Methods and materials for expressing and assaying functional neuronal receptors in neuronal cells, including methods for detecting particular odorant ligand specificity for particular odorant receptors and methods of using such. For example, methods and materials are provided for assaying for functional odor receptors in intact nasal epithelium of mammals such as rats and mice and for using such.

Olfactory transduction begins with the binding of an odorant ligand to a protein receptor on the olfactory neuron cell surface, thus initiating a cascade of enzymatic reactions that results in the production of a second messenger and the eventual depolarization of the cell membrane (1,2). This relatively straightforward and common signalling motif is complicated by the fact that there are several thousand odorants, mostly low molecular weight organic molecules, and nearly one thousand different receptors (3,4). The receptors are members of the superfamily of membrane receptors characterized structurally by possessing seven transmembrane spanning helices, and functionally by being coupled to GTP-binding proteins. Other members of this superfamily recognize diverse ligands from peptides to biogenic amine neurotransmitters, hormones, drugs, and other organic compounds. The odorant receptor sub-family is the largest sub-family of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) but remains in some ways the most enigmatic since no particular receptor has been definitively paired with any ligand. Strictly speaking vertebrate odorant receptors are classified as "orphan" receptors--receptors with no identified ligand (5,6).
This situation is especially problematic for understanding coding in the olfactory system and appreciating the nature of the neural image passed to the brain by the peripheral transducing cells (7). Current models of olfactory processing have been driven largely by genetic data based on the now well described patterns of receptor gene expression (8,9). Receptors can be grouped into sub-families based on sequence similarities, and subfamilies of receptors are known to be expressed within one of four restricted topographic zones in the nasal epithelium, although within these general zones expression patterns appear to be random (10,11). Further, all neurons expressing a particular receptor gene converge to a restricted target in the olfactory bulb (12, 13). However, olfactory neurons typically generate physiological responses to multiple odorants (14, 15) and if, as most evidence indicates, each cell expresses only one type of receptor (11, 16), then the receptors must be able to bind a variety of molecules. Thus, while it may be attractive to hypothesize that the genetic categorization of receptor sequences reflects systematic differences in ligand specificities, and that genetic expression patterns underlie a spatial map for odorant sensitivity, experimental validation of these ideas requires knowing the correlation between receptor gene sequence and the encoded receptor protein's binding specificities, i.e. its receptive field.
Further progress in this area has been limited by the absence of a reliable and efficient system for expressing and assaying cloned odorant receptors. There appear to be two main obstacles to obtaining odorant receptor expression in a heterologous system. For one, expressed receptors must be properly targeted to, and inserted in, the plasma membrane, a process that may require specialized cellular machinery not available in heterologous cell culture expression systems. Secondly, even properly inserted receptors must couple to a second messenger system in order to produce a response that can be assayed (17). Olfactory specific isoforms of second messenger enzymes have been identified in olfactory neurons (2), raising the possibility that receptor-effector coupling may be highly specific, and that endogenous G-proteins in heterologous cell systems may be unable to produce a powerful enough response to be measured reliably.
In order to circumvent these two potential difficulties we have adopted an alternative strategy for odorant receptor expression. On the assumption that olfactory neurons themselves would be the most capable cells for expressing, targeting and coupling odorant receptors, we used the nasal epithelium as an expression system, driving expression of a particular receptor by including it in a recombinant adenovirus (Adv) and infecting rat nasal epithelia in vivo. Adenovirus vectors have been developed as a tool for efficient gene transfer in mammalian cells (18) and have shown promise in a variety of experimental and clinical applications (19-23). Here we show that this system effectively expresses a foreign odorant receptor gene that can be conveniently assayed for specific ligand activation by physiological methods. Additionally we have been able to identify a set of ligands that activate a particular receptor. This invention provides conclusive evidence that the putative odorant receptor genes cloned several years ago do indeed encode odorant receptors and, for the first time in a vertebrate, pairs a particular receptor of known amino acid sequence with a specific set of odorant ligands.

Functional expression of, and assay for, functional cellular receptors in vivo


The present invention generally relates to a method of manufacturing a TFT. The TFT has an active channel that comprises IGZO or zinc oxide. After the source and drain electrodes are formed, but before the passivation layers or etch stop layers are deposited thereover, the active channel is exposed to an N2O or O2 plasma. The interface between the active channel and the passivation layers or etch stop layers are either altered or damaged during formation of the source and drain electrodes. The N2O or O2 plasma alters and repairs the interface between the active channel and the passivation or etch stop layers.

Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor (TFT).
Description of the Related Art
TFTs are used as switching and driving devices in almost all integrated circuits (IC). Additionally, TFTs are utilized in the flat panel display (FPD) industry to control pixels. For many years, the primary material for TFT fabrication has been silicon. Silicon may be used for the active layer within the TFT and may be doped as desired to make the TFT function accordingly. Silicon does have its limitations. For one, silicon is not transparent. More and more companies are striving to develop transparent TFTs.
One of the materials thought to be beneficial for transparent TFTs is indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO). Another material thought to be beneficial for transparent TFTs is zinc oxide. There is a need in the art for a method to fabricate TFTs utilizing IGZO and/or zinc oxide.

Method of IGZO and ZNO TFT fabrication with PECVD SiO


The invention relates to azeotropic and azeotrope-like mixtures of HFC-32, HCl, and Cl2, and processes for separating the azeotrope-like mixtures of HFC-32 and HCL and HFC-32, HCL and Cl2.

Many techniques are known for the production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and in particular difluoromethane (HFC-32). Certain prior methods involve fluorinating one or more chlorinated organic compounds to produce difluoromethane. The reaction product stream typically also contains byproducts and one or more unreacted starting materials. The desired difluoromethane is then recovered from the reaction product stream through one or more separation processes, such as distillation. For example, in certain difluoromethane production processes, a chlorinated organic compound, such as, for example, dichloromethane (HCC-30), and a fluorinating agent, such as, for example, hydrogen fluoride (HF), are reacted, usually after preheating, in the presence of a fluorination catalyst to generate a reaction product stream.
Distillation is well known in the art for separating the components of such reaction product streams and typically involves the use of distillation means, such as a packed column or one with trays, operated at pressures and temperatures selected to separate the reaction product stream into a stream relatively rich in the desired compound and stream relatively rich in compounds that are not desired in the finished product, such as unreacted components and unwanted byproducts. However, standard distillation techniques are generally ineffective to separate the components of azeotropic mixtures. Azeotropic binary compositions consisting of HFC-32 and chlorine are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,694, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and which is incorporated herein by reference.
The desirability of a fluorination process is generally linked to the yield and product purity resulting from the process. For example, if the desired product is the difluoromethane, the amount of such product which is recovered from the reaction product should ordinarily be as high as possible, and the type and amount of impurities contained in the final product stream should be as low as possible. While prior processes have achieved a certain level of success as measured by yield and product purity, applicants have discovered that that certain features of the prior art may raise barriers against continuing improvement of product yield and purity.

Azeotrope-like compositions of difluoromethane


A compound represented by the following formula (1) or a salt thereof:

Movements of cells includes contraction, migration, release, aggregation and the like, and phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chain is important for these cell movements. The myosin regulatory light chain is a subunit having a molecular weight of 20 kDa and constituting myosin, which exists in smooth muscle cells and various non-muscle cells such as neutrophils, leukocytes, platelets and nerve cells of warm-blooded animals (Barany, K., et al., Biochemistry of Smooth Muscle Contraction, pp. 21–35, 1996). Myosin existing in smooth muscle cells and various non-muscle cells such as neutrophils, leukocytes, platelets and nerve cells of warm-blooded animals is constituted by a myosin heavy chain subunit having a molecular weight of about 200 kDa, the myosin regulatory light chain subunit having a molecular weight of about 20 kDa, and a myosin constitutive light chain subunit having a molecular weight of about 17 kDa. The myosin regulatory light chain is mainly phosphorylated by the myosin light chain kinase to increase the activity of myosin ATPase existing in the myosin heavy chain subunit (Barany, M., et al., Biochemistry of Smooth Muscle Contraction, pp. 321–339, 1996). It is known that the activated myosin having the increased ATPase activity becomes possible to interact with actin and activates movement apparatuses of cytoskeleton to activate cell movements.
That is, it is known that activation of myosin relates to cell contraction (Kamm, K., et al., Annu. Rev. Physiol., 51, pp. 299–313, 1989). It is also known that activation of myosin relates to change of cell morphology (Schmidt, J. T. et al., J, Neurobiol., 52 (3), pp. 175–188, 2002). It is known that activation of myosin relates to cell migration (Niggli, V., FEBS Lett., 445, pp. 69–72, 1999), and it is also known that activation of myosin relates to cell release (Kitani, S., et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 183, pp. 48–54, 1992). It is further known that activation of myosin relates to cell aggregation (Itoh, K., et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta., 1136, pp. 52–56, 1992), and it is also known that activation of myosin relates to cell apoptosis (Mills, J. C. et al., J. Cell Biol., Vol. 140, No. 3, pp. 627–636, 1998).
Based on these findings, it is considered that an agent which inhibits the phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chain suppresses cell contraction, regulates change of cell morphology, suppresses cell migration, suppresses cell release, suppresses cell aggregation and suppresses cell apoptosis.
Cell contraction is deeply involved in diseases relating to contraction of various smooth muscle layers. Examples of such diseases include, for example, hypertension (A. P. Samlyo et al., Rev. Physiol. Biochem. Pharmacol., Vol. 134, pp. 209–34, 1999), angina pectoris (Shimokawa et al., Cardiovasc. Res., Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 1029–39, 1999; Satoh, H., et al., Jpn. J. Pharmacol., 79 (suppl.), p. 211, 1999), cerebral vascular spasm (M. Satoh et al., the 57th General Meeting of Japan Neurosurgical Society, Collection of Abstracts, 153, 1998; N. Ono et al., Pharmacol. Ther., Vol. 82, No. 2–3, pp. 123–31, 1991; Shimokawa et al., Cardiovasc. Res., Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 1029–39, 1999), erectile dysfunction (Andersson, K E. et al., World J. Vrol., 15, pp. 14–20, 1997), bronchial asthma (K. Iidzuka, Allergy, 47, 943, 1998; K. Iidzuka et al., Jpn. J. Respirology Society, 37, 196, 1999) and the like.
Change of cell morphology is deeply involved in diseases relating to morphological change of various cells. Examples of the diseases relating to change of cell morphology include, for example, various nerve dysfunctions as those relating to nerve cells. As the nerve dysfunctions, for example, neural damages caused by trauma, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and diabetic retinopathy and the like can be exemplified (Arakawa, Y., et al., BIO Clinica, 17 (13), pp. 26–28, 2002).
Cell migration is deeply involved in diseases relating to migration of various cells. Examples of such diseases include, for example, cancer invasion and metastasis (Itoh, K. et al., Nat. Med., Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 221–5, 1999; Keely, P. et al., Trends Cell Biol., Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 101–6, 1998), nephritis (Fujimoto, O. et al., Journal of Japanese Society of Internal Medicine, 88 (1), pp. 148–58, 1998) and the like.
Furthermore, it is considered that cell release is deeply involved in various allergies and the like (Keane-Myers A. et al., Curr. Allergy Asthma Rep., 1(6):550–557, 2001), and cell aggregation is considered to be deeply involved in thrombosis and the like (Nakai, K. et al., Blood, Vol. 90, No. 10, pp. 3736–42, 1997). Further, it is known that cell apoptosis is involved in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, viral diseases, hepatic diseases and the like (Thompson, C. B., Science, Vol. 267, pp. 1456–1462, 1995).
Based on these findings, it is considered that the inhibitor of the phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain of the present invention, which is an agent inhibiting the phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chain, is useful as an active ingredient of a medicament for prophylactic and/or therapeutic treatment of a disease relating to cell contraction, disease relating to change of cell morphology, disease relating to cell migration, disease relating to cell release, disease relating to cell aggregation, and/or disease relating to cell apoptosis.
It has been reported that 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7), which is an isoquinoline derivative, inhibits phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chain of mesenteric artery (Suzuki, A. et al., Br. J. Pharmacol., 109, pp. 703–712, 1993), iris smooth muscle cell (Howe, P. H. et al., Biochem J., 255, pp. 423–429, 1988), and astrocyte (Mobley P. L., et al., Exp. Cell Res., 214, pp. 55–66, 1994).

Abstract: wherein R1 represents hydrogen atom, a halogen atom and the like; R2 represents hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a C1-6 alkyl group and the like; and R3 represents —O—X—C(A1)(A11)-C(A2)(A21)-N(A31)(A3) (X represents propylene group etc., A11 and A21 represent hydrogen atom, or a C1-6 alkyl group, A31 represents a C1-6 alkyl group substituted with hydroxyl group, or hydrogen atom, and A1, A2, and A3 represent hydrogen atom, a C1-6 alkyl group and the like) and the like, which has an inhibitory activity on the phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain, and is useful for treatment of diseases relating to contraction of various cells and the like.


Disclosed herein are methods for applying crystalline materials to a substrate by applying a cation and an anion and crystallizing at least a portion of the reaction product of the cation and the anion. The application of at least one of the cation or the anion is actively controlled such that it is applied in a patternwise or blanketwise fashion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to deposition and crystallization of materials onto a substrate.
2. Background Information
Crystallized materials have possible applications when applied to substrates. For many applications, the crystallized materials may need to be manufactured into layers or films on substrates. The quality of the crystallized material (i.e., level of crystallization, uniformity, thickness, continuity (number of defects) and other such properties) may affect the performance of the crystallized material and/or the substrate. In addition, some of these properties may be enhanced when the films are thin.
The technique or fabrication method used in preparing a crystallized compound layer or film may be selected based on a tradeoff of certain properties. For example, some fabrication methods may be suitable for producing very thin crystallized material films, but with low uniformity. Other processes may provide better uniformity, but may not be capable of achieving very thin films, and still other processes may require high temperatures to crystallize the film material, limiting the substrates which may be used.
Additionally, it may also be desirable for crystallized material to be distributed patternwise on a substrate. Applying crystalline material patternwise to a substrate may require aggressive methods of treatment. Those aggressive methods may include material deposition on the entire substrate followed by selective etching. This selective etching may adversely affect other components of the system. Other patterning methods may include the use of shadow masks or stencils, which may be slow and expensive. The subject matter described below may address one or more of these issues.

Methods for applying crystalline materials

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An optical pick-up which permits the relative position of a diffracting optical element and a photodetector to be adjusted by feedback control with signals which are generated when more than one kind of diffracted light differing in order is received, the diffracted light occurring as the reflected light from the optical disc is divided and diffracted by the diffracting optical element having multiple regions. The photodetector which detects the light beam passing through the central region of the diffracting optical element and generates RF signals is juxtaposed with sub-photodetectors, so that they receive reflected stray light from out-of-focus layers and perform computation to calculate the reflected stray light component which the RF signal detector receives, thereby detecting only the component of signals of the reflected light from a target layer.

Optical information recording and reproducing apparatuses are capable of recording and reproducing such information as music, images, and data on and from an optical disc.
The development of optical discs has recently reached commercialization of Blu-ray Disc (BD) which employs a blue semiconductor laser and a high-NA objective lens. This new technology, however, seems to have reached its limit in increasing the recording capacity through improvement of the resolving power of the optical system. A possible way to go beyond this limit is by multiplication of information recording layers in the optical disc. Unfortunately, the multiplayer optical disc has a problem with interlayer cross talk between layers which adversely affects servo signals. The interlayer cross talk occurs because the photodetector receives reflected stray light from out-of-focus layers not engaged in recording and reproducing.
The optical disc apparatus is designed such that the reflected light from the optical disc is divided and diffracted into multiple light beams by a diffracting optical element, such as HOE (Holographic Optical Element), and the resulting light beams are received by a photodetector and the signals detected in response to the amount of light received generate reproducing RF signal (RFS: Radio Frequency Signal), focus error signal (FES: Focus Error Signal), and tracking error signal (TES: Tracking Error Signal). The detection of TES is accomplished by push-pull method (PP: Push-Pull) for the recoding type disc of BD-R (Blu-ray Disc-Recordable) and BD-RE (REwritable) or by Differential Phase Detection (PDP) method for BD-ROM (Read Only Memory). The signal detection and signal processing are switched according to the type of recording medium in use.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-283248, for example, discloses the use of the knife edge method for detection of focus error signals in the case of dual layer optical disc. According to this disclosure, the photodetector is arranged in such a way that reflected stray light from the out-of-focus layer does not illuminate the photodetector to detect servo signals. In order that the reflected stray light from the out-of-focus layer illuminates as little as possible the photodetector for servo signals, the diffracted light of first order or minus first order is detected mainly to generate RFS.
Also, Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-289894, for example, discloses the method for removing the stray light component that has illuminated the photodetector. According to this disclosure, the main photodetector to detect the reflected light from the optical disc, thereby generating RFS, TES, and FES, is juxtaposed with a secondary photodetector which detects only the reflected stray light from the out-of-focus layer. The secondary photodetector calculates stray light signals of the same degree as the reflected stray light received by the main photodetector so as to give a difference from the detected signal. In this way it is possible to detect stable TES free of stray light signal component from the target layer. The method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-289894 employs SSD (Spot Size Detection) for detection of focus error signals. The photodetector for SSD is positioned away from the photodetector for RFS and TES so that it does not receive the reflected stray light from the out-of-focus layer.

Optical pick-up and optical information recording and reproducing apparatus


A measuring system includes a coordinate measuring machine for driving a scanning probe and a host computer. The host computer includes a compensation table (53) and a profile analysis unit (54). The compensation table stores, as compensation data, compensation coefficients to correct counter values of a probe counter (415), and compensation radiuses “r” to the workpiece surface concerning central coordinate values of a contact portion, for respective contact directions. The profile analysis unit has a contact direction calculation unit (542), a compensation data selection unit (543), a compensation calculation unit (544). The contact direction calculation unit calculates the contact direction along which the scanning probe comes into contact with a workpiece W, and the compensation data selection unit selects compensation data set up in the compensation table based on thus calculated contact direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surface scan measuring device, and a method of forming a compensation table for a scanning probe. More particularly, the present invention relates to a surface scan measuring device that scans the surface of a workpiece to measure surface roughness, waviness, profile, etc. of the workpiece.
2. Description of Related Art
There are diffused surface scan measuring devices that scan the surface of a workpiece to measure surface texture and three-dimensional profile of the workpiece, and there are known a machine for measuring surface roughness, a machine for measuring profile, a roundness measuring machine, and a coordinate measuring machine.
FIG. 17 shows a schematic view of a conventional measuring system 100 that is a surface scan measuring device using a scanning probe.
The measuring system 100 includes a coordinate measuring machine 1 for moving a scanning probe 2, an operation unit 3 having a joystick 31 for use in manual operation, a motion controller 4 for controlling the operation of the coordinate measuring machine 1, a host computer 5 for operating the coordinate measuring machine 1 through the motion controller 4 and processing measured data of a workpiece W obtained by the coordinate measuring machine 1 to obtain dimensions and profile of the workpiece W.
The scanning probe 2 has a stylus 21 whose leading end is provided with a contact portion (measuring piece) 22, and a holding portion 23 that slidably holds the basal end of the stylus 21 along Xp direction, Yp direction, Zp direction within a predetermined range, as shown in FIG. 18.
The holding portion 23 has a slide mechanism, not shown, which is provided with an xp slider, a yp slider, and a zp slider that can slide along directions perpendicular to each other, and a probe sensor 24 (shown in FIG. 1) that detects displacements of the slide mechanism along respective axis directions and outputs thus detected displacements. The stylus 21 is slidably held by the slide mechanism in a predetermined range on the basis of the holding portion 23.
The configuration of the scanning probe is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. JP05-256640.
Thus configured scanning probe 2 is made to scan the surface of a workpiece with its contact portion 22 abutting on the surface of the workpiece by a reference displacement amount Δr.
At this time, a motion trajectory of the scanning probe 2 is obtained using drive amount of the coordinate measuring machine 1. The motion trajectory of the scanning probe 2 corresponds to a motion trajectory of the contact portion 22, and the contact point between the workpiece surface and the contact portion 22 is located at a position offset from the center of the contact portion 22 by radius "r" of the contact portion 22.
The scanning probe 2 is made to scan the surface of the workpiece with its contact portion 22 pressed to the workpiece surface by the reference displacement amount Δr.
FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B show views for explaining the state in which the contact portion 22 is pressed to a workpiece W by the reference displacement amount Δr. FIG. 19A shows the state in which the contact portion 22 is in contact with workpiece W, and the reference displacement amount Δr is zero. In this state, the distance between the center P1 of the contact portion 22 and the abutting point of the workpiece W is equal to the radius "r" of the contact portion 22. In this case, since the reference displacement amount Δr is zero, it is not determined whether or not the contact portion 22 of the scanning probe 2 is in contact with workpiece W.
FIG. 19B shows the state in which the contact portion 22 of the scanning probe 2 is pressed to the workpiece W so that the reference displacement amount Δr is set to be a predetermined value. In this case, since the contact portion 22 is pressed to the workpiece W with a pressure determined by a measuring force, the stylus 21 is bent.
Consequently, the distance between the center P2 of the contact portion 22 and the abutting point of the workpiece W is equal to the radius "r" of the contact portion 22, which is similar to the case shown in FIG. 19A. On the other hand, the distance between the detecting position of the probe sensor 24 (a position shifted by the reference displacement amount Δr as compared with the case shown in FIG. 19A, or the apparent center P3 of the contact portion) and the abutting point of the workpiece W is set to be an offset value Q, which value is different from the radius "r" of the contact portion 22. Accordingly, the offset value Q is different from the radius "r" of the contact portion 22 due to above-described flexure of the stylus 21 and, other than this, the influence of the sphericity of the contact portion 22.
When a motion trajectory drawn by the apparent center P3 of the contact portion is corrected by the offset value Q toward the workpiece surface, the surface profile of the workpiece can be obtained.
The reference displacement amount Δr is not required to be the same value all the time, and may be within a proper reference position range in the measurable range of the probe sensor 24.
There are raised errors in detecting displacements of the stylus 21 by the probe sensor. Then, errors are brought about in the displacement amount, which leads to measurement errors. So as to correct detection errors by the probe sensor, compensation coefficients are set up depending on the detection property of the respective axes (Xp direction, Yp direction, Zp direction). For example, a compensation coefficient of Kxp′ is set up for the Xp direction, a compensation coefficient of Kyp′ is set up for the Yp direction, and a compensation coefficient of Kzp′ is set up for the Zp direction. When detected values of the respective axes by the probe sensor are Xp, Yp and Zp the detected values Xp, Yp and Zp by the probe sensor are corrected as follows.Xd=Xp·Kxp′Yd=Yp·Kyp′Zd=Zp·Kzp′
The Xd, Yd and Zd are values obtained by correcting output values of the probe sensor using the compensation coefficients Kxp′, Kyp′ and Kzp′.
However, in some cases, detection errors cannot be sufficiently corrected by only setting up the compensation coefficients Kxp′, Kyp′ and Kzp′ for the respective axes, and correcting output values of the probe sensor using the compensation coefficients. Consequently, when measuring a perfect circle, the measurement result may come to an ellipse due to measurement errors. That is, detection errors cannot be sufficiently corrected by only multiplying the detected values by the compensation coefficients set up for the respective axes.
Furthermore, in some cases, the surface profile of the workpiece cannot be obtained accurately by correcting the motion trajectory drawn by the apparent center P3 of the contact portion by the offset value Q alone. The cause of the errors is attributed to the flexure of the stylus 21 brought about when the contact portion 22 of the scanning probe 2 is pressed to the workpiece W. That is, it is thought that the offset value Q varies when the stylus 21 is bent.
Because of the problem, profile measurement by the surface scan measuring device includes errors and the errors cannot be sufficiently corrected, which leads to difficulty in improving accuracy of profile measurement.

Surface scan measuring device and method of forming compensation table for scanning probe


The invention relates to a viscous coupling particularly suitable as a brake for a firebreak door. Outer plates are non-rotatably associated with a housing by means of teeth. Between each two outer plates there is arranged one of two inner plates, which are non-rotatably connected to a hub rotatably arranged in the housing by teeth. The other inner plate is connectable in the direction of rotation to the first inner plate and to each other by two sets of lugs such that there is a free rotational path. When the lugs of two successive inner plates contact one another in the direction of rotation, a driving action occurs. Consequently, torque increases in a stepwise fashion. Therefore, it is possible for firebreak doors to affect the braking of movement into a closed position because braking is delayed and changes in steps.

The invention relates to a viscous coupling for particular use as a brake and comprises a housing and a hub arranged coaxially around one another. Both are rotatable relative to one another and relative to an axis of rotation which also forms a longitudinal axis of the viscous coupling. The housing and hub enclose an inner chamber containing two sets of annular plates. One set forms outer plates, and the other set forms inner plates. The inner plates are arranged along the longitudinal axis to alternate relative to the outer plates in a certain sequence. The outer and inner plates partially overlap one another in the radial direction. The part of the inner chamber which is not occupied by plates is at least partially filled with a highly viscous medium, and preferably silicone oil.
A viscous coupling is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,206. One of the two sets of plates comprises first plates which are non-rotatably connected to the associated coupling part (housing or hub). The second plates of the same set, along a predetermined rotational path, are able to carry out a relative movement relative to the coupling part and relative to the first plates of the set of plates. The relative rotation leads to an axial adjustment which changes the gap between the plates. Thus, as a function of the direction of rotation, different torque characteristics are achieved. The viscous coupling is intended for use in the driveline of the selectively driven rear wheels of a motor vehicle having a permanent drive for the front wheels.
A viscous coupling used as a brake in a driving device for vertically movable doors is described in DE 44 36 237 C1. Firebreak doors are automatically movable from a raised open position to a closed position and are provided in the form of roll-up doors. The doors must move automatically into the closed position when a fire breaks out. And, the door must move into the closed position by its own weight. This movement must also be delayed. However, with roll-up doors it is important for initial acceleration to be possible; but, the closed position be assumed under slowed-down conditions to prevent any damage to the door.
It is therefore the object of the invention to propose a viscous coupling which can also be used as a brake whose driving and braking torque curves increase in steps.

Viscous coupling with stepped torque curve


An optical waveguide interferometer that includes a first optical section, a second optical section, and a set of optical waveguides configured to connect the first and second optical sections, such that light propagating between the first optical section and the second optical section passes through each optical waveguide in the set, wherein the set of optical waveguides includes a first optical waveguide having a first length and a first width and a second optical waveguide having a second length and a second width, wherein the second length is greater than the first length, and the second width is greater than the first width.

In the optical Ethernet standards (100 Gb/s, 400 Gb/s, for example), closely aligned multiple wavelengths are being used. Wavelength multiplexing is done in a planar lightwave circuit (PLC)-based wavelength combiner, using 4-8 electro-absorption modulator integrated lasers (EMLs). However, the packaging process of the PLC-based wavelength combiner is very expensive because time consuming processes including many active alignment processes between EMLs and PLC chips are necessary. In order to reduce a manufacturing cost of the PLC-based wavelength combiner, the combination of multiple wavelengths on a InP-based PIC and reduction of the number of couplings between the PICs and PLC would be an effective approach.
One of the ways to combine, split or otherwise manipulate optical signals is to use power couplers having no wavelength dependences. An example of such a device is a multimode interference (MMI) device. However, such MMI devices have losses. For example, when two, four, and eight signals are coupled, the intrinsic insertion losses become 3 dB, 6 dB, and 9 dB, respectively.
An alternative method for optical signal manipulation uses wavelength selective combiners, such as asymmetric optical interferometers, e.g., asymmetric Mach-Zhender interferometer or an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG). In these devices, there is no intrinsic loss, and even though some losses exist due to waveguide losses and small coupling/splitting loss, the amount of losses is much smaller than the intrinsic loss of the power coupler.
However, the wavelength selective manipulators are sensitive to wavelength variation introduced by the fluctuation of the manufacturing process. A change in waveguide width leads a change in the effective refractive index, or change in phase when a light-wave enters to a second MMI. Due to specifics, scale and precision of manufacturing the photonic integrated circuits, it is difficult to control the widths of the waveguide precisely. However, due to the dimensions of waveguides, even a minor variation of the width can be significant in relative terms. For example, variations for width of 1.4 microns of the waveguide can be variation of 5% of the width of the waveguide, which cause large wavelength shift from design.
Number, of methods addresses this problem by manually tuning the fabricated waveguides. For example, the method described in K. Watanabe et al., "Trimming of InP-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer filling side cladding of high-mesa waveguide with resin," Electronic Letters, vol. 47, p. 1245, 2011, uses trimming to tune the wavelength of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, using material with different refractive index surrounding the waveguide to change the effective refractive index in one of the waveguide. This method requires measurement of wavelength characteristics of each interferometer, and trimming each device one by one, adding packaging cost and time. Accordingly, there is a need to reduce dependencies of the wavelength characteristics of an interferometer on the precision of the fabrication process.

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.


The present invention provides a gene encoding ALS protein which shows a extremely high level of resistance to pyrimidinyl carboxy herbicides. The gene of the present invention encodes an acetolactate synthase protein, for instance, according to SEQ ID NO:1, where the acetolactate synthase protein has resistance to a pyrimidinyl carboxy herbicide and has acetolactate synthase activity.

Acetolactate synthase (hereinafter referred to as "ALS") is a rate-determining enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of branched chain amino acids, such as leucine, valine and isoleucine, and is known as an essential enzyme for the growth of plants. ALS is also known to be present in a wide variety of higher plants. In addition, ALS is found in various microorganisms, such as yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhimurium.
Three types of isoenzymes of ALS are known to be present in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. Each of these isoenzymes is a hetero oligomer consisting of catalytic subunits with a large molecular weight that governs catalytic activity of the enzyme and regulatory subunits with a small molecular weight that functions as regulatory proteins by binding of branched-chain amino acids (Chipman et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1385, 401–419, 1998). Catalytic subunits are located at Ilv IH, Ilv GM and Ilv BN operons, respectively. On the other hand, ALS in yeast is a single enzyme, which comprises a catalytic subunit and a regulatory subunit, as is the case in bacteria (Pang et al., Biochemistry, 38, 5222–5231, 1999). The catalytic protein subunit is located at the locus ILV2.
In plants, ALS is known to comprise catalytic subunit(s) and regulatory subunit(s) as is the case in the above microorganisms (Hershey et al., Plant Molecular Biology. 40, 795–806, 1999). For example, the catalytic subunit of ALS in tobacco (dicotyledon) is encoded by two gene loci, SuRA and SuRB (Lee et al., EMBO J. 7, 1241–1248, 1988); that in maize is encoded by two gene loci, als 1 and als 2 (Burr et al., Trendsin Genetics 7, 55–61, 1991; Lawrence et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 18, 1185–1187, 1992). The nucleotide sequences of genes encoding a catalytic subunit have been completely determined for dicotyledonous plants including tobacco, Arabidopsis, rapeseed, cotton, Xanthium, Amaranthus and Kochia (See Chipman et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1385, 401–419, 1998 and domestic re-publication of PCT international publication for patent applications WO97/08327). However, maize is the only monocotyledonous plant whose nucleotide sequence has been completely determined.
Herbicides, for example, sulfonylurea herbicides, imidazolinon herbicides, triazolopyrimidine herbicides and pyrimidinyl carboxy herbicides (hereinafter referred to as "PC herbicides") are known to suppress the growth of a plant by inhibiting ALS (Ray, Plant Physiol. 75, 827–831, 1984; Shaner et al., Plant Physiol.76, 545–546, 1984; Subramanian et al., Plant Physiol. 96, 310–313, 1991; Shimizu et al., J. Pestic. Sci.19, 59–67, 1994).
Known plants having resistance to these herbicides contain a gene encoding ALS that includes substitution of one or two nucleotides which induces substitution of one or two amino acids in a region conserved among different species. Examples of such a gene include a gene encoding ALS having resistance specific to sulfonylurea herbicides (see Kathleen et al., EMBO J. 7,1241–1248, 1988; Mourad et al., Planta, 188, 491–497, 1992; Guttieri et al., Weed Sci. 43,175–178, 1995; Bernasconi et al., J. Biol. Chem. 270, 17381–17385, 1995 and Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open (kokai) No. 63-71184); a gene encoding ALS having resistance specific to imidazolinon herbicides (Mourad et al., Planta, 188, 491–497, 1992; Lee et al., FEBS Lett. 452,341–345, 1999 Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open (kokai) No. 5-227964); and a gene encoding ALS having resistance to both sulfonylurea and imidazolinon herbicides (see Kathleen et al., EMBO J. 7,1241–1248, 1988; Bernasconi et al., J. Biol. Chem. 270, 17381–17385, 1995; Hattori et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 246,419–425, 1995; Alison et al., Plant Physiol. 111, 1353, 1996; Rajasekarau et al., Plant Sci. 119, 115–124, 1996, Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open (kokai) No.63-71184, Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open (kokai) No.4-311392 and Bernasconi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,437, 1997). ALS showing resistance to both sulfonylurea and imidazolinon herbicides is also known to show cross resistance to PC herbicides and triazolopyrimidine herbicides (Bernasconi et al., J. Biol. Chem. 270, 17381–17385, 1995). Further, the production of a plant body showing resistant to both sulfonylurea and imidazolinon herbicides has been attempted by crossing a plant having ALS showing resistance specific to sulfonylurea herbicides with a plant having ALS showing resistance specific to imidazolinon herbicides (Mourad et al., Mol. Gen. Genet, 243, 178–184, 1994). Furthermore, artificial alteration of a gene encoding ALS into a herbicide resistance gene has been attempted (Ott et al., J. Mol. Biol. 263, 359–368, 1996, Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open (kokai) No. 63-71184, Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open (kokai) No. 5-227964, Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open (kohyo) No. 11-504213) so that it has been found that a single amino acid deletion causes ALS to show resistance to both sulfonylurea and imidazolinon herbicides (see Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open (kokai) No. 5-227964).
As described above, ALSs having resistance to herbicides and genes encoding ALS have been aggressively studied. However, there has been no report directed toward resistance to PC herbicides and concerning a mutant ALS gene having resistance specific to a PC herbicide.

National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences


Matching an illumination of an embedded virtual object (VO) with current environment illumination conditions provides an enhanced immersive experience to a user. To match the VO and environment illuminations, illumination basis functions are determined based on preprocessing image data, captured as a first combination of intensities of direct illumination sources illuminates the environment. Each basis function corresponds to one of the direct illumination sources. During the capture of runtime image data, a second combination of intensities illuminates the environment. An illumination-weighting vector is determined based on the runtime image data. The determination of the weighting vector accounts for indirect illumination sources, such as surface reflections. The weighting vector encodes a superposition of the basis functions that corresponds to the second combination of intensities. The method illuminates the VO based on the weighting vector. The resulting illumination of the VO matches the second combination of the intensities and surface reflections.

This application claims priority to U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 15/877,142, filed Jan. 22, 2018, entitled "REALISTICALLY ILLUMINATED VIRTUAL OBJECTS EMBEDDED WITHIN IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENTS," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Augmented reality (AR) technologies have been adopted in numerous applications, such as heads-up displays, mobile devices, and "smart" headwear and/or eyeglasses. AR typically involves embedding virtual objects (VOs) within a real-world physical scene. That is, AR refers to augmenting a user's physical reality by populating the user's view of an environment with one or more VOs. For instance, AR-enabled eyeglasses may provide holograms and/or projections of VOs onto transparent lenses included in the eyeglasses. A wearer may view their physical environment through the transparent lenses, while simultaneously viewing VOs embedded within their physical environment. Heads-up displays may similarly augment the user's reality, without the need for eyeglasses or headwear. For example, a vehicle may be equipped with a heads-up-enabled windshield. The driver may view virtualized versions of dashboard instruments or other VOs, without diverting their gaze from their windshield.
Mobile gaming applications have also widely adopted AR technologies. Users now routinely view, in real-time, image data captured by cameras embedded within their device, while a gaming application inserts VOs into the real-time image data displayed on their mobile display screens. Likewise, prior to purchasing a home furnishing item, such as furniture, a user may determine how the item will appear within a particular room within their home by employing AR eyeglasses or a display screen of a mobile device to embed a virtualized version of the item within a view of the room.
Although embedding VOs within a physical scene is now commonplace, oftentimes embedded virtual objects are not illuminated in a realistic manner. For example, conventional methods for embedding virtual objects may not consider the illumination sources included in the environment. Other conventional method may model the intensity of illumination sources as static and/or model the illumination sources as being infinitely far from the environment. Accordingly, the realism or naturalness of the virtual object may suffer.

Realistically illuminated virtual objects embedded within immersive environments


A semiconductor memory apparatus includes a main bank configured to combine a first sub bank and a second sub bank. A center bitline sense amplifier array is arranged in a region where the first sub bank meets the second sub bank. A first precharge section is arranged above the first sub bank and a second precharge section is arranged below the second sub bank. The first precharge section precharges local input/output lines of the first sub bank and the second sub bank and the second precharge section precharges the local input/output lines.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory apparatus, and more particularly, to a semiconductor memory apparatus, capable of reducing the precharge time of local input/output lines LIO.
2. Related Art
Due to the recent increase in the density of high-speed dynamic random access memories (DRAM), there have been limitations to the package size used in a plurality of product groups (e.g., mobile and graphic product groups). In order to overcome the limitations, the structure of the DRAM has been implemented in various forms. One of the structures, which have recently been used for high-speed and high-density DRAMs, is a structure in which banks are combined in the direction that a row address increases so as to form one bank.
Hereinafter, a conventional semiconductor memory apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional semiconductor memory apparatus includes a first sub bank 110, a second sub bank 130, a first precharge section 150, a second precharge section 170 and a center bitline sense amplifier array 190.
The first precharge section 150 is arranged above the first sub bank 110 and precharges local input/output lines LIO of the first sub bank 110 and the second sub bank 130. The second precharge section 170 is arranged below the second sub bank 130 and precharges the local input/output lines LIO of the first sub bank 110 and the second sub bank 130. The center bitline sense amplifier array 190 is arranged in the area where the first sub bank 110 and the second sub bank 130 are connected each other.
The first sub bank 110 is arranged above the center bitline sense amplifier array 190. The second sub bank 130 is arranged below the center bitline sense amplifier array 190.
The first precharge section 150 includes a plurality of precharge control sections 150-1 to 150-N.
The second precharge section 170 includes a plurality of precharge control sections 170-1 to 170-N.
Generally, cell data selected by an external address is amplified by a bitline sense amplifier (BLSA). The amplified data is output to an input/output terminal by a column decoder through a global input/output line GIO.
Generally, the semiconductor memory has a bank structure including the first sub bank 110 and the second sub bank 130. The first sub bank 110 and the second sub bank 130 are connected in the direction in which the row address increases. A word line WL is simultaneously activated in the first sub bank 110 and the second sub bank 130. Due to the bank structure, there is an increase in the length of the local input/output line LIO(UP) arranged in the direction in which the row address increases. Therefore, there is a problem in that the time to precharge local input/output lines LIO(UP) and LIO(DOWN) by means of the plurality of precharge control sections 150-1 to 150-N and the plurality of precharge control sections 170-1 to 170-N increases.
Referring to FIG. 2, when a read command READ or a write command WRITE is applied, a corresponding column address selection signal YI is enable. When the column address selection signal YI is enabled, data is input to or output from the bitline sense amplifier (BLSA) through the local input/output lines LIO. When a precharge signal LIO_PCG is at a logic high level, the local input/output lines LIO are precharged.
If the local input/output line LIO becomes long, the load of the local input/output lines LIO increases due to high resistance or capacitance, resulting in slow precharging. Therefore, potential regions A, A-1, B, and B-1, where the local input/output lines LIO are precharged to a precharge voltage level Vpcg, are temporarily delayed. Accordingly, CAS to CAS command delay (tCCD) or internal WRITE to READ command delay (tWTR), which are characteristic to a DRAM, may deteriorate, thereby causing high speed operations to fail or operations which do not follow a predetermined specification to be performed.
Further, if a read operation is performed when local input/output line LIO is not sufficiently precharged, erroneous data may be amplified in the input/output sense amplifier, which causes the DRAM operation to fail. Therefore, after the read operation or the write operation is performed, the local input/output line LIO should be precharged as soon as possible to ensure stable DRAM operation.


A nano-confinement platform that may allow improved quantification of the structural order of nanometer-scale systems. Sample-holder ‘chips’ are designed for the GTSAXS experimental geometry. The platform involves fabricated nanostructured sample holders on and in one or more corners of a substrate support where the sample material of interest is positioned at the corner of the substrate support. In an embodiment, the substrate material making up the substrate support beneath the sample-holding area is removed. A scattering x-ray sample platform includes a substrate support arranged in a parallelepiped form, having a substantially flat base and a substantially flat top surface, the top surface being substantially parallel with the base, the parallelepiped having a plurality of corners. At least one corner of the substrate support has a sample holding area formed in the top surface of the substrate support and within a predetermined distance from the corner. The sample holding area includes a regular array of nano-wells formed in the top surface of the substrate support.

Quantification of the three-dimensional structure and order of nanometer-scale systems remains extremely challenging. Nanometer-scale microscopies, such as atomic force microscopy or scanning electron microscopy, arc typically used, but these may have difficulties probing through the depth of materials. Moreover, they generally cannot measure samples under realistic (in-situ) conditions. X-ray scattering is a well-known tool tor measuring structural order in-situ, with grazing-incidence small angle x-ray scattering (GISAXS) being used to probe thin films.

Nanoconfinement platform for nanostructure quantification via grazing-transmission X-ray scattering


A mask includes a base substrate, control switches provided on the base substrate, and electrochromic film components provided on the base substrate. The control switches and the electrochromic film components are connected in one-to-one correspondence. The control switches are configured to, according to at least one light shielding region and a light transmitting region of the mask, control light transmittances of the electrochromic film components in one-to-one correspondence.

In the TFT-LCD (thin film transistor-liquid crystal display) industry, in a procedure of photolithography for a substrate or a procedure of sealant curing, it is necessary to use a mask to shield light and transmit light for the substrate. Taking the sealant curing as an example, as shown in FIG. 1, an ultraviolet light source 1 in an ultraviolet curing device emits ultraviolet light to irradiate a substrate 2. In order to prevent ultraviolet light from directly irradiating the liquid crystal in the substrate 2 and causing adverse reactions, a mask 3 for shielding the liquid crystal region of the substrate 2 is further provided between the ultraviolet light source 1 and the substrate 2. So that, only the sealant in periphery region of the substrate 2 other than the liquid crystal region is cured, so as to avoid adverse effects on the liquid crystal due to a direct irradiation of ultraviolet light.
In the prior art, substrates vary in pattern, so masks corresponding to the substrates with different patterns vary in light shielding region and light transmitting region, which causes the substrates with different patterns to require different corresponding masks. That is, a mask only can be applied to one type of substrates with a same pattern. Because the cost of producing a mask is very high and a production process is complicated, the cost of using the mask is high.

Mask and manufacturing method thereof, and light shielding device and control method thereof

HEFEI XINSHENG OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


The present invention provides an image compensation apparatus, by which a hardware structure is simplified and by which resolution of a remanded color gamut is enhanced when an inputted digital image is compensated to fit the characteristics of a display device. The present invention includes a 3-dimensional look-up table storing 3-dimensional transformation data corresponding to upper n-bits of an input image and a color interpolation unit outputting a final color-transformed image by performing linear interpolation using the 3-dimensional transformation data outputted from the 3-dimensional look-up table and 3-dimensional data corresponding to lower m-bits of the input image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image compensation apparatus by which inputted digital images are compensated to fit characteristics of a display device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, digital TV remarkably enhances its image resolution to enable an audience to view images much sharper than those of the previous analog TV. Many developments are made to various high-resolution display devices to represent high-resolution images. And, a large-screen projection TV, PDP TV, projector, and the like stand in the spotlight of display devices of digital TV as well as direct-view type CRT that was previously popular.
Each display device has unique display characteristics. And, Gamma Compensation using three one-dimensional look-up tables, as shown in FIG. 1 is previously used in compensating these characteristics. Such a method is classically known and used worldwide, in which compensation curves are stored for R, G, and B components of an inputted image, respectively to compensate an input-to-output characteristic. Gamma Compensation enables to compensate Gamma characteristic of a display device but is unable to adjust degradation of the color sense caused by various display devices such as CRT, LCD projection TV, PDP, etc. Moreover, Gamma Compensation fails to restore the color sense for an original image prior to photographing via camera.
In order to settle the above problem in FIG. 1, i.e., in order to output the same color of the image photographed via a camera to a display device regardless of various kinds of display devices, a method of storing output RGB values corresponding to input RGB values respectively in a look-up table, as shown in FIG. 2, is proposed. By taking characteristics of a display device into consideration, output values for input combinations for 256-steps R-images, 256-steps G-images, and 256-steps B-images are stored in the look-up table to compensate the characteristics of the display device. In other words, an inputted image is compensated to output using 256×256×256×24-bits look-up table for a predetermined RGB image, whereby an image quality is enhanced or the characteristics of the display device is compensated.
However, such a method is theoretically perfect but has great difficulty in hardware implementation. Namely, about 400 Mbits memory is needed to implement 3-dimensiaonl 256×256×256×24-bits look-up table. Moreover, in ASIC implementation, the look-table itself needs hardware of about a half billion gates, thereby becoming substantially impossible.


Novel fibronectin binding protein B polypeptides and DNA (RNA) encoding such novel fibronectin binding protein B and a procedure for producing such polypeptides by recombinant techniques is disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for utilizing such novel fibronectin binding protein B for the treatment of infection, particularly bacterial infections. Antagonists against such novel fibronectin binding protein B and their use as a therapeutic to treat infections, particularly bacterial infections are also disclosed. Also disclosed are diagnostic assays for detecting diseases related to the presence of novel fibronectin binding protein B nucleic acid sequences and the polypeptides in a host. Also disclosed are diagnostic assays for detecting polynucleotides encoding novel fibronectin binding protein B family and for detecting the polypeptide in a host.

Several cell surface associated proteins of the Staphylococci and Streptococci involved in microbial adhesion to different host tissues and considered to be important factors in bacterial pathogenesis have been identified in the last decade (see Patti, J. M., Allen, B. L., McGavin, M. J. and Hook, M., MSCRAMM-Mediated Adherence of Microorganisms to Host Tissues 1994! Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 48,585-617.).
The cell surface proteins fibronectin binding protein, fibrinogen binding protein, collagen binding protein and protein A of Staphylococcus aureus have all been identified as having peptidoglycan spanning regions rich in proline and glycine residues, N-terminal to the LPXTG motif characteristic of surface proteins in gram-positive bacteria (see Surface-associated proteins of Staphylococcus aureus: Their possible roles in virulence. Foster,T. J. and McDevitt, D. 1994! FEMS Microbiology Letters 118, 199-206).
Different approaches have been put forward to address such proteins from Staphylococcus aureus as antibacterial targets, e.g. fibronectin binding proteins (EP0294349, EP0397633, WO94/18327), fibrinogen binding protein (WO94/06830), collagen binding protein (WO92/07002) and bone sialoprotein binding protein (WO94/13310). The binding proteins or binding fragments thereof are used as antibacterial agents to block binding of the organism to host tissue, as vaccines to raise antibodies to the organism in the host animal or as antigens to raise therapeutic antibodies which can be used to block binding of the organism to host tissue.


The present invention concerns a fastener arrangement made of a component and a screw element with an area for the application of force for a turning tool, where the component and the screw element, when fastened to each other, are in contact with each other by way of contact surfaces, and where the contact surface of the screw element on the side facing the component, has a convexly curved outer surface, and where the contact surface of the component has a concavely curved inner surface, while the outer surface and the inner surface are positioned coaxially with respect to a common longitudinal axis, which runs through the component and the screw element.

The present invention generally relates to connecting elements used, for example, for the attachment of automobile wheels or rims to a motor vehicle by means of wheel bolts. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for implementing fastener arrangements or screw elements to avoid deformation and damage of the outer and inner surfaces of such connecting elements.
In the case of known fasteners, it is a disadvantage that the outer surface of the screw element and/or the inner surface of the component are frequently deformed and damaged when the screw element is repeatedly screwed in, because the contact of the outer surface of the screw element, depending on the dimensioning of the screw element and the component, occurs either in the region of the front or rear edge, when viewed in the direction in which the screw element is screwed in, of the concavely curved inner surface of the component.
Such deformations cause significant problems during assembly when a defined torque is selected. In addition, with the prevailing final tolerance stack-ups extremely variable load configurations result, namely so-called outer load supports and inner load supports, and thus strongly varying frictional moments result when the head makes contact.
The solutions embodying the principles of the present invention are based on the recognition that the unfavorable forced contact conditions in the region of the front or rear edge, in the direction in which the screw is screwed in, of the concavely curved inner surface of the component, result from the fact that the centers of curvature of the curvature of the outer surface and the curvature of the inner surface are not spaced apart from each other in a direction vertical to the longitudinal axis.
As a result, the contact between the outer surface and the inner surface occurs, when viewed in the direction in which the screw is screwed in, either at a front or a rear edge region of the inner surface. Because of these unfavorable force conditions, deformation and damage of the outer and inner surfaces can occur, which result in an adverse effect on the fastening ability, for example, in the case of a defined torque.
It is desirable to create a fastener arrangement or a screw element of the same kind where the contact surfaces are deformed or damaged as little as possible even if they are loosened or fastened a number of times, and where, in addition, the extreme outer and inner load supports are to be avoided.
A method of connecting elements embodying the principles of this invention is by creating a fastener arrangement, where the contact surfaces in an axial section of the fastener device are defined by arcuate sections curved in such a way, that the center(s) of curvature of the convexly curved outer surface extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis is (are) located at such a distance from the center(s) of curvature of the concavely curved inner surface, that the contact surfaces, when they are fastened to each other, are located between the ends of their arc sections.
Furthermore, the above objective is achieved by a screw element according to the principles of this invention, where the contact surfaces are defined, in an axial section of the screw element, by curved arc sections, the centers of curvature of which are located at such a distance from the longitudinal axis that the convexly curved outer surface and the concavely curved inner surface of the component, when they are fastened to each other, are in contact with each other between the ends of their arcuate sections.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A system for rolling angle reduction in a motor vehicle includes a stabilizer (10) and a piston/cylinder unit (12) coupled to one end of the stabilizer (10). The cylinder (14) of the piston/cylinder unit (12) is mounted in a hollow joint (24) so as to be swivellable in several directions.

The invention relates to a system for rolling angle reduction in a motor vehicle.
Systems for the reduction of the rolling angle during the travel of a motor vehicle include arrangements using a stabilizer pendulum. In other arrangements a hydraulically operated piston/cylinder unit is used instead. The piston/cylinder unit enables an additional deflection of the stabilizer during cornering of the vehicle when transverse accelerations occur, so that the rolling angle is reduced. When driving straight forward, the stabilizer is uncoupled from the chassis, by venting the hydraulic cylinder of the piston/cylinder to a tank. This provides for an increase in comfort when driving over an obstacle on one lateral side of the vehicle.
The piston/cylinder unit is usually supported at its ends. When restrictions in space do not permit such a bearing, a fork bearing of the cylinder could be provided. However, as a fork bearing is only of use in so-called plane gears, but the coupling of the stabilizer to the chassis requires a so-called three-dimensional gear, this approach is ruled out. Due to the spring movement of the chassis, movements of the connection point of the fork parallel to the bearing axis and relative to the connection point of the stabilizer would occur. In addition, the transverse stresses, owing to the elastokinematic movements of the chassis relative to the vehicle body, are to be taken into account. The transverse movements lead to the introduction of moments and transverse forces into the hydraulic cylinder, which can result in increased wear of the piston ring and seal. At worst a jamming and failure of the cylinder occurs. Also, an elastic connection of the bearing axis could only partially compensate these relative movements.
Thus, there is a desire for a system for rolling angle reduction with a bearing of the piston/cylinder unit which is less susceptible to stresses occurring during travel.

System for rolling angle reduction in motor vehicles


The invention relates to a microsystem comprising a deformable bridge, the ends of which are connected to a substrate. According to the invention, at least one actuation electrode, which is solidly connected to the bridge, is disposed between the center of the bridge and one of the ends next to a counter electrode which is solidly connected to the substrate. The electrodes are intended to deform the deformable bridge such that a lower face of the bridge comes into contact with a contact element formed on the substrate.

The invention relates to a microsystem comprising a deformable bridge and actuating means designed to deform the deformable bridge in such a way that a bottom face of the bridge comes into contact with at least one contact element formed on a substrate, the bridge being attached via its ends to the substrate, the actuating means comprising at least one actuating electrode fixedly secured to the bridge and disposed between the centre of the bridge and one of the ends thereof, facing a counter-electrode fixedly secured to the substrate.

Microsystem comprising a deformable bridge


A compressed air system, wherein a decision to de-energize a compressor motor is made with consideration of the likely need for the operation of the compressor at a future point in time. A rate of pressure decay in an air reservoir may be extrapolated over a predetermined time period to predict the need for operation of the compressor within the time period. If operation of the compressor is predicted to be needed within the time period, the compressor is allowed to continue to run in an unloaded mode beyond a normal cool down period.

Compressed air systems are used to provide energy for driving a variety of devices in a variety of applications. One such application is a railroad locomotive where compressed air is used to power locomotive air brakes and pneumatic control systems.
A typical compressed air system will include a reservoir for storing a volume of compressed air. A motor-driven compressor is used to maintain the air pressure in the reservoir within a desired range of pressures. The reservoir pressure may be higher than the demand pressure for a device supplied by the system, in which case a pressure regulator may be used to reduce the pressure supplied to the device. The stored volume of compressed air in the reservoir provides an inertia that allows the compressor to be sized smaller than would otherwise be necessary if the compressor supplied the individual devices directly. Furthermore, the stored volume of compressed air in the reservoir allows the compressor to be cycled on and off less frequently than would otherwise be necessary in a direct-supply system. This is important because the electrical and mechanical transients that are generated during a motor/compressor start-up event may severely challenge the compressor motor and associated electrical contacts.
The size and operating pressures of the compressor and reservoir in a compressed air system are matters of design choice. A larger, higher-pressure reservoir will reduce the duty cycle of the compressor motor, but there are associated cost, size and weight constraints that must be considered. Furthermore, the control system set points used to control the compressor starts and stops may be varied within overall system limits. Compressed air systems for locomotives are designed with the benefit of experience accumulated during the operation of generations of locomotives. However, in spite of the optimization of system design, there have been instances of specific operating conditions unique to a particular locomotive or group of locomotives that result in an undesirably high duty cycle for the air compressor motor. Because such locomotive-specific conditions may be transient and may not be representative of conditions experienced by an entire fleet of locomotives, it is not necessarily desirable to further refine the compressed air system components in response to such conditions. Thus, a compressed air system that is less susceptible to excessive cycling of the compressor motor is desired.

Compressed air system and method of control


When annealing of a semiconductor film is conducted using a plurality of lasers, each of the distances between laser irradiation regions is different. When a lithography step is conducted in accordance with a marker which is formed over a substrate in advance after the step, light-exposure is not correctly conducted to a portion crystallized by laser. By using a laser irradiation region obtained on a laser irradiation step as a marker, light-exposure is conducted by making a light-exposure position of a stepper coincide with a large grain size region in the laser irradiation region. A large grain size region and a poorly crystalline region are detected by utilizing a thing that scattering intensity of light is different between the large grain size region and the poorly crystalline region, thereby determining a light-exposure position.

Nowadays, technique for manufacturing a thin film transistor (hereinafter, referred to as a TFT) over a substrate is drastically progressing, and the application and development thereof to an active matrix display device are being advanced. In particular, a TFT using a polycrystalline semiconductor film has higher electron field-effect mobility (also referred to as mobility) than that of a TFT using a conventional non-single crystal semiconductor film; therefore, high speed operation can be conducted. Hence, the control of a pixel which is conventionally conducted in a driver circuit provided outside a substrate has been tried to conduct in a driver circuit formed over the same substrate as a pixel.
Meanwhile, as for a substrate used for a semiconductor device, a glass substrate is considered to be more promising substrate than a single crystal semiconductor substrate in terms of cost. The glass substrate is inferior in heat resistance and easy to be deformed by heat; therefore, in the case of forming a TFT using a polycrystalline semiconductor film over the glass substrate, laser annealing is employed for crystallizing the semiconductor film to avoid heat deformation of the glass substrate.
Laser annealing has a feature of being able to reduce treatment time drastically compared with an annealing method utilizing radiation heating and conduction heating, giving little heat damage to a substrate by heating a semiconductor substrate or a semiconductor film selectively or locally, and the like.
The term "laser annealing" herein used indicates technique for recrystallizing an amorphous layer or a damaged layer formed over a semiconductor substrate or a semiconductor film and technique for crystallizing an amorphous semiconductor film formed over a substrate. In addition, technique which is applied to surface modification or planarization of a semiconductor substrate or a semiconductor film is also included.
A laser oscillator used for laser annealing is classified broadly into two kinds of pulsed oscillation and continuous oscillation by the oscillation method. In recent years, it has been found that a grain size of a crystal formed in a semiconductor film is large in crystallization of a semiconductor film in the case of using a continuous wave laser oscillator (also referred to as a CW laser) such as Ar laser or YVO4 laser compared with a pulsed laser oscillator such as excimer laser. In the case of laser beam irradiation, the laser beam is transformed using an optical system so as to have a linear shape in an irradiated surface, and emitted by moving the emitting position of the laser beam comparatively with respect to the irradiated surface. This method is industrially superior because of having high productivity.
The term "linear shape" herein used does not mean "line" in the strict sense but means a rectangle or an ellipse with high aspect ratio (for example, with aspect ratio of 10 or more (preferably 100 to 10000)).
Thus, when the grain size of a crystal in a semiconductor film becomes large, the number of grain boundaries which go into a TFT channel region formed using this semiconductor film is decreased and mobility is increased, and accordingly, it can be utilized for the development of a device with higher performance. Therefore, a continuous wave laser oscillator attracts attention.
In this specification, a region in which a large grain size crystal is formed in a semiconductor film is referred to as a large grain size region, and a region in which a small grain size crystal is formed in a semiconductor film is referred to as a poorly crystalline region.
Laser beam with a wavelength of from a visible region to an ultraviolet region is frequently used for laser annealing of a semiconductor film. This is because absorption efficiency of energy to a semiconductor film is favorable. However, the wavelength of a fundamental wave oscillated by solid CW (continuous wave) laser which is generally used is a wavelength region in the range of from red to near infrared. Therefore, a method for being converted into harmonic wave with a wavelength of a visible region or less using a nonlinear optical element is employed. In general, a visible light is generated by converting a fundamental wave into a harmonic wave using a nonlinear optical element, and the light is used for annealing of a semiconductor film.
For example, a laser beam oscillated from a CW laser which provides 10 W at 532 nm is transformed into a linear beam of 30 μm in a major axis direction and approximately 10 μm in a minor axis direction. In the case where this linear beam is made to scan in a minor axis direction and a semiconductor film is crystallized, the width of a large grain size region obtained at one time scanning is approximately 200 μm. Therefore, in order to conduct laser crystallization to the whole surface of the substrate, it is necessary to conduct laser annealing by shifting a position scanned by linear beam to a long side by the width of the large grain size region obtained at one time scanning of linear beam. Further, if annealing is conducted by emitting a laser light of a plurality of lasers to different regions simultaneously over a substrate, efficiency can be more enhanced.
By a crystallization step of a semiconductor film by a CW laser, a poorly crystalline region is formed separately from a large grain size region. The poorly crystalline region is formed in a portion where energy is lowered in both edges of a linear beam. Therefore, the poorly crystalline region is formed in both edges interposing the large grain size region. When a semiconductor element is formed in a portion including a poorly crystalline region, an object which is inferior in characteristics to a semiconductor element formed in a large grain size region is formed. A general manufacturing method of a TFT is as follows: a semiconductor film formed over a substrate is set to be an irradiated surface, and a marker or the like is formed on this semiconductor film, and then laser irradiation is conducted so that a poorly crystalline region is not formed in a portion where a semiconductor element of the semiconductor film is formed to form a large grain size region. Therefore, the position which is to be irradiated with laser is required to be precisely determined. To accomplish this, a method for controlling an irradiated position by providing a marker for an irradiated surface, which is to be a standard, detecting this marker by a CCD camera or the like, and conducting image processing using a computer is employed. This marker is used for determining a light-exposure position in a photolithography step after a laser crystallization step.

Light exposure apparatus and manufacturing method of semiconductor device using the same

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd


A computer-aided financial analysis system and method provides research analytical capabilities for modeling financial security holdings that include the capability to conduct multi-dimensional dynamic searches across fundamental research, technical research, market data and exposure to exogenous economic and market factors. The capability to isolate securities most susceptible to market movements and overlay available research analyses on top of this view and to view exposure to directional change in any exogenous economic and market factor on an individual security or portfolio of securities in a real-time, intuitive manner via charts, tables and/or heat maps is also provided.

The present invention generally relates to a new computer-aided system and method for analyzing an individual financial security/holding or portfolio of securities/holdings and providing a real-time intuitive view of a security's/portfolio's exposure to exogenous economic and market influences.
In recent years, taking advantage of the proliferation of advanced desktop computer technology and the Internet, and recognizing the increasing degree to which amateur and professional investors have become more "self-directed" in their investing approaches, financial services and market data firms have begun to offer their clients heat maps and other security screening tools. Such tools enable users to monitor data more effectively. It will be appreciated that the suite of analytic tools of the present invention leverage this advancement in desktop computer technology and the Internet to provide these new self-directed portfolio managers with new dynamic views of a security's or portfolio's relationship with relevant exogenous influences.
Conventional security screening, heat map and portfolio reporting technology provide only fundamental research analysis or market statistics such as ratings, earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates, P/E ratio, market capitalization or yield. In addition, these conventional tools provide only views on the broader market and do not provide views on the user's existing holdings, interest list or portfolio.
As a result, investors and portfolio managers have heretofore not had the benefit of an intuitive means to view portfolio/holding exposure to various exogenous economic and market factors such as, for example, movements in interest rates, commodity prices, currencies, macroeconomic variables, indices, sector/industry specific drivers and geopolitical influences, and have been left to interpolate these relationships by examining individual charts or, at best, calculating/analyzing them on a security-by-security basis. Therefore, when, for example, oil prices rise or a significant geopolitical event occurs, the investors and portfolio managers lack the capability to obtain a real-time understanding of how such event might impact on their portfolio/holdings based on historical data.
The system and method according to the present invention fills this gap by providing users with the capability to leverage fundamental or quantitative research and manage security/portfolio exposure to exogenous economic, geopolitical, market and industry-specific influences through a textual and/or graphical representation of this exposure in real-time in table, chart, heat map or other suitable format. As described in greater detail hereinafter, the present invention employs portfolio analytic tools which not only provide the market data that are conventionally available, but also provide the user with the aforementioned view of the exposure of a security or portfolio of securities to exogenous economic and market factors.

Computer-aided financial security analysis system and method


A power tool 1 includes a cylindrical-shaped yoke 31, magnets 32 provided in the interior of the yoke 31, an armature 41 disposed rotatably in the interior of the yoke 31, a cooling fan 7 rotatably secured to the armature 41, a fan guide 8 disposed on the periphery of the cooling fan 7, and a cylindrical-shaped housing 2 for storing the yoke 31 therein. The fan guide 8 is contacted with the axial-direction one end face of the yoke 31, and the fan guide 8 is engaged with the yoke 31 in the rotation direction thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power tool including a direct-current motor as its drive source such as a rotary hammer drill.
2. Description of Related Art
A power tool using a direct-current motor as its drive source has been widely put to practical use. A direct-current motor, which is used as the drive source of a power tool of this type, as shown in FIG. 10, is composed of a yoke set 130 and an armature set 140.
Here, the yoke set 130 is composed of a substantially cylindrical-shaped yoke 131 made of ferromagnetic material such as iron, two or more arc-curve-shaped magnets 132 disposed inside the yoke 131, and a ring-shaped dust guard 133 mounted on the yoke 131 in such a manner that it is fitted with the peripheral edge of the opening of the axial-direction one end portion of the yoke 131.
Also, the armature set 140 is composed of a rotation shaft 104 the two end portions of which are rotatably supported by bearings 105 and 106, and armature 141 and a cooling fan 107 which are both fixed to the rotation shaft 104. When the armature set 140 is rotatably inserted through the yoke set 130, a direct-current motor is assembled.
When incorporating the direct-current motor having the above structure into a two-split housing which is divided in two right and left parts, there is employed a method in which, after the yoke set 130 is stored into one of the two division parts of the housing, the armature set 140 is inserted into the yoke set 130; or, a method in which a direct-current motor composed of the yoke set 130 and armature set 140 previously assembled together is stored into one of the two division parts of the housing, the other division part of the housing is placed on one division part of the housing, and the two division parts are fastened together using a screw or the like, whereby the direct-current motor is incorporated into the housing.
By the way, when material having a weak magnetic force such as ferrite is used as the material of the magnet 132 fixed to the inner peripheral portion of the yoke 131 of the yoke set 130, no problem can occur in an operation for inserting the armature set 140 into the yoke set 130.
However, when material having a strong magnetic force such as a Neodybium-bond-system or rare-earth-system sintered alloy is used as the material of the magnet 132, since the armature 141 is attracted by the magnet 132 because of the strong magnetic force of the magnet 132 when inserting the armature set 140 into the yoke set 130, it is not easy to insert the armature 140 into the yoke set 130; and also, the armature 141, especially, the commutator 141a and winding portion 141b of the armature 141 can be damaged by the magnets 132 and dust guard 133 and thus, during use, there is a possibility that wires can be broken or there can occur a rare short.
In view of the above, as shown in FIG. 11, there is employed an assembling method in which, while a protection cap 142 made of non-magnetic material is left put on the commutator 141a of the armature 141, the armature set 140 is inserted through the inside of the yoke set 130 and, finally, the protection cap 142 is removed from the armature 141. According to this method, the protection cap 142 can prevent the armature 141 from being attracted to and damaged by the magnets 132.
On the other hand, since the two or more magnets 132 are fixed to the inner surface of the yoke 131, the yoke 131 receives the counter torque of the magnetic force for rotating the armature 141 and is thereby going to rotate. Also, as regards the magnets 132 fixed to the inner surface of the yoke 131, their angle positions with respect to a carbon brush are preset, which makes it necessary to position the yoke 131 and to prevent the yoke 131 against rotation.
Therefore, conventionally, there is employed such a positioning and rotation prevention structure as shown in FIG. 12 or 13.
Specifically, FIG. 12 is a transverse section view of the yoke 131. A structure shown in FIG. 12 is used to form width across flats 131b on the outer peripheral portion of the yoke 131 and bring the width across flats 131b into engagement with plane portions formed in a housing (not shown) to thereby attain the positioning and rotation prevention of the yoke 131.
Also, FIG. 13A is a front view of the yoke 131, and FIG. 13B is a side view of the yoke 131. A structure shown in FIG. 13 is used to form a rectangular-groove-shaped notch 131a in part of the axial-direction one end face of the yoke 131 and bring a projecting portion formed in a housing (not shown) into engagement with the notch 131a to thereby attain the positioning and rotation prevention of the yoke 131.
By the way, there has been proposed and already put to practical use a power tool in which, for the purpose of securing the high rigidity of a housing made of resin and for other purposes, the housing is formed in a cylindrical shape and a direct-current motor is incorporated in the barrel portion of the cylindrical-shaped housing (see Japanese Patent NO. 2005-40880).
However, when the assembling method using the protection cap 142 shown in FIG. 11 is applied to the cylindrical-shaped housing, since the yoke set 130 is previously incorporated in the barrel portion of the cylindrical-shaped housing, there arises a problem that, after the armature set 140 is inserted into the inside of the yoke set 130, the protection cap 142 cannot be removed. Therefore, when the armature set 140 is inserted into the yoke set 140, the armature 141 is attracted to the magnets 132, which gives rise to the above-mentioned various inconveniences.
Also, as regards the yoke 131 positioning and rotation preventing structure shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, because, before the yoke set 130 is incorporated into the cylindrical-shaped housing, the positioning and rotation prevention of the yoke 131 are not yet attained, the yoke set 130 must be fitted into the cylindrical-shaped housing while peeping into the inside of the cylindrical-shaped housing. Therefore, it is not easy to incorporate the yoke set 130 into the cylindrical-shaped housing, resulting in the poor efficiency of the assembling operation.

Power tool with yoke rotation prevention means


Disclosed is a cyclic reverse transcription method, which comprises performing reverse transcription reaction in one or more cycles, each cycle comprising the steps of: (i) performing reaction with a reverse transcription reaction solution comprising template RNA, RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, a reaction buffer, primers for reverse transcription and dNTPs, and optionally, a stabilizer, at 10° C. to 40° C. and, (ii) performing reaction with the resultant reaction solution at 42° to 55° C.

Analysis of mRNA is very important to understand various biological phenomena. Based on the founding of RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, i.e., reverse transcriptase, in retroviruses, synthesis of cDNA from template RNA (total RNA and mRNA), i.e., reverse transcription, is now possible. This is one of basic tools for genetic study and one of essential key techniques applied in various fields including molecular biology, biology, pharmaceuticals, forensic medicine, viral diagnosis, and the like.
In the conventional reverse transcription method, cDNA is synthesized at a relatively low temperature of 37° C. to 42° C. As a result, the template forms the secondary structure, which interrupts cDNA synthesis during reverse transcription reaction. To overcome this problem, a method using a thermophilic reverse transcriptase has been proposed. However, primers for reverse transcription have a short length, that is, random primers have the length of 5mer to 15mer and dT primers have the length of 14mer to 23mer. Therefore, at a high temperature, the primers could not be fully annealed with the template, resulting in decrease in the reaction efficiency.


A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes the steps of protecting a front surface of a semiconductor substrate by an adhesive medium, grinding a rear surface of the semiconductor substrate in a state that the front surface is protected by the adhesive medium, removing the adhesive medium from the rear surface, and heating the semiconductor substrate, after the step of removing, to a temperature higher than a thermal decomposition temperature of an adhesive provided on the adhesive medium.

The present invention generally relates to fabrication of semiconductor devices and more particularly to a fabrication process of a semiconductor device including a grinding step applied to a rear surface of a semiconductor substrate while protecting a front side thereof by an adhesive medium.
In the fabrication process of semiconductor devices such as a semiconductor integrated circuit on a semiconductor wafer, it is commonly practiced to divide the semiconductor wafer into individual chips by a dicing process.
Before applying such a dicing process, it is generally necessary to grind a rear surface of the wafer opposite to a front surface where the semiconductor devices are formed, such that the wafer has a predetermined thickness. For example, such a grinding process is used to reduce the thickness of a wafer of six-inch diameter from 720 .mu.m to 500 .mu.m or less according to the specification of the semiconductor device.
In order to prevent damaging of the semiconductor wafer such as cracking at the time of the grinding, it is commonly practiced to protect the front surface of the wafer, where the semiconductor devices are formed as noted already, by an adhesive medium such as an adhesive tape. Generally, the adhesive tape used for such a purpose carries, on a tape base, an adhesive layer of an acrylic resin with a thickness of 30-40 .mu.m. The tape base, in turn, is formed of a polymer such as polyolefin or polyethylene and generally has a thickness of 100-150 .mu.m. Further, a polymer material such as polyvinyl chloride is also used for the tape base.
After the grinding process, the adhesive tape is removed. In order to facilitate the removal of the tape without leaving any adhesive material on the wafer, the adhesive layer used for such a purpose is generally added with a surfactant. By doing so, the remaining adhesives on the substrate can be removed completely by cleaning the wafer in a purified water or in an organic solvent, if necessary.
Further, there is a proposal to use an adhesive tape that carries an UV-cure type adhesive on the tape base for the purpose of the protection of the wafer during the grinding process. When using such a UV-cure type tape, an ultraviolet radiation is applied to the wafer covered by the tape before removing the tape from the wafer for facilitating the removal of the tape. As the adhesive is cured as a result of the ultraviolet radiation, the adhesion of the tape to the wafer is reduced substantially and the removal of the tape is achieved easily, without applying excessive stress to the wafer.
However, the use of such a conventional tape that contains a surfactant in the adhesive is disadvantageous in that a cleaning process is necessary and inevitable after the removal of the tape, wherein the cleaning process may have to be continued for at least 15-60 minutes. In relation to the removal of the adhesive, it should be noted that the composition of the adhesives used in such a tape changes substantially lot by lot, and the adhesive of the tape tends to establish a very intimate adhesion with the wafer surface particularly when materials such as amorphous carbon, nitrides or amorphous polyimides are remaining on the wafer surface. Such a strong adhesion suggests that there is a crosslink reaction between the adhesive and the residual materials on the wafer. A similar problem occurs also in the tape carrying the UV-cure type adhesives.
Thus, it has been necessary to carry out the cleaning of the substrate surface for a prolonged time duration. As the surface of the wafer is generally protected by a film such as a PSG (phosphosilicate glass), a polyimide or SiN, the tape adhesive remaining on the wafer surface after the tape removal, raises a serious problem.
In order to avoid the problem and to eliminate the cleaning process, it is possible to apply an ozone ashing process for a limited time interval against the wafer surface after the removal of the tape, such that the remaining organic materials are oxidized. However, such an ozone ashing process requires a huge investment for the facility and the cost of the produced semiconductor device is increased inevitably. It is also possible to apply a post-treatment process by using an organic solvent such as isopropyl alcohol for removing the remaining adhesives. However, such a post-treatment process inevitably lowers the throughput of production of the semiconductor device.
Further, the use of a UV-cure tape in the grinding process may cause a problem in the fabrication of a semiconductor memory device that includes a so-called floating gate, such as a flash memory or EEPROM. More specifically, the initial data written into the floating gate of the device may be erased or modified as a result of the ultraviolet radiation.
For example, the data written into the floating gate of a flash memory is destroyed when an ultraviolet radiation is applied to the substrate with a wavelength of 253.7 nm and a radiation flux or dose of 1500 mW/cm.sup.2. When a ultraviolet radiation of a 365 nm wavelength is used, the destruction of the data occurs when the radiation dose is 400 mW/cm.sup.2.
The foregoing problem of destruction of the data as a result of the ultraviolet radiation may be avoided by covering the substrate surface by a polyimide film. However, such a process again requires a huge investment and increases the cost of the semiconductor device. Because of this reason, the use of the UV-cure protective tape has not been made as a matter of common practice for fabricating low cost semiconductor devices.

Fabrication process of a semiconductor device including grinding of a semiconductor wafer