Variable momentum burner assembly for separately injecting fuel gas and oxidant in a combustion zone, comprising at least two fuel gas canals, at least one oxidant canal and a fuel gas distributor, whereby the at least two fuel gas canals comprise an inner fuel-conducting passage forming an inner fuel gas outlet and an outer fuel-conducting passage forming an outer fuel gas outlet, said inner and said outer fuel-conducting passages being coaxially arranged; and whereby said fuel gas distributor comprises a first fuel gas chamber in fluid connexion with the inner fuel-conducting passage of the at least two fuel gas canals and a second fuel gas chamber in fluid connexion with the outer fuel-conducting passage of the at least two fuel gas canals.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combustion process and an apparatus therefor containing separate fuel and oxidant injectors to introduce fuel gas and oxidant separately in the combustion chamber of a furnace, so that the fuel burns with the oxidant in a wide luminous flame, and whereby the combustion of the fuel with the oxidant generates reduced quantities of nitrogen oxides (NOx).
Related Art
Industrial high temperature processes, such as glass or frit melting, ferrous and non ferrous materials smelting, use large amounts of energy to transform a variety of raw materials into a hot product that is then cast, formed or otherwise disposed of in further stages of the industrial process. This operation is generally performed in large furnaces that can produce as much as 500 tons (metric) per day of molten material. Combustion in the furnace of high calorific value fuels, such as natural gas, propane, or possibly low calorific fuels such as some blast furnace gasses, with an oxidant that contains oxygen is a preferred method of supplying the energy. In some cases, the combustion is supplemented by electric heating. Most of the time, fuel and oxidant are introduced in the furnace through burners in order to generate flames. The transfer of energy from the flames to the material to be heated or melted results from the combination of convection at the surface of the material and radiation to the surface or into the material, if the material is transparent to the radiation. Flames that are highly radiative (usually referred to as luminous flames) are usually preferred, because they provide better heat transfer and, thus, higher fuel efficiency.
For flame heating, it is also very important to have the energy from the flame evenly distributed above the surface of the material to be heated or melted. Otherwise, hot and cold regions may co-exist in the furnace, which is generally not desirable as it may affect the quality of products manufactured with material heated or melted in such a furnace. For example, in a bath of molten glass, there may be glass stones in cold regions, and increased volatilization in hot regions. Wide flames are preferred because they yield a better and more even coverage.
In many countries, increasingly stringent regulations are being promulgated regarding emissions of NOx. Combustion techniques wherein NOx formation is limited have therefore been developed.
In very high temperature processes, NOx formation is promoted by long residence times of oxygen and nitrogen molecules in hot regions of the flame and the furnace. The use of substantially pure oxygen (90% O2 or higher) instead of air as the oxidant has proven to be very successful in reducing the NOx emissions by as much as 90%, since nearly all nitrogen is eliminated.
However, substitution of air by substantially pure oxygen increases the flame temperature, and thus creates regions in the furnace where the reactivity of nitrogen with oxygen is high, and wherein the formation of NOx may proportionally increase, even though it is globally decreased when compared to combustion with air. Indeed, it is, in practice, usually impossible to eliminate all nitrogen from a furnace, because industrial furnaces are not tight to air leaks, the fuel usually contains some nitrogen, and oxygen supplied from non-cryogenic sources, such as oxygen produced by a Vacuum Swing Adsorption plant (VSA), contains a small residual nitrogen concentration.
Burner assemblies capable of operating at low pressure, particularly for the oxidant gas, while producing a wide, flat luminous flame with reduced NOx emissions, and which afford a manner of controlling flame length so as to adapt the flame to the furnace in which they are used are known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,984,667 and 6,068,468, and are commercialized by the applicant under the commercial denominations Alglass™ FC and Albatch™ FC.
An essential aspect of said burner assembly is that the fuel and oxidant are physically separated (i.e. spaced apart), and geometrically arranged in order to impart to the fuel fluid streams and the oxidant fluid streams angles that allow combustion of the fuel fluid with the oxidant in a stable, wide, and luminous flame.
More specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,667 discloses a burner assembly comprising at least two fuel fluid cavities, at least one oxidant fluid cavity and at least one exit face at which at least one of the fuel fluid cavities and at least one of the oxidant fluid cavities terminates. Said burner assembly comprises:    a) means for supplying an oxidant fluid stream;    b) means to inject said oxidant fluid stream in said at least one oxidant fluid cavity to create at least one injected oxidant fluid stream;    c) means for supplying a fuel fluid stream; and    d) means to inject said fuel fluid stream in said at least two fuel fluid channels to create at least two injected fuel fluid streams;    whereby the directions of injection of the oxidant fluid stream and the fuel fluid stream are substantially converging and intersect at a combustion zone, while the directions of at least two adjacent fuel fluid channels are diverging.
Demonstrated benefits of this type of burners are:                improvements in fuel efficiency by directing the flame energy towards the charge rather than towards the furnace structure,        improvements in heating uniformity and elimination of hot spots through enhanced charge coverage,        high luminosity resulting in efficient heat transfer to the charge, e.g. in glass melting furnaces,        low pollutant emissions.
Burners of this type operate reliably under a certain range of process conditions, in particular within a certain range of firing rates, but problems may arise when the burner is operated outside said range. For example, a problem experienced with burners of this type is that at low firing rates (e.g. below 30% of the nominal firing rate) the flame produced by the burner is 'lazy' and tends to lift towards the crown of the furnace, thereby increasing the risk of hot spot formation in the furnace crown. At very high firing rates (e.g. more than 200% of the nominal firing rate, flame control becomes increasingly difficult and the length of the flame may be such as to cause damage to the opposite furnace wall.
There exists a need to increase the flexibility of the above known type of burner.
In glass-melting furnaces, by way of example, the pull rate of the furnace may have to be increased, which generally entails an increase in the firing rate of at least one of the burners mounted in the furnace. Under certain circumstances, it may also be necessary to decrease the pull rate of the furnace, which may entail a decrease in the firing rate of at least of its burners. It would be desirable to provide more flexibility in the firing rate of the furnace without deterioration of the quality of the product produced in the furnace and without substantially accelerating or increasing the risk of furnace damage.
It is an object of the present invention to provide burner assemblies and methods of combustion which reliably present the benefits of the above known type of burners over a wider range of process conditions and in particular of firing rates.
Burners jointly injecting fuel and oxidant (i.e. fuel and oxidant injection which is not spaced apart as opposed to separate injection) and capable of operating at both high and low momentum are known in the art.
EP-A-0563793 discloses a variable-momentum oxy-fuel combustion system comprising an oxy-fuel burner having a generally cylindrical housing with a fuel conduit disposed in spaced relation to and concentrically within said housing, whereby:                the fuel conduit is co-extensive along a major portion of said housing and has a flame end terminating in the same plane as the flame end of said housing;        a fuel cap is disposed concentrically within the fuel conduit, said fuel cap and said fuel conduit cooperating to produce an annular fuel flow at said flame end of said housing;        an oxidizer conduit is disposed concentrically within said housing between said fuel conduit and said housing, said oxidizer conduit extending coexistively in said housing;        a precombustor is mounted on said burner;and whereby:        the fuel conduit is adapted for variable positioning relative to said oxidizer conduit along the longitudinal axis including a position where they terminate in the place defined by the flame end of said housing to define an annular oxidizer passage orifice surrounding said fuel conduit; and        the fuel conduit and said fuel cap adapted for variable positioning relative to each other along the longitudinal axis including a position where they terminate in the place defined by the flame end of said housing to define an annular fuel passage means to introduce fuel to said fuel passage and oxidizer to said oxidizing passage.
A major inconvenience of the variable-momentum combustion system according to EP-A-0563793 is that the momentum of the oxy-fuel flame is varied by varying the position of constituent parts of the assembly, such as the fuel conduit, the oxidizer conduit and/or the fuel cap proximate the flame end of the housing. The presence, in the assembly, of moveable parts at a point where they are subjected to the effects of the oxy-fuel flame, such as high temperatures and possibly deposits of combustion products or volatilized material, affects the reliability of said combustion system in operation.
EP-A-763692 discloses an oxy-fuel burner including an outer oxidant tube, an intermediate fuel tube and an inner oxidant tube which are coaxially arranged with the fuel tube disposed between the inner and outer oxidant tubes and whereby the characteristics of the flame produced by the burner may be controlled by varying the relative flow rates of the inner and outer oxidant flows. An increase in the percentage of the total oxidant which is provided to the inner oxidant tube causes the length and luminosity of the flame to decrease and the flame momentum to increase. Burners of this type are commercialized by the applicant under the commercial denominations Alglass™ VM and Albatch™ VM.
Benefits of this burner technology as demonstrated in glass-melting furnaces are:                possibility to regulate the atmosphere in the furnace,        possibility to regulate the momentum of the flame, in particular in the case of oxy-boosting,        possibility to adjust the flame length according to furnace geometry (furnace width in the case of cross-firing), and        possibility to modify the flame luminosity according to the type of charge (glass composition).
Neither of the above known variable momentum combustion technologies for joint injection of fuel and oxidant are adapted for use in burner assemblies of the type known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,984,667 and 6,068,468, which comprise at least two fuel passages and whereby fuel and oxidant gas are injected in separate fluid streams into a combustion chamber of a high temperature furnace.

Burner assembly and method of combustion

L'Air Liquide Société Anonyme Pour L'Étude Et L'Exploitation Des Procedes Georges Claude


A method for detecting substances or mixtures of substances within a sample in an apparatus for comprehensive two-dimensional gas-chromatographic analysis according to the present invention, comprising the steps of:                subjecting the sample to a first separation within a first capillary column;        modulating in time the effluents from the first column by means of the subdivision into adjacent fractions of the effluents from the first column and subsequently sending each fraction into a second capillary column, the modulation of the effluents being periodic with a first modulation frequency f1 of the sample;        separating each of the fractions in the aforesaid second capillary column; and        detecting, at the end of the second capillary column, the effluents by means of periodic sampling by discrete time points at a second frequency f2.

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas-chromatographic analysis, also referred to as GC×GC (or else as "comprehensive 2D GC"), is a recent technique of analysis that involves subjecting the sample to be analysed to a first separation in a traditional capillary column and then injecting all the gaseous effluents of the first column, appropriately focused (concentrated) in fractions of predefined size, into a second capillary column having characteristics, and hence capacity of analytical detection, different from the first capillary column.
GC×GC analysis enables, thanks to fractionation (i.e. splitting in fractions) of the effluents of the first column and to the subsequent analysis of the fractions in the second column, a high analytical resolution that leads to a better and more sensitive identification of the substances present in the sample analysed.
In greater detail, the method of GC×GC analysis leads to a separation of the sample in a first capillary column and a further separation of the effluents of the first column, appropriately modulated, in a second column set in series to the first. All the effluents of the first column are subjected to a periodic modulation in time that consists in their subdivision and focusing in adjacent fractions having a constant extension in time by means of modulators (for example, thermal modulators) in which the effluents from the first column are first slowed down (focusing) and then accelerated again for introduction into the second column. Each fraction of the effluents thus modulated, i.e., each gas pulse, is then sent into the second capillary column so as to be further separated and analysed by a detector set in a position corresponding to the output section of the said second capillary column.
To guarantee the continuity of the analysis, the second capillary column is a column of a fast type, i.e., shorter and with a smaller diameter than the first capillary column, and the focused fractions of the effluents from the first column have extremely small time dimensions (<100 ms), thanks to the choice of an appropriate frequency of modulation of the said effluents.
The results of GC×GC analysis may be viewed by means of a three-dimensional Cartesian chromatogram, or by means of a contour plot (i.e. a level-curve graph), that presents two temporal axes (or time dimensions), one for each dimension of the analysis, and one axis (or level curve) along which there appears the intensity of the signal at output from the detector downstream of the second column. The peaks in the chromatogram, the height of which is proportional to the intensity of the signal at output from the corresponding detector and the position of which along each axis is a function of the instant of outflow (and hence of volatility) from the column considered of the substance or mixture at output, indicate the presence of a certain substance or mixture of substances.
In particular, the chromatogram is obtained as follows: each effluent, generated by the separation of the sample, can be detected, together with the instant of outflow, at output from the first capillary column, giving rise to a peak of height proportional to its quantity. This technique is the one usually adopted in one-dimensional gas chromatography. The effluents from the first column are then modulated in adjacent fractions, as described above, and each fraction is sent into the second capillary column, where it undergoes a further separation. Downstream of the second capillary column, the effluents from the latter are detected, together with the instant of output, giving rise to a series of peaks of restricted dimensions proportional to the size of each substance or mixture further separated in the second column.
The detection of the peaks at output from the second capillary column, which is obtained via discrete sampling, forms a continuous time series of digital signals in time proportional to the effluents from the second capillary column. To create the chromatogram, the continuous series of digital signals must be subdivided into a plurality of subsets ("cuts" or bands) of constant time dimension (and hence of equal number given by the discrete acquisition of the peaks), in such a way that their ordering side-by-side will give rise to a matrix in which one axis indicates the number of signals (points) acquired of the chromatogram of the second dimension and the other axis indicates the number of chromatograms of the second dimension.
Given that the number of bands (or subdivisions) of the second dimension, corresponding, that is, to the second capillary column, must be equal to the number of fractions of the effluents from the first column, the dimension of each subset, and hence the time interval of each subdivision, must therefore theoretically have the same time dimension as each fraction modulated at output from the first capillary column.
In other words, the amplitude of each modulation interval should theoretically coincide with the amplitude of each subset that divides the continuous time series of digital signals acquired.
However, the periodic modulation of the effluents from the first column takes place with a frequency that is determined beforehand on the basis of the characteristics of the first and second columns, whilst the acquisition by discrete points (sampling) of the peaks detectable downstream of the second column is obtained with a frequency of its own of the detector.
This means that the number of points, which are equidistant in time, acquired by the detector downstream of the second capillary column cannot be, and usually is not, perfectly contained in the time interval of modulation of the effluents from the first column, and this leads to a time drift in the acquisition of these points. If, for example, the time interval of each modulation is equal to 50 ms (20 Hz) and the acquisition of the sampling points is obtained every 0.3 ms (3.33 MHz), the number of sampling points in each modulation interval will be equal to 166, but there will be a time deviation equal to 0.2 ms, which will lead to an offset (out-of-phase) equal to 0.1 ms in the acquisition of the first sampling point and of the 166th sampling point of the subsequent modulation interval and which, in the third subsequent modulation interval, will lead to an offset in the start of sampling, whereby the 166th sampling point will coincide with the instant of start of the fourth modulation interval, and thus a sampling point will be lost in the third interval and so forth (the so-called "leap-year effect"). This situation, which is linked to the offset between the intervals of modulation and acquisition of the data downstream of the second capillary column, generates a time drift in the data acquired, and hence in the positions of the peaks detected in time that frequently renders any interpretation thereof difficult, if not indeed impossible.
An example of this time drift in the sampling is given in FIG. 1b, in which the axis of the sampling times is inclined as a result of the offset referred to above.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,549 in the name of Phillips and Liu proposes synchronizing the start of the modulation of the effluents from the first column with the start of the acquisition of the data, when the detector downstream of the second column is of the scanning type, such as, for example, a mass spectrometer. This technique, albeit reiterated at each modulation pulse of the sample, does not solve the problem of the offset between acquisition frequency and modulation frequency and furthermore presupposes that the detection device presents an initial transient zero and will enable a frequent re-initialization of the detection.
A purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for detecting substances or mixtures of substances within a sample in an apparatus for comprehensive two-dimensional gas-chromatographic analysis (GC×GC) that does not present the drawbacks of the known art and that in particular will prevent the time drift of the data acquired on the corresponding chromatogram.
Another purpose of the present invention consists in providing a method of GC×GC analysis that will prove particularly precise and that does not require a continuous synchronization of the modulator and of the detector.
A further purpose of the present invention is that of providing an apparatus for comprehensive two-dimensional gas-chromatographic analysis (GC×GC) of the type comprising a first separation column, a second separation column, and a modulator of the effluents from the first separation column, which will yield chromatograms that are free from time drift and are extremely precise.

Method and device for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

Abstract: The method moreover envisages the step of generating the first frequency f1 of modulation and the second frequency f2 of sampling in such a way that sampling by discrete points downstream of the second column will be in phase with the modulation of the effluents from the first column.


A radiation hardened master latch for use in a programmable phase frequency divider operating at GHz frequencies is implemented in deep submicron CMOS technology, and consists of two identical half circuits interconnected in a DICE-type configuration that makes the master latch immune to a single event upset (SEU) affecting at most one of its four data inputs. Each half circuit includes a clock input circuit with four sub-clock nodes each coupled by an inverter to a common clock input. The clock input circuit is configured to be redundant, such that the operation of the master latch half circuit is also immune to an SEU affecting at most one the inverters associated with the plurality of sub-clock nodes. The radiation hardened master latch resides in a design structure embodied in a machine readable medium storing information for designing, manufacturing and/or testing the master latch.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a radiation hardened master latch having redundant clock input circuits, suitable for use in a radiation hardened programmable phase frequency divider designed for implementation in deep submicron CMOS technology. The invention also relates to a design structure embodied in a machine readable medium for designing, manufacturing and/or testing such a radiation hardened master latch.
2. Background Information
CMOS circuits used in space applications are subject to single event upsets (SEU's) as a result of exposure to radiation consisting of alpha particles or neutrons. The charge induced by a single SEU hit can be as high as 1 picoCoulomb (pC), and can have a 2 milliAmpere (mA) amplitude with a 1 nanosecond (ns) period. When a programmable phase frequency divider (PPFD) used in such a space application is running at a frequency lower than 200 Megahertz (MHz), an SEU hit with 1 pC charge may not always cause a soft error if the timing of the SEU does not fall within the window for the set and hold times of any of the flip flops in the PPFD. In such case, a dual interlocked cell (DICE) type flip flop design, such as the one described in Weizhong Wang and Haiyan Gong, "Sense Amplifier Based RADHARD Flip Flop Design," IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 51, No. 6 (December 2004), may be used. However, a PPFD fabricated in deep submicron technology can run at frequencies in the Gigahertz (GHZ) range. In this case, the vulnerable timing window for set and hold of the PPFD's D-type flip flops (DFF's) will always be covered by the typical 1 ns period of an SEU hit.
A radiation hardening technique to ensure that the PPFD continues to function properly in a radiation environment is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/419,008, by William Mo, filed on May 16, 2006 and assigned to IBM Corporation ("Mo '008"). The Mo '008 application, which is incorporated herein by reference, is directed to a PPFD for space applications that is implemented in CMOS technology, consisting in the exemplary embodiment of three radiation hardened D-type flip flops and combinational logic circuits to provide the feedback controls that allow programmable frequency division according to an integer division number, between 1 and 8, that is input to the combinational logic circuits. The radiation hardened D-type flip flop circuits are designed to keep on running properly at GHz frequencies even after a single event upset (SEU) hit. The novel D-type flip flop circuits each have two pairs of complementary inputs and outputs to mitigate SEU's. The combinational logic circuits are designed to utilize the complementary outputs in such a way that only one of the four dual complementary inputs to any D-type flip flop gets flipped at most after an SEU hit. The PPFD outputs a pulse train representing the clock source frequency divided in accordance with the division number.
As disclosed in further detail in the Mo '008 application, each of the radiation hardened D-type flip flops in the exemplary embodiment includes a master latch having a clock input, first and second data and complementary data inputs, and first and second data and complementary data outputs, which is connected in tandem to a slave latch having first and second data and complementary data inputs, and first and second data and complementary data outputs. Operation of the D-type flip flop is immune to a single event upset affecting at most one of the four data inputs to the master latch or to the slave latch.
The Mo '008 application further discloses that the radiation hardened master latch 20 of the exemplary embodiment, shown in FIG. 1 hereof, includes: a first master latch half circuit 10 having a clock input CLK, first and second data and complementary data inputs DIN_0, DIN_1, DINB_0 and DINB_1, feedback and complementary feedback inputs Q_DUAL and QB_DUAL, and data and complementary data outputs Q and QB; and a second master latch half circuit 10 identical to the first master latch half circuit and having a corresponding clock input, first and second data and complementary data inputs, feedback and complementary feedback inputs and data and complementary data outputs. In the master latch, the respective clock inputs of the first and second master latch half circuits are connected together in parallel; the respective first and second data and complementary data inputs of the first and second master latch half circuits are connected together in parallel; the data and complementary data outputs of the first master latch half circuit are cross connected to the feedback and complementary feedback inputs of the second master latch half circuit; and the data and complementary data outputs of the second master latch half circuit are cross connected to the feedback and complementary feedback inputs of the first master latch half circuit. In the absence of SEU's, the first and second pairs of data inputs to the master latch have nominally the same input voltage levels. Operation of the master latch is immune to a single event upset affecting at most one of the four data inputs to the master latch.
FIG. 2 hereof is a schematic diagram of each one of the two identical master latch half circuits 10 of the exemplary embodiment disclosed in the Mo '008 application. While each exemplary master latch half circuit effectively utilizes pairs of data and complementary data inputs and outputs to mitigate the effect of SEU's, it can be seen from FIG. 2 that there is no similar protection for the clock node CLK. At the clock node CLK in FIG. 2, there is a single inverter 12, the output of which is connected to the gates of transistors T10, T11 and T12. The inverter 12 would typically be implemented using the semiconductor circuit shown schematically in FIG. 3. If the n+ drain diffusion 31 of the NFET device 32 of the inverter 12 were to be hit, even with a low energy radiation particle, it would cause the master latch to lose state during the evaluate phase, when the inverter 12 output, CKB_TOP is being held to a logical 1, and the master latch would function incorrectly. Under these circumstances, what is required is an improved clock input circuit that is designed to ensure that the exemplary master latch of the Mo '008 application continues to function properly in a radiation environment.

Radiation hardened CMOS master latch with redundant clock input circuits and design structure therefor

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides a silicone/acrylic based pressure-sensitive adhesive composition, adhesive, and adhesive tapes prepared therefrom. The adhesive composition comprises:. (a) from about 5 parts to about 95 parts by weight of acrylic monomer wherein the acrylic monomer comprises: PA1 wherein the amounts of (i) and (ii) are selected such that the total amount of (i) plus (ii) equals 100 parts by weight of the acrylic monomer; PA1 (b) correspondingly from about 95 parts to about 5 parts by weight of silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive wherein the amounts of (a) and (b) are selected such that the total amount of (a) plus (b) equals 100 parts by weight; PA1 (c) about 0 part to about 5 parts by weight of a photoinitiator based upon 100 parts by weight of the acrylic monomer; and PA1 (d) about 0 to about 5 part by weight of a crosslinker based upon 100 parts by weight of (a) plus (b).. (i) from about 50 to about 100 parts by weight of alkyl acrylate monomer, the alkyl groups of which have an average of 4 to 12 carbon atoms; and PA2 (ii) correspondingly from about 50 parts to about 0 parts by weight of a monoethylenically unsaturated copolymerizable modifier monomer;

Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAS) have been known and used for a long time in the art. Some of the common pressure-sensitive adhesives are formulations based upon acrylates, natural rubbers, synthetic rubbers, vinyl acetates, and silicones. The PSAs are typically formulated for end use, often in a solvent or waterborne system. Acrylate PSAs are of particular utility in that they are relatively low in cost, adhere well to a variety of different surfaces, and can be formulated to build adhesion to a surface. However, acrylate PSAs typically have poor high temperature performance and poor low temperature performance. Examples of such acrylate PSAs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Re 24,906 (Ulrich).
In recent times, there has been a need to reduce solvent pollution by using solventless systems in order to prepare pressure-sensitive adhesives. Substantially solvent free acrylate pressure-sensitive adhesives are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,752 (Martens) wherein alkyl acrylate esters and modifying copolymerizable monomers are ultraviolet radiation polymerized to form the acrylate copolymer. The PSAs made by the disclosed process are improved over those made by solution polymerization but are still not completely adequate for some uses such as adhesion at high and low temperature extremes.
Silicone PSAs exhibit the flexibility of silicone rubber and the high temperature stability of silicone resin, thereby providing useful service temperatures ranging between -70.degree. C. and 250.degree. C. Their excellent electrical properties and chemical inertness are noteworthy attributes making them suitable for use in the plating and electronics industry. Silicone PSAs bond to a wide variety of substrates including surfaces having high or low surface energies; e.g., glass, paper, polyolefins, polytetrafluoroethylene, fluorohalocarbon films, and silicone release liners. Most acrylic PSAs will not bond, or adhere poorly, to many of these low energy surfaces, while silicone PSAs are effective bonding agents for these materials. Silicone PSAS, due to their biocompatibility, are widely used in transdermal drug delivery systems and also as general medical adhesives.
Silicone PSAS, however, have a number of disadvantages including the following. First, silicone PSAs are expensive. Second, most silicone PSAs are solvent-based, which limits the thickness at which they may be coated. Third, silicone PSAs are slow to cure due to the need for a solvent removal step prior to crosslinking at temperatures in excess of 130.degree. C. In addition, silicone PSAs generally have low tack and limited adhesion build.
Combining silicone PSAs and acrylate PSAs to achieve specific properties has been attempted. JP 62-295982 (murachi) describes an automotive protective molding having a pressure-sensitive adhesive made by combining a silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive and an acrylate pressure-sensitive adhesive with a polyurethane or polyisocyanate crosslinker. The PSAs are solvent based. The problem addressed by the publication is to obtain a pressure-sensitive adhesive that has high shear strength to resist separation of the adhesive from the molding because of expansion and contraction of the molding due to changes in temperatures. Disadvantages of this adhesive system are a limited pot life in coating the adhesive because of the crosslinker, shelf stability of the coated product which may be affected by the crosslinker, and the need to dry off large amounts of organic solvent since the silicone and acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives are initially 40% and 37% solids, respectively, and are further diluted with solvent as shown in the examples.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,163 (Traver) describes an emulsion pressure-sensitive adhesive comprising from 50 to 99% of an organic pressure-sensitive adhesive and from 1 to 50% of a silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive. The solvent based silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive in solvent is emulsified and the resulting emulsion is added to an acrylic emulsion pressure-sensitive adhesive, thereby providing an emulsified composition, however, said composition contains significant levels of solvent introduced via the silicone PSA. Careful control of the emulsifying agent and the drying conditions is required to prevent phase separation of the emulsion during the drying step. Again, large amounts of energy are required to dry the emulsion to a pressure-sensitive adhesive.
European Patent Publication No. 289928 (General Electric), published Nov. 9, 1988, describes an emulsion or solution comprising: (a) 100 parts by weight of water or organic solvent; (b) from about 10 to about 400 parts by weight of pressure-sensitive adhesive comprising: (i) from about 50 to about 99% by weight organic pressure-sensitive adhesive; and (ii) from 1 to about 50% by weight of silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive; and (c) an effective amount of organic peroxide or alkoxy silane cross-linking agent to increase the shear strength of the composite adhesive through crosslinking of the silicone. The emulsion generally requires the use of an emulsifying agent or agents to maintain both the micelles of silicone adhesive and micelles of organic adhesive in a substantially stable state of suspension even at low water content, so that drying may be accomplished prior to gross phase separation of the silicone adhesive and the organic adhesive.
JP 61-57355 discloses solvent based adhesives having a silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive, an acrylate pressure-sensitive adhesive, and an organic peroxide crosslinking agent to prevent phase separation. This publication discloses that isocyanate crosslinkers are not desirable because it does not prevent phase separation of the acrylic and silicone PSA'S. The examples show that the PSA needs to be cured at 150.degree. C. for 3 minutes.
JP 63-291971 discloses solvent based adhesives that are a mixture of silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive, acrylate pressure-sensitive adhesive, a bridging agent, and a "silicone macromonomer". The adhesives disclosed in this publication have poor shear strength without the "silicone macromonomer." This publication also states that adhesives made as disclosed in JP 61-57355 have poor adhesion.
A need thus exists for a PSA system which has the advantages of both acrylate PSAs and silicone PSAs which requires little or no solvent, thereby reducing or eliminating the environmental and health hazards associated with solvent use, as well as the need for drying. A need also exists for such a PSA system which is curable by an energy efficient means such as radiation and which, unlike most known silicone acrylate systems, is not prone to gross phase separation problems. A need also exists for a silicone/acrylic PSA system which possesses balanced PSA properties tailorable over a wide range, thereby providing greater flexibility than known systems in achieving substrate-specific adhesion.
The inventors of the present invention have discovered an adhesive composition having excellent adhesion to a broad range of substrates over a broad temperature range. The adhesive composition is virtually solvent-free and can be efficiently cured by exposure at ambient temperatures to a number of radiation sources including those capable of emitting ultraviolet radiation, electron beam radiation, actinic radiation, and gamma radiation. Preferably, the adhesive compositions is cured via ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet radiation can be provided by various sources having emission spectra between about 250 to about 400 nanometers depending upon the initiators and crosslinkers that are used.
The adhesive compositions of the invention are useful in making pressure-sensitive adhesive transfer tapes or coated adhesive tapes.
The adhesives of the invention exhibit excellent adhesion to the new paints in use in the automobile industry as well as superior resistance to detachment at low temperatures as compared to known acrylic adhesives.
The adhesives of the invention exhibit utility in the attachment of body side molding, decorative trim, weatherstripping, and the like, to automobile surfaces painted with the new paints that are in use in the automotive industry. These new paints are formulated for environmental conservation, enhanced appearance, and durability, such as resistance to degradation from common sources of contamination such as acid rain. The changes in the paint formulations have increased the difficulty with which known acrylate pressure-sensitive adhesives can adhere to substrates coated with such paints. The automobile industry requires that the adhesive, or a tape made with the adhesive, have good adhesion to the paint surface and the molding, and resist detachment at temperatures as low as -40.degree. C. The adhesives of the present invention meet these stringent requirements of the automotive industry.
The adhesives of the invention also show great utility in medical applications because the adhesion build on human skin is sufficient but not excessive, thus facilitating the removal of a bandage coated with the adhesive from human skin.

Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company


Disclosed are: a part for assembling reaction vessels comprising a base plate with holes passing through said plate in the direction of thickness; a method for preparation of reaction vessels containing a reaction solution characterized in that the part is immersed in a reaction solution to introduce the reaction solution into the holes and then one of apertures of each hole is sealed with a membrane to complete said reaction vessels; and a plate comprises a base plate with holes passing through the plate in the direction of thickness and a membrane for sealing one of the apertures of each hole. The plate is used for purification of DNA sequencing samples using a pressure difference or an electrical potential, and transferring DNA sequencing samples to a separation/detection system. By the means or the method of the invention, reaction solutions can be easily introduced into a large number of wells in a short time, unreacted labeling substances and the like can be easily removed in a short time from a plurality of DNA sequencing samples, and a large number of DNA sequencing samples can be easily purified and/or transferred to electrophoresis capillaries in a short time.

The present invention relates to a plate used for transferring DNA sequencing samples to a separation/detection system. The plate of the present invention is capable of transferring at one and the same time a plurality of reaction products produced in wells of a multi-reaction plate to an analyzer using a large number of capillaries, such as an electrophoretic analyzer.
The present invention further relates to a method for transferring DNA sequencing samples utilizing the plate mentioned above, a method for purifying DNA sequencing samples utilizing said plate, and a method for purifying and transferring DNA sequencing samples utilizing said plate.
With recent developments of DNA detection methods utilizing laser fluorescence, laser fluorescence DNA sequencers have become widely used. Developments of such techniques have also enabled analysis of a large number of samples in, for example, genome researches and DNA diagnoses (approximately 100 lanes or less/2 operations/day/apparatus). Typical examples of such laser sequencers are those utilizing slab-type gels and capillary-type gels.
In order to analyze a larger number of samples than is possible by current techniques, equipment having a larger number of electrophoresis lanes (for example, 200 to 1000 lanes/operation) are required. Such equipment (including, for example multi-capillary sequencers) are under development.
However, as the number of lanes increases, the operation of transferring samples to the lanes becomes more time-consuming and more burdensome. That is, when a large number of samples are loaded on each of capillary gels, each sample should be injected into each capillary by contacting one end of the capillaries with a fine electrode lead. Therefore, development of a technique enabling quick and easy transfer of a large number of samples is urgently needed.
Further, introducing reaction solutions into the wells of micro-titer plates also requires more time as the number of the wells increases. Therefore, a means for rapidly introducing reaction solutions into the wells is also urgently desired.
Furthermore, following DNA sequencing reactions fragments of various lengths labeled with fluorescent labels are usually present with unreacted labeling reagent. The major part of such coexisting unreacted labeling reagent is usually not utilized in the reaction and exists in the reaction mixture in free form. If such a reaction solution is used for electrophoresis as it is, the high concentration of fluorescent label will migrate with the sample and can generate a signal markedly stronger than those produced by the target sequences. As a result, the desired analysis becomes impossible to perform. Accordingly, the fluorescent label should be removed before electrophoretic separation. However, removal of the unreacted labeling reagent in hundreds of samples requires much labor and time. As a result, even if efficiency of DNA sequencing methods itself is improved, the rate-determining factor would occur before sequencing.

Method for purification and transfer to separation/detection systems of DNA sequencing samples and plates used therefor

The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research


Before embossing raised letters on a target tape which is subjected to embossing of raised letters, written letters are printed based on inputted character information, and also an upside-and-downside identifying information for identifying the upside and the downside of the target tape as seen in the widthwise direction thereof is printed on the target tape. In the emboss-processing section, the upside and the downside of the target tape is detected based on the identifying information. If the target tape is found to have been inserted upside down, the raised letters are embossed in a state of turning the embossing data by 180 degrees.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to: a tape processing apparatus in which written letters are also printed on a target tape together with raised letters (Braille); a method of processing a target tape in the tape processing apparatus; and a program. In this specification, the term "written letters" means letters printed in ink or the like as compared with embossed raised letters, and the term "target tape" means a tape which is made an object (or target) of processing such as printing, embossing, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known a tape processing apparatus which prints and embosses both the raised letters and written letters on a target tape so that a person having an ordinary eyesight can understand the meaning of the raised letters. The apparatus is made up of: feeding means for feeding the target tape; printing means having a thermal head for printing the written letters; and embossing means having a plurality of embossing pins for embossing the raised letters. This tape processing apparatus performs the following operations, i.e., raised letters are embossed by the embossing means in the lower half of the target tape, and written letters are printed by the printing means in the upper half of the target tape, thereby forming a target tape having raised letters and written letters in parallel with each other. In other words, in this tape processing apparatus, the embossing of the raised letters and the printing of the written letters are performed in parallel with each other while feeding the target tape.
There is also known a raised-letter label which is formed by the above-described kind of apparatus and is capable of being recognized by both those who are handicapped in eyesight and those who have ordinary eyesight.
This kind of conventional tape processing apparatus has the following problem. Namely, when the embossing means is operated, the target tape will get out of the thermal head due to the vibrations accompanied by the embossing operations, whereby the written-letter printing deteriorates in quality.
In order to eliminate this kind of problem, the following arrangement may be considered. Namely, the printing means and the embossing means are formed into separate members or disposed at a distance from each other. After having printed the written letters on the target tape by the printing means, the target tape is manually inserted into the embossing means to thereby emboss the raised letters (a so-called two-pass method in that the target tape is caused to pass through the apparatus twice).
If the printing process and the embossing process are performed in the above-described two-pass method, the following procedure becomes necessary. Namely, in case the raised letters are embossed on the upper half of the target tape and the written letters are printed on the lower half thereof, the target tape having printed thereon the written letters must be inverted upside down before manually inserting it into the apparatus, and the embossing must then be performed starting with the last word to come in the ordinary order of reading. The embossing from the last word can be performed easily through data processing, but there will occur a new problem in that the user may make a mistake in inserting the target tape into the embossing means in the wrong direction (upside-and-downside direction). It is to be noted that the user is likely to introduce the target tape into the embossing means in the same direction as the direction in which the target tape is discharged in the printing process.
In case the written letter printing has a content whose vertical (upside-and-downside) positional relationship cannot be judged as shown in FIG. 16A (e.g., an arrow mark, numeral zero, or the like), the user may sometimes make a mistake in the upside and the downside as seen in the widthwise direction of the target tape when the target tape having printed thereon the written letters. Further, in case only the raised-letter embossing is performed on the target tape without printing the written letters, the person having an ordinary eyesight has a difficulty in recognizing the upside and the downside of the label thus formed. Therefore, he or she may wrongly adhere the label upside down.

Tape processing apparatus, method of processing tape in tape processing apparatus, and program


Techniques to create physically and transactionally consistent copies of one or more database objects without impacting the availability of the target database objects are described. In one technique, a consistent copy is created as of the time a copy utility is executed. In another technique, a consistent copy is created as of an arbitrary specified time. This approach modifies a prior copy to bring it “up-to-date.” In yet another technique, a consistent copy is created by starting with a current snapshot of the target database objects and selectively removing updates from it back to a user specified arbitrary point-in-time. Each of the described techniques generate consistent copies of the target database objects without blocking users from accessing the target objects during the copy operation.

The invention relates generally to database systems and, more particularly, to the generation of point-in-time consistent copies of one or more database objects without impacting the database's availability. Techniques in accordance with the invention may also be used during recovery operations to generate point-in-time consistent images of one or more recovered database objects, again without impacting the database's availability during creation of the recovered database object.
A database is, fundamentally, a computerized record-keeping system in which large amounts of information may be stored in a structured manner for ease of subsequent retrieval and processing. Large databases such as the DB2® database from the International Business Machines Corporation of Armonk, N.Y., are typically managed through a database management system ("DBMS"). A DBMS, in turn, provides four primary functions: management of physical storage; a user interface (e.g., the Structured Query Language, "SQL"); data security (e.g., user passwords and view restriction policies); and (4) data consistency or integrity.
There are two types of consistency—physical and transactional. Physical consistency refers to the integrity between physical pages of storage. For example, index pointers must be consistent with the data pages to which they point, a pointer record and the overflow record it points to on another page must be consistent, an index non-leaf page and the leaf page it points to must be consistent, and any DBMS defined referential integrity constraints established between database objects must be maintained in the face of data updates. Transactional consistency refers to the condition wherein a database's data is consistent across (although not necessarily during) a transaction. A transaction is generally defined as all database operations (e.g., updates) associated with a single logical action. To permit the DBMS to track transactions comprising multiple operations, and to maintain the database's integrity in light of such operations (i.e., transactional consistency), all database operations related to a transaction are grouped into a single unit of work ("UOW"). Until all updates in a UOW are committed (that is, applied to and made part of the database object to which they are directed and such action noted in the DBMS's log files), the UOW is said to be "inflight."
It is important that when generating a copy of a database (or a portion thereof) the resulting copy is both physically and transactionally consistent. To ensure this consistency, prior art database copy techniques (1) block write-access to the database objects being copied, including all referentially related objects, (2) wait for all inflight UOW to complete, and (3) copy the database objects. While this process generates a consistent copy of the database objects as of the time the copy operation was initiated, it prevents users from updating the those database objects at least until the inflight UOW are complete. This can be a significant drawback for large or complex databases and/or those databases that experience large update volumes.
Another prior art technique for generating a consistent database copy relies on the DBMS periodically quiescing the database. By this it is meant that the DBMS periodically (at user specified intervals) blocks user access to the database, allows pending inflight UOW to complete and then records in its logs or system catalog table the time at which this operation is complete and the database is consistent. A subsequent recovery operation can restore the database to a prior consistent state either by applying database undo commands backward from the current time to the desired point in time, or by restoring a prior copy and applying database redo commands forward up until the desired point in time. While this technique can recover a damaged database, it relies on the use of quiesce points in a DBMS's logs which are intrusive to create. In addition, the ability of a user to recover a consistent copy of their database is limited to the temporal granularity of their quiesce actions—the more often a quiesce is performed, the finer the time resolution for recovery operations, but the more often users are blocked from updating the data because of quiesce operations.
Yet another prior art technique for creating a consistent database copy involves (1) specifying a point in time at which the consistent copy is to be created, (2) performing a DBMS-wide restart to create log records to remove the effect of UOW that were in inflight at the specified point in time, (3) restoring a copy of the database made prior to the specified point in time, and (4) performing another operation to apply the log records created during step 2 to the restored copy generated during step 3. In a DB2® environment, this is referred to as a conditional restart. While the result is a copy of the targeted database that is both physically and transactionally consistent, all databases managed by the DBMS restarted are taken off-line during the restart operation. As one DBMS may manage multiple databases, each of which may be operationally significant, this approach can cause massive outages for users.
Thus, it would be beneficial to provide methods and devices to generate copies of a database (or portions thereof) that are physically and transactionally consistent and which do not cause user access outages during the operation. It would further be beneficial to provide methods and devices to generate an image of a database (or portions thereof) that is physically and transactionally consistent at an arbitrary specified point in time and which do not cause user access outages during the operation.

Unobtrusive point-in-time consistent copies


The present invention discloses a method for marking a wafer surface with minimized particulate contamination problem and further, the method is compatible with a chemical mechanical polishing method for planarization. An identification mark can be made on the non-patterned side of a wafer by a high energy laser beam either with or without an insulating layer deposited on top of the wafer. The method can also be carried out by first providing an identification mark on a non-patterned surface of the wafer and then, after all fabrication processes have been conducted on the patterned side of the wafer and a planarization process is conducted by a chemical mechanical polishing method, the identification mark on the backside of the wafer can be automatically read and then reproduced on the patterned side of the wafer prior to the shipment of the wafer to a customer or to a packaging facility. The present invention method significantly reduces the particle contamination problem that is frequently caused by laser scribing a silicon surface and furthermore, substantially eliminates the problem that an identification mark becomes illegible after a planarization process by chemical mechanical polishing.

In the fabrication of semiconductor devices, semi-conducting substrates or wafers of silicon nature are generally used as a foundation for building electronic devices thereon. To properly identify these substrates or wafers, identification marks must be suitably placed on the wafer such that the wafers can be readily identified throughout the fabrication process. The fabrication process for semiconductor devices may consist of as many as several hundred processing steps which are conducted at different processing stations by different fabrication equipment. A reliable method of identification of these wafers by their lot numbers is therefore very important not only from a production control point of view, but also for future tracking of the semiconductor devices that are built when quality issue or discrepancy arises.
Traditionally, identification marks are provided on a substrate or wafer on the patterned side where electronic devices are built. A typical wafer, which may have a size of 100 mm, 125 mm, 150 mm or 200 mm is shown in FIG. 1. The wafer 10 which has a wafer center 12 and a flat edge 14. The wafer 10 can be suitably marked in an area 16 generally defined at a location near the flat edge 14. In marking an identification number, a laser beam can be used to scribe directly the identification marks into a silicon layer, or first through an insulating layer which is frequently formed on a silicon wafer and then into the silicon layer.
FIG. 2 shows an enlarged, cross-sectional view of a scribe mark 20 formed on the silicon wafer 10 of FIG. 1. It is seen that on wafer 10, electronic device 22 is built on the patterned surface 24 of the wafer. The scribe mark 20 represents a volume that is defined by the width of the bottom 26 of the mark times the height of the side wall 28 times the length (not shown) of the mark made in the wafer surface 24. The volume of the scribe mark 20 represents an amount of silicon that is removed from the wafer surface 24 by a laser scribing machine or other suitable cutting tools. The removal of the volume of silicon material from the mark 20 in the laser scribing process creates silicon particles or dust as a potential source of wafer contamination. The silicon particles or dust may contaminate the wafer surface or the interior surface of the process chamber which may then fall off the chamber wall onto the wafer surface. Even though a wet chemical cleaning process is normally performed to clean out the silicon particles after a laser scribing process, it may not be sufficiently effective in eliminating all contaminating particles.
During a laser scribing process, a high energy laser beam bombards the wafer surface such that silicon particles from the bombarded area form clusters or bumps of silicon on the wafer surface near the mark it created. In the subsequent processing steps for the wafer, a wafer clamp or other wafer holding device may be used for fixing a wafer on a wafer stage in certain process machines, the bumps of silicon material may be crushed into silicon particles as additional sources of contamination for the wafer surface.
An additional problem associated with the method of laser scribing the patterned side of a wafer has been observed when a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is used for planarizing a wafer surface. When the wafer surface is planarized by the CMP process, a very smooth surface is obtained which essentially smears out the identification mark and makes it illegible under a light source. As a result, the identification of the lot number or any other marks on the patterned surface of the wafers becomes a very difficult task.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for marking a wafer surface that does not have the drawbacks or shortcomings of the conventional wafer marking techniques.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for marking a wafer surface that minimizes the wafer contamination problem caused by silicon particles produced by a laser scribing process.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for marking a wafer surface that is capable of producing a legible identification mark even after a planarization process conducted by a chemical mechanical polishing technique.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method for marking a wafer surface by marking the non-patterned or the backside of a wafer.
It is another further object of the present invention to provide a method for marking a silicon wafer that is compatible with a planarization process by first providing a mark on the non-patterned side of the wafer and then reproducing such mark on the patterned side of the wafer after such planarization process.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for marking a wafer surface by first forming an insulating layer on the surface of the non-patterned side of the wafer and then laser scribing an identification mark in the wafer surface.
It is still another further object of the present invention to provide a method for marking a wafer surface by first providing an oxide layer on top of a non-patterned wafer surface, scribing an identification mark through the oxide layer into the wafer surface and then removing the oxide layer.
It is yet another further object of the present invention to provide a wafer that has a recognizable identification mark on the pattern side of the wafer after the non-patterned side of the wafer is planarized by a grinding process.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.Ltd


A surgical holder is provided, including a base unit, a first positioning unit, a second positioning unit, a connecting unit, a first orientating unit, and a second orientating unit. The first elastic element, the second elastic element, the plurality of third elastic elements and the plurality of the fourth elastic elements balance the surgical holder statically. Further, the connecting unit, the first and second orientating units are designed to have RCM points which restrict lateral displacement of the surgical holder on the surgical incision to increase safety in laparoscopic operations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surgical holders, and, more particularly, to a novel surgical holder applicable to laparoscopic operations.
2. Description of Related Art
Due to the evolution of medical techniques in non-invasive and minimally invasive surgical procedures, various surgical assisting devices that are required for performing laparoscopic operations emerge vigorously. In laparoscopic operations, usually the surgeon would require an assistant to physically hold the laparoscope in order to adjust the required positions, orientations and angles to smoothly perform the surgery. Therefore, specific surgical holders for use on laparoscopic operations have been employed to replace the need for an assistant to hold the laparoscope during surgery, which not only reduces the necessity of manual power but also potential risks involved in inappropriate manipulations of the device/equipment during surgical procedures.
The surgical holders currently available on the market are classified into an initiative type and a passive type. The initiative-type holder is equipped with a motor for the control of positions, orientations and angles of the laparoscope. While the motor-assisted holder provides convenience in manipulating a laparoscope, it is not only costly to implement but also the overall structure is cumbersome to operate. The passive-type holder is to be operated manually by the surgeon, and is structurally compact and low-cost while providing relatively instinctive manipulations as compared to motor-assisted surgical holders. However, all currently available passive-type surgical holders on the market require a mechanical latch connector to perform lock-in and release motions in order to achieve good control of positions, orientations and angles of the laparoscope as required. In particular, during surgery the surgeon first needs to adjust a passive-type surgical holder to the required position, orientation and angle, and then also requires the step of lock-in motion, or unlocking the latch connector if any further adjustment of positions, orientations and angles are required during the procedures. Naturally such an operational step would bring great inconvenience to the surgeon in use of the equipment.
Moreover, most of conventional laparoscopic holders are designed to use the body of a patient as a supporting point in order to manipulate the laparoscope freely. However, using a surgical incision as a supporting point especially in large-scale rotation is liable to increase the lateral force on the patient's abdominal incision which is likely to cause injury or expand the abdominal incision as a result.
Therefore, it is highly desirable to propose a novel surgical holder which does not require a mechanical latch connector or any drive motor for latching or unlatching motions in order to position the laparoscopic holder on the required position, orientation and angle, and also can restrict the lateral displacement of the abdominal incision and facilitate the surgery, thus simplifying operational procedures while also eliminating the burden of having a conventional laparoscope placed upon a patient which is likely to cause injury or expand the abdominal incision due to the expanded lateral force.

National Taiwan University of Science and Technology


There is provided a memory array and methods for manufacturing the same. In one embodiment, there is provided a string comprising a plurality of transistors. Each of the plurality of transistors includes: a charge storage node, a control gate, and at least one resistive element coupled to the string. The control gate of at least one of the plurality of transistors can be selectively coupled to a reference potential via a corresponding one of the at least one resistive element.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to memory devices and more specifically, in one or more embodiments, to non-volatile memory devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Processor-based systems, such as computers, typically include one or more memory devices to provide storage capability for the system. Generally, system memory is provided in the form of one or more memory devices and generally includes both random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). System RAM is typically large and volatile and provides the system's main memory. Static RAM and Dynamic RAM are commonly employed types of random access memory. In contrast, system ROM is generally small and includes non-volatile memory for storing initialization routines and identification information. One common type of read-only memory is electrically-erasable read only memory (EEPROM) in which an electrical charge may be used to program and/or erase data in the memory. Although EEPROM can be erased and re-programmed multiple times, they are still described as "read-only memory" as, generally speaking, the reprogramming process is generally infrequent, comparatively slow, and often does not permit random access writes to individual memory locations (which are possible when reading a ROM).
Flash memory is a type of EEPROM that can be erased and reprogrammed in blocks. Flash memory is often employed in personal computer systems in order to store the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) program such that it can be easily updated. Flash memory is also employed in wireless electronic devices, because it enables the manufacturer to support new communication protocols as they become standardized and provides the ability to remotely upgrade the devices for enhanced features.
A typical flash memory includes a memory array having a large number of memory cells arranged in rows and columns. The memory cells are generally grouped into blocks such that groups of cells can be programmed or erased simultaneously. Each of the memory cells usually includes a floating-gate field-effect transistor capable of holding a charge, although other charge storage nodes could be used, such as charge traps such as SONOS devices. Floating gate memory cells differ from standard MOSFET designs in that they include an electrically isolated gate, referred to as the "floating gate," in addition to the standard control gate. The floating gate is generally formed over the channel and separated from the channel by a dielectric (e.g., oxide) layer. The control gate is formed directly above the floating gate and is separated from the floating gate by another dielectric (e.g., oxide) layer. A floating gate memory cell stores information by holding electrical charge within the floating gate. By adding or removing charge from the floating gate, the threshold voltage of the cell changes, thereby defining whether this memory cell is programmed or erased.
A NAND flash memory device is a common type of flash memory device, so called for the logical form in which the basic memory cell configuration is arranged. Typically, the array of memory cells for NAND flash memory devices is arranged such that the control gate of each memory cell of a row of the array is connected to a select line, which is often referred to as a word line. Columns of the array include strings (often termed NAND strings) of memory cells connected together in series, source to drain, between a pair of select lines, a source select line and a drain select line. The source select line includes a source select gate at each intersection between a NAND string and the source select line, and the drain select line includes a drain select gate at each intersection between a NAND string and the drain select line. The select gates are typically field-effect transistors. Each source select gate is connected to a source line, while each drain select gate is connected to a transfer line, which is commonly referred to as a bit line.
The memory array is accessed by a row decoder activating a row of memory cells by selecting the word-select line connected to a control gate of a memory cell. In addition, the word-select lines connected to the control gates of unselected memory cells of each string are driven to operate the unselected memory cells of each string as pass transistors, so that they pass current in a manner that is unrestricted by their stored data values. Current then flows from the source line to the bit line through each NAND string via the corresponding select gates, restricted only by the selected memory cells of each string. This places the current-encoded data values of the row of selected memory cells on the bit lines.
In scaling NAND flash memory with today's ever-decreasing device geometries, the dielectric layers of the memory cells are becoming increasingly thinner. Additionally, the thinner dielectric oxide layers help to reduce the voltage level(s) associated with program and erase the cells. However, because the dielectric layers have a reduced thickness, current between the control gate and the substrate may be introduced during the program and erase operations. The current may be especially prevalent in memory cells adjacent to the source select gates and the drain select gates during an erase operation and is induced because of the high electrical field when an erase voltage is applied to the substrate and the low gate coupling ratio of the dielectric layer between the control gate and the floating gate.
Embodiments of the present invention may be directed to one or more of the problems set forth above.

Memory devices having reduced word line current and method of operating and manufacturing the same


Wheeled riding vehicles, including tricycles, with extremely thin stowed profiles are provided, which in one embodiment, include movable, collapsible tires/wheel axle assemblies, as well as folding frame parts and a unique handle that is removable and stowable within the vehicle frame when not used. The riding vehicle hangs totally flat on the wall, or fits in car trunks easily. One version is pedal powered, and a second embodiment provides for an integrated propulsion linkage providing for battery or motor power to the rear most wheels when they are moved into their operative position. The rear tire wheel assemblies also may be stowed and folded compactly inside a rear storage compartment with a lid.

Consumers are increasingly interested in compact, space-saving products, including space-saving wheeled vehicles such as the invention herein. Inventor Shapiro has been granted previous U.S. patents on a wide variety of "fold flat" wheeled products, most particularly relevant are a previous patent relating to tricycles and ride on vehicles, U.S. Pat. No. 7,100,929, a divisional patent of U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,207. This invention further refines fold-flat concepts on wheeled riding vehicles including tricycles, and discloses removable and stowable handles, and methods to fold the wheel assemblies into a storage compartment, among other disclosures relating to uniques methods to provide motive power and propulsion to the pivoting/stowable wheel assemblies.
The inventions here provide for standard or fold-flat and collapsible three or four wheeled devices, including children's tricycles as well as adult vehicles, and further applies pedal-power or motor/battery power to these wheeled vehicles. The wheeled vehicles may be standard non-folding vehicles adapting the removable and stowable handles, or may in certain circumstances include fold-flat vehicles as well.
One object of the invention is to provide for unique push or pull handles for wheeled vehicles, mainly to provide for selectively removable push handles that may be placed in an operative position to allow an adult to push/pull a children's embodiment of the tricycle vehicle, but allows the selective removal of the handle and the stowing of the handle within the hollow or shaped receiving portion of the central frame of the wheeled vehicle.
In an alternate embodiment, it is another object of the invention to provide that the same push handle may instead alternatively be stowed transversely along what is called the rear frame and rear compartment of the wheeled vehicle.
Another object of the invention is to provide for several alternative types of grasps for the handle, and to provide that the handles may be extensible and retractable using common methods applied in other areas of art.
Another object of the invention is to provide for unique storage compartments for wheeled vehicles, and to provide that the storage compartments may allow for storage of objects while the vehicle is in an operative position, but once the entire vehicle is to be stowed, the same compartment may also be occupied by one or more of the folding wheel axle assemblies of the device.
It is a further object of the invention to provide that a battery/fuel cell or motor may be mounted in the interior or exterior of the rear frame compartment and that the battery or motive power may be applied to one or more of the wheels mounted to the rear frame.

Riding vehicles, including tricycles, with stowable push handles and hide away rear wheel storage compartment


Multiple-layer films in integrated circuit processing may be formed by the phase segregation of a single composition formed above a semiconductor substrate. The composition is then induced to phase segregate into at least a first continuous phase and a second continuous phase. The composition may be formed of two or more components that phase segregate into different continuous layers. The composition may also be a single component that breaks down upon activation into two or more components that phase segregate into different continuous layers. Phase segregation may be used to form, for example, a sacrificial light absorbing material (SLAM) and a developer resistant skin, a dielectric layer and a hard mask, a photoresist and an anti-reflective coating (ARC), a stress buffer coating and a protective layer on a substrate package, and light interference layers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor processing and fabrication and more particularly to the fields of photolithography, dielectric materials, and integrated circuit packaging materials.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Integrated circuits are formed of many different layers of materials. Each of these different layers is formed by a separate process during the process flow to form the integrated circuits. Employing separate processes to form each of the layers is time consuming and often complicates process flows by requiring different types of process chambers and chemistry. Additionally, the application of multiple film layers may disrupt the layers underneath. Therefore, the formation of each layer requires specific accommodations depending on whether the preexisting layers over which the new layer is to be formed can withstand the subsequent process conditions. Also, there may be adhesion problems between the layers as well as problems with controlling the thicknesses and uniformity of films. Examples of multiple layer films include the application of a spin-on hard mask over a spin-on inter-layer dielectric that requires discrete spin-on and bake steps for each of the layers. Also, the application of an organic bottom anti-reflective coating (BARC) requires a discrete spin-on and bake step before spinning-on a photoresist layer. Another example is the formation of interference layers by forming two separate layers of material having a different refractive index from one another.
In some cases, the integration of the formation of certain types of films into a process flow may be very difficult or impossible. For example, the integration of a step to form a developer resistant film above a sacrificial light absorbing material (SLAM) is difficult to accomplish as it may require additional tooling, time and complexity to, for example, add a surface cure step or to apply a discrete capping layer. SLAM is used in dual damascene and it has light absorbing properties like an anti-reflective coating (ARC) and has etching properties similar to those of the dielectric layer used in the particular dual damascene structure. In dual damascene, a first etched region (e.g. a via or a trench) within a dielectric material may be filled with SLAM. After the first etched region is filled with the SLAM, a second region is photopatterned and etched (e.g., a trench if the via is already formed or a via if the trench is already formed). It would be valuable to form a developer resistant film above a layer of SLAM because the photoresist developer etches low-k dielectric materials and SLAM. If the SLAM is attacked by the photoresist developer there may be significant undercutting of the SLAM under the photoresist, resulting in excessive etching of the dielectric layer during the dielectric etch due to the undercutting of the SLAM. Another instance where it is difficult to integrate the formation of a film into a process sequence is the formation of a protective layer over the top of a buffer coating on a package substrate. A protective coating over the top of the buffer coating would be valuable to provide additional chemical resistance to the buffer coating while maintaining valuable mechanical and optical properties.

Layered films formed by controlled phase segregation


An electrode includes a binder and an electroactive material, wherein the binder includes a polymer including a linear polysiloxane or a cyclic polysiloxane. The polymer may be generally represented by Formula I:

Lithium ion batteries having high energy density and high voltage are commercially available and widely used as electrical power for consumer electronics, medical, military and vehicles. Such batteries generally use a lithium transition metal oxide as a cathode active material and a graphite-based material as an anode active material. However, graphite-based anode materials have a theoretical capacity of only 372 mAh/g, thus suffering from limited capacity. Consequently, such graphite-based anodes are incapable of carrying out a sufficient role as an energy source for next-generation mobile equipment undergoing rapid development and advancement. Further, lithium metals, studied for use as the anode material, have a very high energy density and thus may realize a high capacity, but raise problems associated with safety concerns due to growth of dendrites and a shortened cycle life as charge/discharge cycles are repeated. Use of alternative, carbon-based electrodes, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), has been attempted as an anode active material, but various problems have been pointed out such as low productivity, expensiveness and low initial efficiency of less than 50%.
A number of studies have been recently proposed as to silicon, tin or alloys thereof, as they are known to be capable of performing reversible absorption (intercalation) and desorption (deintercalation) of large amounts of lithium ions through the chemical reaction with lithium. For example, silicon (Si) has a maximum theoretical capacity of about 4020 mAh/g (9800 mAh/cc, a specific gravity of 2.23), which is substantially greater than the graphite-based materials, and thereby is promising as a high-capacity anode material. However, when such silicon or tin materials are used as electrodes with conventional binders such as, for example polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) or styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), upon performing charge/discharge processes, the silicon and tin materials react with lithium. As a result of the reaction, the electrode undergoes significant changes in volume that can range from 200% to 300%. Due to such volume changes, repeated charge/discharge may result in separation of the anode active material from the current collector, or significant physicochemical changes at contact interfaces between the anode active materials, which are accompanied by increased resistance. As charge/discharge cycles are repeated, the battery capacity drops significantly, thereby shortening the cycle-life of the battery.
Increasing the amount of the binder can mitigate the volume changes can decrease separation of the material from the current collector, however, the electrical resistance of the electrode is increases. This leads to complications due to reduced battery capacity.
One suggested solution is use a polyvinyl alcohol or thermosetting plasticized polyvinyl alcohol having good adhesive strength as the binder. See JP Patent Publication Nos. 1999-67216, 2003-109596 and 2004-134208. However, such binders exhibit low viscosity, non-uniform application of the binder on copper foil as a current collector and processing problems associated with thermal treatment necessary to improve adhesion between the electrode mix and the current collector. WO 2000-007253 discloses a binder which includes a combination of polyvinyl alcohol and polyurethane. Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2006-001719 discloses a method of preparing an anode active material for a lithium secondary battery, using a resin composite which is prepared by coating graphite and at least one of Si, Sn and Al with a fixing agent such as a polyvinyl alcohol resin, a urethane resin, or the like. In connection with the preparation of the cathode for a lithium-sulfur secondary battery, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0032364 discloses a technique which involves preparation of an active material including a conductive material by binding between the sulfur active material and the conductive material using a combination of polymers, including polyvinyl alcohol and polyurethane as a first binder, and employs a second binder component insoluble in the solvent of the first binder, as a binder between the active materials including the conductive material and between the active material and the current collector.
Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2002-062193 discloses a semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) formed by the combination of a polyvinyl alcohol derivative and a compound having crosslinkable functional group(s), as a binder, wherein the polyvinyl alcohol derivative is a polymer compound having an oxyalkylene chain-containing polyvinyl alcohol unit in which hydroxyl groups are partially or completely substituted by oxyalkylene-containing groups, and compounds having two or more reactive double bonds are exemplified as the compound having crosslinkable functional group(s). However, partial or complete substitution of hydroxyl groups of polyvinyl alcohol leads to significant deterioration in physical properties of the polyvinyl alcohol, thus failing to express a desired level of adhesive strength.

Polysiloxane binder for lithium ion battery electrodes


The present disclosure pertains to a line connector for permanently connecting two or more electrical lines, with at least one metallic receiving sleeve which partially accommodates one of the lines, which exhibits at least a first through-opening as well as a second through-opening for introducing a welding tool or for introducing the lines, and at least a second compression section located between the through-openings, in which the receiving sleeve can be radially compressed. Furthermore, the present disclosure pertains to an electrical line assembly as well as a process for connecting two or more electrical lines.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
A connection between two or more electrical lines in which the electrical conductors are materially connected to a transit node or end node is known, for example, from WO 2012/022763 A3. An ultrasonic welding process is used to connect the lines, the welding quality of which is mainly influenced by the machine parameters of the ultrasonic welding apparatus used. The disadvantage here is that the welding quality in ultrasonic welding can be influenced by, in addition to the machine parameters, the material surfaces of the components to be welded, i.e. the electrical lines, or by environmental factors, which cannot be sufficiently monitored throughout the process. Furthermore, it is disadvantageous that the sound waves generated during ultrasonic welding can also be transmitted to components adjacent to the components to be welded, and cause damage there.
One conceivable alternative to ultrasonic welding, however which does not produce a material bond, is crimping. This is only conditionally suitable for aluminum lines, however, as the marked creeping behavior of the aluminum can lead to a loosening of the connection and the surface oxidation layer has an electrically insulating effect.

Line connector, electrical line assembly and production process for an electrical connection


A beverage machine having a height-adjustment device that includes a movable support plate for adjusting the position of the recipient relative to at least one beverage outlet. The support plate is movable relative to the at least one beverage outlet. The machine also includes a displacement mechanism for displacing the support plate relative to the outlet. The displacement mechanism includes a motorized driver for driving the displacement mechanism, a controller for controlling the actuation of the driver and which is configured to set a predetermined distance between the outlet and the recipient. A drip-collecting device can also be selectively provided to collect liquid falling from the beverage outlet when the recipient is not present.

The present invention generally relates to the field of beverage dispensing machines, in particular, machines that can brew or extract coffee and coffee specialties such as cappuccino and the like or tea.
There is trend to propose beverage machines that are versatile enough to be able to deliver various coffee beverages such as espresso type coffee or coffee specialties such as cappuccino (coffee with a milk froth) or latte (coffee with liquid milk). Typically, those coffee beverages are received in beverage recipients, e.g., cups or glasses, of variable volume. For instance, an espresso coffee or ristretto is served in a small cup of about 40 mL, whereas a cappuccino can be served in a larger/taller cup or glass of from 110 mL to 250 mL. A long black coffee cup can also be served in a 110-mL cup. For cold coffee drinks, one also uses tall glasses.
The coffee beverages must also meet different quality attributes which are important. For instance, an espresso coffee must have a fine and stiff "crema" which is a stable emulsion formed by the oily compounds during extraction of the coffee product in the machine. The extraction process can be finely controlled to provide this crema, when the product is extracted from closed capsules, such as in the processes described in European patent applications 512,470, 604,615 and 870,457 and their US counterparts, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,402,707, 5,649,472, 5,762,987 and 5,826,492.
With other coffee specialties, one may need to distribute a milk froth on top of the beverage such as with cappuccino-type beverages.
One problem is that due to the variable volumes of recipients for receiving the varied coffee beverages, the distance between the beverage outlet(s) and the recipient cannot be precisely guaranteed. In order for the machine to accommodate different size recipients, the distance between the outlet and the recipient is usually too high. Too high of a distance creates splashing issues.
Surprisingly, it has been found that an incorrect distance can also be detrimental to the quality of the "crema" or foam. For instance, if the distance between the coffee outlet and the recipient is too high, larger bubbles are formed in the coffee "crema". Larger bubbles induce a "crema" which is less stable and less stiff. Therefore, there is a need for controlling and precisely adjusting the distance between the outlet and the recipient as a function of the recipient used in order to solve these hygiene and crema/foam quality problems.
There have been attempts for machines that have height-adjustable discharge outlets. For instance, in WO 2004/052159, the beverage outlet is borne by a height-adjustable slider. Therefore, A full beverage delivery block must be made moveable relative to stationary cups underneath. It is uneasy to make the beverage delivery moveable to an extent that encompasses a wide range of cup sizes. In particular, this complicates the construction of the machine when the machine comprises an extraction module for closed capsules because the module requires to be precisely closed about the capsule in a repetitive manner. The module must also be linked to a hot water line that needs to stand the repetitive height changes of the module. Furthermore, there is no indication how precise the height adjustment can be controlled in WO 2004/052159, which is also a problem because only containers of standardized shapes can so be used otherwise the quality of the beverage's foam cannot be guaranteed.
European patent application EP 0 585 607 relates to an espresso machine which comprises a support plate for the recipient that can be adjusted in height. The plate is supported on an appliance base with a collecting tray arranged therebetween which receives the surplus liquid and is detachably connected with the collecting tray. First of all, the adjustment of the support plate is merely mechanical and carried out by the user himself. Therefore, it cannot be controlled with all the precision and knowledge required. Secondly, the drip tray assembly raises hygienic problems because splashing is likely to occur on the support plate; and because the distance between the support plate and the drip tray increases for short cups of coffee, the liquid projections and dripping may not be well collected in the drip tray and the service area is likely to require frequent cleaning.
Therefore, there is a need for a beverage machine that can deliver a foamy beverage or beverage with "crema" with optimized foam/crema quality. There is also a need for a beverage machine that can deliver beverages from various recipient sizes without splashing issues. The present invention now satisfies these needs.

Beverage machine with height-adjustable device for controlling distance between beverage recipient and outlet


Resins for use in chemically amplified resists are represented by the general formula (I): ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 is t-butyl or tetrahydropyranyl; R.sub.2 is hydrogen or methyl; n and m are integers; and the ratio n/((m+n) ranges from 0.1 to 0.9. Methods for manufacturing the resins comprise reacting a monomer represented by the formula (II): ##STR2## with a monomer represented by the formula (III): ##STR3## to form a copolymer represented by the formula (IV): ##STR4## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are defined as above; and hydrolyzing acetoxy groups contained in the copolymer represented by the formula (IV) to form the resin compositions.

The increased integration of semiconductor devices requires the formation of fine patterns having line widths of typically a quarter micron. Accordingly, lithography processes which employ deep ultraviolet ray (deep-UV) technology (248 nm) offer significant increases in resolution because of the shorter, and thus more energetic wavelengths used in comparison to conventional g-line (436 nm) and i-line (365 nm) rays.
A resist material for use in conjunction with deep-UV technology is referred to as a chemically amplified resist. In general, a chemically amplified resist typically comprises a resin containing a dissolution inhibiting group along with a photo acid generator (PAG). Upon exposure to light, an acid is generated by the PAG and acts as a catalyst to heighten the solubility of the resist when contacted by a developing solution. More specifically, the dissolution inhibiting group of the resin reacts with the acid so as to allow the resin to dissolve readily in developing solution. At the same time, the transparency of the resist during the light exposure is maintained.
One of the main factors in determining the performance of a chemically amplified resist is an index relating to the change in solubility of the resist before and after exposure to light. The difference in the solubility is determined by several factors. One of the factors relates to the decomposition rate of the dissolution inhibiting group contained on the resin in the presence of an acid catalyst which is activated by light. Another factor relates to solubility of the exposed resin in a developing solution.
In light of the above, resins have been sought which exhibit high decomposition rates upon exposure to light and high solubility levels in developing solutions. Additionally, resins not exposed to light should dissolve as slowly as possible in developing solutions. Such resins are typically manufactured by polymerizing a monomer containing a t-BOC (t-butoxycarbonyl) group. The presence of a t-BOC group is advantageous in that it is converted to a hydroxy group by acidolysis upon light exposure. The resist which contains the hydroxy group dissolves readily in developing solution. At the same time, the unexposed resin containing the unconverted t-BOC group does not easily dissolve in developing solution.
In spite of the desirable properties of the above resins, the resins can pose processing difficulties. Specifically, the resins often possess poor thermal stability. Since high temperatures are typically employed in resin processing, the resins often burn and decompose. Accordingly, there is a need in the art to provide resins which exhibit the desirable properties described herein while displaying adequate thermal stability.

Resins for use in chemically amplified resists and manufacturing methods thereof


An antenna module of the present disclosure includes a control substrate having a flat plate shape and configured to house or mount a semiconductor element; a frame substrate bonded to an upper surface of the control substrate via bonding members and exposing a center portion of the upper surface of the control substrate; and an antenna substrate having a flat plate shape, bonded to an upper surface of the frame substrate via the bonding members so as to face the control substrate, and provided with a plurality of antenna patterns disposed along a main surface of the antenna substrate. The frame substrate includes a frame main body and a crosspiece. Between the frame main body/the crosspiece and the control substrate as well as the antenna substrate, projecting portions that come into contact with the opposing control substrate, frame substrate, and antenna substrate are provided at a fixed height.

An antenna module includes a control substrate, a frame substrate, and an antenna substrate. The control substrate, the frame substrate, and the antenna substrate are bonded via a bonding member. The bonding member is, for example, solder. Examples of such an antenna module include that in Patent Document 1.
According to the antenna module in the related art, variations may occur in a thickness of the bonding member made from solder, and warping may occur in the antenna substrate. As a result, a spacing and parallelism between the control substrate and the antenna substrate have been susceptible to variation. When variations occur in a distance and/or the parallelism between the control substrate and the antenna substrate, a significant variation occurs in frequency characteristics of the antenna module, making it no longer possible to favorably transmit and receive high-frequency signals in a desired frequency bandwidth.