A positive photosensitive polymer composition, which comprises a thermosetting polymer precursor which can be cured through cyclodehydration upon heating, and a photosensitive cure accelerator which can be inactivated of its cure accelerating property by irradiation of light.

This invention relates to a positive photosensitive polymer composition which is suited for use in the formation of pattern of insulation film, passivation film, .alpha.-ray shielding film, optical waveguide and the like, which are employed in various electronic parts. This invention relates also to a method of forming a pattern by making use of the aforementioned positive photosensitive polymer composition, and to electronic parts provided with a pattern of the aforementioned positive photosensitive polymer composition as an insulation member or as a passivation member.
In the ordinary semiconductor device having semiconductor elements formed on the surface of its substrate, the surface of substrate is generally covered with a protective film called a passivation film for the purpose of protecting the semiconductor elements from any influence of the external environment thereby improving the reliability of the semiconductor device. As a material for this passivation film, a polyimide resin is extensively employed in view of its excellent properties such as electric properties (e.g. insulating characteristics), radiation resistance, environmental stability and heat resistance. Furthermore, this polyimide resin is widely employed in a semiconductor device as an .alpha.-ray shielding film, or as an interlayer insulating film for a multilayered wiring structure or for a multilayered element structure (a multichip module).
This polyimide resin can be easily formed into a film from polyamic acid which is a precursor for the polyimide. Namely, a varnish of polyamic acid is coated on the surface of a predetermined substrate and then the coated layer is heated to form a film of polyamic acid, which is then heat-treated at a high temperature thereby to cause a cyclodehydration reaction of the polyamic acid to take place, thus curing the polyamic acid film and forming a polyimide film. It is possible, with the employment of this method, to easily form a film of polyimide in spite of the fact that polyimide can be hardly worked since it is not or hardly soluble to most of organic solvents and is high in softening point. Therefore, the aforementioned method has been widely adopted in the formation of polyimide film.
Meanwhile, in the manufacture of a semiconductor device, various workings, for example, for forming a through-hole in a multilayered wiring structure or for forming a pad for effecting an electric connection with an external lead are required. In order to carry out these workings, a polyimide film formed as a passivation film or an interlayer insulating film as explained above is required to be patterned thereby to form holes or grooves of predetermined patterns. Generally, the patterning of polyimide film is performed by making use of PEP (photo-engraving process) using a photoresist. Namely, after a polyimide film is formed on the surface of a semiconductor substrate bearing a semiconductor element thereon in the method as mentioned above, a photoresist film is further formed on the surface of the polyimide film and then subjected to a light exposure process followed by a development process thereby forming a resist pattern. Then, the underlying polyimide film is selectively etched by making use of this resist pattern as an etching mask thereby to form a polyimide passivation film or interlayer insulating film having a prescribed pattern.
However, the aforementioned method of forming a polyimide pattern requires two independent steps, i.e. a step of forming a polyimide film and a step of the PEP, making the method troublesome to carry out.
With a view to solve the aforementioned drawback in carrying out the method, a method of patterning a polyimide film without employing the PEP has been demanded. In response to such a demand, a resin composition comprising a polyimide precursor has been proposed.
For example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication S/49-115541 discloses a polyamic ester which can be obtained through a reaction between a diamino compound and tetra-carboxylic diester dichloride. Namely, according to this prior art, instead of using tetra-carboxylic dianhydride which is commonly employed in the synthesis of polyamic acid or a polyimide precursor, tetra-carboxylic diester dichloride wherein a photopolymerizable group is introduced through an ester linkage is employed. This polyamic ester exhibits a photosensitivity of negative type so that an exposed portion irradiated with light is insolubilized against a developing solution. Therefore, it is possible to carry out a patterning in the course of forming a polyimide film without requiring the step of the conventional PEP whereby to obtain a patterned polyimide film.
However, not only the process of synthesizing tetra-carboxylic diester dichloride having a photo-polymerizable group, which is a raw material for the polyamic ester, but also the process of synthesizing the polyamic ester are very complicated. Moreover, the end resin product to be obtained unavoidably takes up chlorine ions as an impurity. Additionally, since an organic solvent is employed as a developing solution in the process of developing a polyamic ester film, a large amount of organic solvent is required in the manufacturing line, which is undesirable in viewpoints of safety, sanitation and environment. Furthermore, a swelling of the polyimide film pattern to be obtained may be caused due to the development with an organic solvent, thereby deteriorating the resolution of pattern.
Further, Japanese Patent Publication S/59-52822 discloses, as a photosensitive resin composition of negative type as in the case of aforementioned prior art, a heat resistant photosensitive material containing a compound which has a carbon-carbon double bond and amino group and is dimerizable or polymerizable by an actinic radiation. However, this photosensitive material is defective in that, when it is employed as a passivation film for a resin-encapsulated semiconductor device, it is poor in adhesivity to a semiconductor substrate, to a passivation film formed of an inorganic material for protecting the surface of substrate, or to a sealing resin. Therefore, the employment of this photosensitive material may invite a problem that the reliability of semiconductor device to be obtained would be deteriorated. Additionally, this photosensitive material requires as in the case of the aforementioned polyamic ester the employment of an organic solvent as a developing solution, which is undesirable in viewpoint of safety.
Further, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication S/60-6365 discloses a photosensitive resin composition wherein an (N,N-dialkylamino)alkyl methacrylate is attached as a salt to the carboxylic group of polyamic acid. However, this photosensitive resin composition is defective in that the solubility thereof to a solvent to be used is poor.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication S/62-145240 discloses a polymer having an isoimide structure. This polymer is of positive type photosensitivity wherein, contrary to the aforementioned composition, the exposed portion irradiated with light is made soluble to a developing agent. Since this polymer is of positive type photosensitivity, this polymer can be developed with an alkaline developing solution. However, this polymer is defective in that it is poor in heat resistance and in photosensitivity, so that it cannot be satisfactorily employed as a passivation film in a semiconductor device.
There are known other examples of a photosensitive resin composition exhibiting a positive type photosensitivity as mentioned above. For example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication S/64-60630 discloses a composition comprising a solvent-soluble polyimide that can be synthesized through a reaction between a diamine compound having a hydroxy group-substituted aromatic ring and an acid anhydride, to which an o-quinone diazide compound is added as a photosensitive agent. Japanese Patent Unexamined Publications S/52-13315 and S/62-135824 disclose a similar photosensitive resin composition comprising quinone diazide as a photosensitive agent. Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication S/60-37550 discloses a photosensitive resin composition comprising o-nitrobenzyl ester group as a photosensitive agent.
Since these photosensitive resin compositions are capable of being developed with an alkaline developing solution, any problems accompanying with the employment of an organic solvent as in the case of the aforementioned negative type photosensitive resin compositions can be overcome. However, these photosensitive resin compositions are defective in that a difference in solubility to an alkaline developing solution between a light-exposed portion and a light-unexposed portion is not large enough so that it is difficult to form a fine pattern with high resolution. Furthermore, since a polymer constituting a main component of these resin compositions is structurally restricted, the adhesivity thereof to a silicon wafer, a glass substrate, a ceramic substrate, a sealing resin and a metal which are usually employed in various semiconductor devices is poor.
As mentioned above, although the polyimide resin is excellent in electric properties, radiation resistance and heat resistance thus making it suitable for use as a passivation film or as an interlayer insulating film for a semiconductor device, no one has succeeded up to date to develop a photosensitive resin composition which enables to obtain a fine polyimide film pattern exhibiting an excellent adhesion to a substrate by way of a safe and simple manufacturing process.

Positive photosensitive polymer composition, method of forming a pattern and electronic parts


An antenna device includes a first radiator receiving a first feed signal, a second radiator spaced apart from the first radiator at a predetermined distance and capacitively coupled with the first radiator, a feed line connected to a feed terminal of the first radiator, and a phase shifter diverging from the feed line, connected to a feed terminal of the second radiator, and supplying a second feed signal having a predetermined phase difference with the first feed signal to the second radiator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna device, and more particularly, to an antenna device capable of operating two radiators as one antenna by feeding signals having different phases to the two radiators, respectively.
2. Description of the Related Art
An antenna is a device that transmits or receives radio waves.
The antenna in the field of mobile communications is a passive device which is sensitive to the external environment. The antenna is applied to, e.g., a base station, a repeater or a wireless communication device to receive an electric wave from the outside or transmit an electrical signal generated from a communication device to the outside.
In many cases a built-in antenna of a mobile communication terminal is required to optimize characteristics such as standing-wave matching for each mobile communication terminal to which the antennal is applied. When a bandwidth of the antenna is narrow, many tests need to be conducted for optimization. However, when the bandwidth of the antenna is wide, fewer tests are conducted, accordingly shortening the time for development.
Most of related art antennas for broadcasting reception are external antennas. To optimally receive broadcasting signals, the external antennas must be adjusted to a length of λ/4 of a frequency band for broadcasting reception. However, a general user cannot normally be aware of an accurate length of the antenna, and therefore it is difficult to obtain an optimum gain in the frequency band that is to be used for broadcasting reception.
In the case of a related art chip antenna, a feed structure and a radiator for a specific frequency band are designed by forming a radiation pattern, which is connected to a feeding part and a ground part, on a dielectric block. When the chip antenna is set in a mobile communication terminal, a frequency characteristic of the chip antenna changes and hence tuning operation is inevitable. However, the tuning operation is accompanied by modifications in the radiation pattern or design of the dielectric block, which causes manufacturing loss.


A method of determining cardiac volume including the steps of positioning a catheter in a blood-filled chamber of a patient's heart. The catheter comprises an elongated body having a distal end, a proximal end, a plurality of spaced electrodes arrayed on the outer surface of the catheter and spaced apart a predetermined distance from each other to define a distal electrode, a proximal electrode and a plurality of pairs of adjacent electrodes between the distal and proximal electrodes to define volume segments within the chamber. The method includes the steps of providing a constant alternating current to the distal and proximal electrodes, measuring the potential between pairs of electrodes located between a distal and proximal electrodes while the distal and proximal electrodes are energized with the constant amplitude alternating current; determining a set of correction factors from the measured raw segmental volumes and catheter curvature; and correcting for field non-uniformity by multiplying the raw volumes by the set of correction factors.

This invention relates to cardiac monitoring and more particularly to a method and apparatus for determining cardiac volume.
It is highly beneficial to monitor in real-time, the beat-to-beat stoke volume, ejection fraction and ventricular pressure-volume loops in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Monitoring these parameters allows for better evaluation of the physiological status of these patients.
There are several known methods of measuring cardiac output including echocardiography, contrast angiography and conductance catheter method. Of these, the conductance catheter method can potentially measure the absolute ventricular volume continuously in real time. Conductance catheters may comprise a modified Swan-Ganz catheter, for example, with a set of equidistant, metallic ring electrodes at the distal end. The Catheter is inserted into the patient's ventricle and a constant electrical current having a fixed frequency is applied to spaced apart exciting electrodes to establish a constant-current electric field within the blood volume of the ventricle. The spaced apart electrodes between the exciting electrodes (sensing electrodes) divide the ventricular volume into parallel segments as shown in FIG. 1. Voltage signals at pairs of spaced electrodes disposed between the exciting electrodes are sampled. This provides a potential drop (V.sub.i) across these volume segments. Knowing V.sub.i and the constant current (I) injected by the exciting electrodes, the resistance across the volume segments (R.sub.i) can be computed as follows: EQU R.sub.i =V.sub.i /I (1)
The segmental resistances can be related to the volume of each segment by the expression: EQU Vol.sub.i =.rho.L.sup.2 /R.sub.i (2)
where
Vol.sub.i =Volume of the i.sup.th segment, PA1 .rho.=blood resistivity, PA1 L=spacing between the electrodes, and PA1 R.sub.i =Resistance of the i.sup.th segment. PA1 1. Electric field non-uniformity. Equation (2) above is based on a uniform electric field. In actual practice, the electric field created by a conductance catheter is not uniform, and this causes the measurement of segmental volume to be inaccurate. PA1 2. Leakage of current through surrounding tissues. Some of the injected conductance catheter current leaks out through the surrounding tissues, such as, cardiac and lung tissues, so that the electric field is no longer confined to the blood volume of the ventricle. This also introduces errors in the measurement of segmental resistances. PA1 3. Catheter curvature. The catheter assumes a curved orientation in the right ventricle as shown in FIG. 2. The curved orientation of the catheter coupled with the non-uniformity of the electric field results in erroneous measurement of segmental volumes. PA1 4. Blood resistivity changes. Blood resistivity changes primarily due to changes in hematocrit, temperature and blood velocity, which are not uncommon in cardiac patients undergoing surgery. Hence, measurement errors can result if blood conductivity changes are not monitored.
Conductive catheter methods of cardiac output measurements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,674,518; 4,721,115; 4,898,176; 4,491,682, and 5,000,190. A method of determining blood resistivity is disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 08/701,177, filed Aug. 2, 1996, which is incorporated by reference herein.
From the segmental volumes, the total volume can be determined from the expression ##EQU1## where n=total number of volume segments.
Prior attempts to measure ventricular volume with the conductance catheter have mostly been confined to the left ventricle. Under clinical conditions, however, measurement of the right ventricle would be preferable, because the right side of the heart is more easily accessible than the left side. Also, the lower pressure in the right side of the heart and the greater clinical experience with right-side catheterization make it less dangerous to use the catheter on the right side compared to the left side. For these reasons, it is desirable to provide a conductance-catheter measuring method and apparatus for measuring right-ventricular volume.
Various studies have shown that there are four main sources of error in conductance-catheter measurements. These are:

Method and apparatus to correct for electric field non-uniformity in conductance catheter volumetry


The present invention provides a process for preparing cyclic 1,3-keto esters in the absence of solvent, using solid-state or high viscosity reactors.

The intramolecular condensation reaction named after Dieckmann (Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges. 1894 (27) 965, Liebigs Ann. 1901 (317) 27) is known. For example, the Dieckmann condensation of dialkyl adipates leads to alkyl cyclopentanone-2-carboxylates. The process is based on a condensation reaction in which the respective alcohol is liberated:

In these processes, the alkali metal salt or the alkaline earth metal salt of the desired compound is prepared with virtually quantitative conversion and selectivity and this salt is worked up under acid conditions in a further step. Many attempts to optimize the procedure and the yield of this reaction have been discussed in the literature. These relate to both the condensation agent to be used and the process methodology and solvents used.
For example, the cyclization of adipic esters by reaction with stoichiometric amounts of a strong Lewis acid (e.g. AlCl3, TiCl2(OTf)2) and a base (e.g. NEt3) as condensation agent has been described (e.g. Pecanha et al., Quim. Nova 20 (1997) 435; Tanabe et al., Chem. Lett. (1986) 1813). Here, the reaction takes place in solution in good yields, but stoichiometric amounts of Lewis acid and base (e.g. triethylamine) have to be used. In the subsequent aqueous work-up, the Lewis acid used is completely hydrolysed, which is undesirable from economic and ecological points of view.
In addition, many processes which bring about the cyclization by means of a strong base as condensation agent have been described. Suitable bases are, for example, alkali metals (e.g. Pinkney, Org. Synth. 1937 (17) 32), metal hydrides (e.g. Bloomfield et al., Tetrahedron Lett. 1964, 2273) or metal amides (e.g. Bouveault et al., Compt. Rend. 146 (1908) 138).
It has been found to be particularly useful to use alkoxides, in particular alkoxides of the alkali metals and alkaline earth metals, as bases (e.g. sodium ethoxide, Reed et al. J. Chem. Soc. 1954, 2148, or magnesium ethoxide, Laukkanen, Chem. Ber. 1957 (31) 124). The alkoxide is usually introduced into the reaction as a solution in the corresponding alcohol. To avoid transesterification of the starting material for the reaction or the reaction product by the alkoxide used or the alcohol used, it is usual to employ materials having an identical substitution pattern for the Dieckmann cyclization. (Methoxides in methanol for the cyclization of methyl esters, ethoxides in ethanol for the cyclization of ethyl esters, etc.). The alkoxides required are obtained either by reaction of the corresponding metal with the alcohol or by dewatering of alcoholic sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide.
Since Dieckmann reactions are equilibrium reactions, it is necessary to remove the alcohol liberated during the reaction and also the alcohol used as solvent quantitatively in order to achieve a quantitative conversion. A Dieckmann reaction is therefore usually carried out in nonpolar solvents such as toluene or xylene and the alcohol is distilled off.
The literature methods for Dieckmann cyclization using alkoxides in nonpolar solvents have various disadvantages for economical industrial use. A particular problem is that a viscous suspension comprising the starting materials for the reaction, the salt of the reaction product and the solvent is formed during the reaction and this can be stirred only with great difficulty from an industrial point of view. Only a low space-time yield can be achieved by means of this reaction, since it has to be carried out in a very dilute suspension which typically comprises only about 10–20% by weight of reactants and 80–90% by weight of solvent in order for the suspension to remain stirrable.
Furthermore, owing to the high viscosity of the mixture, it is usually not possible to bring about complete conversion, i.e. 100% reaction of the adipic ester, in an acceptable time. In this case, a product which still contains amounts of starting material is obtained after hydrolysis of the reaction mixture. This starting material can be separated off from the desired cyclic alkyl ketonecarboxylate by distillation only with great difficulty, since the substances have similar boiling points.
The use of various solvents which reduce the viscosity of the reaction mixture and are said to enable the Dieckmann cyclization to be carried out more easily as a result has been described.
Cassebaum et al. (DD-A 085560 (1971); Z. Chem. 1971 (11) 14) describe a process in which the reaction with sodium ethoxide as base is carried out in a solvent mixture of o-dichlorobenzene and dimethylformamide.
Richter Gedeon (HU-A 173512, 1978) likewise describe a process in which dipolar, aprotic solvents (e.g. dimethylformamide) are used for Dieckmann reactions.
Kao Corp (JP-A 9183755, 1997) carries out the reaction in solvent mixtures of aromatic organic solvents (e.g. toluene, xylene) and in tertiary alcohols (e.g. tert-butanol, amyl alcohol). The corresponding tertiary alkoxides as condensation agents are produced by reaction of the tertiary alcohol with sodium or sodium hydride.
Processes in the presence of a solvent have various disadvantages. The separation and recovery of the alcohol from the solvents used is complicated. Water present in the solvents used reacts with the strong bases used and decomposes them. Polar solvents or solvent mixtures are somewhat expensive and difficult to regenerate. They are completely or partially miscible with water, so that the polar solvent or the polar components of the solvent mixture are dissolved in the aqueous phase during the work-up of the reaction mixture as a result of acid, aqueous hydrolysis. The polar solvents can be recovered from the aqueous phase only with great difficulty. In addition, proportions of the reaction product can also be carried together with the polar solvent into the aqueous phase. When highly polar solvents or solvent mixtures are used, no phase separation occurs on hydrolysis, but instead a uniform water/solvent/product phase which can be worked up only with great difficulty is formed. The extraction with a nonpolar solvent which is necessary to recover the product from the aqueous phase and the complicated recovery of the highly polar solvent from the aqueous phase are substantial disadvantages of the methodology described.
Processes which do not use an additional solvent are therefore advantageous. VEB Fahlberg List (DE-A 2055009 (1972)) describe a process in which the reaction is carried out exclusively in the alcohol used for the synthesis of the condensation agent. For example, magnesium powder is dissolved in an excess of ethanol for the synthesis of ethyl cyclopentanone-2-carboxylate. The magnesium ethoxide formed is admixed with diethyl adipate and ethanol is distilled off, forming a resin-like mass.
This process has various disadvantages. The use of a solvent continues to be necessary. The quantitative removal of the alcohol necessary for a quantitative conversion is possible only under drastic conditions; the mixture is heated to about 220° C. for 1¾ to 2½ hours at a batch size of 1.6 mol. This procedure is unsuitable for production on an industrial scale. In the further course of the process disclosed, the resin-like mass has to be dissolved in benzene before hydrolysis. The use of additional solvents is therefore still necessary during the course of the process. Only 90% of the benzene used can be recovered.
Processes in which alcohol for dissolving the condensation agent can also be dispensed with are therefore particularly advantageous. Toda et al. (J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 1, 1998/3521) describe a method in which an alcohol for dissolving the alkoxide used is also dispensed with. Here, the dialkyl adipate is triturated with a solid alkali metal alkoxide in a pestle and mortar. The reaction product is set free from the salt by addition of p-toluenesulphonic acid. Interestingly, a quantitative conversion is not achieved in this example. A yield of 61% is reported in the reaction of diethyl adipate with sodium methoxide. A higher yield (82%) is reported when using potassium tert-butoxide as condensation agent.
This method has various disadvantages for use on an industrial scale. Costly condensation agents (e.g. sodium ethoxide) give only moderate yields. Based on the size of the batches, the specific mechanical energy introduced via the pestle is considerable.
It was therefore an object of the invention to find a technically simple process which allows the preparation of alkyl cyclopentanone-2-carboxylates with a low economic outlay while completely dispensing with solvents and at the same time resulting in complete reaction of the alkyl adipate.


The present invention provides a comprehensive method to design an automatic media audience measurement system that can estimate the site-wide audience of a media of interest (e.g., the site-wide viewership of a target display) based on the measurements of a subset of the actual audience sampled from a limited space in the site. This invention enables (1) the placement of sensors in optimal positions for the viewership data measurement and (2) the estimation of the site-wide viewership of the target display by performing the viewership extrapolation based on the sampled viewership data. The viewership extrapolation problem is formulated in a way that the time-varying crowd dynamics around the target display is an important decisive factor as well as the sampled viewership data at a given time in yielding the estimated site-wide viewership. To solve this problem, the system elements that affect the viewership—site, display, crowd, and audience—and their relationships are first identified in terms of the visibility, the viewership relevancy, and the crowd occupancy. The optimal positions of the sensors are determined to cover the maximum area of the viewership with high probabilities. The viewership extrapolation function is then modeled and learned from the sampled viewership data, the site-wide viewership data, and the crowd dynamics measurements while removing the noise in the sampled viewership data using the viewership relevancy of the measurements to the target display.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a system and method for designing a comprehensive media audience measurement platform that can estimate the audience of a media of interest only with the measurements of a subset of the actual audience sampled from a limited space in the site, which includes a data sampling planning and a data extrapolation method with a site, display, and crowd characterization.
2. Background of the Invention
The role of digital media for advertisement in public spaces is becoming increasingly important. The task of measuring the degree of media exposure is also deemed as very important both as a guide to the equipment installation (equipment kind, position, size, and orientation) and as a rating for the content programming. As the number of such displays is growing, measuring the viewing behavior of the audience using human intervention can be very costly.
Unlike the traditional broadcast media, the viewing typically occurs in public spaces where a very large number of unknown people can assemble to comprise an audience. It is therefore hard to take surveys of the audience using traditional interviewing through telephone or mail/email methods, and on-site interviews can be both very costly and potentially highly biased.
There are technologies to perform automated measurement of viewing behavior; the viewing behavior in this context is called 'viewership'. These automatic viewership measurement systems can be maintained with little cost once installed, and can provide a continuous stream of viewership measurement data. These systems typically employ electro-optical visual sensor devices, such as video cameras or infrared cameras, and provide consistent sampling of the viewing behavior based on visual observations. However, due to the high initial installation cost, the sensor placement planning is extremely important. While the equipment delivers consistent viewership measurements, they have limitations of measuring the view from their individual fixed positions (and orientations, in most cases). However, relocating the equipment can affect the integrity of the data.
In a typical media display scenario, it is unrealistic, if not impossible, to detect and record all instances of viewership occurring in the site using these sensors. Any optical sensor has a limited field of coverage, and its area of coverage can also depend on its position and orientation. A large venue can be covered by multiple sensors, and their individual lens focal lengths, positions, and orientations need to be determined.
The data delivered from these sensors also needs to be properly interpreted, because the viewership data that each equipment provides has been spatially sampled from the whole viewership at the site. The ultimate goal of the audience measurement system is to estimate the site-wide viewership for the display; it is crucial to extrapolate the site-wide viewership data from the sampled viewership data in a mathematically sound way.
The present invention provides a comprehensive solution to the problem of automatic media measurement, from the problem of sensor placement for effective sampling to the method of extrapolating spatially sampled data.
The prior attempts for measuring the degree of public exposure for the media, including broadcast media or publicly displayed media can be found in the following disclosures:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,000 of Lu, et al. (hereinafter Lu U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,000) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,307 of Lu, et al. (hereinafter Lu U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,307) introduce systems for measuring viewing behavior of broadcast media by identifying viewers from a predetermined set of viewers, based primarily on facial recognition. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/818,554 of Sharma, et al. (hereinafter Sharma) introduces a method to measure viewership of displayed objects using computer vision algorithms. The present invention also aims to measure viewing behavior of an audience using visual information, however, has focus on publicly displayed media for a general unknown audience. The present invention utilizes an automated method similar to Sharma to measure the audience viewership by processing data from visual sensors. The present invention provides not only a method of measuring viewership, but also a solution to a much broader class of problems including the data sampling plan and the data extrapolation method based on the site, display, and crowd analysis, to design an end-to-end comprehensive audience measurement system.
All of the systems presented in U.S. Pat. No. 6,958,710 of Zhang, et al. (hereinafter Zhang), and U.S. Pat. No. 7,176,834 of Percy, et al. (hereinafter Percy) involve portable hardware and a central communication/storage device for tracking audience and transmitting/storing the measured data. They rely on a predetermined number of survey participants to carry the devices so that their behavior can be measured based on the proximity of the devices to the displayed media. The present invention can measure a very large number of audience behaviors without relying on recruited participants or carry-on devices. It can accurately detect not only the proximity of the audience to the media display, but the actual measurement of the viewing time and duration based on the facial images of the audience. These prior inventions can only collect limited measurement data sampled from a small number of participants; however, the present invention provides a scheme to extrapolate the measurement data sampled from the camera views, so that the whole site-wide viewership data can be estimated.
All of the systems presented in Zhang and Percy involve portable hardware and a central communication/storage device for tracking audience and transmitting/storing the measured data. They rely on a predetermined number of survey participants to carry the devices so that their behavior can be measured based on the proximity of the devices to the displayed media. The present invention can measure a very large number of audience behaviors without relying on recruited participants or carry-on devices. It can accurately detect not only the proximity of the audience to the media display, but the actual measurement of the viewing time and duration based on the facial images of the audience. These prior inventions can only collect limited measurement data sampled from a small number of participants; however, the present invention provides a scheme to extrapolate the measurement data sampled from the camera views, so that the whole site-wide viewership data can be estimated.
There have been attempts for designing a camera platform or a placement method for the purpose of monitoring a designated area, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,380 of Coutta, et al. (hereinafter Coutta), U.S. Pat. No. 6,437,819 of Loveland, et al. (hereinafter Loveland), U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,338 of Hashimoto, et al. (hereinafter Hashimoto U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,338), and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20100259539 of Papanikolopoulos, et al. (hereinafter Papanikolopoulos).
Coutta presented a method to place multiple cameras for monitoring a retail environment, especially the cash register area. Because the area to be monitored is highly constrained, the method doesn't need a sophisticated methodology to optimize the camera coverage as the present invention aims to provide.
Loveland presents a pan/tilt/zoom camera system for the purpose of monitoring an area and tracking people one by one, while the present invention aims to find an optimal placement of cameras so that the cameras have maximal concurrent coverage of the area and of multiple people at the same time.
Hashimoto employs multiple outward facing cameras to have a full coverage of the surroundings, while the present invention provides a methodology to place cameras to have maximal coverage given the constraints of the number of cameras and the constraints of the site, display, and the measurement algorithm.
Papanikolopoulos presents a method for placing cameras in optimal positions to maximize the observability of motion paths or activities of the crowd taking into account the obstacles in a site. Although it places cameras in optimal positions, its optimality is only for the crowd observability in the site, while the optimality of the present invention is for the observability of the viewers for a specific target display.
There have also been prior attempts for counting or monitoring people in a designated area by automated means.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,866,887 of Hashimoto, et al. (hereinafter Hashimoto U.S. Pat. No. 5,866,887) and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20060171570 of Brendley, et al. (hereinafter Brendley) use special sensors (distance measuring and pressure mat sensors, respectively) placed in a designated space, so that they can count the number of people passing and, in the case of Brendley, classify the kind of traffic, whereas in the present invention the visual sensor based technology can measure not only the amount of traffic, but also the direction of the traffic, and on wider areas.
U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20070032242 of Goodman, et al. (hereinafter Goodman) introduces using the tracking of active wireless devices, such as mobile phones or PDAs, so that the people carrying these devices can be detected and tracked. The crowd estimation method of the present invention can measure the crowd traffic without any requirement of the people carrying certain devices, and without introducing potential bias toward business people or bias against seniors or children.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,987,885 of Gonzalez-Banos, et al. (hereinafter Gonzalez-Banos), U.S. Pat. No. 6,697,104 of Yakobi, et al. (hereinafter Yakobi), and U.S. Pat. No. 7,203,338 of Ramaswamy, et al. (hereinafter Ramaswamy) detect and count the number of people in a scene by processing video frames to detect people. One of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention utilizes top-down view cameras so that person detection and tracking can be carried out effectively, where an individual person in the crowd is being tracked so that both the crowd density and direction can be estimated. These prior inventions do not concern the crowd directions.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,139,409 of Paragios, et al. (hereinafter Paragios) measures the pattern of crowd motion without explicitly detecting or tracking people. One of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention also makes use of such crowd dynamics estimation, however, it is a part of the comprehensive system where the goal is to extrapolate the sampled viewership measurement based on the crowd dynamics.
U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20080004953 of Ma, et al. (hereinafter Ma) characterizes the audience of public display or advertising system using sensors and builds an audience distribution model. The audience distribution model is utilized to deliver contents to matched audience. Although it analyzes and characterizes the audience of the target display, it is not able to estimate the site-wide audience since it only measures the audience only within the sensing range of the sensors employed. The present invention, however, estimates the site-wide viewership of a target display by the viewership extrapolation.
There have been prior attempts for learning a general mapping based on available training data, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,465 of Kil, et al. (hereinafter Kil) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,146 of Vapnik, et al. (hereinafter Vapnik).
The present invention makes use of a statistical learning method similar to Kil or Vapnik, where the input-output relation between a large number of data can be used to learn a regression function. In the present invention, the regression function is used to compute the viewership extrapolation mapping.
In summary, the present invention aims to measure the media viewership using automated and unobtrusive means that employ computer vision algorithms, which is a significant departure from methods using devices that need to be carried by a potential audience. It also provides comprehensive solutions to the sensor placement issue and data extrapolation issue, based on the site and display analysis; these features also contrast with the inventions just introducing measurement algorithms. There have been prior inventions that address the problem of sensor placement for the purpose of monitoring people's behavior, but the present invention provides an optimal solution to the issue based on the analysis of the site and the display. The present invention employs statistical machine learning approaches, similarly to some of the prior inventions, to extrapolate the sampled viewership data to estimate the site-wide viewership data; the method of the present invention utilizes the learning approach to achieve time-dependent extrapolation of the viewership data based on the insights from the crowd and viewership analysis.

Method and system for media audience measurement by viewership extrapolation based on site, display, and crowd characterization


A liquid crystal display element of optical writing type is arranged to have a first transparent substrate, a first transparent electrode layer formed on the first substrate, a photoconductive layer formed on the electrode layer, a light absorbing layer formed on the photoconductive layer, a dielectric layer formed on the light absorbing layer, a second transparent substrate, a second transparent electrode layer formed on the second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer sealed between the second transparent electrode layer and the dielectric layer. The light absorbing layer is formed of a material having pigment dispersed in an organic material, so as to eliminate the necessity of patterning the light absorbing layer. The pigment may be a carbon black or an inorganic material in an acrylic resin, for example. The liquid crystal display element further includes a leveling layer formed on the light absorbing layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display element of optical writing type which includes a light absorbing layer formed of an organic material having pigment dispersed therein for the purpose of making the manufacturing process easier.
2. Description of the Related Arts
The present inventors know a liquid crystal display element of optical writing type which has the following arrangement. A first transparent electrode is formed on a first glass substrate. On this first transparent electrode, a photoconductive layer is formed of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). On this photoconductive layer, a light absorbing layer is formed of a patterned thin film of carbon or metal such as silver. On this light absorbing layer, a dielectric mirror is formed of multiple layered films of titanium dioxide/silicon dioxide, zinc sulfide/magnesium fluoride, for example. On this dielectric mirror, a first orientation film is formed of a polyimide film.
On the other hand, a second transparent electrode is formed on a second glass substrate. On this second transparent electrode, a second orientation film is formed. The first and second glass substrates, on which these films are thus formed, are attached to each other through a spacer, and a liquid crystal is disposed between the first and second orientation films, so as to seal the liquid crystal layer therebetween.
Then, a projection light, that is, a light for reading out an image written in the liquid crystal layer, is applied to the liquid crystal display element from the side of the second glass substrate. The dielectric mirror is provided for the purpose of reflecting the projection light toward the outside and, at the same time, preventing the projection light from entering the photoconductive layer by reflecting the projecting light with a high reflection coefficient. The light absorbing layers are provided for preventing the projecting light from being reflected toward the photoconductive layers again and, at the same time, screen the projection light transmitted through the dielectric mirror.
That is, the projection light passes through the liquid crystal and is reflected from the dielectric mirror to the outside. Since the dielectric mirror has a reflectivity of about 95%, however, about 5% of the projection light is transmitted through the dielectric mirror. When the light is incident to the overall surface of the photoconductive layer, the image data being written by a writing light is erased. To prevent such a disadvantage, the light absorbing layers are provided between the dielectric mirror and the photoconductive layer. The light incident on the liquid crystal display element normally has an intensity of about 1 W. On the other hand, if the photoconductive layer is formed of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), light having an intensity of several tens .mu. W or more may vary the conductivity of the photoconductive layer. To avoid the variation of the conductance, it is necessary to lower the intensity of the light incident on the photoconductive layer by four to five orders of magnitude through the effect of the dielectric mirror and the light absorbing layer.
One method for lowering the intensity is necessary to enhance the reflectivity of the dielectric mirror. For this purpose, however, the dielectric mirror needs to have more layers. This results in making the dielectric mirror thicker, thereby making it difficult to apply a sufficient voltage to the liquid crystal.
The known liquid crystal display element, therefore, includes (a) light absorbing layer formed of a thin film such as carbon or metal (e.g. silver) for the purpose of lowering the intensity of the incident light by four or more digits.
The light absorbing layer formed of a film such as carbon or metal (e.g. silver) has so high conductivity that the layer needs to be patterned. Patterning of the layer makes the manufacturing process more difficult for obtaining a high resolution. Moreover, the adhesion properties between the metal film such as carbon or silver and the hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) are not so good that the light absorbing layer may be more easily stripped off the photoconductive layer.

Liquid crystal display element of optical writing type with light absorbing layer including inorganic pigment and leveling layer


A hydrogen generation apparatus 200 includes: an evaporating part 7; a reforming reaction part 9A connected to the downstream side of the evaporating part; a carbon monoxide reducing part 20 provided downstream from the reforming reaction part; and a gas guiding part 21 disposed between the reforming reaction part and the carbon monoxide reducing part and configured to guide a gas that has passed through the reforming reaction part to the carbon monoxide reducing part. The evaporating part and the carbon monoxide reducing part are arranged to be adjacent to each other such that, at least, a part of the evaporating part and a part of the carbon monoxide reducing part are heat exchangeable with each other. The evaporating part is configured such that a heat exchange amount at a portion of the evaporating part, the portion corresponding to the carbon monoxide reducing part, is less than a heat exchange amount at a portion of the evaporating part, the portion not corresponding to the carbon monoxide reducing part.

In recent years, research and development on household fuel cell power generation systems are more accelerated, aiming at facilitating the spread of such fuel cell power generation systems and business creation in the industry.
One of the challenges to overcome in order to realize the above objective is to further improve the reliability of a fuel cell power generation system and its components. One of such components is, for example, a hydrogen generation apparatus. Accordingly, further improvement in the reliability of the hydrogen generation apparatus is also required.
For example, Patent Literature 1 indicated below discloses a hydrogen generation apparatus which is configured such that no great change in passage pressure loss occurs, and the configuration of the hydrogen generation apparatus is intended to allow water supply from a water supply device to be stabilized and thereby make it possible to generate hydrogen in a stable manner (see FIG. 1 of Patent Literature 1).

Hydrogen generation apparatus and fuel cell power generation system

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A speech recognition system and method are provided for the speech-controlled inputting of short messages into a telecommunications terminal, in particular a mobile phone or cordless phone, having a speech recognizer module which operates independently of the speaker, a text/phoneme converter module and/or an auxiliary speech recognition module which operates in a speaker-dependent fashion and has the purpose of converting the text inputs or text transfers into a phonetic script which is adapted to the speech recognition module, and a vocabulary control module for supplementing the vocabulary or for replacing elements of the vocabulary by words or phrases which have been input or transferred.

The present invention relates to a speech processing system and method that are specifically tailored for creating short messages in, or for, a telecommunications terminal.
The mobile radio standard GMS which is currently valid defines framework conditions for the transmission of text messages with a limited length (short messages) via the mobile radio networks, for which the designation SMS (Short Messaging Service) has become widespread, even in everyday life. SMS messages have become established in GSM networks as a communication tool for conveying short pieces of information. The present invention makes it easier to input SMS messages on mobile terminals.
Despite the wide variety of possible ways of transmitting SMS messages from the Internet or via call centers and in spite of the fact that they can be created more easily on PCs or laptops, the overwhelming majority of all SMS messages which are sent today are created directly on mobile terminals. These SMS messages have to be input in a relatively complicated way with the existing twelve-key keypad. Even commercially established methods for reducing the number of key-pressing operations, such as Tegic T9, only make the SMS inputting operation easier and quicker to a certain degree. In addition, the use of the T9 mode requires a certain routine when creating the SMS message.
The above mentioned inputting operation using a PC or mobile computer is significantly easier owing to the keypad which can be operated in a significantly better way, and basically highly developed speech-processing systems are also suitable for using computers to input short messages via the PC. All these possibilities are, however, linked to the availability of an appropriate computer with complete alphanumeric keypad or the hardware and software resources for advanced speech processing. These resources are available to a very small number of SMS users in typical application situations.
The present invention is, therefore, directed toward making available an improved system and method for inputting SMS messages directly at a (in particular mobile) telecommunications terminal.

Speech recognition system and method for operating same


Method of improving the crystallization rate and temperature of syndiotactic polypropylene by addition of at least one of polytetrafluoroethylene, sodium 2,2-methylene-bis-(4,6,di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphate)), pimellic acid, and calcium pimallate, and compositions and products made thereby.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of treating syndiotactic polypropylene, treated syndiotactic polypropylene, and to products made thereof. In another aspect, the present invention relates to methods of treating syndiotactic polypropylene to improve the crystallization rate and temperature, to syndiotactic polypropylene compositions having improved crystallization rate and temperature, and to products made thereof. In even another aspect, the present invention relates to methods of increasing the cell II (low melting form) structure content of syndiotactic polypropylene, to syndiotactic polypropylene compositions having increased content of cell II (low melting form) structure, and to products made thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Polypropylene has long been known to exist in several forms. Generally, isotactic propylene (iPP) can be described as having the methyl groups attached to the tertiary carbon atoms of successive monomeric units on the same side of a hypothetical plane through the polymer chain, whereas syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) may generally be described as having the methyl groups attached on alternating sides of the polymer chain.
More specifically, the isotactic structure is typically described as having the methyl groups attached to the tertiary carbon atoms of successive monomeric units on the same side of a hypothetical plane through the main chain of the polymer, e.g., the methyl groups are all above or all below the plane. Using the Fischer projection formula, the stereochemical sequence of isotactic polypropylene is described as follows: ##STR1##
Another way of describing the structure is through the use of NMR spectroscopy. Bovey's NMR nomenclature for an isotactic pentad is . . . mmmm . . . with each "m" representing a "meso" dyad or successive methyl groups on the same side in the plane. As known in the art, any deviation or inversion in the structure of the chain lowers the degree of isotacticity and crystallinity of the polymer.
Syndiotactic polymers, in contrast to the isotactic structure, are those in which the methyl groups attached to the tertiary carbon atoms of successive monomeric units in the chain lie on alternate sides of the plane of the polymer. Using the Fischer projection formula, the structure of a syndiotactic polymer is designated as: ##STR2##
In NMR nomenclature, this pentad is described as . . . rrrr . . . in which each "r" represents a "racemic" dyad, i.e., successive methyl group on alternate sides of the plane. The percentage of r dyads in the chain determines the degree of syndiotacticity of the polymer. Syndiotactic polymers are crystalline and, like the isotactic polymers, are insoluble in xylene. This crystallinity distinguishes both syndiotactic and isotactic polymers from an atactic polymer which is soluble in xylene. Atactic polymer exhibits no regular order of repeating unit configurations in the polymer chain and forms essentially a waxy product.
Clarity, toughness and elasticity are some of the extraordinary advantages offered by syndiotactic polypropylene over some other semi-crystalline polyolefins such as isotactic polypropylene.
However, the full potential of syndiotactic polypropylene, either in the unstabilized form or the stabilized form against degradation, cannot be realized due to problems associated with low crystallization rates and low crystallization temperatures.
While the heat of crystallization of a commercially produced isotactic polypropylene is about 100 Joules per gram, the heat of crystallization of syndiotactic polypropylene with greater than about 70 per cent racemic pentad, is only about 30 to about 50 Joules per gram. Thus, sPP retains less crystallinity than iPP. The crystallization rate of sPP is significantly slower than iPP. The sPP continues to crystallize even after pelletization during the continuous operation. Low crystallization temperatures (T.sub.c) also require cooling of injection molded parts or extruded films or sheets to much lower temperatures than needed, for example, for isotactic polypropylene. This results in slower production rates and increased energy costs.
In addition, syndiotactic polypropylene has been shown to exhibit polymorphism, as described, for example in A. J. Lovinger et al., "Morphology and Thermal Properties of Fully Snydiotactic Polypropylene", Macromolecules, 27, 6603-6611 (1994). X-ray diffraction data, electron diffraction data, and DSC ("Differential Scanning Calorimeter") curves, all have shown that the crystal structure of syndiotactic polypropylene may contain right handed helices along the "a" and "b" crystallographic axes, in which case the type of structure is denoted "cell I" type. A "cell II" (or low melting form) type structure contains anti-chiral helices along "a" crystallographic axis and chiral helices along "b" crystallographic axes. "Cell III" (or high melting form) type of syndiotactic polypropylene structure contains anti-chiral helices along both "a" and "b" crystallographic axes. Correlation of DSC melting peaks with the x-ray and electron diffraction results show that cell II (low melting form) type structure corresponds to the lower melting peak in DSC, whereas cell III (high melting form) type structure corresponds to the higher melting peak of syndiotactic polypropylene. In almost all cases, a non-nucleated and non-annealed sample of syndiotactic polypropylene shows the presence of two melting peaks by DSC. Without being limited by theory, it is believed that cell II (low melting form) type structure is kinetically controlled and is formed at rapid rates, whereas cell III (high melting form) type structure is the thermodynamically more stable structure and is formed more slowly. Cell III (high melting form) type structures have also been shown by Lovinger, in the aforementioned reference, to be prone to development of microcracks.
Finally, not only does syndiotactic polypropylene have crystallization temperatures and rates that could be improved, some common processing additives, such as calcium stearate, tend to reduce the crystallization rate even more.
Thus, in spite of the advancements in the prior art relating to syndiotactic polypropylene, there is a need for a method of improving the crystallization rate and temperature of syndiotactic polypropylene.
There is another need in the art for a syndiotactic polypropylene having improved crystallization rate and temperature of syndiotactic polypropylene.
There is even another need in the art for products made from syndiotactic polypropylene having improved crystallization rate and temperature of syndiotactic polypropylene.
There is still another need in the art for methods of increasing the cell II (low melting form) content and decreasing the cell III (high melting form) content of syndiotactic polypropylene, and for such polymers and products made therefrom.
These and other needs in the art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon review of this specification, including its drawings and claims.

Method of improving crystallization rate and temperature of syndiotactic polypropylene and compositions and products made therefrom


A specified transition metal compound having two transition metals and two cyclopentadiene type anion skeletons in its molecule and said metals are linked through an atom of Group XVI of the Periodic Table of the Elements, an olefin polymerization catalyst component comprising said transition metal compound, an olefin polymerization catalyst comprising said transition metal compound, a specific organoaluminum compound, and a specific boron compound, and a process for producing an olefin polymer using said olefin polymerization catalyst.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transition metal compound useful as an olefin polymerization catalyst component, an olefin polymerization catalyst using said transition metal compound and process for producing an olefin polymer using said olefin polymerization catalyst with a high activity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many processes for producing an olefin polymer with a metallocene complex have been already reported. For example a process for producing an olefin polymer with a metallocene complex and an aluminoxane is reported in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No.58-19306. The metallocene complex disclosed therein is a complex having only one transition metal atom in its molecule.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No.4-91095 to use a metallocene complex having a structure in which two transition metal atoms are contained in its molecule and two xcex75-cyclopentadienyl groups coordinate on each of the transition metal atoms, as an olefin polymerization catalyst component.
However, when these metallocene complexes having the structure in which two xcex75-cyclopentadienyl groups coordinate on one transition metal atom are used as the olefin polymerization catalyst component, there are problems that the molecular weight of an olefin polymer obtained is low and the comonomer reaction rate in copolymerization is low, and the more improvement of activity has been desired from an industrial viewpoint.
Although metallocene complexes in which two transition metal atoms are contained in its molecule and only one xcex75-cyclopentadienyl group coordinates on each of transition metal atom are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) Nos. 3-163088 and 3-188092, they are complexes having a peculiar structure in which excessive anionic ligands against the valence number of a transition metal atom are combined, and its polymerization activity is not confirmed.
Although a metallocene complex in which two transition metal atoms are contained in its molecule and only one xcex75-cyclopentadienyl group coordinates per one transition metal atom is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No.7-126315, it is a complex having a structure in which those two xcex75-cyclopentadienyl groups are linked, and there are problems in that the olefin polymerization catalyst using it as a catalyst component has low comonomer reaction rate in copolymerization and the melting point of a copolymer improvement of activity has been desired from an industrial viewpoint.
Under these situations, the objects of the present invention are to provide a transition metal compound useful as a highly active olefin polymerization catalyst component at an efficient reaction temperature in the industrial process of important olefin polymerization from an industrial view point, and to provide a highly active olefin polymerization catalyst using said transition metal compound and a process for producing an olefin polymer using said olefin polymerization catalyst.
In order to attain the above-mentioned objects, the present inventors have intensively studied a process for producing an olefin polymer using a metallocene transition metal compound, in particular, a mono cyclopentadienyl transition metal compound as one of catalyst components, and have thus completed the present invention.
The present invention relates to a transition metal compound represented by the general formula [I] or [II] described below, an olefin polymerization catalyst component comprising said transition metal compound, an olefin polymerization catalyst prepared by a process comprising contacting a transition metal compound selected from the group consisting of transition metal compounds represented by the general formulas [I] and [II], and [(B) described below and/or (C)] described below, and a process for producing an olefin polymer with said olefin polymerization catalyst.
(wherein M1 indicates a transition metal atom of the Group IV of the Periodic Table or the Elements; A indicates an atom of the Group XVI of the Periodic Table of the Elements; J indicates an atom of the Group XIV of the Periodic Table of the Elements; Cp1 indicates a group having a cyclopentadiene type anion skeleton; each of X1, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 independently indicates a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an aralkyl group, an aryl group, a substituted silyl group, an alkoxy group, an aralkyloxy group, an aryloxy group or a di-substituted amino group; X2 indicates an atom of Group XVI of the Periodic Table of the Elements; R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 may be optionally combined with each other to form a ring; and a plural number of M1, A, J, Cp1, X1, X2, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 may be respectively the same or different.)
(B) at least one aluminum compound selected from (B1) to (B3) described below:
(B1) an organoaluminum compound indicated by the general formula E1aAlZ3-a;
(B2) a cyclic aluminoxane having a structure indicated by the general formula {xe2x80x94Al(E2)xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94}b; and
(B3) a linear aluminoxane leaving a structure indicated by the general formula E3{xe2x80x94Al(E2)xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94}cAlE32 (wherein each of E1, E2 and E3 is a hydrocarbon group, and all of E2, all of E2 and all of E3 may be the sane or different; Z represents a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom; and all of Z may be the same or different; a represents a number satisfying an expression of 0 less than axe2x89xa63; b represents an integer of 2 or more; and c represents an integer of 1 or more).
(C) any one of boron compounds of (C1) to (C3) described below:
(C1) a boron compound represented by the general formula BQ1Q2Q3;
(C2) a boron compound represented by the general formula G+(BQ1Q2Q3Q4)xe2x88x92; and
(C3) a boron compound represented by the general formula (L-H)xe2x88x92(BQ1Q2Q3Q4)xe2x88x92 (wherein B is a boron atom in the trivalent valence state; Q1 to Q4 are a halogen atom, a hydrocarbon group, a halogenated hydrocarbon group, a substituted silyl group, an alkoxy group or a di substituted amino group which may be the same or different; G+ is an inorganic or organic cation; L is a neutral Lewis base; and (L H)+ is a Brnsted acid).

Transition metal compound, olefin polymerization catalyst component, olefin polymerization catalyst and process for producing olefin polymer


Methods and apparatuses for headbands and head-worn devices are described. In one example, a headband includes a lace. The headband includes a tightenable apparatus disposed along a length of an inner side of the headband, the tightenable apparatus coupled to the lace and arranged to tighten or relax responsive to control of the lace. The headband further includes a cushion arranged to contact a wearer head.

Head-worn devices such as headphones and headsets often utilize a headband which is worn over the user's head. The headband operates to support and position the earphones worn on the user's ears. Head-worn devices may be worn in a variety of contexts, including situations where the user is in movement. For example, head-worn devices may be worn in both active activities (e.g., working out at the gym) and leisure activities. Furthermore, head-worn devices may be worn for extended periods of time. For these reasons, fit, stability, and comfort are all critical design considerations.
In the prior art, head-worn devices are typically either designed for active activities or leisure activities, but not both. Problematically, headphones designed for leisure activities, while comfortable, may not provide sufficient stability for active use. Conversely, headphones designed for athletic activities, while providing stability, may not provide sufficient comfort for extended wear leisure activities. As a result, improved methods and apparatuses for headbands for head-worn devices are needed.

Head-worn device with adjustable headband clamp


A perceptual audio coder is disclosed for encoding audio signals, such as speech or music, with different spectral and temporal resolutions for redundancy reduction and irrelevancy reduction. The disclosed perceptual audio coder separates the psychoacoustic model (irrelevancy reduction) from the redundancy reduction, to the extent possible. The audio signal is initially spectrally shaped using a prefilter controlled by a psychoacoustic model. The prefilter output samples are thereafter quantized and coded to minimize the mean square error (MSE) across the spectrum. The disclosed perceptual audio coder can use fixed quantizer step-sizes, since spectral shaping is performed by the pre-filter prior to quantization and coding. The disclosed pre-filter and post-filter support the appropriate frequency dependent temporal and spectral resolution for irrelevancy reduction. A filter structure based on a frequency-warping technique is used that allows filter design based on a non-linear frequency scale. The characteristics of the pre-filter may be adapted to the masked thresholds (as generated by the psychoacoustic model), using techniques known from speech coding, where linear-predictive coefficient (LPC) filter parameters are used to model the spectral envelope of the speech signal. Likewise, the filter coefficients may be efficiently transmitted to the decoder for use by the post-filter using well-established techniques from speech coding, such as an LSP (line spectral pairs) representation, temporal interpolation, or vector quantization.

Perceptual audio coders (PAC) attempt to minimize the bit rate requirements for the storage or transmission (or both) of digital audio data by the application of sophisticated hearing models and signal processing techniques. Perceptual audio coders (PAC) are described, for example, in D. Sinha et al., "The Perceptual Audio Coder," Digital Audio, Section 42, 42-1 to 42-18, (CRC Press, 1998), incorporated by reference herein. In the absence of channel errors, a PAC is able to achieve near stereo compact disk (CD) audio quality at a rate of approximately 128 kbps. At a lower rate of 96 kbps, the resulting quality is still fairly close to that of CD audio for many important types of audio material.
Perceptual audio coders reduce the amount of information needed to represent an audio signal by exploiting human perception and minimizing the perceived distortion for a given bit rate. Perceptual audio coders first apply a time-frequency transform, which provides a compact representation, followed by quantization of the spectral coefficients. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional perceptual audio coder 100. As shown in FIG. 1, a typical perceptual audio coder 100 includes an analysis filterbank 110, a perceptual model 120, a quantization and coding block 130 and a bitstream encoder/multiplexer 140.
The analysis filterbank 110 converts the input samples into a sub-sampled spectral representation. The perceptual model 120 estimates the masked threshold of the signal. For each spectral coefficient, the masked threshold gives the maximum coding error that can be introduced into the audio signal while still maintaining perceptually transparent signal quality. The quantization and coding block 130 quantizes and codes the prefilter output samples according to the precision corresponding to the masked threshold estimate. Thus, the quantization noise is hidden by the respective transmitted signal. Finally, the coded prefilter output samples and additional side information are packed into a bitstream and transmitted to the decoder by the bitstream encoder/multiplexer 140.
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional perceptual audio decoder 200. As shown in FIG. 2, the perceptual audio decoder 200 includes a bitstream decoder/demultiplexer 210, a decoding and inverse quantization block 220 and a synthesis filterbank 230. The bitstream decoder/demultiplexer 210 parses and decodes the bitstream yielding the coded prefilter output samples and the side information. The decoding and inverse quantization block 220 performs the decoding and inverse quantization of the quantized prefilter output samples. The synthesis filterbank 230 transforms the prefilter output samples back into the time-domain.
Generally, the amount of information needed to represent an audio signal is reduced using two well-known techniques, namely, irrelevancy reduction and redundancy removal. Irrelevancy reduction techniques attempt to remove those portions of the audio signal that would be, when decoded, perceptually irrelevant to a listener. This general concept is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,457, entitled "Perceptual Coding of Audio Signals," by J. L. Hall and J. D. Johnston, issued on Aug. 23, 1994, incorporated by reference herein.
Currently, most audio transform coding schemes implemented by the analysis filterbank 110 to convert the input samples into a sub-sampled spectral representation employ a single spectral decomposition for both irrelevancy reduction and redundancy reduction. The redundancy reduction is obtained by dynamically controlling the quantizers in the quantization and coding block 130 for the individual spectral components according to perceptual criteria contained in the psychoacoustic model 120. This results in a temporally and spectrally shaped quantization error after the inverse transform at the receiver 200. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the psychoacoustic model 120 controls the quantizers 130 for the spectral components and the corresponding dequantizer 220 in the decoder 200. Thus, the dynamic quantizer control information needs to be transmitted by the perceptual audio coder 100 as part of the side information, in addition to the quantized spectral components.
The redundancy reduction is based on the decorrelating property of the transform. For audio signals with high temporal correlations, this property leads to a concentration of the signal energy in a relatively low number of spectral components, thereby reducing the amount of information to be transmitted. By applying appropriate coding techniques, such as adaptive Huffman coding, this leads to a very efficient signal representation.
One problem encountered in audio transform coding schemes is the selection of the optimum transform length. The optimum transform length is directly related to the frequency resolution. For relatively stationary signals, a long transform with a high frequency resolution is desirable, thereby allowing for accurate shaping of the quantization error spectrum and providing a high redundancy reduction. For transients in the audio signal, however, a shorter transform has advantages due to its higher temporal resolution. This is mainly necessary to avoid temporal spreading of quantization errors that may lead to echoes in the decoded signal.
As shown in FIG. 1, however, conventional perceptual audio coders 100 typically use a single spectral decomposition for both irrelevancy reduction and redundancy reduction. Thus, the spectral/temporal resolution for the redundancy reduction and irrelevancy reduction must be the same. While high spectral resolution yields a high degree of redundancy reduction, the resulting long transform window size causes reverbation artifacts, impairing the irrelevancy reduction. A need therefore exists for methods and apparatus for encoding audio signals that permit independent selection of spectral and temporal resolutions for the redundancy reduction and irrelevancy reduction. A further need exists for methods and apparatus for encoding speech as well as music signals using a psychoacoustic model (a noise-shaping filter) and a transform.

Perceptual coding of audio signals using separated irrelevancy reduction and redundancy reduction


An improved ware plate useful for materials feeder equipment, and the like, includes highly efficient, durable and wear and abrasion resistant sliding surface for slidably contacting elements of the feeder equipment. In particular, the ware plate has a tetragonal zirconia polycrystal ceramic sliding surface for contacting an element of the feeder equipment having a zirconia-alumina ceramic composite sliding surface. Alternatively, the sliding surface of the ware plate is zirconia-alumina ceramic composite for sliding contact with the element of the feeder equipment having a tetragonal zirconia polycrystal ceramic sliding surface.

Material feeder devices are widely used in many industries to transport particles such as powders, pellets, medicaments, metals, and the like. In compression molding operations, efficient filling of the molds with materials in the powder form as a significant bearing in determining the unit manufacturing cost (UMC). Feeder boxes are used to carry loose powder to the top of the die where it shakes dropping powder into the die cavity. The die cavity is located underneath the die clamp ring or the die retaining ring. The die cavity is filled by the shaking motion of the feeder box which is connected to a hydraulic actuated cylinder. The feeder box slides on a flat surface called "ware plate" in a reciprocating motion. The time interval between the two extreme locations of the feeder box, when the compacting of the powders in the die cavity is effected. The top surfaces of the ware plate, the die retaining ring and the bottom surface of the feeder box need to be at the same level for the smooth operation of the powder filling mechanism. When the die cavity is filled with powder, it is compressed by the action of punches making a "green part". The proper filling of the die cavity depends, among several other factors, on the sliding motion of the bottom of the feeder box on a plate normally known as feeder box ware plate and also on the die clamp (or retaining) ring. If there is a misalignment of the feeder box with respect to the ware plate and also with respect to the die clamp (or retaining) ring or if there is a slight gap between those components, excessive powder loss results. This problem is magnified if the powder particles are very fine (submicron) or are very hard. In such cases, the jamming of the feeder box (in worst case, breakage of the feeder box or ware plate or die clamp ring) can lead to interruption of the manufacturing process and a higher UMC for the part.
Misalignment of the feeder box with respect to the ware plate and/or with respect to die clamp ring can occur due to gouging of one of the surfaces, which is a common occurrence in industrial compression molding machines where the box and the plate and also the clamp ring are usually made of steels. Repeated sliding of two surfaces of metal parts, as in this specific case of surfaces of feeder box and the ware plate (or die clamp ring), usually leads to excessive wear and abrasion of those surfaces leading to the loss of materials, contaminating the powder feed, and also creating a gap between the box and the plate and also between the feeder box and the die clamp ring. This gap between the feeder box and the ware plate and also between the feeder box and the die clamp ring leads to the loss of powder, and in some cases jamming of the feeder mechanism. Normally, the machine components will begin to show signs of wear at about 5000 cycles of operation. At about one million cycle, the feeder plate will have to be replaced, if not sooner. Powdered material will start leaking out from under the feeder box and falling on the rest of the movable components of the machine making maintenance a large problem. Also, the motion of the feeder box will become agitated and impede the free flowing motion of powder during die filling.
In order to overcome the aforementioned problems one needs to search for the right material. Experience indicates that ytrria-doped tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) ceramic materials offer many advantages over conventional materials, including many other ceramics. Y-TZP is one of the toughest ceramics. The toughness is achieved at the expense of hardness and strength. Tetragonal zirconia alloy-alumina composite, that is, the product of sintering a particulate mixture of zirconia alloy and alumina, is another tough and relatively soft structural ceramic composite. Y-TZP ceramic and zirconia-alumina composites have tribological properties that are not as attractive as other high performance structural ceramics like SiC and Si.sub.3 N.sub.4. However, most of the conventional high performance ceramics are extremely brittle. An example of a material having good hardness and strength is monolithic cubic spinel, however, this material is also highly brittle and is unusable for structural applications.
It is further known that a powder feed assemblage having a feeder box surface, particularly the lower surface of the box in sliding contact with a ware plate surface and die clamp ring has a longer service life and better performance if made with a relatively hard material having high fracture toughness and the mating surfaces have low coefficient friction.
An alternative approach is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,913, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. In that approach, a tetragonal zirconia alloy article, which can be near net-shape, is compacted and then sintered in the presence of an MgO, CaO, Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, Sc.sub.2 O.sub.3, Ce.sub.2 O.sub.3, or other rare earth oxide dopant to produce an article having a tetragonal core and a cubic case. The dopant can be provided in a number of different forms such as a solid plate, a powder, or a layer produced by decomposition of an organo-metallic precursor film. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/994,820, now abandoned in favor of continuation-in-part application Ser. No. 08/231,870, filed Apr. 25, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,677,072 a method is described for producing articles having a tetragonal zirconia alloy core and a monoclinic case. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/994,818, now abandoned in favor of a Continuation-in-Part Application U.S. Ser. No. 08/400,416, now abandoned hereby incorporated by reference, a method is described for producing articles having a tetragonal zirconia alloy and .alpha.-alumina (alpha-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) core and a case of tetragonal zirconia and cubic spinel. In the core and the case the predominant species is tetragonal zirconia. The application also teaches a method for producing articles having a core that is tetragonal zirconia alloy along with less than about 5 weight percent alumina and having a case that is cubic phase zirconia and cubic spinel (MgAl.sub.2 O.sub.4). The .alpha.-alumina is about as hard as cubic zirconia. These types of ceramics with composite structures with varying degrees of physical and mechanical properties are termed as "functionally gradient ceramics". In functionally gradient ceramics, where the core and shell of the ceramic bodies having different crystal structures hereby disclosed in above-referenced U.S. Patents and U.S. Patent Applications.
As will be more completely disclosed, the method of our invention applies to a ware plate useful for powder feeder assemblages.
Therefore, a need persists for an improved ceramic ware plate method of making same such that the ware plate has superior wear and abrasion resistance while being cost effective and easy to manufacture.

Ceramic ware plate useful for materials processing equipment


An outrigger securing assembly for use on a fishing vessel. The securing assembling includes an automatic locking member that is secured to a structural member of the vessel and is capable of latching or releasing a latch member that is secured to an outrigger mast. The automatic locking member is equipped with a latching actuator that can release the latch member. The latching actuator can be operated either manually or hydraulically from a control device removed from the automatic locking member.

Outriggers for use in fishing have been well received on sport fishing and open fishing vessels. Deployed outriggers allow a vessel to position bait over a wide area behind the vessel as the fishing vessel is driven slowly, commonly referred to as trolling. Trolling with outriggers permit a fishing vessel to cover a large area of water so as to increase the opportunity for catching fish. The quantity and spacing of bait placed behind the vessel is generally proportional to the size of the vessel, the use of large outriggers maximize the benefit. Outriggers must be properly secured when traversing rolling seas to prevent accidental deployment. Larger outriggers necessitate the need for stronger locking and safer release systems.
If the bait is properly placed, the wake of the vessel can be made to appear like a school of fish. Bait that can be made to appear to be struggling or separated from the school is most attractive to predator fish.
Positioning of bait behind a vessel would be limited but for the use of outriggers. Most fishing boats have a beam of less than fifteen feet wherein trolling with more than couple of fishing lines provides very little distance between the baited hooks and limits the ability to place bait outside of the boat wake. In addition, more than two lines behind a vessel severely limits the vessels ability to maneuver as even a gradual turn may cause bait lines to cross and become entangled. Likewise, closely positioned baits may become entangled as the fish is reeled into the vessel.
Thus, the use of outriggers provides a means for effectively increasing the spacing of the bait, as well as adding additional bait lines without increasing the possibility entangling these lines while landing a fish. An outrigger is basically a long pole having a proximal end attached to the vessel and a distal end that can be moved from a stowage position adjacent the vessel to a deployed position away from the vessel to a trolling position. A positioning line is drawn along the length of the outrigger pole wherein release clips secured to the positioning line are used to secure the fishing pole line to a desired location. When a fish strikes the bait, the release clip disengages the fishing line from the positioning line, and the fisherman is free to reel in the fish without interference. The proper placement of the outrigger pole and fishing line increase the chances of fish being drawn to the bait.
For example, by use of two fifteen foot outriggers, a vessel with a ten foot beam may extend the distances between bait, effectively covering a thirty foot spread behind the vessel. However, having outrigger poles extend from each side of a vessel during non-fishing time has obvious drawbacks. Typically outriggers are deployed only when fishing or trolling at relatively slow speeds such as five knots or less. For this reason, outriggers must be stowable to allow for normal cruising and docking such that the vessel will not interfere with marine navigation. The outriggers are typically stowed within the vertical plane of the vessel, which is defined by the side walls of the vessel. While stowed, the outriggers will not obstruct or interfere with other vessels or any other fixed objects in the path of the vessel. In operation, the outrigger is swung laterally outward to a deployed position for fishing purposes. In addition, when a vessel is placed in an ocean environment it is not uncommon for the vessel to be subjected to large seas wherein the outrigger and its mounting structure is subjected to large twisting forces.
For the aforementioned reasons it is therefore desirable to provide the vessel with a device capable of quickly securing and deploying the outriggers. The device will enable the vessel's captain or crew to quickly and easily release the outriggers from a stowed position to a deployed position wherein the outriggers are positioned away from the vessel. Likewise, it is also desirable to provide the vessel with a device that can also quickly, safely and easily stow and secure the outriggers on board the vessel when they are not in use.

Hydraulic operated locking and release actuator for use with fishing outriggers


Disclosed are a color filter including a wavelength conversion layer which converts the wavelength of light, a light transmission layer formed on the wavelength conversion layer, and a wavelength filter layer formed on the light transmission layer, and an image display device. The light transmission layer transmits a light moving between the wavelength conversion layer and the wavelength filter layer and blocks the flow of outgas. The color filter includes the light transmission layer which transmits a light moving between the wavelength conversion layer and the wavelength filter layer and blocks the flow of outgas, thereby capable of achieving high color reproductivity while having excellent light-emitting efficiency and light retention rate.

Recently, as one of the methods for achieving a color filter, a pigment dispersion method using a pigment dispersion type photosensitive resin is applied. However, in a process where light irradiated from a light source is transmitted through a color filter, there arise problems that a part of the light is absorbed by the color filter, resulting in the deterioration of light efficiency, and the color reproduction decreases due to the properties of the pigment contained in the color filter.
As an alternative to resolve these problems, there has been proposed a color filter using a photosensitive resin composition containing a quantum dot. For example, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-0036373 discloses that when a conventional color filter is replaced by a light-emitting layer consisting of quantum dot phosphors, it can improve a light-emitting efficiency, thereby improving a display quality.
As such, when the quantum dots are used as light-emitting materials for a color filter, a light emission waveform can be narrowed, and also it can have high color reproduction capacity which cannot be achieved in a pigment and have excellent brightness properties. However, an image display device having a quantum dot color filter uses a blue light as a light source, and the blue light used herein is mixed with a self-emission light of red, green and blue pixel layers. Thus, there is no problem in the case of the blue pixel layer, but pure red and green may not be easily emitted in the case of the red and green pixel layers. For example, in the case of the green pixel layer, a light emission peak appears at 500 to 550 nm by the quantum dots, but when a blue light is used, a peak appears at 380 to 400 nm simultaneously by the blue light, resulting in the deterioration of color purity of a color filter. Therefore, there is a disadvantage in that the image quality is deteriorated due to the limitation in displaying a desired color in a reproductive way.
In addition, the quantum dots are influenced by a post-bake process carried out at high temperature for the production of a color filter, resulting in the deterioration of light-emitting efficiency and light retention rate. Thus, there is a need to develop a method capable of inhibiting the occurrence of such a problem.


In one embodiment, a method of forming a semiconductor device may include extending a gate conductor of a transistor to overlie a boundary of a well region in which the transistor is formed. The gate conductor may extend to make electrical contact with a gate conductor of a 2nd transistor that is formed external to the well region. A contact conductor may be applied to electrically and physically contact the first and 2nd gate conductors and to also overlie the boundary of the well region.

The present invention relates, in general, to electronics, and more particularly, to semiconductors, structures thereof, and methods of forming semiconductor devices.
In the past, the semiconductor industry utilized various methods and structures to form static random access memories (SRAMs). One common type of SRAM cell utilized six interconnected transistors and is often referred to as a 6T SRAM cell. Under some circumstances, a gate connection of one of the transistors of the 6T SRAM cell could be disconnected and the disconnection could not be detected during normal and initial testing of the memory that included the defective cell. This type of defect often was only detected after the memory had been in use for a longer period of time. Such defects often resulted in time-consuming and expensive product returns and replacements.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an SRAM cell that minimizes such defects.
For simplicity and clarity of the illustration(s), elements in the figures are not necessarily to scale, some of the elements may be exaggerated for illustrative purposes, and the same reference numbers in different figures denote the same elements, unless stated otherwise. Additionally, descriptions and details of well-known steps and elements may be omitted for simplicity of the description. As used herein current carrying element or current carrying electrode means an element of a device that carries current through the device such as a source or a drain of an MOS transistor or an emitter or a collector of a bipolar transistor or a cathode or anode of a diode, and a control element or control electrode means an element of the device that controls current through the device such as a gate of an MOS transistor or a base of a bipolar transistor. Additionally, one current carrying element may carry current in one direction through a device, such as carry current entering the device, and a second current carrying element may carry current in an opposite direction through the device, such as carry current leaving the device. Although the devices may be explained herein as certain N-channel or P-channel devices, or certain N-type or P-type doped regions, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that complementary devices are also possible in accordance with the present invention. One of ordinary skill in the art understands that the conductivity type refers to the mechanism through which conduction occurs such as through conduction of holes or electrons, therefore, that conductivity type does not refer to the doping concentration but the doping type, such as P-type or N-type. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the words during, while, and when as used herein relating to circuit operation are not exact terms that mean an action takes place instantly upon an initiating action but that there may be some small but reasonable delay(s), such as various propagation delays, between the reaction that is initiated by the initial action. Additionally, the term while means that a certain action occurs at least within some portion of a duration of the initiating action. The use of the word approximately or substantially means that a value of an element has a parameter that is expected to be close to a stated value or position. However, as is well known in the art there are always minor variances that prevent the values or positions from being exactly as stated. It is well established in the art that variances of up to at least ten percent (10%) (and up to twenty percent (20%) for some elements including semiconductor doping concentrations) are reasonable variances from the ideal goal of exactly as described. When used in reference to a state of a signal, the term "asserted" means an active state of the signal and the term "negated" means an inactive state of the signal. The actual voltage value or logic state (such as a "1" or a "0") of the signal depends on whether positive or negative logic is used. Thus, asserted can be either a high voltage or a high logic or a low voltage or low logic depending on whether positive or negative logic is used and negated may be either a low voltage or low state or a high voltage or high logic depending on whether positive or negative logic is used. Herein, a positive logic convention is used, but those skilled in the art understand that a negative logic convention could also be used. The terms first, second, third and the like in the claims or/and in the Detailed Description of the Drawings, as used in a portion of a name of an element are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or illustrated herein. Reference to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but in some cases it may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, in one or more embodiments. For clarity of the drawings, doped regions of device structures are illustrated as having generally straight line edges and precise angular corners. However, those skilled in the art understand that due to the diffusion and activation of dopants the edges of doped regions generally may not be straight lines and the corners may not be precise angles.
In addition, the description illustrates a cellular design (where the body regions are a plurality of cellular regions) instead of a single body design (where the body region is comprised of a single region formed in an elongated pattern, typically in a serpentine pattern). However, it is intended that the description is applicable to both a cellular implementation and a single base implementation.
The embodiments illustrated and described hereinafter suitably may have embodiments and/or may be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein.

Method of forming a semiconductor device

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC