The invention relates to the collective fabrication of superposed microstructures, such as an integrated circuit and a protective cover. Individual structures each comprising superposed first and second elements are fabricated collectively. The first elements (for example, integrated circuit chips) are prepared on a first plate and the second elements (for example, transparent covers) are prepared on a second plate. The plates are bonded to each other over the major portion of their facing surfaces, but with no bonding of the defined zones in which there is no adhesion. The individual structures are then diced via the top on the one hand and via the bottom on the other hand along different parallel dicing lines passing through the zones with no adhesion, so that, after dicing, the first elements retain surface portions (those lying between the parallel dicing lines) that are not covered by a second element. A connection pad may thus remain accessible at this point.

To make the invention more clearly understood, and merely by way of example, the application to the fabrication of an electronic image sensor will be described more precisely. An electronic image sensor is typically intended for example to form the core of a digital camera. It converts an image projected on its sensitive surface into electrical signals.
Conventionally, the image sensor is a monolithic electronic integrated circuit formed on a silicon substrate. Formed on the surface of this substrate are, on the one hand, a matrix of photodetectors and, on the other hand, peripheral electronic circuits called "drivers". The drivers are used to drive the matrix and extract and process the signals which are output by the matrix and which represent, in electronic form, the image projected on the matrix by an objective.
The monolithic integrated circuit is therefore intended to be combined, in the camera, with a projection optic (a lens or several superposed lenses) that projects the image to be detected on the photosensitive surface of the matrix. This projection optic may form part of the sensor, that is to say it may be integrated with the sensor placed in front of the upper surface thereof, or it may be separate and form part of the camera. However, even if it is separate, it may be useful to provide, on the sensor itself, another optical element, such as a transparent protective wafer or optical filter, mounted directly on the sensor during its fabrication. This is the case not only for photography in the visible range, but it is also for example the case in the field of X-ray imaging, in which it may be desirable to mount, on the sensor, during fabrication of the latter, a wafer of scintillator material, and optically a fiber optic wafer between the scintillator and the matrix of photodetectors.
Thus, examples may be given in which it is useful to combine, with an integrated circuit having electronic functions, a mechanical or optical structure that does not initially form part of the same substrate as the actual integrated circuit, but which has to be attached to this substrate during its fabrication. The simplest example is the transparent wafer on an image sensor, and the explanation will continue with regard to this simple case, although the invention applies to the other structures mentioned above (lenses, fiber wafers, etc.) or even a simple protective cover, whether transparent or not, or a superposition of electronic circuit plates. It will be seen that this transfer of a protective plate or of another structure onto the integrated circuit has hitherto posed problems, and the present invention is aimed at solving these problems.
Conventionally, the fabrication of an integrated circuit is carried out collectively starting from a silicon wafer. A multiplicity of identical individual integrated circuits, arranged in an array of rows and columns, is formed on this wafer by successive operations, namely deposition of layers, photolithography of these layers and chemical etching or ion etching. Next, the wafer is diced into individual "chips", each corresponding to a single integrated circuit. Each chip is subsequently mounted in an individual package.
When a transparent glass plate has to be attached to the front face of the integrated circuit, before the latter is mounted in its individual package, this plate is firstly cut to the desired dimensions (slightly smaller than those of the chip itself) and is then bonded to the upper face of the chip. In what follows, the term "upper face" or "front face" of the chip or of the substrate refers to the face on which the circuit features defining the electronic functions of the image sensor are formed by successive deposition and etching operations. Among these features, there are contact pads for electrical connection with the outside of the sensor, for controlling the sensor and for receiving the signals representing the image. These pads are located on the periphery of the chip and must remain accessible so as to be able to be soldered to connection pins on the package. This is why the transparent glass plate is cut to smaller dimensions than the surface of the chip—the pads on the periphery of the chip must not be covered by the glass plate.
This fabrication technique means that the transparent wafer must be individually bonded to each chip. The bonding step is therefore not a collective step for the entire wafer of multiple chips. To reduce the fabrication costs, it would be desirable for this step to be a collective step. In addition, if the bonding step is carried out collectively before dicing, the transparent plate protects the chip from dust resulting from the dicing operation, something which is not the case when the bonding takes place only after dicing.
However, a collective fabrication technique encounters a fundamental difficulty: if a glass plate is bonded to the wafer, this glass plate will cover all of the chips, that is to say not only the photosensitive matrix and its drivers, but also the contact pads, thereby making access to them difficult.
Collective fabrication techniques for solving this difficulty have already been envisioned. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,235 proposes a technique consisting in making, after the transparent plate has been bonded, a trench having oblique sidewalls that cut the pads, followed by deposition of metal in this trench, in contact with the cut portion of the pads. This metal deposited in the trench is up to the upper face of the plate, so as to form new pads, which are accessible. This technique is complicated—it uses process steps that are not conventional in microelectronics and establishing contacts inside the trench is not easy.
Another technique consists in arranging for the contact pads to be located on the rear face of the chip, while still being connected, through the thickness of the semiconductor wafer, to the circuits formed on the front face of the chip. This technique has been used in particular for image sensors having a thinned semiconductor substrate. However, passing contacts from the front face of the substrate (the face of which all the elements of the integrated circuit are produced) to the rear face is difficult and requires, on the one hand, deep etching and, on the other hand, deposition and etching treatments on both sides of the substrate, which is not desirable.
In the particular field of micromachined electromechanical sensors, for example for accelerometers, various bonding techniques have been also proposed for bonding two silicon wafers, such as for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,033. However, these techniques are complicated as they require particular texturing of the two wafers before they are brought into contact.
There is therefore a need for simpler collective fabrication of chips starting from a wafer, which allows a plate to be collectively bonded to the front face of the wafer, while however permitting electrical access to contacts on the sensor via the front face of the latter after the wafer has been divided up into multiple chips.

Process for the collective fabrication of microstructures consisting of superposed elements


A circuit board testing apparatus for testing continuity and/or short-circuit of wirings formed on a circuit board, includes an electromagnetic wave irradiator which irradiates first terminals of the wirings with an electromagnetic wave so that electrons are discharged from the first terminals by photoelectric effect. Discharged electrons are trapped by an electrode which is electrically biased to have a higher potential than that of the second terminals of the wirings, thereby causing an electric current to flow through the wirings via the electrode. Existence of open-circuit and/or short-circuit of the wirings is judged based on the current flowing the wirings.

This invention relates to a circuit board testing apparatus and method for testing such electric state as continuity, open-circuit, short-circuit, of a number of wirings formed on a circuit board.
It should be appreciated that this invention is applicable to testing of electric state of wirings formed on any of a variety of circuit boards or substrates such as printed circuit boards, flexible circuit boards, multi-layer circuit boards, glass substrates for use in liquid crystal display or plasma display panels, and film carriers for use in semiconductor packages, and that the term "circuit boards" as used in this specification may be any of these variety of boards.
Circuit boards are formed with a wiring pattern by a number of wirings thereon. There have been proposed a number of testing apparatus to test whether the wiring pattern has been formed as designed. Recent trend of making small-sized and light-weighted electronic devices necessitates arranging a wiring pattern in a complex manner in a small area. Thus, it is difficult to test open-circuits and short-circuits of wirings by direct contact of probes with the circuit board. Therefore, there has been proposed a contactless testing apparatus to test electric state of a wiring pattern such as open circuit without causing direct contact of probes with a minute conductive pad.
For example, Japanese Patent No. 3080158 discloses this type of apparatus which is adapted for testing an open or short-circuit of a wiring formed on a circuit board. In the apparatus, specifically, an electromagnetic wave is irradiated onto a pad connected to each wiring of a circuit pattern formed on a circuit board to thereby cause discharge of electrons from the pad owing to photoelectric effect. The open or short-circuit of the wiring is tested based on an electric current which is caused by discharged electrons to run into a ground (GND) plane or external metallic plate capacitively coupled.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-278342 discloses a printed board testing apparatus which detects electrons discharged in a space owing to photoelectric effect to test continuity or open-circuit of wirings of the printed board. Specifically, an electric charge sensor and an electromagnetic wave generator are movably provided above the printed board with a specified gap or distance therebetween. The electric charge sensor and the electromagnetic wave generator are relatively moved over the printed board to scan discharged electrons. The electric state of wirings are judged based on detected changes of the electric current.
The aforementioned conventional arts are suffered from the following drawbacks. In the conventional art, an electromagnetic wave is merely irradiated onto a pad or wirings. Electrons which are discharged owing to photoelectric effect upon irradiation are returned to the pad and wirings, or dispersed in the space without being utilized for the testing.
Further, discharged electrons form a spatial charge region, and lower the electron discharging efficiency of the photoelectric effect. Even if electrons are discharged instantaneously owing to photoelectric effect, accordingly, current flowing in the ground plate or external metallic plate cannot be measured with reliability. Thus, it is difficult to accomplish stable and precise test efficiency.
In the apparatus of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-278342, further, the electric charge sensor and the electromagnetic wave generator are moved relatively to the printed board to scan discharged electrons, which consequently increases the size of the apparatus. It will be seen that in the case of producing a vacuumed space between the printed board and the electric charge sensor and the electromagnetic wave generator, a larger-sized vacuuming unit is required.

Circuit based testing apparatus and method for testing a circuit board


The invention relates to a processing apparatus (100) for processing tissue samples, having a control unit (140) configured to control at least one apparatus function of the processing apparatus (100); and a communication device (130, 135) configured to read at least one information item from a user identification unit (151, 152, 153) and convey the at least one information item to the control unit (140). The control unit (140) is configured to control the at least one apparatus function of the processing apparatus (100) based on the at least one information item conveyed.

DE 10 2008 052 870 A1 discloses a microtome apparatus having a capability for user identification. As a function of the user who is identified, for example, different apparatus functions can be authorized or blocked ("authentication"). Operator-specific apparatus settings associated with the user who is identified can also be transferred ("initialization").
It is desirable to simplify and accelerate user identification on such histological processing apparatuses, such as microtome apparatuses, and in particular to make it less susceptible to error, since such apparatuses are often used in a medical environment in which reliable and error-free operation is important.

Processing apparatus for processing tissue samples having a reading device for user identification units


A transmitting apparatus that transmits signals from a plurality of antennas, and can improve the security of communication compared with a conventional system. In this apparatus, an antenna changing section (105) stores an antenna change pattern in internal memory, and each time a clock signal is input, generates an antenna change signal directing an antenna change in accordance with the antenna change pattern, and outputs this signal to an antenna selection section (106). Based on the antenna change signal, the antenna selection section (106) selects two different antennas from among the transmitting antennas (107-1 through 107-3) as transmitting antennas of transmit signal A output from a radio section (104-1) and transmit signal B output from a radio section (104-2), and performs radio transmission of transmit signal A and transmit signal B using the selected transmitting antennas.

The widespread use of mobile terminals and so forth in recent years has brought demands for improved security between a transmitting apparatus and receiving apparatus when performing radio communication. One example of a conventional secure communication method that assures security (Patent Literature 1) will be described using FIG. 1.
In FIG. 1, a transmitting apparatus 10 has a modulation section 11, a radio section 12, and a transmitting antenna 13. Modulation section 11 has a transmit digital signal as input, modulates this signal and generates a transmit baseband signal, and outputs this signal to radio section 12. Radio section 12 has the transmit baseband signal as input, up-converts this signal and generates a transmit signal, and transmits this signal from transmitting antenna 13 as a radio signal.
On the other hand, a receiving apparatus 50 has a receiving antenna 51, a transmitting antenna 52, a radio section 53, an interference wave generation section 54, an interference wave processing section 55, an adding section 56, and a demodulation section 57. Radio section 53 has a received signal received by receiving antenna 51 as input, down-converts this signal and generates a received baseband signal, and outputs this signal to adding section 56. Radio section 53 also has an interference wave signal generated by interference wave generation section 54 as input, up-converts this signal and generates a transmit interference wave signal, and transmits this signal from transmitting antenna 52 as a radio signal. As a result, a signal in which the transmit signal transmitted as a radio signal from transmitting antenna 13 and the transmit interference wave signal transmitted as a radio signal from transmitting antenna 52 are added together becomes the received signal received by receiving antenna 51.
Interference wave processing section 55 has an interference wave signal generated by interference wave generation section 54 as input, performs phase inversion processing and attenuation processing on this signal and generates a processed interference wave signal, and outputs this signal to adding section 56.
Adding section 56 has the received baseband signal and processed interference wave signal as input, and adds these signals together. By this means, the interference wave signal is eliminated from the received baseband signal, and an interference wave free signal is generated. Adding section 56 outputs the interference wave free signal to demodulation section 57. Demodulation section 57 has the interference wave free signal as input, demodulates this signal, and outputs a received digital signal.
Thus, with the conventional technology, secure communication is performed by having an interference wave generated by the receiving apparatus and eliminating the interference wave in the receiving apparatus.    Patent Literature 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No.2001-94536


A wireless terminal determines the transmission power used for its dedicated control channel at a point in time, and generates a power report indicating a ratio of a maximum wireless terminal transmit power to the transmit power of the dedicated control channel at the point in time. The power report provides a measure of available transmit power for wireless terminal use for other purposes, e.g., uplink traffic channels, after taking into consideration the transmit power used for the dedicated control channel. The point in time has a known time offset from the start of a communications segment in which the power report is transmitted. This allows the base station receiving dedicated control channel uplink signals from the wireless terminal to measure the received signals, receive and process the communicated power report, and correlate information to be used for accurate wireless terminal closed loop power control.

Wireless terminals, e.g., mobile nodes, in a cellular wireless communications system supporting uplink traffic channel communications with a base station attachment point, are typically power controlled with respect to their transmitter power level of operation, e.g., to accommodate for changing channel conditions and/or data rates.
While the base station may control wireless terminal transmission power based on received signal strength, the base station may not know the actual transmission power used by the wireless terminal or the wireless terminal's maximum transmission power level capacity.
From a scheduling and control perspective, it would be useful from a base station point of view if information were available from individual wireless terminals providing some indication of the terminal's ability to allocate transmission power, at a particular point in time, to the transmission of, e.g., user data.
Based on the above, it should be appreciated that there is a need for methods and apparatus for providing information to a base station about the amount of power available for transmission of, e.g., user data at one or more particular points in time.

Methods and apparatus for communicating and/or using transmission power information


A method for IF bandwidth switchover and an IF bandwidth switchover apparatus in an AM radio receiver are described. This kind of switchover is appropriate if radio transmitters not only transmit at the normal modulation bandwidth but also broadcast programs with an expanded bandwidth. To obtain optimal reception, the switchover is performed as a function of the reception conditions. To this end, the error rate of supplemental AM information, adjacent-channel interference and the signal strength can be evaluated. These criteria can be used either individually or in various combinations.

High-quality radio reception in Europe has previously been attainable only with VHF transmitters. On the medium-wave or AM broadcast band, conversely, the audio quality is poor because of the low-frequency bandwidth of 4.5 kHz, which is limited by the 9 kHz channel separation or allocation pattern provided by government regulations, for example in Germany.
With only a few exceptions, medium-wave or AM transmitters were previously used for supraregional service to areas that were beyond the range of the VHF transmitters. The AM program was also broadcast over the VHF transmitters, however.
To widen the range of programs, an article by H. Fritsch, entitled "Mittelwelle, Akzeptanz durch mehr Klang" (which translates into English as: Broader Acceptance Through Better Sound), in the Journal Funkschau [Broadcast Review] 1990, No. 3, pp. 40-45, proposes sending AM's "own" programs over the AM band as well. The plan is to use a wider low-frequency bandwidth than has previously been the case in broadcasting. Experiments are intended to find out how this could be done, for which transmitters and frequencies and at what times of day, without disturbing adjacent transmitters.
Once these experiments are completed, if a broad-band program is broadcast by various transmitters, then there will in the future be two types of transmitters, in the medium-wave range and perhaps in the long-wave range as well. One type of transmitter functions as before with a normal bandwidth, which fits into the usual 9 kHz pattern; the other transmitters will operate with bandwidth expansion.
To be able to receive the programs in the quality offered in each case, a departure from the previous design for radio receivers for a fixed intermediate frequency bandwidth must be made. Instead, the capacity for switchover of the IF filter must be provided, to attain optimal reception results in each case.
Although manual switchover is possible and is intrinsically conceivable, it is inconvenient, because varying medium-wave broadcasting conditions can engender fluctuations in the reception quality; when transmitters with an expanded bandwidth are received, these fluctuations can necessitate a switchover of the IF filter to a narrower bandwidth even while a transmission is in progress. This can be expected especially in vehicle radios, with increasing distance from where the transmitter is located.

AM radio receiver with switchable IF bandwidth


A semiconductor substrate for forming a pixel area provided surfacially with a plurality of pixels for photoelectric conversion, the semiconductor substrate, including a polysilicon film of a thickness of 0.5-2.0, on a rear surface of the pixel area-bearing surface, and having an oxygen concentration of 1.3-1.5E+18 atom/cm3 (old ASTM).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gettering substrate for reducing a pixel defect generated by a heavy metal impurity in a solid-state image pickup device such as a CMOS image pickup device, a semiconductor substrate for a solid-state image pickup device, and a producing method therefor.
2. Related Background Art
It is already known that, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, characteristics of the device are deteriorated when a crystalline defect, generated by a contamination by a heavy metal such as Fe, Ni, Cr etc. present in a semiconductor substrate, is formed on a surface of the semiconductor substrate on which a device is to be formed.
In particular, in a CMOS image pickup device, a crystalline defect generated in a photoelectric converting device generates a weak current in a dark state, causing a white dot defect in the image pickup device.
For reducing such white dot defect, there has been employed an IG (intrinsic gettering) method or a PBS (polysilicon back seal) method.
The IG method is described for example in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H11-021200, and the PBS is described for example in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H07-022429 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,786).
Also in order to avoid a drawback of excessive BMD (bulk micro defect) generation in the PBS method, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H08-045944 describes a temperature defining prior to a polysilicon film formation on the rear surface, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. H08-104592 and H11-103042 describe that an impurity introduction leads to a dark current generation and a white dot defect in the semiconductor image pickup apparatus.
It is also known that an output of the white dot defect in the image pickup apparatus depends on a type of heavy metal constituting the cause thereof.
For gettering of such various heavy metals, the IG method and the PBS method are useful.
However, a single gettering technology is insufficient for achieving a gettering effect for plural heavy metals.
This is because each heavy metal has a matching gettering technology. FIG. 5 briefly shows an example.
It is shown that the PBS method is more effective than the IG method for a certain output, and the IG method is more effective for other output.
Therefore, for reducing the number of white dot defects thereby improving the image obtained by the image pickup apparatus, there is desired a gettering technology effective for various heavy metals constituting the cause of such defects.

Semiconductor substrate for solid-state image pickup device and producing method therefor


The present invention provide rules of play and game components for a game in which players may win by correctly predicting the order in which the moving pieces will reach the finish line. Players may influence the movement of the playing pieces on the pathways by playing movement cards or cards invoking special rules.

The present disclosure relates to board games. More particularly, the present invention relates to rules and apparatus for playing a board game where a race is simulated and the object of the game is to correctly predict the outcome of the race.
Examples of board games that simulate racing experiences are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,044,779, 3,241,279, 4,033,587, 4,093,238, 4,357,017, 4,550,917, 5,092,605, 5,139,267, 5,308,078, 5,322,293, 5,350,178, 5,551,699, 5,560,609, 5,749,582, 5,823,872, 5,934,673, 6,095,522, and 6,464,223, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. Examples of board games wherein players predict the outcome of a race are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,823,872, 5,853,173 and 5,938,200 the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
The advantages of the present invention will be understood more readily after a consideration of the drawings and the Detailed Description.


Techniques are disclosed for encrypting application data files using a format-friendly encryption process. A software agent may create an encrypted version of an application file using the same data file format of the unencrypted file. For example, when a user encrypts a word processing document, the software agent outputs a word processing document which includes an encrypted copy of the first word processing document. Application data files for other file formats may be encrypted in a similar manner. Further, format-friendly encrypted documents may include instructions for accessing the encrypted content, allowing the standard applications for accessing a given file format to present the instructions to a user. Creating encrypted document using the format-friendly encryption formats allows users who access an encrypted file hosted by a cloud storage provider to receive the information needed to access that application file.

1. Field
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to techniques for managing encrypted files. More specifically, embodiments of the invention provide format-friendly encryption techniques where the format of a file being encrypted is selected as a format for an encrypted copy of that file.
2. Description of the Related Art
Protecting access to data is a well known issue in numerous contexts. For example, it is common for individuals to encrypt sensitive data using a variety of software encryption tools. Frequently, these tools are used to encrypt a file, e.g., a word-processor document, using a symmetric key generated form a password. So long as the user remembers the password, they can decrypt the document.
Similarly, it is common for an enterprise to encrypt sensitive data created by users and a variety of tools are available for this purpose. For example, in an enterprise setting, documents (and other files) are encrypted using keys associated with users authorized to access a given document (or file). In such a case, e.g., an administrator may specify that all documents in a given folder (or other shared storage location) should be encrypted. An administrator may also specify which users are authorized to access a given document (or folder) and create/distribute keys used to do so. In some cases, the encryption/decryption may generally be transparent to users within the enterprise. For example, a proxy, plug-in, driver, or software agent, may be used to encrypt and decrypt files accessed by a given application (e.g., a word processor, spreadsheet, email client, presentation software, etc.). Typically, encrypted files are stored using a format that is independent from that of the format of the unencrypted file. For example, a spreadsheet file, word processor document, etc., may be converted to a proprietary binary format (or simple text format) when encrypted using a software tool. In such a case, when accessed by an application that can read the original data format, the encrypted content is unintelligible.
More and more data is being shared outside of enterprise boundaries, e.g., a variety of online services for file sharing allow application files to be accessed in a distributed manner. In such a case, when a user shares an application file with a cloud-storage provider, a user accessing that document may end up accessing an encrypted file within no means to decrypt it and attempting to view the file using an application that does not understand the encrypted content. More generally, using encryption tools often creates friction in business processes within an enterprise, as once a user (or proxy acting on behalf of a user) encrypts data, it is no longer usable by the software that created and/or maintains that data. This produces unfriendly results for users who try to access the file later, either forgetting to decrypt it first or not having the software on hand to decrypt it. Furthermore, even if the end user understands encryption concepts and that a given application file has been encrypted, the end user might not be aware of what software to download or what steps are required to get a file into an unencrypted state. This can occur, e.g., when a user uploads a file transparently encrypted by a proxy agent to a shared cloud storage provider.


In order to facilitate impedance matching even when using a magnetic field antenna for power transmission in a medium, this underwater wireless power supply device 101 wirelessly transmits energy by resonating at a frequency determined by the impedance of a power transmission antenna 103, the impedance of a power receiving antenna 104, and the impedance of a good conductor medium 102. The power transmission antenna 103 and the power receiving antenna 104 have multiple antenna coils 1061, and multiple resonant antenna units 1051 to 1054 having at least one dielectric 1071 arranged between the multiple antenna coils 1061, and, at least one of the multiple resonant antenna units 1051 to 1054 is provided with a load adjustment mechanism 1081 for adjusting the load.

A technology of transmitting energy wirelessly in a medium such as sea water is disclosed in PTL 1 and PTL 2, for example. In such a technology, a power transmission antenna for transmitting energy and a power receiving antenna for receiving energy are formed of coils obtained by winding lead wires a plurality of times. A magnetic field interlinking across the coils is generated by applying AC power to the coils of the power transmission antenna. The magnetic field interlinks across the coils of the power receiving antenna and generates induced current in the coils of the power receiving antenna, and thereby, power supply is performed.
However, in such a technology, the power transmission antenna and the power receiving antenna can be set away from each other by only approximately 2 cm in distance. Accordingly, with respect to a moving body or a sensor driven in the sea, positioning accuracy of the power transmission antenna is required to be set high. Further, it is difficult to obtain an intended power supply property in a case where a living organism adheres to the antenna. Thus, there is difficulty in supplying power in a stable manner.
When it is possible for the power transmission antenna and the power receiving antenna to be set away from each other by 5 cm or more in order to perform power supply, restriction on positioning accuracy of a moving body driven in the sea and adhesion of a living organism is significantly relieved.
As a result of detailed examination on factors causing insufficient power supply efficiency in the sea in the above-mentioned related art, the following matter is revealed. That is, sea water has electric conductivity higher than that of a medium such as air, and hence eddy current or diffusion current is generated when a magnetic field or an electric field (electromagnetic field) passes through the sea water. Accordingly, loss is caused. Herein, the air has electric conductivity of 0 and relative permittivity of approximately 1, whereas the sea water has electric conductivity of approximately 4 S/m.
Further, as a result of examination on a method for reducing loss of an electromagnetic field passing through the sea water having the above-mentioned high electric conductivity, it is understood that attenuation of the electromagnetic field passing through the sea water is caused proportionally to Expression (1) described below.
                    exp                          (                      -                                          2                                d                                                              π                                                                                f                                                                                μσ                                                              )                                    (        1        )
In the expression, "d", "f", "μ", and "σ" indicate a distance between the power transmission antenna and the power receiving antenna, a frequency, magnetic permeability of the sea water, and electric conductivity of the sea water, respectively.
FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating, by using Expression (1), a relationship between a frequency and an attenuation factor in a case where the electromagnetic field advances in the sea water.
As apparent from FIG. 8, in order to obtain sufficient transmission efficiency when the power transmission antenna and the power receiving antenna are set away from each other in the sea water by 5 cm or more, for example, antennas that are operated at a low frequency lower than 100 kHz are required. However, an operation frequency of the antenna and a size of the antenna has a trade-off relationship. Hitherto, even in a case where the antennas are small enough to match with a size of a moving body or a sensor in the sea water, and also the power transmission antenna and the power receiving antenna are set away from each other in the sea water by 5 cm or more, it has been difficult to perform power supply with a practical power supply efficiency of several tens percent or more.
A technology for solving this problem is disclosed in PTL 3, for example. A power transmission device disclosed in PTL 3 performs power transmission at high efficiency even in a conductive medium such as sea water by coupling a magnetic field transmitted from the power transmission antenna to the power receiving antenna and resonating at resonant impedance determined by impedance of the medium present between the antennas.

Wireless power supply device and wireless power supply method


A coating process and system suitable for use on components subjected to high temperatures. The coating system includes an overlay coating of predominantly B2 phase rhodium aluminide (RhAl) intermetallic compound containing about 25 to about 90 atomic percent rhodium, about 10 to about 60 atomic percent aluminum, optionally up to a combined total of about 25 atomic percent of one or more platinum group metals chosen from the group consisting of platinum, palladium, ruthenium, and iridium, and up to about 20 atomic percent of the base metal and alloying constituents of the substrate. The RhAl intermetallic coating may serve as an environmental coating, a diffusion barrier layer for an overlying environmental coating, or both, with or without an outer ceramic coating.

The present invention generally relates to protective coating systems for components exposed to high temperatures, such as the hostile thermal environment of a gas turbine engine. More particularly, this invention relates to coating systems that contain rhodium aluminide-based layers as, for example, environmental coatings, bond coats, and diffusion barrier layers.
Certain components of the turbine, combustor and augmentor sections that are susceptible to damage by oxidation and hot corrosion attack are typically protected by an environmental coating and optionally a thermal barrier coating (TBC), in which case the environmental coating is termed a bond coat that in combination with the TBC forms what has been termed a TBC system. Environmental coatings and TBC bond coats are often formed of an oxidation-resistant aluminum-containing alloy or intermetallic whose aluminum content provides for the slow growth of a strong adherent continuous aluminum oxide layer (alumina scale) at elevated temperatures. This thermally grown oxide (TGO) provides protection from oxidation and hot corrosion, and in the case of a bond coat promotes a chemical bond with the TBC.
Environmental coatings and TBC bond coats in wide use include diffusion coatings that contain aluminum intermetallics (predominantly beta-phase nickel aluminide (β-NiAl) and platinum-modified nickel aluminides), and overlay coatings such as MCrAlX (where M is iron, cobalt and/or nickel, and X is yttrium, rare earth metals, and reactive metals). Overlay coatings are physically and compositionally distinguishable from diffusion coatings in that a diffusion coating significantly interacts with the substrate it protects during deposition as a result of the diffusion process to form various intermetallic and metastable phases beneath the substrate surface, whereas an overlay coating does not and as a result has a limited diffusion zone and predominantly retains its as-deposited composition, which in the case of MCrAlX is a solid solution alloy. Because TBC life depends not only on the environmental resistance but also the strength of its bond coat, bond coats capable of exhibiting higher strength have also been developed, notable examples of which are beta-phase NiAl overlay coatings. In contrast to the aforementioned MCrAlX overlay coatings, which are metallic solid solutions containing intermetallic phases, the NiAl beta phase is an intermetallic compound that exists for nickel-aluminum compositions containing about 30 to about 60 atomic percent aluminum. Examples of beta-phase NiAl overlay coatings are disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,975,852 to Nagaraj et al., 6,153,313 to Rigney et al., 6,255,001 to Darolia, 6,291,084 to Darolia et al., and 6,620,524 to Pfaendtner et al. The suitability of environmental coatings and TBC bond coats formed of NiAlPt to contain fcc gamma (γ-Ni) and the gamma-prime phase (γ′-Ni3Al) has also been considered, as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004/0229075 to Gleeson et al., 2006/0093801 to Darolia et al., and 2006/0093850 to Darolia et al.
Aside from use as additives in MCrAlX overlay coatings, diffusion aluminide coatings, and gamma/gamma-prime phase NiAl coatings, platinum and other platinum group metals (PGM) such as rhodium and palladium have been considered as bond coat materials. For example, commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,866 to Nagaraj et al. discloses PGM-based diffusion bond coats formed by depositing and diffusing platinum, rhodium, or palladium into a substrate surface, or alternatively diffusing a PGM into an otherwise conventional bond coat material.
The above-noted coating materials contain different levels of alloying constituents (e.g., aluminum) relative to the superalloys they protect. Furthermore, superalloys contain various elements, including refractory elements, that are not present or are present in relatively small amounts in these coatings. When bond coats and environmental coatings of the type described above are deposited on superalloy substrates, solid-state diffusion occurs to some degree between the coatings and the substrates at elevated temperatures often encountered by superalloy components. This migration alters the chemical composition and microstructure of both the coating and the substrate in the vicinity of the interface, generally with deleterious results. For example, migration of aluminum out of an aluminide diffusion or overlay coating reduces its oxidation resistance, while interdiffusion with the substrate beneath the coating can result in the formation of topologically close-packed (TCP) phases that, if present at sufficiently high levels, can drastically reduce the load-carrying capability of the alloy. PGM-based bond coats are also limited by their susceptibility to interdiffusion with superalloy substrates, leading to undesirable contamination of the coating and excessive Kirchendall voiding.
In view of the above, diffusion barrier coatings have been developed and evaluated. In addition to inhibiting migration of elements between a coating and the substrate it protects, diffusion barrier coatings must also be oxidation resistant, particularly if the coating is a PGM-based coating due to the oxygen permeability of platinum group metals. Examples of diffusion barriers include ruthenium-based coatings disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,306,524 to Spitsberg et al., 6,720,088 to Zhao et al., and 6,746,782 to Zhao et al. Though the coating systems discussed above represent significant advancements in protective coating systems for high-temperature components, further improvements are desired.

Coating systems containing rhodium aluminide-based layers


The application discloses a radio transmission device for receiving/transmitting of radio packets, comprising: a reception means (34) connected to a mixing means (4) via a transmit/receive switch (32) and an amplifying means (30), said mixing means (4) being connected via a demodulation means (12) to a base band processing means (20), wherein said base band processing means (20) is connected via a modulation means (28) to a power amplifying means (42), wherein said modulation means (28) is releasably connected via a phase locked loop circuit (15) to said mixing means (4).

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to radio transceivers using phase-locked loop circuits (PLLs). It also relates generally to superheterodyne radio transceivers. In particular the present invention relates to superheterodyne transceivers capable of executing an alignment process without using an external feedback loop.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The growing spread of cellular phones in recent years shows the demand for low cost transceivers. As for the phones, a wireless transmission system is planned to replace connection wires in other technical fields.
One conventional system to replace connection wires is the Bluetooth™ system. It is a low power, low range, and low cost radio communication system that is planned to replace wires or cables between computers, components, e.g. monitors and the like. The Bluetooth™ system operates at a frequency of 2.4 GHz. The frequency band is called ISM (Industrial Scientific and Medicine) and is destined for unlicensed low power radio operation up to a maximum irradiated power up to 100 mW, or 20 dbm. With an irradiated power up to 100 mW a spatial transmission range of a few centimeters up to a few hundred meters can be attained. Due to limitations in different countries, 23 to 79 channels having a bandwidth of 1 MHz are allocated for the unlicensed use. The Bluetooth™ system uses a frequency hopping algorithm to reduce interference caused by other users of the ISM band. The frequency hopping is executed at a rate of 1600 hops per second.
With such a short distance radio transmission all plug-in connection problems associated with e.g. laptop computers having periphery devices such as printers, storage means, or a network are easily solved, thereby obviating the need for a wire connection.
In most transceivers having variable frequency a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit is used to generate the channel frequency. The use of a PLL is a well known and cheap way to build a variable frequency generator having almost the frequency stability of a quartz oscillator.
A standard PLL comprises a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), a frequency divider, a reference oscillator and a feed back loop. In the standard operation, the output oscillation from the VCO is divided by a frequency divider and the phases are compared with the phases of a reference oscillator in a phase detector. Any deviation of the phases of the divided VCO frequency and the reference oscillation is fed back to the VCO. With this feedback loop the output frequency of the PLL is locked to a multiple of the reference oscillator frequency. Frequency deviations of the reference oscillator due to manufacturing tolerances are multiplied by the division factor of the frequency divider. Therefore it is important to align the reference oscillator.
For low cost radio transceivers the frequency of the reference oscillator is usually adjusted during manufacture using a piece of measurement equipment such as a frequency counter. The frequency is measured while at the same time an internal parameter of the transceiver is varied until the measured frequency reaches the required value. The accuracy of the final frequency is therefore related to the time necessary for the adjustment process and the cost incurred by the final measurement equipment used. This method is used for Bluetooth™ modules during production.
Frequency shift keying (FSK) transceivers e.g. frequency modulation (FM) transceivers must have their modulation index of the transmitting path of the transceiver aligned. It is the usual routine to align the modulation index of an FSK transceiver such that the frequency deviation fulfils a given specification. For example, the specification requires that the maximum and minimum frequency deviations are not allowed to exceed predetermined limits. To achieve this accuracy the transmitter modulation index must be aligned by adjusting the transmitter of the device under test (DUT). The time taken for this alignment and the cost of the equipment required must be related to the accuracy of the final result. The alignment which is eventually adopted uses a spectrum analyzer to measure the output spectrum of the generated signal from the DUT transmitter. This result is employed to calculate the correct setting for the transmitter. The final setting is fed back to the DUT and a further measurement is made to confirm the setting.
The main drawback of the conventional alignment processes resides in the expensive test equipment and a time consuming alignment process. The alignment processes require complex algorithms and external feedback loops. Therefore, a transceiver module that can be sold to customers for integration into e.g. personal computers, has to provide additional external outputs and inputs. A conventional radio frequency transceiver module in addition needs a base band memory capacity.
From the WO 00/18072 there are already known receivers and transmitters for receiving or transmitting a radio packet at a predetermined frequency. A transceiver according to this document permits a power saving operation. It is not capable though of executing fast and simple alignment processes for the operation parameters, such as the reference oscillator frequency or the transmit modulation index.

Radio transmission device and method for aligning parameters thereof


An apparatus to rapidly deliver a drug to a patient, the invention comprising the method of locating a drug beneath a patient's skin in a drug depot site, placing a heating component near the drug depot site and generating heat in and near the drug depot site. A control component connected to the heating component is used to control the magnitude and duration of heat generated by the heating component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward an apparatus and formulation for photodynamic therapy. More specifically, the invention is directed toward photodynamic therapies that include the use of controlled heat, local anesthetic-photosensitizer combined formulation, pH manipulation, and/or the solidification of the formulation after application.
2. Background
Photodynamic therapy uses photosensitizers activated by light to induce cell death via the formation of single oxygen or other free radicals. Photodynamic therapy is increasingly used to treat skin cancer, psoriasis, and other skin disorders. In a typical treatment, a formulation containing a photosensitizer is applied on the skin or other tissue to deliver the photosensitizer into the tissues by permeation. Light of proper wavelengths is then applied onto the treated tissue. The photosensitizers in the tissue cells are broken by the light to release single oxygen or other free radicals which kill the tissue cells. One commonly used photosensitizer is delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). It is desirable to deliver a local anesthetic agent to a patient's skin when the patient is undergoing a procedure using a photosensitizer. This can reduce or eliminate the pain caused by the single oxygen or other free radicals produced by the light treatment. In some cases, the anesthetic is administered after the delivery of the photosensitizer and before the light treatment requiring an additional procedure and/or additional waiting time.
There are several problems associated with the current photodynamic therapy methods and formulations involving ALA or its derivatives (such as methyl, ethyl or propyl esters): 1) It takes at least 4-6 hours of contact time to deliver sufficient amount of ALA into the tissues 2) the penetration of ALA into the treated tissues sometimes is not deep enough, 3) single oxygen or free radicals released by the light in the tissues causes pain, and 4) in some of the currently used formulations (2) of ALA are chemically unstable.

Methods and formulations for photodynamic therapy


Peptide derivatives serving as thrombin receptor antagonists are disclosed, which bear specificity for the cellular thrombin receptor without interfering with the catalytic activities of thrombin. The derivatives generally have the formula ##STR1## in which R.sup.1 and R.sup.3 are amide linkages, N-alkylamide linkages, or isosteric replacements of such linkages; R.sup.2 is either a neutral amino acid side chain or a hydrophobic radical; R.sup.4 is hydrophobic radical; R.sup.5 is CO, CH.sub.2 or SO; X is either of the formula: ##STR2## in which R.sup.6 and R.sup.7 are H, alkyl, cycloalkylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, alkylthioalkyl or arylalkyl, and R.sup.8 is a hydrophobic radical, or a hydrophobic residue; Y is alkoxy, hydroxy, amino, alkylamino, dialkylamino, in which any of the alkyl groups may be substituted with a basic moiety; Z is an amino acid or peptide residue; and m is zero or one.

This invention relates to materials which modulate the action of thrombin on cells of the vascular and circulating blood system. It is well known that thrombin has multiple activities. Perhaps the most well known activity of this serine protease is to convert fibrinogen to fibrin which clots blood. Additional functions of thrombin are widespread and diverse and appear to involve cellular activations which are mediated through cellular thrombin receptor(s). For example, thrombin is the most potent activator of platelets; it is chemotactic for monocytes; it is mitogenic for lymphocytes and mesenchymal cells including vascular smooth muscle cells and; it promotes numerous responses within the vascular endothelium. See, Coughlin, et al., J. Clin. Invest. 89:351-355 (1992). Because these cell activating functions of thrombin occur within the range of concentrations normally required for the clotting of blood, thrombin has been proposed to play important physiological roles not only in hemostasis and thrombosis but may also have principle roles in mediating responses to vascular injury such as leukocyte chemotaxis to mediate inflammation, cellular proliferation to mediate restenosis, glomerulonephritis, and wound repair such as occurs in bone remodeling.
The role of thrombin in acute thrombosis has been clearly established. For a review, see, Chesbro et al., Thromb. Haemostas., 66:1-5 (1991). However, thrombin's role in thrombosis is not limited to its blood clotting activity but also extends to platelet aggregation as thrombin appears to be the principle physiological mediator of platelet aggregate formation at sites of vascular injury resulting from the activation of the platelet thrombin receptor. Recent antithrombotic approaches inhibit or modulate the enzymatic activity of thrombin and include compounds such as heparin, low molecular weight heparins, PPACK, hirudins, argatroban, and the hirulogs. All of these agents inhibit the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Therefore, these agents not only inhibit the pro- and anticoagulant actions of thrombin but also the cell activating functions of thrombin as well. Accordingly, none of these agents are useful for specifically inhibiting the cellular actions of thrombin. No agent which specifically targets the thrombin receptor has been clinically developed. Previous attempts to identify a thrombin receptor inhibitor have been thwarted by the inability of researchers, until very recently, to identify the physiologically relevant and functional thrombin receptor.
Thrombin has numerous effects on a variety of cells outside of platelets. For example, thrombin is mitogenic for smooth muscle and endothelial cells. Thrombin is also known to increase vascular permeability and to induce vasoconstriction. See, Malik, Semin. Thromb. Hemostasis. 12:184-196 (1986). Thrombin can also induce the production and release of several constituents from endothelial cells including platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), prostacyclin, platelet-activating factor (PAF), tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor. Finally, thrombin is capable of promoting the adherence of platelets, neutrophils, monocytes and T cells. For review, see, Shuman, Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 485:228-239, (1986). All of these actions of thrombin are likely to be mediated by cellular thrombin receptors identical or nearly identical to the cloned thrombin receptor and suggest that thrombin may also play a central role in initiating inflammatory and cellular proliferative responses to vascular injury linking it with the coagulation and hemostasis cascades. While most of these responses to thrombin suggest such a linkage between hemostasis and vascular repair, this hypothesis remains to be tested. Agents which specifically effect the activation of thrombin receptor(s) within cells are ideally suited to this purpose.
Restenosis, the vascular hyperproliferative response to blood vessel wall injury induced by interventional procedures such as coronary angioplasty, may be stimulated by thrombin-induced cellular events as sites of injury either directly or indirectly. Cellular proliferation may be simulated indirectly by the release of potent growth factors from locally adherent platelets or by the action of thrombin on endothelial cells which could release PDGF upon stimulation. Smooth muscle cell proliferation within diseased vessels may also be stimulated directly by thrombin due to the high local concentration of thrombin generated at the vascular injury sites created by the active platelet-rich thrombus. Indeed, recent studies with the potent thrombin inhibitor hirudin suggest that thrombin plays such a role in the restenosis process, but it is not known for these studies whether thrombin's effect is direct or indirect. See, Sarembock, et al., Circulation, 84:232-243, (1992).
Although the cellular actions of thrombin have the potential for causing various pathological conditions, there are no known therapeutic agents which specifically block the cellular actions of thrombin. Recently, however, a functional thrombin receptor cDNA has been cloned and expressed from megakaryoblastic cells lines, and the presence of mRNA encoding this receptor has been demonstrated in human platelets and vascular endothelial cells. See, Vu, et al., Cell, 64:1057-1068 (1991). This development has created significant opportunities to develop highly specific agents which target the cellular thrombin receptor.
Close inspection of the predicted amino acid sequence of the thrombin receptor revealed a potential recognition and thrombin cleavage sequence within the 100-residue amino terminal domain of the receptor. Subsequent mutagenesis studies of the receptor has demonstrated that this cleavage site is required for thrombin-mediated receptor signaling through proteolytic cleavage at this site. See, Vu, et al., Nature, 353:674-677 (1991). These experiments confirmed previous suggestions that proteolysis of a putative thrombin receptor might be responsible for thrombin receptor activation but left unanswered how proteolysis mediates receptor signaling.
Two potential explanations for thrombin-induced signaling have been postulated. The first is that proteolytic removal of the 15-residue segment at the amino terminus of the receptor induces a conformational change in the receptor leading to receptor activation. Alternatively a specific "tethered ligand" sequence unmasked upon receptor proteolysis may directly interact with a "ligand binding site" within the body of the receptor leading to receptor activation. While both of these potential mechanisms are quite similar, if not semantic, it appears that the "tethered ligand" hypothesis is the more likely explanation for receptor signaling. Synthetic peptides which mimic the new amino acid sequence revealed upon receptor proteolysis function as full agonists of the platelet receptor even in the absence of proteolytic cleavage of the receptor. This suggests that the new amino acid sequence at the amino terminus of the receptor revealed upon cleavage of the receptor functions as a "tethered ligand" and interacts at a distal "binding site". These effects have been confirmed with the hamster receptor activated with the hamster "tethered ligand" peptide. See, Vouret-Craviari, et al., Mol. Biol. Cell. 3:95-102, (1992). Additional studies with agonist peptides have confirmed the similarity of putative thrombin receptors present in platelets, endothelial cells, fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells. See, Hung et al., J. Cell. Biol. 116:827-832, (1992) and Ngaiza and Jaffe, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 179:1656-1661 (1991).
Most research conducted to date on modulating the actions of thrombin have been directed toward non-specific inhibition of the catalytic activity of thrombin. These efforts have resulted in thrombin inhibitors which effect both the pro- and anti-coagulant actions of thrombin. For a review, see, Chesbro and Fuster, Circulation, 83:1815-1817 (1991). Certain investigators have also attempted to inhibit the cellular activities of thrombin by using polypeptides prepared from the sequence of thrombin. See, Carney and Glenn, International Patent Application Under the PCT, No. WO 88/03151, 5 May 1988. Another report has focused on the preparation of certain dipeptides and analogs which appear to inhibit thrombin-cellular activities without effecting the catalytic activity of thrombin. See, Ruda, et al., Biochem. Pharmacol. 39:373-381 (1990). Both of these approaches display a certain degree of specificity but are limited due to their lack of potent effects.
Structure-activity studies using the thrombin receptor agonist peptide sequences have also been reported. A pentapeptide sequence, Phe-Leu-Leu-Arg-Asn-OH, based on a portion of the agonist peptide minimum structure has been shown to be a weak antagonist of platelet thrombin receptors activated with either thrombin or thrombin receptor agonist peptides. See, Vassallo, et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267:6081-6085 (1992).
A different approach to receptor antagonism has been investigated by others who have raised antibodies against a peptide sequence within the amino-terminal domain of the thrombin receptor which appears to be a binding/recognition site for thrombin. Thee antibodies effectively and specifically block thrombin-induced responses in platelets, thereby acting as antagonists of the thrombin receptor. See, Hung et al., J. Clin. Invest. 89:1350-1353 (1992).
The lack of potency and/or specificity of the above described approaches to thrombin receptor antagonism limits their utility as thrombin receptor antagonists. Thus, highly potent and specific inhibitors of the thrombin receptor are the focus of this invention.


A semiconductor chip is provided comprising a semiconductor substrate having determined circuit elements on it, a surface-smoothing layer deposited on the substrate, a bonding pad formed on the smoothing layer and connected electrically to the circuit elements, a passivation layer formed on the surface-smoothing layer, the passivation layer having a window for exposing a part of the bonding pad, and a second metal layer having a same height as the passivation layer and occupying peripheral parts of the window to form a reduced bonding windows for the bonding pad.

The present invention relates generally to a semiconductor chip and a wire bonding method for a semiconductor chip. More particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor chip comprising a bonding window that is formed on a bonding pad and has a smaller size than that of a wire ball. This can prevent the bonding pad from being degraded by corrosion during reliability tests and during a manufacturing process of the chip. The present invention also relates to a wire bonding method for making the semiconductor chip described above.
The wire bonding process is one method for connecting a semiconductor chip to inner leads of the lead frame or to wirings of a circuit board. Bonding pads of the semiconductor chip are connected to the lead frame or to the circuit board by gold or aluminum wires having a diameter of about 0.8-1.5 .mu.m.
The conditions of the bonding process and the equipment required for such a process vary depending on the wire material used. When using a gold wire or an aluminum wire, however, the wire is generally supplied to a bonding head by a wire spool and the bonding of the wire is performed by this bonding head. When the bonding head is aligned above the bonding pad of the semiconductor chip, the wire is attached onto the bonding pad by one of: a thermo-compression bonding method carried out under high temperature and high pressure; an ultrasonic bonding method applying a vibration under high pressure; or a thermosonic bonding method applying a vibration under high temperature and high pressure.
In a wire bonding method using a gold wire, the wire is attached by the ball bonding process using a bonding head which comprises a capillary having a fine passage. The wire is supplied through the passage of the capillary and forms a ball by having a high voltage applied to its end. The ball of melted wire is then pressed onto the bonding pad to attach the wire to the bonding pad.
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a bonding of a wire on a bonding pad of a semiconductor chip by ball bonding process using a gold wire. Initially, certain circuit elements (not shown) are formed on the semiconductor substrate 1. This substrate generally comprises silicon. A surface-smoothing layer 2 such as boron phosphorous silica glass (BPSG) is then formed over the substrate 1. Next, a bonding pad 3 for the semiconductor chip is formed on the surface-smoothing layer 2 by depositing a metal such as aluminum over the smoothing layer 2. The circuit elements on the semiconductor substrate 1 are connected to external equipment through the bonding pad 3. After forming the bonding pad 3, the whole surface of the semiconductor chip is covered with passivation layer 4 such as silicon nitride (Si.sub.3 N.sub.4). Then, a bonding window with a width of W.sub.1 is formed in the passivation layer 4. The chip is then subjected to a high temperature to cause the formation of an oxide layer 5 over the bonding pad 3. This oxide layer 5 results from the reaction of the metal in the bonding pad 3 with air at a high temperature. The wire ball 6 formed at the end of the wire 7 is then pressed by the capillary 8 onto the bonding pad 3 through the bonding window.
The conventional wire bonding method has some drawbacks, however. First, since the bonding window is larger than the wire ball 6, the capillary 8 may impact on the bonding pad 3 during a ball bonding process while pressing the wire ball 6. This impact can break the oxide layer 5 covering the bonding pad 3, thus exposing the surface of the bonding pad 3 not covered with the wire ball, which can cause the surface to become corroded.
In particular, after the completion of packaging, the bonding pad in the conventional device tends to be corroded and degraded during standard reliability tests such as PCT (Pressure Cooker Test) or T/C (Temperature Cycling). This is especially true with the PCT, which generally takes place in a pressure cooker at 100% humidity and at a temperature of about 121.degree. C. A more detailed description of PCT and T/C can be found in MIL standard MIL-STD-883D, test method 1010.7, JEDEC standard No. 22-B, test method A102-A, and JEDEC standard No. 22-B, test method A104, all of which are herein incorporated by reference.
Second, although it is desirable to reduce the designed chip in order to reduce the size of the whole semiconductor device, this conventional method has a limitation in reducing the size of the semiconductor device since the conventional wire bonding process can be performed only under the condition that the bonding window has 90.times.90 .mu.m.sup.2 or more of dimension.

Semiconductor chip having a bonding window smaller than a wire ball


A crop harvesting system for continuous round baling is described that comprises a first and second bale chamber and a conveyor system in operable communication with the first and second bale chambers. The crop harvesting system can comprise a first bale chamber comprising a variable shape, defined by a first serpentine system comprising one or a plurality of endless belts in operable contact with one or a plurality of movable rollers to facilitate movement of the bale out of the first and into the second bale chamber. The second bale chamber comprises a fixed shape defined by a plurality of stationary rolls operably attached to a second set belt or belts. The crop harvesting system can be integrated into an agricultural harvester such as a baler or combine.

For many years agricultural balers have been used to consolidate and package crop material so as to facilitate the storage and handling of the crop material for later use. A mower-conditioner typically cuts and conditions the crop material for windrow drying in the sun. When the cut crop material is properly dried, an agricultural harvester, such as a round baler, operates over the windrows to pick up the crop material and form the crop material into cylindrically-shaped round bales. Other agricultural harvesters, such as those harvesters used for biomass collection, use direct feed mechanisms that cut, collect, and bale material into a round bale in sequential steps.
The pickup of the baler gathers the cut and windrowed crop material from the ground then convey the cut crop material into a bale-forming chamber within the baler. A drive mechanism operates to activate the pickup, auger, and a rotor of the feed mechanism. A conventional baling chamber may consist of a pair of opposing sidewalls with a series of belts that rotate and compress the crop material into a cylindrical shape.
When the bale has achieved a desired size and density, a wrapping system may wrap the bale to ensure that the bale maintains its shape and density. For example, a net may be used to wrap the bale of crop material. A cutting or severing mechanism may be used to cut the net once the bale has been wrapped. The wrapped bale may be ejected from the baler and onto the ground by, for example, raising a tailgate of the baler. The tailgate is then closed and the cycle repeated as necessary and desired to manage the field of cut crop material.
The tailgate of the baler typically houses a simple door or panel that is affixed to the tailgate by hinges. In one position, the door or panel remains closed to prevent escape of the harvested bale. In another position, the door or panel can be placed in an open position to facilitate the exit of the harvested bale. Conventional balers require a relatively long period of downtime, typically in the range of between 10 and 15 seconds, to open the door or panel during operation and evacuation of the bale. The downtime required to operate the door reduces the overall efficiency of the harvesting system and interrupts continuous harvesting. The simple door or panel mechanism typically operates very slowly in a manual or automatic fashion. Once fully open the weight of the door or panel is typically very heavy, which affects the center of gravity of the equipment, puts additive stress on the tension points, and may cause instability problems if the agricultural harvester is on a hill or slope.
Modified balers have been designed to address delays caused by ejection. EP 2 220 929 discloses a round baler with a bale chamber and a storage chamber. Bales are condensed and wrapped in the bale chamber, and a fully-formed bale may be stored in and eventually ejected from the storage chamber while harvesting continues to take place in the bale chamber. A harvesting assembly centrally located on the bottom of the harvester routes harvested crop to one of the two chambers. The harvesting assembly in conjunction with an internal series of rollers between the two chambers routes harvested crop through a curved passage that back-feeds the bale chamber on a single moveable roller. A limitation of this design is the multiple directions toward which the harvested crop must be fed from the harvesting assembly causing a greater likelihood of clogging the entry point of the bale chamber. The likelihood of clogging the passage with crop also increases with the work of the back-feed mechanism being completed by a single roller. Another problem is the conventional means to eject the bale from the harvester.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,733,241 discloses another modified baler for harvesting in which a partially formed bale is transferred from one bale chamber to a second bale chamber with assistance of a conveyor belt. This design allows for continuous baling in the interior of the harvester but requires gravity assistance during transfer and two variably shaped bale chambers, each chamber defined by a respective serpentine system coordinated to grow and eject a bale from the bale chambers in a synchronous fashion.
FIG. 1 depicts a cross-sectional side view of a baler 100 as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,733,241. The baler 100 includes first and second bale chambers 102, 104 disposed near the front 106 and rear 108 of the baler 100, respectively. Crop 110 is conveyed into the first bale chamber 102 through an inlet point 112 fed by the transverse pickup 114 and rolled into a cylindrical shape. The first bale chamber 102 includes a first serpentine system 116 of rollers and belts surrounding the bale as it forms in the first bale chamber 102. A floor roller 118 is disposed below the bale and rotates the bale during formation. A conveyor belt 120 wrapped around two conveyor belt rollers 122, 124 is disposed between the first bale chamber 102 and the second bale chamber 104. The conveyor belt 120 rotates clockwise at a fixed position and shuttles the partially formed bale from the first bale chamber 102 to the second bale chamber 104. The second bale chamber 104 includes a second serpentine system 126 of rollers and belts surrounding the bale as it forms in the second bale chamber 104. A floor roller 128 is disposed below the bale and rotates the bale during formation.
The number of rolls, both stationary and movable rolls, required for the design of U.S. Pat. No. 8,733,241 causes the baler to be substantially longer than a typical baler and considerably heavier, causing manufacturing and delivery challenges. Another challenge with the design is the requirement of several movable rolls and actuators that, if damaged or dysfunctional could cause catastrophic loss of functionality of the baler.

Continuous round baler and methods of using the same


An adjustable diameter die assembly for extruding a heated and malleable workpiece being forcefully moved downstream includes a die having a first ring and a second ring spaced apart from the first ring, the die having an axial portion extending intermediate the first and second rings that defines a throughbore having an axial diameter that is adjustable. The adjustable diameter die assembly includes a piston/cylinder combination operatively coupled to the die that, when actuated, causes (1) a compression of the first and second rings toward one another such that the axial diameter is decreased or (2) a stretching of the first and second rings away from one another such that the adjustable axial diameter is adjusted, respectively.

This invention relates generally to tooling and die devices and, more particularly, to an adjustable die assembly that can selectively increase or decrease a die's diameter and, accordingly, a diameter of a workpiece extruded through the die.
Extrusion is traditionally associated with forcefully pushing a superheated mass of metal, also referred to as a billet, downstream through a cooling tank and then through a die configured to shape the billet into a solid rod having a predetermined diameter or other shape depending on the shape of the die. Similarly, the same principles of extrusion may be used to form types of pipe and tubing having an outer wall defining a hollow interior space and a predetermined diameter. In fact, a preferred embodiment of the present invention describes extruding plastic tubing (that is hollow and cylindrical) although the tubing and process may work equally well for extruding a solid metal billet to a solid metal rod. Various techniques may be used to maintain the integrity of the hollow tube during the extrusion process and its diameter as the tube cools. The present invention is directed to a die having an adjustable diameter such that a workpiece drawn downstream through the die will share the adjusted diameter.
For further context, a traditional extrusion may be produced by pushing an aluminum billet heated to 600 degrees Celsius through a steel die. Tooling associated with the die and the heated billet may include a cooling tank for cooling the molten or superheated billet prior to its passage through the die. Aluminum is the most commonly extruded material and can be made into almost any shape imaginable. In other words, the shape of the die causes the heated metal billet to be shaped identically to the shape of the die. Obviously, the billet (i.e., the piece of aluminum) must be heated such that its shape configuration may be changed as it is pulled or pushed through the die. Most commonly, the die has a round or cylindrical configuration such that the extruded workpiece is rod that may be cut to size and used, such as in construction, as a plurality of rods each having an identical length and diameter. It is understood, however, that the die may be constructed of virtually any shape and size so as to extrude aluminum workpieces having the same shape and size.
Extruding tubing (having a hollow and open interior space) is accomplished in a similar manner although super heating the plastic stock of the eventual workpiece is less critical and requires less cooling via the cooling tank and less force or pressure for proper and intended formation of the workpiece by the die.
Various dies and associated tooling are known and commonly used to extrude metal and plastic. Although presumably effective their intended purposes, the existing dies or die assemblies do not include a structure or function capable of adjusting or varying its own diameter and, accordingly, a diameter of the extruded metal workpiece.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have an adjustable diameter die assembly for use in extruding a workpiece, such as tubing, whose own diameter is adjustable so as to cause a diameter of the extruded metal workpiece to be adjustably variable. Further, it would be desirable to have an adjustable diameter die assembly configured to adjustably increase or decrease its own diameter in direct response to a predetermined amount of pushing or pulling force exerted on the die, respectively. In addition, it would be desirable to have an adjustable diameter die assembly in which the pushing or pulling force may be exerted by a hydraulically or mechanically actuated piston that is operatively connected to the variable diameter die.


Described herein is a system and method for performing an updating of child records associated with a parent record within the specified time period, wherein the parent record has a value including a sum of values present in the associated child records, wherein a row lock on the child records is obtained, and the update is performed, and wherein such an update does not require a row lock on the associated parent record, wherein the parent record is periodically updated within the specified time period.

Relational databases are often used by entities to represent a parent child hierarchy, in a variety of applications. Often, this is in the form of a parent table linked to a child table by a foreign key (keys that reference a primary key, or column designated to uniquely identify all table records, in another table). For several of these applications, the parent record needs to keep a count of the sum of values in a numerical field from related child records. These applications are vast and wide-ranging. One application is voting on features for product development by a development team, wherein a field from child records could cast a vote, for a particular parent record, which may be a feature to be potentially developed. After a specified time period, votes can be tabulated, and the product feature with the most votes can proceed for development.
Similarly, other envisioned applications to be processed in an analogous manner also tabulate the sum of associated child records for a respective parent record. These may include assessing sales of a product several agents of a company have made to determine commission, wherein if the agents as a group have not made enough sales, reforming steps of commission cuts may be needed, etc. Another application may be voting within a specified time period for a certain class to be taken by students at a school, where e.g. only the class with the most votes may offered, or a class with not enough votes may be cut, etc. Like this, virtually any application wherein child records may be represent a vote, tally, or performance statistic, and are assessed over time and summed to determine an associated parent record field or statistic, which is important in making a decision may use relational databases in this manner.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical or similar elements. Additionally, generally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.


A powder container includes a container body to accommodate powder for image forming therein, the container body including an outlet at a bottom thereof through which the powder is supplied to a powder supply device and being detachably attachable to an image forming apparatus, a rotary member, an agitator supported by the rotary member, and a powder receiver to guide a transport tube transporting the powder in the container body into the container body. The powder receiver includes a nozzle receiver opening, an opening-closing member to open and close the nozzle receiver, a container-side biasing member to bias the opening-closing member to close, a container opening-closing member supporter, a step and an end portion to contact first and second contact surfaces of the powder container receiver due to a restorative force of the container-side biasing member upon attachment of the powder container to the powder supply device.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a powder container for containing powder such as developer used for image forming, and an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copier, or a multi-functional machine having at least two functions of the printer, the facsimile machine, and the copier, incorporating the powder container.
2. Related Art
As one example of an image forming apparatus that includes a developing device using powder toner to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier into a visible image, the toner contained in the developing device is consumed as an image forming operation performed. The known image forming apparatus includes a toner supply device including a toner container serving as a powder container containing toner therein so that the toner supplying device supplies the toner from the toner container to the developing device.
For example, the toner supply device included in the image forming apparatus includes a plug member. The plug member is used to close an opening formed at an end of the toner container to prevent the toner in the toner container from spilling out through the opening during storage or transportation. The plug member is removed when the toner supply device is attached to the image forming apparatus.
A toner container is replaced with a new one when the toner in the toner container is used up. In the case of a toner container having a plug member, once the plug member is removed, the toner remaining in the toner container may spill or fly out of the opening during the replacement. In addition, since a toner container is longer in an axis line direction, an ideal and preferable storage condition for the toner container is that the toner container is stored with its axis line placed horizontal. In contrast, if the toner container is stored in a standing state with the opening facing downward, the toner clumps together due to its own weight around the opening. This phenomenon obstructs toner discharge from the toner container set in a device main body and easily causes unstable toner discharge or transport. Hence, there is a need for a new structure. Further, on attachment of the toner container to the image forming apparatus, the position of the toner container may need to be stable.
If the plug member is removed when replacing with a new toner container, it is likely that toner leaks or scatters. When storing the toner container that extends in an axial direction, it is preferable that an axis of the toner container remains horizontal. However, in a case in which the toner container is stored with the opening facing downward, the toner aggregates along with the aid of its gravity, and therefore prevention of flow of toner at installation of the toner container to the image forming apparatus easily cause unstable toner discharge and transportation.

Powder container and image forming apparatus incorporating same


A controlled pourer that may include a locking mechanism for locking the controlled pourer to a bottle; a communication module; a flow control mechanism that is configured to control an output of fluid, during a liquid consumption iteration, from the bottle under a control of one or more commands received by the communication module; and a flow meter for monitoring an amount of fluid outputted by the flow control mechanism during the fluid consumption iteration. The communication module is configured to output information regarding the amount of fluid consumed during the fluid consumption operation. Once locked to the bottle the controller pourer prevents a bypass of the fluid control mechanism.

It has been found that liquor is distributed, consumed and paid for in a very inefficient, inaccurate and a limiting manner. The amounts of consumed liquor are not properly measured, the amount and types of consumed liquor are not reported in a proper manner, and entire process is mostly manual—under the supervision of bartenders.
These is a growing need to provide an efficient, accurate, and user friendly manner to distribute, consume and pay for liquor.

Controlled pourer and a method for managing and monitoring liquor consumption


A device for positioning a telescopic doll in a packing box includes a telescopic doll and a packing box. The telescopic doll has two feet each with a sole, a seat formed on the sole, and a first hook pivotally mounted on the seat. Two fixed legs respectively extend upwards from the feet. Two first rod are telescopically and respectively mounted on the fixed legs. Each first rod has a line extending from a bottom end of the first rod through the shaft and connected to the first hook. Two second rods are telescopically and respectively mounted on the first rods. The packing box has a bottom plate and a second hook formed on the bottom plate and detachably engaged with the first hook. Whereby, the doll can be easily unfolded and taken out from the packing box.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positioning device, and more particularly to a device for positioning a doll in a packing box by which the doll can be easily detached from the packing box.
2. Description of Related Art
A telescopic doll can be folded and packed in a box for being stored or transported. However, if the doll is packed in the box without any positioning means, it will be rocked in the box and may be damaged during transportation. Thus, the doll often is positioned in the box by screws or other fasteners for transportation. For unpacking the doll, the fasteners must be removed by a tool (such as a screwdriver) and thus it is very inconvenient to pack and unpack the telescopic doll.
Therefore, the invention provides a telescopic doll to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

Device for positioning a telescopic doll in a packing box


The invention refers to a polishing tool for optical lenses with at least one polishing pad adaptable at least partially to the shape of a lens surface of said lenses and drivable by means of a drive shaft, said polishing pad having a membrane, wherein said polishing pad can transmit a bearing force of said membrane at least in an orthogonal direction relative to a lens surface. Moreover, the polishing tool comprises a reinforcing member connectable to said membrane, said reinforcing member being dimensionally stable in a parallel direction relative to a surface of said membrane and being flexible and/or pliable in an orthogonal direction relative to the surface of said membrane, wherein at least one pressure pad with a pressure membrane is arranged within said polishing pad, wherein said pressure membrane can be made to bear and/or can be prestressed against said membrane or said reinforcing member in an indirect or in a direct manner.

An apparatus is known from DE 103 19 945 A1 that shows a polishing tool for optical lenses with at least one polishing pad adaptable at least partially to the shape of a lens surface and driven by means of a drive shaft, wherein said polishing pad can transmit a bearing force at least in an orthogonal direction relative to the lens surface. According to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, an armour member integrated into the polishing pad is provided between said polishing pad and said lens, wherein the polishing cover bears against said armour member. Said armour member is configured in such a manner that it is dimensionally stable in a parallel direction relative to the lens surface and flexible and/or pliable in an orthogonal direction relative to the lens surface.
WO 03/059572 shows a polishing tool for optical lenses with a polishing pad adaptable to the shape of a lens surface and driven by means of a drive shaft. In addition, a prestressing member is provided that is arranged above the polishing pad and presses or prestresses the polishing pad circumferentially against the polishing cover in selected places by means of several flexible pressure arms.
EP 0 971 810 B1 shows a lapping tool for eye correction lenses with a lapping membrane that is in active contact with a cylinder arrangement so that the membrane can bear against the surface to be treated and is movable relative to that surface, wherein the respective cylinder axle comprises a predetermined front geometry so that polishing material can be fed depending on the relative motion.

Polishing tool with several pressure zones


A semiconductor integrated circuit has K (K is a natural number of 2 or more) number of memory cells coupled to a same word line, and multiple sense amplifier circuits coupled to the memory cells. The multiple sense amplifier circuits are divided into N (N is a natural number of 2 or more) number of groups. Among the N number of groups, after a first group of sense amplifier circuits is activated and carrying out a predetermined read-out operation, a second group of the sense amplifier circuits is activated and the predetermined read-out operation is carried out, and an Nth group of the sense amplifier circuits is activated sequentially to carry out the predetermined read-out operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit, and particularly to a semiconductor integrated circuit having a sense amplifier (hereinafter referred to as SA) which operates when multiple bits are read out at the same time from memory cells connected to a word line (hereinafter referred to as W line).
2. Description of Related Art
Some memory products require to read out multiple bits at the same time. In such memory products, if cells to be read out are connected to the same W line, SAs of the number of the bits operates simultaneously. The power consumption at this time (operating power of the SAs) must be reduced. Reducing the power consumption is important especially at a parallel output of multiple bits.
Soft error measures at the time of simultaneous read-out of memory cells connected to one W line is required as a technique concerning the simultaneous read-out of multiple bits. Especially important is measures to 2-bit errors that cannot be corrected by a normal ECC (Error Checking and Correcting) circuit.
An operation of SA according to related arts when outputting multiple cells at the same time, which are connected to one W line, is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2003-272390 (Honda), 2007-157283 (Shimada), and 62-150590 (Miyazawa). The technique disclosed by Honda divides cells into multiple groups to form multiple SA groups. These SA groups do not start operating at the same time but start operating at different time from each other. This enables to reduce the peak current when the SAs are operating.
The technique disclosed by Shimada also divides cells into multiple SA groups and shifts operation timings of the SA groups according to clocks. This enables to reduce the peak current when the SAs are operating. The technique disclosed by Miyazawa divides cells into multiple SA groups and arranges them so that the SA groups not operating simultaneously are connected to a common W line by an appropriate layout spatially and temporally.
As a normal ECC circuit, 1-bit error correcting and 2-bit error detecting circuit is used. This is referred to as a an SEC-DED (Single Error Correction-Double Error Detection). Measures to an error of 2 bits or more which cannot be corrected in the ECC circuit are disclosed by Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-077294 (Hatanaka et al). The technique disclosed by Hatanaka et al. divides ECC circuits into multiple groups so that data from memory cells (SA output) connected to each ECC circuit group become data of every three cells. There is extremely small possibility that two cells which are 4 cells away from each other are erroneous simultaneously. Thus the ECC circuit may only be a normal ECC circuit which can correct 1-bit error in substance. However, in the technique disclosed by Hatanaka et al., SAs do not divide the cells.
In the relates arts disclosed by Honda, Shimada, and Miyazawa, the SA groups are not started to operate simultaneously, thereby enabling to suppress the current from flowing at the same time as the SA groups start to operate. However, there is a time zone when multiple SA groups are operating simultaneously. In this document, this time zone is referred to as stable operation time to differentiate from operation start time.
In the stable operation time shown in FIG. 2 for Honda, t1′ to t2′ in FIG. 2 for Shimada, and FIG. 4 for Miyazawa, multiple SA groups are operating at the same time. Such techniques prevent a large current as at the operation start time from flowing, however currents still flows in each SA group. The related arts do not see a problem in the current value when multiple SA groups are operating simultaneously (at the stable operation time, not the operation start time for SA group). If there are not many SA groups, the operation start time of the SA groups can be shifted so that there is no problem in the current at the stable operation time when the SA groups are operating.
However, in the case of reading out 100 bits (100 SAs for DRAM) at the same time, the current at the stable operation time is non-negligible in which many SA groups are operating simultaneously, although it depends on how many of SA groups are divided into a group. That is, it is not a problem even if a few SA groups are operating simultaneously at the stable operation time. However if the SA groups increase from 4 to 8, superimposed current at the stable operation time is non-negligible in which multiple SA groups are operating simultaneously
FIG. 4 shows a circuit diagram of a memory array according to a related art. 128 cells are connected to one W line as shown in FIG. 4. Each SA is connected to respective bit line. The SAs are activated in response to an SA activation signal SE. Further, a particular bit line is selected by a bit line selection signal YSW, read-out data from a cell amplified by the SA is transmitted to a Local I/O bus, and the read-out data is input to a data amplifier (DAMP).
FIG. 5 shows an operation timing chart of a memory array of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 5, an SA is activated by an activation signal SE. Then a bit line is selected by a bit line selection signal YSW. A current for charging and discharging the bit line is consumed immediately after activating the SA. After the bit line selection signal YSW is released, the Local I/O bus is charged and discharged. As the memory capacity increases, the load capacity of this Local I/O bus also increases, thereby increasing the period in which the charging and discharging current flows.