A chemically amplified resist composition which comprises a base resin reacting in the presence of an acid, a photo acid generator generating an acid upon exposure, and a compound having the combination of an acetal moiety and a site which is eliminated by an acid in its molecule, or which comprises a base resin, which is a copolymer having the combination of an acetal moiety and a site eliminated by an acid in one repeating unit and reacts in the presence of an acid, and a photo acid generator generating an acid upon exposure.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a resist composition, which is a radiation-sensitive material used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and a method for forming a patterned film using the resist composition. As used herein, the radiations includes ultraviolet rays, vacuum ultraviolet rays, far-ultraviolet rays, X-rays, and electron beams.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacture of semiconductor devices, such as semiconductor integrated circuits, the formation of fine patterns is indispensable. For the formation of a fine pattern on a semiconductor integrated circuit, the use of a lithography technique, in which a resist material is coated on a film provided on a substrate to be processed to thereby form a resist layer, the resist layer is then selectively exposed and developed to provide a resist pattern, the resultant resist pattern is used as a mask to dry-etch the underlying film to thereby transfer the pattern of the resist to the film, and the resist layer is then removed to leave the film having a desired pattern on the substrate, is required.
As a radiation used for the exposure of a resist layer, ultraviolet rays were initially used and, in the course of time, far-ultraviolet rays or X-rays, which have a shorter wavelength, or electron beams, have been used due to the miniaturization of the patterns to be formed. Following a change in the radiation used, a resist material, which has good resolution, high sensitivity, and excellent dry-etching resistance, corresponding to the radiation, is required. Particularly with exposure using an excimer laser beam, high energy-exposure is inevitable in order to increase the sensitivity of a resist material while retaining its resolution, due to the absorption by a benzene ring which is contained in conventional resist materials, and there have been problems, such as decreased durability of a lens made of quartz or the like used in a radiation source apparatus and the necessity of a high laser power. On the other hand, with electron beam-exposure, which inherently has a low throughput, improvement of throughput cannot be obtained unless a resist material having a high sensitivity is used.
Accordingly, different resist materials are offered corresponding to the wavelength of the light used for exposure. As one type of these materials, various chemically amplified resist materials are provided. In principle, a chemically amplified resist is a composition comprising an acid-sensitive material and an acid generator. By the use of such a composition, a resist mask having a predetermined pattern can be formed by exposing the composition to generate an acid from the acid generator under the action of light or radiation, and then-reacting an acid-sensitive material using the generated acid as a catalyst by post exposure bake (post bake), to thereby cause a change in solubility of the composition in a developer. With the chemically amplified resist materials, it has been a problem to provide them with a high sensitivity without altering other properties such as resolution. This is explained hereinafter with reference to, by way of example, a chemically amplified resist used for exposure by an ArF excimer laser beam.
For instance, a resist composition using an alkaline-soluble hydrogen-added phenol resin having some of the hydroxyl groups thereof substituted with groups which are unstable in an acid is proposed in JP-A-6-51518 (Zeon Corporation). This publication provides a chemically amplified resist having balanced properties of sensitivity, resolution, etching resistance, storage stability and others by the use of the hydrogen-added phenol resin as a base resin, but does not disclose a technique for rendering the chemically amplified resist more sensitive to exposing radiation.
It is known that a resist composition using a copolymer of two methacrylic monomers, 2-methyladamantyl methacrylate and gamma-butyrolactone methacrylate, as a base resin, and also using a photo acid generator based on an onium salt of sulfonic acid and an aniline-based quencher, is a chemically amplified resist material provided with good resolution and practical dry-etching resistance. The copolymer, as the base resin in this resist material, is represented by the general formula:
the copolymer incorporating 2-methyladamantyl group in place of a benzene ring, which is contained in a base resin used in a conventional resist material for ArF excimer laser beam exposure, and strongly absorbing radiation at wavelength of the ArF excimer laser beam. Such a resist material using the copolymer of two methacrylic monomers has a sensitivity of the order of 10 to 20 mJ/cm2 at conditions retaining a practical resolution, although the sensitivity depends on the process conditions used. In general, in order to ensure a practical lens life in the case of the use of an ArF excimer laser beam, it is required that a resist material can be resolved at a sensitivity of 10 mJ/cm2 or lower. The base resin in the above resist material, however, cannot have a higher sensitivity because of the use of an ester group containing a quaternary carbon, which has a high activation energy, as a group reacting upon exposure.
On the other hand, a reacting group of quaternary carbon-containing ester can provide a resist material superior in resolution, because it greatly changes its polarity before and after a reaction, and can easily yield a high contrast upon the dissolution of the material in a developer. For this reason, the quaternary carbon-containing ester group is used as a reacting group not only in resists for ArF excimer laser beam exposure but also various resists for KrF excimer laser beam, F2 laser beam, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation, and electron beam exposure. However, it is also difficult for these resist materials to have both a good resolution and a high sensitivity, as the resist materials for ArF excimer laser beam exposure do.

Chemically amplified resist composition and method for forming patterned film using same


A method for manufacturing a concentrating photovoltaic solar sub-module equipped with a reflective face having a concave predefined geometric shape, wherein it includes laminating, in a single step, a multi-layer assembly comprising in succession: a structural element equipped with a reflective first face and a second face, opposite the first; a layer of a material of good thermal conductivity, higher than that of the material from which the structural element is composed, the layer being placed on the second face of the structural element; a layer of encapsulant or of adhesive; a photovoltaic receiver, the layer of encapsulant or of adhesive being placed between the layer of a material of good thermal conductivity and the receiver; a layer made of transparent encapsulating material, covering at least the entire surface of the photovoltaic receiver; and a transparent protective layer covering the layer made of transparent encapsulating material; and during the lamination, the reflective face of the structural element is shaped by being brought into contact with a convex surface of a counter-mold, in order to obtain the reflective face of concave predefined geometric shape.

These sub-modules each comprise an optical device for concentrating light (often called a mirror or concentrator) and photovoltaic cells forming a photovoltaic receiver and placed on the back side of the mirror or concentrator, opposite the reflective face.
When they are employed, they allow a concentrating photovoltaic module to be formed, the concentrator of a sub-module having a focal line located on the back of the concentrator of a neighboring sub-module. The photovoltaic receiver of the neighboring sub-module is located level with this focal line. Thus, each mirror plays, in addition to its concentrator role, the role of carrier for a photovoltaic receiver. The concentrating photovoltaic module therefore consists in an assembly of a plurality of generally identical elements, called sub-modules.
The concentrator or mirror of these concentrating solar sub-modules possesses a reflective surface composed of a mirror, and a back side to which one or a set of photovoltaic cells is fastened (see document US 1993/5180441). The parabolic shape of the module allows the light rays to be concentrated. The light striking a first sub-module is reflected by the reflective surface of the first sub-module, so as to concentrate the light onto the photovoltaic cell of a second sub-module located in proximity to the first module.
It is also possible to produce a concentrating photovoltaic sub-module, of parabolic shape (see document US 2007/0256726), in which the light is not concentrated onto the focal point of a mirror, but onto the focal point of a complex solid element composed of a plurality of mirrors. In this document, the photovoltaic cells are placed on the front side of the concentrator. In order to avoid the formation of air bubbles between the various components of the sub-module, a plurality of vacuum laminations are carried out to incorporate the optics, the photovoltaic cells and the cabling. The vacuum lamination thus makes it possible to ensure a better adhesion of the optics, of the cells or of the cabling to their respective carrier using little or no adhesive. As these various laminations form a planar composite structure, there is another manufacturing step, in which mirrors are fastened to convex or concave surfaces, in order to produce the parabolic shape, which serves to concentrate the light onto the focal point of the solid optical element.
Document US 2004/0118395 presents a parabolic solar concentrator comprising a honeycomb structure flanked by two skins. This honeycomb structure allows a lightweight concentrator, capable of supporting thin mirrors or a thin reflective surface and of good mechanical strength, to be obtained. Nevertheless, this element comprises no photovoltaic cell, because it is intended to heat a fluid. In addition, it is manufactured in a plurality of steps, in particular: the reflective surface is deformed cold, the mirrors are fastened with an adhesive to one of the skins, and the surface of the skins and of the mirrors are treated.
The reflective surface may be composed of a layer of a highly reflective metal covered with a protective film, or composed of a metal layer adhesively bonded to a substrate comprising organic composites (see document US 1994/5344496). A mesh of a material of high thermal conductivity may also be added to the back of the reflective surface to improve the dissipation of heat from the sub-module. The manufacture of the sub-modules is quite complex, because it requires many steps, such as forming and polishing the reflective surface, or treating the surface. It is also necessary to provide a step of bonding the photovoltaic cells to the mirror.
The use of composite materials in concentrating solar sub-modules allows light and stiff sub-modules to be obtained, however the thermal conductivity of these materials is lower than that of certain metals, aluminum in particular. However, increasing the temperature of the sub-module has the effect of decreasing the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells and of decreasing the lifetime thereof.
In order to improve the dissipation of heat from planar photovoltaic modules, as for example used on the roofs of buildings, it is possible to use a massive radiator composed of graphite (see document US 2010/0186806) or a graphite sheet (see document WO 2012/044017). The radiator or the graphic sheet are placed on the back of the photovoltaic module, under the photovoltaic cells in order to limit the temperature increase thereof. Nevertheless, these solutions require additional steps during manufacture of the module or do not allow lightweight and rigid concentrating solar modules to be manufactured.

Manufacturing a concentrating sub-module comprising a heat-dissipating material

COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES


Different types of traffic requiring different inactivity timer settings are assigned to different bearers or to different QoS classes. Different inactivity timer settings are established for different traffic types. Individual bearers or individual QoS classes are linked to a corresponding inactivity timer profile. The link may be accomplished in a number of ways. For example, an additional QoS parameter may be employed in a 3GPP QoS profile, or a new QoS class identifier may be mapped to an inactivity timer setting. Different inactivity timer settings allows both UE battery power conservation to be prioritized for some traffic and end-user experience (quick subsequent response times) to be prioritized for other traffic.

Signaling in current cellular communications systems (e.g., 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) based systems) is based on associating a bearer (a logical and/or physical communications channel for communicating information between to points) with a complex Quality of Service (QoS) profile that includes many parameters describing desired QoS characteristics of the bearer. FIG. 1, taken from the 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.107 in the context of Universal Mobile Telecommunications Services (UMTS), shows examples of different layers of bearer services. A bearer service is a communications service that provides the capability for the transmission of signals between access points.
Bearers are realized on several levels in FIG. 1. There is a physical radio bearer service between a Mobile Terminal (MT) and a Radio Access Network (RAN) and a physical bearer service between the RAN and a Core Network (CN) node, like a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN). There is a radio bearer service between the MT and RAN, and an access bearer service between the RAN and the SGSN. Also at that level is a backbone bearer service between the SGSN and a CN gateway, like a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). A Radio Access Bearer (RAB) service extends between the MT and SGSN, and a backbone bearer service extends between the SGSN and the GGSN. There is a Terminal Equipment (TE)-to-MT bearer service, and a UMTS bearer service from the MT to the GGSN. That layer also includes an external bearer service between the GGSN and the other end of the connection TE. The top layer is the end-to-end service between the two TEs.
Between a user equipment (UE) (UE=TE+MT) and the GGSN, a packet data protocol (PDP) context is established, corresponding to the UMTS Bearer Service in FIG. 1. The PDP context is a data structure present on the SGSN, the GGSN, and the UE which contains a subscriber's communication session information when the subscriber has an active communication session herein referred to as a "connection." When a mobile terminal wants to use the bearer services in FIG. 1, it must first attach to the network and then activate a PDP context. The attach procedure allocates a PDP context data structure in the SGSN located where the subscriber is attaching and the GGSN serving the subscriber's access point. The data recorded includes a subscriber's IP address, International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI), and Tunnel Endpoint ID (TEID) at the GGSN and SGSN. A TEID is a number allocated by the GPRS support node (GSN) (both the SGSN and GGSN are GSNs) which identifies the tunneled data related to a particular PDP context.
A 3GPP QoS profile is employed to define the quality of service provided for a PDP context and a RAB. Accordingly, differentiated treatment of packet data traffic is based on setting up different bearers with different QoS profiles and mapping traffic to these different bearers. There is a movement in 3GPP to replace the relatively complex QoS profile and its numerous QoS parameters with a simpler QoS Class Identifier (QCI). The intent for the QCI is to not include the actual characteristics of a bearer, but instead merely provide a pointer to provisioned (preconfigured) traffic forwarding policies stored and enforced in various nodes that support the bearer (including the Radio Network Controller (RNC)). Accordingly, the QCI is simpler to signal and requires less bandwidth than the QoS profile. And as appreciated by the inventors, the QCI opens up new opportunities to differentiate the traffic in other ways than what is possible with current 3GPP QoS parameters.
During the lifetime of a PDP context and its associated RAB, the mobile radio connection can be operate at different activity level states with respect to the radio resources assigned to it. In UMTS, for example, when a mobile is in a connected mode, it can assume one of four radio resource control (RRC) connection states which define what kind of physical channel a UE is using. In a Cell_DCH state, a dedicated physical channel and/or a shared channel (such as in HSDPA) is allocated to the UE. In a Cell_FACH state, no physical channel is allocated for the UE, but random access channels are used instead. The UE uses less battery power compared to the Cell_DCH state but can listen to the broadcast channel to acquire system information. In a Cell_PCH state, the UE's location is known on a cell level, but it can be reached only via the paging channel. The UE battery consumption is less than in the Cell_FACH state. The URA_PCH state is very similar to Cell_PCH state, except that the UE does not execute cell updates, but instead reads registration area IDs from the broadcast channel. Of the four states, the URA_PCH state uses the least amount of battery power.
The 3GPP specification allows the radio network controller (RNC) in the RAN to control transition between these UE activity states based on the activity level of the radio connection. For example, an inactivity timer could be set for one state. When that timer expires, a radio network controller (RNC) node triggers transition in the UE from a current activity state to a lower activity state. Within certain states, e.g., the Cell_PCH and URA_PCH states in WCDMA, it is also possible to set a longer "sleep mode" (low power) cycle length based on the connection activity. The UE battery consumption is lower with a longer sleep mode cycle.
Inactivity timers are statically configured in the RNC node per UE activity state. If packet data transmission is triggered, the latency (i.e., the response time for the mobile to commence substantive data communication) is longer if the radio connection is in a lower activity state than if it is in a higher activity state. For example, in the Cell_DCH state dedicated radio resources are already assigned to the connection. On the other hand, a significant benefit of a lower activity state is lower battery consumption in the UE. So there is a trade-off between latency and power consumption.
Static settings for inactivity timers depend on the projected associated traffic types. Traffic with QoS requirements of the "Interactive" traffic type has a stricter latency requirement for an inactivity timer setting. Web traffic transactions are an example of interactive traffic and have a higher probability of subsequent, follow-on packet data traffic within a short time period, conditioned on the detection of packet data traffic. For example, if a user starts web browsing, it is probable that a new web page will be loaded after the user reads some part of the web page. Once a browsing session is initiated, the user expects short response times (low latency) for subsequent clicking on web page links. Therefore, an inactivity timer for such interactive traffic should be fairly long, (e.g., longer than the average reading time of a web page), allowing quick response times during the web browsing session. Although all inactivity timers could be set to optimize for such interactive traffic type, the inventors realized that there are other types of traffic that do not have the same requirements.
The inventors recognized that for example message-oriented traffic typically has a lower probability of additional transactions within a short time period conditioned on the detection of a single packet data transmission. This traffic type includes, for instance, push e-mail transactions, IP multimedia sub-system (IMS) subscribe/notify mechanisms (such as presence traffic), machine-to-machine metering communication, or instant messages (IM) like SIP Message as well as pure presence traffic like SIP subscribe/notify. Because the probability of additional transmissions is low, requirements on subsequent response times are not so critical. Accordingly, after transmission of a single packet data burst, the radio connection should soon return to a lower activity state in order to save UE battery power. Consequently, an inactivity timer should be set shorter for message-oriented traffic so that the timeout occurs sooner and the UE can switch to a lower power consumption state. Still, the trade-off for the lower activity level means higher latency (response time), so the user will have to wait longer than for web-type transactional traffic communications.
So a substantial shortcoming with static inactivity timer settings is that traffic with similar QoS requirements is mapped to the same bearer with the same QoS parameters, even though the traffic may have different latency and/or battery power saving requirements when it comes to an inactivity timer setting. A compromise and less than satisfactory inactivity timer setting could be used for all different types of traffic. Alternatively, traffic with similar QoS requirements but different inactivity timer setting requirements could be separated onto different bearers. Unfortunately, there is no parameter in the current 3GPP QoS profile to indicate the characteristics of the traffic for a differentiated inactivity timer setting. A significant problem then is how to differentiate mobile activity state transitions for different traffic types and allow differentiated balancing between requirements on response time/latency, resource usage, and battery power.

Inactivity monitoring for different traffic or service classifications


This invention relates to a system and apparatus for tracking a target object, such as a person or an animal, using at least one of a global positioning system (GPS) satellite network, a cellular network, a radio frequency network, a telephone network, and a computer network using a multifunctional transceiver carried or mounted on or by the target object being tracked. The transceiver may be configured for mounting on or integrally a belt or collar worn by the target object being tracked. The transceiver may relay position and/or location information of the transceiver, and ultimately the target object being tracked, to a remote user.

This invention relates generally to a system and apparatus for tracking a target object. More particularly, this invention relates to a system and apparatus for tracking a person or an animal using at least one of a global positioning system (GPS) satellite network, a cellular network, a radio frequency network, a telephone network, and a computer network using a multifunctional transceiver carried or mounted on or by the person or animal being tracked.
The transceiver may be configured for mounting on or integrally formed with a belt or collar worn by the person or animal being tracked. The transceiver may relay position and/or location information of the transceiver, and ultimately the person or animal being tracked, to a remote user.

System and apparatus for tracking a person or an animal


1. A composition for reducing the copper-lead bearing corrosion of a formulation that includes a major amount of an oil of lubrication viscosity and a minor amount of a corrosion-reducing additive comprising. (A) a borated dispersant with a total base number of from 20 to 160 on an oil-free basis; PA1 (B) a metal salt of a phosphorus acid; and PA1 (C) a metal overbased composition comprising at least one carboxylate, phenate, or sulfonate wherein the metal is lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium or calcium, and wherein the improvement comprises PA1 (D) a borate ester.. The borated ester and borated dispersant provide from 20 to about 800 parts per million (ppm) mass of boron in the composition.

Lubricating compositions having utility as engine oil formulations typically contain dispersants, detergents, antiwear agents and anti-foamants as well as other types of lubricants. Lubricating oil compositions of this type typically control sludge and varnish formation and, in general, promote good engine life. No one typical lubricating oil composition necessarily solves all the deleterious effects known to occur with an automotive engine.
A lubricating oil composition that performs adequately in one engine at given operating conditions does not necessarily perform adequately when used in a different engine or under different conditions. While theoretically, lubricants could be designed for each possible combination of engine and seivice condition, such a strategy would be unpracticable because many different types of engines exist and the engines are used under different conditions. Accordingly, lubricants that perform well in different types of engines and across a broad spectrum of conditions (e.g., fuel type, operating load and temperature) are desired. Design of lubricating oil compositions is further complicated in that the concentrated mixture of chemicals added to lubricating oil base stocks to import desirable properties should perform well over a broad range of different quality base stocks. Meeting these requirements has been extremely difficult because the formulations are complicated, tests to ascertain whether a lubricant performs well are extremely expensive and time consuming, and collecting field test data is difficult since variables cannot be sufficiently controlled.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,087,936 (LeSuer, Apr. 30, 1963) relates to a process for preparing oil-soluble nitrogen- and boron-containing compositions comprising treating an acylated nitrogen composition characterized by the presence within its structure of (A) a substantially hydrocarbon substituted succinic radical selected from the class consisting of succinoyl, succinimidoyl, and succinoyloxy radicals wherein the substantially hydrocarbon substituent contains at least 50 aliphatic carbon atoms and (B) a nitrogen-containing group characterized by a nitrogen atom attached directly to said succinic radical, with a boron oxide, boron halides, boron acids, and esters of bcoron acids in an amount to provide from about 0.1 atomic proportion of boron for each mole of said acylated nitrogen composition to about 10 atomic proportions of boron for each atomic proportion of nitrogen of said acylated nitrogen composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,848 (Koch et al., May 3, 1988) relates to a process which comprises reacting
(A) at least one hydroxy-substituted ester, amide, or imide of the formula ##STR1## wherein R is a divalent hydrocarbyl group, X is --OR' or --NR'R", wherein R' is a hydrocarbyl group and R" is hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl group, Y is OH or X, m is zero to 2, or X and one Y taken together represent a single NR' group forming a cyclic imide, and n is an integer from 1 to 10 provided that only one free hydroxyl group is attached per carbon atom of the hydrocarbyl group R, with PA1 (B) a boron compound selected from the group consisting of boric acid, boron trioxide, boron halides, boron amides and boron esters. PA1 (A) a borated nitrogen containing-dispersant with a total base number of from 20 to 160 on an oil-free basis; PA1 (B) a metal salt of a phosphorus acid; and PA1 (C) a metal overbased composition comprising at least one carboxylate, phenate, or sulfonate wherein the metal is lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium or calcium, and wherein the improvement comprises PA1 (D) a borate ester. PA1 (1) Hydrocarban substituents, that is aliphatic (e.g., alkyl or alkenyl), alicyclic (e.g., cycloalkyl or cycloalkenyl) substituents, aromatic, aliphatic- and alicyclic-substituted aromatic nuclei and the like, as well as cyclic substituents wherein a ring is completed through another portion of the molecule. PA1 (2) Substituted hydrocarbon substituents, that is, those containing non-hydrocarbon radicals which, in the context of this invention, do not alter the predominantly hydrocarbyl character of the substituent. Those skilled in the art will be aware of suitable radicals (e.g., hydroxy, halo, (especially chloro and fluoro), alkoxyl, mercapto, alkyl mercapto, nitro, nitroso, sulfoxy, etc., radicals). PA1 (3) Hetero sulstituents, that is, substituents which, while predominantly hydrocarbon in character within the context of this invention, contain atoms other than carbon present in a chain or ring otherwise composed of carbon atoms. Suitable hetero atoms will be apparent to those skilled in the art and include, for example, sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen and form substituents such as, e.g., pyridyl, furanyl, thiophenyl, imidazolyl, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,353 (Colclough, Aug. 22, 1989) provides for sulfur containing borate esters of the formula ##STR2## (wherein each R is a hydrocarbyl group optionally substituted by one or more --XR" group, or the two R groups attached to one boron represent a group --(R'.sub.2 C).sub.m, x is from 1 to 4, each n is from 1 to 6, each m is from 2 to 4 and each R' is hydrogen, an --XR" group, or a hydrocarbyl radical optionally substituted by one or more --XR" group, X is O, S or NR" or two groups R' together form an alicyclic or heterocyclic ring, and R" is hydrogen, a hydrocarbyl radical or a hydrocarbyl-carbonyl group) and mixtures and polymeric forms thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,893 (Ryer et al., Jan. 7, 1992) relates to a mutually compatible combination of additives and their use to impart antiwear, oxidation inhibition and friction modification to power transmission compositions, particularly automatic transmission fluids. The additives comprise an organic phosphite ester such as triphenyl phosphite and a hydroxyl amine compound, such as that having the formula ##STR3## preferably in combination with a dispersant such as a polyisobutenyl succinimide or a borated derivative thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,329 (Vinci et al., Aug. 2, 1994) describes a lubricating composition which comprises a mixture of (A) a major amount of an oil of lubricating viscosity, (B) a dispersant effective amount of at least one ashless dispersant, and (C) a minor, effective amount of at least one demulsifier characterized by the formula ##STR4## wherein R is a hydrocarbyl group, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 are each independently hydrogen or hydrocarbyl groups, and X is oxygen or NR' wherein R' is hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl group. In one embodiment, the dispersant (B) is a boron-containing composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,295 (Bell et al., Mar. 18, 1997) relates to multifunctional additive compositions formed by a process which comprises heating concurrently or in any sequence (a) an oil-soluble ashless dispersant containing basic nitrogen with (b) an alkoxylated alcohol of at least 8 carbon atoms and (c) a borating agent to a temperature in the range of about 50.degree. to about 150.degree. C., and if water and/or solids are present in the resultant mixture, removing both of them or whichever of them is present in the resultant mixture. These additives, once prepared and filtered, are clear mixtures that tend to remain free of haze and solids even after long periods of storage at elevated temperatures such as 70.degree. C., even though they may contain high levels of boron within the range of proportions described hereafter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,698,498 (Luciani et al., Dec. 16, 1997) relates to a lubricating composition comprising a major amount of an oil of lubricating viscosity and (A) a minor amount of at least one hydroxyalkyl dithiocarbamate or at least one borate thereof wherein the dithiocarbamate is derived from an amine other than an alkyl or alkenyl succinimide. In another aspect, this reference relates to a lubricating composition comprising a major amount of an oil of lubricating viscosity, a hydroxyalkyl dithiocarbamate or a borate thereof, and (B) at least one sulftir compound or (C) at least one phosphorus or boron antiwear or extreme pressure agent. The lubricants and fluids have improved antiwear and extreme pressure properties including improved antiscuff protection.

Alcohol borate esters and borated dispersants to improve bearing corrosion in engine oils


An apparatus for holding a medicine ball includes an adjustable holder for receiving medicine balls of different sizes and a pair of adjustable straps for securing the holder to different portions of a user's body. In some embodiments, the holder comprises adjustable bands, the length of which can be adjusted to adjust the size of the holder. The bands define a holder interior for receiving the medicine balls. The apparatus can include first and second adjustment plates positioned at opposite ends of the holder to secure the holder to the two straps. Each adjustable strap loops through slots in the plate and fastens to itself to secure the holder to a body portion. Bands of the holder can loop through slots in the plate and fasten to themselves to secure the holder around a medicine ball.

Weighted exercise balls, or "medicine balls," are frequently used for rehabilitation and strength training. Because medicine balls are round, they are difficult to grasp with any portion of a user's body other than the hands. As a result, the applications for medicine balls in rehabilitation and strengthening are somewhat limited. An apparatus for securing a medicine ball to a portion of a user's body is desired.


A latch mechanism for removably securing a module in a bay of an electronic device. The latch mechanism includes a first wireform configured to move along a first wall of the bay to latch a first side of the module and a tang configured to move substantially perpendicularly to a second side of the module to latch the second side of the module. The latch mechanism includes a control member operatively connected with the first wireform and the tang to actuate the first wireform and the tang simultaneously in response to user input such that when the module is inserted into the bay, the first wireform and the tang simultaneously latch the first side of the module and the second side of the module.

An electronic device such as a notebook computer may include one or more removable modules such as a battery module or a data storage module (e.g., a data drive). Such a removable module is typically disposed in a bay of the electronic device and secured at one or more contact points.
If the module is secured at only one single contact point, the single contact point may need to support a substantial portion of the weight of the module during normal operation. Additionally, the single contact point may need to endure extra stress or strain in abnormal conditions such as when the electronic device is dropped. Accordingly, the single contact point and related parts may need to be quite substantial in size to provide sufficient structural support. When bulky parts are used, the cost and weight of the electronic device may be disadvantageously increased.
Further, if the module is long and slender, flatness and straightness disparity between the module and the electronic device often results in gaps and surface offsets. Such gaps and surface offsets are undesirable from a reliability and cosmetic point of view. Therefore, it is advisable that the module should be secured at multiple contact points.
Securing the module in the electronic device at multiple contact points may be accomplished by a multi-point latch mechanism such as a drop-and-slide mechanism, a multi-interaction multi-point latch mechanism, or two-way snaps or ball detents. However, such conventional multi-point latch mechanisms have various problems and disadvantages.
A drop-and-slide mechanism allows a user to drop a module into a bay of an electronic device and to slide the module along one or more rails to a secured position. Typically, such a drop-and-slide mechanism may provide, on the one or more rails, multiple contact points that share the weight of the module. As such, the above-mentioned requirements of material rigidity may be mitigated. However, drop-and-slide mechanisms tend to be inefficient with respect to space utilization. In particular, the space required for the module to slide results in wasted space in the electronic device.
A multi-interaction multi-point latch mechanism allows a user to simultaneously or sequentially operate two or more control members to actuate two or more latches to secure the module at multiple contact points. Such a mechanism typically requires two hands or multiple fingers to keep the electronic device in place and to engage or disengage latches. In performing this task, non-intuitive learning or extra caution may also be required. Some users have found such multi-interaction multi-point latch mechanisms difficult to use.
Two-way snaps and ball detents also may also secure a module at multiple contact points. Such mechanisms require a user to overcome threshold forces when installing the module into the bay or removing the module from the bay. Accordingly, the portions of the module where the user exerts force and where the module contacts the snaps or detents must withstand additional pressure and wear, necessitating a bulky construction and/or exotic or expensive material. Further, when the module is being removed from the bay, a sudden release of the module may cause the user to drop the module when threshold forces are overcome, thus potentially causing significant damage to the module.

Multi-point latch mechanism with a single control


One aspect of the disclosure relates to a contact within a dielectric layer to a source/drain terminal of a field-effect-transistor (FET). The contact may include: a titanium-tantalum-silicide at a surface of the source/drain terminal; a barrier layer over the titanium-tantalum-silicide; and a metal over the barrier layer and extending to a top surface of the dielectric layer.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to integrated circuits, and more particularly, to source/drain terminal contacts which have been implanted with a species, and methods of forming the same.
Related Art
Advanced manufacturing of integrated circuits requires formation of individual circuit elements, e.g., field-effect-transistors (FETs) and the like based on specific circuit designs. A FET generally includes source, drain, and gate terminals. The gate terminal is placed between the source and drain terminals. Transistors may be formed over a substrate and may be electrically isolated with an insulating dielectric layer, e.g., inter-level dielectric layer. Contacts may be formed to each of the source, drain, and gate terminals through the dielectric layer in order to provide electrical connection between the transistors and other circuit elements that may be formed subsequent to the transistor in other metal levels.
Conventionally, contacts to the source and drain terminals are formed by forming an opening within the overlying insulating dielectric layer(s) to expose the source and drain terminals. Subsequently, liner layers, e.g., titanium, and a metallization layer may be formed within the opening to fill the opening. Further, the process may include performing an anneal to create a silicide, i.e., silicon metal alloy, at the bottom surface of the opening and a top surface of the source and drain terminals thereby creating a surface for the contact connection. The silicide that is formed in aforementioned manner called liner silicide. The contact may be planarized evenly with a top surface of the dielectric layer.
The annealing process for this conventional silicidation process is limited to a temperature which does not cause damage to the gate terminal and the elements therein. However, silicide formation may require a high temperature in order to be performed. Therefore, there is a struggle to reach a temperature high enough to create the silicide for the source and drain contact without causing damage to the gate terminal. Furthermore, in some instances the silicide may not actually be formed leaving an intermetallic alloy on the active areas; i.e. source and drain terminals. The resultant silicide may have a better contact resistance performance on n-type FET (NFET) than p-type FET (PFET), which can be attributed to the difficulties of desired silicide formation on PFET as opposed to NFET.

Source/drain terminal contact and method of forming same


The invention relates to a side fill carton used for example for granular materials comprising an extra panel (15) between the top (11) and the bottom (13) panels and thus forming a second compartment (8) in which a three dimensional object (7), such as a tool kit for example, can be placed while being isolated from the main compartment (9).

The invention relates to carton board containers for granular materials and more particularly to such cartons which are side-fill cartons.
Various types of containers are formed from carton board. Typical containers made from carton board, also simply called cartons, have a substantially parallelepipedal shape with six sides and twelve edges, namely the top, bottom, back, front, left and right sides, the edges being defined by the two sides of which they are the intersection, for example the edge between the top and the back sides. For definition purposes, it will be considered in the following that when the carton is upright the top and bottom sides are in the horizontal plane, the four other sides being vertical. We will consider that if the front side of the upright carton is facing an observer, the left side is on to the left of the observer and the right side on to the right of the observer, the back side being invisible for the observer.
Cartons are usually folded and glued from a die cut. A die cut, or blank, is a flat structure which has not been folded or glued. At least three main steps appear in the folding-gluing-filling process. In a first main step, the die cut is folded and glued to form a sleeve. A sleeve is substantially a four sided structure structured like a six sided carton of which two opposite sides are not folded or glued. In the sleeve structure, four of the twelve edges of the carton have been folded, these four edges being in a parallel direction to each other. It should be noted that usually the remaining eight edges all have their direction in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the four folded ones. The sleeve structure has the advantage that it can be flattened. As a consequence, sleeves can be stored or shipped easily. In a second main step, the carton is erected from the sleeve, which means that one of the two opposite sides which were not folded and glued during the sleeve step is now folded, four more edges being consequently formed. At this stage, the carton cannot be flattened anymore. However, it can be filled through the last non folded side. In the last step, the last non folded side is folded and glued, so forming the four last edges. In summary, when preparing a carton, the structure goes through successive stages, namely the die cut, followed by the sleeve, which subsequently is formed into an erected carton, before the closed carton stage. Each of these stages is separated by one main folding-gluing step.
There are two alternative ways of forming the sleeve from the die cut, because a choice can be made of the two opposite sides which will be left unfolded and unglued. In a first way, these two side may be the top and bottom sides. In a second way the right and left sides or the back and front sides will be left open. In theory, it is considered equivalent to choose back/front or left/right because these sides are differentiated only as a convention. However, the top/bottom sides are normally perpendicular to gravity when the carton is in its upright position.
In the first way of forming the sleeve, the sleeve will be formed of the front, left, back and right sides, or of any circular permutation of these, while the top and bottom sides will be left opened. In this case, the carton is usually erected by folding the bottom, and then by folding the top after filling. This way avoids having to turn the carton around after the filling process when the filling is made by means of gravity, because the carton is already upright when filled.
In the second way of forming the sleeve, the sleeve will be formed, for example, of the front, top, back and bottom sides, or of any circular permutation of these, while the left and right sides will be left opened. In this case, the carton is erected by folding indifferently the left or the right side, the left for example, the erected carton being filled through the right side, which should consequently be at the top of the carton during filling. Finally, the carton will be closed. After closing, the carton may have to be turned around in upright position, with the top side on the top.
As explained above, the eight edges which are not being folded to form the sleeve have their direction in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the four edges folded to form the sleeve. This means that in the die cut form, the four sleeve folded edges are in one direction and the eight others in the substantially perpendicular direction. By definition, the direction of the eight edges is called the main folding direction or axial direction because most of the folding is made along this direction. The other direction is the transverse direction. Normally, the four edges of the transverse direction should be the sleeve forming edges. As an example, in the first way for folding a sleeve, the front/left, left/back, back/right and right/front edges would be along the transverse direction, while in the second way of folding a sleeve, the front/top, top/back, back/bottom and bottom/front edges would be along the transverse direction.
A die cut is preferably made from a single piece. A die cut normally has a specific grain direction. This means that the material forming the die cut is not isotropic but has a preferred direction along which the die cut can be folded more easily. This direction is the grain direction. For easy folding, it is preferred that the main folding direction be in the grain direction.
For stiffness reasons, it is important that the grain direction is not horizontal, and preferably vertical, when the carton in its upright position. This means that the direction of gravity should be the grain direction for the front, back, left and right sides of the carton when the carton is upright, or that the edges front/left, left/back, back/right and right/front should follow the grain direction. Consequently, the edges front/left, left/back, back/right and right/front should not be in the transverse direction on the die cut. This leads to choosing the second way of folding for stiffness reasons. Cartons folded in such a manner are usually called side fill cartons. It should be noted that this denomination is due to the folding method, and is not directly linked to the grain direction. Examples of side fill cartons are disclosed in the pending applications JP-09066927 published on the 11th of March 1997, or JP-09278029-A published on the 38th of October 1997, or in applicant pending applications EP-97202128.1 filed on the 10th of July 1997 or EP-98200031.7 filed on the 8th of January 1998.
Side fill cartons disclosed in JP-09066927, EP-97202128.1 or EP-98200031.7 also include an extra panel together with a back flap associated with an edge to the extra panel as well as the usual top panel. Such a structure with an extra panel allows to form a lid with the top panel, which can be re-closed, while having a robust top side with a double panel and improving sift proofness, for example for granular materials.
The invention relates to a carton, the carton comprising top and bottom sides opposing each other, left and right sides opposing each other, and front and back sides opposing each other, whereby:
a) the front side comprises a first front flap;
b) the top side comprises a top panel associated with an edge to the first front flap;
c) the back side comprises a back panel associated with an edge to the top panel;
d) the bottom side comprises a bottom panel associated with an edge to the back panel;
e) the front side comprises a second front flap associated with an edge to the to the bottom panel;
f) the carton comprises an extra panel situated between the top and bottom panels, the extra panel being associated with an edge to the second front flap;
g) the back side comprises a back flap associated with an edge to the extra panel;
h) the left side comprises a first left flap associated with an edge to the first front flap, a second left flap associated with an edge to the back panel, a third left flap associated with an edge to the bottom panel and a fourth left flap associated with an edge to the second front flap;
i) the right side comprises a first right flap associated with an edge to the first front flap, a second right flap associated with an edge to the back panel, a third right flap associated with an edge to the bottom panel and a fourth right flap associated with an edge to the second front flap.
Such a carton is known from EP-97202128.1.
Among the advantage of such cartons is that they are side fill cartons having an extra panel, thus being relatively sift proof and having a robust structure.
While having these and other advantages, side fill cartons having such an inner top panel have disadvantages. For example, such cartons do not allow placing three dimensional objects such as a tool kit in a separated compartment, thus requiring users to dig into the content to gain access to such an object, or to erect this object from a two-dimensional structure, as in JP-09278029-A. In addition, when such cartons are filled, a handle may be required for facilitating transportation by the user.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to produce a robust carton which is more satisfactory for the user.
In accordance with the invention, this object is accomplished in a carton of the above kind characterised in that
j) the back panel comprises a folding line along a direction parallel to the plane of the top panel and situated between the extra and the top panels;
k) the second left and right flaps comprise a line of weakness situated between the extra and the top panels.
A carton formed in accordance with the invention has a number of advantages. Since the carton has a folding line in the back panel and since the second left and right flaps comprise a line of weakness, a second compartment is formed, the second compartment having as a top the top panel and as a bottom the extra panel, while the main compartment has its top formed from the extra panel and its bottom formed from the bottom panel. The access to the second compartment is provided by lifting together the top part of the carton composed of the top panel, the first front flap, the first and optional fifth left and right flaps as well as the part of the second0left and right flaps beyond the line of weakness and on the side of the top panel and the part of the back panel beyond the folding line and on the side of the top panel, the folding line thus acting as an hinge during the lifting of the top part of the carton. Indeed, once the top part of the carton is lifted in this manner, direct access is gained to the content of the second compartment. Access to the main compartment is for example obtained by tearing off part of the extra panel or the complete extra panel which forms both the floor of the second compartment and the roof of the other one. Additionally, the second compartment can be provided with openings allowing for example the insertion of fingers, thus forming a handle.

Two compartment carton for granular materials


The present disclosure includes methods and systems for channel skewing. One or more methods for channel skewing includes providing a number of groups of data signals to a memory component, each of the number of groups corresponding to a respective channel, and adjusting a phase of a group of data signals corresponding to at least one of the number of channels such that the group of data signals are skewed with respect to a group of data signals corresponding to at least one of the other respective channels.

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including volatile and non-volatile memory. Volatile memory can require power to maintain its information and includes random-access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), among others. Non-volatile memory can provide persistent information by retaining stored information when not powered and can include NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, read only memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), phase change random access memory (PCRAM), resistive random access memory (RRAM), and magnetic random access memory (MRAM), such as spin torque transfer random access memory (STT RAM), among others.
Memory devices can be combined together to form a solid state drive (SSD). A solid state drive can include non-volatile memory (e.g., NAND flash memory and NOR flash memory), and/or can include volatile memory (e.g., DRAM and SRAM), among various other types of non-volatile and volatile memory. An SSD can be used to replace hard disk drives as the main storage device for a computer, as the solid state drive can have advantages over hard drives in terms of performance, size, weight, ruggedness, operating temperature range, and power consumption. For example, SSDs can have superior performance when compared to magnetic disk drives due to their lack of moving parts, which may avoid seek time, latency, and other electro-mechanical delays associated with magnetic disk drives. SSD manufacturers can use non-volatile flash memory to create flash SSDs that may not use an internal battery supply, thus allowing the drive to be more versatile and compact.
An SSD can include a number of memory devices (e.g., a number of memory chips). As used herein, "a number of" something can refer to one or more of such things (e.g., a number of memory devices can refer to one or more memory devices). As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, a memory chip can include a number of dies and/or logical units (LUNs). Each die can include a number of memory arrays and peripheral circuitry thereon. The memory arrays can include a number of memory cells organized into a number of physical pages, and the physical pages can be organized into a number of blocks.
In many electronic devices and systems, electronic data is communicated between electronic components. In certain applications, multi-element electronic data is transmitted from one component to another. Such a data transmission may involve transmitting a plurality of signals simultaneously from a transmitting component to a receiving component via parallel channels. The signals may be processed at the receiving component to be compatible with a particular protocol.
When a plurality of signals are transmitted between two components, crosstalk and/or simultaneous switching output (SSO) noise can occur. Crosstalk can occur when energy on one channel induces voltages and/or currents on a neighboring channel through capacitive and/or inductive coupling. SSO noise can affect the power distribution associated with a chip as data signals between and/or among multiple channels switch (e.g., from low to high or low to high) simultaneously. Crosstalk and/or SSO noise can increase the voltage noise and peak power associated with a memory system. As the frequency of data transmission rates increases, crosstalk and SSO noise may further adversely affect the quality of signals, resulting in errors.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An item in a user interface is visually enhanced in response to an interaction with the item or in response to a request. In some implementations, the item (e.g., an icon, button, text, etc.) is visually enhanced and displayed in the user interface at a conspicuous location (e.g., the center of the user interface). Optionally, the user interface can be altered (e.g., darkened) to improve the visibility of the enhanced item. In some implementations, visual enhancement includes displaying enhanced feedback (e.g., text, data, graphical objects or images, etc.) associated with the item in a caption panel. The caption panel can display enhanced feedback associated with any items in the user interface and not just the item associated with a current user interaction. In some implementations, the user can interact with items (e.g., launch an application) from within an interaction panel.

A conventional computing system (e.g., a personal computer) includes one or more types of input/output devices (e.g., mouse, keyboard, display, etc.) for enabling users to interact with the computer system. Individuals with disabilities, however, may require additional hardware devices and/or accessibility applications to facilitate their interaction with the computer system. An example of an accessibility application is described in U.S. patent application No. 10/965,720, entitled "Spoken Interfaces." That patent application discloses an "accessibility cursor" that can be navigated around a user interface using a keyboard. The accessibility cursor enables impaired users and/or their collaborators to interact with items in the user interface and to receive audio and visual feedback related to the interaction. The user can use the cursor to press buttons, drag sliders, enable and disable check boxes, select radio buttons, drag, scroll, etc.
Although an accessibility cursor can enable a disabled user to more easily navigate a user interface, a vision-impaired user may still experience pain or discomfort when trying to track cursor movements. Additionally, it can be difficult for individuals who collaborate with a vision-impaired user to track the user's interactions with the interface and provide assistance to the user.

Enhanced visual feedback of interactions with user interface


Separation processes using engineered osmosis are disclosed generally involving the extraction of solvent from a first solution to concentrate solute by using a second concentrated solution to draw the solvent from the first solution across a semi-permeable membrane. Enhanced efficiency may result from using low grade waste heat from industrial or commercial sources.

Forward osmosis has been used for desalination. In general, a forward osmosis desalination process involves a container having two chambers separated by a semi-permeable membrane. One chamber contains seawater. The other chamber contains a concentrated solution that generates a concentration gradient between the seawater and the concentrated solution. This gradient draws water from the seawater across the membrane, which selectively permits water to pass, but not salts, into the concentrated solution. Gradually, the water entering the concentrated solution dilutes the solution. The solutes are then removed from the dilute solution to generate potable water.


A motor assembly includes a motor, an inverter for changing rotational speed of the motor, a cooling fan coupled to a rotational shaft of the motor, a guide cover for guiding a gas flow generated by rotation of the cooling fan to the inverter, and at least two support members coupling the inverter to a side surface of the motor. The support members are located on both sides of a center line connecting a central axis of the motor to a center of the inverter as viewed from an axial direction of the motor. A space serving as a passage of the gas flow from the cooling fan is formed between the support members.

A motor is widely used as a drive source for driving a pump. Recently, an inverter-integrated pump motor, in which an inverter is mounted to a motor, is becoming mainstream. The inverter has a power switching element (e.g., Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT), power MOS FET, or the like). With use of such a power switching element, the inverter can change input power of the motor and can thus operate the motor at variable speeds.
During driving of such pump motor, the inverter and the motor generate heat. In particular, the power switching element of the inverter generates high heat while it has a small surface area. As a result, the inverter is heated to have a high temperature. Various solutions have been conventionally proposed for cooling the inverter. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, there has been known a construction in which the inverter is cooled by a cooling fan for cooling the motor.
In the example shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a cooling fan 108 is mounted to a rotational shaft 103 of a motor 101 for driving a pump. A circular guide cover 110 is provided on the motor 101 so as to cover the cooling fan 108. A gap is formed between the guide cover 110 and the motor 101. Therefore, gas flow, generated by rotation of the cooling fan 108, advances through the gap along an outer circumferential surface of the motor 101 to cool the motor 101, while a part of the gas flow cools the inverter 105. An axial flow fan or a diagonal flow fan is used as the cooling fan 108, because mounting of this type of fan is easy and its major purpose is to cool the motor 101.
However, in the conventional cooling structure shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, there exist the following drawbacks. The inverter 105 is coupled to a side surface of the motor 101 through a support member 111. From a viewpoint of facilitating its coupling structure, this support member 111 is typically arranged on a center line connecting the motor 101 to the inverter 105 when viewed from above. The support member 111 arranged in such a position prevents the gas flow delivered from the cooling fan 108 as shown in FIG. 1C, and as a result a cooling efficiency of the inverter 105 is lowered. In particular, use of a larger inverter 105 necessitates use of a larger support member 111, which would greatly disturb the gas flow for cooling the inverter 105.
When the axial flow fan is used as the cooling fan 108, the inverter 105 may not be cooled sufficiently because of a low flow rate of gas. In particular, the inverter 105, when used to drive the motor 101 for driving a pump requiring a large shaft power, is necessarily large. The axial flow fan cannot produce the gas flow powerful enough to cool such large inverter 105. Furthermore, when the axial flow fan or the diagonal flow fan is used, the gas flow directly strikes the motor 101 firstly, and thereafter its secondary gas flow strikes the inverter 105. As a result, the cooling efficiency of the inverter 105 is lowered.

Motor assembly and pump apparatus including a cooling fan for cooling an inverter


A process for the synthesis of hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres from .alpha.-N,N-di(protected)amino(alkyl or substituted alkyl) methyl ketones that can be efficiently carried out on an industrial scale. The process proceeds with excellent diastereoselectivity and chemical efficiency, and can be used to prepare a wide variety of hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres for a variety of uses, including as HIV-1 protease inhibitors and renin inhibitors.

Hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres ("peptide mimics" or "peptidomimetics," illustrated below) are compounds in which a peptide bond is replaced with a non-hydrolyzable hydroxyethyl isostere that mimics a peptide enzymic transition state. Compounds incorporating hdyroxyethyl isosteres have recently generated considerable interest due to their ability to act as HIV-protease and renin inhibitors. Szelke, M., Jones, D. M., Hallet, A., Leckie, B. J., Proc. Am. Pept. Symp. 8th, 1983, 579; Meek, T. D., J. Enz. Inhib., 1992, 6, 65. The amino alcohol functionality in active peptidomimetics has (4S,5S) stereochemistry, as indicated below. Peptidomimetics also possess a substituent at the C2 position with the indicated absolute configuration. The "S" or "R" designation of the C2-substituent is a function of substituent priority. ##STR1##
Large quantities of hydroxyethylene dipeptide HIV-protease inhibitors and renin inhibitors are currently in demand for laboratory and clinical testing as well as for potential commercialization. Many of the prior synthetic approaches to these isosteres employ the lactone 1 as a key intermediate which is derivatized via diastereoselective alkylation of the enolate followed by ring opening. Several groups have synthesized 1 from .alpha.-amino aldehydes in a variety of ways, including by: (a) addition of a homoenolate equivalent (DeCamp, A. E., Kawaguchi, A. T., Volante, R. P., Shinkai, I., Tetrahedron Lett., 1991, 32, 1867); (b) addition of lithium ethyl propiolate (Fray, A. H., Kaye, R. L., Kleinman, E. F., J. Org. Chem., 1986, 51, 4828); (c) addition of allylic organometallic reagents (Vara Prasad, J. N. V., Rich, D. H., Tetrahedron Lett., 1990, 31, 1803); or (d) by conversion of .alpha.-amino aldehydes into .alpha.-amino epoxides (Evans, B. E., Rittle, K. E., Homnick, C. F., Springer, J. P., Hirshfield, J., Veber, D. F., J. Org. Chem., 1985, 50, 4615). The synthesis of 1 from a carbohydrate precursor such as D-mannose (Ghosh, A. K., McKee, S. P., Thompson, W. T., T. Org. Chem., 1991, 56, 6500), or via a .gamma.-ketoester derived from N-Cbz-L-phenylalanine (Hoffman, R. V., Kim, H., Tetrahedron Lett., 1992, 33, 3579), N-benzyl-N-BOC-phenylalanine (Dondoni, A., et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 1992, 33, 7259), or N-phthalimido-phenylalanine (Sakurai, M., et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 1993, 34, 5939), have also been reported.
U.S. Patents which disclose methods for the synthesis of hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres include U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,668 entitled "Synthesis of Protease Inhibitor," issued Mar. 9, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,950 entitled "Method of Preparing HIV Protease Inhibitors," issued Feb. 23, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,074 entitled "Method of Hydroxylation with ATCC 55086, " issued Feb. 16, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,298 entitled "Dipeptide Hydroxy Ethylene Isostere Synthesis and Intermediate Therefor," issued Dec. 29, 1992; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,952 entitled "Stereoselective Production of Hydroxyamide Compounds from Chiral Alpha-Amino Epoxides," issued Dec. 8, 1992.
While these syntheses are successful in producing the target compound, the syntheses proceed with variable stereocontrol, and can exhibit one or more other drawbacks such as a relatively long synthetic sequence, the use of expensive starting materials, or the use of a starting material such as an .alpha.-amino aldehyde which is prone to racemization or which produces variable diastereoselectivity depending on the nature of the `R'` group. For example, the Hoffman process (wherein the hydroxyethylene dipeptide isostere is prepared by the alkylation of a t-butyl .beta.-ketoester with an .alpha.-bromocarboxylic acid), after hydrolysis, decarboxylation and reduction results in a mixture of 4R and 4S isomers in an approximate ratio of 1.8:1, which must be separated. The DeCamp, et al. process uses an .alpha.-amino aldehyde as a starting material that is easily racemized under a variety of experimental conditions. The amino aldehyde is reacted with a titanium homoenolate prepared from ethyl 3-bromopropionate to provide a mixture of (4S/4R) diastereomers that must be separated. The reaction of N,N-dibenzyl-phenylalanine with a dichloroisopropoxytitanium homoenolate using the DeCamp protocol results in a ratio of 4R to 4S diastereomers of greater than 20 to.
Another stereoselective synthesis of hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres was recently reported by Diederich and Ryckman. Diederich, "Stereoselective Synthesis of a Hydroxyethylene Dipeptide Isostere," Tetrahedron Lett., 1993, 34, 6169-6172. The Diederich synthesis is based on the conversion of a dibenzyl-L-amino acid to the corresponding N'-methyl-O-methylcarboxamide, which is reacted with a Grignard reagent derived from 2-(2-bromoethyl)-1,3-dioxolane or 2-(2-bromoethyl)-1,3-dioxane to produce a (2S)-2-dibenzylamino-5-[1,3]dioxolan-2-yl-1-phenyl-pentan-3-one or (2S)-2-dibenzylamino-5-[1,3]dioxan-2-yl-phenyl-pentan-3-one, respectively. Reduction of the carbonyl moieties provides the desired amino alcohol function with high 4S-stereoselectivity. The C2-substituent is added by conversion of (2S)-2-dibenzylamino-5-[1,3]dioxolan-2-yl-1-phenyl-pentan-3-one or (2s)-2-dibenzylamino-5-[1,3]dioxan-2-yl-phenyl-pentan-3-one to its corresponding lactone, followed by alkylation of the lactone and ring opening. Diederich's synthesis suffers from the disadvantages that not all of the reagents are commercially available (the Grignard reagents have to be generated), the reagents can be relatively expensive, and the oxidation step requires chromium, which presents waste disposal problems.
None of the known syntheses for hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres provides the optimal combination of the use of stable and inexpensive starting materials, high stereoselectivity, high yield, and minimal number of process steps. In light of the strong need for large quantities of hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres for the research and development of HIV-protease inhibitors and renin inhibitors, it would be of benefit to provide an economical method for their synthesis.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for the preparation of hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres that results in a product with (4S,5S) stereochemistry.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for the preparation of hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres that places a substituent group in the C2-position with the proper configuration.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for the preparation of hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres that is simple and efficient.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for the preparation of hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres that can be carried out on a manufacturing scale.

Diastereoselective synthesis hydroxyethylene dipeptide isosteres


The lift-off technique for transferring a preprocessed GaAs circuit to a quartz carrier is used to integrate GaAs active devices with distributed quartz microwave circuit elements (e.g., microstrip circuitry) in a single integrated circuit package. The present invention is therefore useful in making a variety of extremely rugged, low loss millimeter and submillimeter wave integrated circuits. By restricting the GaAs layer to a thin membrane and by impurity-doping the GaAs layer only in the regions of the active devices, the advantages of the quartz substrate in the presence of millimeter wave or submillimeter wave radiation are essentially retained.

1. Origin of the Invention
The invention described herein was made in the performance of work under a NASA contract, and is subject to the provisions of Public Law 96-517 (35 USC 202) in which the Contractor has elected to retain title.
2. Technical Field
The invention relates to active and passive devices for detecting millimeter wave radiation, and particularly to the integration of GaAs semiconductor devices including Schottky diodes and transistors with passive millimeter wave devices such as microstrip circuits, planar antennas and the like.
3. Background Art
At millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, the mechanical, thermal and dielectric properties of fused or crystalline quartz are ideal for its use as a circuit substrate material. High frequency applications for quartz include many forms of integrated stripline circuits, antenna substrates and dielectric lenses. When scaling such devices for radiation wavelengths less than one micron, many discrete circuit elements become untenably small, making handling and fabrication quite difficult. When, in addition, it is desired to add prefabricated high speed GaAs active devices onto quartz microstrip or antenna circuitry, package size becomes the dominant limitation. Attempting to overcome such a limitation by combining the quartz substrate with the microstrip devices mounted thereon with GaAs substrates prior to fabricating active devices in the GaAs substrates is not possible because there is currently no method for combining or implanting GaAs and quartz prior to device processing.
Thus, it has not seemed practical to integrate GaAs devices with passive microstrip-on-quartz elements for detecting submillimeter wave radiation.
Recently, a technique has been developed for removing or "lifting-off" a very thin (less than 2 micron thick) preprocessed epitaxial layer from the top of a GaAs host wafer and transferring the entire layer to a quartz carrier, as described in E. Yablonovitch et al., "Extreme Selectvivity in the Lift-Off of Epitaxial GaAs Films," Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 51, No. 26, pages 2222-2224, December 1987, and C. Van Hoof et al., "MESFET Lift-Off from GaAs Substrate to Glass Host," Electronic Letters, Vol. 25, No. 2, pages 136-137, Jan. 19, 1989.

Composite GaAs-on-quartz substrate for integration of millimeter-wave passive and active device circuitry


An audio system is provided that comprises a headphone for reading music information or the like recorded in a memory card attached to an external interface to reproduce audio signal and for outputting sound conforming to the audio signal; and a remote control unit for transmitting control signal for controlling reproduction function or the like of the music information of the headphone to the headphone due to infrared rays. In the audio system, the control signal of infrared rays of less data amount compared with the audio signal or the like is transmitted. Accordingly, circuit configuration and component configuration can be made simpler, the remote control unit can be downsized, and the headphone and the remote control unit can be made wireless, resulting in an easier handling.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an audio system for reproducing information recorded on a medium such as music or the like, in particular relates to an audio system suitable for portable purpose.
2. Description of the Related Art
This application claims benefit of priority under 35USC§119 to Japanese Patent Application No. HEI 11-152952, filed on May 31, 1999 the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
In general, a portable audio system, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, with a small reproducing unit 103 or 104 mountable a memory medium such as a memory card 101 or a cassette tape 102, reads for instance music information recorded on a mounted memory medium. The read music information is transmitted from the reproducing unit 103 or 104 through a connecting cord 105 to a headphone 106. Thereby, with the headphone 106, music can be heard.
Recently, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. HEI 5-39167 (Japanese Patent Laid-open Application (KOKAI) No. HEI 6-251080), there is a wireless audio system. That is, the wireless audio system reads music information or the like of a memory card mounted on a reproduction unit to generate audio signal. The audio signal is FM transmitted from the reproduction unit side to a headphone side.
Further, an audio system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. HEI 6-139244 (Japanese Patent Laid-open Application (KOKAI) No. HEI 8-9483) can download audio data to a memory module such as a memory card or the like disposed to a headphone. The respective operation buttons including a play button of audio data or a volume control button or the like are disposed to the headphone itself. Thus, an audio system is constituted of the headphone alone.
However, the aforementioned audio system has the following problems. That is, the audio system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. HEI 5-39167 transmits FM audio signal. Accordingly, a transmitter/receiver circuit becomes complicated which necessarily results in higher costs. Further, FM-transmission of the audio signal necessarily invites a deterioration of sound quality and, if there is a user using a similar audio system in the neighborhood, there may be problems with radio interference.
Further, since the audio system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. HEI 6-139244 is constituted of a single headphone, each operation button is also mounted on the headphone itself. Accordingly, in the audio system, a user, when hearing sound, namely when wearing a headphone on his or her head, can not see various kinds of operation buttons. As a result, there is a problem of a difficulty in executing various kinds of operations for instance such as volume control, play stop or the like. In addition, in the audio system of this type, being short of display function or the like, there is no way to easily check memory remains of the memory card or the like and a file number showing an order of music or the like. Accordingly, there is also a problem of convenience.

Audio system and head attachment audio unit


Systems and methods for measuring environmental conditions of a sensing location, where a sensor including a measuring surface and a wire coupled in tension to the measuring surface over which ultrasonic signals may be transmitted and sensed. Signal analysis of ultrasonic signals transmitted over the tensioned wire are analyzed to measure one or more environmental conditions acting on the measuring surface.

Many conventional mechanical systems are monitored to determine operating conditions such as pressure, temperature, vibrations, etc. However, in many systems it is desirable to monitor and measure operating conditions at locations in the system where it is extremely difficult to do so. For example, the measurement environment may be a harsh environment in which sensors are unable to operate reliably. For example, monitoring an aero gas turbine engine presents unique challenges due to the harsh environmental conditions of the engine, i.e., high temperatures, high pressures, and high vibrations a sensor is subjected to during operation of the engine. In mechanical systems, conventional sensors used to monitor operating conditions in harsh environments often fail at an extremely high rate and lead to high maintenance costs in maintaining the mechanical system due to limits associated with the materials required to construct the sensors. In addition, conventional sensors typically require a variety of materials bonded together, and the varying limits associated with the varying materials may further complicate sensor design, and may also lead to increased failure rates due to some required materials having low environmental condition limits.
Conventional methods of dealing with the above issues typically involve acknowledging the limits associated with a sensor, the lifetime of the sensor, and that its lifetime and measurement capabilities are limited by the environment within which it is configured. In some systems, conventional methods of dealing with the above issues typically involve fixing a sensor in a location remote from the desired sensing location and estimating operating conditions at the desired sensing location based on the data collected from the remote position.
Consequently, there is a continuing need for improved sensors and sensing methods to address these and other difficulties with conventional sensor technology.

Environmental sensor with tensioned wire exhibiting varying transmission characteristics in response to environmental conditions


In a disk player, a turntable is fixedly installed inside a housing to rotate a disk placed thereon. A disk tray is installed to be capable of moving in and out of the housing to convey the disk toward and away from the turntable. A disk supporter is installed at the disk tray to be capable of moving up and down for supporting the disk. An elastic supporting unit supports the disk supporter by elastically biasing the disk supporter upward with respect to the disk tray. A pivot member pressing the upper surface of the disk is placed on the turntable and concurrently lowers the disk supporter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk player, and more particularly, to a disk player having an improved disk loading mechanism for placing a disk on a turntable.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional disk player for recording/reproducing information using a recording medium such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk or a magnetooptical disk includes, as shown in FIG. 1, a housing 10 and a deck 20 installed in the housing 10 to be capable of pivoting around a hinge 21. A turntable 23 on which a disk 5 is to be placed is coupled with the deck 20 and the turntable 23 is rotated by a spindle motor 25. A disk tray 30 for conveying the disk 5 into and out of the housing 10 is installed in the housing 10.
As shown in FIG. 2, in the conventional disk player described as above, when the disk tray 30 on which the disk 5 is placed is inserted into the housing 10, the deck 20 located at an angle pivots upward and thus the disk 5 is securely placed on the turntable 23. Here, since the deck 20 pivots around the hinge 21, the size of the housing 10 is required to take up enough space to allow pivoting of the deck therein. Also, there is a possibility that the disk 5 may not be precisely placed on the turntable 23. Further, since the structure of the above pivoting mechanism is complicated, the assembly thereof is difficult.


A Precision Optical Intracellular Near Field Imaging/Spectroscopy Technology (POINT/NANOPOINT) is a high-resolution instrument for analyzing and comparing molecular characteristics of cells. A nanosensor array is provided which is capable of imaging inner regions of living cells without destroying its natural environment and providing new information about molecular makeup of cells. The POINT probe collects data from high-resolution imagery, providing an imaging tool for investigating cells at sub-cellular and molecular levels. Data are then incorporated into a signature facilitating molecular analysis of diseases. The POINT probe non-invasively penetrates cell membranes to image insides of intact cells allowing the POINT probe to collect data without destroying cell structures. The probe provides cellular imaging to enable the viewing of both imaging and spectroscopy of internal regions of cells. The POINT system may be attached to existing microscopes to achieve a very high resolution.

Conventional Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscope (SNOM or NSOM) probes are presently designed to move over the surface of the object being measured, maintaining a constant probe distance from a surface at the nanometer scale while scanning across the surface to obtain nanometer scale resolution images. Scanning near-field microscopy (SNOM) is an optical technique capable of resolving beyond the diffraction limit, where resolutions in the 20 nm range have been demonstrated. The SNOM technology has been applied to cells and to plasma membranes. The high-resolution imagery revealed detail of the cytoskeletal actin not obtainable by any other methods.
SNOM has achieved nano-resolution scales where single molecules have been studied. Near-field techniques circumvent the diffraction limit imposed on conventional light microscopes to obtain sub-wavelength spatial resolution. Currently SNOM instruments are not capable of penetrating into a living cell or imaging intracellular regions.
Needs exist for a system capable of collecting data from high-resolution imagery providing a unique imaging tool for the investigation of cells at the sub-cellular and molecular level.

Precision optical intracellular near field imaging/spectroscopy technology


A water-absorbent wrap for power cables, communication cables, and like cables includes a calendered, single layer nonwoven formed of a carded mixture of super water-absorbent fibers and cohesive carrier fibers. The calendered nonwoven is characterized by a thickness of not more than 2.0 mm, a basis weight of not more than 200 gsm, a swelling height of at least 3 mm, a swelling speed of at least 1 mm/1st min., and a tensile strength of at least 20 N/5 cm.

The present invention relates to a material made with super-absorbent fibers which may be wrapped around a cable for the purpose of blocking water passage therethrough, and more particularly to such a material which is or includes a single layer nonwoven.
In recent years, a number of different moisture absorbent wrapping materials have been developed for the specific purpose of protecting power cables and telecommunication (telecom) cables against moisture. All of these wraps or tapes contain super-absorbent polymers which provides the water-blocking capacity. Such super-absorbing polymers are well known in a variety of different arts. The super-absorbent materials are preferably of acrylic, starch or cellulosic origin, although others may be used in place of or in conjunction therewith. In many instances, the absorbent wrap is a laminate formed of two or three layers of nonwovens or films (e.g., polyester) with one of these layers being made of a super-absorbent polymer, typically an intermediate layer with the super-absorbent polymer being in the form of a powder.
The known absorbent wraps have not proven to be entirely satisfactory. In particular, the conventional wraps are too thick for the smaller diameter cables (e.g., fiber optic cables of less than 12 mm O.D.), which preferably utilize a wrap having a thickness not in excess of two millimeters. The conventional wraps also pose a potential source of trouble during cable production due to "powdering" (that is, the loss of super-absorbent polymer powder from the laminate) and due to the limited peel strength of the laminates. Additionally, the swelling capacity of the super-absorbent polymers is limited due to the necessary cohesion of the various outer layers of the laminate.
The cable market, and especially the telecom cable market, requires ever thinner absorbent wraps, with ever improved absorbent properties (e.g., swelling speed and height) and with sufficient tensile strength and ease of handling for improved machineability on the various types of modern cable-manufacturing equipment.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a single layer nonwoven absorbent material having a thickness not more than 2 millimeters.
Another object is to provide such an absorbent material exhibiting a high swelling speed and height.
A further object is to provide such an absorbent material which, because it is a single layer nonwoven, is easy to handle on industrial cable-wrapping equipment.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such an absorbent material having a high tensile strength enabling its use on conventional modern cable-wrapping equipment.
It is another object to provide a water-absorbent laminate made from such an absorbent material.


A process of making a reworkable thermal interface material is described. The reworkable thermal interface material is bonded to a die and a heat sink. The reworkable thermal interface material includes a phase-change polymer matrix material. Other materials in the reworkable thermal interface material can include heat transfer particles and low melting-point metal particles. The phase-change polymer matrix material includes a melting temperature below a selected temperature and the heat transfer particles have a melting temperature substantially above the selected temperature. The heat transfer particles act as a spacer limit, which holds the thermal interface material to a given bond-line thickness during use.

An integrated circuit (IC) die is often fabricated into a microelectronic device such as a processor. A thermal interface is often needed to allow the die to reject heat more efficiently. In "bare die" technology, a mobile IC such as a processor for a notebook computer, has a small heat sink attached to the back surface of the die.
Various techniques have been employed to transfer heat away from a bare die. These techniques typically include passive and active configurations. One passive configuration involves a heat spreader in thermal contact with the backside of a packaged die.
A heat spreader is employed to spread and dissipate the heat generated by a die, to minimize concentrated high-heat locations within the die. A heat spreader is attached proximate the backside of the die with a thermally conductive material, such as a thermal interface material (TIM). A TIM can include, for example, thermally conductive gels, thermal greases, or solders.