A method includes obtaining training data for a plurality of patients of a patient population. The training data includes training blood glucose history data including treatment doses of insulin administered by the patients of the patient population and one or more outcome attributes associated with each treatment dose. The method also includes identifying, for each patient of the patient population, one or more optimum treatment doses of insulin from the treatment doses yielding favorable outcome attributes. The method also includes receiving patient-state information for the treated patient, determining a next recommended treatment dose of insulin for the treated patient based on one or more of the identified optimum treatment doses associated with the patients of the patient population having training patient-state information similar to the patient-state information for the treated patient, and transmitting the next recommended treatment dose to a portable device associated with the treated patient.

According to the most recent data from the American Diabetes Association and CDC, more than 29 million Americans have diabetes. But even more importantly, another 86 million—or one in three—have pre-diabetes. Without effective intervention, it is estimated that 15%-20% of these individuals will develop diabetes within five years. The International Diabetes Federation reports the global incidence of diabetes at 387 million people. It is expected that this number will grow to 592 million people over the next 20 years.
Diabetics often have higher rates of cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, neurological, thyroid diseases, and ophthalmological complications compared to people without diabetes. Patients with diabetes often may receive a wide array of medications including injectable long-acting and rapid-acting insulins, inhaled insulin, oral medications, and other injectable anti-diabetic medications. Among the different classes of medications, some medications are contraindicated for pregnancy or patients with severe kidney disease. Moreover, other medications which are appropriate for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, are contraindicated for Type 1 diabetes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A self-aligned trench DMOS transistor structure of the present invention comprises a self-aligned source structure and a self-aligned trench gate structure, in which the self-aligned source structure comprises a p-base diffusion region, a self-aligned n+ source diffusion ring, a self-aligned p+ contact diffusion region, and a self-aligned source contact window; the self-aligned trench gate structure comprises a self-aligned silicided conductive gate structure, a self-aligned polycided conductive gate structure or a self-aligned polycided trenched conductive gate structure. The self-aligned trench DMOS transistor structure as described is fabricated by using only one masking photoresist step and can be easily scaled down to obtain a high-density trench DMOS power transistor with ultra low on-resistance, low gate-interconnection parasitic resistance, and high device ruggedness.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a trench DMOS power transistor and its manufacturing method and, more particularly, to a self-aligned trench DMOS transistor structure and its manufacturing methods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A DMOS power transistor with very low on-resistance has become an important device for applications in battery protection, switching, linear regulator, amplifier and power management. Basically, the DMOS power transistor structure can be categorized into two groups: planar DMOS transistor structure and trench DMOS transistor structure. The planar DMOS transistor structure with MOS inversion channel being formed in a planar semiconductor surface, in general, exhibits a larger cell area and a larger turn-on resistance as compared to the trench DMOS transistor structure. Therefore, the trench DMOS transistor structure becomes a major trend for applications in fabricating DMOS power transistor and insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT).
FIG. 1A shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a trench DMOS transistor structure of the prior art, in which a shallow trench is formed in a portion of an N− epitaxial silicon layer 125 on an N+ silicon substrate 120 by using a masking photoresist step. The shallow trench being lined with a thermal oxide layer 112 and then filled with a doped polycrystalline-silicon layer 114 as a conductive gate layer is formed to isolate p-diffusion (or p-base) regions 105. A critical masking photoresist step (not shown) is performed to selectively form n+ source diffusion rings 130. Another critical masking photoresist step (not shown) is performed to pattern an oxide layer 140 over a shallow trench region and on a portion of nearby n+ source diffusion rings 130 and, thereafter, a self-aligned ion implantation is performed to form p+ contact diffusion regions 132 for forming p-base contacts.
Apparently, the doping concentration in the p+ contact diffusion regions 132 must be smaller than that in the n+ source diffusion rings 130. A metal layer 150 is formed over a surface portion of the n+ source diffusion rings 130 and the p+ contact diffusion regions 132 and is patterned to form a source electrode. It is clearly seen that two critical masking photoresist steps are required for forming the n+ source diffusion rings 130 and the p+ diffusion regions 132 and result in difficulty in scaling down the dimension of the p-diffusion regions 105. Moreover, the parasitic resistance of the doped polycrystalline-silicon layer 114 as a gate metal layer is very large for gate interconnection of many trench DMOS transistor cells and may result in a slower switching speed.
FIG. 1B shows a schematic cross-sectional view of another trench DMOS transistor structure of the prior art, in which a large p-diffusion region 204 is formed in an N− epitaxial silicon layer 202 on an N+ silicon substrate 200 before forming the shallow trench; a gate-oxide layer 206g is lined over the shallow trench and a top portion of silicon surface; a doped polycrystalline-silicon layer 210 is formed to fill a portion of the shallow trench; and a thermal oxide layer 215 is then formed on a top portion of the doped polycrystalline-silicon layer 210. Similarly, a critical masking photoresist step (not shown) is performed to form n+ source diffusion rings 212 and another critical masking photoresist step (not shown) is performed to simultaneously pattern an oxide layer 214 and the gate-oxide layer 206g. There is no p+ diffusion region 132 as shown in FIG. 1A to improve contact resistance between the p-diffusion regions 204 and the source metal layer 216. It is clearly visualized that two critical masking photoresist steps are also required to form the n+ source diffusion rings 212 and the contacts for the source metal layer 216.
Comparing FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, it is clearly seen that the overlapping region between the n+ source diffusion ring 212 and the doped polycrystalline-silicon layer 210 for FIG. 1B is reduced and this reduces the gate to source capacitance and improves leakage current between the n+ source diffusion rings 212 and the doped polycrystalline-silicon layer 210. Apparently, the trench DMOS transistor structure shown in FIG. 1B is also difficult to be scaled down due to two critical masking photoresist steps used to define the n+ source diffusion rings 212 and the source metal contacts.
It is therefore a major objective of the present invention to offer a self-aligned trench DMOS transistor structure being fabricated without critical masking photoresist steps.
It is another objective of the present invention to offer a self-aligned trench DMOS transistor structure with a heavily-doped source diffusion ring and a heavily-doped p-base contact diffusion region to improve device ruggedness.
It is a further objective of the present invention to offer a self-aligned trench DMOS transistor structure with different self-aligned conductive gate structures to reduce parasitic gate-interconnection resistance and capacitance.
It is yet an important objective of the present invention to offer a high-density, self-aligned trench DMOS transistor structure with a scalable p-base dimension.

Self-aligned trench DMOS transistor structure and its manufacturing methods


A system and method for classifying touches input into a four-wire resistive touch screen is presented. A voltage may be applied to electrodes in a layer making it the active layer. A first set of four voltages may be measured by a voltage sensing circuit from electrodes in the active layer of a touch screen and a passive layer of a touch screen. The voltage may be switched from electrodes of the first layer to the electrodes of the second layer. A voltage sensing circuit may measure a second set of four voltages nearly simultaneously from electrodes in the active layer and the passive layer of a touch screen. Each set of measured voltages from the passive layer and or the active may be processed. A rule set may be applied to the processing results. An indication of the type of touch that was applied to the touch screen may be provided and optionally including quantitative results.

The present invention relates to touch screen devices and to classifying touch gestures entered to a touch screen. In particular, it relates to classifying a dual touch gesture input to a four-wire resistive touch screen.
Generally, the structure of a 4-wire resistive touch screen is well known. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical 4-wire resistive touch screen. The illustrated 4-wire resistive touch screen 100 has a first plastic film layer 110 (a Y layer) with a transparent resistive coating on a bottom side, and a pair of electrodes 112 at the vertical edges of the layer. Spaced apart from the Y layer is a second plastic film layer 120 (X layer) with a transparent, resistive coating on a top side, and a pair of electrodes 122 at the horizontal edges of the layer. Below the two plastic film layers 110, 120 is an LCD screen 130 that displays image content that is viewed on the touch screen device.
During a typical classical operation, a user touches a point on the screen which causes the Y layer to deflect and make contact with the X layer. The X, Y coordinates of the point of contact can be determined during two phases of operation. In a first phase, voltage is driven on a first layer (say, the Y layer) and a voltage is read from a single electrode of the second layer (the X layer). In a second phase, a voltage is driven on the second layer (the X layer), and a voltage is read from a single electrode of the first layer (Y layer). A high impedance input device is used to read voltages from the sensing layer in each phase, which minimizes voltage losses in the sensing layer. In other terms, the layer that is driven by the applied voltage may be called the "active" layer, and the sensing layer may be called the "passive" layer. Thus, both input voltages are digitized and converted to a value representing the point of contact in the coordinate axis at which the layers touch each other.
It may be desirable for a user to interact with the screen via multiple points of contact. Multi-touch cases present additional challenges. When multiple touches are performed, voltage losses can occur in the sensing layer and, therefore, the voltages present at electrodes of the sensing layer no longer directly represent the point of contact in the driving layer.
Some touch screen systems have attempted to detect dual positions of contact. The X and Y layers in other systems may be provided with complex conductive patterns that are expensive to manufacture. There is a need for another less complex and expensive method and system for classifying gestures performed on conventional 4 wire resistive touch screens.

System and method for dual-touch gesture classification in resistive touch screens


The present invention relates to a cleaning liquid containing a component (A): a compound represented by the following formula (1), component (B): alkylamine, component (C): polycarboxylic acid, and component (D): ascorbic acid, in which a mass ratio of the component (A) to a total mass of the component (B) and the component (C) is 1 to 15, and in the formula (1), R1, R2, and R3 each have a definition same as the definition described in the description,

A semiconductor wafer is produced by deposition of a metal film working as a wiring and an interlayer dielectric on a silicon substrate, subsequently conducting a surface planarization by means of a chemical mechanical polishing (hereinafter referred to as "CMP") step using an abrasive composed of an aqueous slurry containing abrasive fine particles, and then stacking new layers on the planarized surface. In microfabrication of the semiconductor wafer, each layer is required to have planarity with high precision, and importance of the planarization treatment by means of CMP is very high.
In recent production step of a semiconductor device, a copper wiring made of a copper film having a low resistance value has been introduced in order to increase the operating speed and density of device integration.
Copper is suitable for microfabrication because of having good workability. On the other hand, oxidation and corrosion of copper wiring in the CMP step has been a problem, since copper is easily corroded by acid components or alkaline components.
On the surface of the semiconductor wafer after the CMP step, many fine particles such as colloidal silica used in the CMP step and organic residues derived from corrosion inhibitor contained in the slurry are present. Therefore, in order to remove the fine particles and the organic residues, the semiconductor wafer after the CMP step is subjected to a cleaning step.
As the cleaning step in the production process of a semiconductor device, in which the step is represented by the cleaning step after the CMP step, a cleaning step using a cleaning liquid is often adopted. For example, Patent Literatures 1 to 6 disclose a cleaning liquid which is used in a cleaning step during a production process of a semiconductor device.

Cleaning liquid, cleaning method, and method for producing semiconductor wafer


A sequencing game is provided with a housing and a microprocessor disposed within the housing. A plurality of manually operable controls are affixed to the housing and are in communication with the microprocessor. The microprocessor generates and sensorially renders a sequence of events, wherein each event is related to one of the manually operable controls. Each manually operable control is externally acutable by a participant for responding to said sequence of signals. The microprocessor further compares the participant's response to said sequence of events for determining the correctness of the participant's response. The difficultly of the game is increased with a motor that drives wheels which move the game while the sequence of events are being sensorially rendered.

Electronic tone, light, and music producing games are known. Such games automatically sequence through a plurality of events (such as tones or lights, or both). Upon which the game participants must recreate the plurality of events by hitting various buttons or switches on the device. When the participants matches the identical pattern or sequence, the game may continue by increasing the difficultly of the game. The difficultly of the game may be increased by decreasing the interval between events or increases the number of events the user must match.
One such game is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,087 to Morrison et al. and is directed to the well known pattern matching game "SIMON" that Is manufactured by Milton Bradley. The '087 patent is directed to a game that includes a plurality of push-button switches, each associated with a tone or light, or both. The device generates a sequence of tones and lights associated with different push-button switches on the game. The generated sequence of events must be repeated by a participant by depressing the proper push-button switches. If the participant correctly repeats the sequence, the machine adds another entry to the sequence and plays the lengthened sequence which must again be repeated by the participant. This process may be repeated until a predetermined lengthened sequence is met or the participant makes an error.
In another game described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,419, the game has a first participant enter in a sequence which must be followed by a second participant. In addition the game can generate a sequence of tones or lights that rotate in a clockwise or counter clockwise rotation around the game board. However, the game itself is a stationary game and does not move.
Other pattern matting or sequence matching board games may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,855,513 and 4,363,482. However, none of these patents call for a moving board game that requires a participant to match the generated sequence of tones, lights, or music.


A knowledge-based system is defined that ensures network radiatity during reconfiguration of a power distribution system. Network radiality heuristics idenufy a pair of switching operations that will preserve radiality. A line section table specifies the line section identifier, start bus, end bus, line section type, and switch existence for each line section in the network. A bus table identifies the line section that supplies the bus and those line sections that are fed by the bus for each bus in the network. A matrix-structured knowledge base with five distinct rule bases is used. The line section and bus tables must be updated after any switching operations are enacted. Extensive simulations of the knowledge-based system revealed that a solution was found in a time-efficient manner. This knowledge-based system enhances network reliability and hence prevents power outages. Also, the knowledge-based system can be used to preserve radiality during optimization of power distribution system operations for different objectives.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to utilizing a knowledge-based system to ensure network radiality during reconfiguration of a radial power distribution system.
2. Description of Prior Art
Previous methods for distribution system reconfiguration employed one of three possible techniques to ensure that network radiality is preserved:    1. Constraints are included that ensure a bus's supply is equal to its demand.    2. The product of power flows for line sections about a loop is equal to 0. Also, the product of binary variables representing switch status, such that 1 is closed and 0 is open, for line sections about a loop is equal to 0.    3. A branch exchange is performed. Closing one line section results in the opening of another.
The first two methods can only be implemented with numerical methods. It is necessary to ensure that the supply and demand of each bus is equal, but solution through this technique is inefficient when employed in conjunction with a knowledge-based method. It would be necessary to calculate a power flow equation including losses for every bus in the network each time a switching operation is examined. Therefore, it is somewhat impractical to implement these techniques.
The third method, which involves a branch exchange, can be somewhat inefficient in terms of solution time during optimization of power distribution system operations if not initialized by a good starting point, but can be employed in knowledge-based methods. Roytelman et al proposed a simple formulation that assumes all line sections are equipped with a tie or sectionalizer. Their algorithm only determines which neighbor to open next if a previously open switch is closed. Other previously proposed methods assume all line sections are equipped with a switch; this is an oversimplification of the reconfiguration problem. Loosely incorporating the work of Roytelman et al, the knowledge-based system improves the branch exchange method previously applied to the reconfiguration problem. Line sections equipped with a switch are recognized and a required switch closing, associated with a switch opening, is found or a required switch opening, associated with a switch closing, is found. Radiality is ensured, even though the system is initially represented as a meshed network.
3. Objects and Advantages
Accordingly besides the objects and advantages described in this patent, some objects and advantages of the matrix-structured knowledge-based system for network radiality are                The intelligent system is implemented with knowledge-based methods and without numerical methods. This reduces solution time, which is important due to time constraints in distribution system reconfiguration.        The intelligent system does not assume that all line sections are equipped with a tie or sectionalizer.        The intelligent system does not assume that all line sections are equipped with a switch. The line section table keeps track of which line sections are equipped with a switch and whether there is an open or closed switch on that line section.        The intelligent system does not assume all line sections are the same. The line section table keeps track of whether a line section is a source, terminal, or intermediate node. This affects switching decisions because the intelligent system should not isolate a terminal node or not use all sources to supply the network.        The intelligent system finds an initially open switch to close to assume the load transfer necessitated by a switch opening. Alternatively, the intelligent system finds an initially closed switch to open because of the load transfer necessitated by a switch closing.        The intelligent system does a breadth first search in finding a switch to open because this increases the likelihood of finding a corresponding switch to open in greater proximity of the switch being closed. Alternatively, the intelligent system does a breadth first search in finding a switch to close because this increases the likelihood of finding a corresponding switch to close in greater proximity of the switch being opened.        The intelligent system checks that all buses of the subsystem are supplied.        The intelligent system checks for the formation of isolated loops.        The intelligent system for network radiality can be used during distribution system reconfiguration immediately after failure of power system components, during system optimization procedures, during network maintenance, and after power outages.        The intelligent system enhances network reliability and can prevent power outages, which cost individuals and organizations tremendous productivity, time, and money.
Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

Network radiality in reconfiguration of a radial power distribution system using a matrix-structured knowledge-based system


A power supply system of the present invention includes: a power generation system (101); a power storage unit (107) configured to supply electric power to the power generation system (101) and an external electric power load (105); and a controller (110) configured to, in a case where it is predicted that at least one of the sum of activation electric power of the power generation system (101) and power consumption of the external electric power load (105) when activating the power generation system (101) and the sum of stop electric power of the power generation system (101) and the power consumption of the external electric power load (105) when stopping the power generation of the power generation system (101) exceeds the upper limit electric power receivable from an electric power system (104), supply the electric power of the power storage unit (107) to at least one of the power generation system (101) and the external electric power load (105) such that the electric power amount supplied from the electric power system (104) does not exceed the upper limit electric power.

Conventionally, in a power generation system, such as a fuel cell or a gas engine, if the sum of activation electric power necessary to activate the power generation system and power consumption of an external electric power load of the power generation system exceeds contract electric power, a breaker trips, and the power generation system is forced to stop its activation. In order to prevent the breaker from tripping when activating the power generation system, a power generation system is proposed, which does not execute the activation if the sum of the activation electric power of the power generation system and the power consumption of the external electric power load exceeds the contract electric power (see PTL 1, for example).

Power supply system, controller of power supply system, method of operating power supply system, and method of controlling power supply system

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


The present disclosure discloses an input method and an input apparatus. The input apparatus is able to communicate with an electronic apparatus. The electronic apparatus includes a touch control display unit. The method includes a recognizing device in the input apparatus recognizing to obtain a first shape under press of a contact pressure of the input end based on a light-reflective encode coating when the deformable input end of the input apparatus contacts with the touch control display unit; the recognizing device obtaining a deformation parameter of the input end based on the first shape; and a transmitting device in the input apparatus transmitting the deformation parameter to the electronic apparatus to be processed by the electronic apparatus.

This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 201210491161.6 filed on Nov. 27, 2012, and to Chinese patent application No. 201310403596.5 filed on Sep. 6, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to the field of communications and electronics, and in particular to input method and input apparatus.
With the progressive development of the touch control display technique, the resistive display screen has been substituted by the capacitive display screen which is able to display requirements of the user more clearly.
People can operate, for example, draw pictures, write signatures or the like on the touch control input unit of the electronic apparatus by input devices such as a touch control input pen or the like, the operation is very convenient.
In the prior arts, when the user writes words or draws pictures on the touch control display screen by using the touch control input pen, the position of the corresponding touch control point is determined by the variation of the capacitance value at the touch control point on the capacitive screen by touching the touch control capacitive screen by the human body so as to output displayed effect.
The inventor of this application found at least the following technical problems in the prior arts in the procedure of implementing the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application:
Since when people operate on the touch control display unit using the touch control input pen in the prior arts, the position of the touch control point is recognized by the variation of the capacitance value on the touch control display unit and the output effect is displayed, display effect of only one point can be displayed, and when the sizes of the contact areas on the touch control display unit with the input pen are different, there is a technical problem that the size and degree of weight of the contact point cannot be recognized effectively so that the effect of the pen contacting of the user cannot be responded accurately.
Since there is the above-described technical problem, when the user uses a capacitive pen of the prior arts to write on the touch control display screen, there is no real operational sense and the experience of the user is relatively poor.


Systems and method for generating reliable renewable energy using mass airflow generated from subterranean locations, such as the movement of railcars (for example, trains, both passenger and cargo) inside an underground tunnel are provided. Micro mass airflow collection equipment (MACE) units may be strategically placed in the underground tunnels and may be used to generate AC or DC power from the mass airflow created by the movement of the trains. The electricity generated from the MACE units can then be used, for example, for propulsion power to reduce the amount of electricity required to be purchased from other sources, such as the local utility company, thereby reducing costs and demand on power generation from non-renewable sources.

Wind power is a free and inexhaustible ("renewable") source of energy. Unlike fossil fuels such as coal and oil, which exist in a finite supply and which must be extracted from the earth at great environmental cost, wind turbines harness a boundless supply of kinetic energy in the form of wind. The wind turbines are located above-ground, typically in wind farms (or wind parks) which are a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles.
One area in which wind power has not been harnessed is in subterranean locations, such as underground tunnels in which railcars, such as trains, pass through. Currently, existing equipment that is used to harness above ground wind power is not capable of harnessing subterranean wind power due to many factors, such as size constraints in subterranean locations.
Consequently, what is needed is equipment that can be used in subterranean locations, like underground tunnels, that can function in enclosed spaces and be subjected to substantial impact from secondary turbulence and other site variables which are not typically encountered in existing wind parks.

Generation of renewable energy from mass airflow in underground tunnels


A metal-core weld wire usable for gas shielded arc welding gapless joints on low carbon and low alloy galvanized and galvanealed steels. The metal-core weld wire includes a low carbon steel sheath surrounding a core composition. In one embodiment, the low carbon steel sheath includes, by total weight of the metal-core weld wire, between approximately 0.01-0.03% C, and the core composition includes, by total weight of the metal-core weld wire, between approximately 0.05-0.20% Ti, between approximately 0.05-1.00% Nb, Fe powder, and Mn to the extent that the metal-core weld wire includes between approximately 0.1-1.0% Mn wherein the metal-core weld wire includes between approximately 0.1-1.0% Si. The core composition is, by total weight of the metal-core weld wire, between approximately 0.001-12.0%. The metal-core weld wire provides, at weld rates up to 150 cm/min, reduced arc ionization potential and spatter, and improved arc stability and shielding. The metal-core weld wire produces, at weld rates up to 150 cm/min, weld deposits having reduced blow holes and porosity, no liquid metal embrittlement, and reduced weld pool surface tension resulting in an improved wetting characteristic.

The invention relates generally to metal-cored weld wires, and more specifically to metal-core weld wires usable for gas shielded arc welding low carbon and low alloy galvanized and galvannealed steels at relatively high weld rates to produce improved weld deposits on overlapping or butted workpieces with no gap therebetween.
In many gas shielded arc welding applications, low carbon and low alloy galvanized and galvannealed steels are welded in single pass, high weld rate operations that require weld deposits on gapless joints with minimum hot cracking, minimum blow hole formation and substantially no porosity, minimum slag formation and spatter, good wetting characteristic and corrosion resistance, no liquid metal embrittlement, improved impact strength, and a minimum tensile strength of approximately 85,000 psi.
Galvanized steels are formed by coating or depositing zinc on steel in a hot dipping, or a sherardizing, or an electroplating process. The galvanized metal is sometimes annealed to form a galvannealed metal with improved properties including reduced flaking of the coating, which tends to occur during metal forming operations. When welding galvanized and galvannealed metals, however, there is a tendency for zinc vapor to enter into the molten weld pool, which results in a defective weld deposit. More specifically, zinc coating vaporized from the surface of the metal tends to create turbulence in the shielding gas thereby introducing atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen into the weld pool resulting in nitrogen and oxygen contamination of the weld deposit and increased spatter. In addition, zinc vapor is not readily soluble in molten steel, and any vapor that does not escape from the molten weld pool before solidification results in the formation of blow holes and pores in the weld deposit. Blow hole and pore formation are particularly severe when welding joints without a gap between the workpieces since there is limited area for vapor to escape from the molten weld pool.
Galvanized metals are known for improved corrosion resistance, and are used increasingly in the automotive industry for automobile frames, bumpers, axles, cradle assemblies, fenders, and water heaters among other components, which often require welding gapless joints. These metals are generally low carbon and low alloy steels having good press forming characteristics. In some applications, industry uses low carbon and low alloy galvannealed steels with a thickness ranging between approximately 0.030 and 0.250 inches and a coating weight of approximately 45 gm/m.sup.2. The relatively thin gauge steels often must be welded in a single pass at high weld rates to prevent the welding arc from burning through the metal. Assembly line operations also require single pass, high weld rates to improve productivity. Weld rates up to approximately 150 cm/min are sometimes required. At high weld rates, however, the molten weld pool tends to cool relatively rapidly thereby reducing the time for vapor to escape from the weld pool, which increases the formation of blow holes and porosity in the weld deposit. The rapidly cooled weld deposit formed in high weld rates applications tends also to result in a poor weld deposit contour, or wetting characteristic. High weld rates are also a source of turbulence in the shielding gas, which tends to increase the addition of atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen into the weld pool as discussed above.
Presently, galvanized steels are welded with self shielded weld wires containing magnesium and barium. The magnesium displaces nitrogen and oxygen to reduce porosity. But the magnesium also reacts with the zinc coating to cause liquid metal embrittlement, which is unacceptable in many industrial applications. These self shielded wires also produce excessive smoke, which is undesirable, and moreover produce excessive spatter and slag, which must be removed before applying coatings over the weld deposit. Slag formation tends also to prevent vapor from escaping from the molten weld pool resulting in increased blow holes and porosity, which are further increased when welding gapless joints. In addition, barium is considered toxic and creates an unacceptable health hazard.
JP Patent Application No. 61-21432 discusses a solid weld wire for gas shielded arc welding galvanized steels. Solid wires, however, have undesirable deep "finger" penetration and reduced productivity in comparison to metal-core wires. In addition, the solid weld wire of JP Patent Application No. 61-21432 has a relatively high carbon content, which may reduce ductility and increase hot cracking sensitivity and spatter. This solid weld wire also has a relatively high titanium content, which increases slag formation, and includes aluminum, which increases spatter and provides a poor wetting characteristic. The solid weld wire of JP Patent Application No. 61-21432 therefore tends to be expensive and is not suitable for welding at high weld rates.
JP Patent Application No. 1989-3833 discusses a solid weld wire for gas shielded arc welding galvanized steels at high weld rates. JP Patent Application No. 1989-3833, however, teaches that it is undesirable to add aluminum, titanium, silicon and other deoxidizing agents to the solid weld wire because deoxidizing agents allegedly increase the activity of zinc in the molten weld pool resulting in blow hole formation. The solid weld wire of the JP Patent Application No. 1989-3833 also produces slag resulting possibly from the substantial elimination of deoxidizing agents from the weld wire. The solid weld wire of the JP Patent Application No. 1989-3833 includes niobium and vanadium to reduce blow hole and pore formation in cases where gas shielding effectiveness is reduced. The amounts of niobium and vanadium disclosed in JP Patent Application No. 1989-3833, however, result in increased hot cracking and have an adverse affect on ductility. In addition, this solid wire has increased strength and hardenability that results in increased loads on wire drawing dies during manufacture of the weld wire increasing production costs.
In view of the discussion above, there exists a demonstrated need for an advancement in the art of metal-core weld wires.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a novel metal-core weld wire that overcomes problems with the prior art.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel metal-core weld wire usable for gas shielded arc welding low carbon and low alloy galvanized and galvanealed steels at relatively high weld rates to produce improved weld deposits on joints with no gap therebetween.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel a metal-core weld wire usable for gas shielded arc welding relatively thin gauge low alloy and low carbon galvanized and galvanealed steel at relatively high weld rates.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel a metal-core weld wire usable for gas shielded arc welding low alloy and low carbon galvanized and galvanealed steels at weld rates up to 150 cm/min wherein the weld deposit has reduced blow hole and pore formation, no liquid metal embrittlement or hot cracking, improved weld deposit wetting characteristic, improved impact strength and ductility, and improved corrosion resistance, at relatively high weld deposit rates.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel metal-core weld wire usable for gas shielded arc welding low alloy and low carbon galvanized and galvanealed steels wherein the metal-core weld wire produces reduced arc ionization potential, reduced spatter, and improved shielding at relatively high weld deposit rates.
Accordingly, the invention is drawn to a metal-core weld wire usable for gas shielded arc welding low carbon and low alloy galvanized and galvanealed steels. The metal-core weld wire includes a low carbon steel sheath surrounding a core composition. In one embodiment, the low carbon steel sheath includes, by total weight of the metal-core weld wire, between approximately 0.01-0.03% C, and the core composition includes, by total weight of the metal-core weld wire, between approximately 0.05-0.20% Ti and between approximately 0.05-1.00% Nb, wherein the metal-core weld wire includes between approximately 0.40-0.50% Si. In one embodiment, the core composition includes Mn to the extent that the metal-core weld wire includes between approximately 0.1-1.0% Mn, and iron powder. The core composition may also include, by total weight of the metal-core weld wire, between approximately 0.02-1.00% Cu, and in another embodiment between approximately 0.05-0.80% V. The core composition is, by total weight of the metal-core weld wire, between approximately 0.001-12.0%, and in an alternative embodiment between approximately 5.0 and 7.0%. The weld wire provides, at weld rates up to 150 cm/min, reduced arc ionization potential and spatter, and improved arc stability and shielding. The weld wire produces, at weld rates up to 150 cm/min, weld deposits having reduced blow holes and porosity, no liquid metal embrittlement, improved corrosion resistance and ductility, and reduced weld pool surface tension resulting in an improved wetting characteristic when welding gapless joints.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent upon consideration of the following Detailed Description of the Invention with the accompanying drawings, which may be disproportionate for ease of understanding, wherein like structure and steps are referenced by corresponding numerals and indicators.

Metal-core weld wire for welding galvanized steels


A juicer safety device includes a sidearm formed with the container and having a groove in a sidewall, a contact member on an upper surface of a chamber, a spring on the contact member, a position guide member in a sidewall of the chamber, and two projecting ridges with a slide groove between them; a push rod kept in position by the contact member, the position guide member and the two projecting ridges and having a projecting block provided with a stop edge at a first side and a guide block fitting in the slide groove; a cap with a contact block is closed on the container and then rotated to let a contact block insert in the sidearm and push the push rod downwards so that a contact rod of the push rod moves downwards, touching and turning on a micro switch, which turns on the juicer to operate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a juicer safety device, particularly to one provided with a cap closing on a container, and the cap is to be rotated for forcing a contact block to move in a chamber of a sidearm and push down a push rod, which then moves down a contact rod to contact and turn on a micro switch to start the juicer. It is very convenient to use and very safe to handle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional juicers generally have no safety device, starting to operate once turned on, and users often start them with a cap not yet closed on a container, causing smashed fruit bits and fruit juice in the container to splash out. Moreover, if a young child should dare to use it without parents not at the site, the child might put a hand into the container during operation to cause a dangerous accident.
There is a juicer disclosed in a U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,466 B1, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, which includes a main base 1, a container 10 set on the main base 1, a sidearm 11 with a chamber 12 formed at a side of the container 10, a slide groove 110 formed in a top surface of the sidearm 11, and a push button 13 fixed on an upper portion of the sidearm 11. The push button 13 has a inclined front side with a fitting groove 130, a spring 131 placed behind the push button 13, which has one end hooked at an inner wall of the chamber 12 of the sidearm 11. Further, a cap 14 closes on the container 10, and a press projection 140 formed downward on an underside of an outer edge of the cap 14 and fitting in the fitting groove 130 of the push button 13. The press projection 140 has a sloped sidewall, and a connect rod 15 is provided in the chamber 12 of the sidearm 11, having a projection 150 on an upper end, and a spring 151 set under the upper end for pushing the connect rod upward. The connect rod 15 has its lower end inserted in a lower portion of the container 10 and fixed with a contact rod 152, which extends into the main base 1 to be located just on a micro switch 160 fixed in a switch base 16, and a spring 153 is fitted around the contact rod 152 for pushing the connect rod 15 upward.
When the cap 14 is not yet closed on the container 10, the micro switch 160 is OFF, even the switch of the juicer is turned on. The cap 14 has to be closed and let the press projection 140 is aligned to the push button 13 and the slide groove 110, and then the cap 14 is pressed down to force the push button 13 to shift and let the press projection 140 inert into the sidearm 11 with the connect rod 15 kept on moving down so that the contact rod 152 at the lower end of the contact rod 152 may move down to touch the micro switch 160 for turning on the circuit. Then the juicer may start to operate for making juice.
However, the safety structure of the juicer of the U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,466 is rather complicated to handle. When the cap 14 is closed on the container 10, at first the press projection 140 of the cap 14 has to be aligned to the push button 13 and the slide groove 110, and then can be closed on the container 10, and further push the push button to shift so as to insert the press projection 140 in the chamber 12 of the sidearm 11 for pushing down the connect rod 15 to turn on the micro switch 160 to start the juicer. It is rather hard and complicated to handle.


A condensate trap (2) comprises a valve disposed within a casing comprising a peripheral wall (3) and end walls (6,7). Each end wall has an aperture (9,10) for the passage of fluid into and out of the casing, the end walls having mutually parallel flat end surfaces (14) for clamping between two flanges (5) in a fluid line (4). Connection means (11,12) external to the condensate trap (2) connect the flanges (5) allowing simple installation and removal of the trap (2) in existing fluid lines which include a flanged connection.

This invention relates to condensate traps, and in particular to a condensate trap which can be easily inserted into an existing fluid line or removed from a fluid line for servicing, replacement, or permanent removal from the system.
A steam trap which is removable from a fluid line without displacing inlet and outlet fluid flow members is disclosed in GB 1289559. This steam trap comprises a venting valve disposed within a casing, in which the casing is provided with means for connection with the fluid line. This connection means comprises special flanges which must be fitted to the pipe ends to which the steam trap is to be connected.


A method of fabricating a ferroelectric capacitor structure by sequentially depositing a bottom electrode layer, a ferroelectric layer and a top electrode layer on a base structure, optionally with deposition of a layer of a conductive barrier material beneath the bottom electrode layer, to form a capacitor precursor structure, and planarizing the capacitor precursor structure by chemical mechanical polishing to yield the ferroelectric capacitor structure, e.g., a stack capacitor or trench capacitor. The process is carried out without dry etching of the electrode layers or dry etching of the ferroelectric layer, to yield ferroelectric capacitors having a very small feature size, as for example between 0.10 and 0.20 .mu.m.

1. Field of the Invention
The present inventi on relates to a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method having applicability to the manufacture of ferroelectric random acc ess memory capitors.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is currently a major effort in semiconductor companies, world-wide, to commercialize high dielectric constant and ferroelectric thin films in advanced DRAMs and ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAMs), respectively. These materials include BaSrTiO.sub.3 (hST) for DRAMs and PbZrTiO.sub.3 (PZT) and SrBi.sub.2 Ti.sub.2 O.sub.9 (SBT) for FeRAMs.
It is well known that these materials require electrodes made from noble metals or noble metal alloys such as Pt, Ir, IrO.sub.2, Pt-Ru, etc., and sub-micron patterning of both the noble metals and the ferroelectric films is very difficult because of the absence of volatile products for the elemental constituents. State-of-the-art dry etching processes for Pt and Ir are known to have fundamental difficulties due to the predominantly physical (not chemical) mechanism for material removal, resulting in formation of unwanted structures (sometimes called "ears") at the edges of the electrodes.
Besides the difficulties in patterning sub-micron capacitors of this type, for high memory density it is also important to fabricate the capacitors directly over a conductive plug to contact transistors, in order to reduce the area of the memory cell. This geometry (capacitor over plug) is also known as a stack capacitor configuration. For the conventionally employed materials, e.g., polysilicon or tungsten for the plug, a barrier layer is needed to prevent oxidation of the plug and diffusion of the plug material (p-Si or W) through the noble metal bottom electrode. To overcome such problems, it is desirable to use geometric means to protect the plug/barrier/electrode interfaces from exposure to oxidation.
An alternative to the stack capacitor is a trench capacitor, which utilizes an enhanced surface area capacitor on the walls of a trench that is etched directly into doped silicon. In such trench capacitors, the bottom electrode contact is not to a conductive plug (p-Si or W), but to the conductive substrate itself, and the requirements for the baprier are similar to the stack onfiguration. In trench capacitor architecture, the memory cell's transistors are formed on the surface of wafer adjacent to the top of the trench capacitor.
Ferroelectric capacitors planarized using chemical mechanical polishing are also more versatile for monolithic integration of ferroelectric memory or dynamic random access memory (DRAM) with logic IC ("embedded memory"), since the 4-6 levels of metal needed for logic IC's places additional demands on the planarity of the underlying structures, compounded by the need for surface flatness in high resolution microlithography, in ord er to stay within the aligner's specified depth of focus.
An additional constraint is economic. It is essential to minimize the number of processing steps as much as possible, and to achieve the highest possible yield for IC devices that are manufactured.
By way of background to the ensuing description of the present invention, a description is set out below of machines used in conventional CMP process operations, polishing pads and slurry compositions used in chemical mechanical processing.
Three types of mechanical, rotating actions are typically employed in conventional CMP machines. One such type has a rotating wafer carrier. Another revolves the abrasive pad. A third type spins both the wafer carrier and the abrasive pad simultaneously. The polishing pad is presoaked and continually rewet with a slurry consisting of various particles suspended in a solution. The polishing particles range in size from 30 to 1100 nanometers. The suspension solution generally comprises a diluted base or acid for polishing oxide and metals respectively. Upon completion of the planarization, the wafers go through a post-CMP clean process in which the residual slurry, ground oxide/metal particles, and other potential contaminants are removed. Most IC manufacturers use a combination of deionized (DI) water rinses and nitrogen air drying to accomplish the post-CMP decontamination.
The two most common uses of CMP are oxide and metal (tungsten) plug planarization. The two most essential components of the CMP process are the slurry and polishing pad.
The polishing pad, generally a polyurethane-based material, performs two primary functions. The polymeric foam cell walls of the pad aid in removal of reaction products at the wafer surface and the pores within the pad assist in supplying slurry to the pad/wafer interface.
Progressively more research efforts have focused on further understanding empirical results of the intimate contact between the pad and the pre-planarization surface. Several "peculiarities" were originally noticed in the material removal rate (RR) as a function of time, pressure, and velocity. Many CMP users noticed that the RR decreased tremendously as high throughput processes were attempted. Research showed that deformation of the pad resulted from the brittle, hard surface of the IC surfaces. The asperity of the pads, or surface roughness due to the type of pad material, the density of "pockets", and abrasive characteristics, was found to decline due to pad layer removal. To alleviate this problem, called "glazing", the pad was conditioned after an experimentally determined amount of time, or wafer runs. The conditioner was composed of a base material (metal), a diamond grit (for cutting), and a grit-bonding material (Ni plating). The plating bonded the diamond grit to the base material. The conditioner then effectively removed the top layer of the pad until excess, non-desired particles were removed and the nominal surface characteristics of the pad were present. Although this approach allowed the same pads to be used for an extended amount of time, it also resulted in other complications.
Specifically, the physical bonding of the diamonds and base material ruptured relatively easily during the conditioning process. New methods of bonding were pursued as well as enhanced post-conditioning cleaning. When the diamonds were chemically bonded to the base material, the additional strength made grit detachment less prominent. The new bonding method allowed a factor of ten more wafers to be polished with the same conditioning pads as compared to the number that were able to be polished with the physically grit-bonded pads.
Pad conditioning plays a larger role in planarization of oxide than in planarization of metals since metals tend to have a higher degree of hardness in relation to the pad material.
To aid in transporting slurry to the pad/wafer interface, new pad structures have been designed. Karaki-Doy and other developers have designed polishing pads with continuous grooves in concentric ellipses across the entire pad. This structure was found to deliver the slurry more uniformly to the interface and to augmented the amount of debris removal resulting from the CMP process. Most conventional pads consist of "pockets" within the polyurethane which are prone to clogging due to residual debris discharged during the process. Consequently, Karaki-Doy and other developers placed the grooves in the surface of the pad, and noticed an increased longevity in the conditioning-to-conditioning life of their pads over common types of pads.
Another key element in the amenabilty of the pad to planarize uniformly is the IC device density and relative layer heights (critical dimensions, CD) of the structure undergoing CMP. CMP tends to polish smaller, individual features faster than larger, more densely packed features. The oxide removal rate over features 15 mm in width is 60-80% greater than the oxide removal rate over features four times that width. Denser or larger features tend to distribute applied load pressure over a larger area than smaller features. Since the removal rate and pressure are directly related in the direct contact mode, the removal rate decreases since the effective, local pressure decreases. The same principles apply when adjacent layers have a larger height contrast. "Taller" features will be planarized quicker, depending on other dimensions and the proximity to other devices.
The foregoing factors add complexity to IC design. If IC manufacturing processes require CMP procedures, device dimensions and density are critical and require close scrutiny.
The slurry composition used in CMP comprises abrasive particles suspended in a solvent, or solution. Key factors in the effectiveness of the slurry include particle size and shape, solution pH, weight percent solids of the slurry, the quantity of the slurry delivered, and the reaction time involved.
The purpose of the slurry is simple, yet understanding and modeling all the mechanical and chemical reactions involved is extremely difficult. Essentially, the surface of the material being polished is chemically altered to a softer composition which is then mechanically removed by the pad and slurry abrasives. Thus, the slurry provides both chemical and mechanical forces in the CMP process. Oxide slurries are usually KOH-- or NH.sub.4 OH-based with a fumed silica abrasive and a high pH. Metal slurries are relatively new and largely experimental, yet the most common are ferric nitrate with an alumina abrasive and low pH. Some polysilicon and polyimide slurries exist, but are still in the prototype and developmental stages.
To date, most of the research devoted to development of slurry compositions has focused on oxide slurries instead of metal slurries. Due the numerous desirable characteristics of tungsten plugs, more attention is being directed to development of selective metal slurries. IBM has developed metal slurries with a tungsten:oxide selectivity of 120:1. This type of planarization is essential to the fabrication of multilevel metals and interlevel connects. Ideally the slurries investigated will produce high removal rates, high selectivity, local uniformity, and good planarity. Since "perfect" slurries do not currently exist, inevitable trade-offs have made in evolving acceptable commercial slurry formulations.
Due to the chemical nature of CMP, various studies have evaluated the influence of differing amounts of slurry introduced at the wafer/pad interface. In the case of oxide slurries, it is believed that the water in the solution reacts with the silicon oxide in the reaction as follows EQU (--Si--O--Si--)+H.sub.2 O=>2(--Si--OH)
This equation shows the base portion of the entire, repetitive chemical structure (. . . --Si--O--Si--Si--O--Si-- . . . , OH--Si-- . . . --Si--OH) for simplicity. The reaction at the interface primarily occurs between molecules on the surface of the wafer and the silica particles in the slurry, since water has a low diffusivity in silicon oxide. Increasing the temperature directly increases the removal rate since the diffusivity of the water rises (specifically the diffusion constant of water in oxide). The most effective pH levels for oxide planarization lie between 9.7 and 11.4.
In the case of metal slurries, the composition is even more critical. Typical slurries incorporate an oxidizer or naturally dissolved oxygen additives to adjust pH levels, and either alumina or colloidal silica abrasives. The oxidizer changes the oxidation state of the metal and consequently produces metal ions. The top oxidized metal layer is more brittle and easily removed with the embedded abrasive particles. If the oxidation potential is too aggressive or the resulting metal compound too soluble, metal corrosion can occur as a result of wet etching. Alloys, galvanic actions, and precise oxidation states (oxidizers) are employed to slow down wet etching and limit the metal corrosion.
Two other key issues relating to the choice of slurries deal with post-CMP clean-up and the introduction of mobile ions to the wafer. Depending on the chemical reaction, oxide slurries can introduce various contaminants to the wafers surface. In terms of particle sizes, KOH-based slurries introduce a larger quantity of 2000 Angstrom particles than do the NH.sub.4 OH slurries. That difference translates into a higher probability of scratches (e.g., up to 7 times greater, according to some studies) on the wafer surface when using KOH slurries. NH.sub.4 OH slurries also produce a lower concentration of mobile ions than KOH-base slurries, and leave residual films that are easier to remove than the residue from KOH slurries. Environmentally, however, KOH-base slurries afford advantages over NH.sub.4 OH slurries. No ammonia smell exists when using KOH slurries, KOH slurries are less prone to settle in cleaning tanks and CMP machines, and KOH slurries are more stabile in terms of pH, and less temperature dependent than NH.sub.4 OH slurries.
Although CMP has revolutionized global planarization technology, some significant problems exist. One of the major difficulties is in-situ measuring of the amount of material removed form the wafer's surface. Due to inaccurate models, many results of CMP machines are difficult to reproduce and the machines themselves do not exhibit the ability for precise process control. This also leads to difficulty in analyzing feedback, or using in-situ measurements, to make adequate and appropriate process alterations to alleviate process complications. Some CMP slurry analyzers have been designed to measure and detect particle sizes in order to ascertain the abrasive characteristics of slurries more accurately. A few endpoint detection devices, like a stylus profiler, have been developed to monitor removal rates as well. Such efforts will aid in more precisely controlling the entire CMP process, but the analysis techniques and instruments have not been developed to a state of high commercial precision.
Thus, commercial CMP is the focus of substantial development effort, but in essence it continues to comprise the simple unit operations of:
1. reaction of an exposed layer of material (e.g., an insulating inorganic metal oxide and/or noble metal) to produce a wafer-adhered material whose hardness is less than the hardness of the abrasive and whose adhesion to the substrate is less than the original pre-reaction layer; and PA1 2. removal from the substrate of the aforementioned reaction product material using a polishing slurry (abrasive medium).
Illustrative CMP slurry compositions (by principal reaction type) for insulating inorganic metal oxides include the compositions set out below:
A. Acidic or basic aqueous solution:
______________________________________ HCl, H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 0.01M or greater KOH, NaOH, NH.sub.4 OH 0.01M or greater ______________________________________
The art has directed improvements to alkali-containing solutions via aqueous or alcohol solutions of fluorinated silicon oxide particles, specifically the use of H.sub.2 SiF.sub.6.
The slurry composition comprises Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and/or SiO.sub.2 aqueous solution.
B. Oxidizing agent (with reduction potential, Eo, greater than IV):
______________________________________ H.sub.2 O.sub.2 35 vol. % or greater nitrates, chromates, permagnates, O.sub.3 and F.sub.2 ______________________________________
The slurry composition comprises Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and/or SiO.sub.2 aqueous solution.
C. Halogenated or psuedohalogenated material (in inert atmosphere):
______________________________________ POCl.sub.3, SOCl.sub.2 100% or combined with a dry solvent (solvents: toluene, ethers, ketones, DMSO, etc.) P(SCN).sub.3, (SCN).sub.2, 20-100 vol. % S(SCN).sub.2, Hg(NCS).sub.2, Hg(NCO).sub.2, AgNCO, CH.sub.3 NCO, C.sub.6 H.sub.5 NCO, BrCN ______________________________________
The slurry comprises a non-aqueous halogenated or pseudohalogenated reactant, and preferably includes a liquid organic ligand precursor (e.g., cyclic, acyclic, polycyclic, or aromatic compounds) which upon reaction with the halogenated or pseudohalogenated material form a metal-organic coordination complex which is heterocyclic.
The occurrence of dishing or polishing flaws, particularly with the CMP of soft metals such as Al, Cu or Ag, have been mediated in part by storage/delivery of a polishing agent slurry at reduced temperatures where flocculation or precipitation of the slurry is minimized. In addition, agitation of the storage tank for the polishing media (to inhibit flocculation), as well as temperature and velocity control of the polishing wheel/surface have been shown to improve CMP homogeneity.
The CMP pad wears at an exponential rate during its initial use and then wears linearly with time. Further, the CMP pad does not remove material uniformly as the pad continues in use. These factors make it difficult to maintain an acceptable removal rate and uniformity in the CMP operation.
Individual spatial dimensions of the top electrode/ferroelectric material/bottom electrode (TE/FE/BE) capacitor in a typical FeRAM are on the order of 100 nm. In order to minimize damage/inhomogeneity during the CMP of this layered structure, the maximum abrasive particle size should be much less than the minimum feature size in the device.
The art continues to seek improvements in the CMP process and in the fabrication of ferroelectric devices such as FeRAMs.

Chemical mechanical polishing of FeRAM capacitors


Memory cell structures make use of the extraordinary Hall effect (EHE) for increased data storage capacity. A memory cell has a ferromagnetic structure which includes at least a first ferromagnetic layer, a second ferromagnetic layer, and a spacer layer in between the first and the second ferromagnetic layers. The first and the second ferromagnetic layers exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and have magnetic moments which are set in accordance with one of a plurality of magnetic orientation sets of the ferromagnetic structure, and the ferromagnetic structure exhibits one of a plurality of predetermined extraordinary Hall resistances RH in accordance with the magnetic orientation set. The extraordinary Hall resistance is exhibited between first and second ends of the ferromagnetic structure across a path which intersects a bias current path between third and fourth ends of the ferromagnetic structure.

1. Field of the Technology
This present application relates generally to memory devices such as magnetic random access memories (MRAMs), and more particularly to memory devices having ferromagnetic structures with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy which exhibit varying extraordinary Hall effect resistances, and also relates generally to programmable and reconfigurable logic devices having ferromagnetic structures with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy which exhibit the extraordinary Hall effect.
2. Description of the Related Art
Non-volatile magnetic random access memories (MRAMs) have been proposed as candidates to replace conventional dynamic random access memories (DRAMs) and hard disk drives. Such memory devices make use of GMR and tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) sensing techniques. Currently-proposed MRAM devices utilize two magnetic layers which are magnetized in-plane so that variations in the GMR and/or TMR may be measured. The magnetic layers have magnetic orientations which are either in parallel or opposite each other, which create four magnetic states and give rise to two different GMR or TMR resistances associated with bits '0' and '1'. There is a need, however, for increased data storage capacity in these types of memory structures.
A conventional logic device may be included in a circuit called a field programmable gate array (FPGA), which is one type of programmable logic device (PLD). FPGAs use a grid of logic gates similar to that of an ordinary gate array, but the programming is performed by the customer, not by the manufacturer. FPGAs are typically programmed after being soldered down to a circuit board. In most larger FPGAs, the configuration is volatile and must be reloaded into the device whenever power is applied or different functionality is required.
Most any PLD includes a combination of one or more logic devices and memory devices. The memory device is used to store a pattern that was provided on the integrated circuit (IC) during programming. Most of the methods for storing data in the IC have been adapted for use in PLDs. These include silicon antifuses, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM) or EEPROM cells, Flash memory, and static random access memory (SRAM). An EPROM cell is a metal-oxide semiconductor transistor that may be switched on by trapping an electric charge permanently on its gate electrode. The charge remains for many years but may be removed by exposing the chip to strong ultraviolet light in a device called an EPROM eraser. Flash memory is non-volatile, retaining its contents even when the power is switched off. It may be erased and reprogrammed as required, which makes it useful for PLD memory. SRAM is a volatile type of memory, meaning that its contents are lost each time the power is switched off.
Referring ahead to FIG. 22, an SRAM device 1200B is shown to include a plurality of look-up tables (LUTs) of memory (such as an LUT 1202B) and a plurality of switches (such as a switch 1204B). SRAM-based PLDs are dynamic and adaptive, being programmable "on-the-fly" to new requirements as needed. SRAM-based PLDs must be programmed every time the circuit is switched on, which is usually performed automatically by another part of the circuit.
Proposals have been made to use magnetic devices (such as Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) and tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR)-based structures) to replace conventional semiconductor logic devices. For example, proposals relating to non-volatile magnetic RAM (MRAM) are described in JP876674 to W. C. Black, U.S. Pat. No. 6,779,168, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,774,391. Proposed magnetic PLDs utilize two magnetic layers which are magnetized in-plane so that variations in the GMR and/or TMR may be measured. The magnetic layers have magnetic orientations which are either in parallel or opposite each other, which create four possible states but give rise to only two different GMR or TMR resistances associated with bits '0' and '1'. In addition, a writing process is necessary in order to program a different logic operation, which increases power dissipation for operation. Thus, what are also needed are structures for simpler logic devices and circuits to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.

Memory cell and programmable logic having ferromagnetic structures exhibiting the extraordinary hall effect

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


A device for ventilating a fuel tank of an internal combustion engine in particular of a fuel tank of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle includes an activated carbon filter and at least one valve which is controllable by a control unit. To prevent leakage of hydrocarbons into the environment without enlargement of the activated carbon filter the control unit controls the valve in dependence on a load factor of the activated carbon filter and/or in dependence on an operating cycle duration of the internal combustion engine.

The invention relates to a device for ventilating a fuel tank of an internal combustion engine, in particular of a fuel tank of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle.
The fuel tank of motor vehicles is normally equipped with a tank ventilation device. On one hand, the tank ventilation device prevents that, in the case of a significant rise or drop of ambient temperatures, an undesired overpressure or negative pressure forms in the pressure-tight closed tank as a result of the evaporation of fuel caused by the rise of temperature or, respectively, condensation of fuel vapors caused by the drop of temperature. On the other hand, the tank ventilation device allows a gas mixture which is displaced by the fuel during refueling, to escape from the interior of the fuel tank. To prevent an undesired leaking of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere or the environment in the mentioned cases, modern tank ventilation devices include an activated carbon filter which is usually connected to the fuel tank by a first gas line, to the atmosphere or environment by a second gas line and to an intake tract of the internal combustion engine by a third gas line. The first gas line serves for ventilating the fuel tank and contains at least one tank shut-off valve, which automatically opens at a predetermined overpressure or negative pressure in the fuel tank and is opened by the control unit during refueling of the fuel tank to conduct the displaced gas mixture through the activated carbon filter. The gas mixture which during refueling and/or when the tank shut-off valve is opened, flows out of the fuel tank into the activated carbon filter where it is cleared of hydrocarbons, is conducted out into the atmosphere through the second gas line.
The second gas line contains a ventilation and aeration valve, which is opened by the control unit when the fuel tank is ventilated, and also when the tank shut-off valve is opened and as a result of negative pressure in the fuel tank, air is aspirated from the environment through the second gas line and the activated carbon filter into the fuel tank or, when air is aspirated from the environment through the second gas line, the activated carbon filter and the third gas line into the intake tract of the internal combustion engine when regenerating the activated carbon filter during operation of the internal combustion engine, to flush the activated carbon filter clear of the adsorbed hydrocarbons and to conduct the hydrocarbons together with the aspirated air into the combustion chambers of the internal combustion engine for burning. The third gas line contains a regeneration valve which is opened by the control unit when the activated carbon filter is regenerated.
During normal operation of a motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine, the activated carbon filter is regenerated regularly, because the internal combustion engine is frequently operated under load conditions which allow a regeneration of the activated carbon filter. In contrast, the load conditions appropriate for regenerating the activated carbon filter occur less frequently in motor vehicles with hybrid drive or in so-called plug-in motor vehicles with an electric motor which serves as drive engine and an internal combustion engine which is only carried along as auxiliary motor and for recharging the vehicle battery. This can have the consequence that an activated carbon filter which is loaded with a larger amount of hydrocarbons cannot be regenerated over an extended period of time. Similar considerations apply to motor vehicles with automatic start-stop mechanism, because in this case the idle state which is appropriate for regeneration of the activated carbon filter occurs less frequently. In such a case, an undesired release of hydrocarbons from the activated carbon filter through the second gas line into the atmosphere or the environment may occur. To avoid this, the activated carbon filter could be dimensioned greater which, however, is disadvantageous with regard to costs and installation space.


A case for carrying accessories for law enforcement officers is presented, including a front panel and a back panel. The front panel and/or the back panel are constructed from a relatively flexible, stretchable, resilient material. One or more compartments are formed between the front panel and the back panel. For example, a first compartment is adapted and constructed to contain an ammunition magazine; a second compartment is adapted and constructed to contain a handcuffs key, a pen or another similarly elongated object; a third compartment is adapted and constructed to contain handcuffs. At least one selectively securable strap assembly is secured to the back panel, for securing the case to a belt of a wearer.

Belt-worn cases for carrying firearms first came into use in the 1840's. As side arms gained wide usage with the opening up of the American West, the early pommel bag, carried on a saddle, gave way to an open-ended loop or sleeve fixed onto a wide belt. These loops provided ready access, but afforded no protection to the firearm. By the time of the Civil War, enclosed or semi-enclosed holsters were in common use to protect the workings of revolvers.
Today, military and law enforcement personnel use holsters constructed from a variety of material, and in myriad configurations. Furthermore, modern law enforcement methods require many tools in addition to the traditional side arm. Although it is not unusual for an officer to carry several items, three items are almost universally carried: a pair of handcuffs, a handcuffs key, and a spare ammunition magazine. These items are typically carried in a case or cases attached to the officer's belt.
Normally, cases known in the art for storing handcuffs, handcuff keys or magazines are bulky, rigid and heavy, in order to provide a secure and robust housing of such sensitive items. They usually facilitate carrying only one or two of the three essential items, requiring the user to wear more than one case. In consequence, law enforcement officers end up having to carry several bulky and heavy cases. While in service wearing a uniform, the fact of wearing heavy, bulky cases is not problematic as they are conveniently worn on the officer's uniform belt, protruding outwardly and unconcealed.
However, bulky cases known in the art are not easy to conceal beneath ordinary clothes. Thus, undercover agents, officers and investigators who work in plain clothes, and law enforcement officers who are off duty may have trouble carrying their equipment concealed beneath their clothes, compromising their personal safety and that of the people around them.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an alternative case for carrying accessories for law enforcement officers, and particularly for a concealable case capable of safely retaining a spare ammunition magazine, a pair of handcuffs, and a handcuffs key. Such a case would be particularly advantageous for off-duty law enforcement officers who wish to comfortably carry their sensitive equipment at hand, yet hidden beneath their clothes.

Belt-wearable law enforcement accessory case


Provided herein are methods and systems for at least partially deactivating at least one component of a reactor effluent from gas phase polyolefin polymerization processes utilizing at least one glycol.

In a polyolefin polymerization gas phase process, activated components such as metallocene or Zeigler Natta catalysts, aluminum alkyls such as triethyl aluminum, and trim metallocene compounds must be deactivated prior to disposal. For the collection of the activated components from process waste streams, various types of collection devices such as a knock-out pot, drum, tank and other containers are used. In certain deactivation processes, the collection device is first filled with mineral oil and then activated components are fed through a dip tube entering the device below the level of the mineral oil. Additional deactivating agents such as isobutylalcohol ("IBOH") are then added to the collection device. Liquid-liquid phase separation will occur, however, once a second deactivating agent is added to the mineral oil.
For example, IBOH is lighter than mineral oil and liquid-liquid phase separation readily occurs when it is mixed with mineral oil. Therefore, the activated components cannot be deactivated. Furthermore, mixing mineral oil and IBOH is difficult due to the ease of phase separation. An intensive mixing procedure can be put in place to ensure the completeness of mixing. However, if the contents of the collection device remain separated into two liquid phases, upon final disposition (i.e., into a 55 gallon standard drum for disposal), deactivation can occur during a draining process and cause elevated temperatures and possibly an exothermic reaction leading to major safety issues.
As such, water is often used instead of compounds such as IBOH. Unlike IBOH, water is heavier than the mineral oil and is not flammable. However, when water deactivates TEAL (triethyl aluminum) it forms Al(OH)3, aluminum hydroxide that is precipitated as a solid and can attach to the walls of the collection device to cause plugging and the subsequent inability to empty the contents of the collection device.
As an alternative, air can be utilized to deactivate the compounds. However, this deactivation system cannot be attached to a process flare system for off-gas from the deactivation process, and therefore, raises a safety concern. Likewise, carbon dioxide could be used as the deactivating agent. However, the rates of deactivation using carbon dioxide are slow and not practical for commercial application. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,941. Other background references include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,786,717, 6,022,946, and U.S. Publication No. 2007/0244273.
Thus, a need exists for deactivation processes and systems that provide for one more of the following characteristics: not flammable, offer a reasonable rate of deactivation, and do not precipitate solids that would cause fouling or corrosion.

Deactivation methods for active components from gas phase polyolefin polymerization processes


Methods for forming fully silicided gates over fins of FinFet devices are disclosed. The disclosure provides methods for patterning a gate stack over each fin from a polysilicon layer and a polysilicon germanium layer, and then removing the polysilicon germanium layer over one of the fins. The disclosure further includes forming a metal layer over both fins and annealing the FinFet device to form fully silicided gates over each fin of the FinFet device.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates generally to semiconductor fabrication, and more particularly, to methods for forming dual fully silicided gates over fins of FinFet devices.
2. Related Art
Silicide technology is important for improving the performance characteristics of semiconductor devices. Conventional silicide gate methodology comprises forming a semiconductor device with fully silicided gates to lower resistance and reduce the thickness of electrical gate dielectrics. This methodology has been applied to complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors (CMOS). Typically, CMOS devices with fully silicided gates are manufactured using chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) to remove various layers/materials covering the device gate in order to fully silicide the gate and obtain a desired threshold voltage. CMP involves using an abrasive and corrosive chemical slurry in conjunction with a polishing pad to remove the desired material from the device. However, current approaches to CMOS device manufacturing using CMP are inappropriate when applied to FinFet devices. In particular, given the structural characteristics of FinFets, manufacturing methods like CMP are severely damaging to the fins. Furthermore, accurately controlling the thickness of the remaining poly-silicon gate with CMP is more difficult for FinFet devices. As a result, a method for manufacturing FinFet semiconductor devices with dual fully silicided gates is currently unavailable.

Methods for forming dual fully silicided gates over fins of FinFet devices

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for inspecting magnetic characteristics of a thin film magnetic head that is arranged in a row bar includes: a step of preparing a row bar having sliders including a thin film magnetic head formed therein and lapping guides having magnetoresistance effect; a step of preparing a magnetic field applying row bar having first and second magnetic field applying elements; a first positioning step in which said magnetic field applying row bar is arranged opposite to said row bar; a second positioning step in which a relative movement between said magnetic field applying row bar and said row bar is made so that at least one of said lapping guides exhibits a largest output voltage; and a measurement step in which a relationship between the intensity of the magnetic field and an output voltage of a magnetic field sensor is obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for inspecting magnetic characteristics of thin film magnetic heads, more particularly, to a method for inspecting thin film magnetic heads arranged in a row bar.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, thin film magnetic heads are manufactured by the following steps. First, a stack that includes a magnetic field sensor (a read head portion) and a write head portion is formed on a substrate in the wafer process. Next, the wafer is diced and separated into row bars. A plurality of sliders is disposed in each row bar along the longitudinal direction thereof, and each slider is provided with a thin film magnetic head that is formed in the wafer process. A row bar serves as a work unit in a lapping step for forming an air bearing surface. When lapping is completed, the row bar is separated into individual sliders, each of which is then assembled into a head gimbal assembly and mounted on a hard disk drive in the final process.
The thin film magnetic head, prior to being finished as a slider and being sent to a subsequent process, undergoes an inspection of magnetic characteristics and other tests. Conventionally, sliders are separately attached to a dedicated inspection apparatus, called the spin stand, and inspected one by one. This method enables sliders to be inspected in the same environment as in a state in which the sliders are actually mounted on hard disk drives, but is disadvantageous as regards the efficiency of the inspection. Accordingly, there has been proposed a method for collectively inspecting sliders that are mass-produced.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 150264/94 discloses an inspection method called quasi-static test (QST). The test, which is performed prior to the final assembling of hard disk drives, simulates an actual environment. Specifically, an alternating magnetic field (refers to an alternately changing magnetic field) that is generated by a magnetic field generator is applied from the outside, instead of a magnetic field emitted from a recording medium, in order to collectively measure and evaluate various magnetic characteristics of a plurality of sliders arranged in a row bar. A Helmholtz coil is used as the magnetic field generator. Application of high-frequency alternating current to the Helmholtz coil causes the Helmholtz coil to generate an alternating magnetic field. The row bar is placed in front of the Helmholtz coil so that an alternating magnetic field is applied to magnetic field sensors. The alternating magnetic field simulates a varying magnetic field, which corresponds to signal "0" and "1", that the magnetic field sensors receive from a rotating magnetic disk in an actual environment. A sense current is generated to flow in the magnetic field sensors by means of probes. In accordance with a change in the magnetic field, the output voltage of the magnetic field sensor changes due to magnetoresistance effect. In this way, the relationship between the external magnetic field and the signal output (output voltage) can be obtained. The data that are obtained are used to evaluate the magnetic characteristics of the magnetic field sensors and to prevent defective sliders from being sent to a subsequent process.
In recent years, ultra-high recording density of hard disk drives has been promoted. The ultra-high recording density essentially requires ultra-high linear recording density. The ultra-high linear recording density means an increase in the frequency of an alternating magnetic field that is applied to a thin film magnetic head. Accordingly, it is preferable that thin film magnetic heads that realize the ultra-high linear recording density be inspected under the environment of an alternating magnetic field having an ultra-high frequency. However, in a conventional Helmholtz coil, there is a limitation to an increase in the frequency of an alternating magnetic field because of the characteristics of the device. Frequencies in the order of several hundred kilohertz are within the capability of the Helmholtz coil, but frequencies higher than 1 megahertz are difficult to achieve. However, alternating magnetic fields in the order of several megahertz are found in the actual environment of hard disk drives. Thus, it has already been difficult to completely simulate the actual environment by a conventional QST. Use of a spin stand may realize such high frequencies, but will lead to inefficiency in the inspection.

Method for inspecting magnetic characteristics of a plurality of thin magnetic heads by means of local application of magnetic field


A job searching and matching system and method is disclosed that gathers job seeker information in the form of job seeker parameters from one or more job seekers, gathers job information in the form of job parameters from prospective employers and/or recruiters, correlates the information with past job seeker behavior, parameters and behavior from other job seekers, and job parameters and, in response to a job seeker's query, provides matching job results based on common parameters between the job seeker and jobs along with suggested alternative jobs based on the co-relationships and based on ratings and preferences provided by the job seeker and provides negative filtration of undesirable jobs based on job seeker input and in response to queries from the system in order to efficiently and accurately accommodate job seeker perception. In addition, the system correlates employer/recruiter behavior information with past employer/recruiter behavior, parameters and information concerning other job seekers, which are candidates to the employer, and resume parameters, and, in response to a Employer's query, provides matching job seeker results based on common parameters between the job seeker resumes and jobs along with suggested alternative job seeker candidates based on the identified co-relationships and specifies job seekers to be eliminated from displayed results.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to computer software. In particular, it relates to a technique for enhancing job search results for both job seekers looking for jobs and employer/recruiters looking for job candidates.
2. State of the Art
A challenge common to most companies seeking talented employees is finding the best set of candidates for the position available. One standard practice among human resource departments is to create a job description for each open position, then advertise the position along with the description. Recruiters and job seekers then have to review and analyze these descriptions in order to determine a match between job seekers and particular jobs.
A number of searching tools are available to a person searching on the Internet for the right job based on his or her skill set. Typical searching tools currently available require the job seeker to select various criteria in the form of keywords, such as desired locations, types of jobs, desired compensation levels, etc. Similarly, the employers provide, in addition to the job description, levels of skill, education, years of experience, etc. required to be considered for a particular job. Searching tools then look up the seeker's keywords in a data base of job descriptions and return, or display those job descriptions that contain the job seeker's keywords.
However, available search tools still either often require the employer and the job seeker to each sift through a large number of so-called search results or can return no search results at all if the criteria provided is too specific or narrow. It would be desirable, then, to provide a matching search tool that more intelligently matches job seekers to potential jobs and intelligently assists in narrowing a job seeker's search for the right job. Such a search and matching tool is also needed to assist an employer/recruiter in matching potential job descriptions to potential job seekers.

Intelligent job matching system and method including preference ranking


A storage box apparatus makes use of thermoelectric modules as devices for cooling or heating storage units, respectively. Each thermoelectric module is provided with a heat-dissipating-side base and a heat-absorbing-side base. A liquid heat transfer medium is spouted against a surface of the heat-dissipating-side base substantially at a right angle.

a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a storage box apparatus, which can be arranged, for example, in a detached house, a multiple dwelling house such as a condominium, a business building, a department store, a station, an airport or the like and can be used, for example, for keeping something delivered by a delivery serviceman of a home delivery service company, liquor store, laundry or the like or when a user sends out a package. In particular, the present invention is concerned with a storage box apparatus provided with one or more thermoelectric modules for enabling refrigeration, freezing and heating of one or more packages during storage.
b) Description of the Related Art
A system has been developed recently, in which a storage box apparatus is arranged in a multiple dwelling house such as a condominium. If no one is at a consignee's house when a home delivery serviceman visits there, he leaves a package in the storage box apparatus and also drops a delivery slip in a mail box of the consignee's house. When the consignee returns home, the consignee learns the delivery of the package from the delivery slip and then receives the package from the storage box apparatus.
Known examples of the storage box apparatus for use in the above system include those making use of flon and a compressor like ordinary electric refrigerators and those provided with refrigerating function by using a thermoelectric module.
However, those making use of a flon-type cooling medium involve an environmental problem such as ozone layer depletion by flon. Further, storage box apparatuses making use of flon and a compressor take long time until cooling is performed in an intermittent operation after they are kept out of operation for a relatively long time, because they first require a pre-stage of gas compression after they are switched on. Accordingly, a cooling system making use of one or more thermoelectric modules has been developed recently. As this system does not use flon gas, it has many advantages such that it is free from environmental disruption, it is excellent in cooling performance, it is free from the potential problem of gas leakage, it can be constructed into a smaller size with a longer service life owing to the use of semiconductors as primary components, and it does not require the pre-stage of gas compression and can immediately perform cooling upon energization.
FIG. 26 is a cooling characteristic diagram showing temperature control of a storage box apparatus of the flon/compressor type (preset interior temperature: +2.5.degree. C., curve X) and also temperature control of a storage box apparatus making use of a thermoelectric module (preset interior temperature: -0.2.degree. C., curve Y).
As is evident from this diagram, the cooling box apparatus of the flon/compressor type requires a substantial time until the preset temperature is reached after the temperature control is started, and during the temperature control, the interior temperature varies up and down considerably. In contrast, the storage box apparatus making use of the thermoelectric module reaches the preset temperature in a short time after the temperature control is started, and the interior temperature is then held practically constant, thereby leading to an advantage that the accuracy of the temperature control is good.
Storage box apparatuses making use of one or more thermoelectric transducers of the above-described type are conventionally known as they are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. SHO 64-80321 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. HEI 7-101492.
Depending of the place of installation, these storage box apparatuses may however be brought under substantially the same temperature environment as the external air. They are generally provided with rather thin heat-insulating layers in view of their installation spaces and moreover, the interiors have been in a hermetically-closed state before packages are placed. The interiors are considerably hot especially in summer during which the temperature of the external air is high.
A perishable such as meat is placed in the interior of such a hot temperature, and the power switch for the thermoelectric module is turned on. Since a conventional storage box apparatus is air-cooled on a heat-dissipating side, its interior cannot be cooled rapidly and moreover, tends to be affected by the external temperature, whereby its refrigerating function or freezing function cannot be exhibited to full extent. It is therefore accompanied by a drawback such that the freshness of perishables stored inside may be lowered and, when a delivered package is stored for a long time due to a trip or the like, its perishable content may spoil, thereby giving off a bad smell.


A head mount lamp seat comprises a pivotal unit, a movable unit and a rotary unit; wherein the movable unit is rotatably connected to one end of the pivotal unit; and another end of the pivotal unit is rotatably connected to the rotary unit; and a lamp is installed to the rotary unit. The rotary unit is rotatable horizontally with respect to the another end of the movable unit.

Referring to FIG. 9, a conventional head mount lamp seat is illustrated. The prior art has a pivotal unit 81 and a retaining strip 14. A lamp 82 is fixed to a cap 91. The cap 91 is worn by people. In the prior art, the lamp 82 is only adjustable within a small range to a fourth position P4. It cannot be adjusted rightwards or leftwards or rearwards. Thereby the use of the prior art head mount lamp seat is limited.