An exemplary brightness enhancement film (15) includes a main body (154), a plurality of first prism structures (152), a plurality of second prism structures (156), and first and second protective layers (150, 158). The main body includes a first side, and a second side opposite to the first side. The first prism structures are formed at the first side. The second prism structures are formed at the second surface. The first protective layer covers the plurality of first prism structures, and the second protective layer covers the plurality of second prism structures.

Liquid crystal displays are commonly used as displays for compact electronic apparatuses, because they not only provide good quality images with little power but are also very thin.
Referring to FIG. 6, a typical liquid crystal display 6 includes an upper polarizing film 60, a liquid crystal panel 61, a lower polarizing film 62, an upper BEF 63, a lower BEF 64, a diffusing film 65, a light guide plate (LGP) 66, and a reflective film 67, arranged in that order from top to bottom. Each of the upper BEF 63 and the lower BEF 64 includes a plurality of linear prism structures 69 formed at a respective main body (not labeled) thereof. The prism structures 69 of the upper BEF 63 are perpendicular to the prism structures 69 of the lower BEF 64. The upper BEF 63 and the lower BEF 64 can improve a brightness of the liquid crystal display 6.
However, the prism structures 69 are exposed at outsides of the respective main bodies of the upper BEF 63 and the lower BEF 64. In a process of assembling the liquid crystal display 6, the prism structures 69 are liable to be scraped. When this occurs, an optical performance of the liquid crystal display 6 may be degraded. Further, the upper BEF 63 and the lower BEF 64 are separate from each other, and a step of aligning the upper BEF 63 and the lower BEF 64 is generally needed. The step is typically performed by manual labor, and adds to the cost of manufacturing the liquid crystal display 6.
What is needed, therefore, is a BEF that can overcome the above-described deficiencies. What are also needed are a backlight module and a liquid crystal display employing the BEF.

Brightness enhancement film with protective layer and backlight module and liquid crystal display with same


The invention relates to a method and to a device for producing a boat-type body (10) of a water sport device. According to the invention, a rotating frame (12), which is pre-formed about an access opening of the boat-like body (10), is arranged on an inner side of a negative mould. The outer shape of the boat-type body (10) is predetermined, essentially, by the innerside of the negative mould. The boat-like body (10) is produced in the inner side of the mould by means of a thermoplastic shaping method. During the shaping process, at least one part of the surface of the rotating frame (12) is in contact with the boat-like body (10) which is formed by the thermoplastic shaping method. The invention also relates to a water sport device.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method and a device for producing the hull of a piece of water sports equipment. The hull is produced by a thermoplastic molding process. The invention also concerns a piece of water sports equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous plastic products are inexpensively produced from thermoplastics by thermoplastic molding processes such as the blow molding process, the rotational molding process, the twin sheet molding process, or the deep drawing molding process. A blow molding process has the advantage over a rotational molding process, for example, that it is less expensive to carry out and can achieve better material properties of the blow molded product. However, especially in the case of boat hulls, openings and areas around openings cannot be molded as desired, and therefore specific requirements cannot always be satisfactorily met.
In addition, there is the problem that, due to the essentially uniform wall thickness of thermoplastically molded boat hulls, it is not possible to construct areas in the hull that have any desired degree of stability. For example, areas in which a relatively large force is introduced into the hull are finished by subsequently welding additional material onto the hull in these areas or by mounting additional elements. Examples of areas of this description include especially grips provided on the hull or holes provided in the hull for fastening a line. In other areas in which instability generally does not lead directly to destruction of the hull, this instability is often accepted for cost reasons.
In the prior art, in the hull of a piece of water sports equipment, e.g., the hull of a canoe, grip projections and bilge plug formations are subsequently reinforced by the application of additional material. Especially in kayaks, coaming is provided around the cockpit opening, and a spray cover can then be attached to the coaming. This coaming is either reinforced by installing stiffening ribs or is intentionally left unstable. However, if the coaming is unstable, the spray cover cannot be reliably prevented from slipping off. Furthermore, additional molded parts must be subsequently mounted and fastened for the installation of a back support and to realize leg supports.

Method and device for producing a boat-type body of a water sport device


A method of obtaining a package is described. A user is electronically notified that a package has arrived at a predetermined location. The user then prints a paper receipt including a two-dimensional bar code encoding the user's previously provided biometric information. At the predetermined location, the user scans the two-dimensional bar code, which is decoded to obtain the previously provided biometric information. The user also conveys current biometric information. If the user's current biometric information is equivalent to the user's current biometric information, a retrieval devices provides the package to the user.

The present invention relates to an improved system for transportation and delivery using bar codes to uniquely identify customers and delivered goods in a secure and quick manner.
The Internet has produced a proliferation of e-commerce transactions. While e-commerce transactions offer convenience and speed to customers seeking to purchase goods online, most e-commerce transactions must end with the physical delivery of goods to a consumer. Indeed, the delivery stage is particularly prone to error or sabotage as goods may be inadvertently or maliciously routed to the wrong destination. The ability to secure the delivery of goods to the consumer in a manner that inspires confidence in both parties would be of great benefit to both providers of goods and the consumers who use them.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and methods for transportation and delivery using bar codes


A method includes: a) assigning, at a MME, after initiation of a user session of an UE, a correlation ID to the user session; b) defining, at the MME, in response to an initiation of a first trace session of the UE during the user session, a first mapping correlation which maps a first trace ID reflecting the first trace session, to the correlation ID, and sending the first mapping correlation to a TCE; and c) defining, at the MME, in response to an initiation of a second trace session of the UE during the user session, a second mapping correlation which maps a second trace ID reflecting the second trace session, to the correlation ID, and sending the second mapping correlation to the TCE. The first and second mapping correlation enable the TCE to assign trace session information to the user session.

A plurality of existing communication networks like the 3GPP communication networks, 2G/3G communication networks, and newly emerging SAE/LTE communication networks support the possibility to trace activities of users in the communication network. The users to be traced can for example be selected based on user identity (IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) based trace), terminal identity (IMEI (International Mobile Station Equipment Identity) based trace) or location (cell based trace). During tracing, all network activities related to the particular user can be logged and later on delivered to a central management entity of the communication network for evaluation. Logged network activities include for example signaling messages sent/received either on radio interfaces or network node interfaces.
Information obtained by tracing may for example be used to troubleshoot problematic user connections (e.g., in response to user complaints) or to monitor generic network performance and to perform root cause analysis to identify communication network problems. Nowadays, 3GPP communication networks offer the concept of "User Entity (UE) based network performance measurements", also called, Minimization of Drive Test (MDT) measurements, in which measurements carried out by the UEs are used for network performance monitoring and optimization purposes. MDT measurements are carried out for states where the UE is connected (connection mode) to the communication network as well as for states where the UE is not connected (idle mode). The measurements where the UE is connected to the communication network are also called immediate MDT measurements since the UE reports the measurements when they are performed via legacy RRC (Radio Resource Protocol) protocol mechanisms, i.e., there is no internal logging in the UE. The measurements where the UE is not connected are also called logged MDT measurements since the MDT measurements are collected and logged in the UE; in this case, the collected MDT measurements are reported to a network node of the communication network in a bunch as soon as the UE is connected to the communication network again (logged reporting in idle mode is necessary since the UE does not have an active connection to the network in idle mode and thereby cannot report the measurements at the time when they are taken).
In order to manage MDT UE measurements in 3GPP communication networks, trace functionality is used. This means that a network management system which manages the communication network can configure and collect measurements using trace methods.
In current 3GPP communication networks there are two ways to activate tracing, namely "signaling based activation" or "management based activation". In signaling based activation, the trigger for tracing a particular user (UE) is propagated piggy-backed on a regular UE-specific signaling message sent between the network nodes through which a user flow passes. Initially, the network management system configures tracing of a particular user (UE) in a HSS (Home Subscriber System) or in core network nodes (e.g., MME, SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node)) based on the user IMSI or IMEI. As soon as the user with the given IMSI or IMEI appears in the communication network, and the HSS, MME or SGSN etc. is interrogated for user information (e.g., security credentials at a user attach), a trace trigger will be propagated to related network nodes via the invoked signaling flow. In management based activation, the trace trigger is not propagated to other network nodes. The management system configures selected network nodes to trace a particular user or set of users. When a new user appears at a network node, the network node evaluates a selection criteria and starts trace recording in case the condition is satisfied.
In current communication standards, if MDT measurements are taken using trace collection, the concept of "user consent" has to be taken into account (for privacy reasons). The concept of user consent provides a control for the user to allow or reject the collection of MDT measurements. The consent for MDT measurement collection is stored as part of subscription data, and when no positive user consent is available for a particular user, the communication network is not allowed to initiate MDT measurement collection for that user. This applies both for IMSI based measurement collection and cell based MDT measurement collection. Moreover, no user identity, i.e., IMSI or IMEI information is allowed to be sent to a TCE in case of an area based MDT measurement collection, not even if a user consent is available. This means that only the trace session ID and trace recording session ID are provided to the TCE together with the trace records, but no information which would allow to map the MDT measurements to unique user identities. Further, in the case of cell based tracing, a trace session ID and a trace recording session ID are changing when the UE switches from one cell to another cell. Similarly, different trace IDs are assigned to different trace jobs. Also, in current communication standards, a separate trace job type is defined for the collection of Radio Link Failure (RLF) reports, for which the user consent does not apply. All RLF reports received from UEs directly (or via neighbor cells on X2) are collected and reported in one single trace session. In this case there is no possibility to identify which user has generated the RLF report.
In view of the above circumstances, the value of the collected MDT measurement information is decreased since it is not clear to which user the collected MDT measurement information belongs.

Technology for operating network nodes of a communication network


According to an example, a reauthentication or reassociation message carrying a roaming group information may be received from a wireless client (STA) by an AC when the STA is roaming. In addition, the AC may determine, according to the roaming group information and the received reauthentication or reassociation message, whether the STA is roaming between roaming groups or within a roaming group. In response to a determination that the roaming is between roaming groups, an extension authentication protocol (EAP) reauthentication process may be initiated and in response to a determination that the roaming is within a roaming group, a Key Cache method may be adopted to authenticate the STA.

Roaming is a key technique in wireless local area networks (WLANs) and is an important basis for a wireless terminal to achieve mobility. At present, mainstream WLAN networking techniques include an access controller (AC) and a Fit access point (AP). A Fit AP provides wireless encryption while using the AC for the actual key exchange. Under this technique, the manner in which seamless roaming for a wireless client (STA) is performed and in particular, how roaming of STA's between different ACs is performed is an index that is used to evaluate the performance of a wireless device.

Wireless roaming method and access controller


An apparatus produces a probe carrier by discharging plural kinds of liquids respectively containing plural kinds of probes capable of specifically bonding to a target substance on a carrier. The apparatus includes a liquid discharge device, a positioning device for determining a position between the liquid discharge device and the carrier, and moving the carrier in the scanning direction, an application information detector to detect application information of discharged liquids, and a defective spot detector to detect defective spots where the liquids are not applied. Also included are a discharge data forming device for forming data on the defective spots, a processor for counting a number of redrawings, and a secondary scanning direction driver for relatively moving the carrier in a secondary scanning direction. In the apparatus, redrawing is performed according to discharge data, and when the number of redrawings exceeds a prescribed number, a message of abnormality is outputted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing a probe carrier by discharging a liquid from a liquid discharging device on a carrier according to discharge data inputted from a host computer or the like, and particularly to a production apparatus of a probe carrier, which is suitable for use in preparation of a DNA microchip or the like by discharging a plurality of probe solutions from a plurality of nozzles provided in a liquid discharging device on a carrier such as a glass substrate and a production process using such an apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
When analysis of a base sequence of a gene DNA, a genetic diagnosis or the like is performed, it is necessary to select a DNA having the intended base sequence using plural kinds of probes. As a means for providing the plural kinds of probes used in this selecting work, there is a DNA microchip called a microarray, probe array, DNA chip or the like. In the DNA microchip, plural kinds of probes are arranged in a state of a two-dimensional array on a solid-phase substrate. About several tens to several thousands of different probes are generally arranged. With respect to a process for preparing this DNA microchip by means of a liquid discharging device, there has been proposed a process in which liquids respectively containing probes are injected and attached on a solid-phase substrate by a liquid discharging device to form spots respectively containing the probes on the solid-phase substrate as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-187900.
Since probe solutions are expensive, probe solutions spotted at respective spots on a DNA microchip are generally all different, and the spots are required to be arranged at a high density, the amount of the probe solutions spotted is also controlled to a necessary minimum. For the same reasons, operations consuming a discharged liquid, such as a sucking operation of the discharged liquid and a preliminarily discharging operation, which are generally conducted in ordinary drawing apparatus or recording apparatus, must be avoided as much as possible. However, the sucking operation of the discharged liquid in an ink-jet head using a printing ink is intended to refill the discharged liquid into a nozzle and refresh the discharged liquid in the nozzle. On the other hand, the preliminary discharge is intended to make a discharge condition better. Therefore, when the frequency of these operations is lessened, the discharge condition becomes unstable, resulting in occurrence of problems such as discharge failure.
In the conventional drawing apparatus utilizing a liquid discharging device, methods for avoiding a failure of an image drawn due to discharge failure of the liquid discharging device include methods disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 06-079956 and 11-000988. The method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-079956 is such that an image pattern for specifying non-discharging nozzles is drawn prior to an operation of drawing a desired image, a processing of detecting non-discharging nozzles is performed according to this pattern, and image dots drawn by the non-discharging nozzles are drawn by other substitutive nozzles if the non-discharging nozzles are detected, thereby obtaining the desired image. The method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-000988 is such that a processing of detecting non-discharging nozzles is performed in the same manner as described above, and image dots originally drawn by the non-discharging nozzles are supplemented by prolix nozzles not used in an ordinary drawing operation if the non-discharging nozzles are detected.
However, the present inventors have found that when it is attempted to use such a drawing apparatus for printing an image on a recording medium such as paper as described above in preparation of a DNA microchip, expensive probe solutions are wasted more than the preparation needs by the following three reasons, thereby incurring rise in the preparation cost of the DNA microchip.
(1) A discharge failure-detecting pattern for specifying non-discharging nozzles must be drawn.
(2) When a new non-discharging nozzle occurs during drawing of a desired image, the image drawing itself comes to nothing.
(3) Since a high yield cannot be maintained unless discharge is always stabilized, preliminary discharge must be frequently conducted.

Process for producing probe carrier and apparatus thereof


An elastomeric composite structure 45 having two arrays of parallel cords 41, 43, each array of cords 41,43 being of different modulus or percent elongation. The array of cords 41,43 are spaced and provide different bending stiffness dependent on the direction of the applied load.

Elastomeric materials reinforced with arrays of parallel layers juxtaposed to achieve increased tensile strength are well known in the art.
Power transmission belts as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,436 to Kurokawa being an example. This patent discloses a v-belt comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending load-carrying cords embedded in an adhesive rubber layer; a compressing section having a plurality of laterally extending cords embedded in a second rubber layer; and a reinforcing rubber layer interposed between said layers to maintain a space between and thereby prevent inadvertent contact between laterally extending cords and load-carrying cords.
Other products such as conveyor belts, tires and hoses are similarly cord reinforced.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,607,592 discloses a portable rubber platform having a ply of rubberized steel cord 3 and 6 spaced by a layer of transverse textile members to achieve a one-way longitudinal rigidity. That invention related to portable platforms suitable for use as, for example, temporary bridges, catwalks and other walkways, and temporary roads on unfirm ground or swamps.
According to that invention a portable platform comprised a flexible composition having embedded therein a composite reinforcement comprising a textile reinforcement together with at least two layers of individually flexible transverse substantially inextensible metal cords, the metal cords in each layer lying substantially parallel with each other and substantially at right angles to the length of the platform, the separation of the transverse metal-cord layers being sufficient to confer a substantial degree of transverse rigidity upon the platform as a whole, and an interposed textile constituent of the composite reinforcement being disposed between each transverse metal-cord layer and the adjoining transverse metal-cord layer.
According to one aspect of that invention, a portable platform as described above had a composite reinforcement including a layer of longitudinal substantially inextensible metal cords lying substantially parallel with each other and with the length of the platform, said layer of longitudinal metal cords being disposed between an interposed textile constituent of the composite reinforcement and the layer of transverse metal cords which lies closest to the load-bearing surface of the platform.
The longitudinal metal cords were either continuous or discontinuous. When they are discontinuous they may be in parallel, overlapping relationship with each other. The discontinuous metal cords may be of any convenient lengths.
Usually the metal cords are steel cords. The steel cords preferably had a percentage extensibility of less than 5 percent. Suitable cords are composed of intertwisted strands of steel wire; for example, the cords may be composed of from six to 24 strands of steel wire of about 0.001 to 0.010 inch diameter. The cords were normally arranged in close side-by-side relationship and may suitably be arranged at a density of from eight to 24 cords per inch.
Preferably the composite reinforcement consisted of two layers of transverse steel cords with a single layer of textile reinforcement between them and a layer of longitudinal steel cords disposed between the textile layer and the layer of transverse steel cords which lies closer to the load-bearing surface of the platform.
This prior art invention provided a portable platform which can be erected simply by applying moderate tension e.g. about 50-80 pounds per inch from supports at the ends. The platform has remarkable transverse rigidity, so that sagging of the edges does not occur to any undesirable extent when a person or vehicle stands on or moves along the platform with weight acting at the edges of the platform, and so that twisting of the platform is limited. The platform could be rolled up and transported in convenient rolls.
In addition, the layer of longitudinal metal cords above the textile reinforcement gives longitudinal rigidity with respect to loads acting down upon the load-bearing surface of the platform.
Continuous longitudinal metal cords also added to the tensile strength of the platform whereas when discontinuous longitudinal metal cords were used, though they give longitudinal rigidity to the platform, the tensile strength is then provided solely by the textile reinforcement. Because of the substantially inextensible nature of the metal cords longitudinal sagging cannot occur even when the metal cords are discontinuous unless the textile reinforcement below the discontinuous longitudinal metal cords stretches appreciably which requires considerable force. Nevertheless the platform may be easily rolled up with the load-bearing surface outermost in the roll because bending of the platform in this direction merely requires circumferential compression of the textile reinforcement below the inextensible metal cords.
The present invention described herein has discovered a novel and useful way of creating a composite structure having a difference in bending stiffness created by a change in modulus between two spaced distinct arrays of parallel cords or by a change in the percent elongation of the cords.


Movement of a movable barrier (10) such as, for example, a vertically-dropping fire door, can be controlled in an informed manner and with greater flexibility regarding the manner of movement via, in one embodiment, use of a motor (20) as a generator to resist the downward movement of the barrier. One or more dummy electrical loads (22) can be used in combination with the generator mode of operation to influence the degree of braking proffered by the motor. In various embodiments, one or more sensors (25, 26, 27) can be used to detect local and remote conditions of interest to thereby at least partially inform the barrier movement decision process. A display (90) (or displays) can serve to provide various kinds of information to authorized personnel and an operator control (120) can serve, at least under some operating circumstances, to permit a person to locally cause a closed barrier to move to at least a partially opened position.

Movable barriers of various kinds are known in the art including pivoting or sliding doors or gates, garage doors (comprising both segmented and one-piece panels), arm guards, rolling shutters, and vertically moving fire doors, to name a few. While such barriers share a variety of design constraints, goals, and requirements, fire doors present a particularly challenging design paradigm.
Fire doors are generally intended to obstruct significant building passageways (such as hallways or stairwell entrances) through which oxygen might otherwise flow to feed an existing undesired fire. Automatic operation, at least when closing, tends to be a desired and/or required design criteria. Though automatic closure capability comprises a long-standing and even a relatively intuitive need, past solutions often leave much to be desired.
Early solutions tended to emphasize mechanical solutions. For example, a vertically movable fire door would be suspended through use of a heat-sensitive fusable link. In theory the heat of a fire would melt the fusable link and permit the fire door to close and aid in denying oxygen to the fire. In practice such a response might still permit a fire to build and destroy a considerable amount of property and/or threaten individuals in the area, so long as the fire remained distal to the fusable link. Perhaps worse, such an approach makes testing or other maintenance requirements difficult, a circumstance that runs contrary to current knowledge regarding the likelihood that a given fire door of this type will often fail when needed if the fire door and its supporting linkages, tracks, and the like are not occasionally moved, exercised, and tested.
At least partially in response to dissatisfaction with such conditions, system designers began to integrate the operation of such fire doors with other building alarm systems. So configured, a fire door would be allowed to drop into a closed position in response to an electric actuation signal from, for example, a remote fire monitor system. At the same time, at least in part to permit ease of testing such systems, designers began incorporating motors that serve to lift a fire door back into a ready position after use.
Unfortunately, such alterations have not suitably addressed all concerns regarding the controlled and/or informed movement of such barriers. For example, for the most part, such barriers tend to be relatively heavy and are allowed to fall rapidly into place by the force of gravity. This rapid and often-unannounced movement has the potential to injure people in the path of the barrier's movement and/or can trap people without effective notice or opportunity to take any proactive measures to escape from the fire. One prior art suggestion suggests that pneumatic techniques be used to slow the descent of such a fire door. While this suggestion can aid in avoiding the problems just noted, it, too tends to again give rise to undesirable circumstances. As one simple example, there are times when a rapid descent is utterly appropriate and desired. Such a pneumatically controlled descent can be so slow as to permit a given fire to gain the advantage and defeat the intended result of the barrier closure.
There are other problems and concerns that are particularly keen when associated with fire doors. Centrally-architected alarm systems may or may not be able to effectively transmit useful control signals to various fire doors as located throughout a given building, with a likelihood of control failure being at least partly correlated to the size and behavior of a given fire, to some extent, the more devastating the conflagration the more likely a centrally-based control system will fail to effect closure of at least some fire doors.
Yet another problem can arise once a fire door has closed. That is, such a door can impede needed access by fire fighters. In general, however, it can be counterproductive to provide a simple and readily available mechanism to effect the opening of such a barrier because opening the barrier can, under some circumstances, be highly dangerous. Manipulation of such a control by unauthorized individuals or by fire fighters who are ignorant of conditions on the other side of the door can present considerable risk to local individuals and can also contribute to an unintended spreading of the fire.

Movable barrier operations method and apparatus


An image processing apparatus includes a determining unit that determines whether image capturing conditions concerning super-resolution processing are satisfied for each piece of image data, and an adding unit that adds data corresponding to a result of determination made by the determining unit to each piece of the image data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for readily identifying image data suitable for super-resolution processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Methods for super-resolution processing are known, in which a high-resolution image is generated from a plurality of images that may contain uncontrolled positional shifts caused by, for example, movement of a hand holding a camera.
However, in a case where still images are extracted from moving images, when the foregoing super-resolution processing is performed, super-resolution processing may not be correctly performed due to, for example, changes between scenes or changes caused by automatic exposure (AE) and automatic white balance (AWB) of a camera capturing images.
For example, in a scene where the level of detected value of light metering changes, changes occur in intense white areas and intense black areas in a subject. In such areas, shifts from a reference image are large. Thus, in super-resolution processing, since the number of frames that are used for interpolation decreases, the resolution may not be sufficiently improved. In particular, intense white areas tend to occur in the face part, and the resolution may not be sufficiently improved in a part corresponding to a main subject. In a scene where the level of detected white balance changes, the hue changes even in one subject. In such areas, shifts from a reference image are large. Thus, in super-resolution processing, since the number of frames that are used for interpolation decreases, the color resolution, the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, and the like may not be sufficiently improved.
Accordingly, the user needs to play back moving images and find the image of a scene suitable for super-resolution processing, where the level of detected value of light metering and the level of detected white balance are stable, out of the moving images to sufficiently achieve the effect of super-resolution processing. However, this is a cumbersome and time-consuming operation for the user.

Image processing apparatus and method for readily identifying image data suitable for super-resolution processing


A wearable article, such as but not limited to a watch, wristband, or ring, is configured for indicating financial information to a customer. The wearable article includes a communication device configured for receiving a financial indicator from a server. The financial indicator may be communicated by a financial institution's server in accordance with a financial indicator profile pre-established by the customer. A user output device, such as a display, is configured for communicating user output, such as a colored light, to the customer based at least in part on the financial indicator. The wearable article may be configured to communicate with the server through a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone, an Internet hot spot, a mobile telephony system, a payment network, a point-of-sale terminal, or the like. The wearable article may be configured to communicate with a point-of-sale terminal so that the wearable article can also be used as a payment device.

Financial institution customers typically own several deposit accounts such as checking and savings accounts maintained by the financial institution. In today's fast-paced world, customers also usually carry one or more payment devices in a clothes pocket, wallet, purse, money clip or other carrying device. Payment devices come in a variety of forms, such as, for example, traditional magnetic stripe debit and credit cards as well as smart debit and credit cards including varying amounts of embedded electronics. Customers frequently use the payment devices everyday for various types of purchase including food, gas, clothing, online purchases and many others. Some customers also use automatic or efficient purchase tools allowing the customers to more efficiently and easily pay for goods and services, such as, by using a third party payment tool for Internet purchases. The ease with which customers can pay for goods and services, coupled with the prevalence of credit accounts and relative ease with which credit may be issued, can result in customers spending more than they would if they knew the amount of funds in the payment account(s). Furthermore, customers generally desire to know the current status of their financial accounts and about any recent account activity. Currently customers frequently log-in to their online accounts through a web browser to view their account status and track their account activity. Therefore, a better tool is needed for indicating to a customer the state of their financial health and/or recent financial activity involving their account(s).


A SPECT apparatus has a two-dimensional detector that detects radiations from RIs in a patient via a collimator. A correction processing unit corrects plural two-dimensional projection distributions with different projection angles, which are detected by the detector, on a three-dimensional frequency space according to plural correction functions corresponding to plural distances, respectively. Consequently, a fall in spatial resolution having dependency on distances between the respective RIs and the detector is reduced. A reconfiguring unit reconfigures a three-dimensional RI distribution from the plural two-dimensional projection distributions corrected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Single Photon Emission CT (SPECT) apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nuclear medicine is medicine for dosing a drug marked by radioactive isotopes (hereinafter, "RIs") in a patient and imaging an internal RI distribution of the RIs to perform diagnosis. In a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus, an apparatus for imaging a three-dimensional distribution of the internal RIs is a Single Photon Emission CT (hereinafter, SPECT) apparatus.
In the SPECT apparatus, filter processing is often applied to collected data of two-dimensional projection distribution to reduce a noise component and correct spatial resolution. It is effective to carry out the filter processing to projection data before reconfiguration.
The filter processing is described in the following document: Edholm P E, Lewitt R M and Lindholm B: Novel properties of the Fourier decomposition of the sinogram. International Workshop on Physics and Engineering of Computerized Multidimensional Imaging and Processing. Proc of SPIE, 671, 8-18, 1986.
One of causes of a fall in spatial resolution is an incidence width of a gamma ray (see FIG. 4). Incidence widths w1 and w2 change according to distances d1 and d2 between a radiation source and a detector. Spatial resolution of a radiation source S2 farther from a detector 3 than a radiation source S1 is lower than that of a radiation source S1.
However, at a stage of the two-dimensional projection distribution data before reconfiguration, since the distances d1 and d2 cannot be separated, it is impossible to effectively correct the spatial resolution.


A cleaning brush suitable for use in connection with automotive cleaning tasks, incorporates back-to-back bristle heads at one end of an elongated handle. One of the bristle heads features a concave, or dished, face; the other bristle head has a planar face. The concave brush head is intended for use on tires, and as such, is fabricated from fewer, coarser bristles than is the planar brush head, which is intended for use on wheels and body parts. For a preferred embodiment of the invention, the handle is about 61 cm (24 inches) in length, and includes an elongated portion of square cross section and a flattened, largely disk-shaped portion in which bristles of both heads are imbedded. Optionally, the handle at the end opposite the disk-shaped portion includes an aperture which may be used to hand the brush on a hook.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to brushes uses for cleaning and scrubbing tasks and, more particularly, to brushes used for certain automotive cleaning tasks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Brushes are essential equipment for many cleaning operations. This is particularly true of automotive cleaning operations, where a variety of brushes are utilized for the various tasks involved in cleaning a vehicle. Automatic vehicle cleaning equipment generally utilizes specialized brushes for cleaning certain vehicle components, such as tires, which have high resistance to abrasion and scratching. Painted surfaces are much more delicate and must be treated with greater care to avoid damage from scratching and abrasion during cleaning. Harsh cleaning compounds and coarse brushes can rapidly abrade painted finishes. Even polishing operations, which are often used to restore the luster of certain easily oxidized paints, can completely erode the color coat in less than a dozen such operations.
It is generally acknowledged within the automotive paint products industry that directives promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have had a deleterious effect on the quality of automotive finishes. Within the past decade or so, they have become generally less durable and more susceptible to damage from the sun and the elements. In an effort to reduce the amounts of solvents that were being introduced into the atmosphere, automobile manufactures began to use water-based primer paints somewhat more than a decade ago with what could be fairly characterized as disastrous results. Because of the relative inferiority of modern automotive paints, not only is it essential that automobiles be keep clean on a regular basis in order to remove damaging chemicals from the painted surfaces, it is also important to treat those surfaces with particular care to avoid mechanical damage from the cleaning process. Because of these factors, modern automotive cleaning equipment should be tailored to the task.
Despite the existence of automatic car wash equipment in most major metropolitan areas, some individuals still insist on manually washing their vehicles. In addition, there are many smaller towns which will probably never have the luxury of an automatic car wash. Consequently, there will always be a need for manual car washing equipment, such as specialized brushes, chamoises, and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. D 369,906 to Jim Henrie discloses a cleaning brush for tires having a face of bristles with an inner cylindrical profile. The bristles generally conform to the profile of a tire sidewall so that they may be more evenly and quickly cleaned. Although relatively effective, use of the brush requires that the user kneel or stoop to the level of the tire. Another scrub brush having a curved bristle face is shown in U.S. Pat. No. D 235,592.
What is needed is a multi-purpose scrub brush optimized for certain manual automotive cleaning tasks, including the cleaning of tires, which does not require the user to kneel or stoop to perform the task.
A cleaning brush suitable for use in connection with automotive cleaning tasks, incorporates back-to-back bristle heads at one end of an elongated handle. One of the bristle heads features a concave, or dished, face; the other bristle head has a planar face. The concave brush head is intended for use on tires, and as such, is fabricated from fewer, coarser bristles than is the planar brush head, which is intended for use on wheels and painted body parts. The free ends of the bristles of the planar head may be abraded or frayed to increase their softness and reduce their abrasiveness. For a preferred embodiment of the invention, the handle is about 61 cm (24 inches) in length, and includes an elongated portion of square cross section. The handle is rigidly attached to a flattened, largely disk-shaped back in which bristles of both heads are imbedded. Optionally, the handle at the end opposite the disk-shaped back includes an aperture which may be used to hand the brush on a hook. For a preferred embodiment of the invention, the handle and back are injection molded as a single unit from structural polymeric plastic material, such as nylon, polyester, acrylic, polycarbonate, or polystyrene. The plastic material may incorporate strength-enhancing glass or carbon fibers. The bristles for both brush heads are preferably made from a polymeric material such as nylon, polyester, or polypropylene, although the use of natural bristles is also contemplated.

Cleaning brush having back-to-back planar and concave heads


A compound useful for in vivo imaging of organs and tumors is provided of formula:

For several years after the isolation of vitamin B12 as cyanocobalamin in 1948, it was assumed that cyanocobalamin and possibly hydroxocobalamin, its photolytic breakdown product, occurred in man. Since then it has been recognized that cyanocobalamin is an artifact of the isolation of vitamin B12 and that hydroxocobalamin and the two coenzyme forms, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, are the naturally occurring forms of the vitamin.
The structure of these various forms is shown in FIG. 1, wherein X is CN, OH, CH3 or adenosyl, respectively. Hereinafter, the term cobalamin will be used to refer to all of the molecule except the X group. The fundamental ring system without cobalt (Co) or side chains is called corrin and the octadehydrocorrin is called corrole. The Co-contg heptacarboxylic acid resulting from hydrolysis of all the amide groups without the CN and the nucleotide, is designated cobyrinic acid. The corresponding hexacarboxylic acid with D-1-amino-2-propanol side chain f is called cobinic acid and the hexacarboxylic acid with the α-D-ribofuranose-3-phosphate attached to the 2-position of the amino propanol is called cobamic acid. Thus, cobamide is the hexaamide of cobamic acid, cobyric acid is the hexaamide of cobyrinic acid and cobinamide is the hexaamide of cobinic acid. FIG. 1 is adapted from The Merck Index, Merck & Co. (11th ed. 1989), wherein X is above the plane defined by the corrin ring and nucleotide is below the plane of the ring. The corrin ring has attached six amidoalkyl (H2NC(O)Alk) substituents, at the 2, 3, 7, 8, 13, and 18 positions, which can be designated a–e and g, respectively. See D. L. Anton et al., J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 102, 2215 (1980). The molecule shown in FIG. 1 can be abbreviated as shown below:
wherein, e.g., X is CN, OH, CH3, or adenosyl.
Methylcobalamin serves as the cytoplasmic coenzyme for 5N-methyltetrahydrofolate:homocysteine methyl transferase (methionine synthetase, EC 220.127.116.11), which catalyzes the formation of methionine from homocysteine. Adenosylcobalamin is the mitochondrial coenzyme for methylmalonyl CoA mutase (EC184.108.40.206) which interconverts methylmalonyl CoA and succinyl CoA.
All forms of vitamin B12 (adenosyl-, cyano-, hydroxo-, or methylcobalamin) must be bound by the transport proteins, Intrinsic Factor and Transcobalamin II to be biologically active. Specifically, gastrointestinal absorption of vitamin B12 relies upon the intrinsic factor-vitamin B12 complex being bound by the intrinsic factor receptors in the terminal ileum. Likewise, intravascular transport and subsequent cellular uptake of vitamin B12 throughout the body is dependent upon transcobalamin II and the cell membrane transcobalamin II receptors, respectively. After the transcobalamin II-vitamin B12 complex has been internalized, the transport protein undergoes lysozymal degradation, which releases vitamin B12 into the cytoplasm. All forms of vitamin B12 can then be interconverted into adenosyl-, hydroxo-, or methylcobalamin depending upon cellular demand. See, for example, A. E. Finkler et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 120, 79 (1967); C. Hall et al., J. Cell Physiol., 133, 187 (1987); M. E. Rappazzo et al., J. Clin. Invest., 51, 1915 (1972) and R. Soda et al., Blood, 65, 795 (1985).
Cells undergoing rapid proliferation have been shown to have increased uptake of thymidine and methionine. (See, for example, M. E. van Eijkeren et al., Acta Oncologica, 31, 539 (1992); K. Kobota et al., J. Nucl. Med., 32, 2118 (1991) and K. Higashi et al., J. Nucl. Med., 34, 773 (1993)). Since methylcobalamin is directly involved with methionine synthesis and indirectly involved in the synthesis of thymidylate and DNA, it is not surprising that methylcobalamin as well as Cobalt-57-cyanocobalamin have also been shown to have increased uptake in rapidly dividing tissue (for example, see, B. A. Cooper et al., Nature, 191, 393 (1961); H. Flodh, Acta Radiol. Suppl., 284, 55 (1968); L. Bloomquist et al., Experientia, 25, 294 (1969)). Additionally, upregulation in the number of transcobalamin II receptors has been demonstrated in several malignant cell lines during their accelerated thymidine incorporation and DNA synthesis (see, J. Lindemans et al., Exp. Cell. Res., 184, 449 (1989); T. Amagasaki et al., Blood, 26, 138 (1990) and J. A. Begly et al., J. Cell Physiol. 156, 43 (1993).
Vitamin B12 has several characteristics which potentially make it an attractive in vivo tumor imaging agent. Vitamin B12 is water soluble, has no known toxicity, and in excess is excreted by glomerular filtration. In addition, the uptake of vitamin B12 could potentially be manipulated by the administration of nitrous oxide and other pharmacological agents (D. Swanson et al., Pharmaceuticals in Medical Imaging, MacMillan Pub. Co., NY (1990) at pages 621–628).
Bacteria naturally insert Cobalt-59 into the corrin ring of vitamin B12. Commercially this has been exploited by the fermentative production of Co-56, Co-57, Co-58, and Co-60 radiolabeled vitamin B12. For example, see Chaiet et al., Science, 111, 601 (1950). Unfortunately Cobalt-57, with a half life of 270.9 days, makes Co-57-cyanocobalamin unsuitable for clinical tumor imaging. Other metal ions (cobalt, copper and zinc) have been chemically inserted into naturally occurring descobaltocorrinoids produced by Chromatium and Streptomyces olivaceous. Attempts to chemically insert other metal ions in these cobalt free corrinoid rings has been unsuccessful. The placement of metals (cobalt, nickel, palladium, platinum, rhodium, zinc, and lithium) into a synthetic corrin ring has not presented any major difficulties. However, their instability and cost to produce makes them impractical for biological assays. Although Co-59 is a weakly paramagnetic quadrapolar nuclei in the 2+ oxidation state, Co-59 exists in the 3+ oxidation state within the corrin ring of vitamin B12 and is diamagnetic. Therefore, insertion of either a radioactive or paramagnetic metal ion other than cobalt into the corrin ring does not seem feasible at this time.
A process for preparing 125I-vitamin B12 derivatives is described in Niswender et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,863). In this process, vitamin B12 is first subjected to mild hydrolysis to form a mixture of monocarboxylic acids, which Houts, infra, disclosed to contain mostly the (e)-isomer. The mixture is then reacted with a p-(aminoalkyl)phenol to introduce a phenol group into the B12 acids (via reaction with one of the free carboxylic acid groups). The mixed substituent B12 derivatives are then iodinated in the phenol-group substituent. This U.S. patent teaches that the mixed 125I—B12 derivatives so made are useful in the radioimmunoassay of B12, using antibodies raised against the mixture.
T. M. Houts (U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,775) reported that the components of the radiolabelled mixture of Niswender et al. did not bind with equal affinity to IF. Houts disclosed that radioiodinated derivatives of the pure monocarboxylic (d)-isomer are useful in assays of B12 in which IF is used. However, although Houts generally discloses that the monocarboxylic (d)-isomer can be labelled with fluorophores or enzymes and used in competitive assays for vitamin B12 in fluids, a continuing need exists for labelled vitamin B12 derivatives suitable for tumor and organ imaging and therapy.

Abstract: wherein

Abstract: is a cobalamin,

Abstract: is derived from a corrin carboxylic acid group of said cobalamin, Y is a linking group and X is a chelating group, optionally comprising a detectable radionuclide or a paramagnetic metal ion, and n is 1–3.

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research


A method of aligning a set of patterns on a substrate, the substrate including a substrate surface, is disclosed. The method includes depositing a set of silicon nanoparticles on the substrate surface, the set of nanoparticles including a set of ligand molecules including a set of carbon atoms, wherein a first set of regions is formed where the silicon nanoparticles are deposited and the remaining portions of the substrate surface define a second set of regions. The method also includes densifying the set of silicon nanoparticles into a thin film wherein a set of silicon-organic zones are formed on the substrate surface, wherein the first set of regions has a first reflectivity value and the second set of regions has a second reflectivity value. The method further includes illuminating the substrate surface with an illumination source, wherein the ratio of the second reflectivity value to the first reflectivity value is greater than about 1.1.

Semiconductors form the basis of modern electronics. Possessing physical properties that can be selectively modified and controlled between conduction and insulation, semiconductors are essential in most modern electrical devices (e.g., computers, cellular phones, photovoltaic cells, etc.). Group IV semiconductors generally refer to those first four elements in the fourth column of the periodic table: carbon, silicon, germanium and tin.
The ability to deposit semiconductor materials using non-traditional semiconductor technologies such as printing may offer a way to simplify the fabrication process and hence reduce the cost of many modern electrical devices (e.g., computers, cellular phones, photovoltaic cells, etc.). Like pigment in paint, these semiconductor materials are generally formed as microscopic particles, such as nanoparticles, and temporarily suspended in a colloidal dispersion that may be later deposited on a substrate.
Nanoparticles are generally particles with at least one dimension less than 100 nm. In comparison to a bulk material (>100 nm) which tends to have constant physical properties regardless of its size (e.g., melting temperature, boiling temperature, density, conductivity, etc.), nanoparticles may have physical properties that are size dependent, such as a lower sintering temperature.
The nanoparticles may be produced by a variety of techniques such as evaporation (S. Ijima, Jap. J Appl. Phys. 26, 357 (1987)), gas phase pyrolysis (K. A Littau, P. J. Szajowski, A. J. Muller, A. R. Kortan, L. E. Brus, J Phys. Chem. 97, 1224 (1993)), gas phase photolysis (J. M. Jasinski and F. K. LeGoues, Chem. Mater. 3, 989 (1991);), electrochemical etching (V. Petrova-Koch et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 61, 943 (1992)), plasma decomposition of silanes and polysilanes (H. Takagi et al, Appl. Phys. Lett. 56, 2379 (1990)), high pressure liquid phase reduction-oxidation reaction (J. R. Heath, Science 258, 1131 (1992)), etc.
One such advantage is that Group IV semiconductor nanoparticle materials offer the potential of high volume, low-cost processing for the ready deposition of a variety of Group IV nanoparticle inks on a range of substrate materials. After printing, a suitable fabrication method of a Group IV semiconductor device, such as a range of optoelectric devices, including photovoltaic devices must be selected that is compatible with the overall goal of high volume processing.
For example, a solar cell converts solar energy directly to DC (direct current) electric energy. Generally configured as a photodiode, a solar cell permits light to penetrate into the vicinity of metal contacts such that a generated charge carrier (electrons or holes (a lack of electrons)) may be extracted as current. And like most other diodes, photodiodes are formed by combining p-type and n-type semiconductors to form a junction. After the addition of passivation and anti-reflection coatings, a layer acting as back surface field and metal contacts (fingers and busbar on the emitter, and pads on the back of the absorber) may be added in order to extract generated charge. Emitter dopant concentration, in particular, must be optimized for both carrier collection and for contact with the metal electrodes.
In general, a low concentration of dopant atoms within an emitter region will result in low recombination (thus higher solar cell efficiencies (the percentage of sunlight that is converted to electricity)), but poor electrical contact to metal electrodes. Conversely, a high concentration of dopant atoms will result in high recombination (reducing solar cell efficiency), but low resistance ohmic contacts to metal electrodes. Often, in order to reduce manufacturing costs, a single dopant diffusion is generally used to form an emitter, with a doping concentration selected as a compromise between reducing recombination and improving ohmic contact formation. Consequently, potential solar cell efficiency is reduced.
One solution is the use of a dual-doped or selective emitter. A selective emitter uses a first lightly doped region optimized for low recombination, and a second heavily doped region pattern (of the same dopant type) optimized for low resistance ohmic contact formation. Selective emitters are commonly formed with either multiple diffusion steps in conjunction with diffusion blocking layers, or with the use of multiple dopant sources. Commonly, the principal variation between such regions is a difference in dopant atomic concentration, and there is generally no visible contrast between the highly and lightly doped regions. Consequently, the alignment of a metal contact pattern onto a previously deposited highly doped region pattern is a large technical challenge.
For example, the general lack of a visible contrast makes it difficult to monitor the accuracy of metal contact pattern placement or to detect potential axial and/or angular misalignment.
Likewise, in a back-contact solar cell, a set of counter-doped inter-digitated highly doped patterns with superimposed metal contacts are configured on the back side of the solar cell. In addition, the back surface may also be lightly doped with one of the dopants used in the inter-digitated highly doped patterns to form a BSF (back surface field). As with selective emitters, the visual boundaries between highly doped and lightly doped regions are difficult to determine. Consequently, metal contact pattern alignment for this cell structure is also problematic.
Common alignment methods are substrate edge alignment or alignment to fiducial marks. Fiducial marks (or fiducials) allow a pattern deposition device, usually a screen printer or inkjet printer, to deposit the desired pattern relative to specific coordinates on the solar cell. These fiducial marks are placed in an independent step before patterning, thus requiring extra tools and processing steps. Importantly, tolerance errors at each fiducial alignment step are additive. That is, first the selective emitter pattern is defined relative to the fiducials within a certain tolerance followed by the metal deposition also positioned relative to the fiducials with a different tolerance. To ensure alignment of the metal contacts to the selective emitter these tolerances are added and either the selective emitter pattern is designed larger than the metal pattern to ensure no metal touches the lower doped regions or a degree of misalignment is tolerated. In each case a sacrifice in device efficiency potential is accepted due to higher contact resistance when metal is contacting a lower doped region or due to lower current when the selective emitter pattern is designed with large features to ensure metal only contacts highly doped regions. Tighter alignment tolerances enable higher efficiencies.
In general, the aligned placement of two patterns by means of edge alignment requires that the substrate orientation be kept constant (to minimize errors caused by variations in substrate sizes) between subsequent deposition steps, which may restrict and complicate substrate handling. Furthermore, if different deposition tools are used for subsequent layers, the vision systems generally need to base all calculations on exactly the same locations on a given substrate, which may be unrealistic in high throughput manufacturing (generally over 1500 substrates/hour). Finally, alignment accuracy is low due to substrate geometries being non-ideal and edges poorly defined.
In view of the foregoing, there is a desire to provide methods of aligning a set of patterns on a silicon substrate.

Methods and apparatus for aligning a set of patterns on a silicon substrate


The present invention is a workpiece positioner comprising a spherical ball having an aperture, a upper spherical dome housing having a groove through the housing beginning at the apex of the dome and extending down the side of the housing to approximately 90 degrees from the apex. The ball is positioned within the housing. A spherical seat is positioned against the ball. At least one tension disc spring is positioned against the seat. A radial braking means is positioned against the spring. A flange ring is affixed to the base of the housing securing the ball, seat, at least one spring and braking means in place within the housing. A base is secured to the braking means. An actuator lever is connected to the seat through the base. A cam and handle assembly is connected to the lever and a rod is affixed within the aperture of the ball.

A number of work positioning devices have been previously described such as for example the positioners of U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,898,068, 5,314,174, 5,738,344 and 5,544,968. The support of U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,068 describes a device having a split ball-bushing configuration and having a clamping screw that engages the bushing locking the positioning post in place. Unfortunately, the screw clamp requires active interaction with the user to both release the bushing enabling movement of the item secured in the device and lock the bushing once the desired position is achieved. Further, it requires the user to apply a sufficient amount of pressure with the screw clamp to assure that the item remains in position. Unfortunately, if enough pressure is not applied, the positioner can fail and the item held in the device can be damaged.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,314,174 and 5,738,344 describe a workpiece positioner having a ball in socket configuration with a fluid chamber for providing fluidic pressure to release the positioning arm, permitting the arm to rotate and tilt up to 45 degrees from vertical. Unfortunately, these devices cannot tilt an item secured in the positioner greater than 45 degrees. In addition fluidic pressure control systems rely on a number of components to operate optimally for the system to function properly including for example gaskets which have a finite optimal operation lifetime and must be replaced, fluid level which must be monitored regularly and pressure hoses and lines that must be maintained.
Another device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,968 is a positioning platform using a ball in socket configuration and a clamp ring positioned around the ball. Fluidic pressure is supplied to activate the rotation of the platform about the ball. Unfortunately in this configuration the device cannot tilt an item secured to the platform greater than 45 degrees. In addition, as with the other devices discussed, fluidic control systems have a number of components that require constant care and monitoring.
Consequently, there is a need for a universal positioner that does not use split ball screw clamping or a ball in socket configuration that limits the tilting capability to less than 45 degrees from vertical.


A superconducting quantum interference device loop, a modulation coil and an input coil are formed in parallel and their axes being parallel to a substrate, on the substrate. At least one tap is formed at a predetermined position on the input coil. In a preferred embodiment, a superconductive shield is formed on the substrate in one body. The superconductive shield surrounds the superconducting quantum interference device loop, the modulation coil and the input coil.

The present invention relates to a superconducting quantum interference device (hereinafter referred to as a SQUID). More particularly, the present invention relates to a SQUID which includes a superconductive loop, one or two Josephson junctions (hereinafter referred to as JJs) formed at predetermined positions on the superconductive loop, an input coil for efficiently guiding magnetic flux to the superconductive loop on which one or two JJs are formed (hereinafter referred to as SQUID loop), and a modulation coil for supplying magnetic flux to the superconductive loop for compensating for variations in the external magnetic flux, as a principle arrangement, and which SQUID is integrated in its entirety on a substrate.
It is known that a SQUID is capable of detecting magnetic flux with extremely high sensitivity. With attention to this characteristic, a SQUID is applied to various apparatus which are used in various technical fields. A SQUID is classified as an rf-SQUID if it has only one JJ and as a dc-SQUID if it has two JJs. The rf-SQUID was generally used in the past years, while the dc-SQUID is being widely used in recent years because two JJs having similar characteristics can be obtained due to improvements in thin film manufacturing engineering in recent years.
FIG. 7 is an electrical diagram for explaining the principle of a dc-SQUID magnetic flux meter.
The dc-SQUID includes a superconductive loop 51 and two JJs 52 which are provided at predetermined positions on the superconductive loop 51. A bias current is supplied to the opposite positions on the superconductive loop 51 with respect to the JJs 52. An input coil 53, which is interconnected with a pickup coil (not shown) for detecting the magnetic flux of an object under measurement, is provided at a closed position on the superconductive loop 51. A modulation coil 54 which is used for performing magnetic flux locked loop operation, is further provided.
FIG. 8(A) is a plan view showing an arrangement of a conventional SQUID, while FIG. 8(B) is a cross sectional view thereof.
An input coil 53, a superconductive loop 51, a modulation coil 54 and JJs 52 are formed in a lamination layer manner. The SQUID also includes wirings 55 and layer insulation layers 56.
When the SQUID having the arrangement above-mentioned is employed, the input coil 53 can be positioned at a closed position with respect to the superconductive loop 51 so as to improve magnetic flux guiding efficiency to the superconductive loop 51 by the input coil 53.
The SQUID having the arrangement above-mentioned is designed whereby its input coil has minimum line width so as to decrease the outside dimension of a chip. The input coil of the SQUID is formed below a SQUID loop which includes the superconductive loop and the JJs. With this SQUID it is almost impossible to form taps, accordingly. The SQUID is required to have an inductance L of the input coil which has a spiral shape, set to an optimum value in correspondence with the design of an externally attached pickup coil for which environmental conditions should be taken into consideration, so as to increase the magnetic flux guiding efficiency to a maximum value. SQUIDs having corresponding input coils with different numbers of turns are accordingly manufactured in correspondence with pickup coils.
A disadvantage arises in that manhours for designing and for manufacturing increase due to the necessity of preparing mask patterns corresponding to the numbers of turns of input coils. Disadvantages also arise in that the cost of the SQUID is increased, manufacturing efficiency is lowered, reliability of the SQUID is lowered and so on, due to the sizes of chips being different from one another in correspondence with the numbers of turns of corresponding input coils, and the necessity of preparing packages in correspondence with the chips having different sizes.
A SQUID is easily influenced by electromagnetic noises, therefore the SQUID is housed in a superconductive shield using a niobium tube so as to improve magnetic field measurement accuracy when a feeble magnetic field such as the magnetic field of a living organism is to be measured. The superconductive shield using a niobium tube has great heat capacity. Disadvantages arise in that liquid helium loss becomes great when a refrigerating system using liquid helium is employed, and in that it requires a long time period for cooling down a SQUID when the refrigerating system using a refrigerator is employed. It is proposed that a SQUID having a spectacle type arrangement be employed so as to cancel the influence of external magnetic fields and to omit a superconductive shield, by taking the disadvantage above-mentioned into consideration. A disadvantage arises in that trapping of magnetic flux easily occurs because a SQUID is exposed to external magnetic flux when the SQUID is cooled down.
A SQUID needs layer insulation layers when each layer is formed in a lamination manner. The SQUID should be prevented from having its characteristics lowered when each layer insulation layer is formed. Thereby, a film forming process with high temperature cannot be employed. Disadvantages arise in that good layer insulation layers cannot be obtained, in that fine processing is difficult to perform because good flattening of the SQUID cannot be performed when the number of layers increases, and in that the yield of SQUIDs is lowered because disconnection and the like occurs when fine processing is forcibly employed.

Superconducting quantum interference device with the axes of the SQUID loop, input coil, and modulation coil aligned parallel with a plane of the substrate


A bonding tool cooling apparatus (10) provided in the vicinity of a bonding stage, including a frame (12); a cooling member (16) including a ground plate (14) having a ground surface (14a) on which a front edge surface of a bonding tool (61) is grounded, and a heat radiation fin (15) attached to an opposite surface of the ground plate (14) to the ground surface (14a), wherein the cooling member (16) is supported on the frame (12) by a support mechanism (200) so that the cooling member (16) is rotatable about two axes, i.e., an X axis extending along the ground surface (14a) and a Y axis extending along the ground surface (14a). Bonding tool cooling time can be thereby reduced.

It is frequently seen that electronic components such as a semiconductor chip are mounted on a substrate by means of a bonding tool. Recently, there is known a method for bonding a semiconductor chip to a substrate by applying thermosetting resin onto a substrate in advance, pressing a semiconductor chip suctioned with the bonding tool on the resin-applied substrate, heating electronic components such as the semiconductor chip suctioned at a front edge of the bonding tool by means of a heater within the bonding tool, and hardening the thermosetting resin (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).

Bonding tool cooling apparatus and method for cooling bonding tool


To permit multiple unsynchronized processors to update the file-modification time attribute of a file during concurrent asynchronous writes to the file, a primary processor having a clock manages access to metadata of the file. A number of secondary processors service client request for access to the file. Each secondary processor has a timer. When the primary processor grants a range lock upon the file to a secondary, it returns its clock time (m). Upon receipt, the secondary starts a local timer (t). When the secondary modifies the file data, it determines a file-modification time that is a function of the clock time and the timer interval, such as a sum (m+t). When the secondary receives an updated file-modification time (mp) from the primary, if mp>m+t, then the secondary updates the clock time (m) to (mp) and resets its local timer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data storage systems, and more particularly to network file servers. The present invention specifically relates to a file server system in which access to file attributes is shared among a number of processors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Network data storage is most economically provided by an array of low-cost disk drives integrated with a large semiconductor cache memory. A number of data mover computers are used to interface the cached disk array to the network. The data mover computers perform file locking management and mapping of the network files to logical block addresses of storage in the cached disk array, and move data between network clients and the storage in the cached disk array.
Data consistency problems may arise if concurrent client access to a read/write file is permitted through more than one data mover. These data consistency problems can be solved in a number of ways. For example, as described in Vahalia et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,140 issued Apr. 6, 1999, entitled "File Server Having a File System Cache and Protocol for Truly Safe Asynchronous Writes," incorporated herein by reference, locking information can be stored in the cached disk array, or cached in the data mover computers if a cache coherency scheme is used to maintain consistent locking data in the caches of the data mover computers.
When a large number of clients are concurrently accessing shared read-write files, there may be considerable access delays due to contention for locks not only on the files but also on the file directories. One way of reducing this contention is to assign each file system to only one data mover assigned the task of managing the locks on the files and directories in the file system. This permits the data mover file manager to locally cache and manage the metadata for the files and directories of the file system. For example, as described in Xu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,581, issued Nov. 27, 2001, incorporated herein by reference, the data mover acting as the manager of a file grants a lock on the file and provides metadata of the file to another data mover servicing a client request for access to the file. Then the data mover servicing the client request uses the metadata to directly access the file data in the cached disk array.
It is desired to permit clients to have asynchronous writes to a file in accordance with version 3 of the Network File System (NFS) protocol, and concurrent write access and byte range locking to a file in accordance with version 4 of the NFS protocol. (See NFS Version 3 Protocol Specification, RFC 1813, Sun Microsystems, Inc., June 1995, incorporated herein by reference, and NFS Version 4Protocol Specification, RFC 3530, Sun Microsystems, Inc., April 2003, incorporated herein by reference.) In this case, it is possible for a file to be updated at about the same time by multiple clients. The NFS protocol specifies that the time of last update of a file should be indicated by a file-modification time attribute, referred to in the protocol as "mtime."

Management of the file-modification time attribute in a multi-processor file server system


A game apparatus obtains acceleration data representing an acceleration vector in at least two predetermined axial directions of the input device repeatedly, then calculates a change amount of each of the acceleration vectors represented by acceleration data obtained during a predetermined swing period, and then calculates an accumulated value obtained by accumulating the calculated change amounts. A swing strength of the input device is calculated based on the accumulated value. The game processing is executed using the calculated swing strength.

The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein relate to a game program and a game apparatus, and more specifically to a game program and a game apparatus for executing game processing in accordance with a movement of an input device itself.
Conventionally, a game apparatus for executing game processing in accordance with a movement of an input device itself is described in, for example, patent document 1 (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-104636). This document discloses a baseball bat-shaped input device including an acceleration sensor using a piezoelectric beeper or the like. A player performs a game operation by actually swinging the baseball bat-shaped input device. The game apparatus detects the speed of the baseball bat-shaped input device (the moving speed or the rotation speed) and reflects the detected speed on the movement of a ball in the game. Thus, the flying distance or direction of the ball in the game can be changed.
The game apparatus described in patent document 1 determines the movement of the ball using the value of the maximum moving speed of the input device. However, the strength of the swing on the ball cannot be calculated with only the speed of the input device at one point in time. The reason is that the strength of the swing is determined by factors such as the length of the stroke of the swing (time length and distance) as well as the maximum speed of the input device. With the method described in patent document 1, for example, the same result is obtained as long as the maximum speed is the same regardless of whether the stroke of the swing is longer or shorter. The strength of the swing cannot be reflected on the game.
Therefore, a feature of certain exemplary embodiments is to provide a storage medium having a game program stored thereon and a game apparatus capable of calculating the strength of the swing of an input device.
The certain exemplary embodiments have the following features. The reference numerals and additional explanations in parentheses in this section of the specification indicate the correspondence with the exemplary embodiments described later for easier understanding of the certain exemplary embodiments described herein, and should not be considered limiting in any way.
A first aspect is directed to a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a game program (60) executable by a computer (CPU 10) of a game apparatus (3) for executing game processing (FIG. 11) in accordance with a movement of an input device (controller 5). The game program causes the computer to execute an obtaining step (S31), a change amount calculation step (S22), an accumulated value calculation step (S23), a swing strength calculation step (S16), and a game processing step (S3). In the obtaining step, the computer obtains an acceleration (acceleration vector A or processing acceleration vector "a") generated in at least two predetermined axial directions of the input device repeatedly. In the change amount calculation step, the computer calculates a change amount (as) of each of the accelerations obtained in the obtaining step during a predetermined time period (swing period). In the accumulated value calculation step, the computer calculates an accumulated value (s) obtained by accumulating the calculated change amounts. In the swing strength calculation step, the computer calculates a swing strength (p) of the input device based on the accumulated value. In the game processing step, the computer executes the game processing using the calculated swing strength.
In a second aspect, the input device may comprise a predetermined button. In this case, the game program may cause the computer to further execute a period setting step (S13 and S15) of setting the predetermined time period based on a pressing state of the predetermined button.
In a third aspect, the game program may cause the computer to further execute a period setting step (S13 and S15) of setting a time period in which the acceleration has a magnitude of equal to or larger than a predetermined magnitude as the predetermined period.
In a fourth aspect, in the accumulated value calculation step, the computer may calculate the accumulated value each time the change amount is calculated, such that when the change amount is smaller than a reference value, the accumulated value is smaller than a previous accumulated value (expression (3)). In this case, in the swing strength calculation step, the computer calculates the swing strength, such that as the maximum accumulated amount (s_max) calculated during the predetermined period is larger, the swing strength is greater (expression (5)).
In a fifth aspect, in the accumulated value calculation step, the computer may calculate, each time the change amount is calculated, a new accumulated value by adding the change amount to a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined amount from the current accumulated value (expression (5)). In this case, in the swing strength calculation step, the computer calculates the swing strength, such that as the maximum accumulated amount calculated during the predetermined period is larger, the swing strength is greater.
In a sixth aspect, the predetermined amount may be a predetermined ratio of the current accumulated value.
In a seventh aspect, the input device may comprise an acceleration sensor for detecting an acceleration in at least two predetermined axial directions. In this case, in the obtaining step, the computer may calculate, as an acceleration to be obtained, a vector (processing acceleration vector) which changes so as to follow a vector represented by data output from the acceleration sensor.
In an eighth aspect, the input device may comprise an acceleration sensor for detecting an acceleration in at least two predetermined axial directions. In this case, in the obtaining step, the computer may calculate, as an acceleration to be newly obtained, a vector internally dividing a range between a vector representing the current acceleration and a vector represented by data output from the acceleration sensor.
In a ninth aspect, the game program may cause the computer to further execute a magnitude calculation step (S26). In the magnitude calculation step, the computer calculates a magnitude of each of the accelerations obtained during the predetermined period. In the swing strength calculation step, the computer may calculate the swing strength of the input device based on the accumulated value and the acceleration magnitudes (expression (5)).
In a tenth aspect, in the swing strength calculation step, the computer may calculate the swing strength of the input device based on the maximum value (av_max) of the acceleration magnitudes calculated during the predetermined period and the accumulated value. In an eleventh aspect, in the swing strength calculation step, the computer may calculate the swing strength of the input device based on the accumulated value and the acceleration magnitudes.
The certain exemplary embodiments may be provided in the form of a game apparatus having equivalent functions to those of the game program for executing the above-described steps.
According to the first aspect, the change amount of the acceleration of the input device during the swing period is calculated. Based on the accumulated value obtained by accumulating the change amounts, the swing strength is calculated. By using the change amount, the swing strength, which reflects the length of time in which the input device is actually swung and also the speed at which the input device is actually swung, is calculated. Thus, according to the first aspect, the swing strength of the input device can be accurately calculated.
According to the second aspect, the swing period is determined based on the pressing state of the button. Therefore, the player himself/herself can determine the swing period. As a result, it does not occur that the operation of swinging the input device is performed against the intention of the player merely because the player has inadvertently swung the input device. This improves the operability of swinging the input device.
According to the third aspect, the time period in which the acceleration is equal to or larger than the predetermined value is set as the swing period. Unless the player actually performs an operation of swinging the input device, the swing period is not set. Therefore, it does not occur that the operation of swinging the input device is performed against the intention of the player. This improves the operability of swinging the input device.
According to the fourth aspect, when the change amount is smaller than the reference value, the maximum accumulated value is not updated. Even if the input device moves very slightly after the player finishes swinging the input device, such a small motion of the input device is not reflected on the swing strength. According to the fourth aspect, the swing strength of the input device is accurately calculated. The fourth aspect is especially effective in the case where the swing period which is set in the game apparatus does not match the time period from the start until the end of the swing of the controller 5 as in the second aspect.
According to the fifth aspect, a new accumulated value is calculated by adding a newly calculated change amount to a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined amount from the current accumulated value. Like in the fourth aspect, the accumulated value is calculated to be smaller than the previous accumulated value when the change amount is smaller than the reference value ("predetermined value" in the fifth aspect). According to the fifth aspect, like the fourth aspect, the swing strength of the input device can be calculated accurately.
According to the sixth aspect, an amount which is a predetermined ratio of the current accumulated value is set as the predetermined amount. Therefore, the predetermined value can be calculated, with the current accumulated value being reflected.
According to the seventh aspect, a vector which changes so as to follow the vector represented by the data output from the acceleration sensor is used as a vector representing the acceleration. By this, it can be avoided that the acceleration exceeds the detection limit of the acceleration sensor. Thus, the swing strength of the input device can be calculated more accurately.
According to the eighth aspect, a new acceleration is calculated as a vector internally dividing a range between the vector representing the current acceleration and the vector represented by data output from the acceleration sensor. Like in the seventh aspect, the new acceleration vector changes so as to follow the vector represented by the data output from the acceleration sensor. According to the eighth aspect, like the seventh aspect, it can be avoided that the acceleration exceeds the detection limit of the acceleration sensor. Thus, the swing strength of the input device can be calculated more accurately.
According to the ninth aspect, the swing strength of the input device is calculated based on the magnitude of the acceleration in addition to the accumulated value. Even when the swing motion of the input device is not easily reflected on the accumulated value (when the input device is swung slowly), such a motion of the input device can be reflected on the magnitude of the acceleration vector. According to the ninth aspect, the swing strength of the input device can be calculated accurately even in such a case.
According to the tenth aspect, the swing strength of the input device is calculated using the maximum acceleration magnitude calculated during the swing period. Therefore, the acceleration magnitude can be reflected on the swing strength accurately.
According to the eleventh aspect, a change amount between the acceleration obtained most newly and the acceleration obtained immediately previously can be calculated accurately.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Game apparatus and storage medium having game program stored thereon


A head mounted display (HMD) system is provided. The system includes a housing and optics disposed in the housing. The system further includes a processor disposed in the housing and shutter control logic interfaced with the processor. The shutter control logic is configured to operate to alternate between opening a left eye-side of the optics and closing a right eye-side of the optics to opening the right eye-side of the optics and closing the left eye-side of the optics. A holder portion is integrated with the housing. The holder portion is configured to receive a smart device having a display screen. The display screen is oriented toward the optics of the housing in a direction that is toward a face of a user when the HMD system is worn by the user. The shutter control in operation is configured to enable a three-dimensional view of image date rendered on the display screen of the smart device when viewed through the optics of the housing.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to headsets used for viewing media content and more particularly, headsets that can integrate smart devices and process image data for 3D rendering.
Description of the Related Art
The computing industry and the video game industry have seen many changes over the years. As computing power has expanded, developers of video games have created game software that have adapted to the increased computing power. To this end, video game developers have been coding games that incorporate sophisticated operations and mathematics to produce a very realistic game experience.
These games are presented as part of a gaming system including game consoles, portable game devices, and/or provided as services over a server or the cloud. As is well known, the game console is designed to connect to a monitor (usually a television) and enable user interaction through handheld controllers/input devices. A game console may include specialized processing hardware, including a CPU, a graphics processor for processing intensive graphics operations, a vector unit for performing geometric transformations, and other glue hardware, firmware, and software. The game console may be further designed with an optical disc tray for receiving game compact discs for local play through the game console. Online and multi-player gaming is also possible, where a user can interactively play against or with other users over the Internet. As game complexity continues to intrigue players, game and hardware manufacturers have continued to innovate to enable additional and more realistic interactivity.
A growing trend in the computer gaming industry is to develop games that increase the interaction between the user and the gaming system. One way of accomplishing a richer interactive experience is to use wireless game controllers whose movement and gestures are tracked by the gaming system. These movements and gestures are used as inputs for the game. Gesture inputs, generally speaking, refer to having an electronic device such as a computing system, video game console, smart appliance, etc., react to some gesture made by the user while playing the game that are captured by the electronic device.
Another way of accomplishing a more immersive interactive experience is to use a head-mounted display (HMD). A head-mounted display is worn by the user and can be configured to present various graphics, such as a view of a virtual space, in a display portion of the HMD. The graphics presented on a head-mounted display can cover a large portion or even all of a user's field of view. Hence, a head-mounted display can provide an immersive experience to the user. As connectivity to the internet continues to increase, more configurations of HMD systems have been introduced, and each with some advantages and associated limitations.
It is in this context that embodiments of the invention arise.

Head mounted device (HMD) system having interface with mobile computing device for rendering virtual reality content

Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC


A carry save adder circuit for reducing the number of inputs to a lower number of outputs, the carry save adder circuit including four carry save adders, the four carry save adders being arranged in two layers with the first and second carry save adders being arranged in a first of said layers and the third and fourth carry save adders being arranged in a second of the layers, said third and fourth carry save adders being arranged to provide the outputs, the third and fourth carry save adders each receiving at least one output from each of the first and second carry save adders and the first and second carry save adders being arranged to receive at least some of the inputs.

In digital arithmetic, partial products are obtained when two numbers are multiplied together. The number of partial products will depend on the method used for obtaining the partial products. In a conventional operation, the number of partial products may be equal to the number of bits in the multiplier. However, techniques such as Booth encoding make it possible to reduce the number of partial products obtained. For example Booth coding allows the number of partial products to be reduced by a factor of 2. The Booth encoding method is sometimes referred to as the Booth-MacSorley algorithm.
In the Booth coding method, a triplet of bits of the multiplier is input to a Booth coder which provides three outputs, the values of which depends on the input values. The outputs of the Booth coder are then used to modify bits of the number to be multiplied by the multiplier.
Carry save adders which reduce three partial products to two partial products are known. This type of carry save adder is sometimes referred to as a 3 to 2 carry save adder. Such a carry save adder is in fact a full adder. A full adder is a binary logic circuit which produces a two-bit sum where one bit represents the sum and the other bit represents the carry when three one bit binary numbers are added together. The three one bit numbers may be corresponding bits from three partial products.
Carry save adders which reduce four partial products to two partial products are also known. This type of carry save adder is known as a 4 to 2 carry save adder. One example of such a carry save adder is shown in the IEEE Journal of Solid State circuits, Vol 30, No 3, March 1995: "A 4.4 ns CMOS 54×54-b using pass-transistor multiplexer", page 251 to 257, N Ohkubo et al. This structure generally yields faster partial product compression than the use of 3 to 2 carry save adders. The 4 to 2 carry save adder actually compresses five partial products into three and is therefore sometimes referred to as a 5 to 3 carry save adder. This carry save adder is connected in such a way that four of the inputs are corresponding bits from four partial products whilst the fifth input is fed from a neighbouring adder and is known as the "carry in". The output of this carry save adder consists of one sum bet and two carry bits. One of these carry bits is input to a neighbouring carry save adder and forms one of the five inputs of that carry save adder.


The technique of the delta-doping by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in GaAs epitaxial layer at 700.degree.-750.degree. C. after deposition of GaAs heteroepitaxial buffer layer exceeding 3 .mu.m thickness on silicon substrate.

The present invention relates to a method for realizing the delta-doping, with practical quality, in GaAs epitaxial layer grown on silicon substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD).
Recently, heteroepitaxial technology concerned with the growth of GaAs on Si substrate, has been paid much attention. This is due to a few advantages of silicon substrate over GaAs substrate. Silicon substrate has sufficient mechanical hardness and high thermal conductivity. Large-area substrates with low defect density can be readily prepared with the present technology. In addition, silicon substrate is cheaper than GaAs substrate.
Specifically, the large-area availability enables the realization of tandem GaAs solar cells on Si. Moreover, mass production of cost-effective GaAs field effect transistors (FETs) on Si is also possible. Recently, a monolithic integrated circuit combining the Si memory devices and GaAs optoelectronic devices was suggested.
However, the problems arising from dissimilar properties between both materials are the major obstacles to prepare GaAs epitaxial layer on silicon substrate with acceptable quality. Many dislocations are inevitably involved in the GaAs epitaxial layer due to the relatively large lattice mismatch and thermal expansion coefficient difference of both materials. The dislocations are generated from GaAs/Si heterointerface and threaded to GaAs surface. Antiphase domain brought from the inherent problem when epitaxial growing of polar material (GaAs) on non-polar material (Si) in another problem.
A 2-step growth technique using a slightly tilted (100) silicon substrate has proven to be a successful way to grow high quality GaAs layer on Si. However, there still remains many dislocations with density of 10.sup.6 -10.sup.8 cm.sup.-2 near GaAs surface. For commercial GaAs devices on Si, much studies should be done.
Meanwhile, delta-doping concept which is a 2-dimensional doping concept has been recently emerged [E. F. Schubert, J. Vac. Technol. A8, 2980 (1990)]. This concept is clearly contrasted with the conventional way of doping (=3-dimensional doping). In this case, dopants are introduced into a reactor during growth interruption. After forming a dopant plane on GaAs surfaces, subsequent growth of undoped GaAs layer is followed. Due to the large electric field by ionized dopants, the conduction bands are significantly deformed and a V-shaped potential well is formed. Then very high density of 2-dimensional electrons can be confined in this unique potential well.
The delta-doping technique improves the characteristics of present devices. For example, when delta-doping layer is employed in an active region of a field effect transistor (FET), this delta-FET has superior characteristics as compared to a conventional FET. High source-drain saturation current (I.sub.dss), high transconductance (G.sub.m), and high reverse breakdown voltage are expected for the delta-FET.
The studies concerned with the delta-doping for GaAs epitaxial layer on GaAs substrate (homoepitaxy) have been mainly done using samples grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In that case, the growth temperatures for the delta-doped sample are typically in the range around 550.degree. C. Significant thermal diffusion of dopants in the delta-doped sheet during post growth has been observed when the growth temperature exceeds 550.degree. C. Thus significant degradation of delta-doping characteristics was observed.
If the same is true for MOCVD, since the nominal growth temperatures for MOCVD are in the range between 650.degree.-750.degree. C., the properties of MOCVD-grown delta-doped layer will be also deteriorated. However, due to a certain diffusion-limiting mechanism, we previously domonstrated the sucessful profiles of delta-doping for samples in nominal MOCVD-growth temperatures. The result for MOCVD-grown GaAs epitaxial layer on GaAs substrate was published elsewhere.
Developing this preliminary homoepitaxial research, the inventors discovered the technique of delta-doping in GaAs heteroepitazial layer grown on silicon substrate by MOCVD in the growing temperature of 700.degree.-750.degree. C.

Method for delta-doping in GaAs epitaxial layer grown on silicon substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Korea Institute of Science and Technology