A wave meter 1 is a wave meter for measuring and monitoring the wavelength of an optical signal, etc., in WDM transmission. After a monitor reference wave is input and set, the monitor reference wave is always compared with the signal wave being transmitted in WDM, thereby monitoring an anomaly occurring in the optical signal being transmitted in the WDM.

1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to a wave meter for measuring the wavelength of an optical signal multiplexed in WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing), etc.,
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, developments in the information communication field typified by the Internet, portable telephones, etc., have been remarkable, and the amount of information on a transmission line has been dramatically increased accordingly. An optical fiber can be named as one of the transmission lines supporting the information communication field as the core therefor. Optical fiber cables are already laid in the ground and on the seal bottom and are actually used. However, to cope with a rapid increase in the communication traffic, means for enabling high-speed and large-capacity transmission using the already existing optical fiber cables is demanded in addition to installation of additional optical fiber cables. WDM technology is one of the means.
The WDM is a system using the property of light having one wavelength not interfering with light having a different wavelength to transmit a plurality of optical signals different in wavelength at the same time, thereby using one optical fiber in a multiplexing manner. In a conventional system using a single wavelength, a transmission capacity of 2.5 to 10 Gbps is a limit; however, the WDM can provide a transmission capacity at a terabit level by performing 128 multiplexing of signal transmitted at 10 Gbps, for example.
To put the transmission using the WDM, which will be hereinafter called WDM transmission, to use, a machine for evaluating the transmission characteristic at the WDM transmission time with high precision is required. Then, a wave meter called an optical spectrum analyzer for measuring and analyzing the spectra of a plurality of optical signals is developed as such a machine.
Hitherto, such a wave meter has not been provided with a function of monitoring the communication state during the WDM transmission and issuing a warning if an abnormal state is detected. However, if the wavelength of an optical signal, etc., varies beyond the range in the specifications in the WDM transmission, the signal quality in the reception section is degraded remarkably. Thus, it is necessary to monitor multiplexed optical signal in the WDM transmission with a plurality of optical signals multiplexed.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a wave meter for monitoring optical signals multiplexed in WDM transmission, etc.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a wave meter for measuring transmitted signal light comprising a plurality of optical signals multiplexed by a predetermined system (for example, WDM), the wave meter comprising:
reference setting means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S2 in FIG. 4) for setting a measurement reference of the signal light based on the predetermined system;
variation amount setting means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S1 in FIG. 4) for setting an allowable variation amount of the signal light at the transmission time;
measurement means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S3 in FIG. 4) for continuously measuring the transmitted signal light; and
determination means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S4 in FIG. 4) for determining whether or not the measurement result of the signal light provided by the measurement means is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the variation amount setting means relative to the measurement reference set by the reference setting means, characterized in that
if the determination means does not determine that the signal light is within the range of the allowable variation amount relative to the measurement reference, an anomaly of the signal light is detected.
According to the first aspect of the invention, in the wave meter for measuring transmitted signal light comprising a plurality of optical signals multiplexed by a predetermined system, the reference setting means sets a measurement reference of the signal light based on the predetermined system, the variation amount setting means sets an allowable variation amount of the signal light at the transmission time, the measurement means continuously measures the transmitted signal light, the determination means determines whether or not the measurement result of the signal light provided by the measurement means is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the variation amount setting means relative to the measurement reference set by the reference setting means, and if the determination means does not determine that the signal light is within the range of the allowable variation amount relative to the measurement reference, an anomaly of the signal light is detected.
Whether or not the signal light continuously measured by the measurement means is within the range of the allowable variation amount relative to the measurement reference is determined, so that a wave meter for checking whether or not transmission is executed within the range in the specifications of the predetermined system can be provided, for example.
According to a second aspect of the invention, in the wave meter of the first aspect, the reference setting means may set the measurement reference of each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light,
the variation amount setting means may set the allowable variable amount of each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light,
the measurement means may continuously measure the transmitted signal light and determines each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light, and
the determination means may determine whether or not each optical signal determined by the measurement means is within the range of each corresponding allowable variation amount set by the variation amount setting means relative to each corresponding measurement reference set by the reference setting means.
According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the advantage of the first aspect of the invention, each of the optical signals multiplexed is monitored, so that more detailed monitor can be executed for determining an optical signal in which an anomaly occurs, for example, and a message indicating the fact can be displayed. In this case, various actions can be taken; for example, the abnormal optical signal is removed, only the normal optical signals are multiplexed, and the transmission is continued.
According to a third aspect of the invention, in the wave meter of the second aspect, the reference setting means may set the power amount (power) of each optical signal as the measurement reference of each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light, and
the variation amount setting means may set the allowable variation amount of the power amount of each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the wave meter of the second aspect, the reference setting means may set the wavelength of each optical signal as the measurement reference of each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light, and
the variation amount setting means may set the allowable variation amount of the wavelength of each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light.
In the third or fourth aspect of the invention, the measurement reference and the allowable variation amount are the power amount or the wavelength of each optical signal. Thus, it is made possible to set the measurement reference and the allowable variation amount using a waveform graph of optical signal with the power amount on the vertical axis and the wavelength on the horizontal axis, for example.
Further, according to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the wave meter of first to fourth aspects, the reference setting means may set the measurement reference of the signal light based on measurement reference light (for example, monitor reference wave) of signal light based on the predetermined system input.
In the fifth aspect of the invention, the measurement reference light is input, whereby the measurement reference can be set easily.
According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the wave meter of the first to fifth aspects of the invention, multiplexing the optical signals by the predetermined system may be WDM.
In the sixth aspect of the invention, a wave meter applied to the WDM used as multiplexing of optical signals can be provided.
According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a wave meter for measuring transmitted signal light comprising a plurality of optical signals multiplexed by a predetermined system, the wave meter comprising:
setting means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S1 in FIG. 7) for setting an allowable variation amount relative to the wavelength interval between the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light;
measurement means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S2 in FIG. 7) for continuously measuring the transmitted signal light;
specification means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S2 in FIG. 7) for specifying each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light based on the measurement result of the signal light provided by the measurement means; and
determination means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S3 in FIG. 7) for determining whether or not the wavelength interval between the optical signals specified by the specification means is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the setting means, characterized in that
if the determination means does not determine that the wavelength interval between the optical signals is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the setting means, an anomaly of the signal light is detected.
In the wave meter of the first aspect for measuring transmitted signal light comprising a plurality of optical signals multiplexed by a predetermined system, the setting means sets an allowable variation amount relative to the wavelength interval between the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light, the measurement means continuously measures the transmitted signal light, the specification means specifies each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light based on the measurement result of the signal light provided by the measurement means, the determination means determines whether or not the wavelength interval between the optical signals specified by the specification means is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the setting means, and if the determination means does not determine that the wavelength interval between the optical signals is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the setting means, an anomaly of the signal light is detected.
According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a wave meter for measuring transmitted signal light comprising a plurality of optical signals multiplexed by a predetermined system, the wave meter comprising:
setting means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S1 in FIG. 7) for setting an allowable variation amount relative to the wavelengths of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light;
measurement means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S2 in FIG. 7). for continuously measuring the transmitted signal light;
specification means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S2 in FIG. 7) for specifying each. of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light based on the measurement result of the signal light provided by the measurement means; and
determination means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S4 in FIG. 7) for determining whether or not the wavelength of each optical signal specified by the specification means is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the setting means, characterized in that
if the determination means does not determine that the wavelength of each optical signal is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the setting means, an anomaly of the signal light is detected.
In the wave meter of the eighth aspect for measuring transmitted signal light comprising a plurality of optical signals multiplexed by a predetermined system, the setting means sets an allowable variation amount relative to the wavelengths of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light, the measurement means continuously measures the transmitted signal light, the specification means specifies each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light based on the measurement result of the signal light provided by the measurement means, the determination means determines whether or not the wavelength of each optical signal specified by the specification means is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the setting means, and if the determination means does not determine that the wavelength of each optical signal is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the setting means, an anomaly of the signal light is detected.
According to a ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided a wave meter for measuring transmitted signal light comprising a plurality of optical signals multiplexed by a predetermined system, the wave meter comprising:
setting means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S1 in FIG. 7) for setting allowable variation amounts relative to the wavelength interval between the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light and the wavelengths of the optical signals;
measurement means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S2 in FIG. 7) for continuously measuring the transmitted signal light;
specification means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; step S2 in FIG. 7) for specifying each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light based on the measurement result of the signal light provided by the measurement means; and
determination means (for example, CPU 6 in FIG. 1; steps S3 and S4 in FIG. 7) for determining whether or not the wavelength interval between the optical signals specified by the specification means and the wavelength of each optical signal specified by the specification means are within the range of the allowable variation amounts set by the setting means, characterized in that
if the determination means does not determine that the wavelength of each optical signal is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the setting means, an anomaly of the signal light is detected.
In the wave meter of the ninth aspect for measuring transmitted signal light comprising a plurality of optical signals multiplexed by a predetermined system, the setting means sets allowable variation amounts relative to the wavelength interval between the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light and the wavelengths of the optical signals, the measurement means continuously measures the transmitted signal light, the specification means specifies each of the optical signals multiplexed into the signal light based on the measurement result of the signal light provided by the measurement means, the determination means determines whether or not the wavelength interval between the optical signals specified by the specification means and the wavelength of each optical signal specified by the specification means are within the range of the allowable variation amounts set by the setting means, and if the determination means does not determine that the wavelength of each optical signal is within the range of the allowable variation amount set by the setting means, an anomaly of the signal light is detected.
According to the seventh to ninth aspects of the invention, the wave meter for checking whether or not the wavelength interval between the optical signals multiplexed is a predetermined interval and whether or not each optical signal has a predetermined wavelength can be provided.
In the wave meter of a tenth aspect of the invention, if an anomaly of the signal light is detected, an external system may be informed of the anomaly (for example, step S5 or S7 in FIG. 7).
According to the tenth aspect the invention, a wave meter can be provided for providing information in such a manner that an alarm message is displayed on the display section or a beeper produces a sound, for example, if an anomaly of the signal light is detected.
For example, to install the wave meter incorporating the invention at a relay base of an optical fiber cable, etc., it is necessary to monitor the state of an optical signal at a remote location. Thus, an external information unit may be provided for providing a notification of an anomaly using wireless communications or the optical fiber cable under monitor.
According to an eleventh aspect of the invention, multiplexing the optical signals by the predetermined system may be WDM.
According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, a wave meter applied to the WDM used as multiplexing of optical signals can be provided.

Wave meter for measuring the wavelength of an optical wavelength division multiplexed signal


There are provided aryne intermediates of formula I, useful in the manufacture of herbicidal compounds. ##STR1## Also provided is a method to prepare the formula I intermediates via the palladium catalyzed coupling of an o-halonitrobenzene or o-haloaniline with 3-butyne-1-ol.

This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 60/037,129, filed Feb. 4, 1997.
Herbicidal sulfamoyl urea compounds are described in WO 95/29902, EP 661,276, WO 95/29167 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,065. A particularly potent and highly cereal selective sulfamoyl urea herbicidal agent is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,699. This agent is especially useful for the selective control of a variety of weed species in the presence of cereal crops and particularly for controlling broadleaf weeds and sedges in the presence of transplanted or paddy rice. Therefore, alternate, effective, cost-efficient methods of manufacture of herbicidal sulfamoyl ureas, and particularly cereal-selective sulfamoyl ureas, are of continued interest.
Certain key intermediates in the manufacture of the above-said herbicides and the cereal-selective herbicide, 1-{o-(cyclopropylcarbonyl)phenyl!sulfamoyl}-3-(4,6-dimethoxy-2-pyrimidiny l)urea, such as o-aminophenyl cyclopropyl ketone, o-nitrophenyl cyclopropyl ketone, 4-halo-o-nitrobutyrophenone, and 4-halo-o-aminobutyrophenone are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,362,911; 5,364,968; 5,405,998 and 5,414,136. However, alternate and effective methods to prepare these key intermediate alkyl and cycloalkyl phenyl ketones and their derivatives from readily available, non-toxic starting materials are still being sought.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide aryne compounds useful to prepare substituted and unsubstituted 4-hydroxy-(o-substituted phenyl)butyrophenone intermediate compounds.
It is another object of this invention to provide a process to prepare said aryne compounds from readily available, relatively non-toxic starting materials.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an alternate process for the manufacture of key intermediates useful in the manufacture of sulfamoyl urea herbicidal agents and sulfamoyl urea, cereal-selective, herbicidal agents.
It is a feature of this invention that the preparative methods allow for the use of readily available, relatively non-toxic and cost-efficient starting materials.
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description thereof set forth hereinbelow.

Aryne intermediates and a process for the preparation thereof


A light emitting semiconductor device including a light emitting element, an optical element for condensing, collimating or diverging a ray emitted from the light emitting element which is packaged as a single unit with the light emitting element, and a cap molded by a fiber reinforced resin for supporting the light emitting element, the cap having an opening for a light emitting window which is provided with the optical element.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a light emitting semiconductor device having an optical element, and more particularly to an improved light emitting semiconductor device having a light emitting element, such as a semiconductor laser element, a light emitting diode or the like, and an optical element such as a Fresnel lens or the like condense, collimate or diverge a ray emitted from the light emitting element, both elements of which are packaged as a single unit.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In FIG. 19, there is shown a conventional light emitting element member A including a disk-shaped stem 1 made of metal, a rectangle metal projecting portion 2 formed on a center of a surface of the stem 1, a light emitting element 3 represented by a semiconductor laser element or the like which is mounted on a side wall of projecting portion 2 through a heat sink 4, a light receiving element 5 for monitoring the output of a ray emitted from the light emitting element 3 to control the output thereof, a metal cap 6 mounted on the stem 1 to cover the elements 3 and 5, and signal and ground terminals 7a through 7c. The pair of signal terminals 7a and 7b are mounted through the stem 1 in an insulated relationship to be electrically connected to light emitting element 3 and light receiving element 5 through wires 8. The ground terminal 7c is planted to stem 1 to be electrically connected thereto and further to elements 3 and 5.
This package type light emitting element member A is conventionally mass-produced and marketed at a reduced price, but has the disadvantages that, when it is employed as an optical pickup or sensor, it must be combined with an optical element such as a Fresnel lens to condense or collimate the diverging emitted light, so that many number of components are assembled and an optical axis is hard to be adjusted.
As illustrated in FIG. 20, the inventors have proposed a light emitting semiconductor device B further including an optical element 9 employing a Fresnel lens for collimating the light emitted from light emitting element 3, in addition to the construction of FIG. 19. A lens base plate 10 has a Fresnel lens at its central position, and its flat portion at a periphery of the lens is bonded to a top of the projecting portion 2 by bond. The distance between lens 9 and light emitting element 3 is adjusted by the thickness of an ultraviolet rays (UV) setting bond for securing the plate 10 to the projecting portion 2.
The light emitting semiconductor device of FIG. 20, however, still has the disadvantages that a focal position of a ray emitted from the light emitting element which has been thus adjusted to a predetermined position is varied by changes of temperatures of circumstances or the light emitting element itself, so that the focal distance of the device is unstable against temperatures. Such a poor temperature stability of the focal distance is caused by several reasons.
The primary reason for unstable focal distance is that the projecting portion employed by the light semiconductor device of FIG. 20 for supporting the lens base plate is made of metal having a large coefficient of thermal expansion, so that the distance between the laser chip and the Fresnel lens is delicately changed and the focal position of the ray emitted from the light emitting element is also changed.
The second reason is a change of a luminous wavelength by temperature of the semiconductor laser element. As shown in FIG. 21 illustrating the relation between luminous wavelength L and temperature T of a semiconductor laser element having a central wavelength 780 nm, the luminous wavelength L of the semiconductor laser element is varied by the temperature T of the element itself. The luminous wavelength L is shifted toward a long wavelength as the temperature T rises, but becomes shorter as the temperature T drops. A light emitting diode also has a similar luminous versus temperature curve in which its luminous wavelength becomes longer as a temperature of the diode rises. As shown in FIGS. 22(a) and (b), the Fresnel lens 9 is a kind of diffraction lens divided into a large number of ring-shaped lenses formed by lens materials, and generally mounted on a lens mounting base plate 10 at its surface. The Fresnel lens 9 provides a similar lens function to a conventional refractor with respect to rays emitted from a light emitting element represented by a semiconductor laser element or a light emitting diode as illustrated in FIGS. 22(a ) and (b) exemplarily showing a refracted ray. The lens can be formed of a miniaturized flat and thin plate, so that it plays as a short focus lens suitable to mounting and integrating use, which is easy to be manufactured by a molding process and has a reduced wave surface aberration. Accordingly, the Fresnel lens 9 can be used as a micro Fresnel lens in combination with a light emitting element employing a semiconductor laser element or a light emitting diode.
Since Fresnel lens is a lens utilizing diffraction phenomenon, a diffraction angle of a ray passing through Fresnel lens varies as an incident wavelength L varies, so that the focal position or distance F is fairly changed by the incident wavelength L. The focal distance F versus incident wavelength L is expressed by the following equation: EQU F=(Lo/L).multidot.Fo (1)
L: incident wavelength PA1 F: focal distance of incident ray PA1 Lo: designed wavelength of Fresnel lens PA1 Fo: designed focal distance of Fresnel lens
When a change of focal distance F is expressed by "f" as incident wavelength L is changed by "1", the change f is expressed by the following equation based on the above equation (1): EQU f=-f.multidot.l/L (2)
FIG. 23 shows a curve representing the relation between focal distance of Fresnel lens F and incident wavelength L expressed by the equation (1), in which the focal distance F is shortened as the incident wavelength L becomes longer but lengthened as the wavelength L becomes shorter.
Thus, even if a light emitting semiconductor device having a light emitting element in combination with Fresnel lens is designed to employ a Fresnel lens having the designed focal distance Fo versus the ray having a wavelength Lo emitted from the light emitting element, the focal distance L of Fresnel lens varies as the wavelength L of ray emitted from the light emitting element is varied by change of temperature T (hereinafter described as "thermal unstableness of focal distance caused by wavelength change of light emitting element"). For example, as shown in FIG. 24, the focal distance F of Fresnel lens is shortened as the temperature T of the light emitting semiconductor device rises while it is lengthened as the temperature T drops.
Thus, such a proposed light emitting semiconductor device is subject to change by temperatures of distance between an light emitting element and an optical element or thermal unstableness of wavelength of light emitting element, so that it has the disadvantages that focal distance or angle of emitting light is changed by temperature. The light emitting semiconductor device had the disadvantages that it cannot provide perfect collimated rays due to temperature change when it is employed as a collimated light source, the focal position is changed by temperature when the light emitting semiconductor device is employed as a condensed light source, and the angle of divergent is changed by temperature when the light emitting semiconductor device is employed as a diverged light source.

Light emitting semiconductor device having an optical element


An image pickup apparatus for a television and a depth-of-field control apparatus used in the same. Image signals corresponding to a plurality of picture images different in focal point or length position are obtained by a mechanism for changing a focal point or length position to produce a new image signal by composing these image signals through a composition circuit, and motion information of an object is obtained by a circuit for detecting a moving portion in the object to control the image composition by the motion information. The focal point or length position is moved in synchronism with an integer multiple of a vertical scanning period of the television. The image signals corresponding to the plurality of picture images different in focal point or length position are obtained within one vertical scanning period determined by the system of the television. The amount of movement of the focal point or length position is controlled in conjunction with a value of a lens aperture of the camera lens. The image composition is controlled by a composition control circuit made up of a circuit for detecting individual powers of image signals corresponding to a plurality of different picture images, a circuit for comparing the detected powers with each other, and a circuit for detecting the position of an edge included in one of the image signals, wherein a control signal for the image composition produced by the power comparison circuit is compensated by the edge position information obtained by the edge detection circuit.

The present invention relates to a television camera apparatus or an image pickup apparatus and more particularly to a depth-of-field control apparatus and image pickup apparatus having the same therein for obtaining an image which is of great depth of field and is of high resolution.
In a television camera apparatus utilizing an image pickup tube, or a solid-state imaging device and a camera lens, the best focal length is obtained by adjusting a focus ring of a lens. At this time, a range in a direction of depth allowing an image to be taken or shot with a resolution substantially equal to that of the best focal length, i.e., a depth of field is determined by a lens aperture. More specifically, in a state in which the aperture of the lens is increased, the depth of field is shallow. In other words, the range allowing an image having a focal length near the best focal length to be obtained becomes narrow. Conversely, in a state in which the aperture of the lens is decreased, the depth of field becomes greater so that the range allowing a sharp image to be obtained is increased.
In a high definition television system which is anticipated as the next generation-television system, system design has been performed mainly for the purpose of providing an image of high resolution. It is also required for a television camera apparatus used for the high definition television system to have a high resolution property. In the meantime, since an image signal of high resolution is processed in the high definition television system, the band width of a signal processing circuit is about 30 MHz which is about 6 times as large as that of 4 to 6 MHz in the current television system. Accordingly, the noise band width is widened, and therefore, the power of noise mixed therein is increased. Then, the quantity of light made incident on the image pickup device is increased for the purpose of improving the signal to noise ratio (SNR). In the normal shooting in a studio or the like, the quantity of light for illumination is increased to realize the increase in the quantity of incident light. On the other hand, in the case where the quantity of light cannot be changed as in outdoor shooting, the aperture is increased to cope with such. Accordingly, in this case, the depth of field becomes shallow, so that the range allowing a sharp image to be obtained will be necessarily limited.
In the field of a microscope, a still-camera and the like, there has been well known a technique in which images located in a plurality of different focal lengths are composed to obtain a wide depth of field. For example, such a technique is disclosed in Takatoshi Ota et al: "A Method for Image Composition Using Image Variance", National Conference Record of the Institute of Electronics and Communication Engineer's of Japan, Vol. J66-D, No. Oct. 10, 1983, Satoshi A. Sugimoto et al: "Digital Composition of Images with Increased Depth of Focus Considering Depth Information", APPLIED OPTICS, Vol. 24, No. 14, Jul. 15, 1985, and the JP-A-1-309478. (Incidentally, JP-A-2-212809 (laid open on Aug. 24, 1990) which has not yet been yet laid open at the priority date of the present application also relates to the control of the depth of field).

Depth-of-field control apparatus and image pickup apparatus having the same therein


A display device includes a bottom chassis on which a light source is disposed, a light guide plate disposed on the bottom chassis and configured to guide light emitted from the light source to a display panel, an optical sheet on the light guide plate, a mold frame coupled to the bottom chassis and including a support unit on which the display panel is disposed, and a light conversion shielding member disposed on a surface of the support unit of the mold frame having a side portion that extends down from the support unit and covers a side surface of the optical sheet.

1. Technical Field
Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are directed to a display device capable of reducing blue light leakage.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display ("LCD") is a type of flat panel display ("FPD") which is most widely used as a display device. An LCD typically includes two substrates on which electrodes are disposed, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the two substrates. In an LCD, a voltage is applied to the electrodes to rearrange liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer, thereby adjusting the amount of transmitted light. A liquid crystal display panel of an LCD is a non-emitting element, and thus an LCD also includes a backlight unit that provides light. A backlight unit may be classified into a direct type and an edge type, based on the position of a light source. In an edge-type backlight unit, the light source is disposed at a side portion of a light guide plate.
A set of substantially low-power high-efficiency light-emitting elements, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), may be used as a light source in the backlight unit. An LED light source typically emits blue light and generates white light by utilizing other color-converting materials, such as phosphors. After the blue light has been converted to white light, a full color display may be realized using color filters, and thus there has been increased research on improving color reproducibility of blue light.
In an edge-type backlight unit, a side portion of a light guide plate at which a light source is disposed is referred to as a light incident portion, and the side portion of the light guide plate which is disposed opposite to the light incident portion is referred to as a light-facing portion. For high color reproducibility, blue light emitted from the light source may be converted to white light through a light conversion sheet. However, blue light which was not converted to white light may leak from gaps between the light-facing portion and a mold frame and between the mold frame and an optical sheet, and is incident on the display panel. Blue light incident on the display panel may cause a decrease in the color reproducibility of the display device.


Methods are disclosed for manufacturing silicon stencil masks for use in charged-particle-beam microlithography. According to the method, a boron-doped layer is formed on a silicon substrate, a mask pattern is formed on the boron doped layer, and the boron-doped layer is etched according to the mask pattern to form voids in the boron-doped layer. The voids do not extend completely through the thickness of the boron-doped layer. In subsequent steps, a silicon nitride layer is applied and etched to form openings in which the silicon substrate is etched away to form struts. Because the boron-doped layer is not completely etched through in the earlier etching step, the mask is much more resistant to fracture in a subsequent cleaning step. In a final step after cleaning, the boron-doped layer is etched to extend the voids completely through the thickness of the boron-doped layer.

In recent years, increased integration of integrated circuits has posed the need to use microlithography processes capable of resolving smaller feature sizes. In view of the perceived resolution limits of optical microlithography, microlithographic apparatus and methods employing a charged-particle beam (e.g., electron beam or ion beam) have been the subject of intense development efforts. Considerable effort has also been expended to develop a practical X-ray microlithography system.
In electron-beam microlithography, it has been possible to form and use an electron beam tightly focused to several nanometers in diameter for "drawing" minute patterns having feature sizes of 1 .mu.m or less. During such drawing, the beam is scanned so as to trace the entire exposure pattern. As a result, a substantial amount of time is required to complete an exposure of an entire die on a sensitive substrate (e.g., a wafer) Thus, using an electron beam to "draw" features on a sensitive substrate has a much lower throughput than, e.g., projection microlithography. Also, if the pattern to be drawn comprises extremely small features, the diameter of the charged particle beam must be correspondingly smaller, which poses certain technical challenges.
Projection microlithography, including such microlithography employing a charged-particle beam, utilizes a mask or reticle ("mask") that defines the pattern to be transferred to a sensitive substrate. Because of certain limitations in simultaneously projecting the entire mask pattern using a charged particle beam, the mask field is typically divided into multiple "subfields" each defining a portion of the overall pattern. The subfields are normally all the same size and are separated from each other on the mask by struts that serve principally to provide mechanical rigidity to the mask. The subfields are scanned subfield-by-subfield and projected individually through a charged-particle-beam optical system onto corresponding "transfer subfields" on the substrate. The transfer subfields are projected onto the substrate in such a manner that regions of the mask occupied by the struts are not included in the exposure on the substrate; i.e., the transfer subfields are "stitched" together without struts to form a complete die.
For use with a charged-particle beam, one group of masks is termed "stencil masks", in which pattern regions through which the beam is intended to readily pass are defined as voids. A representative method known in the art for manufacturing a stencil mask is depicted stepwise in FIGS. 4(a)-4(f).
In a first step (FIG. 4(a)), a surface of a silicon substrate is doped with boron using, typically, thermal diffusion. Such doping forms a surficially doped silicon substrate 12 comprising boron-doped layer 13 and a silicon substratum 14.
In a second step (FIG. 4(b)), an electron beam is used to form a desired resist pattern on the surface of the boron-doped layer 13, which is subsequently etched to form corresponding voids 15 extending through the thickness of the boron-doped layer 13 to the substratum 14. The pattern-defining voids 15 are located in regions that are destined to be mask subfields.
In a third step (FIG. 4(c)), a silicon nitride layer 16 is applied to all surfaces, typically using a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) technique. A pattern of openings 17 is then formed on the lower silicon nitride layer, wherein each such opening 17 corresponds to a respective future location of a mask subfield and is thus situated opposite a respective group of voids 15 destined to be within a respective mask subfield (FIG. 4(d)).
With the silicon nitride layer serving as a mask 18, the structure shown in FIG. 4(d) is immersed in an aqueous KOH solution that "wet etches" the silicon substratum 14 at each exposed location 17 (FIG. 4 (e)). Wet etching is allowed to progress depthwise through the substratum 14 to the boron-doped layer 13 to form voids 19 extending depthwise entirely through the thickness of the silicon substratum 14.
After the wet etching step, the structure shown in FIG. 4(e) is removed from the KOH solution and washed using a solution comprising nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide, rinsed with pure water, and allowed to dry. The silicon nitride layer 16 is then removed by a dry etching technique to complete formation of the stencil mask 20 (FIG. 4(f)). The stencil mask comprises struts 21 separating the subfields 22 from each other.
Unfortunately, when the nearly finished mask is removed from the aqueous KOH solution after completion of the wet etching step, surface tension commonly causes fracture of the mask, resulting in low manufacturing efficiency.

Silicon stencil mask manufacturing method


A tampon applicator includes an outer cylinder in which an absorber is housed, and a push-out opening through which the absorber is to be pushed out is provided at one side and a grip cylinder unit is provided at the other side, and an inner cylinder which is inserted into the grip cylinder unit and being moved into the outer cylinder to be thereby able to push out the absorber outward through the push-out opening. The tampon applicator includes a grip jaw unit configured to extend from an outer circumferential face of the grip cylinder unit of the outer cylinder outwardly in a radial direction, wherein a finger hook unit by which a finger of a user is to be hooked is formed at the grip jaw unit.

Conventionally, a sanitary tampon with applicator is provided. A tampon applicator is provided with an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder. An absorber having a lead-out cord is housed inside of the outer cylinder. When using the sanitary tampon, a user grips the outer cylinder, inserts the outer cylinder into a vagina, and then, compresses the inner cylinder against the outer cylinder in a state in which the user grips the outer cylinder. When the user compresses the inner cylinder against the outer cylinder, the absorber is pushed out from the outer cylinder, and then, the absorber is disposed inside of the vagina. However, when using the sanitary tampon, if the user pushes out the absorber without inserting the outer cylinder until the outer cylinder has reached an appropriate depth, the absorber could not occasionally be disposed at an appropriate position inside the vagina.
In Patent Document 1, a tampon applicator, which has been made in view of such a problem, is described. The tampon applicator is provided with a curved shaped stopper that is extensive to the periphery of an outer cylinder. When a user uses a sanitary tampon, the user compresses the outer cylinder via the stopper, and then, inserts the outer cylinder into a vagina. Then, after the outer cylinder is inserted until the outer cylinder has reached an appropriate depth, the stopper is constituted so as to abut against a vaginal opening. Therefore, the user inserts the outer cylinder until the outer cylinder has reached the appropriate depth, to be thereby able to dispose the absorber at an appropriate position inside the vagina.


An injection molding nozzle with a tip portion in the gate area of the mold that has a wear-resistant diamond-type coating. The surface of the tip melt channel that delivers melt to the gate area may also comprise a diamond-type coating. Nozzle seal surfaces in the gate area may also comprise a diamond-type coating. The enhanced harness, smoothness and thermal conductivity of these coated surfaces results in higher quality molded parts, and easier to clean molding equipment that has a longer service life.

Hot runner nozzles used for injection molding must efficiently transfer heat to the melt flowing therethrough to ensure proper flow of the pressurized molten material (melt) through the gate and into the mold cavity. If high heat transfer were the only consideration, copper, with its high thermal conductivity and relatively low cost, would make an excellent choice for the construction of injection nozzles, including the nozzle tip and the nozzle seal that reside in the vestige area of the mold, adjacent the gate. However, copper is subject to rapid wear because of its relative softness.
Wear of the nozzle tip and the nozzle seal can diminish nozzle performance and degrade the appearance of molded parts, especially in the vestige area. Wear of these parts in this constricted area is caused by the abrasive effect of the rapidly flowing melt, especially when the melt contains a filler, such as glass fibers. The melt tends to abrade and sometimes corrode unprotected nozzle tip and seal surfaces, resulting in frequent and costly tip and seal replacement. These problems are especially troublesome when color changeover occurs because residual melt of the previous color must be completely removed prior to molding with a new color, and this is difficult to accomplish when the vestige areas of these parts are worn and roughened.
It is known to enhance the wear resistance of these parts by making them of a beryllium copper alloy, which is harder than copper and has good thermal conductivity. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,184. However, this alloy has been found to be unacceptably susceptible to abrasion and corrosion by certain types of melt material. Further, as beryllium is known to have toxic properties, nozzle parts made of this alloy cannot be used for molding articles for the food industry.
It is known to enhance the wear resistance of a hot runner nozzle tip by using an injection-molded torpedo made of tungsten carbide. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,604, which is incorporated herein by reference. However, the shape of the torpedo is limited by molding practicalities, and tungsten carbide has a relatively low thermal conductivity as compared to copper. Further, tungsten carbide is brittle and tends to chip. Wear-resistant nozzle tip ends of tungsten carbide are also known (see, e.g., FIG. 5 of published U.S. patent application US 2003/0086997), but such tip ends often are difficult to mount securely, or are not easily removed when they do wear out and need to be replaced.
A need therefore exists for an injection molding nozzle that efficiently produces high quality molded products for any industry, and has a long and dependable service life.
The prior art has addressed wear resistance in other portions of injection molding nozzles. For example, US 2003/0086997 discloses a tungsten carbide liner for the melt channel within the nozzle body. U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,541 discloses an injection molding nozzle with a movable valve pin having a wear-resistant titanium coating.
Diamond and diamond-like carbon coatings have been used in the injection molding field, e.g. to protect moving parts such as ejector pins, or to coat the surface of a mold (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,613, and published U.S. patent application US 2002/0187349). Prior to the development of this invention, however, such coatings have not been used in the gate area portions of a hot runner nozzle.
The same reference numbers are used to designate elements that are common to the different disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction of the illustrated and described examples, and that the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.
Referring to FIG. 1, a hot runner injection molding apparatus 200 according to the invention comprises a mold 256 having a cavity plate 260 in which at least one mold cavity 262 is located, and a back plate 206 adjacent the cavity plate. A manifold 214, positioned by a locating ring 220, distributes molten material (melt) from a central melt inlet 202 via inlet portion 210 and manifold melt channel 216 to a plurality of injection nozzles 222, only one of which is shown. An insulative, resilient spacer 208 separates the manifold 214 from the back plate 206, and an insulative air space 212 separates manifold 214 from cavity plate 260. The rear end 226 of the nozzle 222 abuts manifold 214. The front end 228 of the nozzle has a nozzle seal 236 with a front end 237 that mates with a seat 248 in the cavity plate 260 adjacent a gate orifice 246, thus defining a circular space 250 through which melt flows from the nozzle to the gate orifice 246. A manifold heating element 218 maintains the temperature of the melt so that it flows properly to the nozzles. Cooling channels 204 in the back plate 206 and the cavity plate 260 carry coolant for removing excess heat from the apparatus.
The nozzle 222 further comprises an outer collar 230, a nozzle melt channel 224, and a nozzle heating element 232, which serves to maintain proper melt temperature as the melt flows through the nozzle melt channel. A thermocouple 263 adjacent the front end of the nozzle provides control feedback for heating element 232. An insulative air space 258 surrounds the body of the nozzle.
The rear portion of nozzle seal 236 is externally threaded so that it is removably secured in a threaded nozzle seat 252. An outwardly extending flange 238 on nozzle seal 236 is shaped (e.g., hexagonally) so that it can be removed or installed using an appropriate tool, such as a wrench. When installed in seat 252, nozzle seal 236 surrounds and retains a torpedo-shaped nozzle tip 234 in position on the nozzle.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, nozzle tip 234 comprises a cylindrical central portion 264, a wider cylindrical rear flange portion 254, and a tapered tip portion 268. Rear flange portion 254 of nozzle tip 234 is captured in nozzle seat 252 by the rear end of nozzle seal 236. A central torpedo melt channel 240 in nozzle tip 234 communicates at its upper end with nozzle melt channel 224, and has a lateral melt outlet 244 that delivers melt to the circular space 250 adjacent the gate orifice 246.
The above-described structure is fairly typical of a contemporary hot runner injection molding system having a diverted tip nozzle. There may be a single melt outlet 244 as illustrated, or a plurality of melt outlets (e.g., two or three). In this, as well as in the other embodiments described herein, the nozzle tip may be made of any suitable material that is commonly used in this art, such as tool steel, stainless steel, titanium, bronze, other copper alloys, tungsten carbide, or ceramic.
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, the nozzle may have a three-piece diverted tip assembly comprising torpedo nozzle tip 234, threaded nozzle seal 236, and an insulation ring 270 that contacts the mold cavity plate 260.
FIG. 5 shows another embodiment, in which the torpedo nozzle tip 534 is straight, with a tapered tip portion 568, and a straight melt channel 240 that leads to a central melt outlet 544. This nozzle tip is threaded at 535 into the nozzle 222, and the nozzle seal 536 is threaded at 537 onto the outside of nozzle tip 534. A flange 538 is adapted for engagement by a suitable tool (e.g., a wrench) to facilitate tip installation in and removal from the nozzle. Brazing or soldering can replace any of these threaded connections, if desired.
FIG. 6 shows yet another embodiment of a straight nozzle tip. A torpedo insert 634 comprises a cylindrical body 636 having a melt channel 640 in which a torpedo central body 672 is positioned by means of torpedo spirals (vanes) 674. Insert 634 is externally threaded at 635 for retention in nozzle 222, and has a tool-engageable flange 671. Insert 634 also has external threads at 637 for attaching a nozzle seal (gate insert) 676, which has mating threads 678 and a tool-engageable flange 680. Brazing or soldering can replace any of these threaded connections, if desired.
The invention provides a wear-resistant coating ("diamond-type coating," defined below) for at least certain portions of the nozzle tip. In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, the diamond-type coating is applied to the outer surface 268′ of tapered tip portion 268, which surface typically is subject to the most wear by direct contact with the melt. The diamond-type coating may also be applied to the inner surface 240′ of nozzle tip melt channel 240. The other surfaces (254′, 264′) of the nozzle tip 234 need not be coated because they do not come into direct contact with the melt; however, depending on the coating process used, it may be easier to coat all surfaces rather than mask selected ones off to prevent them from being coated.
In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the same surface, i.e., the outer surface 268′ of tapered tip portion 268, is provided with a diamond-type coating. In addition, a diamond-type coating should also be applied to the annular end surface 237′ of nozzle seal 236, as well as to the inner surface 236′ of nozzle seal 236 in the region that surrounds the tapered nozzle tip portion 268, as these surfaces, too, come into direct contact with the melt. The diamond-type coating may also be applied to the inner surface 240′ of nozzle tip melt channel 240. Again, it may be easier to coat all surfaces rather than mask selected ones off to prevent them from being coated.
In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the outer surface 568′ of tapered tip portion 568 is provided with a diamond-type coating. The interior surface of nozzle seal 536 could also be provided with a diamond-type coating because a portion of that interior surface is exposed to melt in the annular space surrounding tapered tip portion 568. The diamond-type coating may also be applied to the inner surface 240′ of nozzle tip melt channel 240. Again, it may be easier to coat all surfaces rather than mask selected ones off to prevent them from being coated.
In the embodiment of FIG. 6, a diamond-type coating is applied to the inner surface 676′ of nozzle seal 676. The diamond-type coating may also be applied to the inner surface 640′ of nozzle tip melt channel 640; to the surfaces of torpedo central body 672 and vanes 674; and to the surface of melt outlet 644. Again, it may be easier to coat all surfaces rather than mask selected ones off to prevent them from being coated.
As noted, the wear-resistant coating used in this invention is termed a "diamond-type coating," and is a diamond or diamond-like protective film or coating. As used in this application, the term "diamond-type coating" is defined as a protective layer or film of crystalline or amorphous carbon-containing material adhered to a substrate, either directly or through an intermediate layer of diverse material, the protective layer being substantially harder and smoother than the substrate or the intermediate layer.
A diamond-type coating can fall into one of two major categories: the composite type (metal and diamond mixture), and the diamond depositing type (amorphous and polycrystalline). Each type has strengths and weaknesses, and either can be used to protect portions of the hot runner system that directly contact the melt in the gate region, as described above. Research and development in this field is ongoing, with new methods being developed on a continuous basis that improve adhesion and surface finish.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,613, which is incorporated herein by reference, discusses methods for applying "diamond-like films" and "diamond-like thin films." The patent discusses problems of film adhesion and, in the case of high temperature deposition processes, undesirable annealing of the steel substrate. The patent also discloses uses of an intermediate layer to improve adhesion of the coating to the surface of a variety of substrates, such as steel, ceramic, glass, copper, metal alloys, etc. The intermediate layer can be made from silicon, titanium, or nickel, formed by vacuum deposition or chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Alternatively, for greater adhesion, a molybdenum intermediate coating can be applied by ionization evaporation.
In accordance with this invention, the wear-resistant films and the methods of adhesion disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,613 can be used to protect portions of the hot runner system that directly contact the melt in the gate region. FIG. 7 depicts the nozzle tip substrate 781, an intermediate layer 782 as described above, and a diamond-type coating 783. The coating or film 783 is extremely hard, and has a low coefficient of friction, high thermal conductivity (on the order of 4 to 5 times the thermal conductivity of beryllium copper), and excellent resistance to corrosion and chemicals. Empirical data pertaining to these properties can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,613. For example, a diamond-like thin film applied to a steel substrate over a molybdenum intermediate layer was shown to have a hardness on the order of 7,000 Vickers (compare to tool steel at 400 Vickers).
Composite diamond coating, patented by Surface Technology, Inc. (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,997,686; 5,145,517; 5,300,330; 5,863,616; and 6,306,466, all of which are incorporated herein by reference), involves the use of ultra fine diamond particles contained within hard electroless nickel metal. Application to a substrate is done in an electroless plating bath with suspended diamond particles. Because a metallizing bath is used, the geometry of the substrate is substantially irrelevant, and recesses and holes can be coated without concern for line-of-sight requirements. Coating thickness can range from 12 to 250 microns, although typically the thickness is on the order of 25 microns, and tolerance is ±3 microns for any specified thickness. Coating hardness is 1,200 Vickers. Wear resistance, using the Taber abrasive wear test, is very high at 0.0115 (compare to 0.0274 for cemented tungsten carbide; and to 0.1281 for hardened tool steel). Advantageously, coated parts can be stripped and re-coated to refurbish them. FIG. 8 depicts a nozzle tip according to the invention that has a composite diamond coating 783, such as that described above, applied to the nozzle tip substrate 781.
Amorphous diamond coatings may also be used for this invention. These have a non-crystalline structure, which gives a very smooth surface finish. However, the wear properties are not as good as those for polycrystalline structure diamond coatings, described below. Amorphous diamond coatings are applied by means of plasma acceleration, using a pulsed plasma arc discharger in a vacuum. This can be done at room temperature. New advances in this technology have led to stress-free, very smooth amorphous coatings with good adhesion that have a hardness that is 90% of that of crystalline diamond coatings.
One stress-reduced or stress-free amorphous diamond coating uses a pulsed laser on a graphite target to deposit, at room temperature, an amorphous, hydrogen-free carbon film with a high percentage of diamond-like bonds but with high initial stress. When the deposited material is heated, the film loses its stress, yet retains its diamond-like properties. In contrast, amorphous diamond films that contain hydrogen convert to graphite upon heating.
Polycrystalline structure diamond coatings may also be used for this invention. These are typically produced using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques. The more crystalline structure increases the hardness of the coating, but reduces the smoothness of the surface finish. CVD removes the carbon atoms from methane gas and deposits them directly onto the substrate as a diamond. Continuous, homogeneous films of polycrystalline structure diamond have been applied to machine tools.
Both amorphous and polycrystalline diamond coatings work well on substrates of graphite, hard carbon, brass, other copper alloys, plastics and ceramics. Ferrous metals may dissolve these coatings, so an intermediate coating on ferrous metals is necessary.
Another useful method of applying a diamond or diamond-like carbon coating to the nozzle tip is plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD). This method is said to produce very a smooth surface with excellent adhesion.
The above and other diamond-type coatings and coating techniques, all useful in this invention, are described in the above-mentioned patents and publications, and in the following additional patents and publications, all of which are incorporated herein by reference:                U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,447        U.S. Pat. Re. 33,767        Published U.S. patent application US 2002/0094379        "Composite Diamond Coating." Website of Surface Technology, Inc. http://www.surfacetechnology.com/cdc.htm        Browne, Malcolm W. "Diamond Coating Could Revolutionize Manufacture of Tools." Mar. 12, 1996 by Rohit Khare (firstname.lastname@example.com) (http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/spring96/0270.html        McGinnis, Arthur J; Jagannadham, K.; Watkins, Thomas R. "Residual Stresses in MO2C/Diamond Coatings." Advances in X-ray Analysis, V. 41, 1998.        ter Meulen, J. J. Smooth, well-adhering CVD diamond coatings on steel and non-carbide forming substrates. http://www.stw.nl/projecten/N/nns4041.html        RRC Kurchatov Institute. "Artificial Diamond Coating and Thin Film Technologies." http://www.kiae.ru/eng/inf/tex/t8.html        Miyoshi, Kazuhisha. "Diagnostic Techniques Used to Study Chemical-Vapor-Deposited Diamond Films." http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT1999/5000/5160miyoshi.html. April, 2000.        "Wear-resistant diamond coating created by Sandia scientists." http://www.sandia.gov/1100/Xfried_diamond.htm. Nov. 30, 2001.        "Diamond Coatings." Website of MER Corporation. http://www.mercorp.com/mercorp/coatings/Diamond_Coatings.html        "Amorphous diamond coatings for industrial and medical applications." http://www.physics.helsinki.fi/˜ftl_dlc/index.html        "DIARC® Diamond Coating for Moulding Tools." http://www.diarc.fi/moulds.html        Paulmier, D.; Schmitt, M. "Elaboration and mechanical properties of diamond coatings obtained by flame process." http://www.eng.auburn.edu/department/ee/ADC-FCT2001/ADCFCT . . .        Myers, Dennis. "Cutting Costs with Diamond Coatings." Ceramic Industry Online. Jul. 1, 2002. http://www.ceramicindustry.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/ . . .
The application of a diamond-type coating to portions of a hot runner nozzle in the gate region thus will increase efficiency, reduce cost, and yield superior molded parts for all industries.

Injection molding nozzle with wear-resistant tip having diamond-type coating


Sulfuric acid or sulfuric acid/hydrogen peroxide cleaning solutions used in semiconductor manufacturing processes are improved in wettability and cleaning effect by lowering their surface tension through the addition of surface-active agents Of the general formula R.sup.1 SO.sub.2 NR.sup.2 C.sub.2 H.sub.4 OA(I) wherein R.sup.1 stands for a fluoroalkyl group, R.sup.2 for H or a lower alkyl group and A for H or SO.sub.3 H.

In semiconductor manufacturing processes, sulfuric acid is used, either alone or in combination with other substances, for different purposes, for example, for cleaning silicon substrates, removing resist films or formulating etching solutions.
The increased density of integrated circuits nowadays has inevitably led to micronization of patterns and complication of the (trench structure (i.e. fine deep grooves). Use of conventional sulfuric acid under these condition gives rise to inconveniences such as difficult permeation into trenches and insufficient cleaning, due to high surface tension and poor wettability. Accordingly it is now strongly desired to develop a sulfuric acid composition with low surface tension and good wettability.
Although use of surface-active agent is expected to lower the surface tension of sulfuric acid, only very limited types of surface-active agent are stable in hot sulfuric acid, in particular, in highly oxidizing sulfuric acid/hydrogen peroxide liquid mixtures, with the result that it is in fact extremely difficult to find such surface-active agents that can be put into practical use.
As a result of research on a variety of surfaceactive agents, the inventors have found that specific ones amongst many fluorine-type surface-active agents are stable in hot liquid mixtures of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide and capable of lowering the surface tension. The present invention bases itself on these findings.

Surface tension sulfuric acid composition

by Misako Hara and Eriko Hara, legal heirs


Novel musical instrument strings and methods for making the same. Polymer cover combined with a low temperature resin is provided to the strings. Also disclosed are novel plastic materials comprising a film of porous fluoropolymer having UV-cured resin applied to at least a portion of the porosity of the film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to strings for musical instruments, and particularly to strings for musical instruments such as strings for guitars and the like that may be contaminated along their length and/or may cause undue finger discomfort when played.
2. Description of Related Art
There are a multitude of different types of musical strings employed today, each performing a different function. A typical guitar employs a straight (non-wound) string (such as "gut," metal, or synthetic polymer (e.g., those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,339,499 and 4,382,358)) for higher pitched notes, and wound metal or polymer strings (usually a wrapped metal or polymer winding over a core of metal, nylon or similar material) for lower pitched notes. Wound strings rely on the additional string mass per unit length supplied by the spiral wrap of the wound string to supply lower pitched notes at an acceptable string tension. Existing string designs have been refined over many years to provide excellent musical tones, but the strings continue to be limited in many respects.
There is a large variety of stringed musical instruments employed today that require human contact along at least a portion of the strings, such as in the fingering and plucking of guitar strings in order to be played. While straight gage strings can be easily wiped of dirt and oil after use, wound strings tend to become contaminated with dirt, skin oils, and perspiration after even a few hours of playing. It is believed that dirt and other contaminants infiltrate windings of the string causing the windings to have limited motion. After a relatively short period of time, a typical wound string will become musically "dead", apparently due to the build-up of this contamination. Presently wound strings that lose their tonal qualities must be removed from the instrument and either cleaned or replaced. This process is burdensome, time consuming, and expensive for musicians who play frequently and care about tonal quality.
Another problem encountered with strings requiring fingering along a fingering board (e.g., a guitar fret board) is that a substantial amount of pressure must often be applied by the musician against the fingering board in order to produce different musical notes. This can be discouraging for beginning music students. Accomplished musicians normally develop extensive calluses on their fingers from years of playing their instruments. Despite such calluses, the pressure and friction generated by playing the instruments tends to be one of the primary causes of frustration and fatigue or injury for many musicians.
Still another problem with conventional strings, and particularly conventional wound strings, is that the action of fingering quickly across the strings often generates unwanted noises. For instance, it is common to hear a "squeak" from guitar wound strings as a musician fingers rapidly across a fret board or finger board. In order to avoid such squeaks, the musician must make a concerted effort to completely separate his or her fingers from the strings when repositioning on the fret or finger board. This repositioning action slows the musician's note changes and further increases fatigue.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional classical guitar 10. Conventional classical guitars include a "fret" or "fingering board" 12, across which multiple strings, 14a, 14b, 14c, 16a, 16b, and 16c, are strung and against which the strings are pressed to form different notes as the strings are picked or plucked. A typical classical guitar includes three relatively "high" note (or "treble") strings, 14a, 14b, 14c, and three relatively "low" note (or "bass") strings, 16a, 16b, 16c. High note strings 14 are generally formed from a straight "non-wound" material, such as gut or synthetic material. In order to achieve significantly lower notes without increasing the length of the string or unduly increasing its thickness, bass strings 16 generally employ a wound string construction.
The form of a typical wound bass string 16 can be seen inside the string 18 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. As is shown, wound bass strings 16 employ a core 20 and a winding wrapped repeatedly around the core 20. The winding is held in place around the core by tension and the anchoring of it at its ends.
When a conventional wound bass string 16 is played for a period of time, it tends to lose its tonal quality due to "contamination" of the string. It is believed that proper tonal quality of a wound bass string 16 is dependent upon allowing movement between individual wraps 24a, 24b, 24c, etc., of the winding during play. Contamination in the form of dirt, oil, sweat, etc., tends to become entrapped within the winding, causing limited motion of the individual wraps 24. This is a particular problem on a finger board of an instrument because of the constant handling of the strings in that area. As a result, after a relatively short period of play, wound bass strings begin to diminish in tonal quality. Professional musicians who care about tonal quality are then often required to remove and replace or clean the wound bass strings on a regular basis to maintain proper sound.
It would seem that some of these problems could be addressed if the strings could be coated with some substance to avoid contamination of the wound string windings and/or to provide some cushioning or smooth, non-squeak, cover for the strings. For example, Fender Corporation offers a bass guitar string that employs a spiral wrap of a flat, stiff polymer tape (such as nylon) around the wound string. The polymer tape is not adhered to the wound string and does not conform to the underlying bass string, but, instead, is held in place merely by tightly helically wrapping the stiff flat tape around the bass string and holding the tape from unwinding with an outer-wrapping of thread at each end of the guitar string. The polymer tape is wrapped with its side edges abutting without overlap of or adhesion to adjacent tape wraps.
While Fender Corporation's use of a stiff tape wrap may help reduce some contamination problems or may make the string somewhat more comfortable to play (neither of which results appears to be claimed or established by Fender), the Fender bass guitar string has a distinctly "dead" sound when played. The relatively heavy and stiff wrapping is believed to limit the amount and duration of vibration of the string, particularly at higher harmonic or overtone frequencies, muffling or "deadening" its sound. As a result of the use of such a non-deformable covering, the string is unsuitable for most guitar applications where a conventional "bright" or "lively" guitar sound is sought.
Moreover, a more recent improved musical instrument string is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,528,709; 6,248,942; 5,907,113; 5,883,319; and 5,801,319 to Hebestreit et al. These patents disclose various wound strings, such as a string having a center core and a spiral winding used to produce lower notes, and a variety of polymer covers or coatings applied around or to the wound string. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a representative wound string disclosed by Hebestreit et al. As can be seen polymer cover 26 comprises a polymer material helically wrapped about the windings of the string. The preferred cover comprises porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in the form of one or more tapes, sheets, or tubes that enwrap the wound string and protect the wound string from contamination. The cover is selected and applied so as not to significantly degrade the normal sound of the musical instrument. Thus, it is disclosed that the cover is substantially a non-dampening cover. Commercially available products produced according to the teachings of these patents are available from W. L. Gore and Associates, Inc., under the trademark ELIXIR® strings. ELIXIR® strings have overcome the above problems (e.g., string contamination, squeaking noise, etc.), while assuring exceptional tonal quality.
It is well known that guitar strings are designed specifically for at least four general types of guitars: acoustic guitars; electric guitars; bass guitars; and classical guitars. Guitar strings for acoustic and electric guitars include strings for higher pitched notes, generally made from steel, and strings for lower pitched notes, including a steel core and a metal winding (e.g., brass, etc.) around the steel core to produce the desired lower pitched sound (hereinafter referred to as "wound strings"). Bass guitars generally include only wound strings comprising a steel core and metal winding construction. Classical guitars include strings for higher pitched notes, made from animal intestines (hereinafter "gut") or a synthetic resin material such as polyamide 6, polyamide 6, 6, copolymers thereof, or more recently introduced, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) (hereinafter collectively referred to as "synthetic"). Wound strings for classical guitars generally include a gut or synthetic core (which can be a multifilament construction) including a metal winding around the core to produce the desired lower pitch sound, and have many of the same problems as wound strings which include a steel core (e.g., contamination, unwanted squeaking noise, etc.). Although musical instrument strings comprising gut or synthetic core material are typically used for classical guitars, such strings may find use in other musical instruments. Thus, as used herein and in the claims "classical guitar strings" includes any musical instrument string having gut or synthetic material as the core.
Due to the relatively lower melting temperature of the core material used in many classical guitar strings, some of the high-temperature processes for attaching the cover material to the string taught by Hebestreit et al. may be difficult to apply to temperature-sensitive gut or synthetic core material. Thus, a need exists for providing a suitable cover material to musical instrument strings having temperature-sensitive gut or synthetic core, as well as a method for applying such a cover in a manner which will not compromise the underlying material.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide such a cover to a musical instrument string.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide an improved string, and particularly a string comprising gut or synthetic material, that maintains close to a conventional lively sound while being resistant to contamination over a longer period of time than conventional strings.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide an improved wound string, and particularly a string comprising gut or synthetic material, that is easier and/or more comfortable to play than conventional strings.
It is still another purpose of the present invention to provide an improved wound string, and particularly a string comprising gut or synthetic material, that is less prone to generating unwanted noises when a musician's fingers are moved along the string.
It is still another purpose of the present invention to provide a method for making such a string, and particularly a string comprising gut or synthetic material.
These and other purposes of the present invention will become evident from review of the following description.


A low cost switched reluctance motor drive circuit is achieved by establishing an alternate supply bus which effectively extends the voltage range of the DC supply for the drive. The alternate bus is maintained at a voltage which is either higher or lower than the supply voltage. A first capacitor is connected in parallel with the supply voltage and a second capacitor is connected between the alternate bus and one terminal of the supply voltage. At least one of the motor phase windings is connected in parallel with the first capacitor and at least one other of the phase windings is connected in parallel with the second capacitor. The phase winding(s) drawing energy from the first capacitor return inductive current to the second capacitor, and the phase winding(s) drawing energy from the second capacitor return inductive current to the first capacitor. A voltage regulation control ensures that the alternate bus voltage is maintained at a desired value so that the full supply voltage is available for energizing each of the phase windings. In a preferred embodiment, one or more of the free-wheeling diodes are replaced with a power transistor so that the respective phase winding may be selectively connected in parallel with either of the first and second capacitors for purposes of regulating the voltage of the alternate bus. In this case, a selected one of the transistors is controlled to energize the phase winding, and the other transistor performs the function of a free-wheeling diode.

Drive circuits for switched reluctance motors are comprised of power switching devices and diodes for sequentially energizing the motor phase windings, with or without overlap, in accordance with the position of the rotor to produce a rotating magnetic field that interacts with the rotor poles to produce torque of a desired direction and magnitude.
The standard drive circuit topology includes two power transistors and two power diodes per motor phase. FIG. 1 shows the standard drive circuit topology as applied to two phases of a polyphase machine. Power is supplied to the motor phase windings A and B from a DC source such as battery 10, the winding A being connected across battery 10 by transistors 12 and 14, and the winding B being connected across battery 10 by transistors 16 and 18. Free-wheeling diodes 20-26 circulate inductive current in the respective phase windings when one or both of the respective transistors are turned off. In operation, a given phase winding is energized by turning on the upper and lower transistors associated with that phase. For example, winding A is energized by turning on transistors 12 and 14. Current in the phase winding is regulated by pulse-width-modulating (PWM) either of the upper and lower transistors while the other transistor is maintained conductive, the winding current during off periods of the PWM being re-circulated through the conductive transistor and one of the free-wheeling diodes 20 or 22. When both upper and lower transistors are turned off to terminate the energization interval, both free-wheeling diodes 20 and 22 conduct to return the winding current to battery 10. This allows the winding voltage to rise slightly higher than the voltage of battery 10, and the current quickly collapses.
A number of alternate drive circuit topologies have been developed in an effort to reduce the number of power devices, and therefore, the cost of the drive circuit. A prior art circuit which halves the number of transistors and diodes is shown in FIG. 2. This drive circuit, sometimes referred to as a split-link circuit, reduces the number of power devices by using the capacitors C1 and C2 to establish an intermediate voltage link or bus 40, the phase windings being connected between the bus 40 and one of the positive or negative terminals of battery 10 by a respective transistor. In FIG. 2, phase winding A is connected between bus 40 and the positive battery terminal by transistor 42, while winding B is connected between bus 40 and the negative battery terminal by transistor 44. The phase winding A is connected in parallel with capacitor C1, and returns inductive energy at commutation to capacitor C2 via free-wheeling diode 46. Conversely, the phase winding D is connected in parallel with capacitor C2, and returns inductive energy at commutation to capacitor C1 via free-wheeling diode 48. One such circuit, described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,408 to Ray et al., additionally includes circuitry for regulating the voltage on the intermediate bus 40 by suitably adjusting the conduction period of one or more of the phase windings. While such topologies are advantageous for their reduced number of power transistors and diodes per phase, only one-half of the supply voltage is available for energizing the phase windings. As a result, the efficiency of the drive is reduced due to increased switching and conduction losses, and the performance of the motor is degraded, especially in high speed operation.

Transistor drive circuit and control for a switched reluctance motor


Attenuation systems have cooling components that produce power in response to heat generated by the attenuator. The cooling components can be used to power cooling fans if a primary power source of the fans fails.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The technology of the disclosure relates to cooling systems and related components and methods.
2. Technical Background
Wireless communications are subject to increasing demands for high-speed mobile data communications. "Wireless fidelity" or "WiFi" systems and wireless local area networks (WLANs) are now deployed in many different types of areas to provide wireless services. Distributed antenna systems also provide a variety of wireless services by communicating with wireless devices called "client devices" which must reside within the wireless range or "cell coverage area." Distributed antenna systems are particularly useful inside buildings or other indoor environments where client devices may not otherwise receive radio frequency (RF) signals. Distributed antenna systems have RF antenna coverage areas, also referred to as "antenna coverage areas," having a relatively short range.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical fiber-based distributed antenna system (DAS) 10. The system 10 generates antenna coverage areas for establishing communication with wireless client devices located within the RF range of the antenna coverage areas. The DAS 10 includes a central unit or head-end unit (HEU) 12, remote antenna units (RAUs) 14, and an optical fiber link 16 that couples the HEU 12 to the RAU 14. The HEU 12 receives communications over downlink electrical RF signals 18D from a source or sources and provides the communications to the RAU 14. The downlink communication signals are received through a downlink input. The HEU 12 is also configured to return communications received from the RAU 14, via uplink electrical RF signals 18U, back to the sources. The optical fiber link 16 includes downlink optical fibers 16D to carry signals communicated from the HEU 12 to the RAU 14 and uplink optical fibers 16U to carry signals communicated from the RAU 14 back to the HEU 12. An interface couples the HEU 12 to the optical fiber link 16 by receiving downlink signals and passing them to the RAU 14 through the link 16.
The DAS 10 has an antenna coverage area 20 that can be substantially centered about the RAU 14. The antenna coverage area 20 of the RAU 14 forms an RF coverage area. The HEU 12 performs a number of Radio-over Fiber (RoF) applications, such as radio-frequency identification (RFID), WLAN communication, and cellular phone service. Client devices 24 in the coverage area 20 can be mobile terminals such as cellular telephones, smart phones, or tablet computers. The client device 24 includes an antenna 26 for receiving and/or sending RF signals. The HEU 12 includes an electrical-to-optical (E/O) converter 28 to communicate downlink electrical RF signals over the downlink optical fiber 16D to the RAU 14, to in turn be communicated to the client device 24 in the antenna coverage area 20 formed by the RAU 14. The E/O converter 28 converts the downlink electrical RF signals 18D to downlink optical RF signals 22D to be communicated over the downlink optical fiber 16D. The RAU 14 includes an optical-to-electrical (O/E) converter 30 to convert received downlink optical RF signals back to electrical signals to be communicated wirelessly through an antenna 32 to client devices 24 located in the antenna coverage area 20. The antenna 32 receives wireless RF communication from client devices 24 and communicates electrical RF signals representing the wireless RF communication to an E/O converter 34 in the RAU 14. The E/O converter 34 converts the electrical RF signals into uplink optical RF signals 22U to be communicated over the uplink optical fiber 16U. An O/E converter 36 in the HEU 12 converts the uplink optical RF signals 16U into uplink electrical RF signals, which are then communicated as uplink electrical RF signals 18U back to a network. The RAU 14 can include a controller 40 to facilitate one or more operations of the RAU.
DASs and other wireless systems are usually fed by a base station, a repeater, or other RF source that provides output power in a specified range. Since DAS equipment is usually designed to operate with lower input power than that of the source, the signal is attenuated between the DAS and the source. Since attenuators may need to dissipate high power, they are often cooled by fans. Failures of such fans can result in damage caused by electronic components.

Attenuation systems with cooling functions and related components and methods

Corning Optical Communications Wireless Ltd


A manufacturing method of a wiring board and a semiconductor device at low cost and by a simple process, without performing complicated steps many times is proposed. Furthermore, a manufacturing method of a wiring board at low cost and with fewer adverse effects on the environment, and a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device using the wiring board are proposed. A pattern of a conductive material is formed over a first substrate, a conductive film is formed over the pattern by an electrolytic plating process, the pattern and the conductive film are separated, an IC chip including at least one thin film transistor is formed over a second substrate, and the conductive film is electrically connected to the IC chip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of wiring boards with various shapes and a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device using the wiring board.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the necessity of a card equipped with an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) or a tag equipped with an RFID which can transmit and receive data without contact has been increased in various fields which need automatic identification such as management of valuable securities and merchandise. The card equipped with an RFID reads and writes data from/to an external device without contact, via an antenna with a shape adapted to the frequency band that is used when transmitting and receiving data. The card equipped with an RFID has larger memory capacity and higher security than a magnetic card that records data by a magnetic recording method. Hence, modes of the card equipped with an RFID applicable to various fields have been proposed recently.
In general, a semiconductor device such as an RFID includes an antenna and an IC chip, and there are a case where an antenna is formed directly on an IC chip and a case where an antenna is formed separately from an IC chip and then connected to the IC chip. In the latter case, an antenna pattern is generally formed over a PCB (Printed Circuit Board, a glass epoxy resin) substrate which is called a rigid substrate, or an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit, a polyimide resin) substrate which is called a flexible substrate. The antenna pattern is conventionally formed by forming a copper foil over a PCB substrate or an FPC substrate and then patterning the copper foil by an etching method or a photolithography method (Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-284521 and Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-282487, for example).
In addition, for forming a minute wiring of a semiconductor element, a method in which an electrolytic plating film is formed by an electrolytic plating process on a wiring pattern of a conductive material, so as to be used as a wiring is known (Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-87597, for example).
However, in the case where an antenna is formed by patterning a copper foil as described above, copper in a region which is not left as a pattern needs to be treated as waste, and use efficiency of the raw material is low. Furthermore, copper in a region which is not left as a pattern should be treated as waste, which is not good for the environment.
In addition, in the case where a copper foil pattern is processed by a photolithography method, for example, a photo resist, exposure equipment, a developing apparatus, etching equipment for copper, photo resist removal equipment, a drying device and the like are needed. Therefore, high equipment investment is required for manufacturing an antenna, which disturbs reduction in manufacturing cost of an antenna.
Furthermore, in the case of manufacturing a minute wiring by an electrolytic plating process as in the conventional manner, a wiring pattern and an electrolytic plating film are used as a wiring. However, if only the electrolytic plating film is used as a wiring and the wiring pattern part is reused, usage of a conductive material as the wiring pattern can be reduced, and cost of the semiconductor element and adverse effects of the manufacturing process on the environment can also be reduced.

Method of manufacturing a semiconductor device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd


An improved chemical oxygen generator (10) includes an oxygen generating candle (12) having an oxygen source, which upon decomposition will yield oxygen, and a nontoxic additive to smooth decomposition and suppress formation of toxic free chlorine gas. The nontoxic additive may be taken from the group consisting of: (1) the oxides, hydroxides ..and carbonates.!. of calcium and the rare earth elements; (2) the hydroxides ..and carbonates.!. of magnesium; and (3) mixtures of the foregoing. A complete chemical oxygen generator utilizes the candle (12) of the invention. The oxygen generator preferably includes a canister (14), oxygen-generating candle (12), and an ignition device (16). Triggering of the ignition device ignites an ignition pellet (52) which initiates decomposition of the candle body (50). Once initiated, the candle will sustain decomposition to release breathable oxygen until the candle is completely reacted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with an improved oxygen generating candle having a nontoxic additive compound to smooth decomposition and suppress formation of toxic free chlorine gas. More particularly, it is concerned with a candle having an oxygen source, and having therein an additive taken from the group consisting of the oxides, hydroxides and carbonates of calcium and the rare earth elements, and the hydroxides and carbonates of magnesium, which upon decomposition will yield breathable oxygen.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Chemical oxygen candles based on the decomposition of alkali metal chlorates or perchlorates are used where an oxygen supply is needed in passenger airplanes, submarines, and other closed atmospheric conditions.
Previous oxygen candles have consisted of an alkali meta chlorate or perchlorate source which produces oxygen upon decomposition, and BaO.sub.2 to smooth decomposition and suppress toxic free chlorine gas formation. A metal oxide catalyst is also commonly used to facilitate the decomposition, along with amounts of iron or other metal powder fuel to furnish extra heat necessary to help sustain the decomposition and glass powder or glass fiber as a binder.
Although BaO.sub.2 has useful functions and has been used in oxygen candles for decades, it is a poisonous compound. Unless precautions are taken, tiny BaO.sub.2 particles may contaminate the oxygen produced. Moreover, environmental regulations require costly special disposal of scraps and expended oxygen candles containing BaO.sub.2. Various caustic alkali metal oxides such as Li.sub.2 O.sub.2, KO.sub.2, Na.sub.2 O.sub.2, and Na.sub.2 O have also been used to suppress acidic chlorine gas formation.
Markowitz, in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Product Research and Development, Vol. 3, No. 4, page 321 at 324, (1964), discloses use of Li.sub.2 O.sub.2 and KO.sub.2 to suppress free chlorine formation in a lithium perchlorate oxygen candle. This reference points out that, consistent with the use of barium peroxide in the chlorate candle and in other pyrochemical oxygen source systems, it is the highly basic additives such as Li.sub.2 O, Li.sub.2 O.sub.2, LiOH, BaO.sub.2 which appreciably lower the amounts of chlorine stemming from the decomposing lithium perchlorate.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,702,305, and 3,736,104 disclose use of sodium oxide and peroxide catalysts in a sodium chlorate oxygen candle. However, these alkali metal oxides, as well as those disclosed by Markowitz, are air sensitive and caustic. They will adsorb moisture and CO.sub.2 from the air, resulting in decomposition upon exposure to air, with concomitant problems for production use and storage. Candles using such compounds must be produced by a dry process, and production by wet pressing is precluded. In addition, such candles require costly special disposal when expended or scrapped because of the remaining caustic alkali metal oxides.