This disclosure discloses methods and systems for subscribers in a multi-party conversation to obtain the right to speak efficiently and fairly.

Digital intercommunication systems typically work in half-duplex mode and do not include a central control station when all subscribers are fully connected. When carrying out a multi-party conversation in half-duplex mode, at one time, no more than one transmitting subscriber has the right to speak and occupies the physical layer for transmitting voice signals.
In order to ensure that every subscriber has a chance to obtain the right to speak, a configuration is needed for handing over the right-to-speak among the multiple subscribers. Conventional intercommunication systems typically establish certain polling rules for handing over the right to speak, or leave to each subscriber to fight for the right to speak. Such arrangements can be inefficient.
When polling is used, a subscriber who wants to speak may have to wait for a long period of time before it is polled and given the right to speak. As a result, the communication efficiency may be decreased. When the subscribers are allowed to fight for the right to speak, collisions in the physical channel would occur if multiple subscribers want to obtain the right to speak. The back-off associated with such collisions can cause significant delay, and thus wasting precious physical channel resources. Thus, there is a need for improving the handing over of the right to speak among the multiple subscribers in a intercommunication system.

Multi-party digital intercommunication systems and associated methods of operation


The invention relates to an imaging system (30) for imaging an object. A projection data providing unit (31) provides acquired spectral projection data of an object comprising at least two components, and a reconstruction unit (10) iteratively reconstructs at least two final component images of the object by performing several iteration steps, in which at least two intermediate component images are updated based on the acquired spectral projection data and a penalty term, which is indicative of the correlated noise between the at least two intermediate component images. Since the at least two intermediate component images are updated based on the acquired spectral projection data and a penalty term, which is indicative of the correlated noise, correlated noise is penalized during the iterative reconstruction. The finally resulting component images of the object are therefore less corrupted by correlated noise and have an improved image quality.

The article "Energy-selective Reconstructions in X-ray Computerized Tomography" by Alvarez and Macowski, Phys. Med. Biol, Vol. 21, No. 5, pages 733-744 (1976) discloses that a computed tomography system comprising a radiation source emitting polychromatic radiation and an energy-resolving detector for generating projection data being indicative of the radiation after having traversed the object. The projection data are acquired while the radiation source and the object move relative to each other, in order to acquire projection data in different projection directions. A component decomposition technique is applied to the acquired projection data, in order to determine photoelectric effect attenuation values and Compton effect attenuation values, which are caused by the photoelectric effect and the Compton effect, respectively. The photoelectric effect attenuation values are backprojected for generating a photoelectric effect image of the object and the Compton effect attenuation values are backprojected for generating a Compton image of the object.
The photoelectric effect image and the Compton effect image are corrupted by noise and have therefore a reduced image quality.


The present invention provides a treatment for mammalian diseases characterized by pathological angiogenesis. The treatment consists of administering therapeutically active dosages of peptides containing specific amino acid sequences or antibodies that bind to cell membrane antigens on the surface of rapidly dividing endothelial cells.

Angiogenesis or neovascularization is the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing capillaries via a mechanism that involves degradation of the basement membrane which surrounds the parent vessel, migration of endothelial cells through the degraded membrane, proliferation of the migrating cells, endothelial cell differentiation, and loop formation (Folkman, J., Angiogenesis and angiogenesis inhibition: an overview, EXS., 79, 1-8 (1997)). With the exception of wound healing and menstruation, angiogenesis in adults is observed only in pathological situations such as cancer, atherosclerosis, and psoriasis, where it contributes to the progression and symptom manifestation of the disease (Folkman, J. Angiogenesis in cancer, vascular, rheumatoid and other disease, Nat. Med. 1(1), 27-31 (1995)). Other "angiogenesis-related" diseases include endometriosis, Kaposi's sarcoma and other HIV-related conditions, leukemia, scleroderma, pyogenic granuloma, myocardial angiogenesis, corneal diseases, rubeosis, neovascular glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and retrolental fibroplasia. As used herein, the term "angiogenesis-related diseases" means pathological conditions that require endothelial cell proliferation for progression and symptom manifestation (Chappey, O., et al. Endothelial cells in culture: an experimental model for the study of vascular dysfunctions. Cell Biol. Toxicol., 12(4-6), 199-205 (1996)).
Increasing experimental evidence suggest that angiogenesis plays an essential role in cancer development. It has been observed that solid tumors neither grow beyond 1-2 mm3 nor metastasize unless they become vascularized (Folkman, J. What is the Evidence that Tumors are Angiogenesis Dependent?, J. Natl. Canc. Inst., 82, 4-6 (1990)). Formation of tumor vasculature is necessary in order to deliver nutrients and oxygen at the tumor site, thus, providing a route for tumor metastasis to distant sites. Compositions that inhibit endothelial cell proliferation and/or migration have been shown to inhibit tumor neovascularization, and to prevent tumor growth and metastasis (Eatock, M. M., et al. Tumour vasculature as a target for anticancer therapy. Cancer Treat Rev. 26(3), 191-204 (2000)). Several of these inhibitors are currently under evaluation in human clinical trials (Deplanque, G., et al. Anti-angiogenic agents: clinical trial design and therapies in development, Eur. J. Cancer, 36, 1713-1724 (2000)).
Antibodies are proteins synthesized by B lymphocytes usually in response to the presence of a foreign substance, called an antigen (Askonas, B. A. Immunoglobulin synthesis and its induction in B-lymphoid cells, Acta Endocrinol Suppl (Copenh), 194, 117-132 (1975)). Antibodies are the recognition elements of the humoral immune response, designed to lyse foreign microorganisms and infected cells via activation of the complement system. Antibodies possess specific affinity for the antigens that induced their formation and they readily complex with them to trigger complement activation. Naturally occurring antibodies consist of two heavy and two light chains linked together by disulfide bonds. Each chain comprises domains of unique sequence responsible for antigen binding (variable domains) and domains of constant sequence involved in complement activation and mediation of antibody-dependent cellular toxicity (constant domains). Furthermore, the variable domains of light (VL) and heavy (VH) chains have similar structure with each domain comprising four somewhat conserved regions, called the framework regions (FR), and three hyper-variable regions, called complementarity determining regions (CDR). Studies have shown that CDRs determine antibody specificity (Ohno et al. Antigen-binding specificities of antibodies are primarily determined by seven residues of VH, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 82(9), 2945-2949 (1985)). In VH chains, CDRs are located in the proximity of positions 30-35 (CDR1), 50-65 (CDR2), and 95-102 (CDR3) (Kabat et al. Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, 5th edit., NIH Publication no 91-3242 US. Department of Health and Human Services (1991) and Honegger et al.). Yet another numbering scheme for immunoglobulin variable domains: an automatic modeling and analysis tool. J. Mol. Biol. 309, 657-670 (2001)). In VL chains, CDRs are located in the proximity of positions 24-34 (CDR1), 50-56 (CDR2), and 89-97 (CDR3).
Antibodies produced in response to the presence of a single antigen have a common specificity but they are heterogeneous in nature, since they are derived from many different antibody-producing cells. Homogeneous or monoclonal antibodies can be produced through hybridoma cells (Galfre, G. and Milstein, C. Preparation of monoclonal antibodies: strategies and procedures, Methods Enzymol., 73(Pt B), 3-46 (1981)). The hybridoma cell method of producing large amounts of homogeneous populations of antibodies with a particular specificity has allowed the use of monoclonal antibodies as diagnostic and therapeutic agents (Milstein, C. With the benefit of hindsight, Immunol. Today, 21(8), 359-64 (2000)).
Initially, animal-derived monoclonal antibodies had limited therapeutic value in humans due to antigenicity. The problem was solved with the production of humanized antibodies. Humanized antibodies are defined as immunoglobulin variants or fragments capable of binding to a predetermined antigen and which comprise a FR region having substantially the amino acid sequence of a human immunoglobulin and a CDR region having substantially the amino acid sequence of a non-human immunoglobulin (Hurle, M. R. and Gross, M. Protein engineering techniques for antibody humanization, Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., 5(4), 428-33(1994)). Humanized antibodies have been recently approved for the treatment of various diseases including cancer. Trastuzumab, a humanized antibody against HER-2 receptor, is used for the treatment of breast cancer, while Rituximab, a humanized antibody against CD20, is used for the treatment of lymphoma (Baselga, et al. Phase II study of weekly intravenous trastuzumab (Herceptin) in patients with HER2/neu-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer, Semin. Oncol., 26(4 Suppl 12), 78-83 (1999); Slamon et al. Use of chemotherapy plus a monoclonal antibody against HER2 for metastatic breast cancer that overexpresses HER2, N. Engl. J. Med., 344(11), 783-92 (2001); Byrd et al. Rituximab using a thrice weekly dosing schedule in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma demonstrates clinical activity and acceptable toxicity, J. Clin. Oncol., 19(8), 2153-64 (2001)).
Humanized antibodies are usually produced recombinantly. Recombinant production of immunoglobulin variants or fragments requires: a. the isolation and sequencing of the DNA encoding the immunoglobulin variants or fragments and b. the insertion of the isolated DNA into a replicable vector for further cloning (amplification) or expression. DNA encoding fragments of interest is often isolated from cDNA by using appropriate oligonucleotide probes capable of binding to specific genes (e.g., those encoding the heavy and light chains of the monoclonal antibodies). cDNA is obtained by reverse transcription of RNA isolated via conventional methods from hybridoma cells producing the monoclonal antibody of interest. Once isolated, DNA may be placed into a variety of expression vectors, which are then transfected into host cells such as E. coli or Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells for intracellular or extracellular production of the antibody variant or fragment of interest. Intracellular production of an antibody or antibody fragment requires its purification from lysates of host cells, while extracellular production requires purification from supernatants of host cells.
Typically, recombinant antibody constructs consist of modified forms of the antigen-binding portion of an antibody, also known as Fv. Single chain Fv molecules (scFv) usually comprise VH and VL domains joined with a small peptide linker in a single polypeptide chain. scFv molecules exhibiting antitumor properties are particularly desired in cancer therapy because their small size (˜30 Kd) allows for tumor penetration. Unfortunately, their small size also facilitates increased blood clearance (Hudson et al. Recombinant antibody constructs in cancer therapy, Curr. Opin. Immunol., 11, 548-557 (1999)). To reduce blood clearance and to increase functional affinity (scFv are monovalent), scFv dimers and trimers have been produced. Formation of multimeric scFv complexes usually depends on the length of the linker between VH and VL domains. Short linkers (5-10 residues) result in the formation of scFv dimers (also known as diabodies), while linkers with less than three residues in length result in the formation of trimers (also known as triabodies) (Holliger et al. "Diabodies": Small bivalent and bispecific antibody fragments, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 90, 6444-6448 (1993) and Atwell et al. ScFv multimers: length of the linker between VH and VL domain dictates precisely the transition between diabodies and triabodies, Protein Eng., 12, 597-604 (1999)).

Compositions and methods for inhibiting angiogenesis


A percussion-type drum assembly is disclosed including a generally cylindrical shell which is open at both ends and has a sidewall that defines an inner diameter and an outer diameter. A generally circular centering ring is also provided. The centering ring has a diameter that is larger than the outer diameter of the shell and is adapted to be disposed around the exterior of the sidewall of the shell without making contact with the shell. The drum assembly also includes a pair of membrane mounting and tuning assemblies, one for each end of the shell. Each of these assemblies includes a membrane that is adapted to cover an open end of the shell in a desired state of tension, and which has a diameter that is at least as large as the outer diameter of the shell. Each membrane mounting and tuning assembly also includes a generally circular rim having a diameter that is at least as large as the outer diameter of the shell. The rim is adapted to fit over an end of the shell with the membrane disposed between the shell and the rim so that the rim does not contact the sidewall of the shell. Each assembly also includes a plurality of tuning lugs, each of which is adapted for attachment between the rim and the centering ring without making contact with the shell and for adjustably changing the distance between the rim and the ring so that the desired state of tension in the membrane may be maintained. A method for adjusting the tension in the membranes of the drum is also disclosed.

Drum-type percussion instruments, such as bass drums and the like, typically comprise a hollow cylindrical drum shell with a vibratory membrane or drum head stretched tightly over each end to define a resonant cavity within the shell. When a drum head is struck, it vibrates with a particular resonance, and this vibration is transmitted to the air within and outside of the cavity, as well as through the shell. The sum of these vibrations is perceived as the sounds produced by the drum.
Each of the drum heads has a larger diameter than the shell so that it may overlap the outer periphery of the shell and be secured against the periphery by a hoop or rim that fits tightly over the end of the shell. Typically, the rims are bolted or otherwise affixed to the drum shell, or to a bracket that is affixed to the shell. A disadvantage of this type of arrangement is that attachment of the rim to the shell, especially by use of securing bolts that pass through the shell wall, will adversely affect the quality of the sound produced by the drum.
With the passage of time and as a drum is play, the tension of the drum heads on the shell may change by stretching of the vibratory membrane or loosening of its attachment to the shell. This change in tension will affect the sound produced, and will make it necessary to adjust the tension in the membrane or "tune" the drum to obtain the desired degree of tension, and consequently, the desired sound which the drum can produce. Typically, this tuning of a drum head is accomplished by tightening the mechanism which attaches the drum head to the shell. It is not unusual for tuning of the drum heads to be required frequently throughout the useful life of the membrane.
Various drum head attachment and tuning mechanisms have been devised. Thus, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,136 of McIntyre describes a tension adjusting system for a drum that operates on a cam action principle. This system includes tension bands and tension adjusting mechanisms that are connected to the shell by a plurality of bolts. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,570,526 and 5,208,412 of Hoshino, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,566 of Yanagisawa describe other types of tension application and adjusting mechanisms that are attached by means of brackets that are bolted onto and through the drum shell. Unfortunately, the securing bolts for these adjusting mechanisms or for the brackets to which they are attached pass through the shell wall, which adversely affects the quality of the sound produced by the drum. In addition, the application of tension forces at a plurality of points around the periphery of the vibratory membrane will serve to tension or tighten the membrane in a non-uniform manner, thus creating areas in the membrane that are in different states of tension, and therefore not in the same tune.
Recognizing the disadvantages inherent in attaching the tensioning and adjusting mechanisms through the shell wall of the drum, several systems have been developed for applying tension between the upper and lower rims along a plurality of external tension rods that are mounted between the rims, but are not attached through the wall of the drum shell. Among the systems of this type are those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,458 of Grauso, U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,146 of Bonsor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,634 of Whynott, U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,938 of Kurosaki et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,841 of Chen and European Patent Application Publication No. 0194834A2. Each of these systems includes upper and lower rims that project radially outwardly from the shell of the drum. Between these rims are mounted internally threaded tension rods which are attached to the upper and lower rims, or to auxiliary rims that are attached to the upper and lower rims, with bolts. By adjusting the depth of the upper and lower sets of bolts into the tension rods, tension is applied along the tension rods between the upper and lower rims. The application of tension between the upper and lower rims transmits tuning forces between the two rims. Thus, when the bolts through the upper rims are adjusted, not only is the tension in the upper drum head affected, but also the tension in the lower one. Furthermore, the application of tension forces at a plurality of opposed points around the peripheries of the vibratory membranes will also create areas in each of the membranes that are in different states of tension, and therefore not in the same tune. These effects make it quite difficult to properly tune and maintain the tension in both of the membranes of a drum equipped with one of these systems.
Although all of these tension rod systems operate according to the same general principles, they each include unique variations, as well. Thus, for example, the system of Grauso includes a suspension band to which each of the tension rods is bolted. This suspension band encircles the outer surface of the shell approximately midway between the top and bottom of the drum, and is provided with a spacer ring that fits within a channel in the outer surface of the shell. Although the tension application and adjusting mechanism of Grauso is not bolted to and through the shell, it does directly contact it, which contact would produce a deadening effect on the vibrations being transmitted through the shell as the drum is played. The system of Bonsor includes an intermediate hoop which is mounted atop the shell and bolted to the upper rim and to which the tension rods are attached. This system reportedly allows for some independent adjustment of the upper and lower membranes, but because the intermediate hoop is directly mounted on the shell, the transmission of vibrations through the shell wall will be adversely affected. The system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,938 of Kurosaki et al. employs a pair of suspension rings that are similar to the single intermediate hoop of Bonsor. Each of these rings is attached to the shell at one end and the tension rods are attached therebetween. The upper and lower rims are bolted to one of the suspension rings. However, because the suspension rings are directly mounted on the shell, the transmission of vibrations through the shell wall will be adversely affected.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,988 of Mayo also describes a drum with a tensioning and adjusting system that applies tension between the upper and lower rims. In this system, however, the tension is applied along a plurality of pairs of tension rods that are connected through adjustment mechanisms that are mounted on the side of the drum shell between the upper and lower rims. This adjusting mechanism comprises a nonreversing gear that is attached to a threaded cylinder. The nonreversing gear is turned by a worm gear or a pinion gear which is connected to a knob that extends from the side of the adjusting mechanism. Although this mechanism may provide advantages over the combination of bolts threaded into a tension rod at each end, it nevertheless transmits tension between the upper and lower rims. Furthermore, the adjusting mechanisms of Mayo are attached to the shell of the drum, which attachment will deaden the vibrations being transmitted through the shell as the drum is played.


Methods and systems are provided for a diagnostic routine of a variable displacement engine (VDE) of a vehicle to detect non-deactivated valves of deactivated cylinders due to a degraded valve deactivation mechanism. In one example, a method comprises, during operation of the VDE with one or more cylinders of the VDE deactivated, calculating a variation in a fast-sampled signal outputted by one or more exhaust gas oxygen (EGO) sensors of the VDE over a plurality of engine cycles; determining that the variation is greater than the threshold variation; and in response, indicating that valves of the one or more cylinders are not deactivated. A second method comprises estimating a throttle air flow rate and an engine air flow rate of the VDE; and indicating non-deactivated valves of one or more deactivated cylinders if the throttle air flow rate exceeds the engine air flow rate by a threshold.

Having all cylinders of the engine combust for low power loads may be inefficient, may degrade a fuel economy of the vehicle, and/or may increase emissions. When the engine is a variable displacement engine (VDE), one approach to increasing an efficiency of the engine includes deactivating one or more cylinders of the VDE during operation. VDEs may be configured to operate with a variable number of active or deactivated cylinders to increase fuel economy, while optionally maintaining the overall exhaust mixture air-fuel ratio about stoichiometry. This may be referred to as operating in a VDE mode. Typically, a control system selectively deactivates cylinders via adjustment of a plurality of cylinder valve deactivators, thereby sealing the deactivated cylinders by maintaining intake and exhaust valves of the deactivated cylinders closed, and the deactivated cylinders are not fueled.
A degradation or malfunction in the cylinder valve deactivators may prevent deactivation of at least one intake valve and at least one exhaust valve of a cylinder. In such a state, fresh oxygen is inducted into and exhausted from this cylinder, introducing fresh air into the exhaust. A closed loop fueling system may interpret this as a lean excursion, and respond by adding more fuel to still firing cylinders on a respective bank. When the added fuel meets fresh air in the exhaust, an exotherm event may be created.
Prior solutions to detecting non-deactivation of intake and exhaust valves in VDE mode involved measuring a mean air-fuel ratio (AFR) at a UEGO (universal or wide-range exhaust gas oxygen) sensor to determine if an extra cylinder's worth of fresh air could be detected in an exhaust stream. However, the inventors herein have recognized potential issues with this method. In particular, the method lacks robustness to noise factors that might cause the engine to be running lean overall. A lean running engine may naturally look like one or more valves of a cylinder have not been deactivated, when no degradations are present. As detecting non-deactivation of intake and exhaust valves is a regulatory requirement, a more robust diagnostic is needed.
In one example, the issue described above may be addressed by a method for a controller of a VDE, comprising, during operation of the VDE with one or more cylinders of the VDE deactivated, calculating a variation in a fast-sampled signal outputted by one or more exhaust gas oxygen (EGO) sensors of the VDE over a plurality of engine cycles; determining that the variation is greater than the threshold variation; and in response, indicating that at least one intake valve and at least one exhaust valve of the one or more cylinders are not deactivated. In another example, a method comprises, during a steady-state or quasi-steady operation of the VDE with one or more cylinders of the VDE deactivated, estimating a throttle air flow rate and an engine air flow rate of the VDE, and in response to the throttle air flow rate exceeding the engine air flow rate by a threshold, indicating that an intake valve and an exhaust valve of at least one of the one or more deactivated cylinders is not being held in a closed position. In response to an indication of a deactivated cylinder with non-deactivated valves, the controller may adjust engine operation, for example, by reactivating the one or more cylinders of the VDE to decrease an amount of emissions of the vehicle and/or increase an efficiency of the VDE. By basing a valve non-deactivation diagnostic routine on a comparison of the variation in EGO sensor output with a baseline variation and/or a comparison of an estimated engine air flow with a measured or estimated throttle air flow, rather than a mean AFR, an increase in emissions may be accurately attributed to a non-deactivated valve rather than a lean running engine.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

Methods and systems for diagnosing non-deactivated valves of disabled engine cylinders


The present disclosure relates to a system and method for monitoring audio-video (AV) streams transported over a network. The system may include an AV probe deployed between an AV tuner and AV destination customer premise equipment. The AV probe may receive an incoming AV stream. The AV probe may generate a thumbnail stream by capturing thumbnails of the incoming AV stream. The AV probe may transmit, substantially in real-time, the thumbnail stream to a monitoring engine and the incoming AV stream to the AV destination customer premise equipment.

Audio visual (AV) content is typically distributed from one or more central locations to local markets over relatively complex networks spanning large geographical areas. This AV content is typically supported by advertisements. However, while the AV content is typically generated for wide distribution, e.g., to national or international markets, advertisements are often intended for comparatively narrow distribution, such as for regional or local audiences. Advertisements are thus often spliced into the AV content at the regional or local level. To accommodate this splicing, the originator of the AV content, e.g., the television network, typically supplies the content with embedded markers, such as those commonly referred to as "avails" and/or SCTE-35 advertisement cue signals. Local content providers, such as network affiliate television stations and/or cable television (CATV) operators may use these avails to properly insert these local advertisements. A typical hour of AV content, for example, may be provided with four avails each corresponding to a 30 second time slot, or two avails each corresponding to a one minute time slot. These time slots are thus available for insertion of local advertisements.
Automated equipment is typically used to detect the avails and to splice in the local advertising content to minimize errors. However, errors may occur due to many factors, including bottlenecks or other traffic issues within the content distribution network, by errors in placement or detection of the avails, or simply by poor quality of the advertisements being supplied to the local insertion point. Local advertisements may thus be spliced in too early or too late, at audio levels that may be too high or too low, or in generally poor condition. This may result in the advertisements overrunning portions of the program, the advertisements being cut off, and/or the advertisements simply being of generally poor quality. These errors are not only problematic from a Quality of Experience (QoE), but may also result in substantial refunds being due to advertisers who typically pay sizable fees for the airing of each 30 or 60 second advertisement.
A related problem pertains to verification of correct advertisement insertion. In this regard, it is often difficult for a local television station or CATV company to refute refund claims by advertisers who complain that their advertisements were improperly inserted, or were otherwise of poor quality at particular locations within the distribution network. Even in the event the quality of the program and advertisement are monitored by the television station or CATV company at the central insertion location, there is no guarantee that the quality of the content was satisfactory as experienced by the end user.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method to extract gate to source/drain and overlap capacitances is disclosed. A first capacitance of a first test key having a reference structure and a second capacitance of a second test key having a novel structure are measured. The second test key may comprise at least a gate formed on an insulation structure, at least a contact formed on the insulation structure aside, and a metal layer formed on the contact. Another embodiment of the second test key may comprise at least a gate formed on the semiconductor substrate, a contact formed aside, and a metal layer formed on the contact. Further another embodiment uses a test key comprising at least an elongated gate and an elongated doping region aside, and only one or a few contacts are formed on an end portion of the elongated doping region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to decoupling gate to contact and gate to metal capacitances from overall gate capacitance, and particularly to a method to extract gate to source/drain and overlap capacitances and a test key structure used for the method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the semiconductor industry there is a continuing trend toward manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs) with higher densities. Accordingly, smaller feature sizes, smaller separations between features and more precise feature shapes are required in integrated circuits (ICs) fabricated on small rectangular portions of the wafer, commonly known as dies. This may include the width and spacing of interconnecting lines, spacing and diameter of contact holes, as well as the surface geometry of various other features (e.g., corners and edges). The scaling-down of integrated circuit dimensions can facilitate faster circuit performance and/or switching speeds, and can lead to higher cost efficiency in IC fabrication by providing more circuits on a die and/or more die per semiconductor wafer.
As device sizes continue to shrink, however, parasitic capacitance effects may become noticeable and/or problematic. There are a number of parasitic capacitances associated with a MOS transistor. For example, ion implantation is utilized to create the source and drain extension regions (LDD regions) in the transistor. A high temperature anneal is subsequently employed to activate the implanted dopants, and some of the dopants can migrate toward gate channel due to lateral diffusion.
The overlap regions in which LDD regions overlap with gate structure can give rise to "overlap capacitances" since the gate structure includes at least a conductive layer overlying at least a dielectric material over a substrate, and the at least a dielectric material, in turn is situated between the gate structure and the diffused conductive dopants in the substrate. The value of the overlap capacitance depends upon the area or degree of overlap between the gate structure and the diffused dopants, among other things. As the size of the gate structure is reduced, the overlap capacitance becomes significant to reduce transistor and IC performance. Accordingly, many test methods are developed for trying to obtain the value of the overlap capacitance. However, as the IC scale is down to 0.13 or 0.09 μm or even beyond that, contact to gate or metal layer to gate capacitances will affect the accuracy of overlap and gate to source/drain capacitances. A cross-sectional view of a conventional MOS transistor is shown in FIG. 1. The MOS transistor 1 includes a gate 3 formed over a semiconductor substrate 2, a gate dielectric layer 4 formed between the semiconductor substrate 2 and the gate 3, composite spacers composed of spacers 5a and 5b formed on both sidewalls of the gate 3, a pair of source/drain 6 formed in the semiconductor substrate on two opposite sides of the gate 3, a pair of source/drain extensions 7 extending under the gate 3 to overlap with the gate 3, a salicide layer 8 on each source/drain 6, a contact 9 formed on each salicide layer 8, and a metal layer 10 formed on the contacts 9. Capacitances exist between the gate and the source/drain (C2), the source/drain extension (C1), the contact (C3), and the metal layer (C4). C1 is overlap capacitance but can not be decoupled from C2 during measurement.
Currently, a TCAD simulation method is employed to predict the capacitance with or without C3 and C4; however the real data is not known.
Conventional test keys are used for attempt on measuring the overlap capacitance; nevertheless, the four items: C1, C2, C3, and C4 are measured inseparably. What usually concerned are C1 and C2, and C3 and C4 are usually neglected. However, as the technology node shrinks down, C3 and C4 become too higher to be neglected. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a plot of C1+C2+C3+C4 capacitance versus gate-to-source voltage in a conventional test key with a channel width of 10 μm and a channel length of 1.2 μm, wherein C2, C3 and C4 are not functions of VGS, i.e. C2, C3 and C4 do not change along with VGS, and therefore C1 contributes to the total capacitance change along with VGS.
Accordingly, it is a need for developing a novel method to extract C1+C2 capacitances and a test key structure for the method, to obtain the pure C1+C2 capacitances.

Method to extract gate to source/drain and overlap capacitances and test key structure therefor


Medical devices such as stents, stent grafts, and balloon catheters include a coating layer applied over a modified exterior surface of the medical device. The modified exterior surface comprises an exterior surface of the medical device subjected to a surface modification that decreases a surface free energy of the exterior surface before application of the coating layer an exterior surface. The coating layer comprises a hydrophobic therapeutic agent and at least one additive. The modified exterior surface may affect the release kinetics of the drug from the device, the crystallinity of the drug layer, the surface morphology of the coating and particle shape, or the particle size of drug of a therapeutic layer in the coating layer. For example, the effects caused by the modified exterior surface may increase the retention time and amount of therapeutic agent in tissue.

It has become increasingly common to treat a variety of medical conditions by introducing a medical device into the vascular system or other lumen within a human or veterinary patient such as the esophagus, trachea, colon, biliary tract, sinus passages, nasal passages, renal arteries, or urinary tract. For example, medical devices used for the treatment of vascular disease include stents, catheters, balloon catheters, guide wires, cannulas and the like. While these medical devices initially appear successful, the benefits are often compromised by the occurrence of complications, such as late thrombosis, or recurrence of disease, such as stenosis (restenosis), after such treatment.
Combining drugs and medical devices is a complicated area of technology. It involves the usual formulation challenges, such as those of oral or injectable pharmaceuticals, together with the added challenge of maintaining drug adherence to the medical device until it reaches the target site and subsequently delivering the drug to the target tissues with the desired release and absorption kinetics. Furthermore, coatings must not impair functional performance such as burst pressure and compliance of balloons. The coating thickness must also be kept to a minimum, since a thick coating would increase the medical device's profile and lead to poor trackability and deliverability. These coatings generally contain almost no liquid chemicals, which typically are often used to stabilize drugs. Thus, formulations that are effective with pills or injectables might not work at all with coatings of medical device. If the drug releases from the device too easily, it may be lost during device delivery before it can be deployed at the target site, or it may burst off the device during the initial phase of inflation and wash away before being pressed into contact with target tissue of a body lumen wall. If the drug adheres too strongly, the device may be withdrawn before the drug can be released and absorbed by tissues at the target tissues.
In some instances, functional layers may be applied to medical devices such as balloon catheters for the purpose of increasing adhesion of a drug-containing layer to a balloon catheter. However, an increase of adhesion may be expected to adversely affect the uptake of the drug into the target site being treated or the long-term efficacy of the drug at the target site at least 14 days or at least 28 days post-treatment.
Thus, there is still a need to develop highly specialized coatings for medical devices that can effectively/efficiently and rapidly deliver therapeutic agents, drugs, or bioactive materials directly into a localized tissue area during or following a medical procedure, so as to treat or prevent vascular and nonvascular diseases such as restenosis. The device should quickly release the therapeutic agent in an effective and efficient manner at the desired target location, where the therapeutic agent should rapidly permeate the target tissue to treat disease, for example, to relieve stenosis and prevent restenosis and late lumen loss of a body lumen. Furthermore, it is also desirable that concentration of the therapeutic agent remain elevated at the target site at least 14 days or at least 28 days post-treatment, so as to maintain the therapeutic effects of the therapeutic agent.

Medical device with drug-eluting coating on modified device surface


A user is enabled to edit a table defining a view of a network object database, for example, a MIB. The user can select from among a plurality of network object types and select from among a plurality of columns of the table. At least one column of the table is specified by the user and edited to represent a network object type specified by the user. The view definition can be extracted from the application and transported to another device where it can be edited and/or viewed using a suitable application. Such portable view definition may be defined as part of a document, for example, a document formatted in accordance with a markup language, such as XML. Such document may include information for requesting objects to populate the view, which may be used to construct requests (e.g., SNMP requests) to retrieve objects from one or more network devices.

Communications networks continue to have a growing role in today's world. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a communications network 100. As used herein, a "communications network" or a "network," for example, network 100, is group of two or more devices (i.e., network elements), for example, network devices 102, 104 and 106, interconnected by one or more segments of transmission media on which communications may be exchanged between the devices. Each segment may be any of a plurality of types of transmission media, including one or more electrical or optical wires or cables made of metal and/or optical fiber, air (e.g., using wireless transmission over carrier waves) or any combination of these transmission media. As used herein, "plurality" means two or more.
As networks become more complex and continue to include more network devices, the importance of efficiently managing these devices has grown. As used herein, a "network device" is a device configured as part of a network. Such network devices may be and/or include any of a variety of types of devices, including, but not limited to, switching devices, workstations, personal computers, terminals, laptop computers, end stations, servers, gateways, registers, directories, databases, printers, fax machines, telephones, transmitters, receivers, repeaters, and any combinations thereof.
Managing network devices is referred to herein as "device management," and includes, inter alia, configuring a plurality of network devices, where one or more these network devices are typically configured remotely (i.e., from another network device residing at a different location on the network) by exchanging messages (e.g., packets) between network devices over network media.
To facilitate configuring large numbers of network devices, object types often are defined to represent aspects of network devices, for example, status, location (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) address and/or Media Access Control (MAC) address), port characteristics, device description, other aspects, permissible states of any aspects, or any combination thereof.
Objects
The term "object" is often used inconsistently in the field of communications networks, including the field of device management. The meaning of the term "object" and related terms as used herein will now be defined.
As used herein, an "object" is an abstraction representing a specific occurrence (i.e., an instance) of an object type.
As used herein, an "object type" is an abstraction representing a type of thing, for example, a type of thing associated with a network device, for example, the network device itself, a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), an interface of the network device, any aspects thereof, other aspects, or any combination thereof.
For example, an object type may define an interface of a network device, where a specific object of the object type may be instantiated for a particular interface of a particular network device.
An object type may include one or more other object types and may be included within one or more other object types. Accordingly, an object type may define interrelationships between object types and may define an organizational structure of object types.
Some object types, referred to herein as "non-indexed" object types (and often referred to as zero-instanced object types), are configured such that only a single object of the object type can occur (i.e., can be instantiated) per network device. For example, an object type may define an operating system for a network device, for which only a single object occurs for each network device.
Other object types, referred to herein as "indexed" object types are configured such that one or more objects of the object type may occur for a single network device. In such case, where one or more objects of a same object type may occur for a single device, each object may be referred to as an "occurrence" (i.e., an instance) of the object type, and each occurrence may be indexed by an indexing variable. For example, an object type defining an interface of a network device may have one or more objects occur per network device, and each of these objects may be referred to as an occurrence of the object type, i.e., an occurrence of an interface. Further, the interface object type may be defined to include several other object types, and each such object type may occur one or more times on a network device, i.e., once for every occurrence of the interface object type.
Network Object Database
A plurality of objects may be grouped together to form a network object database. As used herein, a "network object database" is an organized collection of one or more network objects.
As used herein, a "network object" is an object representing a specific occurrence (i.e., an instance) of an network object type. A "network object type" is an object type representing a type of thing associated with a network device, for example, the network device itself, a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), an interface of the network device, any aspects thereof, other aspects, or any combination thereof.
An example of a network object database is a Management Information Base (MIB). A network object database may be any of a variety of types of databases, for example, an object-oriented database, a flat file database, a relational database, or combination thereof. Some network object databases organize network object types into object type groups and/or tables, where the database schema of such database may divide several logically-related object types into several tables and/or object type groups. For example, some MIBs include an interface group, a system group, and/or a VLAN group, etc. A device management application may be configured to understand such relationships, and a programmer or other person experienced in working with the database may know such relationships. Typically, however, a user (e.g., a network administrator) has limited knowledge or understanding of the relationships between such tables and table entries.
An indexed object type (e.g., an interface) of a network object database (e.g., a MIB) may include a table object type defining a table for the indexed object type. The table object type includes an object type that defines an indexing variable for the table and other object types that define columns for the table. The table object type may be defined such that each occurrence of the indexed object type is indexed by the indexing variable and may be considered an entry or row of the table. The column object types may be defined to occur once for each occurrence of the indexed object type, i.e., once for each entry or row of the table.
To facilitate the widespread use of network object databases to manage devices, several technologies, standards and protocols have been developed. Some of these standards have been developed to define a language for structuring management information, including the Structure of Management Information (SMI) promulgated by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), including IETF Standard No. 16, which defines Version 1 of the SMI as documented in Request for Comments (RFCs) 1155 and 1212, and IETF Standard No. 58, which defines Version 2 of the SMI as documented in RFCs 2578, 2579 and 2580.
Other protocols have been developed to enable a user to manage objects and object types of a network object database (e.g., a MIB). Managing a database of network objects may include accessing (e.g., remotely) and manipulating (e.g., getting and setting) object types and occurrences thereof, including modifying the definition of an object type and/or changing a value defined for an object. An example of a protocol for managing a MIB is the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) promulgated by the IETF. There are several different versions of SNMP, including SNMPv1 (version 1) as defined by IETF Standard No. 15 and documented in RFC 1157, SNMPv2c, which is not a standard, but is an experimental version of SNMP as documented in RFC 1901, and SNMPv3 defined by IETF Standard No. 62 and documented in RFCs 3410-3418, which are updated versions of RFCs 1905-1907 and 2570-2575.
Accordingly, a network object database, for example, a MIB, may be configured to conform with one or more of the SMI protocols and one or more of the SNMP protocols. A network object database also may include proprietary elements that do not conform with any standards or protocols.
Views
As used herein, a "view" of a network object database (e.g., MIB) is a visual representation of information derived from the network object database. The visually represented information may be any information derived from the network object database, for example, the values of one or more objects on a network device. A view typically represents a subset of the information available from a network object database, and typically is used by a user to determine the state of one or more network objects on one or more devices. As used herein, a "view definition" is a set of computer-readable signals that defines a view. As used herein, a "set" of items may include one or more of such items. A view definition includes a definition of the information to be represented by the view.
A network object database may be considered a layer of abstraction for aspects of a network device. Views of a network object database may be classified as abstracted or non-abstracted. As used herein, a "non-abstracted view" is a view of a network object database that provides no more abstraction (i.e., no additional layer of abstraction) for network objects beyond the layer of abstraction provided by the network object database itself. Thus, a non-abstracted view visually represents only information defined in the network object database.
Also, non-abstracted views are limited to arranging the display of information from the network object database as defined by the network object database itself. For example, such non-abstracted view delimits objects only in accordance with the delimitations defined by the network object database. Further, existing non-abstracted view definitions do not combine or collate object types of different groups or different tables of a network object database into an integrated arrangement, e.g., a table that includes object types from both groups or tables.
Typically, relatively simple interpretive (as opposed to compiled) programming language such as a scripting language (e.g., Practical Extraction and Reporting Language (PERL)) are used to write instructions in code (e.g., a script) to retrieve network objects to produce a non-abstracted view. Using a programming interface (e.g., an editor), a programmer may write a script that defines requests for objects defined for one or more network devices, and then execute the script.
As used herein, a "programming interface" is a set of one or more applications, or parts thereof, that enable a programmer to create and modify an application. A programming interface may be configured to use one or more Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), The programmer must know how to write programming code using the programming interface and/or understand the functionality defined by blocks of code (e.g., building blocks of an API) and how to properly combine them.
The result of executing a script on a network object database typically is a raw dump of information including values of objects of the requested object types. The information typically is visually arranged according to the arrangement of the objects within the network object database, which is defined by the object types therein. The information is typically is arranged as a string of text with delimiters (e.g., spaces, line spaces, carriage returns, commas, semicolons) separating objects.
Thus, such relatively simple programming languages do not enable a programmer to define an abstract view of a network object database, including configuring an arrangement of network objects different than the arrangement defined by the network object database, and/or defining a graphical arrangement of such network objects, for example, a table. Thus, the information displayed and the arrangement of information displayed is limited to the information and arrangement defined by the network object database.
As a result, such non-abstracted views may have little meaning to the user (relative to the meaning provided by an abstract view definition), and the logical relationships between pieces of information visually represented in the view may be difficult for the user to understand or may not be understood by the user at all.
Further, the scripts written by such relatively simple programming languages do not provide a user interface that enables a user to create and modify a view definition.
As used herein, a "user interface" is an application or part of an application (i.e., a set of computer-readable instructions) that enables a user to interface with an application during execution of the application. A user interface may include code defining how an application outputs information to a user during execution of the application, for example, visually through a computer screen or other means, audibly through a speaker of other means, and manually through a game controller or other means. Such user interface also may include code defining how a user may input information during execution of the application, for example, audibly using a microphone or manually using a keyboard, mouse, game controller, track ball, touch screen or other means.
Some known applications, for example, NetSight Element Manager, version 3.0.0, available from Enterasys Networks, Inc. of Rochester, New Hampshire, can provide abstracted views of a network object database. Typically, programmers can create and modify abstract view definitions for such applications using a programming interface.
As used herein, an "abstracted view" is a view of a network object database that provides a layer of abstraction of network objects beyond the layer of abstraction provided by the network object database itself. A definition of an abstracted view (i.e., view definition) may specify information beyond the information defined in the network object database, for example, different names for the objects than the names provided by the network object database. Further, the view definition for an abstracted view may define a visual arrangement (e.g., a table) of the information to be represented that is different than the visual arrangement defined by the network object database. For example, an abstracted view may define a table that includes object types that belong to different object type groups or different tables of a network object database.
Similar to the limitations described above with respect to scripts, applications for which programmers can define abstracted views do not provide a user interface that enables a user to create and modify a view definition for a network object database.
In contrast, the static views provided by such applications can only be created and modified by programmers, for example, using a programming interface. As used herein, a "static view definition" is a view definition of a network object database that is not capable of being created and/or modified without programming intervention to create or change the programming code in which the view definition is written (e.g., using a programming interface).
Static view definitions restrict users to view definitions configured by a programmer, for example, when a viewing application is installed. Further, the view definition may be restricted to those object types that were known when the viewing application was installed. Accordingly, to modify a view definition, including possibly adding new object types to the view definition, or to create a new view definition, the code defining the viewing application must be modified. Such modification adds additional time and, consequently, cost to managing network devices.
Another problem with known applications that provide abstracted views of a network object database is that the view definitions of such views are typically inextricable from the viewing application and, therefore, are not portable. In other words, a user using a first network device cannot separate a view definition from the viewing application and transport the view definition to another network device where the view defined by the view definition can be reproduced using a suitable viewing application. Transporting a view definition may include transmitting the view to another device over network media (e.g., by attaching to an email), or saving a copy of the view to a portable recording medium such as a memory stick, CD ROM or floppy disk and physically transporting the recording medium to another network device.

Editing a portable, dynamic and abstract view definition of a network object database


In a propulsion system, an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) body force is used to control the flow of a propellant through a micro channel, expansion slot, plenum chamber, or other flow region and thereby increase the specific impulse created by a propulsion system. In an embodiment, a plurality of electrodes are arranged and powered to create a plasma discharge, which can impart an EHD body force to a fluid. Various configurations of electrodes can be used to control the flow of the fluid into, out of, or through the flow region. In an embodiment, the use of EHD body forces can reduce, or substantially eliminate, shear forces on the surface of a plenum chamber, micro channel, or expansion slot of the propulsion system, resulting in a smooth flow of the propellant and increased thrust.

Small satellite propulsion systems generally must be small in size while generating high specific impulse with limited power. Such systems typically produce impulse bits on the order of 10−6 N-s while using very small propellant flow rates controlled by microvalves.
Propulsion systems are known that pass a gas propellant through an expansion slot with heated walls. The gas molecules become heated as they collide with the walls. The heated molecules have increased energy and therefore pass through the expansion slot with greater speed producing greater thrust and specific impulse.
Electrothermal propulsion systems are also known in which a pair of electrodes are used to produce a plasma discharge in a cavity. When a propellant is introduced into the cavity, the discharge couples energy into the propellant and localized stochastic heating results raising the enthalpy of the propellant.
Electrostatic or ion propulsion systems apply a static electric force (Coulomb Force) to a propellant including charged particles. Magnetic or electromagnetic fields have also been used to increase the flow of a charged propellant (applying a Lorentz Force). Such applications have been used in combination with heating techniques to further increase thrust in a rocket engine. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,302.
As exploration and other space applications progress propulsion systems are desired that produce greater thrust or specific impulse while maintaining a small payload, form factor, or power requirement. In addition, propulsion systems are desired that produce sufficient thrust or specific impulse while reducing the payload, form factor, or power required. These and/or other objectives can be met by embodiments of the subject invention as further described below.

Method and apparatus for small satellite propulsion

University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


A high concentration, aqueous liquid surfactant composition is disclosed, comprising at least one amphoteric or anionic surfactant and a liquid-stabilizing amount of at least one liquid-stabilizing agent. The liquid-stabilizing agent is a succinic acid derivative, glutaric acid derivative or a combination thereof. The composition is pourable and pumpable at ambient room temperature.

High concentration, aqueous surfactant solutions are often desired or required for incorporation into a formulation or for conserving storage space or for economical transportation costs. In particular, aqueous liquid amphoteric and liquid anionic surfactant compositions having a total solids content greater than about 25%, preferably greater than about 35%, are desired, which can remain free-flowing and pumpable liquids at ambient room temperature.
One well known problem is that aqueous surfactant solutions, especially amphoteric and anionic surfactants, tend to be non-liquid, that is they either gel or become non-flowable and too viscous to pump at ambient room temperature, when the total solids content exceeds about 35%. Some prior attempts have been made to overcome this problem by adding fluidizers to the reaction mixture, for example, either during or after formation of the surfactant in an aqueous medium, or by introducing special additives or solvents. While some measure of success has been achieved, uneconomically large amounts of special additives, such as polyols and nonionic surfactants, may be required, and some fluidizers, such as solvents, are difficult or costly to remove from the medium. Some fluidizers may also introduce reaction byproducts and components that can interact with other ingredients in the formulation or interfere with the purpose for which the surfactant is subsequently used. Additionally, some fluidizers may introduce unwanted, toxicologically, physiologically, or environmentally unacceptable material.
In recent years, amphoteric surfactants, and in particular, betaine surfactants, have become increasingly desirable as ingredients in personal care products, such as cosmetics, toiletries, cosmeceuticals, topical pharmaceuticals, and the like, especially in products for cleansing the hair and skin. Consequently, there is an ongoing need for high concentration, aqueous surfactant compositions that remain flowable, pumpable liquids at ambient room temperature and contain minimal or no extraneous material from the reaction process. It has been surprisingly found that such a stable, flowable, pumpable, high concentration, aqueous, liquid surfactant composition can be prepared by the method disclosed herein.

High concentration surfactant compositions and methods


A system and method for measuring optical properties of films deposited or formed on semiconductor wafers. Measurements of an optical property are made in a plurality of non-overlapping locations within a test region of a film at a low radiation dose, and the measurements are averaged. The radiation dose is less than the actinic radiation sensitivity dose of the film, so that chemical changes in the film are not caused by the measurements. The measurements may be calibrated to prior art methods, and the results may be adjusted by the adjustment or calibration factor.

Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic applications, such as personal computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and other electronic equipment, as examples. There may be millions of transistors and capacitors formed on a single integrated circuit (IC), for example. Semiconductor devices are fabricated by depositing various material layers over a semiconductor wafer, such as conductors, semiconductors, and insulators, and patterning the various material layers to form circuit elements and interconnects therebetween.
The various material layers of semiconductor devices are typically patterned using lithography techniques to create components and circuits. In semiconductor lithography, a resist is deposited or spin-coated onto a wafer substrate, and is selectively exposed to a form of radiation, such as ultraviolet light, electrons, or x-rays, as examples. An exposure tool and mask are typically used to effect the desired selective exposure. Patterns in the resist are formed when the wafer undergoes a subsequent development step. The areas of resist remaining after development protect the substrate regions that they cover during subsequent processing. Locations from which resist has been removed can then be subjected to a variety of subtractive (e.g., etching) or additive (e.g., ion implantation) processes that transfer the pattern onto the substrate surface. The areas of the resist exposed to the energy are made either soluble or insoluble in a specific solvent known as a developer. In the case where the irradiated (exposed) regions are soluble, a positive image of the mask is produced in the resist, referred to as a positive resist. If the non-irradiated regions are dissolved by the developer, a negative image results in the resist, referred to as a negative resist.
There may be 20 or more masking layers used to manufacture an advanced integrated circuit, for example. The trend in semiconductor technology is towards scaling down the size of semiconductor devices, for increased speed and decreased power consumption, as examples. For smaller-scale semiconductor devices, resists are typically used that are exposed at 248 nm or 193 nm wavelengths. The term "actinic" refers to the wavelength of the radiant energy, especially in visible and ultraviolet regions of the light spectrum, by which photochemical changes are produced in a radiation sensitive resist.
A resist typically comprises three components: a resin or matrix material that functions as a binder; an active ingredient or photoactive compound (PAC); and a solvent, which maintains the resist material in a liquid state until it is applied to a semiconductor wafer. The photoactive component of a resist is the component of a resist material that undergoes a chemical reaction in response to actinic radiation.
Optical properties are fundamental to understanding the response of semiconductor materials to radiation, such as in the exposure of resists. Simulation and modeling require knowledge and characterization of optical properties of a film in order to predict processing results under various processing conditions. Therefore, measurement of optical properties of films used in semiconductor manufacturing is important in simulating the results that are obtainable with photolithography.
An important optical property that impacts patterning is the index of refraction of a resist material, as an example. It is therefore important to have the capability to measure optical properties such as the real component (RI) and imaginary component (k) of the refractive index at the actinic or exposure wavelengths of films formed on semiconductor wafers. Often the variation of the refractive index of a film across the surface of a wafer is of interest, so many measurements are taken at many locations across the wafer, e.g., 49 measurements may be made across a wafer.
A significant problem with measuring optical properties of radiation sensitive resist materials is that the measurement method usually requires that the material be probed with a beam of radiation at the wavelength for which the material is labile or unstable. Consequently, the accurate measurement of film properties at the actinic wavelength of a film can cause chemical and/or physical changes to the material. Portions of films deposited on semiconductor wafers may be exposed during the measurement and testing process, which prohibits the films from being usable as material layers or pattern-generating resists, as examples. Thus, what is needed in the art is a method and system for measuring optical properties, such as the refractive index, of films deposited on a semiconductor wafer, that do not cause chemical changes to the films.

Measurement of optical properties of radiation sensitive materials


A new and distinct form of Agastache plant characterized by light yellow orange flowers in large inflorescences, a long bloom time, a short, compact habit, good winter hardiness, and excellent vigor.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Agastache, given the name, 'Kudos Gold'. Agastache is in the family Lamiaceae. This new variety is one of several selections of new Agastache using hardy and dwarf Agastache species in the breeding lines to provide hardiness and compactness. The new cultivar is a selection from the cross between the proprietary seedlings Agastache 101-3 (unpatented), as the seed parent, and Agastache 42-wt (unpatented), as the pollen parent. The new cultivar was selected for its compact habit, hardiness, and gold flowers in dense heads.
Compared to the seed parent, Agastache 101-3 the new cultivar is light yellow orange rather than yellow orange.
Compared to the pollen parent, Agastache 42-wt, the new cultivar is hardier and better branched with light yellow orange rather than white flowers.
Compared to Agastache 'Summer Glow', U.S. Plant Pat. No. 20,980, the new cultivar is hardier, shorter, and bushier with more intense light yellow orange flowers that do not fade.
This plant exhibits the following characteristics that make it unique:                1. light yellow orange flowers on numerous inflorescences,        2. a long bloom time,        3. a short, compact habit,        4. good winter hardiness, and        5. excellent vigor.
The new variety has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (stem cuttings and micropropagation using apical buds and nodes). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by stem cuttings and micropropagation using apical buds and nodes as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.


Computer implemented method and system for achieving a preferred state of mind of a user are disclosed. In a first aspect, the method comprises detecting a biological marker (biomarker) of a user utilizing one or more sensors; and inferring a state of mind of the user based upon data received from the one or more sensors that are provided to computational hardware. Finally the method includes providing an antidote to the user if the inferred state of mind is different than the preferred state of mind utilizing an actuator. In a second aspect, the system comprises one or more sensors for detecting a biological marker (biomarker) of the user and computational hardware for inferring a state of mind of the user based upon data received from the one or more sensors. Finally the system includes an actuator for providing an antidote to the user if the inferred state of mind is different than a preferred state of mind.

When a person is more focused, or able to be in the person's preferred state of mind, the person can be more productive for whatever he or she is doing. And as the person is productive, he or she can be happier as well. Additionally, when a person needs to rest, the person should have enough good-quality sleep. After the person is well rested, he or she can be healthier. What is desired is a system and method to help a person to set the person's mind in a preferred state, which may be focused, asleep, or other state. The present invention addresses such a need.

Computer system for determining a state of mind and providing a sensory-type antidote to a subject


A bracket for mounting a front license plate to an automotive vehicle that does not have an integrally designed and designated front license plate mounting location embodied as part of the front exterior of the vehicle that includes an associated integral license plate mounting mechanism, but does have existing, integral apertures in the body of the vehicle located behind and below the front grille of the vehicle which are used to secure a body panel to the vehicle. The bracket has a detachable body having a mounting surface adapted to receive a license plate, two arms that attach to the body and extend from the rear of the body. The two arms can attach to the body in either of two distinct positions, either with the top of the body facing up or with the top of the body facing down. The arms attach to the front of the vehicle body, without any modifications to the vehicle or drilling any holes into the vehicle, by means of fasteners that pass through apertures in the arms and are received by the existing, integral apertures located in the body of the vehicle behind and below the front grille of the vehicle.

The majority of individual states of the United States require an automotive vehicle to have a license plate mounted to the front of the vehicle. Mounting a license plate to the front of a vehicle becomes difficult when the vehicle has low curved front profiles and large grille openings for the cooling system and no integrally designed and designated front license plate mounting location is embodied as part of the front exterior of the vehicle that includes an associated integral license plate mounting mechanism. In such cases, an add on accessory license plate mounting bracket is typically used which is typically molded from a composite material and attached to the front fascia of the vehicle using two way adhesive tape and/or screws. Attaching the bracket to the front fascia in this manner causes several problems. The bracket leaves abrasion marks in the paint of the front fascia that requires costly re-painting of the fascia if the bracket is removed such as in the case where the vehicle owner moves to another state that does not require a front license plate to be mounted on the front of a vehicle. If only two way adhesive tape is used to attach the bracket to the front fascia, the bracket can unexpectedly come off when high temperatures are experienced or when the vehicle is at high speed or when the vehicle is taken through a car wash, causing potentially very serious and costly damage to the vehicle. If screws are used to attach the bracket to the front fascia the fascia is seriously damaged as new non-original holes would have to be drilled in the fascia, which would require very costly repairs if the bracket were to be removed. Accordingly, it would be very desirable and beneficial to provide a front license plate mounting bracket that would be easily assembled and easily mounted to the vehicle using existing fastener locations somewhere on the vehicle; and that would not damage the front fascia of the vehicle or its painted surface; and that would have its main license mounting body, with the license plate attached, easily detached for purposes of taking the vehicle through a car wash; and that would provide a rigid and durable platform for the license plate that would not unexpectedly come off and cause damage to the vehicle.

Bracket assembly with detachable body for mounting a front license plate to an automotive vehicle


A phase locked loop (PLL) with phase rotation spreading includes a phase detector, a charge pump, a filter, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and a selector. The phase detector receives a reference clock signal and a feedback clock signal to thereby produce an error signal. The charge pump converts the error signal into a current signal. The filter converts the current signal into a voltage signal. The VCO produces N clock signals with a same frequency in accordance with the voltage signal, where the N clock signals have phases θ0 to θN-1 respectively, and θj indicates a lead of 2π/N over θj+1, for j=0, 1, . . . , N−2. The selector selects one from the N clock signals in accordance with a predetermined sequence to thereby produce a target clock signal, and finely adjusts a frequency of the target clock signal for a spreading operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a phase locked loop (PLL) and, more particularly, to a PLL with phase rotation for spreading spectrum.
2. Description of Related Art
With rapidly improved electronic technologies, various applications can be provided by the electronic products. However, due to the increasingly complex electronic applications, the clocks required for the applications are different, and accordingly a PLL becomes an optimal choice to meet the requirements of saving the cost and providing the different clocks. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a typical PLL 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the PLL 100 includes a phase detector 110, a charge pump 120, a low pass filter (LPF) 130, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 140 and a frequency divider 150. The PLL 100 receives an input signal with a frequency Fin and produces an output signal with a frequency Fout, for Fout=Y×Fin and Y is an integer or a fraction. In this case, the electromagnetic interference (EMI) detection cannot be passed frequently because the frequency Fout of the output signal is relatively greater than the frequency Fin of the input signal. Also, the other electronic components can be easily interfered.
To overcome the aforementioned problem, U.S. Pat. No. 6,377,646 granted to Sha for a "Spread Spectrum at Phase Lock Loop Feedback Path" discloses a method for spreading spectrum of a PLL output signal, which uses a read only memory (ROM) to record a correction value for changing the divisor currently used in the feedback divider and applies a phase swallowing to the feedback divider for spreading spectrum of the PLL output signal. However, such a spreading way essentially changes the divisor in the feedback divider to thereby change the output frequency, and cannot be applied to a PLL in which the output frequency necessarily equals to the input frequency. In addition, such a spreading way cannot be applied when a feedback divider has a relatively small divisor, which causes the phase detector to output a significant error signal and further affects the spreading effect.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved PLL to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.

Phase locked loop with phase rotation for spreading spectrum


An apparatus for labelling packages with postage meter labels performs a method in which postage metered label combinations are received from a label feeder and postage meter, the label is stripped from its release sheet, and then the label is applied to its respective package. The labelling apparatus and method are designed for use in a high speed electronic finishing system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for applying a label to an package and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for applying metered postage labels to packages being conveyed in an electronic finishing system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the electronic finishing field, multi-page documents such as insurance policies and contracts are printed on high-speed laser printers and then finished on an electronic finishing system which assembles the document and adds any desired inserts (such as prefolded advertising brochures or other solicitations) to the document to create a product and then inserts the product into a standard envelope to create a package ready for mailing. These steps are done at high speed while the accuracy of the document assembly is verified through use of a printed bar code on each sheet of the document.
Before mailing, the packages have to be weighed and postage has to be applied thereto. Heretofore, such postage application has been done by hand. There is one prior art electronic finishing system that provides in-line postage application directly to the package. One of the drawbacks of this postage application system is that it only applies postage to packages having a maximum thickness of about 3/8 inch.
The present invention is designed to overcome the above limitations that are attendant upon the use of "prior art" devices, and toward this end, it contemplates the provision of a novel apparatus and method for applying postage to packages travelling in an electronic finishing system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method utilizing postage labels which are printed with the proper postage and applied to the packages.
It is also an object to provide such an apparatus and method utilizing a device which strips the labels from their release sheets and transports the labels to a position for application on the packages as they are travelling through the electronic finishing system.
Yet another object is to provide an apparatus and method which accomplish the postage application at high speeds.
A further object is to provide an apparatus that is compatible with conventional electronic finishing systems and is generally compatible in physical size, form and configuration with such systems, to be readily adaptable for the same use without disadvantage.
It is a general aim of the invention to provide such an apparatus which may be readily and economically fabricated and will have long life in operation and significantly greater flexibility in use.

Apparatus and method for applying a label to a package


A quick-disconnect waterproof connector for secure connection of electrical wires to one another in series, in applications where water or other fluids may be present. The most preferred connector has two connecting members each with opposing ends, a pin adjacent to a socket in side-to-side array at a first of said opposing ends, over-molding around the pin and socket, a plurality of external ribs laterally extending across the over-molding on opposing sides thereof, the over-molding around the base of the pin having a tapered boss, the over-molding extension around the distal end of the socket configured for snugly receiving the tapered boss of its paired member to create a waterproof connection, two sheathed insulated wires each connected to one of the contacts, and the over-molding also having on its second end a strain-relief extension positioned around the sheathed insulated wires as they enter the over-molding.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of pin-and-socket connectors used for mating electrical wires, specifically to a quick-disconnect waterproof connector that is employed to provide a secure and waterproof connection of electrical wires to one another in series, in applications where water or other fluids may be present. The most preferred connector of the present invention has two elongated connective members of identical construction, an advantage in lowering production cost. Each elongated connective member has a first end with an electrically-conductive pin positioned in side-to-side array with a socket comprising electrically-conductive material. Over-molding is formed around each socket and the base of the pin paired with it, with a plurality of external ribs laterally extending across the exterior surface of the over-molding on opposed sides thereof. The over-molding around the base of the pin also comprising a tapered boss and the over-molding around the distal end of the socket has an opening with a straight wall bore, and is otherwise configured and dimensioned for snugly receiving the tapered boss adjacent to the paired pin to create a waterproof connection and seal there around. Each connecting member further has a second end that receives two sheathed insulated wires one of which is in electrical communication with the pin and the other of which is in electrical communication with the socket, with the over-molding on the second end comprising a protective strain-relief extension positioned around the sheathed wires as they enter into the over-molding to provide a waterproof seal around them. During use, the two identical elongated connective members would be oriented relative to one another so that each pin aligns with an opposed socket, with the gripping ribs on the exterior surface of the over-molding then being used to gently, but with sufficient force, insert the tapered boss around the base of each pin into the straight wall bore through the over-molding around the distal end of the opposed socket, with the tapered boss eventually pushing a portion of the straight wall bore outward to enhance the formation of a waterproof connection and seal. Although the most preferred embodiment of the present invention has one pin positioned in side-by-side array with one socket in each elongated connective member, it is contemplated for the scope of the present invention to also include elongated connective members providing three or more electrical connections, such as but not limited to two pins and one socket in one connecting member that would require two complementary sockets and one pin in the connecting member paired with it. Applications of the present invention may include, but are not limited to, use in connecting probes and switches employed in water detection applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
In applications where water or other fluids may be present, use of waterproof connectors to electrically link the wires associated with probes and switches to one another is critical to ensure reliable electrical communication between them, and that prompt action will be taken when fluids accumulate beyond a threshold level considered safe. This is vitally important for equipment used for water detection purposes, as a breakdown in communication between probes and switches only allows more fluid to accumulate, escalating the risk for damage to surroundings. A capability to withstand temperature extremes is also important to probes and switches used for fluid-overflow monitoring functions related to air conditioning applications, one of the contemplated applications of the present invention herein, as some air conditioning system components producing condensate are placed in a hot attic or in a non-climate-controlled garage. Furthermore, while weatherproof pin-and-socket connectors are known for use in providing brake and turn lights for trailers towed behind a truck, which are able to withstand moisture and temperature extremes, none are known to have all of the features and advantages of the present invention, particularly the at least one pin and the at least one socket in side-by-side array in each elongated connective member (with such an array providing balance when a connecting force is applied to paired connective members to join or separate them), in combination with the tapered boss at the base of each pin and a straight wall bore in the over-molding extension around the distal end of each socket (wherein the tapered boss pushes the straight wall bore in an outwardly direction to create an enhanced waterproof connection), and ribs on the exterior surface of the over-molding that with the other previously-mentioned features provide for a proper installer-applied connection force being used that allows opposed connective members to be pressed completely together and the tapered boss at the base of each pin to have a better lead-in chamfer into the straight wall bore of the over-molding extension around the distal end of the opposed socket. In addition, the tapered boss around the base of each pin causing the straight wall bore of the over-molding extension around the distal end of each paired socket to be pushed outward, in addition to providing an enhanced waterproof connection and seal, allows for low insertion forces and larger manufacturing tolerances. The larger manufacturing tolerances provide more favorable manufacturing cost, and low insertion forces are needed so that installers are able to press paired elongated connective members completely together while still providing for a waterproof connection and seal for enhanced reliability of successful electrical communication, which is needed for the long-term use (years at a time) in fluid-overflow monitoring functions related to air conditioning applications.


Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A wireless device, such as a UE or base station, may identify a rate matching resource set for a transmission time interval (TTI) of a shared channel, where the rate matching resource set includes a set of symbols of the TTI allocated for rate matching. In some cases, the wireless device may identify a rate matching configuration for the rate matching resource set based at least in part on a multi-TTI grant for the shared channel, and perform rate matching of a set of data for transmission via the TTI based on the rate matching resource set and the rate matching configuration. In some cases, the wireless device may transmit, or receive, the rate-matched set of data via the one or more TTIs, in accordance with the multi-TTI grant, based on communications with another wireless device.

The following relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to rate matching resource sets for wireless systems.
Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform-spread-orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations or network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).
In some cases, a transmission opportunity (TxOP), or grant may allow a wireless device to transmit up to a pre-determined TxOP duration, and wait for an acknowledgement (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement (NACK) response before transmitting again. In some cases, the TxOP may vary based on different jurisdictions, Quality of Service (QoS) desired, or other factors. In some aspects, subcarrier spacing (SCS) of a transmission may be flexible, and may vary based in part on the spectrum in use, type of Radio Access Technology (RAT) deployed, etc. Further, a slot length of the transmission may be inversely proportional to the subcarrier spacing. Thus, as the subcarrier spacing increases, the slot length may shrink. In some cases, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process resources may be exhausted prior to utilizing an allowed TxOP length. For example, for NR, there may be a maximum of 16 HARQ processes (i.e., a UE may transmit a burst of data up to 16 slots before exhausting HARQ process resources), and transmissions may span only a subset of the allowed TxOP length, which may result in inefficient utilization of resources in a wireless system.

Rate matching resource sets for wireless systems


A low-profile transportation and storage assembly is readily substitutable with a conventional pair of skid landing gear. The low-profile transportation and storage assembly includes a front auxiliary crosstube having low-profile wheels attached to opposing ends of the front auxiliary crosstube, and a rear auxiliary crosstube having low-profile wheels attached to opposing ends of the rear auxiliary crosstube. Both the front auxiliary crosstube and the rear auxiliary crosstube are readily substitutable with the pair of skid landing gear of a conventional helicopter. A pair of front saddle mounts and a pair of rear saddle mounts secure the front crosstube and the back crosstube of the pair of skid landing gear to the helicopter. The pair of front saddle mounts and the pair of rear saddle mounts can be quickly removed from the aft crosstube and the forward crosstube by removal of expandable bushing fittings of the saddle mounts. These same saddle mounts or other saddle mounts can then be used to quickly and conveniently secure the front auxiliary crosstube and the rear auxiliary crosstube to the helicopter to thereby facilitate transportation and low-profile storage of the helicopter. An improved tail skid mount fitting is provided for holding the tail skid in one of an operating configuration and a low-profile storage configuration. The low-profile storage configuration of the tail skid surrounds and protects a portion of the tailboom of the helicopter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to helicopters and, more particularly, to skid landing gear that are quickly removable using expandable bushing fittings to facilitate compact storage of helicopters.
2. Description of Related Art
Military and commercial helicopters are often transported by fixed-wing transport planes to new operational sites. Since cargo space is always at a premium, these helicopters must in most cases be partially disassembled to fit into the cargo holds of the delivery vehicles. Especially when the helicopter is to be used for military purposes, it is desirable that the helicopter be easily and quickly reassembled at the destination, preferably without the aid of heavy or complex equipment which must also be shipped to the reassembly location. Although the same urgency is usually not prevalent for civilian helicopters, a capability for quick and convenient assembly and disassembly would no doubt be appreciated by civilian operators.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional pair of skid landing gear 15 for use with a helicopter. The pair of skid landing gear 15 comprises two skids 17 and 19 having abrasion shoes 21 and 23, respectively. These skids 17 and 19 further comprise steps 28 and 30. The two skids 17 and 19 are joined by an aft crosstube 33 and a forward crosstube 35. Fittings 37 and 39 join the aft crosstube 33 to both the skid 17 and the skid 19, and fittings 41 and 43 join the forward crosstube 35 to both the skid 17 and the skid 19. Dampers 50 and 53 are positioned at the interface between the aft crosstube 33 and the two skids 17 and 19.
The pair of skid landing gear 15 is joined to the fuselage of a helicopter (not shown) via an aft fuselage fitting 58, an aft saddle point fitting 60, a forward saddle fitting 62, and a forward fuselage fitting 64. The aft fuselage fitting 58 and the aft saddle point fitting 60 secure the aft crosstube 33 to the fuselage of the helicopter, and the forward saddle fitting 62 and the forward fuselage fitting 64 secure the forward crosstube 35 to the fuselage of the helicopter.
FIG. 2 illustrates a closeup view of the forward saddle fitting 62. The forward saddle fitting 62 comprises two tension bolt apertures 71. These tension bolt apertures 71 accommodate tension bolts (not shown), which are carefully torqued into the bottom of the helicopter fuselage to thereby secure the forward crosstube 35 to the helicopter. Similarly, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the aft saddle point fitting 60 comprises two tension bolt apertures 74 for accommodating two tension bolts. These tension bolts are fed through the tension bolt apertures 74 and into the fuselage of the helicopter, and are then carefully torqued. The process of securing the pair of skid landing gear 15 to the fuselage of a helicopter can be cumbersome.
Although the prior art has recognized some of the advantages associated with attaching wheels to the pair of skid landing gear 15, the prior art has not endeavored to replace the pair of skid landing gear 15 with a pair auxiliary crosstubes having low-profile wheels attached thereto to thereby facilitate compact storage of the helicopter. U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,886 to Davis et al. discloses an auxiliary wheeled landing gear that may be substituted for a baseline skid landing gear on a helicopter. This substitution is intended for those operators who desire to taxi their helicopters on the ground in order to avoid aerial taxiing or the inconvenience of using dolly wheels and a tow bar. The wheels, however, are not low profile, and once installed, the wheels do not appear to be readily removable. The installation of the wheels according to this patent appears to incorporate standard aircraft bolts and nuts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,580 to Canus discloses an assembly of clamps and fittings for attaching a platform to a helicopter's skid landing gear. This patent, however, does not address the concern of providing readily attachable and detachable low-profile wheels as a substitution for the skid landing gear of a helicopter.