In the capacitor, an insulating structural member 28 is arranged on an earth metal fitting 27. In the earth metal fitting 27, two sets of cylindrical-shaped portions 26 are separately arranged in an interval, and a floating portion 27a is formed. The insulating structural member 28 is arranged opposite to the floating portion 27a of this earth metal fitting 27 in such a manner that both a concave portion 28a and a convex portion 28b are formed on the insulating structural member 28 to be fitted to the cylindrical-shaped portion 26. Since a feedthrough conductor 29 penetrates a through hole 30 of the insulating structural member 28, the earth metal fitting 27, the insulating structural member 28, and the feedthrough conductor 29 are positioned with each other. Then, one opening portion 31a of an insulating case 31 is fitted into the floating portion 27a of the earth metal fitting 27. One opening portion 32a of an insulating cover 32 is fitted on the rear side of the floating portion 27a of the earth metal fitting 27 in such a manner that this opening portion 32a surrounds the feedthrough conductors 29 on another side of the earth metal fitting 27. An insulating resin 33 has been filled in such a way that this insulating resin 33 embeds therein a peripheral portion of the penetration portion of the feedthrough conductor 29.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a feedthrough capacitor and a magnetron using this feedthrough capacitor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring now to FIG. 6 to FIG. 8, this sort of conventional feedthrough capacitor will be described. FIG. 6 is a sectional view for showing a conventional feedthrough capacitor equipped with a ceramic capacitor. FIG. 7 is a partially sectional view for representing a magnetron equipped with the feedthrough capacitor. FIG. 8 is a sectional view for indicating a conventional feedthrough capacitor which does not contain a ceramic capacitor.
The conventional feedthrough capacitor 1 shown in FIG. 6 has been equipped with two through holes 2 which are separately arranged in an interval, and an electrode 3a and another electrode 3b which are independently provided from each other on one plane of each of the through holes 2. A portion of a common electrode 4 of a ceramic capacitor 5 which owns the common electrode 4 has been fixed on a floating portion 8 of an earth metal fitting 7 having a through hole 6 by way of a soldering work, or the like. Two feedthrough conductors 11 have penetrated the independent electrodes 3a and 3b, while these two feedthrough conductors 11 own electrode connecting portions 9a and 9b, and have been covered with insulating tubes 10. The electrode connecting portions 9a and 9b have been fixed to the electrodes 3a and 3b by way of a soldering work, or the like, respectively. Then, an insulating case 12 has been mounted in such a manner that the floating portion 8 of the earth metal fitting 7 and the ceramic capacitor 5 are surrounded by an insulating cover 13. An insulating resin 14 such as an epoxy resin has been filled into a peripheral portion of the ceramic capacitor 5 which has been surrounded by both the insulating case 12 and the insulating cover 13. A terminal portion 11a of the above-explained feedthrough conductor 11 has constituted a terminal for connecting a wiring line, and the like.
As indicated in FIG. 7, the feedthrough capacitor 1 constructed in the above-described manner has been mounted on a side surface of a filter case 16 of the magnetron 15 and has been fixed, and an inductor 19 has been series-connected between a cathode terminal 18 of a cathode stem 17 and the feedthrough conductor 11 of the feedthrough capacitor 1 so as to be employed as a filter circuit of a power input unit of the magnetron 15.
However, since the feedthrough capacitor having the above-explained structure employs the ceramic capacitor, the following problems may occur:
(1) The soldering work, or the like must be carried out in order to connect the electrode portion, so that a heat resisting temperature is adversely influenced by a melting point of a solder, or the like.
(2) The insulating resin must be filled in order to secure a moisture resistance property and an insulating property. Since the thermal expansion coefficient of the insulating resin is different from that of the ceramic capacitor, peeling may occur on the contact planes between the insulating resin and the ceramic capacitor, so that a voltage withstanding failure may occur. It is practically difficult that the ceramic capacitor adheres to the insulating resin in such a manner that the peeling does not occur.
(3) While the cost of the ceramic capacitor is high, the assembling method cannot be simplified since the high assembling precision is required, so that higher cost is required.
In order to solve the above-described problems, such feedthrough capacitors which do not contain ceramic capacitors have been conceived (refer to, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. Hei-1-135725).
A feedthrough capacitor 20 shown in FIG. 8 has been provided with flat plate-shaped inner conductors 21a and 21b which are arranged parallel to each other; an outer conductor 22a having an elongated cylindrical shape which is arranged close to the inner conductor 21a in such a manner that the inner conductor 21a is surrounded by the outer conductor 22a; an outer conductor 22b having an elongated cylindrical shape which is arranged close to the inner conductor 21b in such a manner that the inner conductor 21b is surrounded by the outer conductor 22b; and a flange 23 formed with the outer conductors 22a and 22b in an integral body. All of these structural members have been molded in an integral body by employing either a thermosetting resin, or a thermoplastic resin, otherwise, such an insulating resin 24 which is manufactured by mixing dielectric ceramic powder with these resins. Also, the insulating resin 24 has been filled into a space between the inner conductor 21a and the outer conductor 22a, and another space between the inner conductor 21b and the outer conductor 22b. Thus, a capacitance has been produced between the inner conductor 21a and the outer conductor 22a, and another capacitance has been produced between the inner conductor 21b and the outer conductor 22b (refer to, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application No Hei-76432).
However, in the above-explained conventional feedthrough capacitor without containing the ceramic capacitor, the below-mentioned problems occur. That is, when the molding work is carried out by employing the insulating resin, the relative position between the feedthrough conductor and the earth metal fitting is shifted, and the insulating resin is insufficiently filled to produce an air gap. As a result, a voltage withstanding failure may occur. Also, the ceramic powder contained in the insulating resin is clustered on one side of the insulating resin while the insulating resin is being hardened, so that performance of the capacitors may be fluctuated.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A mixture formed from an alkoxy-2-naphthaldehyde (e.g., 6-methoxy-2-naphthaldehyde), acetone, and aqueous NaOH and/or KOH is heated at about 20.degree. to about 56.degree. C. for about 0.25 to about 2 hours such that the conversion of monoalkoxy-substituted 2-naphthaldehyde is at least 97% and the yield of (alkoxy-substituted 2-naphthyl)-3-buten-2-one is at least 95% based on the monoalkoxy-substituted 2-naphthaldehyde used in forming the mixture. The (alkoxy-substituted 2-naphthyl)-3-buten-2-one can be hydrogenated using, for example, a Pd/C catalyst to form the corresponding saturated ketone. The process enables efficient production of precursors of nabumetone and related pharmaceuticals by a clean, highly efficient reaction.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,061,779; 4,270,004; and 4,420,639 describe, inter alia, a class of alkyl aralkyl ketones in which the aryl portion of the aralkyl group is a 2-naphthyl group having a specified substituent in the 6-position. These compounds are reported to have anti-inflammatory and/or analgesic activity, and to have the additional advantage of not excessively irritating the stomach at the therapeutic dose. Among the compounds described in these patents is the well known non-steroidal antiinflammatory agent, 4-(6-methoxy-2-naphthyl)-2-butanone, generally known as nabumetone.
While analogous compounds having a double bond in the aliphatic side chain are also reported in these patents to possess the same beneficial properties, it is further reported in the patent that the carbon-carbon double bond tends to impart a degree of oestrogenicity to these compounds. For this reason, the patent recommends using compounds which do not contain the carbon-carbon double bond. Thus the olefinically unsaturated compounds are hydrogenated to saturate the double bond, and thereby provide superior pharmaceuticals.
In Example 20 of the above patents 4-(6-methoxy-2-naphthyl)-3-buten-2-one is prepared in about 41% yield by stirring 6-methoxy-2-naphthaledehyde in excess acetone and approximately 15 mole % aqueous sodium hydroxide, followed by acidification, recovery by ether extraction, and column purification (silica gel column and benzene as eluant). As opposed to the foregoing process in which several co-products are formed in the reaction necessitating tedious separation and purification procedures, it would be highly advantageous if a way could be found for producing 4-(6-methoxy-2-naphthyl)-3-buten-2-one and related substituted 2-naphthyl ketones in an essentially single clean, high conversion and high yield reaction. This invention is deemed to fulfill this need.
Commonly-owned copending application Ser. No. 08/846,220, filed Apr. 25, 1997 by V. Ramachandran and S. E. Belmont describes, inter alia, the synthesis of (alkoxy-substituted 2-naphthyl)-3-buten-2-ones by use of a heterogeneous basic catalyst such as alumina or alkali metal hydroxide in the solid state.

Production of alkoxynaphthyl-substituted ketones from naphthaldehydes


A method for storing a data value in a memory cell is provided. The data value includes one of a first data value and a second data value respectively represented by a first and a second programmable resistance ranges. The method includes, within a write cycle, storing the first data value in the memory cell by applying a first verify operation having a first verify period and a first write operation having a first write period, or storing the second data value in the memory cell by applying a second verify operation having a second verify period longer than the first verify period and a second write operation having a second write period shorter than the first write period. The write cycle is shorter than a sum of the first write period and the second verify period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to programmable resistance memory, including phase change memory, and more particularly to a write cycle for a memory device.
2. Description of Related Art
In a phase change memory and other programmable resistance memory, to write a data value represented by a resistance range to a memory cell, a sequence of alternating verify operations and write operation can be applied to the memory cell. A phase change memory can be a bit-alternative memory, where a verify operation and a write operation to set a first memory cell to a first resistance range can be in the same write cycle as a second verify operation and a second write operation to set a second memory cell to a second resistance range. To write two data values represented by two different resistance ranges to two memory cells, verify operations on the two memory cells can both start at an initial time, and subsequent write operations on the two memory cells can both start at a second time, in the same write cycle. However, depending on the data value, a verify operation is either longer or shorter than a write operation. Consequently, a longer write operation after a shorter verify operation on a first memory cell waits for a longer verify operation on a second memory cell to end before the longer write operation on the first memory cell can start. Similarly, the longer verify operation after the shorter write operation on the second memory cell waits for the longer write operation on the first memory cell to end before the longer write operation for the second memory cell can start. Such waiting degrades the overall memory performance.
It is desirable to provide a method to improve the overall memory performance when writing data values represented by different resistance ranges in the same write cycles.

Staggered write and verify for phase change memory


Disclosed is a driving force control device that includes a determination section (12), a driving force command value calculation section (13), and a command value output section (14). The determination section (12) determines whether each of a plurality of motors (106), which independently drive a plurality of wheels (107), can be operated within a desired operating range when driven by a target driving force calculated for each of the motors (106). The driving force command value calculation section (13) adjusts the distribution of driving force for each of the motors in accordance with the target driving force for each of the motors and with the operating status of each of the motors and calculates an actual driving force command value for each of the motors for the purpose of operating each of the motors within the desired operating range if the determination means determines that each of the motors cannot be operated within the desired operating range. The command value output section (14) outputs the driving force command value to each of a plurality of inverters (105). Therefore, a target vehicle motion can be maximally realized while appropriately maintaining the drive status of each of the motors.

As vehicles that run by using electrically-driven motors as a motive power source, for example, hybrid automobiles and electric automobiles are widely used in recent years in addition to railroad vehicles. Further, mining dump trucks and other large-size construction machines are also electrified. A formerly known electric vehicle uses a power split device (differential) and drives a plurality of wheels with one motor. However, a presently known electric vehicle is equipped with a plurality of motors for independently driving individual wheels in order, for instance, to control the motion of the vehicle by regulating the driving torque of each wheel on an individual basis. A relevant technology disclosed, for instance, in JP-A-2005-73458 relates to an electric vehicle having motors capable of distributing a driving force to front and rear, left- and right-side wheels. When a target driving force (requested driving force) in the front-rear direction and a target driving force (requested driving force) in the left-right direction cannot be simultaneously provided within a range of torque that can be output by left- and right-side motors, this technology gives higher priority to the target driving force in the front-rear direction than to the target driving force in the left-right direction in order to improve the traction performance of the vehicle.

Driving force control device for electric vehicle

HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.


A method is provided for state based advertisement messaging. The method comprises obtaining state information from a state engine, wherein the state information relates to an advertisement that has been displayed in the mobile device. The method also includes selecting an advertisement from a plurality of advertisements, based at least in part on the state information. The method additionally comprises displaying the selected advertisement in the application, and updating the state information for the selected advertisement when the selected advertisement has been displayed in the application.

Advertising and marketing executives are constantly focused on reaching customers in new and innovative ways. With the widespread use of wireless communication devices and continuous advances in handset technology, previously untapped new avenues of advertising are becoming readily available. Because of the breadth of varying technology in handsets, the many types of media, and the lack of infrastructure to support advertising in the wireless world (compared to, for example, the internet or television advertising), tools in the form of both software and hardware are needed to efficiently and effectively manage advertising content and campaigns in the new mobile avenues for advertising.
Advertising may take many different forms in a wireless device, including wireless application protocal (WAP) pages, splash screens, multi-media clips, and more. Present limitations in advertising frameworks and the manner in which different media types are managed prevent advertisers from knowing the order in which advertisements are presented to individual subscribers. Moreover, it is difficult for advertisers to coordinate advertisements across media types.

Systems and methods for state based advertisement messaging across media types


A method for performing inspection of raised electrical contacts, such as ball grid array (BGA) and xe2x80x9cflip-chipxe2x80x9d type contacts, and associated underlying vias, comprises steps of: providing an electrical or electronic device or component having a major surface including an array of closely spaced apart BGA or flip-chip type raised contacts with respective underlying vias; selecting an area-of-interest (AOI) including at least one BGA or flip-chip type contact/via structure; cutting through the device or component along parallel lines to form a narrow, elongated strip including the AOI; mounting the elongated strip on a transparent substrate; and performing X-ray radiographic analysis of the elongated strip to inspect the at a least one BGA or flip-chip type contact/via structure for the presence of misalignments, voids, and delaminations.

This application contains subject matter similar to that disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/677,845, filed on Oct. 3, 2000.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for performing inspection and analysis of electrical contacts and associated vias of electrical and electronic devices. More particularly, the present invention pertains to an improved method of sample preparation for performing X-ray analysis and inspection of xe2x80x9cflip-chipxe2x80x9d and/or ball grid contact arrays (xe2x80x9cBGAxe2x80x9d) and their associated internal vias, such as are utilized in semiconductor integrated circuit (xe2x80x9cICxe2x80x9d) devices and circuit boards therefor, for determination of offset or misalignment, voids, and layer separation (i.e., delamination).
2. Background of the Invention
An increasingly important aspect of semiconductor IC manufacturing technology is mounting of the semiconductor IC chip or die to an appropriate substrate. Frequently, this requires providing the chip or die with as many input/output (xe2x80x9cI/Oxe2x80x9d) terminals as is possible. As a consequence of the requirement for a large number of terminals to be formed on a limited amount of chip or die surface, so called xe2x80x9cflip-chipxe2x80x9d structures and bonding techniques have been developed in order to provide high areal density interconnections between the IC chip or die and the substrate.
According to flip-chip methodology, the IC chip or die is mounted via direct bonding to a package substrate, e.g., an organic polymer-based or ceramic package substrate. Generally, the flip-chip process entails disposing a plurality of raised contacts, e.g., in the form of solder balls or bumps, on the upper major surface of the chip or die (termed a ball grid array, xe2x80x9cBGAxe2x80x9d), wherein the solder balls or bumps may overlie and connect with internal vias of the IC device. The IC chip or die is then xe2x80x9cflippedxe2x80x9d over so that the solder balls or bumps face and are mated with a corresponding ball grid array (BGA) or bonding pads on the substrate surface, which BGA or bonding pads may also overlie and electrically contact internal vias of the substrate for electrically connecting underlying metallization levels, patterns, etc. Once mated, the solder bumps or balls of the IC die or chip and the corresponding solder bumps or balls or bonding pads of the substrate are heated to effect reflow and mutual bonding, whereby each solder ball or bump forms a bond between the chip or die and the substrate. As a consequence, each bonded combination functions as both an electrical and physical contact.
According to flip-chip methodology, electrically conductive balls or bumps comprising a solder material are formed on the IC chip or die, as well as on the mating surface of the substrate. Bonding between the two sets of solder balls or bumps is effected by application of heat to the chip or die and the substrate. The application of heat causes both sets of solder-based balls or bumps to reflow, thereby providing physical and ohmic connection therebetween.
Flip-chip contact arrangements, such as described above, are susceptible to exhibiting poor ohmic contact performance and/or poor physical bonding, in extreme instances leading to device failure. Poor ohmic resistance and/or poor physical bonding may result from a number of factors, including, inter alia, offset or misalignment of the solder ball or bump forming the external, raised contact, and the underlying internal via structure; presence of voids in the ball/via structure, whether arising during manufacture or subsequent thereto as a result of, e.g., electromigration of one or more metallic elements or components thereof; and layer separation, i.e., delamination, oxidation and/or disbonding of e.g., the solder ball or bump and the underlying via due to compositional differences which result in poor mutual adhesion.
As a consequence of the above-described several possible, but distinct, scenarios or mechanisms leading to poor performance of BGA and flip-chip contact/via structures, inspection and/or failure analysis is generally necessary for determining the particular mechanism responsible for poor performance or failure of a particular device or component. However, methodology for performing simple, reliable, and rapid sample reparation for visual or X-ray radiographic failure analysis and/or inspection of a particular area-of-interest (AOI) of a BGA or flip-chip array with associated underlying vias is presently unavailable. Moreover, a convenient method for performing high magnification, visual and/or X-ray inspection and/or analysis of an AOI of a BGA or flip-chip array of either or both of a semiconductor IC chip or die and circuit board therefor, is similarly presently unavailable.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved methodology for simple, reliable, and rapid sample preparation for facilitating performing high magnification level, visual and/or X-ray radiographic inspection and/or analysis of solder ball/underlying via structures of a particular AOI of a semiconductor IC chip or die or circuit board therefor, which methodology is capable of revealing all pertinent internal structural features of e.g., flip-chip devices and contacts, and does not require costly, specialized, or customized equipment or apparatus.
The present invention, wherein a particular AOI of a BGA or flip-chip array of solder ball contacts/underlying vias of an IC die or chip or circuit board therefor is isolated and removed therefrom in elongated, narrow strip form and mounted on a transparent substrate, which in turn is held by a rotatable/tiltable gripping means, e.g., a rotatable/tiltable chuck, thereby facilitating performing visual and/or X-ray transmission or reflection inspection and/or analysis at high magnification levels, effectively addresses the need for improved methodology for performing failure analysis leading to development of improved, low ohmic resistance, well-aligned, void-free, adherent ball contact/underlying via structures. Further, the means and methodology provided by the present invention enjoy diverse utility in the manufacture of numerous and various types of electrical and electronic devices and/or components utilizing ball contact/via combinations.
An advantage of the present invention is an improved method for simple, reliable, and rapid sample preparation of raised ball contact/underlying via combinations or structures of electrical or electronic devices or components, for performing visual and/or X-ray transmission or reflection-type radiographic inspection and/or analysis thereof at high magnification.
Another advantage of the present invention is an improved method for simple, reliable, and rapid sample preparation of BGA or flip-chip raised contact/underlying via structures of particular AOI""s of semiconductor IC devices and/or package substrates therefor for performing high magnification, visual and/or X-ray inspection and/or analysis thereof.
Yet another advantage is an improved method for performing high magnification, visual and/or X-ray analysis of BGA or flip chip raised contact/underlying via structures of particular AOI""s of semiconductor IC devices and/or package substrates therefor.
Additional advantages and other features of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from the practice of the present invention. The advantages of the present invention may be realized as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the foregoing and other advantages are obtained in part by a method for performing inspection and/or analysis of raised electrical contacts and associated underlying vias of an electrical or electronic device or component, which method comprises the sequential steps of:
(a) providing an electrical or electronic device or component having opposing first and second major surfaces, the first major surface including an array of closely spaced-apart raised electrical contacts with respective underlying vias;
(b) selecting an area-of-interest (xe2x80x9cAOIxe2x80x9d) of said first major surface, the AOI including at least one of the raised electrical contacts with its respective underlying via;
(c) cutting through the electrical or electronic device or component from the first major surface to the second major surface thereof along two substantially parallel lines to separate therefrom an elongated strip including the AOI;
(d) mounting the elongated strip on a surface of a substrate; and
(e) inspecting and/or analyzing the AOI including the at least one electrical contact with respective underlying via for presence of offset or misalignment, voids, and delaminations.
According to embodiments of the present invention, step (a) comprises providing a semiconductor integrated circuit (xe2x80x9cICxe2x80x9d) device package or a package substrate having a two-dimensional, row-and-column, grid-shaped array of raised, ball grid array (xe2x80x9cBGAxe2x80x9d) or flip-chip contacts on the first major surface thereof, wherein adjacent rows and columns of the two-dimensional, grid-shaped arrays of raised contacts are spaced apart from about 200 to about 600 xcexcm and the elongated strip formed in step (c) has a narrow width of from about 5 to about 15 mils.
According to particular embodiments of the present invention, adjacent rows and columns of the two-dimensional, grid-shaped arrays are spaced apart about 400 xcexcm and the elongated strip formed in step (c) has a narrow width of about 10 mils.
According to embodiments of the present invention, step (b) comprises selecting at least one row or column of contacts of the two-dimensional, grid-shaped array of contacts as the AOI; and step (c) comprises cutting along two substantially parallel lines extending along the spaces between the selected at least one row or column of contacts and the adjacent rows or columns of contacts on both sides of the selected row or column, wherein step (c) comprises cutting utilizing a wire saw and further comprises trimming at least one end of the elongated strip to remove at least one unwanted area outside of the AOI.
According to embodiments of the present invention, step (d) comprises mounting the elongated strip including the AOI on an X-ray transparent substrate; and step (e) comprises inspecting and/or analyzing the AOI utilizing X-rays.
According to particular embodiments of the present invention, step (e) comprises performing an X-ray transmission or reflection-type radiographic inspection and/or analysis of the AOI, including, for example, positioning an X-ray source and an X-ray detector facing opposite surfaces of the elongated strip; step (d) comprises mounting the elongated strip on the substrate surface such that a first one of two opposing edge surfaces of the elongated strip which are formed as a result of performing cutting step (c) is adjacent the substrate surface and the second one of the two opposing edge surfaces of the strip formed as a result of performing cutting step (c) faces away from the substrate surface; and step (e) comprises, for example, positioning the X-ray source adjacent to and facing the second edge surface of the strip and positioning the X-ray detector beneath the substrate, facing the first edge surface of the strip.
According to other embodiments of the present invention, step (d) further includes installing the X-ray transparent substrate with the elongated strip mounted thereon in a rotatable/tiltable chuck or mount, the elongated strip being mounted on a glass or polymer-based substrate; and the mounting is accomplished by means of a transparent adhesive or double-sided transparent adhesive tape.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for performing inspection and/or analysis of raised electrical contacts and respective underlying vias of electrical devices and/or components comprises the sequential steps of:
(a) providing an electrical or electronic device or component having opposing first and second major surfaces, the first major surface including an array of closely spaced-apart raised electrical contacts with respective underlying vias, wherein the electrical device or component is a semiconductor integrated circuit (xe2x80x9cICxe2x80x9d) device package or package substrate having a two-dimensional, row-and-column, grid-shaped array of raised, ball-grid array (xe2x80x9cBGAxe2x80x9d) or flip-chip contacts on the first major surface thereof;
(b) selecting an area-of-interest (xe2x80x9cAOIxe2x80x9d) of the first major surface, the AOI comprising at least a portion of at least one of the rows and columns forming the grid-shaped array of contacts;
(c) cutting through the IC device package or circuit board from the first major surface to the second major surface thereof along two substantially parallel lines extending along the spaces between the portion of the selected at least one row or column of contacts and the adjacent rows or columns of contacts on both sides of the selected at least one row or column, to thereby separate therefrom an elongated strip including the AOI;
(d) trimming at least one end of the elongated strip to remove at least one unwanted area outside of the AOI;
(e) mounting the elongated strip including the AOI on a surface of an X-ray transparent substrate; and
(f) performing X-ray radiographic inspection and/or analysis of at least one raised contact with respective underlying via of the AOI for determining presence of any misalignment, voids, and delaminations.
According to embodiments of the invention, adjacent rows and columns of the two-dimensional, grid-shaped arrays of raised contacts are spaced apart from about 200 to about 600 xcexcm and the elongated strip formed in step (c) has a narrow width of from about 5 to about 15 mils.
According to further embodiments of the present invention, step (f) comprises performing X-ray transmission or reflection-type radiographic inspection and/or analysis of the AOL, including, for example, positioning an X-ray source and an X-ray detector as to face opposite surfaces of the elongated strip; step (e) comprises mounting the elongated strip on the surface of the X-ray transparent substrate such that one of two opposing edge surfaces of the elongated strip formed as a result of performing step (c) is adjacent the substrate surface and the second one of the two opposing edge surfaces of the elongated strip formed as a result of performing step (c) faces away from the substrate surface; and step (f) comprises positioning the X-ray source adjacent to and facing the second edge surface of the elongated strip and positioning the X-ray detector beneath the substrate, facing the first edge of the elongated strip, wherein step (e) further includes installing the X-ray transparent substrate with the elongated strip mounted thereon in a rotatable/tiltable chuck or mount.
Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein embodiments of the present invention are shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated for practicing the present invention. As will be described, the present invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are susceptible of modification in various obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not limitative.

Sample preparation for inspection of ball contacts and internal vias


Disclosed is a dynamic-type semiconductor storage which has: a circuit block, which is herein called PDL, to conduct the precharging and balancing of a bit line; wherein the layout pattern of PDL is formed having a same pattern as that of a memory cell transistor.

DRAM with stacked memory cell and PDL is known. PDL is a circuit used to precharge and balance a pair of digit lines with a power source or ground level when a rewriting into memory cell is completed after amplifying a memory cell data. PDL has a form distinct from that of the memory cells.
In a place, such as a memory cell array, that a high-density pattern is regularly disposed, a pattern deformation can happen around the border where the pattern regularity is deteriorated. This is called `micro-loading effect`. Namely, it is a phenomenon that an etching speed is reduced as a diameter of hole or etching width is shortened.
When PDL is disposed in a memory cell array, stacked polysilicon may be deformed by micro-loading effect, and thereby the cell capacitance around PDL may be dispersed.
Also, when a dummy word line is disposed to suppress the dispersion of cell capacitance, the layout size has to be increased.


The paper object processing device comprises a take-out roller which feeds tickets where one surface side is a heat-sensitive surface and the other surface side is a non heat-sensitive surface, a conveying path which conveys the fed ticket, a bar-code reader which reads the bar-code recorded on the heat-sensitive surface of the ticket conveyed, stacking sections which stack the tickets whose bar-codes have been read, a sealing device which seals a band on the stacked tickets which have been stacked, and a thermal head which heat-prints control information on the heat-sensitive surface of the stacked tickets which have been sealed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper object processing device and a paper object processing method for processing tickets for use in slot machines in American casinos, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
Slot machines issue tickets which are used in place of the cash that is paid out. One surface side of this type of ticket is a heat-sensitive surface, and the 18 digit number is printed as information in the form of a bar-code and a number on the heat-sensitive surface using a thermal head, and the ticket is then issued.
In the case where the ticket is to be converted to cash, when the ticket is to be registered in the slot machine a second time, the ticket is inserted into the slot machine and the number is read by the bar-code reader and the cash amount that is registered in the host computer is referred to. The slot machine ticket reader generally has a paper currency reader installed at a shared location, and thus the used tickets are mixed with the paper currency when stored inside the storage safe.
It is to be noted that the tickets that are stored in the storage safe are taken out together with the cash but a processing device for stacking and sealing tickets is being developed in which the tickets that are taken out are separated from the cash.
In the case of American casinos, there is a requirement to keep the used tickets for a few years, and as a result, bundles of 100 are sealed using a banding material as is done with paper currency. If sufficient information is not written on each bundle, it will be difficult to find it later, and thus control information is written on the banding material.
Furthermore, as disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-80012, the banding material is wrapped around the tickets and both ends thereof are overlapped and a heater head is pressed on to both ends that have been overlapped, and heat-sealing is thereby performed.
However, in the prior art, there is a problem in that sufficient control information could not be recorded because the banding material on which the control information is written is not wide enough and is thus limited in area.
Furthermore, in the prior art, because the heater head is pressed on both overlapped ends of the banding material at the heat-sensitive surface of the ticket, there is a problem at the time of heat-sealing in that the heat-sensitive surface of the ticket is heated by the heat from the heater head and it may be blackened.

Paper object processing device and paper object processing method


A multi-dimensional equalizer/decoder is disclosed for equalizing a channel transmitting electrical pulses corresponding to a plurality of interdependent symbols formed according to the rules of a multi-dimensional code (e.g. block lattice coded modulation). The symbols are received by the equalizer/decoder over multiple symbol (baud) periods because it takes more than one symbol period to receive a minimum decodable number of symbols on the given number of physical channels. The equalizer/decoder employs a preliminary and a final decision device which cooperate with the components of an "equalization layer." A plurality of equalization layers may be used if the symbols are received over a plurality of physical channels. Each equalization layer has first, second, and third, adaptive, feed forward filters, along with appropriately located buffers for collecting decodable groups of the transmitted symbols for group-by-group provision to the decision devices.. The equalizer/decoder beneficially permits equalization of a channel used to transmit a multi-dimensional code block, for example, without requiring that a decodable number of symbols arrive in a single symbol interval. Accordingly, a communication system incorporating the equalizer/decoder may implement a high order, multidimensional code that provides enhanced coding gain even where the number of symbols in the code is so large that, given the physical channels available, it must be transmitted over multiple symbol periods. Where the code permits, the equalizer/decoder may make preliminary decisions regarding a reduced number of symbols while continuing to make final decisions using the maximum number of symbols to achieve maximum code gain.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communication systems employing multi-dimensional codes and, more particularly, provides an equalizer/decoder for adaptive equalization of one or more physical channels transmitting a plurality of symbols which must be decoded as a group but which, due to the number of symbols and available number of physical channels, are transmitted over multiple symbol intervals.
2. Description of Related Art
A generalized communication system includes a transmitter which transmits symbols to a receiver through a communication "channel." Communication systems have been designed to transmit through a wide variety of channels, including conductive metals such as copper, magnetic storage read/write channels, optical fiber, the atmosphere, water, and so on.
There are many modulation techniques which can benefit from the present invention. For background, however, one particularly well known approach is pulse amplitude modulation (PAM). In a PAM-based system, the data symbols are encoded into a sequence of electrical signals, or pulses, having two or more voltage levels. All channels tend to introduce noise and, of particular significance to PAM, introduce amplitude and phase distortion that broadens the pulses and causes intersymbol interference (ISI). The resulting distortion that leads a particular pulse and interferes with past pulses is called precursor ISI and the distortion that follows a particular pulse and interferes with future pulses is called postcursor ISI.
The typical receiver includes an "equalizer" which compensates the electric pulses for the channel distortion. In other words, the equalizer attempts to cancel or remove the ISI. A good overview of an equalizer in a single channel system can be found in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,774, entitled "Dual Decision Equalization Method and Device," issued Jul. 23, 1996 and assigned to International Business Machines, Corporation. As explained therein, an equalizer can be linear or nonlinear and can be "trained" or "blind."
Nonlinear equalization, such as decision feedback equalization (DFE), was conventionally used to eliminate postcursor ISI from the present symbol due to previously transmitted and assigned symbols. However, since the decision device is inside the feedback loop the nonlinear DFE is subject to error propagation. Linear equalization does not involve any feedback of the output from the decision device and does not, therefore, suffer from error propagation. For the same reason, however, a linear equalizer does not have an exact knowledge of the previously assigned symbols and, therefore, can only estimate the postcursor ISI. In addition, the linear equalizer has the property of enhancing noise. In the '774 patent, I combined a linear decision-directed equalizer (DDE) with a modified nonlinear decision feedback equalizer (DFE) in order to obtain the benefits, but not the shortcomings in each type of equalizer.
More specifically, the '774 patent proposes a "trainer" system which communicates with a "trainee" system. The terms trainer and trainee were selected because the preferred embodiment implemented a blind equalization scheme that did not require a training sequence. The trainer system comprised a linear decision directed equalizer (DDE) having a feed forward filter and a decision device. The trainee system looked like a conventional decision feedback equalizer having a feed forward filter, a decision device, and a "feedback" filter with the exception that the feedback filter was modified to receive its input from the trainer system rather than the trainee system's decision device.
The '774 Patent is limited in scope because it only addressed "dual decision equalization" in the context of a single channel transmitting a sequence of symbols that are sliced and decoded in a strict symbol-by-symbol sequence. The '774 Patent, therefore, only teaches "dual decision equalization" wherein one symbol from a single symbol sequence is decoded at each symbol interval.
At very high data rates such as that required by the presently evolving standard required by gigabit Ethernet (e.g. a billion bits per second), it is desirable to use a coding scheme which encodes a plurality of data bits into a multi-dimensional constellation of data symbols that provides sufficient redundancy, coding gain and noise immunity. In the context of gigabit Ethernet, for example, the goal is to be able to transmit the electric signals over standard Category 5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP5). UTP5 has eight conductors provided as four twisted pairs which form four parallel communication channels. One potentially desirable coding scheme is a twenty-four dimensional (24D) lattice coding scheme. Assuming that the four pairs in the category 5 UTP carry a signal that is modulated in only one dimension (e.g. a five level PAM signal), it would be necessary to transmit and receive symbols over six baud intervals before the 24D constellation were fully defined.
Unfortunately, however, the equalization apparatus of the '774 Patent does not work with multiple channels (such as the four pairs in UTP) or with a symbol constellation that must be assembled over multiple baud intervals (e.g. six).
There remains a need, therefore, for a communication system which can transmit, receive and equalize a multi-dimensional code that is transmitted over multiple symbol intervals on one or more channels and for a combined equalizer and decoder which can handle multiple symbols received over multiple channels and multiple symbol periods.

Multi-dimensional combined equalizer and decoder


A graphene adsorbing material, a preparation method therefor and application thereof, and a cigarette filter tip and a cigarette are provided. The graphene adsorbing material comprises a fiber carrier, graphene and doped elements wherein the graphene and the doped elements are loaded on the fiber carrier and the doped elements comprise at least one of Al, Si and Fe. The graphene adsorbing material is obtained by contacting the fibers with the graphene material to load the graphene material on the fibers. By introducing the graphene and the doped elements in the fiber carrier, harmful substances with a type of fused aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzopyrene in smoke can be specifically adsorbed, filtered and removed; while nicotine and the other harmless substances are retained, and thus the smoking taste of a cigarette is not affected. The cigarette filter tip can effectively adsorb cancerogenic substances with a type of fused aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzopyrene in smoke to reduce harm of smoking; meanwhile, the pleasure of smoking and the mellow taste of the smoke are not affected. Besides, the graphene adsorbing material can also prevent the phenomenon that a cigarette holder gets mildewed due to humid environment and the other factors.

During the combustion of a cigarette (or rolling tobacco), harmful constituents like CO, phenol and fused polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzopyrene, etc. are generated, which enter a human body with smoke gas during smoking and cause harm to the human body. A filter tip, an upper portion of the rolling tobacco, is a bridge between cigarette mainstream smoke and the human body, mainly used to filter out a part of harmful substances such as tar in the inhaled smoke gas, to reduce the harm of smoking to the human body. In order to achieve the required function, the rolling tobacco filter tip gradually develops from an ordinary filter tip of single cellulose acetate fibers to a multi-filter tip, as well as a filter tip made of a variety of materials.
The general process of inhalation of toxic substances into the human body during smoking is as follows: the toxic substances are distributed substantially uniformly in the tobacco, most of the tobacco lighted during smoking is converted into smoke, the toxic substances are partially carried by the smoke to go directly into the air, and partially travel along the cigarette. During the traveling, the toxic substances are absorbed by a part of the unlighted tobacco and the filter tip and deposited, and the rest enters the human body. The toxic substances, that are absorbed by the tobacco and deposited, partially go into the air when tobacco absorbing the toxic substance is burned, and partially travel along the cigarette, and this process is continued until burning of the cigarette reaches the filter tip. Then it can be seen that the toxic substances that are originally distributed in the tobacco are all inhaled by the human body, except the part that goes into the air and is absorbed by the filter tip. The actual process of smoking is very complex and varies from person to person. The ratio of the amount of the toxic substances lighted that goes into the air with smoke to the amount of the toxic substances that travels along the cigarette is related to a variety of factors such as the way of smoking, the environment and so on; the speed at which smoke travels along the cigarette varies continuously with the smoking action; and the absorption of the toxic substances by the filter tip and tobacco will also vary with the factors such as the speed of travelling with smoke.
The prior art discloses a variety of rolling tobacco filter tips. For example, Chinese patent document with Grant No. CN 2872872Y discloses an expanded graphite composite type cigarette filter tip which is composed of a filtration fiber section, an expanded graphite section and wrapping paper, wherein the filtration fiber section is in butt connection with the expanded graphite filtration section, and the wrapping paper is wrapped around the two sections. In the solution of this application, a filtration section containing expanded graphite is added to the cigarette filter tip to prepare an expanded graphite composite type filter tip, which can effectively filter out harmful substances such as nicotine gas, kerosene and nicotine from cigarette smoke, but cannot adsorb benzopyrene.
Chinese patent document with publication No. CN 104815630 A discloses a method of preparing filter tip fibers for selectively adsorbing benzopyrene and phenol, in which method, a graphene oxide aqueous solution or a mixed solution of graphene oxide and a chitosan aqueous solution is mainly used as a specific modifier with which the fibers are treated (for example sprayed, etc.), the treatment time is 5˜20 minutes, and the treatment temperature is 25˜50° C., and then the treated fibers are placed in a vacuum condition at 80° C. and dried for 6 hours to give filter tip fibers treated with the modifier. In this application, the resulting filter fibers are used to prepare a cigarette filter tip, which can reduce the benzopyrene content in the smoke, but on one hand, this application relates to other additives such as chitosan and the preparation process is cumbersome, and on the other hand its effect of adsorption of benzopyrene still needs to be improved.
In addition, Chinese Patent CN202525068U describes a cigarette filtering material made of a fluoroplastic electret material, which is brought into direct contact with the tail of a cigarette. Due to the high temperature of smoke of the cigarette, the fluoroplastic electret will be decomposed, when in contact with the high-temperature smoke, to generate gases harmful to the human body. Moreover, Chinese Patent CN103919280A describes a cigarette filter tip, wherein a polypropylene electret filtering layer is arranged in the cigarette filter tip, so that 90% or more of smoke particulate pollutants are reduced, and then a non-photocatalyst filtering layer is arranged in the cigarette filter tip, so that harmful substances in the smoke, such as nicotine, nitrosamine and benzopyrene, are effectively reduced, and damage to the human body during smoking is reduced, but in this technical solution, the polypropylene electret filtering layer will be decomposed, when in contact with the high-temperature smoke, to generate gases harmful to the human body.
From the current state of the art, the existing filter tips still have the problems of poor filtration effect and low filtration efficiency. Therefore, how to further improve the adsorption capacity of the cigarette filter tip is a problem that needs to be solved urgently for addressing the harm of cigarettes to health.

Graphene adsorbing material, preparation method therefor and application thereof, and cigarette filter tip and cigarette

JINAN SHENGQUAN GROUP SHARE HOLDING CO., LTD.


An approach that collects sensor data associated with a building automation system having filters and determining the optimal timing of the replacement of filters that includes replacement dates based upon use, utility, and labor costs.

In commercial buildings, the Air Handling Unit (AHU) or Roof Top Unit (RTU) air filters should be replaced properly. Too soon replacements will end up extra hardware and labor costs. Too few replacements result in increased energy expenses and may compromise the health of the occupants.
In standard practices, engineers blindly replace the filters on a fixed schedule, such as every 3 months without checking the real dirty level. This method is not accurate. Depending on the outdoor air quality (OAQ) and indoor air quality (IAQ) conditions, and the supply fan status, the dirty level may increase faster or slower. Thus, once again either extra equipment/labor costs are incurred or higher energy expenses.
Another known practice is to replace the filters when the differential pressure (DP) reaches a threshold. But, this method is not reliable due to the sensor data noises that are inherent in sensors. As the prefilter DP value changes significantly due to abnormal and/or noisy sensor readings signaling a dirty filter and making the readings untrustable. Similar problems exist with other medium or material filtering, such as water, oil, etc.
What is needed is a way to determine with a filter is dirty and in need of replacing while avoiding either replacing the filter too soon/often or running a system with a filter in need to replacing.

Systems and methods to detect dirt level of filters


A winder for continuous winding of a material web, like a paper or board web, on a winding spool to form a wound reel. A contact pressure drum is rotatably supported on a displaceable transport device and the drum itself is displaceable with respect to the transport device to form a widening nip with the wound reel. The transport device also supports a primary bearing for holding an empty spool during the start of the winding process. The bearing for the empty spool is between the contact pressure drum and a secondary bearing for supporting the wound reel in the final winding position. The primary bearing for the initially empty spool is fixed in location on a transport device. The transport device is in turn transportable toward and away from the secondary bearing for the wound reel. The contact pressure drum is supported to move along with the transport device as well as also being displaceable with respect to the transport device to maintain the line pressure during increase in the wound spool diameter.

The present invention relates to a winder for continuously winding a material web, especially a paper or board web, and to a method for continuously winding a web.
Winders and methods of the type addressed here are known from DE 196 07 349, which is equivalent to U.S. application Ser. No. 08/807,485. The known winder comprises a contact pressure drum that is displaced by a pressure-applying device, to press the drum in a defined manner against the circumference of a wound reel and form a winding nip with the reel. The contact pressure drum is arranged on a first transport device that can be moved on a guide. The spool on which the wound reel is wound is rotatably held by a primary bearing as the winding process begins. The primary bearing can be translated with respect to the first transport device for the contact pressure drum with the aid of an additional second transport device.
The winding machine further comprises a secondary stationary bearing, which holds the spool to rotate at a fixed position during the final winding process.
At a spool change, an empty spool is introduced into the primary bearing, the material web is severed and its free end is wound onto the empty spool. During start of the winding, while the spool is being held by the primary bearing, the increasing wound reel diameter is compensated for or set by displacing the first transport device and controlling the line force in the winding nip between the contact pressure drum and the wound reel by relative movement of the contact pressure drum with respect to the first transport device. After it reaches a desired wound reel diameter, the wound reel is transferred into the secondary bearing where it is finally wound.
Known winders are relatively complicated to construct and are thus of high cost. This is particularly caused by the second transport device that bears the primary bearing, because an additional control unit is necessary for controlling its displacement. When the wound reel is transferred into the secondary bearing, it is difficult to control the movement of the two transport devices synchronously such that at the same time the control of the line force is able to maintain the desired line force. Instead, there is the risk of a step change in the line force.
DE 44 15 324 A1 which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,685 discloses a winder which has a first, horizontally movable transport device, to which a vertically movable second transport device is fitted. A contact pressure drum, which forms a winding nip with a wound reel, is rotatably supported on the second transport device. The drum can be moved backward and forward relative to the second transport device by a pressure applying device, in order to set the line force in the winding nip. A third transport device is also provided for transferring an empty spool from a ready position into the winding start position, which is located at a lower level. At a spool change, the contact pressure drum is first moved vertically upward into a transfer position. There the contact pressure drum forms a winding nip with an empty spool that is rotatably held on the third transport device. The material web is now severed and its free end is wound onto the empty spool. The spool is subsequently transferred, together with the contact pressure drum, into the winding start position located at a lower level. To this end, the second and the third transport devices are moved vertically downward. During the start of winding and the transfer into the winding start position, the new spool, together with the wound reel wound thereon which has only a few wound layers, is driven by means of a primary drive. From the winding start position, the wound reel is moved horizontally into a final winding position, in which the primary drive is uncoupled and a secondary drive is coupled to the wound reel. The secondary drive drives the wound reel during the further winding process. This winder has a relatively complicated construction, particularly because the second and third transport devices are displaceable independently of each other. Furthermore, control over the displacements of the three transport devices is very complicated.

Winder and method for the continuous winding of a material web


The present invention is directed to novel B7-H3-binding molecules capable of binding to human and non-human B7-H3, and in particular to such molecules that are cross-reactive with B7-H3 of a non-human primate (e.g., a cynomolgus monkey). The invention additionally pertains to B7-H3-binding molecules that comprise Variable Light Chain and/or Variable Heavy Chain (VH) Domains that have been humanized and/or deimmunized so as to exhibit a reduced immunogenicity upon administration to recipient subjects. The invention particularly pertains to bispecific, trispecific or multispecific B7-H3-binding molecules, including bispecific diabodies, BiTEs, bispecific antibodies, trivalent binding molecules, etc. that comprise: (i) such B7-H3-binding Variable Domains and (ii) a domain capable of binding to an epitope of a molecule present on the surface of an effector cell. The invention is also directed to pharmaceutical compositions that contain any of such B7-H3-binding molecules, and to methods involving the use of any of such B7-H3-binding molecules in the treatment of cancer and other diseases and conditions. The invention also particularly pertains to a molecule that comprises the human B7-H3 binding domain of a humanized anti-human B7-H3 antibody conjugated to at least one drug moiety (a “B7-H3-ADC”). The invention is also directed to pharmaceutical compositions that contain such B7-H3-ADCs, and to methods involving the use of any of such B7-H3-ADCs in the treatment of cancer and other diseases and conditions.

The growth and metastasis of tumors depends to a large extent on their capacity to evade host immune surveillance and overcome host defenses. Most tumors express antigens that can be recognized to a variable extent by the host immune system, but in many cases, an inadequate immune response is elicited because of the ineffective activation of effector T cells (Khawli, L. A. et al. (2008) "Cytokine, Chemokine, and Co-Stimulatory Fusion Proteins for the Immunotherapy of Solid Tumors," Exper. Pharmacol. 181:291-328).
I. B7 Superfamily and B7-H3
B7-H3 is a member of the B7-CD28 Superfamily and is expressed on Antigen-Presenting Cells. It binds to T Cells, however, the B7-H3 counter-receptor on the surface of such T Cells has not yet been fully characterized.
B7-H3 is unique in that the major human form contains two extracellular tandem IgV-IgC domains (i.e., IgV-IgC-IgV-IgC) (Collins, M. et al. (2005) "The B7 Family Of Immune-Regulatory Ligands," Genome Biol. 6:223.1-223.7). Although initially thought to comprise only 2 Ig domains (IgV-IgC) a four immunoglobulin extracellular domain variant ("4Ig-B7-H3") has been identified and found to be the more common human form of the protein (Sharpe, A. H. et al. (2002) "The B7-CD28 Superfamily," Nature Rev. Immunol. 2:116-126). However, the natural murine form (2Ig) and the human 4Ig form exhibit similar function (Hofmeyer, K. et al. (2008) "The Contrasting Role Of B7-H3," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 105(30):10277-10278). The 4Ig-B7-H3 molecule inhibits the NK-cell-mediated lysis of cancer cells (Castriconi, R. et al. "Identification Of 4Ig-B7-H3 As A Neuroblastoma-Associated Molecule That Exerts A Protective Role From An NK Cell-Mediated Lysis," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 101(34): 12640-12645). The human B7-H3 (2Ig form) has been reported to promote T-cell activation and IFN-γ production by binding to a putative receptor on activated T Cells (Chapoval, A. et al. (2001) "B7-H3: A Costimulatory Molecule For T Cell Activation and IFN-γ Production," Nature Immunol. 2:269-274) however, more recent studies point to an inhibitory role of murine and human B7-H3 (Prasad, D. V., et al. (2004) "Murine B7-H3 Is A Negative Regulator Of T Cells, J Immunol. 173:2500-2506; Leitner, J., et al. (2009) "B7-H3 Is A Potent Inhibitor Of Human T-Cell Activation: No Evidence For B7-H3 And TREML2 Interaction." Eur. J. Immunol. 39:1754-1764; Veenstra, R. G., et al. (2015) "B7-H3 expression in Donor T Cells and Host Cells Negatively Regulates Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease Lethality," Blood 125:3335-3346.). B7-H3 mRNA expression has been found in heart, kidney, testes, lung, liver, pancreas, prostate, colon, and osteoblast cells (Collins, M. et al. (2005) "The B7 Family Of Immune Regulatory Ligands," Genome Biol. 6:223.1-223.7). At the protein level, B7-H3 is found in human liver, lung, bladder, testis, prostate, breast, placenta, and lymphoid organs (Hofmeyer, K. et al. (2008) "The Contrasting Role Of B7-H3," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 105(30):10277-10278).
Although B7-H3 is not expressed on resting B or T Cells, monocytes, or dendritic cells, it is induced on dendritic cells by IFN-γ and on monocytes by GM-CSF (Sharpe, A. H. et al. (2002) "The B7-CD28 Superfamily," Nature Rev. Immunol. 2:116-126). The mode of action of B7-H3 is complex, and the protein is reported to mediate both T Cell co-stimulation and co-inhibition (Hofmeyer, K. et al. (2008) "The Contrasting Role Of B7-H3," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 105(30):10277-10278; Martin-Orozco, N. et al. (2007) "Inhibitory Costimulation And Anti-Tumor Immunity," Semin. Cancer Biol. 17(4):288-298; Subudhi, S. K. et al. (2005) "The Balance Of Immune Responses: Costimulation Verse Coinhibition," J. Mol. Med. 83:193-202). B7-H3 binds to an as yet unidentified receptor(s) to mediate co-inhibition of T Cells. In addition, B7-H3, through interactions with unknown receptor(s) is an inhibitor for NK-cells and osteoblastic cells (Hofmeyer, K. et al. (2008) "The Contrasting Role Of B7-H3," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 105(30):10277-10278). The inhibition may operate through interactions with members of the major signaling pathways through which T Cell receptor (TCR) regulates gene transcription (e.g., NFTA, NF-κB, or AP-1 factors). B7-H3 is also believed to inhibit Th1, Th2, or Th17 in vivo (Prasad, D. V. et al. (2004) "Murine B7-H3 Is A Negative Regulator Of T Cells," J. Immunol. 173:2500-2506; Fukushima, A. et al. (2007) "B7-H3 Regulates The Development Of Experimental Allergic Conjunctivitis In Mice," Immunol. Lett. 113:52-57; Yi. K. H. et al. (2009) "Fine Tuning The Immune Response Through B7-H3 And B7-H4," Immunol. Rev. 229:145-151).
II. B7-H3 Expressing Tumors
B7-H3 is also known to be expressed on a variety of cancer cells (e.g., neuroblastoma, gastric, ovarian, non-small cell lung cancers, etc., see, e.g., Modak, S., et al. (2001) "Monoclonal antibody 8H9 targets a novel cell surface antigen expressed by a wide spectrum of human solid tumors," Cancer Res 61:4048-54) and cultured cancer stem-like cells. Several independent studies have shown that human malignant tumor cells exhibit a marked increase in expression of B7-H3 protein and that this increased expression was associated with increased disease severity (Zang, X. et al. (2007) "The B7 Family And Cancer Therapy: Costimulation And Coinhibition," Clin. Cancer Res. 13:5271-5279; Sun, Y., et al. (2006) "B7-H3 and B7-H4 expression in non-small-cell lung cancer," Lung Cancer 53:143-51; Tekle, C., et al. (2012) "B7-H3 Contributes To The Metastatic Capacity Of Melanoma Cells By Modulation Of Known Metastasis Associated Genes," Int. J. Cancer 130:2282-90; Wang, L., et al. (2013) "B7-H3 Mediated Tumor Immunology: Friend Or Foe?," Int. J. Cancer 134(12):2764-2771), suggesting that B7-H3 is exploited by tumors as an immune evasion pathway (Hofmeyer, K. et al. (2008) "The Contrasting Role Of B7-H3," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 105(30):10277-10278).
B7-H3 protein expression has also been immunohistologically detected in tumor cell lines (Chapoval, A. et al. (2001) "B7-H3: A Costimulatory Molecule For T Cell Activation and IFN-γ Production," Nature Immunol. 2:269-274; Saatian, B. et al. (2004) "Expression Of Genes For B7-H3 And Other T Cell Ligands By Nasal Epithelial Cells During Differentiation And Activation," Amer. J. Physiol. Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 287:L217-L225; Mather, J. et al, WO 2004/001381; Castriconi et al. (2004) "Identification Of 4Ig-B7-H3 As A Neuroblastoma-Associated Molecule That Exerts A Protective Role From An NK Cell Mediated Lysis," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 101(34):12640-12645); Sun, M. et al. (2002) "Characterization of Mouse and Human B7-H3 Genes," J. Immunol. 168:6294-6297).
The role of B7-H3 in inhibiting the immune system and the increased expression of B7-H3 on human tumors has suggested that this molecule might serve as a therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer. Thus, the use of anti-B7-H3 antibodies and other molecules that modulate B7-H3 expression to treat tumors and/or up-modulate an immune response has been proposed (see, Loo, D. et al. (2012) "Development of an Fc-Enhanced Anti-B7-H3 Monoclonal Antibody with Potent Antitumor Activity," Clin Cancer Res; 18: 3834-3845; Ahmed, M. et al. (2015) "Humanized Affinity-Matured Monoclonal Antibody 8H9 Has Potent Anti-Tumor Activity and Binds to FG Loop of B7-H3," J. Biol. Chem. 290: 30018-30029; Nagase-Zembutsu, A. et al. (2016) "Development of DS-5573a: A novel afucosylated monoclonal antibody directed at B7-H3 with potent antitumor activity," Cancer Sci. 2016, doi: 10.1111/cas.12915; Modak, S. et al. (March 1999) "Disialoganglioside GD2 And Antigen 8H9: Potential Targets For Antibody-Based Immunotherapy Against Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor (DSRCT) And Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS)," Proceedings Of The American Association For Cancer Research Annual Meeting, Vol. 40:474 (90th Annual Meeting Of The American Association For Cancer Research; Philadelphia, Pa., US; Apr. 10-14, 1999; Modak, S. et al. (March 2000) "Radioimmunotargeting To Human Rhabdomyosarcoma Using Monoclonal Antibody 8H9," Proc. Am. Assoc. Cancer Res.41:724; Modak, S. et al. (2001) "Monoclonal Antibody 8H9 Targets A Novel Cell Surface Antigen Expressed By A Wide Spectrum Of Human Solid Tumors," Cancer Res. 61(10):4048-4054; Steinberger, P. et al. (2004) "Molecular Characterization of Human 4Ig-B7-H3, a Member of the B7 Family with Four Ig-Like Domains," J. Immunol. 172(4):2352-2359; Xu, H. et al. (2009) "MicroRNA miR-29 Modulates Expression of Immunoinhibitory Molecule B7-H3: Potential Implications for Immune Based Therapy of Human Solid Tumors," Cancer Res. 69(15):5275-6281; see also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,279,567, 7,358,354, 7,368,554, 7,527,969, 7,718,774, 8,216,570, 8,779,098, 8,802,091, 9,150,656, US Patent Publication Nos. 2002/0168762; 2005/0202536, 2008/0081346, 2008/0116219, 2009/0018315, 2009/0022747, 2009/0087416, 2013/0078234, 2015/0274838, PCT Publications Nos. WO 2008/066691; WO 2006/016276; WO 2008/116219; WO 04/001381, WO 2001/094413, WO 2002/10187, WO 2002/32375, WO 2004/093894, WO 2006/016276, WO 2008/116219, WO 2011/109400; and EP 1292619B.
Notwithstanding all such prior success, a need remains for additional therapeutic agents which target and kill tumor cells expressing B7-H3. The present invention is directed to this and other goals.

B7-H3 binding molecules, antibody drug conjugates thereof and methods of use thereof


In a subranging ADC, the unary DAC is trimmed by walking through its transfer function while toggling an offset cell at the input to the coarse quantizer and a reference cell in the DAC such that the reference cell is substituted for the cell under test on alternating cycles to provide the last lsb of the reconstructed signal. A test circuit measures the voltage at the output of the summing amplifier for both conditions and generates an error voltage in which the common mode terms have been rejected. The cell under test is then laser trimmed to reduce the error voltage until the cell's DNL error is within an error bound of a tolerance. In one embodiment, the tolerance is dithered to improve spur free dynamic range.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to trimming schemes for reducing the coarse DAC's nonlinearity errors in a subranging ADC to improve the ADC s spur free dynamic range.
2. Description of the Related Art
Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are employed to convert "real world" signals into digital signals that are susceptible to manipulation by digital computers. A subranging ADC uses a dual-pass architecture in which a buffer buffers the input voltage, a pair of resistors converts the input voltage into an input current, and a coarse quantizer quantizes the input voltage and provides a digital signal to a coarse DAC, which "reconstructs" a coarse current signal. A summing amplifier subtracts the coarse current signal from the input current to form a residual signal that is passed to a fine quantizer. The outputs of the coarse and fine quantizers are combined to form an output codeword. The subranging architecture capitalizes on the flash quantizers' speed while substantially reducing the total number of components. Subranging ADCs are discussed by Paul Horowitz, Winfield Hill, The Art of Electronics, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1989, pages 621 and 622.
The subranging ADC may exhibit significant nonlinearity errors that tend to repeat in response to an analog input signal. The repetition produces spurs in the ADC's frequency response that distort the signal and reduce its spur free dynamic range. Because the spurs tend to lie very close to the signal frequency, it is difficult and expensive to remove them using conventional filtering techniques.
Assuming a linear S/H circuit, the overall transfer function and, hence, the linearity of the subranging ADC is determined by the coarse DAC. For example, a 6-bit DAC should exhibit 20-bit accuracy in a 13-bit ADC with 20 bits of resolution whereas the fine quantizers may require only 12-bits of accuracy. The DAC's linearity is measured by the deviation of its transfer function from the ideal stair-case transfer function. The DAC's differential nonlinearity (DNL) is defined as the deviation in height between output voltages for adjacent digital codes and the value of 1 LSB. Integral nonlinearity error is the deviation of the DAC's transfer function from a straight line through the centers of the ideal stair-case transfer function and represents the accumulated DNL errors. The sources of DNL and INL errors are primarily attributable to resistor and transistor gain mismatch in the DAC.
Because the coarse DAC has limited resolution, for example 6-bits, it can be practically implemented using a unary rather than a binary topology. In an N-bit DAC, a binary topology uses only N binarily weighted current cells that are controlled by a binary codeword whereas a unary topology uses 2.sup.N -1 identical current cells that are controlled by a 2.sup.N -1 bit thermometer code. It is much easier to match the identical current cells than it is to match the binarily weighted current cells. Furthermore, the unary DAC exhibits substantially less glitch when switching. However, because the number of cells increases exponentially with the number of bits, a unary topology is rarely used in stand-alone DACs outside the subranging context. Any mismatch between the unary cells is reduced by laser trimming their bias resistors. The unary topology and laser trim improves the DAC's linearity, and thus reduces its DNL and INL errors directly.
One approach to laser trimming the DAC is to turn the cells on one at a time and trim their respective currents to a given tolerance from the ideal value. The tolerance merely creates a gain error that can be removed with a single gain adjust trim. This type of cell trim scheme can be accomplished in the context of a subranging ADC but requires external circuitry that disables the coarse quantizer and drives the DAC with a digital code that walks a 1 through each cell. Furthermore, this approach ignores and hides the code dependent errors produced by the nonlinear interaction between current cells when the DAC is operated in the context of a subranging ADC. Thus, even if each cell is trimmed perfectly the DAC will still exhibit nonlinearity errors.
Stewart S. Taylor et al. "A Dynamically Precise 50 MHz 12-Bit DAC using laser-Wafer Trimming," Proceedings of the Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems, pp. 1-5, 1983 describes a widely used technique for laser trimming DACs, in which a technician walks the DAC through its transfer function while trimming to the ideal cumulative value represented by the stair-case as shown in FIG. 1 of the article. This cumulative trim takes into consideration and compensates for the code dependent errors. However, because the magnitude of the signal varies over a wide dynamic range as the DAC walks up its transfer function, the test circuit cannot take full advantage of its SNR capability. Thus, the circuit's ability to resolve and thus trim the error is reduced as each addition cell is turned on. For example, in a 6-bit DAC if each unary cell ideally conducts 125 microamps with a 1 microamp tolerance, the first cell has to be trimmed to within 1 microamp with a total current of 125 microamps but the last cell has to be trimmed to within the same 1 microamp with a total current of 8 milliamps. Furthermore, the test equipment tends to exhibit its own nonlinearity over the large dynamic range. Thus, the trim compensates for test equipment's nonlinearity thereby inducing it into the DAC.

Test circuit and method of trimming a unary digital-to-analog converter (DAC) in a subranging analog-to-digital converter (ADC)


In a method of training a DNN, a weight matrix (W) is provided as a linear combination of matrices/arrays A and C. In a forward cycle, an input vector x is transmitted through arrays A and C and output vector y is read. In a backward cycle, an error signal δ is transmitted through arrays A and C and output vector z is read. Array A is updated by transmitting input vector x and error signal δ through array A. In a forward cycle, an input vector ei is transmitted through array A and output vector y′ is read. ƒ(y′) is calculated using y′. Array C is updated by transmitting input vector ei and ƒ(y′) through array C. A DNN is also provided.

A deep neural network (DNN) can be embodied in an analog cross-point array of resistive devices such as the resistive processing units (RPUs) described in U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2017/0109628 by Gokmen et al., entitled "Resistive Processing Unit" (hereinafter "U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2017/0109628"), the contents of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. As described in U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2017/0109628, each RPU includes a first terminal, a second terminal and an active region. A conductance state of the active region identifies a weight value of the RPU, which can be updated/adjusted by application of a signal to the first/second terminals.
DNN based models have been used for a variety of different cognitive based tasks such as object and speech recognition and natural language processing. See, for example, Gokmen et al., "Training Deep Convolutional Neural Networks with Resistive Cross-point Devices," Frontiers in Neuroscience, vol. 11, article 538 (October 2017) (13 pages), the contents of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. DNN training is needed to provide a high level of accuracy when performing such tasks. Training large DNNs is an extremely computationally intensive task.
Symmetry is an important factor to achieve accuracy for DNN training. To be symmetric, the analog resistive devices have to change conductance symmetrically when subjected to positive and negative voltage pulses. This symmetry enables backpropagation and stochastic gradient decent (SGD) to be implemented perfectly during DNN training. In practice, however, RPU devices can exhibit non-linear and non-symmetric switching characteristics, which is not ideal. For instance, when voltage pulses are applied stepwise to adjust the weight up or down, there is often an imbalance between up and down adjustments.
Accordingly, new DNN training techniques are needed to tolerate this non-linear/non-symmetric hardware bias.

DNN training with asymmetric RPU devices

International Business Machines Corporation


A method and device producing a setpoint signal representing a flow rate of fuel that a metering unit having a slide valve is to supply to a fuel injection system of a combustion chamber in a turbine engine, the position of the valve depending on the setpoint signal. The method: obtains a first signal representing a measurement as delivered by a flow meter of a flow rate of fuel injected into the chamber; evaluates a second signal representing the flow rate of fuel injected into the chamber based on a measurement of the position of the valve; estimates a third signal representative of the measurement delivered by the flow meter by applying a digital model of the flow meter to the second signal; and produces the setpoint signal by adding a compensation signal to the first signal, the compensation signal obtained by subtracting the third signal from the second signal.

The present invention relates to the general field of turbine engines. It applies in preferred but non-limiting manner to the field of aviation.
More particularly, the invention relates to a method and a device for producing a setpoint signal for use in a servo-control loop controlling a fuel metering device in a turbine engine such as a turbojet. Typically, the setpoint signal is a signal representative of a fuel mass flow rate that is to be supplied by the metering device to a fuel injection system of a combustion chamber of the turbine engine.
In known manner, the fuel metering device of a turbine engine has a valve, also referred to as a fuel metering valve (FMV), and the position of the valve is proportional to the fuel flow rate that is to be injected into the combustion chamber so long as the pressure difference across the valve is kept constant.
An estimate of the fuel mass flow rate that is to be injected into the combustion chamber is evaluated by the turbine engine computer and is supplied to the metering device in the form of a setpoint signal. One technique that is conventionally used for identifying the position of the valve on the basis of the estimated mass flow rate supplied by the computer is as follows.
On being moved, the valve obstructs a fuel flow section S through the metering device to a greater or lesser extent. The section S is also referred to as the aperture area of the metering device and it is easily expressed as a function of the position of the valve.
In known manner, this area S is proportional to the volume flow rate of the fuel. This is obtained by taking the mass flow rate setpoint signal supplied by the computer and dividing it by the density (mass per unit volume) of the fuel flowing through the metering device.
The density of the fuel is generally assumed to be constant throughout the mission of the turbine engine, and to be predetermined.
Unfortunately, that assumption does not take account of any possible change in the nature of the fuel used or any variation in the temperature of the fuel while the turbine engine is in operation. As a result it leads to inaccuracies in the evaluation of the position of the valve of the metering device.
There thus exists a need to have a technique that enables the fuel fed to a turbine engine to be metered accurately without suffering from the above-mentioned drawbacks, and in particular to produce a setpoint signal that is accurate for servo-controlling the metering device.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,597 proposes a method of producing a setpoint signal for a fuel metering device that makes use of a measurement delivered by a flow meter of the flow rate that is injected into the combustion chamber. That measurement is used for estimating a calibration signal proportional to the instantaneous density of the fuel.
The calibration signal serves to adjust the mass flow rate setpoint signal as evaluated on the basis of the position of the valve of the metering device. It is updated whenever, on the basis of a predefined criterion, it is determined that the measurement delivered by the flow meter is sufficiently accurate, i.e. typically once the measured flow rate is sufficiently large and varies little.

Method and a device for producing a setpoint signal


A resistor, a transistor, and a capacitor can be fabricated on a semiconductor wafer in a process that forms an isolated single-crystal region with precise dimensions. The isolated single-crystal region, in turn, defines the body of the resistor, the gate of the transistor, and the top plate of the capacitor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor structures and, more particularly, to a single-crystal silicon semiconductor structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
High precision analog circuits utilize semiconductor structures, such as resistors, which must be matched to a very high degree of accuracy. Current-generation photolithographic processes are extremely accurate, and can be used to form structures, such as polysilicon resistors, which are physically substantially identical to each other.
Although formed to be physically substantially identical to each other (in length, width, and height), polysilicon resistors often have resistances which fall within a wide range of values. This is because the resistance of a polysilicon resistor is strongly dependent on the grain structures within the polysilicon. The grain structures, however, are subject to a number of process variables, such as hydrogen content, which vary widely.
Thus, to have two polysilicon resistors which have equal resistances (values that fall within a very narrow range of values), the polysilicon resistors must be matched by laser trimming procedures which physically remove a portion of one of the polysilicon resistors until the resistive values of the two are equal (fall within the very narrow range of values).
Although the laser trimming process can provide polysilicon resistors which are substantially identical, the process is also time consuming and, thereby, expensive. Thus, there is a need for an approach to forming matched semiconductor resistors which does not require laser trimming.

Single-crystal silicon semiconductor structure