A system and method for testing substrates is generally provided. In one embodiment, a test system for testing a substrate includes a load lock chamber, a transfer chamber and a test station. The load lock chamber and the test station are disposed on top of one another and coupled to the transfer chamber. The transfer chamber includes a robot adapted to transfer a substrate between the load lock chamber, which is at a first elevation, and the test station, which is at a second elevation. In another embodiment, a test station is provided having a turntable adapted to rotate the substrate. The turntable enables the range of motion required to test the substrate to be substantially reduced while facilitating full test and/or inspection of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to processing systems for large substrates.
2. Background of the Related Art
Thin film transistors (TFT) are commonly used for active matrix displays such as computer and television monitors, cell phone displays, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and an increasing number of other devices. Generally, flat panels comprise two glass plates having a layer of liquid crystal materials sandwiched therebetween. At least one of the glass plates includes one conductive film disposed thereon that is coupled to a power source. Power, supplied to the conductive film from the power source, changes the orientation of the crystal material, creating a pattern display.
With the marketplace's acceptance of flat panel technology, the demand for larger displays, increased production and lower manufacturing costs have driven equipment manufacturers to develop new systems that accommodate larger size glass substrates for flat panel display fabricators. Current glass processing equipment is generally configured to accommodate substrates up to about one square meter. Processing equipment configured to accommodate substrate sizes up to and exceeding 1½ square meters is envisioned in the immediate future. Such large substrates represent a substantial investment to flat panel display fabricators. In order to monitor and correct defects during processing, flat panel display fabricators are increasingly turning toward device testing during the fabrication stage. One such device which enables flat panel display fabricators to test devices formed on flat panels is a PUMA™ electron beam tester available from AKT, Inc., a division of Applied Materials, Inc., located in Santa Clara, Calif.
An electron beam tester provides process testing of the thin film transistor matrix. The electron beam test offers several test methods. It can be used for sensing pixel voltages in response to the voltage applied across the pixels or the pixel may be driven by the beam by providing a current to charge up the pixel. The pixel response to the current may be monitored to provide defect information.
During testing, each pixel must be positioned under the electron beam. This is accomplished by positioning the flat panel on an X/Y table positioned below the beam. As the X/Y table moves laterally to sequentially position each pixel below the electron beam, an area must be dedicated around the X/Y table to provide space for this movement.
However, as testing equipment is increased in size to accommodate larger flat panels, simple scaling of current equipment designs would result in disadvantageously large equipment footprints. Correspondingly, larger equipment footprint per processing unit throughput results in a high cost of ownership to the equipment owner. Moreover, the large size of the equipment also increases the cost of shipping and may, in some cases, restrict the means and locales to which such equipment may be transported.
Therefore, there is a need for a compact testing system for flat panel displays.


A method of manufacture of an integrated circuit packaging system includes: providing a substrate; attaching an integrated circuit to the substrate; molding an encapsulation directly on the integrated circuit and the substrate; forming a trench in the encapsulation having a trench bottom surface and surrounding the integrated circuit; and mounting a heatsink having a heatsink rim over the integrated circuit with the heatsink rim within the trench and the heatsink electrically isolated from the substrate.

The electronic industry continues to seek products that are lighter, faster, smaller, multi-functional, more reliable, and more cost-effective. The advent of multi-function electronic devices, such as cell phones that are also game platforms, cameras, Internet portals, and music or video players, has brought immense pressure on the electronics device manufacturers and the manufacturing companies that support them.
In an effort to meet such requirements, package assembly techniques have been developed for smaller packages. These types of packages can combine two or more semiconductor chips in a single package, thereby realizing increased memory density, multi-functionality, and/or reduced package footprint.
As integration increases while package sizes decreases, adverse interactions within the package and external to the package can affect the functionality of circuits in the package. Heat or radiation can affect the internal circuits.
Thus, a need still remains for an integrated circuit packaging system for increasing integration, decrease size, and increased reliability. In view of the challenges of balancing all these needs, it is increasingly critical that answers be found to these problems. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is critical that answers be found for these problems. Additionally, the need to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and performance, and meet competitive pressures adds an even greater urgency to the critical necessity for finding answers to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.

Integrated circuit packaging system with heatsink cap and method of manufacture thereof


Methods are provided for manufacturing semiconductor devices include forming a first fin protruding on a substrate and extending in a first direction; forming first and second sacrificial gate insulating layers on the first fin, the first and second sacrificial gate insulating layers intersecting the first fin and being spaced apart from each other; forming first and second sacrificial gate electrodes respectively on the first and second sacrificial gate insulating layers; forming a first insulating layer on the first and second sacrificial gate electrodes; removing a portion of the first insulating layer to expose the second sacrificial gate electrode; removing the exposed second sacrificial gate electrode using a first etching process to expose the second sacrificial gate insulating layer; removing the exposed second sacrificial gate insulating layer using a second etching process different from the first etching process to form a first trench which exposes the first fin; forming a first recess in the exposed first fin using a third etching process different from the second etching process; and filling the first recess with a first device isolation layer.

Scaling techniques for increasing the integration density of a semiconductor device include a multi-gate transistor in which a fin- or nanowire-shaped multi-channel active pattern (or a silicon body) is formed on a substrate and a gate is formed on the surface of the multi-channel active pattern.
The multi-gate transistor uses a three-dimensional channel, thus it may be scaled relatively easily. Furthermore, the multi-gate transistor may have improved current control capability without increasing the length of the gate thereof. Furthermore, a short channel effect (SCE) in which electric potential in a channel region is influenced by a drain voltage can be effectively suppressed.
As semiconductor devices are made increasingly smaller, the importance of isolation between transistors is being emphasized. A need therefore exists for improved manufacturing methods for devices in which characteristics of isolation between a plurality of transistors formed on a fin.

Methods of manufacturing semiconductor devices including device isolation processes


A group of transistors is configured to drive a bus at time slots, to express data on the bus. The group of transistors dissipates an amount of electrical energy when driving the bus to a logic level opposite to a logic level present on the bus in an immediate preceding time slot. The group of transistors is arranged to dump another amount of electrical energy. Dumping of the other amount of electrical energy is responsive to driving the bus to a logic level that is the same as present on the bus in an immediate preceding time slot. The dumped amount of electrical energy is equivalent to the amount of energy dissipated by the transistors when transitioning the bus to a different logic level. Other aspects are also described.

Data bus drivers, formats of data driven onto a data bus, bus types, and other aspects of data bus drivers and their buses are many and varied. No driver is 100% efficient at charging or discharging the capacitance of a bus wire to drive data onto a bus, and all of them use electrical energy and generate heat from the dissipation of the electrical energy when driving.

Data bus driver with electrical energy dump


The pre-compression nitrox in-line blender of the present invention has, at an upstream end, an oxygen diffuser for diffusing into an annular cavity of the diffuser oxygen supplied into an innermost cavity from a selectively adjustable pressure regulator regulating a high pressure oxygen reservoir. The annular cavity of the oxygen diffuser communicates, by an air intake aperture in the diffuser, with ambient atmospheric air, whereby a low relative air pressure within the annular cavity draws the ambient atmospheric air through the air intake into the annular cavity. A downstream end of the annular cavity is mounted or mountable to, so as to communicate in unimpeded gaseous communication with, an upstream end of an in-line turbulent mixer. The turbulent mixer is mounted within a sealed conduit, which may be wholly or partly flexible along its length, for generally homogeneous mixing of the oxygen and the ambient atmospheric air so as to form homogeneous nitrox gas as the oxygen and the ambient atmospheric air pass through the turbulent mixer along the sealed gas conduit. A downstream end of the sealed gas conduit is mounted or mountable to, so as to communicate in unimpeded gaseous communication with, a compressor. An oxygen level monitor is mounted or mountable to the sealed gas conduit for sensing and reading out the oxygen level of the nitrox gas within the sealed gas conduit as the nitrox gas flows along the sealed gas conduit under the influence of reduced gas pressure within the sealed gas conduit and oxygen diffuser due to gas intake by the compressor.

Decompression-illness, or the "bends" is a well understood and serious medical condition experienced by divers being exposed to nitrogen forming in the blood stream as the diver ascends from the increased pressure experienced at depth. The amount of nitrogen forming is a direct result of the amount of nitrogen in the air stored in a diver's tanks and breathed at depth.
It is now understood that the use of air having reduced amounts of nitrogen decreases the incidence and seriousness of the bends medical condition. First developed by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), so called "nitrox" gases having reduced levels of nitrogen were found to reduce the bends. Ambient atmospheric air has generally a 21% oxygen content at sea level and a corresponding 79% nitrogen content. Nitrox, as developed, was primarily 32% and 36% oxygen, having correspondingly decreased levels of nitrogen.
Nitrox may be manufactured by mixing pure oxygen with ambient atmospheric air. The NOAA developed a gas blending method in an attempt to get consistent, safe mixtures of nitrox. Presently the nitrox gas blending standards have been established by the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD), and are based on the United States federal regulations as specified by NOAA, Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), the United States Navy and the United States Coastguard.
The popularity of nitrox gas for diving has increased and subsequently created a demand in recreational and commercial diving operations and the like to be able to provide nitrox gas in remote locations for use by divers when refilling their tanks.
Applicant is aware that in the prior art NOAA gas blending method nitrox gases are not blended consistently thoroughly so as to mix the oxygen with the ambient air homogeneously. The NOAA method employs a continuous mixing device having mixing coils which attempt to blend the gases prior to entry in the compressor. The NOAA method has the disadvantage that an existing compressor has to be replaced or heavily modified and it has been found that streams of pure oxygen may flow into the compressor unmixed.
The method and apparatus of the present invention is designed to meet IANTD safety standards, preferably in a nitrox mixture having an oxygen concentration of less than 40%, where the nitrox is blended prior to being fed into the compressor.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for in-line blending of ambient atmospheric air with concentrated oxygen in a pre-compression turbulent mixing chamber and monitoring the level of oxygen in the resulting homogeneously blended nitrox so that the high concentration oxygen supply may be finely regulated to provide the desired nitrox concentrations.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a simplified nitrox blending device to provide safe operation and accurate nitrox mixtures.
Applicant is aware of U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,803 which issued to Wells on Aug. 29, 1989. Wells teaches injecting oxygen into a stream of ambient air in order to produce an oxygen enriched air mixture. The mixture is then compressed and delivered to storage or scuba cylinders for use in diving or other applications. Wells requires a source of oxygen appropriate for injection into the ambient airstream and therefore a great deal of caution is required during generation of the oxygen enriched air mixture to avoid explosions and other problems typically associated with the use of oxygen.
Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,845 which issued to Delp on Mar. 18, 1997. Delp teaches generating oxygen enriched air by use of a permeable membrane gas separation system for separating a nitrous gas component and an oxygen enriched air component from compressed air.
In the '803 patent, Wells teaches mixing ambient air with injected oxygen in a gas mixing coil. In applicant's experience, this method of mixing is problematic in that the flow through the mixing coil remains laminar resulting in poor mixing that is not detected before the gas enters the compressor. Consequently unmixed entrained oxygen can result in combustion in the compressor especially if sufficient oxygen is injected in an attempt to obtain 40% oxygen levels in the final nitrox mix. In the '845 patent, Delp discloses producing nitrox gas by removing a portion of the nitrogen content from ambient air. The use of a vortex tube is taught for dividing the nitrogen gas component into hot and cold nitrogen gas streams.


A flat panel display device including a display area in which a desired image is displayed, and a non-display area arranged outside the display area includes bank portions arranged on a substrate in a predetermined pattern in the display area and partitioning a plurality of first openings, an emission element arranged at each first opening, dummy bank portions formed in the non-display area together with the bank portions and a sealing passivation layer covering the emission element, the sealing passivation layer includes at least a two-layer structure including an organic film and an inorganic film alternately deposited, arranged along a surface defining the dummy bank portions on the upper surface of the emission element, and having a sectional portion directed to and contacting the substrate or a film on the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flat panel display device, and in particular, to a flat panel display device with an improved structure which prevents permeation of harmful material such as moisture or oxygen and degradation of performance of the flat panel display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional flat panel display device, for example, an organic electro-luminescence display panel disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-284041. Referring to FIG. 1, an emission element 20 is formed between partition walls 31 which are extruded on a substrate 11. The emission element 20 includes a first electrode layer 21 as anode injecting holes, an organic film 23 in which light is emitted by the recombination of holes and electrons, and a second electrode layer 27 as cathode injecting electrons. In the organic film 23, light is emitted by the recombination of holes injected from the first electrode layer 21 and electrons injected from the second electrode layer 27, respectively. To this end, it is preferable that the first electrode layer 21 be formed of a material having a high work function and the second electrode layer 27 be formed of material having a low work function. The second electrode layer 27 is highly active and has instable chemical characteristics, and therefore can be easily oxidized or corroded if exposed to outside moisture or oxygen. The organic film 23 having an emission layer also has a degradation of emission due to a change of crystalline structure when moisture or oxygen permeates. In an extreme case, dark spots are formed thereby losing a display function. Therefore, in the conventional art, in order to isolate the organic film 23 and the second electrode layer 27 from the outside, first and second inorganic passivation layers 41 formed of an inorganic compound and a resin capsulation layer 45 therebetween are formed. Since the first and second inorganic passivation layers 41 are stacked over the emission element 20, the permeation of oxygen/moisture through a main face of the first and second passivation layers 41, e.g., the permeation of harmful material via a path R1 is effectively prevented. However, the penetration of harmful material through the side of the exposed first and second passivation layers 41, e.g., the permeation via a path R2 is not effectively prevented.

Flat panel display device with at least two-layer sealing passivation layer


A skate and skate brake which allows a user to brake the skate smoothly and evenly without catching on a ground surface utilizes a rotatable assembly having a resilient outer circumferential member attached to a relatively hard inner hub, the rotatable assembly brakes the skate by rotating with a rotational friction greater than that of the average rotational friction of the skate wheels. The rotational friction of the rotatable assembly is controlled by locating a non-rotating brake pad in physical contact with the inner hub. The amount of rotational friction can be increase by urging the brake pads against an annular portion of the inner hub and by positioning the brake pads within an interior recess inside the inner hub so that an increase in the downward force that the user applies to the brake increases the force by which the inner hub of the rotatable assembly is urged against the brake pads. A method for braking a skate includes the steps of pivoting the skate about a wheel, rotating a rotatable assembly in contact with a ground surface while applying friction to the rotation of the rotatable assembly by urging a non-rotating brake pad against a relatively hard interior surface of the rotating rotatable assembly.

This invention relates to a brake for in-line and traditional roller skates and skate boards (collectively referred to as skates) as well as a method for braking skates. Skates such as in-line roller skates are capable of carrying users at great speeds and therefore are desirably provided with a brake. Prior art skate brakes are typically simply a piece of resilient material held by a bracket that is attached to either the front or rear of the skate. When braking is desired, the user pivots a skate about its front or rear wheels and drags this material along the ground.
Unfortunately, when prior art brakes are dragged along the ground, they have a tendency to "catch" at specific points, causing the braking action to be jerky. This catching makes braking difficult for beginning skaters, since the sudden and uneven forces exerted can upset their balance and cause them to fall. This has an obvious effect on beginning skaters' enthusiasm for the sport. In addition, the jerkiness involved in using traditional brakes can make them difficult to use for even experienced users, since the higher speeds often obtained by experienced users demand even smoother braking to avoid an accident.


Nanotube and graphene transducers are disclosed. A transducer according to the present invention can include a substrate, a plurality of semiconductive structures, one or more metal pads, and a circuit. The semiconductive structures can be nanotubes or graphene located entirely on a surface of the substrate, such that each of the semiconductive structures is supported along its entire length by the substrate. An electrical property of the semiconductive structures can change when a force is applied to the substrate. The metal pads can secure at least one of the semiconductive structures to the substrate. The circuit can be coupled to at least some of the semiconductive structures to provide an output responsive to the change in the electrical property of the semiconductive structures, so as to indicate the applied force.

It has long been known that a plurality of nanocrystallites in silicon carbide (SiC) would give rise to an enlargement of the energy gap of the SiC shifting any emitted light towards the ultraviolet (UV) region because of quantum confinement, which allows the relaxation of momentum selection rules by confining the charge carriers spatially, thus allowing direct band gap transitions. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,241 to Kurtz, entitled "Fabricating Porous Silicon Carbide," which issued on 27 Dec. 1994 and is assigned to Kulite Semiconductor Products, Inc, the assignee herein. That patent teaches the formation of porous SiC, which is formed under electrochemical anodization. The patent also describes the production of the semiconductor through the use of UV light to illuminate the surface of the semiconductor. In this manner, by controlling the light intensity, the potential, and the doping level, a porous layer is formed in the semiconductor, thereby producing porous SiC. The porous SiC can be employed for UV light sources, such as LEDs and diode lasers. Porous SiC can also be utilized as a filtering chemical process to provide heterojunction devices.
See U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,818 to Kurtz, entitled "Large Area P-N Junction Devices Formed from Porous Silicon," issued on 27 Dec. 1994 and assigned to the assignee herein. That patent shows the formation of porous SiC, which is produced under electrochemical anodization. The patent teaches that when a potential is applied to the semiconductor and ultraviolet light illuminates the surface of semiconductor, one can control the light intensity, the potential in doping level, to form a microporous structure in the semiconductor, thus producing porous SiC. The microporous structure enhances the quantum confinement of energetic carriers, and the semiconductor device is highly sensitive to stress.
Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,378 to Kurtz entitled, "Passivation of Porous Semiconductors for Improved Optoelectronic Device Performance and Fabrication of Light-Emitting Diode Bases on Same." The patent issued on 10 Nov. 1998 and is assigned to the assignee herein. That patent describes a method for improving the photoluminescent performance of a porous semiconductor. According to the patented method, a monolayer of passivating material is generated on a pore wall of the porous semiconductor to passivate the porous semiconductor. This monolayer substantially eliminates dangling bonds and surface states, which are associated with the porous semiconductor layer. The resulting passive porous semiconductor layer exhibits a quantum efficiency of approximately five percent. It is indicated that one monolayer of passivating material can be an oxide generated by placing the bulk semiconductor substrate into a furnace. Also described is a heterojunction light emitting device employing a passivated porous semiconductor layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,732, which issued on 17 Aug. 1999 and is entitled "Vertical Cavity Emitting Porous Silicon Carbide Light Emitting Diode Device and Preparation Thereof," is assigned to the assignee herein and invented by A. D. Kurtz et al. That patent teaches a multi-layered light emitting device, which has an active light emitting layer of porous silicon carbide and a sequence of layers of porous SiC underneath which serve as a quarter wavelength multi layer minor. In this manner, one obtains electroluminescent emission of narrow visible light in the deep blue to UV range in a highly directed pattern. Thus, as indicated above, the nanocrystallites in SiC give rise to an enlargement of the energy gap and shifts emitted light towards the UV region. The same effect has also been demonstrated in silicon. Moreover, when LEDs are made from such materials, the emitted light is shifted towards the UV, the shifting inversely proportional to the size of the nanostructure. It is well-known that the width of the energy gap may also be affected by the application of stresses (see for instance, deformation potentials). The use of deformation potentials as affecting the energy gap is well-known and is textbook material. Thus, it is indicated and known that the effect of stress can cause a change in the frequency of emitted light of an LED or the light resonance of the structure.
In graphite, a similar effect can occur. Normal graphite is a semi-metal, but in a nanostructure it can be a conductor or a semiconductor. For example, see an article entitled, "Nanotubes for Electronics" in the December 2000 issue of Scientific American, pages 62 to 69. This article describes nanotubes and is written by Phillip G. Collins and Phaedon Avouris. In the article, it is clear that nanotubes are utilized because of their unique electronic properties. Carbon nanotubes can be used to perform essentially the same function as silicon does in electronic circuits, but at a molecular scale, where silicon and other semiconductors do not work. In particular, when the dimensions of the nanotube are of the same order of magnitude as the electron wavelength, then these quantum effects can occur at those dimensions.
See also an article entitled "Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics" by Serge Haroche and Jean-Michel Raimond, which appeared in Scientific American in April 1993. This article explains the operation of atoms and photons and their behavior in small cavities. The article shows that new sensors can be developed utilizing such techniques.
In any event, because of the function and operation of nanotubes, it has been determined that application of stress can change a conductor to a semiconductor by changing the energy gap where the quantum confinement leads to a large change in the electrical properties. Essentially, the electrical properties of nanostructures, such as nanotubes, which exhibit quantum confinement, can be changed by the application of various stresses, thus leading to a means of measuring such stresses.
Given the above, it is well-known that there are many methods for measuring an applied force or stress. Historically, these measurements have been made using semiconductor based piezoresistive pressure transducers or strain gages, wherein a micromachined structure deflects under the load and results in the semiconductor material experiencing strain. The strain in the semiconductor material causes the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor to change, which in turn results in a change in the output signal of the device that is proportional to the applied force.
It is also known that a monolayer of graphite, also known as graphene, is a zero band gap semiconductor, and multilayers of graphene can be produced to create a small, controlled band gap. Similar to carbon nanotubes as demonstrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,312,096, titled "Nanotube Semiconductor Structures with Varying Electrical Properties," which is assigned to the assignee herein, a monolayer or multilayers of graphene can exhibit a change in electrical properties when strained by an applied force.
Conventional sensors do not take full advantage of the various beneficial properties of nanotubes and graphene described above. Therefore, there is a need for sensors that effectively uses the above described beneficial properties of nanotubes and graphene.

Nanotube and graphene semiconductor structures with varying electrical properties


A reamer for reaming of a acetabulum during a minimally invasive procedure. Generally, the reamer, particularly the reamer head, can be inserted and removed through a substantially small incision without trauma to the tissue surrounding the incision. The reamer, generally includes a reaming or scraping portion, which are aligned substantially along a single meridian of a hemisphere. The reamer further includes stabilizing portions to assist in ensuring a selected reaming orientation. Also, protective wings assist in removing the reamer.

Many portions of the anatomy, particularly the human anatomy, articulate relative one another. Generally, articulation occurs between two proximal or adjacent anatomical portions, such as bones. For example, a hip joint is formed by the articulation of the head of the femur with the acetabulum defined by the pelvis.
In a natural or uninjured hip joint, the femoral head articulates substantially smoothly with the acetabulum. Both the femoral head and the acetabulum are generally covered with cartilage, such that the articulation of the hip joint is substantially smooth and pain free. Nevertheless, due to injury, aging, wear, or other degenerative issues, the joint may become worn, such that articulation of the hip joint is painful or impractical. When such injuries or deteriorations occur, it is sometimes possible to replace the natural hip joint with an artificial hip joint. The replacement or artificial hip joint may include a prosthetic femoral head and a prosthetic acetabulum, including an acetabular cup. Although both may be replaced, it will be understood that either one or the other may be replaced and the natural portion of the other left in place.
If it is selected to replace the acetabulum of an individual, the acetabulum is often reamed. Specifically, the acetabulum is reamed, such that the natural tissue, including the cartilage is removed. This prepares the acetabulum for an acetabular implant. The acetabular cup may include an outer shell and an inner lining or only one or the other. Nevertheless, it is often desired to remove the injured or deteriorated natural anatomical structures to prepare the acetabulum for reception of the acetabular implant.
Generally, removing or reaming of the acetabulum requires a substantially invasive incision to allow for a clear and open path to the acetabulum by the tools required to ream the acetabulum. Generally, a large incision allows for complete dislocation of the femoral head from the acetabulum to allow for reaming of the acetabulum.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method and tool for a minimally invasive procedure for reaming the acetabulum to prepare it for reception of an acetabular prosthetic.


Systems, methods, and apparatuses for reducing writes to the data array of a cache. A cache hierarchy includes one or more L1 caches and a L2 cache inclusive of the L2 cache(s). When a request from the L1 cache misses in the L2 cache, the L2 cache sends a fill request to memory. When the fill data returns from memory, the L2 cache delays writing the fill data to its data array. Instead, this cache line is written to the L1 cache and a clean-evict bit corresponding to the cache line is set in the L1 cache. When the L1 cache evicts this cache line, the L1 cache will write back the cache line to the L2 cache even if the cache line has not been modified.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data caches, and in particular to methods and mechanisms for delaying data writes to a data cache.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern day mobile electronic devices often include multiple components or agents sharing access to one or more memory devices. These multiple agents may make large numbers of requests to memory, and as the number of these requests increases, the power consumption of the device increases, which limits the battery life of the device. One approach for reducing power consumption is to try to reduce the number of times that off-chip memory is accessed by caching data in or near the requesting agent.
Conventional caches are typically coupled to or nearby an agent and store data that is frequently accessed by the agent to reduce latency. For example, processor cores often include caches and may also be coupled to additional external caches in a cache memory hierarchy. For example, in a system with a two-level cache hierarchy, a level two (L2) cache may be inclusive of one or more write-back level one (L1) caches. Typically, a request from a core that misses in the L2 cache will bring the corresponding cache line from memory into the L2 cache data array, update the state of the L2 cache, and then update the L1 cache. If the core subsequently dirties the line, the L2 data array will be updated yet again when the line is evicted from the core. Therefore, the first write to the L2 data array was unnecessary and contributes to increased power consumption.


Option ROMs associated with information handling system processing components is selectively disabled to reduce the time associated with one or more boots of the information handling system, such as during deployment of applications after manufacture of the information handling system. An Option ROM selector module identifies one or more Option ROMs to disable at a boot, such as Option ROMs associated with processing components that are not needed for deployment of applications, and communicates the disabled Option ROMs to an Option ROM boot execution controller of the information handling system, such as with SMBIOS tokens. At a subsequent boot, the Option ROM execution controller prevents the BIOS from loading disabled Option ROMs for execution so that boot time is reduced with impact to the deployment of applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system manufacture, and more particularly to a system and method for manufacture of information handling systems with selective Option ROM executions.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems are built from a variety of components and, once assembled, loaded with different types of applications. Typically, the components communicate with each other through an operating system that uses drivers adapted for particular components. On power-up of the information handling system, the system firmware, such as the basic input/output system (BIOS), initiates boot with a bootable device, typically the hard disc drive, to run the operating system and selected applications. Bootable devices are identified by the BIOS by reading a bootable device class code from the device mass media controllers and include SCSI, IDE, RAID, NIC, Fibre Channel and Infiniband devices. As the BIOS scans components at boot initiation, it loads Optional ROM code, known as Option ROM, into memory from the bootable devices for execution during boot. Generally, information handling systems boot to a hard disc drive which stores the operating system, however, other drives may supercede the hard disc drive, such as if a bootable CD-ROM disc is found by the BIOS during its scan.
During initial manufacture, information handling systems typically have software deployed to components through a network connection after initial boot through a PXE client or portable media, such as a floppy or USB key. In a PXE boot, the network interface card boots to a network location to download applications, such as an operating system image. After the PXE boot, the information handling system typically performs a number of reboots in a build process that performs tests, flashes firmware such as the BIOS, and otherwise configures the applications to run with the components of the information handling system. One difficulty with a factory build process that involves a number of reboots is that each reboot is time consuming. The amount of time for a boot generally depends on the number and type of components loaded on the information handling system and is sometimes reduced by altering the boot process, such as disabling memory testing. The execution of Option ROM during each boot tends to increase boot time, especially where an information handling system has a number of bootable devices. For instance, onboard and plug-in PCI cards add substantial time to each boot for the execution of Option ROM present in the card and in the BIOS for support detected cards. When PCI cards support RAID with multiple devices the time for each boot can be up to three to four minutes. Even a basic SCSI card can add thirty seconds to a minute to boot time if drives are connected. Over the course of building a number of information handling systems, these long boot times have a substantial impact on factory output even though the components associated with executed Option ROM are often not used in a particular boot sequence.

System and method for manufacture of information handling systems with selective option ROM executions


According to the present invention, the gradient of duty pressure increase can be adjusted to a best possible value even when an M/C pressure has varied. For example, duty ratio is set to a first set value when a difference between the M/C pressure and a wheel locking pressure is equal to or larger than a predetermined value and to a second set value for a longer pressure increase duration when the difference is smaller than the predetermined value. Then, a brake fluid pressure control valve is operated so that the duty pressure can be increased according to the duty ratio.

One kind of antiskid control device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,641. This device comprises wheel brakes for applying braking force to wheels of a vehicle, a master cylinder for generating brake fluid pressure corresponding to the extent to which a brake pedal is depressed and for transmitting the brake fluid pressure to the wheel brakes, brake fluid pressure control valves interposed between the wheel brakes and the master cylinder, wheel speed detection devices for detecting the rotational speeds of the wheels, and a controller for operating the brake fluid pressure control valves so that the brake fluid pressure is reduced and duty pressure is increased in response to output signals from the wheel speed detection devices.
This control device is designed to be capable of detecting the condition in which the wheels tend to be locked before starting the antiskid control and repeating the control for reducing the pressure and increasing the duty pressure to prevent the wheels from being locked. With this device, when it is determined that the duty pressure should be increased, the duty pressure increase operation is executed repeatedly (the duty pressure increase process comprises the duration of duty pressure increase and the duration of pressure reduction, and the sum of them is constant), and the duty ratio (the ratio of the duration of duty pressure increase to the duration of pressure reduction) is set so that the duration of the duty pressure increase becomes gradually longer. Furthermore, when the necessity of pressure reduction is determined after the duty pressure increase control has been executed, the initial value of the duty ratio in the next duty pressure increase control is increased or decreased depending on a period or a duration of the preceding duty pressure increase control so that the pressure increase gradient can be properly compensated.
Such a conventional device, however, is not designed so that the duty ratio for controlling the duty pressure increase can be varied according to the difference between the braking pressure generated by the master cylinder (hereinafter referred to as M/C pressure) and a locking pressure which causes the wheels to be locked.
Thus, in the situation where the duty ratio is set for a relatively short duration of pressure increase, when the M/C pressure is at a high level (or when the difference between M/C pressure and the locking pressure is relatively large), there is a large difference between the M/C pressure and the braking pressure of the wheels, and thus a necessary pressure increasing gradient can be obtained. However, when the M/C pressure is close to the locking pressure (or when the difference between the M/C pressure and the locking pressure is relatively small), the difference between the M/C pressure and the braking pressure applied to the wheels also becomes smaller. Thus, when the duty ratio is left unmodified, the pressure increase gradient becomes too gentle, thereby giving rise to problems such as pressure increase delay or a longer braking distance.
On the other hand, in the case where the duty ratio is set so that the duration of pressure increase becomes longer, when the M/C pressure is close to the locking pressure, the necessary pressure increase gradient can be obtained, but if the M/C pressure is too high, the pressure increase gradient becomes too steep. Consequently, the wheels become more likely to be locked as a resultant problem.


Mechanisms are provided for automatically expanding a virtual storage of a virtual machine. The virtual machine monitors a usage of the virtual storage of the virtual machine. The virtual machine determines, based on the monitoring of the usage of the virtual storage, whether to expand the virtual storage of the virtual machine. In response to the virtual machine determining to expand the virtual storage of the virtual machine, a virtual machine manager executes one or more operations to expand the virtual storage. The monitoring and determining may be performed by a virtual storage management agent executing within the virtual machine and which may send an expansion request to an authorization engine to request expansion of the virtual storage.

The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for automatically managing the storage of a virtual machine.
A virtual machine (VM) is a software implementation of a machine (i.e. a computer) that executes programs like a physical machine. Virtual machines are separated into two major categories, based on their use and degree of correspondence to any real machine. A system virtual machine provides a complete system platform which supports the execution of a complete operating system (OS). These usually emulate an existing architecture, and are built with the purpose of providing a platform to run programs where the real hardware is not available for use (for example, executing software on, otherwise, obsolete platforms) or having multiple instances of virtual machines lead to more efficient use of computing resource, both in terms of energy consumption as well as cost effectiveness (known as hardware virtualization, the key to a cloud computing environment), or both. In contrast, a process virtual machine (also, language virtual machine) is designed to run a single program, which means that it supports a single process. Such virtual machines are usually closely suited to one or more programming languages and built with the purpose of providing program portability and flexibility (amongst other things). An essential characteristic of a virtual machine is that the software running inside is limited to the resources and abstractions provided by the virtual machine it cannot extend outside of its virtual environment.
Server based virtual machines are one way in which computing power and storage may be provided to client applications as a service. That is, for each client application session, or for a plurality of client application sessions, from the same or different client computing devices, a client virtual machine may be created on the server computing device that represents a separate instance of the server computing device, and associated resources, for that client application session or plurality of client application sessions. This client virtual machine may have its own instance of an operating system, allocated virtual memory resources, and the like.
However, as mentioned above, client application processes are limited by the resources allocated to the virtual machine. In order to modify such allocation of resources, a skilled human operator must manually reconfigure the allocation of resources and even modify the physical resources of the physical machines to accommodate the need for more resources. This process can be very complex in environments where client segregation is present and virtual machines are connected to segregated networks. Client segregation refers to public clouds or, more generally, multi-tenant environments, where cloud resources (compute, storage, and networks) can be dedicated to tenants. The cloud infrastructure must guarantee that those resources are kept separate and secured so that only the assigned tenant can access them in a secure way. Thus, virtual machines and storage devices must be configured to be accessed only from the networks dedicated to the tenant, i.e. must be segregated. Managing a multi-tenant environment adds complexity because the cloud environment must be more sophisticated to guarantee segregation of resources and the quality of service per each tenant. The cloud environment must manage the resource pools and the quota of resources that each tenant can use on the pools with over-commitment policies possibly being in place to optimize the use of the resources across tenants. In such an environment, a process of reconfiguring a virtual machine is more critical and error prone compared with a private, single tenant environment.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Automatically managing the storage of a virtual machine

International Business Machines Corporation


A connection device includes a body having a first and a second end, a first connector set at the first end, and a pin type connector set at the second end. The first connector set includes a first strip element and a second strip element, which form an electrical interface of the connection device. The pin type connector set includes a first element and a second element, and thus forms another electrical interface of the connection device, different from the electrical interface formed by the first connector set. The pin type connector may be projecting pins or hollows that receive pins. The first connector set is electrically connected to the pin type connector set. Thus, the connection device is adapted for electrically connecting a generator with an exciter having incompatible electrical interfaces.

Power generation plants produce electricity by converting an energy source (e.g. fossil fuel, nuclear fusion, hydraulic heat and geothermal heat) into mechanical energy (e.g. rotation of a turbine shaft), and subsequently converting the mechanical energy into electrical energy (e.g. by the principles of electromagnetic induction). Some power generation plants, such as a turbogenerator, comprise a turbine, a generator and an exciter. Typically, the turbine, the generator and the exciter are coupled to each other in axial alignment, with the generator located between the turbine and the exciter.
The output of the turbine is mechanical energy in the form of turbine shaft rotation which is then converted into electrical energy by the generator. The generator includes an axially extending rotor surrounded and sleeved by an annular stator of the generator. The rotor includes a shaft on which conductive coil windings are axially arranged and which is capable of rotating inside the stator. The turbine shaft rotates the generator rotor shaft, and the exciter through a shaft provides an electric current to the conductive coil windings of the shaft of the rotor. The rotating electrically charged rotor creates a magnetic flux that induces an electric current in stationary stator coil windings present in the stator. This induced electric current is then drawn from the stator and constitutes the electricity that the power generation plant provides.
One prerequisite of the above-described power generation scheme is the electrical interconnection of the exciter and the generator enabling the exciter to provide the electric current to the conductive coil windings in the rotor shaft. An electric current is transported in a closed loop configuration from an electrical interface of the shaft of the exciter to an electrical interface of the shaft of the generator. The electric current subsequently flows to the generator rotor coil windings, and then back to the exciter.
Typically, the electrical interfaces are located at axial leads of the shafts of the generator and the exciter and are either a 'butterfly type' or a 'pin type' electrical interface.
In the 'butterfly type' electrical interface there are at least two flattened strips, made of electrically conducting material, positioned on a surface at the axial lead of the generator or the exciter such that they can establish an electrical connection by physical contact with similarly structured and similarly oriented two counterpart conducting strips positioned on a surface at the axial lead of the exciter or the generator, respectively.
In 'pin type', there is a male part and a female part, each made of electrically conducting material. The male part includes at least two pins and the female part includes at least two receptacles, each receptacle suitable to receive one pin of the male part though an opening of the receptacle.
The electrical connection between the generator and the exciter is established by inserting the pins into the receptacles, and thereby physically and electrically connecting the pins and the receptacles.
In one variation of the pin type, the male part is positioned extending out from a surface at the axial lead of the generator and the female part is located at the exciter with the openings of the receptacles positioned on a surface at the axial lead of the exciter. In an alternate variation of the pin type, the male part is positioned extending out from the surface at the axial lead of the exciter and the female part is located at the generator with the openings of the receptacles positioned on the surface at the axial lead of the generator.
In yet another variation of the pin type electrical interface, the generator and the exciter both have female parts i.e. the receptacles are provided on the rotor shaft with openings of the receptacles on the surface at the axial lead of the generator. Similarly, the receptacles are also provided on the exciter shaft with openings of the receptacles on the surface at the axial lead of the exciter shaft. Subsequently, the male part having the pins is introduced as an additional component between the female part of the generator and the female part of the exciter, wherein for each pin, one portion of the pin is inserted into the openings of the receptacles of the rotor of the generator and another portion of the pin is inserted into the openings of the receptacles of the shaft of the exciter.
It may be noted that butterfly type connection does not conform to pin type connection and thus an electrical connection can only be established between a generator and an exciter if the electrical interfaces of the generator and the exciter are either both of the pin type or both of the butterfly type. A generator having the pin type interface is incompatible to be physically coupled to an exciter having the butterfly type interface for establishing an electrical connection. Similarly, a generator having the butterfly type interface is incompatible to be physically coupled to an exciter having the pin type interface for establishing an electrical connection. This limitation requiring only specific pairing of the electrical interface of the generator and the exciter is a disadvantage.

Technique for electrically connecting a generator and an exciter


In one embodiment, a sensed dataset includes data produced by a plurality of light sensors that have been exposed to a light environment. The data of the sensed dataset corresponds to different ranges of light, and at least a portion of one of the ranges of light is outside the visible (VIS) light spectrum. The sensed dataset is compared to a plurality of known datasets representative of known light environments, and at least one known dataset that is similar to the sensed dataset is identified. In response thereto, an indication of the sensed light environment is provided. Apparatus for implementing this and related methods is also disclosed. In some embodiments, the light sensors are ultraviolet, visible and infrared sensors, and the indication of the sensed light environment is used to control the color of data acquired by an image sensor, or the color of a display backlight.

Portable devices such as cameras, mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) can be operated in a variety of light environments (e.g., in sunlight, incandescent light, fluorescent light, or halogen light). Typically, a device is optimized for one particular light environment, and in other environments, the device may not operate optimally. For example, in some light environments, a device's display may be difficult to read, or the color of images acquired by the device's image sensor (e.g., in the case of a camera) may be off-color.
Some devices are provided with an ambient light sensor to sense the intensity of light in a device's environment. These devices may then increase or decrease the brightness of the device's display, or the gain of the device's image sensor. However, two light environments may have the same intensity, but have very different effects on the device's operation. For example, one light environment may tend to wash-out a display's colors, whereas another light environment may accentuate a display's (or acquired image's) blue hues.

Method and apparatus for identifying a sensed light environment

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


The invention relates to a method of treatment for a mammal in need of chemonucleolysis. The method comprising the administration of an effective proteoglycan cleaving amount of a proteoglycan-degrading enzyme and an effective amount of a growth factor effective in promoting the synthesis of a matrix component. The proteoglycan-degrading enzyme is preferably chondroitinase. The growth factor is preferably osteogenic protein. The proteoglycan-degrading enzyme and the growth factor are preferably administered simultaneously.

Low back pain constitutes a devastating economic burden for individuals and society. In industry, it is the most frequent cause of disability: the number of working days lost per year in the United States is in excess of 100 million. Kramer, J., Intervertebral Disk Disease. Stuttgart, George Thieme Verlag (1981). Over 500,000 workers are affected in the U.S. each year, costing over 20 billion dollars. Kranzler, L. I., L. et al., Neurologic Clinics 3: 2 (1985). Low back pain is almost always associated with pathological changes in one or more intervertebral disks of the lumbar spine.
Intervertebral disks are a specialized fibrocartilaginous connective tissue whose function is to resist the compressive, rotational and tensile stresses applied to the vertebral column. Humzah, M. D. et al., Anat. Rec. 220(4): 337–56 (1988). These disks act as a hydrostatic shock absorber that cushions the forces generated between two vertebrae and help these vertebrae articulate smoothly with one another. The disk is a complex structure consisting of two interdependent, but morphologically distinct regions: the nucleus pulposus (NP), an inner gelatinous cushion rich in proteoglycans (PGs), and an outer annulus fibrosus (AF) made up of concentric lamellae rich in collagen fibers.
The metabolism of the cells that produce and maintain the extracellular matrix of both the NP and AF is poorly understood. The matrix in the NP is very similar to that found in articular cartilage. Jahnke, M. R. et al., Biochemical Journal 251(2): 347–56 (1988). It is synthesized and maintained throughout adult life by relatively few cells. More than 75% of NP cells are chondrocyte-like, but a significant number of large notochordal cells are present, especially prior to adult life. Maldonado, B. A. et al., Journal of Orthopaedic Research 10(5): 677–90 (1992). It is not clear if both NP cell types synthesize the large-molecular-weight hydrophilic PG, termed aggrecan, that constitutes the most abundant molecule in the tissue. As in articular cartilage, these aggrecan molecules interact extracellularly with long linear stands of hyaluronan (HA), forming aggregates that become entangled in a fibrillar network made up principally of type II collagen. Thonar, E. J. et al., Rheum. Dis. Clin. North Am. 19(3): 635–57 (1993). The swelling, fluid- and ion-transport properties, and the intrinsic mechanical properties of the collagen-aggrecan solid matrix govern the deformational behavior of the NP. The collagen network gives the tissue tensile strength and hinders expansion of the viscoelastic, under-hydrated, aggrecan molecules that provide compressive stiffness and enable the tissue to undergo reversible deformation.
The AF contains a relatively homogeneous population of chondrocyte-like cells (Maldonado, B. A. et al., Journal of Orthopaedic Research 10(5): 677–90 (1992)) that synthesize a matrix richer in collagen and poorer in PGs than cells from the NP. Importantly, some of the cells synthesize PG and collagen molecules not normally found in significant amounts in cartilage. Wu, J. J. et al., Biochemical Journal 248(2): 373–81 (1987); Mayne, R. and Brewton, R. G., "Extracellular matrix of cartilage collagen," in Joint Cartilage Degradation. Basic and Clinical Aspects (Woessner, J. R. and Howell, D. S., eds.), Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, pp. 81–108 (1993); Thonar, E. J.-M. A. et al., "Body fluid markers of cartilage changes in osteoarthritis," in Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America: Osteoarthritis (Moskowitz, R., ed.), W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, pp. 634–658 (1993). The AF is thus usually classified as a fibrocartilage: it is built for strength rather than to provide reversible deformation.
The metabolism of intervertebral disk cells is much less well known than that of chondrocytes from articular cartilage. Progress in this area has been limited by the costly nature of in vivo experimental approaches and the restrictions imposed in the past by the lack of an appropriate culture system to study the metabolism of the cells. Chiba et al. (Chiba, K. et al., "Nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells cultured in alginate: characterization of matrix metabolism in different compartments," Transactions of 2nd Combined Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Societies of U.S.A., Japan, Canada and Europe, p. 32 (1995)) have developed a cell culture system that takes advantage of an alginate bead culture system that was developed and refined to study the metabolism of phenotypically-stable chondrocytes and the turnover of the matrix they form de novo. Häuselmann, H. J., et al., Matrix 12(2): 116–29 (1992); Häuselmann, H. J. et al., J. Cell Sci. 107: 17–27 (1994); Mok, S. S. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 269(52): 33021–7(1994); Petit, B., et al., Experimental Cell Research 225: 151–161 (1996). As in articular chondrocytes, intervertebral disk cells entrapped in these alginate beads also reform an extracellular matrix. Chiba, K., et al. Spine 22(24): 2885–93 (1997). This cell culture system can be used to study the effect of compounds on the metabolism of both AF and NP cells. This cell culture system can distinguish between changes occurring in the metabolically active (cell-associated) and-inactive (further removed) compartments of the matrix. Chiba et al. have also shown that it is feasible to entrap a whole rabbit intervertebral disk in alginate gel. Chiba, K., G. B. J. Andersson, et al., Ortho. Res. Soc. Trans. 21:190 (1996). This approach, which more closely mimics the in vivo situation, leads to improved retention of the disk structure and promotes high metabolic activities.
Lumbar intervertebral disk herniation is one of the most common causes of lower back pain. Disk herniation is initially conservatively treated with physical therapy, but other more invasive treatment modalities are sometimes required. For example, chemonucleolysis, the dissolution of intervertebral disk tissue using a locally injected enzyme, has been used for over thirty years. Olmarker, et al. Clin. Orthopaedics and Related Res. 257:274 (1990). As PGs contribute most of the swelling pressure in the NP, intradiscal injections of enzymes that degrade PGs (Bradford, D. S., et al., Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery—American Volume 65(9): 1220–31 (1983); Hill, G. M. et al., Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Researches 225: 229–233 (1987)) or collagens cause a decompression of the nerve root entrapped by the herniated mass, and thus help relieve pain. There is preliminary histological evidence that the cells in disks treated with these enzymes can replenish the NP with PGs, (Bradford, D. S., et al., Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery-American Volume 65(9): 1220–31 (1983)) helping to reestablish the shock-absorbing properties of the intervertebral cushion and, most importantly, to normalize forces and stresses placed upon adjacent disks.
Complications can arise from chemonucleolysis when it is performed with two commonly used enzymes, namely chymopapain and collagenase. Kitchel and Brown report that chymopapain treatment can lead to subarachnoid hemorrhage, paraplegia, anaphylaxis, and even death. Clin. Orthopaedics and Related Res. 284:63 (1992). Olmarker et al. note that the injected chymopapain is both neurotoxic and allergenic, and that treatment with collagenase may lead to neurologic deficits. Clin. Orthopaedics and Related Res. 257:274 (1990).
Because the painful sciatica associated with disk herniation is often not relieved by conservative treatments, including physical therapy and chemonucleolysis, many patients undergo disk surgery. Hill, G. M. et al., Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Researches 225: 229–233 (1987). However, surgical results are not always satisfying and importantly, this approach is far from optimal as removal of a lumbar intervertebral disk causes significant destabilization of the lower spine and predisposes adjacent intervertebral disks to degeneration in later years. Hill, G. M. et al., Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Researches 225: 229–233 (1987).
Recently, newer treatment modalities for chemonucleolysis have been developed that avoid some of the problems inherent in the use of proteases such as chymopapain and collagenases, and may avoid the need for surgical intervention. One such chemonucleolytic enzyme is chondroitinase ABC, a product of Proteus vulgaris. Chondroitinase ABC is an endo-N-acetyl-D-hexosaminidase that degrades mucopolysaccharides such as chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, chondroitin and hyaluronic acid. Takahashi et al., Spine 21:2405 (1996). Olmarker et al. note that chondroitinase ABC is much less injurious to spinal tissue than chymopapain. Spine 21:1952 (1996).
Osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1), also known as Bone Morphogenetic Protein-7 (BMP-7), is a member of the TGF-β superfamily that exerts potent effects on osteocyte and chondrocyte differentiation and metabolism. Asahina, I., et al., J. Cell Biol. 123(4): 921–33 (1993). The bone morphogenetic proteins were shown to induce new bone formation when injected subcutaneously in the rat. Cook, S. D. et al., Clin. Orthop. 324: 29–38 (1996). Recombinant human OP-1 (rhOP-1) has been shown to promote growth and differentiation of osteoblasts in vitro. Sampath, T. K., et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267: 20352–20360 (1992). It also causes differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells along chondrogenic and osteogenic pathways. Asahina, I., J. Cell. Biol. 123(4): 921–33 (1993). Recombinant human OP-1 also exerts specific effects on chondrocytes. Chen, et al. demonstrated that OP-1 promotes growth of chick sternal chondrocytes. Chen, P. et al., J. Cell. Sci. 108(Pt 1): 105–14 (1995). In this system, induction of synthesis of type X collagen was noted, suggesting that OP-1 exerted an effect on chondrocyte maturation as well. Bovine chondrocytes, in contrast, did not express type X collagen in response to OP-1 but did exhibit increased synthesis of PGs and type II collagen. Chen, P. et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 197(3): 1253–9 (1993). Growth factors are not used in existing chemonucleolysis treatment utilizing protease enzymes such as chymopapain and collagenase because these enzymes cleave or degrade the growth factors.
There is thus a need for a chemonucleolysis treatment that not only provides relief from the symptoms of intervertebral disk herniation, but also provides enhanced stability and repair of the AF and NP. Similarly, there is a need for a chemonucleolysis treatment that provides sufficient mechanical support to the spinal column, and that obviates the need for invasive surgical intervention. There is further a need to have a method of chemonucleolytic treatment that requires only one treatment modality for both dissolution of the intervertebral disk tissue while providing both stability and repair of that tissue. The treatment method of the present invention provides such a method.

Method for the treatment of chemonucleolysis


Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, identifying a first user associated with a first mobile device, and determining a first user type associated with the first user. Further embodiments can include identifying a first identity associated with the first user based on the first user type and identifying a second identity associated with the first user based on the first user type. Additional embodiments can include providing first alternate content to the first mobile device to mask the first identity and providing second alternate content to the first mobile device associated with the second identity. Other embodiments are disclosed.

First responders including law enforcement personnel can utilize a first responder mobile network to communicate with each other. The advantages of first responders utilizing a first responder mobile network are that communication between first responders can be prioritized due to urgency or emergency, accordingly. However, a mobile device that is communicatively coupled to the first responder mobile network can contain content that reveals that it is on the first responder mobile network. If so, such a revelation can put personnel in jeopardy if the mobile device is inspected by a bad actor.

Methods, systems, and devices for masking content to obfuscate an identity of a user of a mobile device


The present invention relates to an auto focus control apparatus and a continuous auto focus control method. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an auto focus control apparatus including: a focal value calculation unit for calculating a focal value from a signal of an image frame; a focus lens driving unit for moving a focus lens to a desired position; and a control unit for determining position movement of a subject based on the focal value calculated by the focal value calculation unit, executing pre-scan according to the movement of the focus lens by controlling the focus lens driving unit to move the focus lens at set frame intervals when the position of the subject is moved, and skipping a lens moving frame corresponding to the time when the focus lens moves during the pre-scan is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an auto focus control apparatus and a continuous auto focus control method, and more particularly, to an auto focus control apparatus and a continuous auto focus control method that can improve wobbling by skipping a frame corresponding to the time when a lens moves according to pre-scan.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cameras mounted in mobile devices such as smartphones have been gradually developed to have high specifications and high functions. Important one of them is a continuous AF (C-AF) function. In order to minimize an AF speed and improve high resolution video quality such as FHD (full HD), employment of the C-AF function is increased and improvement of performance thereof becomes essential.
Describing a conventional AF process with reference to FIG. 7A, movement of a subject is determined (S10). When it is determined that the subject is moved, pre-scan is performed as a substantial AF process (S30). At this time, during the pre-scan, a focus lens alternately moves in a specific direction or in the forward and reverse directions of the specific direction to detect a scan direction and continuously moves in the scan direction to detect a peak point so that a focal value in each position of the focus lens is calculated. This process is called the pre-scan.
That is, a process of moving the focus lens forward or backward is needed during the pre-scan. In this case, there is a difference in definition of an image due to the movement of the focus lens, and this difference in the definition is shown on a preview or a video as it is. This phenomenon is called screen splashing or screen wobbling.
Wobbling causes deterioration of quality of the preview. Particularly, in the videos, such image is stored as it is, thus becoming a factor of deteriorating image quality of the videos.
As shown in FIG. 7B, in the prior art, since a pre-scan interval of a sensor frame is displayed on a preview frame as it is, wobbling occurs in this interval.

Auto focus control apparatus and continuous auto focus control method


Epitaxial wafers comprising a single crystal silicon substrate comprising agglomerated vacancy defects and having an axially symmetric region in which silicon self-interstitials are the predominant intrinsic point defect and which is substantially free of agglomerated defects, and an epitaxial layer which is deposited upon a surface of the substrate and which is substantially free of grown-in defects caused by the presence of agglomerated intrinsic point defects on the substrate surface upon which the epitaxial layer is deposited.

The process of the present invention relates generally to the preparation of epitaxial silicon wafers. More particularly, the present invention relates to the preparation of a set of epitaxial silicon wafers assembled in a wafer cassette, boat or other wafer carrier, each wafer having an epitaxial layer which is substantially free of grown-in defects caused by the presence of agglomerated silicon self-interstitial defects on a surface of a substrate upon which the epitaxial layer is grown.
Single crystal silicon, from which a single crystal silicon wafer may be obtained, is commonly prepared by the so-called Czochralski ("Cz") method. In this method, polycrystalline silicon ("polysilicon") is charged to a crucible and melted, a seed crystal is brought into contact with the molten silicon and a single crystal is grown by slow extraction. After formation of a neck is complete, the diameter of the crystal is enlarged by decreasing the pulling rate and/or the melt temperature until the desired or target diameter is reached. The cylindrical main body of the crystal which has an approximately constant diameter is then grown by controlling the pull rate and the melt temperature while compensating for the decreasing melt level. Near the end of the growth process but before the crucible is emptied of molten silicon, the crystal diameter must be reduced gradually to form an end-cone. Typically, the end-cone is formed by increasing the crystal pull rate and heat supplied to the crucible. When the diameter becomes small enough, the crystal is then separated from the melt.
In recent years, it has been recognized that a number of defects in single crystal silicon form in the crystal growth chamber as the crystal cools after solidification. Such defects arise, in part, due to the presence of an excess (i.e., a concentration above the solubility limit) of intrinsic point defects, which are known as vacancies and self-interstitials. Silicon crystals grown from a melt are typically grown with an excess of one or the other type of intrinsic point defect, either crystal lattice vacancies ("V") or silicon self-interstitials ("I"). It has been suggested that the type and initial concentration of these point defects in the silicon are determined at the time of solidification and, if these concentrations reach a level of critical supersaturation in the system and the mobility of the point defects is sufficiently high, a reaction, or an agglomeration event, will likely occur. Agglomerated intrinsic point defects in silicon can severely impact the yield potential of the material in the production of complex and highly integrated circuits.
Vacancy-type defects are recognized to be the origin of such observable crystal defects as D-defects, Flow Pattern Defects (FPDs), Gate Oxide Integrity (GOI) Defects, Crystal Originated Particle (COP) Defects, crystal originated Light Point Defects (LPDs), as well as certain classes of bulk defects observed by infrared light scattering techniques such as Scanning Infrared Microscopy and Laser Scanning Tomography. Also present in regions of excess vacancies are defects which act as the nuclei for ring oxidation induced stacking faults (OISF). It is speculated that this particular defect is a high temperature nucleated oxygen agglomerate catalyzed by the presence of excess vacancies.
Defects relating to self-interstitials are less well studied. They are generally regarded as being low densities of interstitial-type dislocation loops or networks. Such defects are not responsible for gate oxide integrity failures, an important wafer performance criterion, but they are widely recognized to be the cause of other types of device failures usually associated with current leakage problems.
Epitaxial silicon growth typically involves a chemical vapor deposition process wherein a substrate, such as a single crystal silicon wafer, is heated while a gaseous silicon compound is passed over the wafer surface to affect pyrolysis or decomposition. When a single crystal silicon wafer is used as the substrate, the silicon is deposited in such a way as to continue the growth of the single crystal structure. As a result, defects present on the substrate surface, such as agglomerated silicon self-interstitial defects, may directly impact the quality of the resulting epitaxial wafer. This impact on quality is due to the fact that, by continuing the growth of the single crystal structure, defects present on the substrate surface may continue growth, resulting in the formation of new crystal defects, i.e., grown-in defects, in the epitaxial layer. For example, epitaxial defects such as mounds, epitaxial stacking faults and hillocks, having a maximum cross-sectional width ranging from the current detection limit of a laser-based auto-inspection device of about 0.1 microns to greater than about 10 microns, can be formed.
To date, the primary approach to the grown-in defect problem has been to inspect the surface of the substrate prior to epitaxial deposition. However, such an approach is time consuming; it is also not always successfully in identifying and eliminating problem substrates prior to the deposition process. Accordingly, a need continues to exist for a process whereby substrates are reliably and consistently provided for epitaxial deposition which have surfaces that are substantially free of agglomerated interstitial defects, and thus eliminate the grown-in defects associated therewith.

Single crystal silicon wafer having an epitaxial layer substantially free from grown-in defects


A method of depositing single particles onto a target includes loading a particle suspension to a droplet dispenser having a suspension reservoir and a nozzle section, detecting particles in the nozzle section, testing a single particle condition of the droplet dispenser, and determining whether an ejection region of the nozzle section includes one single particle. The method further includes operating the droplet dispenser for dispensing a droplet such that the droplet is dispensed onto the target if the single particle condition is fulfilled, or the droplet is dispensed into a collection reservoir if the single particle condition is not fulfilled. The step of testing the single particle condition further includes determining whether a sedimentation region adjacent to the ejection region is free of particles. A dispenser for performing the method is also provided.

The invention relates to a method of depositing single particles with a droplet dispenser, e.g. a piezoelectric dispenser, onto a target, in particular to a method of dispensing droplets including particles, wherein droplets including single particles are deposited onto the target if a single particle condition of the droplet dispenser is fulfilled. Furthermore, the invention relates to a dispenser apparatus, being adapted for dispensing droplets including single particles onto a target. Applications of the invention are available in particular in the fields of biochemistry, biology and medicine, e.g. for handling single biological particles, like biological cells.
A plurality of technologies for single-cell isolation, e.g. for handling of single cells in biotechnology and medicine, have been described by A. Gross et al. in "Int. J. Mol. Sci." (2015, 16, 16897-16919), like e.g. flow cytometry, manual cell picking, microfluidic techniques, and inkjet-like single-cell printing. A single-cell printer comprises e.g. a microfluidic dispenser integrated in a polymer cartridge. Droplets of a cell suspension included in the dispenser are deposited on a target substrate. Single-cell printing has advantages in terms of flexibility and easy interfacing with other upstream and downstream methods. However, single-cell printers have to be controlled such that each droplet deposited onto the target includes one single cell only.
Controlling the single-cell printer has been described e.g. by A. Gross et al. in "Journal of Laboratory Automation" (2013, 18(6) 504-518) and by A. Yusof et al. in "Lab Chip" (2011, 11, 2447). An imaging system and automated object recognition algorithms are used for detecting and classifying cells in the microfluidic dispenser chip during dispensing operation and for testing whether a single particle condition of the droplet dispenser is fulfilled. According to A. Gross et al., the single particle condition is fulfilled if a volume at the dispenser orifice equal to a droplet volume includes one single cell. In this case, a droplet is dispensed to the target, while droplets containing no cell or multiple cells are deflected in flight towards a waste container by vacuum suction. A. Yusof et al. use a dispenser which is moved from a waste container to a target if an ejection region near the nozzle orifice includes one single cell only.
Practical applications of the conventional techniques of controlling a single-cell printer have the following disadvantages. Firstly, the single-cell printing has a low yield. Despite of using the imaging system and object recognition algorithms, only 80% to 85% of droplets deposited onto the target include single cells only. The remaining droplets include more than one cell or no cell. Furthermore, the application of the conventional controlling techniques is restricted to the particular types of dispenser, cell suspension and operation conditions used by the authors of the above publications. Using another dispenser or other materials requires other object recognition and control algorithms.
The hydrodynamic response of cells in piezoelectric nozzles has been characterized by E. Cheng et al. in "Biofabrication", vol. 8, 2016, p. 015008. Cell motion has been studied by high-speed imaging and cell tracking. However, concepts for single-cell printing have not been described by E. Cheng et al.

Method and apparatus for single particle deposition


Organisms are provided containing genes encoding one or more enzymes, Coenzyme-A-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase, acyl-CoA transferase, acyl-CoA synthetase, β-ketothiolase, acetoacetyl-CoA reductase and/or PHA synthase. In some cases one or more of these genes are native to the host organism and the remainder are heterologous genes provided by genetic engineering. These organisms produce poly (3-hydroxyalkanoate) homopolymers or co-polymers comprising 3-hydroxalkanoate monomers other than 3-hydroxybutryrate wherein these 3-hydroxyalkanoate units are derived from the enzyme-catalyzed conversion of alcohols to 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA monomers, where at least one step in the conversion pathway involves a Co-enzyme A-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase activity. The PHA polymers are readily recovered and industrially useful as polymers for articles such as films, latexes, coatings, adhesives, fibers, binders, resins, and medical devices.

The present invention is generally in the field of methods for making 2-hydroxyacid monomers, and the resulting polyhydroxyalkanoate polymers.
Numerous microorganisms have the ability to accumulate intracellular reserves of PHA polymers. Poly [(R)-3-hydroxyalkanoates] (PHAs) are biodegradable thermoplastic materials, produced from renewable resources, with a broad range of industrial and biomedical applications (Williams and Peoples, 1996, CHEMTECH 26, 38-44). Around 100 different monomers have been incorporated into PHA polymers, as reported in the literature (Steinbüchel and Valentin, 1995, FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 128; 219-228) and the biology and genetics of their metabolism has recently been reviewed (Huisman and Madison, 1998, Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 63: 21-53).
To date, PHAs have seen limited commercial availability, with only the copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) being available in development quantities. This copolymer has been produced by fermentation of the bacterium Ralstonia eutropha. Fermentation and recovery processes for other PHA types have also been developed using a range of bacteria including Azotobacter, Alcaligenes latus, Comamonas testosterone and genetically engineered E. coli and Klebsiella and have recently been reviewed (Braunegg et al., 1998, Journal of Biotechnology 65: 127-161; Choi and Lee, 1999, Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 51: 13-21). More traditional polymer synthesis approaches have also been examined, including direct condensation and ring-opening polymerization of the corresponding lactones (Jesudason and Marchessault, 1994, Macromolecules 27: 2595-2602).
Synthesis of PHA polymers containing the monomer 4-hydroxybutyrate (PHB4HB, Doi, Y. 1995, Macromol. Symp. 98, 585-599) or 4-hydroxyvalerate and 4-hydroxyhexanoate containing PHA polyesters have been described (Valentin et al., 1992, Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 36, 507-514 and Valentin et al., 1994, Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 40, 710-716). These polyesters have been manufactured using methods similar to that originally described for PHBV in which the microorganisms are fed a relatively expensive non-carbohydrate feedstock in order to force the incorporation of the monomer into the PHA polyester. The PHB4HB copolymers can be produced with a range of monomer compositions which again provides a range of polymer (Saito, Y, Nakamura, S., Hiramitsu, M. and Doi, Y., 1996, Polym. Int. 39: 169).
PHA copolymers containing 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV), especially poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate (PHBV), has been available commercially under the trade name Biopol™. PHBV has been produced commercially using Ralstonia eutropha (formerly Alcaligenes eutrophus) from carbohydrate feedstocks such as glucose in combination with a co-feed such as propionate, isobutyrate (Holmes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,654) or odd chain length alcohols or fatty acids. A number of other microorganisms and processes are known to those skilled in the art (Braunegg et al. 1998, Journal of Biotechnology 65: 127-161). PHAs containing 3HV units have also been synthesized using recombinant microorganisms. Escherichia coli harboring the R. eutropha PHA biosynthesis genes has been used to produce PHBV from glucose and either propionate or valerate (Slater et al., 1992, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 58:1089-1094). Klebsiella oxytoca harboring the R. eutropha PHA biosynthesis genes has been used to produce PHBV from glucose and propionate (Zhang et al., 1994, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 60:1198-1205). R. eutropha harboring the PHA synthase gene of Aeromonas caviae was used to produce poly(3HV-co-3HB-co-3HHp) from alkanoic acids of odd carbon numbers (Fukui et al., 1997, Biotechnol. Lett. 19:1093-1097). U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,183, to Skraly and Peoples, describes methods for producing PHA copolymers comprising 3HV units from 1,2-propanediol. PCT WO 00/43523 to Huisman et al., describes method for producing PHAs comprising 3-hydroxyhexanoate (3HH) monomer units from butyrate or butanol co-feeds. In each of these cases, the alcohol co-feed was converted into the free acid which was then activated to the Co-enzyme A thioester by the action of a fatty acyl-coenzymeA synthetase or fatty acyl-CoA transferase. In some cases the enzyme activity was endogenous to the host strain and in others this activity was provided by genetic engineering.
Genes and techniques for developing recombinant PHA producers suitable for practicing the disclosed invention are generally known to those skilled in the art (Madison and Huisman, 1999, Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 63: 21-53; PCT WO 99/14313).
3HV copolymers have proven useful in a range of applications. In some cases PHBV copolymers with a 3HV level of around 7-12% by weight co-monomer are adequate. In other cases a 3HV level of 15-30% by weight is more useful (EP LATEX). Higher levels of 3HV are accomplished by increasing the level of propionic acid in the feed. However, there are two negative consequences associated with this strategy. First, propionic acid is toxic to the cells and, therefore, reduces the rate of growth and polymer production representing a significant increase in the cost of production. The second effect is that some of the propionic acid can be used for other metabolic processes and is therefore not incorporated into the polymer. As the propionic acid is the most expensive of the feed components, this represents another increase in the cost of production. Therefore, it would be desirable to develop microbial systems that produce 3HV copolymers with higher productivities and better yields on the co-feed.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide methods and microbial strains suitable for producing PHA polymers or copolymers that avoids increasing the level of 3-hydroxyacid in the feed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide methods and microbial strains suitable for production of PHA polymers containing 3HV units that avoids the use of 3-propionic acid in the feed.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate production by coenzyme A-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase pathways


The present invention provides an endless belt containing a conductive agent and a polyimide resin whose imidation ratio at an outer circumference surface of the belt and that at an inner circumference surface of the belt are mutually different, and a method of producing the endless belt, an intermediate transfer belt having the endless belt, and an image forming apparatus having the endless belt.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to an endless belt and a method of producing the same, an intermediate transfer belt, and an image forming apparatus.
2. Related Art
In an electrophotography apparatus (image forming apparatus), first, charges are formed on a photoreceptor using an electrically conductive material, modulated image signals are converted to an electrostatic latent image by laser beam and the like, then, the electrostatic latent image is developed with charged toner to give a toner image. Then, this toner image is transferred onto a recording medium directly or via an intermediate transfer body, obtaining an image.
In an image forming apparatus adopting a method of primarily transferring a toner image on a photoreceptor onto an intermediate transfer body, then, secondarily transferring the toner image on the intermediate transfer body onto a recording medium such as paper and the like, what is called an intermediate transfer mode, an intermediate transfer belt is used as the intermediate transfer body.
For the purpose of imparting conductivity to a polyimide material, carbon black particles having conductivity are dispersed in a polyimide resin. It is well known that variation in resistance of a polyimide endless belt owing to voltage may be suppressed by enhancing dispersibility of carbon black.
When such a polyimide endless belt containing a dispersed conductive material is used as the intermediate transfer body, a high resistant layer is provided, as an effective means, on a belt-shaped intermediate surface layer for conducting multicolor printing of high image quality.

Endless belt and production method thereof, intermediate transfer belt, and image forming apparatus


A semiconductor having an ˜5V operational range, including a drain side enhanced gate-overlapped LDD (GOLD) and a source side halo implant region and well implant. A method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention comprises forming a gate electrode overlying a substrate and a very lightly doped epitaxial layer formed on the substrate. A high energy implant region forms a well in a source side of the lightly doped epitaxial layer. A self-aligned halo implant region is formed on a source side of the device and within the high energy well implant. An implant region on a drain side of the lightly doped epitaxial layer forms the gate overlapped LDD (GOLD). A doped region within the halo implant region forms a source. A doped region within the gate overlapped LDD (GOLD) forms a drain. The structure enables the manufacture of a deep submicron (<0.3 μm) power MOSFET using existing 0.13 μm process flow without additional masks and processing steps.

Processing technologies and device structures for forming integrated circuits (ICs) are implemented by using a plurality of interconnected field effect transistors (FETs), also called metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), or simply MOS transistors. A typical MOS transistor includes a gate electrode as a control electrode and spaced apart source and drain electrodes between which a current can flow. A control voltage applied to the gate electrode controls the flow of current through a channel between the source and drain electrodes. As the complexity of the integrated circuits increases, more and more MOS transistors are needed to implement the integrated circuit function. Thus, it becomes important to reduce the size of individual MOS transistors to achieve an integrated circuit that is reasonably sized and reliably manufacturable. Most importantly, reducing the size of IC increases the number of IC chips per wafer, which has become the most effective approach to reduce manufacture cost in semiconductor IC industry.
Wireless applications typically use a 4.5-5.5 V power MOSFET, when a ˜5V operational level is needed to preserve both signal swing range and signal-to-noise ratios. The requirement for deep submicron ˜5V power MOSFETs in 0.13 μm technology are the following: (1) low Rdson and high drive current (more than 50% scaling); (2) low off-state leakage current <1-10 pA/μm; (3) high reliability against hot carrier injection (HCI) damage; and (4) the restriction of process flows to 0.18 μm or 0.13 μm CMOS platforms.
Under current conditions, the manufacture of deep submicron ˜5V power MOSFETs in 0.13 μm technology platform could face major challenges if conventional structures widely used for 0.5 μm (or above) platforms are adopted. For instance, conventional spacer-based MOSFETs with a lightly doped drain (LDD) have a channel length limit of ˜0.5 μm due to reliability issues caused by HCI damage. To sufficiently reduce the damage when operated at 5V, the gate length would have to increase to 0.5 μm or above. In addition, conventional halo-source (HS-GOLD) and gate-overlapped LDD drain (GOLD) MOSFETs can be shrunk down to deep submicron, but the operation voltage has to be lowered below 3.5 V due to both HCI and punchthrough issues. Better HCI performance requires longer GOLD, which requires extra thermal drive-in cycles. This is not possible in the 0.13 μm CMOS process flow where the thermal budget is very limited
Conventional LDMOS (Lateral double diffused MOS) can operate at a higher voltage, however, two major difficulties in the fabrication process prevent the scaling down of an LDMOS to deep submicron region. In one type of LDMOS processing, the channel length is defined by non-self-aligned ion implant. To meet lithography requirements for misalignment tolerances, a sufficient margin has to be considered, which sets a limit of ˜0.5 μm for this type of LDMOS. In a second type of LDMOS processing, the channel doping is carried out first by a self-aligned implantation with poly gate serving as a mask, and then by subsequent thermal drive-in to diffuse the dopant into the channel. Although this type of LDMOS provides a smaller device, the use of an extra thermal drive-in cycle is not compatible with standard 0.13 μm CMOS process flow where thermal budget is very limited. Typically this type of LDMOS may not be fabricated in any advanced CMOS-based technology platform.
It is concluded that conventional structures for ˜5V MOSFETs used in 0.5 μm platforms are not capable of scaling to below 0.5 μm either due to fabrication processing issues (thermal budget or misalignment) or due to device reliability issues (HCI or punchthrough). Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a new type of deep submicron semiconductor device, and more particularly deep submicron power MOSFET with an operation voltage of ˜5 V. In addition, it is desirable to provide a method for fabricating a deep submicron power MOSFET that allows for operation in the ˜5V range without incurring any additional process steps when building in the 0.13 μm technology platform. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.

Semiconductor devices and method of fabrication