due to the step formed in the align key or the overlay key. By detecting light and shade of the interference pattern in a detection unit to identify a direction or a position of the semiconductor substrate, and by adjusting the semiconductor substrate or the photomask, the alignment and the correction thereof are performed.
A conventional method of forming the trench type align key is taught in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-134701, entitled "method of fabricating semiconductor device."
According to the Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-134701, a buried dielectric layer is simultaneously formed in an align key area during formation of an isolation layer in a cell area of the semiconductor substrate. Photolithography and anisotropic etching processes are then performed to selectively etch the buried dielectric layer in the align key area. As a result, an align key having a step with a predetermined depth is formed in the align key area.
Conventional flash memory devices are typically categorized as either floating gate type memory devices or floating trap type memory devices according to gate structures of unit cells. Also, the unit cells of the flash memory devices may be classified into stack gate cells or split gate cells according to the structures of the unit cells.
The conventional flash memory device having the split gate structure is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,766.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the conventional flash memory device having the split gate structure disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,766.
Referring to FIG. 1, an isolation layer (not shown) defining an active area 102 is disposed within a semiconductor substrate 100. A charge storage layer pattern 104 is disposed across the active area 102. The charge storage layer pattern 104 includes a tunnel dielectric layer 104a, a floating gate 104b and an inter-gate dielectric layer 104c, which are sequentially stacked. A gate dielectric layer 106 is disposed on the semiconductor substrate 100 adjacent the charge storage layer pattern 104. A control gate 108 is disposed, above the charge storage layer pattern 104 and the gate oxide layer 106.
The control gate 108 should be directly aligned with the charge storage layer pattern 104 in order to minimize alignment tolerance. However, a photolithography process for forming the control gate 108 utilizes an align key which is simultaneously formed with the isolation layer. In other words, the control gate 108 is indirectly aligned with the charge storage layer pattern 104. This may lead to misalignment between the control gate 108 and the charge storage layer pattern 104, and alignment variations may not be uniform throughout the semiconductor substrate. That is, overlap areas S between the control gates 108 and the charge storage layer patterns 104 may not be uniform throughout the semiconductor substrate. The nonuniform overlap areas S may cause nonuniform threshold voltage of programmed cells or erased cells.

Semiconductor device having align key and method of fabricating the same


A multiplexer selectively connects one of first and second nodes to a third node. The multiplexer includes a first switch coupled between the first and third nodes, a second switch coupled between the second and third nodes, and a control input for receiving a signal to either open the first switch and close the second switch or open the second switch and close the first switch. Additionally, a delay circuit, coupled to the control input and the second switch, delays closure of the second switch until the first switch is open. In a preferred embodiment, the delay circuit includes two field-effect transistors having substantially different width-to-length ratios.

This invention concerns electronic switches, particularly multiplexers and demultiplexers.
A multiplexer is a circuit with two or more electronic switches that selectively connects one input pin to one of several output pins, and a demultiplexer is a circuit with two or more switches that selectively connects one of several input pins to one output pin. For example, a two-to-one multiplexer includes two switches: one connected between a first input pin and an output pin, and the other connected between a second input pin and the output pin. The two switches are connected also to a control pin which receives a control signal for alternately opening and closing the two switches.
Applying a relatively-high-voltage control signal to the control pin causes the multiplexer to connect the first input pin to the output pin, whereas applying a relatively-low-voltage control signal connects the second input pin to the output pin. A one-to-two demultiplexer, which has one input pin and first and second output pins, works similarly. Because many multiplexers can operate as demultiplexers by simply using their inputs as outputs, the term multiplexer broadly refers to both multiplexers and demultiplexers.
In practice, many multiplexers suffer from transient simultaneous input-output connections which momentarily connect an output pin to, not one, but two input pins. These simultaneous connections stem from delays in opening, or breaking, an existing input-output connection. The delays are inherent to the transistors forming the electronic switches of typical multiplexers. The transistors include structural, or parasitic, capacitances which require charging or discharging to break their input-output connections. The charging and discharging occurs for a period of time during which the associated switch remains closed. Since the switches of the multiplexer typically respond in unison to a control signal, one switch is closing, or "making," a connection while another switch is simultaneously opening, or "breaking," its connection, setting up a race condition between the opening and the closing switches. If the closing switch makes its particular input-output connection before the opening switch breaks its connection, simultaneous connection results.
Simultaneous connections are undesirable because they can damage the multiplexer or circuitry coupled to its inputs or outputs. For instance, in a five-volt disk drive system which uses a two-to-one multiplexer to selectively connect a particular circuit node to either five or zero volts, momentarily connecting both the five-volt and the zero-volt input pins to the output pin short-circuits the power supply, causing a large current spike which could destroy not only the multiplexer but other circuitry in the disk drive.
Thus, as a safeguard against undesirable simultaneous connections, a multiplexer needs a "break-before-make" circuit for breaking one input-output connection before making another input-output connection.

Multiplexer with CMOS break-before-make circuit


A multi-chip compatible compiling method includes: extracting common characteristic information of Makefiles; configuring variable attribute information of the Makefiles; obtaining a universal Makefile template for multiple chips according to the common characteristic information and the variable attribute information of the Makefiles; traversing a project to be compiled in the universal Makefile template by a compilation module, recording path information of a dependency file of the project to be compiled, replacing a variable value in the universal Makefile template, and determining automation configuration information of the universal Makefile template; invoking an incremental compilation mechanism of a Make tool according to the automation configuration information of the universal Makefile template to obtain a target Makefile of the project to be compiled; and processing the target Makefile by rule information and pseudo-target tag information in the Makefiles to obtain an executable file generated by compilation.

With rapid development of various Internet of Things applications, an embedded integrated development environment (IDE) receives wide attention as an application development platform thereof. The embedded IDE refers in particular to a software development platform which is oriented to embedded application development and has characteristics of engineering management, cross compilation, cross debugging, program downloading, or the like. The rapid development of the Internet of Things application greatly stimulates development demands for embedded software, and meanwhile puts forward higher requirements for functionality and adaptability of the embedded IDE.
However, the applicant of the present invention finds that a prior art has at least the following technical problem: most existing embedded IDEs only support compilation of a chip or a chip from a specific manufacturer, resulting in insufficient compilation compatibility and adaptability of the embedded IDE to different microcontrollers.

Multi-chip compatible compiling method and device