A semiconductor layout structure for an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit is disclosed. The semiconductor layout structure includes a first area, in which one or more devices are constructed for functioning as a silicon controlled rectifier, and a second area, in which at least one device is constructed for functioning as a trigger source that provides a triggering current to trigger the silicon controlled rectifier for dissipating ESD charges during an ESD event. The first area and the second area are placed adjacent to one another without having a resistance area physically interposed or electrically connected therebetween, such that the triggering current received by the silicon controlled rectifier is increased during the ESD event.

The present invention relates generally to an integrated circuit (IC) design, and more particularly to a semiconductor layout structure for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuits.
A gate oxide of a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor of an IC is most susceptible to damage. The gate oxide may be destroyed by being contacted with a voltage only a few volts higher than a supply voltage of the IC. It is understood that a regular supply voltage for an IC is about 5.0, 3.3 volts or even lower. Electrostatic voltages from common environmental sources can easily reach thousands, or even tens of thousands of volts. Such voltages can be destructive even though the charge and any resulting current are extremely small. For this reason, it is of critical importance to discharge any static electric charge before it damages the IC.
An ESD protection circuit is typically added to an IC at its bond pads. Such protection circuit must allow normal operation of the IC. It means that the protection circuit is effectively isolated from the normally operating core circuit by blocking a current flow through itself to ground or other pads. In an operating IC, electric power is supplied to a VCC pad, electric ground is supplied to a VSS pad, electronic signals are supplied from outside to some pads, and electronic signals generated by the core circuit of the IC are supplied to other pads for delivery to external circuits or devices. In an isolated, unconnected IC, all pads are considered to be electrically floating, or of indeterminate voltages. In most cases, this means the pads are at ground, or zero voltage.
The ESD can arrive at any pad. This can happen, for example, when a person touches some of the pads on the IC. This is the same static electricity that may be painfully experienced by a person who walks across a carpet on a dry day and then touches a grounded metal object. In an isolated IC, the ESD acts as a brief power supply for one or more pads, while the other pads remain floating, or grounded. Because the other pads are grounded, when ESD acts as a power supply at a randomly selected pad, the protection circuit acts differently than it does when the IC is operating normally. When an ESD event occurs, the protection circuit must quickly become conductive so that the electrostatic charge is dissipated to VSS or ground.
The ESD protection circuit, therefore, has two modes: normal operation mode and ESD mode. When an IC is in the normal operation mode, the ESD protection circuit has no effect to the IC. During the ESD mode, the ESD protection circuit serves its purpose of protecting the IC by conducting an electrostatic charge quickly to VSS or ground before it damages the IC.
As technology in circuit designs continue to grow and lower supply voltages are being used, circuits become more vulnerable to early stages of ESD events. Even voltage slightly higher than the supply voltage can damage the IC and the protection circuit itself. It has been found that parasitic four layer PNPN devices called parasitic silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) can be one of the most effective devices in preventing ESD damage due to its low turn-on impedance, low capacitance, low power dissipation, and high current sinking/sourcing capabilities. By using a NMOS transistor to trigger an SCR, a low triggering voltage ESD protection circuit can be achieved.
The conventional SCR ESD protection circuit may have parasitic capacitance and resistance that may create undesired consequences when the SCR ESD protection circuit is used in a high frequency IC. The shortcomings of the parasitic capacitance and resistance include, for example, noise, signal reflection, and reduced power gain.
It is therefore desired to provide a semiconductor layout structure for a SCR ESD protection circuit with a reduced parasitic capacitance and resistance.

Semiconductor layout structure for ESD protection circuits

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A method of cleaning metallic films built up within a thin film deposition apparatus is disclosed. The method includes an oxidation step to oxidize the metallic film and produce a film of the oxide thereof, a complexing step to complex the oxide film and produce a complex thereof, and a sublimation step to sublimate the complex. The conditions of these cleaning steps are set so that the oxidation step is the rate-determining step.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of cleaning metallic films built up within thin film deposition apparatus, and in particular, it relates to a cleaning method for neatly removing substances such as metallic copper that have built up within thin film deposition apparatus during deposition.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chemical gas phase etching is a hitherto known cleaning method for the removal of metallic copper, for example. From a microscopic viewpoint, the process of chemical gas phase etching can be divided into 3 steps: a step for the production of an oxide film by oxidizing the metallic copper (metallic copper oxidation step), a step to produce a copper complex by complexing the copper oxide (copper oxide complexing step), and a step to sublimate the copper complex (copper complex sublimation step). In a cleaning method comprising these steps, a sequence of chemical reactions is performed in turn by the metallic copper oxidation step, copper oxide complexing step and copper complex sublimation step, whereby the metallic copper is removed by chemical gas phase etching.
Prior references to chemical gas phase etching can be found in the following: Examined Japanese Patent Publication (JP-B) No. H7-93289 (reference 1); A. Jain, T. T. Kodas and M. J. Hampden-Smith, SPIE2335, p. 52 (1994) (reference 2); M. A. George, D. W. Hess, S. E. Beck, J. C. Ivankovits, D. A. Bohling and A. P. Lane, J. Electrochem. Soc., Vol. 142, p. 961 (1995) (reference 3); and M. J. Hampden-Smith and T. T. Kodas, MRS Bulletin, p. 39 (June 1993) (reference 4).
Reference 1 discloses a vapor phase etching method for a thin metallic film on a substrate used in the production of integrated circuits, wherein the metallic surface of the metallic thin film is etched by contacting it with an effective quantity of a .beta.-diketone, or the like, that has been dispersed in an atmosphere that allows oxidation, and under conditions in which a volatile metal-ligand complex can form, and then volatilizing the metal-ligand complex. Copper may also be included in the metal that is etched. An embodiment is shown in which oxygen (O.sub.2) is used to oxidize the metal and hexafluoroacetylacetone is used as the .beta.-diketone.
Reference 2 describes an example in which H.sub.2 O.sub.2 is used to oxidize metallic copper. Hexafluoroacetylacetone is used to complex the copper oxide.
Reference 3 describes an example in which O.sub.2 remote plasma is used to oxidize metallic copper. Hexafluoro-acetylacetone is used to complex the copper oxide.
Reference 4 discloses a cleaning method for metallic copper as an example of a metallic copper etching technique involving the use of an oxidizing atmosphere and hexafluoroacetylacetone, which is a type of .beta.-diketone.
As mentioned above, chemical gas phase etching methods that use H.sub.2 O.sub.2, O.sub.2, remote plasma, or O.sub.2 to oxidize metallic copper are already known. It is also known that hexafluoroacetylacetone (1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedione), which is a type of .beta.-diketone, is widely used as a source material for complexing copper oxide.
When a process to deposit a metallic copper film on the surface of a substrate in thin film deposition apparatus is successively repeated while the substrates are replaced, a film of metallic copper builds up within the thin film deposition apparatus. When the film that has built up within the thin film deposition apparatus becomes thick, it causes problems with the deposition process, such as degradation of the films, and it is thus necessary to perform a cleaning process at suitable intervals to remove the built-up film.
However, the conventional methods mentioned in the above references are mainly concerned with the removal of thin copper films from substrates, and no cleaning methods have been proposed for the removal of metallic copper films that have built up within thin film deposition apparatus.
The present inventors have therefore tried to apply the chemical gas phase etching method mentioned in reference 1 for the removal of metallic copper built up within thin film deposition apparatus. That is, based on the chemical gas phase etching method of reference 1, copper oxide was produced by using oxygen to oxidize the metallic copper, a copper complex was produced by using hexafluoroacetylacetone to complex the copper oxide, and this copper complex was sublimated. However, with a chemical gas phase etching method based on the method mentioned in reference 1, the built-up metallic copper film became spongy (porous) and could not be neatly removed. Instead, problems occurred such as particulates or cavities forming in the lower surface of the built-up film, resulting in cracks in and flaking of the built-up film. The appearance of a built-up film that has become spongy is depicted in the photos of FIGS. 3 and 4, and the appearance of the flakiness is depicted in the photos of FIGS. 5 and 6.
As mentioned above, it has not been possible to use conventional chemical gas phase etching methods to neatly remove a film of metallic copper that has built up within this film deposition apparatus. Another paper (Mark A. George, Alan J. Kobar, Scott E. Beck, Jen Waskiewcz, Ron M. Pearlstein and David A. Bohling, "Chemical Vapor Etching of Copper for Cu CVD Chamber Cleaning," Advanced Metallization and Interconnect Systems for ULSI Applications in 1997, U.S. Session (Sep. 30, 1997)) regarding the results of research into cleaning methods for the removal of metallic copper built up within thin film deposition apparatus was also published very recently.
The present invention aims to solve the above mentioned problems and provides a cleaning method that can neatly remove metallic films of metallic copper or the like that have built up within thin film deposition apparatus without generating particulates or flakiness.

Method of cleaning metallic films built up within thin film deposition apparatus


A method of manufacturing orthosubstituted alkylphenols, employing a catalyst of increased activity, by reacting phenol or 2-alkylphenols with 2-alkyl-1-alkenes and/or 2-aryl-1-alkenes in the liquid phase, optionally in the presence of inert diluents and/or an excess of the alkene, wherein the reaction is carried out in the presence of modified aluminum-containing catalysts obtained by adding small amounts of polyhalophenols, each having at least 3 like or unlike halogen substituents from the group of the elements fluorine, chlorine, and bromine, serving as cocatalysts, to known aluminum trisphenolate catalysts, wherein the molar ratio between the cocatalysts and the aluminum compound is in the range 0.5:1-8:1.. The invention also relates to the catalyst for manufacturing the ortho-alkylated phenols, which catalyst is comprised of the (2-alkyl)phenol undergoing alkylation, an organoaluminum compound, and a polyhalophenol as the (or a) cocatalyst.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of manufacturing alkylphenols using a highly active aluminum-containing homogeneous catalyst and the catalyst itself. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing alkylphenols wherein alkylation of phenol, or particularly of 2-alkylphenols by an alkene proceeds more rapidly, and at lower temperatures and pressures, than with ordinary aluminum phenolate catalysts.
2. Discussion of the Background
Ortho-substituted and di-ortho-substituted alkylphenols can be obtained by addition of alkenes to phenol, 2-alkylphenols, and other hydroxyaromatics, in the presence of aluminum phenolates (see Ullmann, 1979, "Enzyklopaedie der Technischen Chemie", V. 18, pp. 200 ff.). Ordinarily these reactions occur at a temperature of at least 100.degree. C. and possibly under elevated pressure. The optimal temperature region which is selected in each case depends on the groups connected to the C.dbd.C bond in the alkene which is undergoing chemical addition. The alkyl group formed is always branched to a very high degree (see Ullmann, loc.cit.). Isobutene and other alkenes which lead to formation of tertiary alkyl substituents are particularly reactive. Thus, the addition of isobutene to phenol or 2-tert-butylphenol is generally carried out at 110.degree.-120.degree. C. under an elevated pressure of up to 25 bar, whereas for alkenes such as propene, cyclopentene, or cyclohexene, reaction temperatures of >180.degree. C. are required.
The aluminum phenolate catalyst is obtained by dissolving 1-3 wt. % aluminum in the phenol which is to be alkylated (see U.S. Pat. No. 2,831,898, Ger. Pats. 944,014 and 1,044,825; J. Org. Chem., 22, 1957, 642; and Anqew. Chem., 69, 1957, 699). It can also be obtained by reacting aluminum alcoholates or organoaluminum compounds with the phenol, or by other methods. The aluminum phenolates are known to have the highest selectivity and activity among the number of metal phenolates discussed in the patent literature. However, they also must be used in relatively large amounts in order to achieve economically important space yields per unit time.
Another disadvantage of the known methods is that prior to distilling the reaction product, one must deactivate the large amounts of the only moderately active aluminum trisphenolate catalyst. Environmentally safe disposal of the resulting wastewaters containing aluminum compounds and (alkyl)phenols presents further problems. An indication of the importance of this is the number of patent applications which have been and continue to be filed which are concerned with deactivation of the catalysts and decontaminating the wastewaters and/or reducing the amount of wastes (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,157, Ger. Pat. 1,809,555, Ger. OS 20 039 062, U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,215, Ger. Pat. 26 02 149, Belg. Pat. 842,691, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,652,685 and 3,970,708). The problems associated with wastewater disposal have not been solved by changing to heterogeneous versions of the known catalysts (see Eur. Pat. 0,206,085), because the catalytically active aluminum phenolate catalysts are still carried away with the reaction products, in significant amounts.
There have been only a few proposals of measures for increasing the above-mentioned moderately low activity of the aluminum trisphenolate catalysts to any appreciable degree. The addition of metal halides, in particular alkali chlorides, earth alkali chlorides, and aluminum chlorides has been reported as advantageous (Ger. Pat. 1,044,825). Additionally, the use of alkyl halides (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,426,082 and 3,200,157), alkali phenolates (Fr. Pat. 1,331,450, and Jap. OS 61-000,036 (in CA 104, 1986:186,127)), and cocatalysts comprising nitrogen and/or phosphorus (Jap. OS 60-218,346 in CA 104, 1986:88,273) can be effective. However, these examples suffer from the disadvantages of requiring unchanged high reaction temperature and/or pressures and of producing increased amounts of undesirable para-alkylphenol isomers. Thus the above-mentioned additives have not achieved any appreciable commercial success.
The only case of a catalyst active below 100.degree. C. is that of organoaluminum compounds, particularly alkylaluminums, combined with 2-tert-butylphenol (U.S. Pat. No. 3,355,504). With this system, isobutene is chemically added to 2-tert-butylphenol (used instead of phenol), at temperatures as low as 10.degree. C. Despite the low reaction temperature, the alkylation proceeds rapidly, to give the desired 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol, with relatively small amounts of undesired byproducts, such as 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol and 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenol while using amounts of catalyst comparable to the amounts of the higher temperature catalysts mentioned above (c. 1-3 mol % based on the amount of 2-tert-butylphenol used). However, as with other known phenol alkylation catalysts, this special system must be deactivated prior to product refinement. Otherwise dealkylation and transalkylation occur during the distillation.
The selectivity, yield and economic efficiency of the formation of 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol from phenol and/or 2-tert-butylphenol may be substantially increased above that offered by the above-mentioned state of the art, by various known methods (Eur. OSS 0,347,709 and 0,347,710, and especially Ger. Pat. 39 41 472). In each case the use of the known catalysts is recommended.
Most of the state of the art methods use catalysts having relatively low activity, which require the use of high temperatures. This results in the following disadvantages: large amounts of undesired byproducts and difficulty in disposal of large amounts of deactivated catalyst.

Method of manufacturing ortho-substituted alkylphenols, and catalyst therefor


To perform measurement in which a load on a subject is reduced. To provide a spectacle wearing parameter measurement system including: an information processing unit configured to associate a size of an appearance of at least a part of actual spectacles with a size of an appearance of at least a part of each of the spectacles in an imaging result of imaging a subject wearing the actual spectacles as an imaging target, and obtain a spectacle wearing parameter from the imaging result and the related art of the system.

In general, the preparation of spectacle lenses requires spectacle wearing parameters that are measured in a state where a person wearing spectacles (hereinafter also referred to as a "subject") wearing a spectacle frame. Examples of the spectacle wearing parameters include a cornea vertex distance, a frame forward tilt angle, a fitting point position, a pupil distance, and a frame camber angle.
Among these examples, the measurement of a cornea vertex distance (Cornea Vertex Distance: also referred to as a CVD) is performed using, for example, a dedicated CVD measurement device. An example of the CVD measurement device is configured to position the face of a subject, pick up images of a side surface and a front surface of the face of the subject, and calculate the CVD based on the images obtained as the imaging result (e.g., see Patent Literature 1).
There is also a method for obtaining the CVD using scale aids by a relatively simple technique, instead of using a CVD measurement device. For example, a technique in which a measurement reference scale the like is formed on a spectacle frame is known.
For example, Patent Literature 2 discloses a technique for obtaining, as image data, an image of a side surface of the face of a subject wearing spectacles including a spectacle frame provided with scale aids with a scale of a predetermined size, calculating a corneal vertex of the subject whose image has been picked up, and calculating the CVD based on the scale aids.

Spectacle wearing parameter measurement system, measurement program, measurement method thereof, and manufacturing method of spectacle lens


A motion platform/simulator uses pumps coupled to servo-controlled electric motors to pump fluid directly into and out of rubber bellows-type actuators. Peristaltic or gear pumps may be used in conjunction with linear transducers/encoders. The fluid can be a gas such as air or one of many non-toxic fluids, even water, as the pump or actuators require no lubrication from the working fluid. In the preferred embodiment, a mechanical pivot such as a U-joint is situated between the platform and the ground surface, and each transducer is located immediately adjacent an actuator. A reservoir or reservoirs may be provided to supply and receive fluid to and from the actuator(s) through the pump(s) or, alternatively, the pump(s) may be coupled between two actuators, thereby eliminating the need for a fluid reservoir. A pump may be coupled between two stacked actuators or different actuators located at different points on the platform.

Full-motion simulators for vehicle training and recreation are traditionally very costly. Most professional units use expensive hydraulic loop systems with several servo controlled hydraulic cylinders. These systems also generate considerable noise, require expensive servo control valves, and generally require a large amount of power. In addition, as with any traditional hydraulic system, existing simulators are prone to leaks around the cylinder and pump seals.

Servo-controlled tipping platform and motion control system therefor


The embodiments herein relate to a method in a transmitter (101) for transmitting at least a first data burst and a second data burst to a receiver (105) in a system (100) applying applies closed loop codebook-based precoding MIMO. The transmitter (101) comprises at least a first Tx antenna (107a) and a second Tx antenna (107b). The transmitter (101) transmits, to the receiver (105), at least the first data burst through the first Tx antenna (107a) and the second data burst through the second Tx antenna (107b). The first data burst comprises a first training sequence and the second data burst comprises a second training sequence when the first data burst and the second data burst are non-precoded. The first data burst comprises a third training sequence and the second data burst comprises a fourth training sequence when the first data burst and the second data burst are precoded.

A communications system may be based on one or more communication technologies, such as e.g. Global System for Mobil Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced GPRS/Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EGPRS/EDGE) etc. EGPRS/EDGE is an enhancement of a GSM network in which EDGE is introduced on top of the GPRS that is used to transfer data in a packet switched mode on several time slots. EGPRS2 is a phase 2 of the EGPRS, i.e. a further development of EPGRS.
The enhancement of GSM and EDGE in order to provide support for MIMO has been proposed in several occasions. A two layer transmission is already supported in GSM, in a feature called Voice services over Adaptive Multi-user channels on One Slot (VAMOS). The simulation results of the enhancements with VAMOS are intriguing and suggest that MIMO for EGPRS/EGRPS2 should be given careful consideration. As known for a skilled person is the use of multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver in order to improve communication performance.
In the context of MIMO (either single user MIMO or multi-user MIMO) a layer refers to a data stream (this is the MI part in MIMO). These data streams are the Multiple Input. This means that the term "two or more layers" refers to "two or more data streams" and these data streams are different.
One enhancement presents a straightforward implementation of MIMO for EGPRS that is to a large extent backwards compatible with the GSM and EDGE air interface. Each layer is independently coded and modulated according to an EGPRS modulation and coding scheme. Each layer is assigned a different training sequence. The standardized VAMOS training sequence pairs are proposed (after a straightforward mapping of the training bit sequence to antipodal 8 Phase Shift Keying (PSK) symbols). Thus, the transmitter comprises two parallel EGPRS transmitters, each fed its own data stream and training sequence. PSK is a digital modulation scheme that conveys data by changing, or modulating, the phase of a reference signal (the carrier wave).
Beamforming is a signal processing technique where radio signals transmitted over an air-interface are combined by multiple transmit antennas in such a way that the electromagnetic waves transmitted or received at some angles experience constructive interference while the electromagnetic waves transmitted or received at other angles experience destructive interference. The technique may be used at both the transmitting and receiving ends in order to achieve spatial selectivity. More generally, modern beamforming techniques are based on the principle that when both the transmitter and receiver have knowledge of the propagation channel, the weight for each transmit antenna may be adapted so that the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) at the receiver is improved. When the weights affect only the polarization of the transmitted radio wave, beamforming cannot be interpreted as forming a physical beam and may not yield spatial selectivity.
In spatial multiplexing, multiple data streams are transmitted from different transmit antennas but in the same frequency channel. If the propagation channel has a sufficient number of degrees of freedom (i.e. the rank of the channel matrix is large enough), the receiver may separate these streams into (almost) orthogonal channels.
Codebook Based Precoding
The codebook based precoding is a technology used in e.g. LTE which fixes a common codebook comprising a set of vectors and matrices known apriori to both the transmitter and the receiver. The vectors and matrices may also be referred to as codewords. In other words, a finite set of precoding matrices is called a codebook. Each precoding matrix in the codebook is associated with an index. In a closed-loop codebook based precoding transmission, the receiver transmits, to a transmitter, the index of a precoding matrix from a pre-designed codebook.
Closed Loop MIMO in LTE
Closed loop MIMO technologies have been standardized in LTE. LTE requires the calculation of three feedback quantities at the receiver, namely, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI) and Rank Indicator (RI), in order to perform channel adaptation at the transmitter. The CQI is used to select a modulation and coding scheme. The PMI is used to select the codebook index. The RI indicates the preferred number of layers. Since the coherence time of the radio channel is in the order of a few ms, LTE has been designed to support fast feedback. One aim of closed loop spatial multiplexing transmission modes in LTE is to adapt the transmission to the current (instantaneous) channel conditions. Channel state information just a few sub-frames old (1 sub-frame has duration of 1 ms) may be already obsolete. The periodicity of the feedback loop is in the order of a few ms.
Reconfigurable Multiple Antennas in the Receiver
Recent measurement campaigns on MIMO channels have revealed the potential benefits in capacity performance that may be obtained by adapting the antenna configuration at the receiver. The results show that choosing the best among three possible antenna configurations at the receiver along 20 m route sections, leads to significant gains. The speed of the receiver did not exceed 30 km/h, and the frequency band was 2.65 GHz. This means that the best antenna configuration was kept fixed during time intervals of 2.4 s or longer. It is reasonable to expect that when the measurements had been performed in the 900 MHz band, the same gains would have been obtained by keeping the antenna configuration fixed during time intervals longer than 2.4 s, perhaps up to 7 s.
Spectrum and power efficiencies are of paramount importance in wireless communications. Therefore, it is desirable to implement closed loop MIMO techniques for MIMO in EGPRS/EGPRS2. Moreover, when MIMO for EGPRS/EGPRS2 is to be standardized and deployed, it is important to ensure that it is designed to maximize the link performance, while maintaining, to a large extent, backwards compatibility with the GSM air interface.
Closed loop techniques such as those used in LTE and other wireless technologies are very promising, but cannot be applied to an enhancement of EGPRS/EGPRS2 with MIMO, because the GSM air interface does not support the low latency required by the fast feedback channels. In other words, the gains brought about by the closed loop MIMO techniques standardized in LTE cannot be achieved in a MIMO EGPRS/EGPRS2 system. Moreover, in LTE the transmission antennas in the base station broadcast cell specific reference signals which are essential for the receiver in order to compute the CQI, PMI and RI. Such signals are not available in the current GSM/EDGE air interface.


Methods and compositions are provided to treat enteric disease. The methods and compositions use passive immunity to treat diseases of the gut, including diseases caused by Salmonella sp., E. Coli, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium perfringens A, Clostridium perfringens C, Clostridium perfringens D, canine distemper, feline distemper, Rotavirus, and Parvovirus. Specific antibodies are administered orally to a subject to improve intestinal health.

The invention relates generally to a treatment for diseases of the gut, and, more particularly, to the oral administration of specific antibodies for treatment of enteric disease.
Enteric diseases include bacterial and viral infections of the gastrointestinal tract, such as Salmonella, E. Coli, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium perfringens A, Clostridium perfringens C, Clostridium perfringens D, canine distemper, feline distemper, Rotavirus, and Parvovirus. These diseases can result in diarrhea and vomiting, which may in turn lead to loss of fluid, anorexia, and malabsorption of nutrients. Humans; livestock, such as cattle, horses, and swine; canines; and felines are all affected by enteric disease.
Traditional methods of treating enteric disease involve active immunization through vaccines or treatment of disease with antibiotics that are grown in a fermenter in a factory. In addition, enteric diseases have also been treated via the systemic administration of fluids and plasma, generally via intravenous administration.
For example, traditional treatments for Parvovirus, a viral disease that primarily affects canines, have included the systemic, intravenous administration of plasma immunized against E. Coli gram-negative bacteria. Drawbacks of this method include the frequent occurrence of anaphylactic reaction. In addition, such systemic administration of the plasma generally does not improve health for two to three days. Finally, the traditional method of treating Parvovirus requires a veterinarian to set a catheter and the treatment must be administered by the veterinarian.
It has long been understood that antibodies recognize and neutralize antigens such as bacteria and viruses. Antibodies are generally thought to be degraded in the gut where stomach acids and enzymes break down the proteins for nutrition. Research has shown, though, that antibodies do, in fact, survive the digestive tract. For example, it has been determined that almost half of bovine IgG in an oral dose of bovine immunoglobulin concentrate-Clostridium difficile can be retrieved intact from the distal small intestine in humans, and the surviving IgG retains its specific antigen binding activity. (Warny et al, Bovine Immunogloulin concentrate-Clostridium difficile retains C difficile toxin neutralizing activity after passage through the human stomach and small intestine. Gut 1999; 44:212-217 (February)). Thus, specific antibodies may be used for the treatment of specific enteric diseases, as well as many kinds of local infections which could be treated with topical treatment with antibodies.

Oral use of specific antibodies for intestinal health


A glass-resin laminate comprises an elongate glass film having a thickness of 1 to 300 μm, and a peelable elongate resin film having a thickness of 1 to 300 μm and a tensile modulus of elasticity of 0.3 Gpa or more. The elongate resin film is laminated on at least one surface of the elongate glass film so that the elongate resin film protrudes from edges on both sides in a lateral direction of the elongate glass film.

From the viewpoint of space saving, in recent years, there have been widely used, in place of a CRT type display, flat panel displays such as a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an OLED display, and a field emission display. Further reduction in thickness is demanded for those flat panel displays. In particular, it is required that the OLED display be easily carried by being folded or wound and be usable not only on a flat surface but also on a curved surface. Further, it is not just displays that are required to be usable not only on a flat surface but also on a curved surface. For example, if a solar cell or an OLED lighting device can be formed on a surface of an object having a curved surface, such as a surface of an automobile body, or a roof, a pillar, or an outer wall of a building, the applications of the solar cell or OLED lighting device may expand. Substrates and cover glasses used for those devices are therefore required to have a smaller thickness and to have high flexibility. Further, a glass film having a reduced thickness and high flexibility is also expected to be used for, for example, reduction in the weights of a glass substrate for devices such as a lithium ion battery, a digital signage, a touch panel, electronic paper, and the like, a cover glass for an OLED lighting device, a drug package, and a window sheet glass.
A light-emitting element used for OLED devices such as an OLED display and an OLED lighting device deteriorates in quality through the contact of gasses such as oxygen. Thus, a substrate used for the OLED devices is required to have high gas-barrier property, and hence a glass is expected to use for the substrate. However, the glass substrate is weak in tensile stress unlike a resin film, and hence is low in flexibility. Thus, application of a tensile stress on a surface of the glass substrate by bending the glass substrate tends to lead the breakage of the glass substrate. In order to impart flexibility to the glass substrate, the glass substrate is required to be reduced in thickness as described above. Thus, Patent Literature 1 below proposes a glass film having a thickness of 200 μm or less.
An elongate glass film has the advantage of being able to be packed and transported with being wound in a roll shape, however, it is necessary, in order to prevent the glass film from breaking, to interpose inserting paper between glass films or to affix a resin film which is peelable in the following process to the glass film. For example, Patent Literature 2 proposes a glass-resin laminate in which a peelable resin film is laminated on a glass film.
However, the glass-resin laminate disclosed in Patent Literature 2 has had a problem in that, when the peelable resin film is adhered to one surface of the glass film in a state of a tension being applied to the resin film, the glass film is occasionally warped significantly toward the resin film side, resulting in the occurrence of wrinkles in the resin film, which leads to a self peel-off of the resin film from the glass film. Therefore, it cannot obtain a sufficient effect to prevent the glass film from breaking.

Glass-resin laminate, glass roll produced by winding the same, and method of producing glass roll


Circular-knit, elastic, single-knit jersey fabric, of spun and/or continuous filament hard yarns with bare spandex plated in every course, has a cover factor in the range of 1.3 to 1.9, a basis weight from 140 to 240 g/m2, an elongation of 60% or more and low shrinkage. The circular knit, single-knit jersey fabric is produced by maintaining the draft of the spandex at or below 2× (100% elongation) and maintaining the finishing and drying temperature(s) below the spandex heat set temperature. The knit fabric meets the end-use specifications without heat setting.

Single-knit jersey fabrics are broadly used to make underwear and top-weight garments, such as T-shirts. Compared to woven structures, the knit fabric can more easily deform, or stretch, by compressing or elongating the individual knit stitches (comprised of interconnected loops) that form the knit fabric. This ability to stretch by stitch rearrangement adds to the wearing comfort of garments made from knit fabrics. Even when knit fabrics are constructed of 100% hard yarns, such as cotton, polyester, nylon, acrylics or wool, for example, there is some recovery of the knit stitches to original dimensions after imposed forces are removed. However, this recovery by knit stitch rearrangement generally is not complete because hard yarns, which are not elastomeric, do not provide a recovery force to rearrange the knit stitches. As a consequence, single-knit fabrics may experience permanent deformations or 'bagging' in certain garment areas, such as at the elbows of shirt sleeves, where more stretching occurs.
To improve the recovery performance of circular, single-knit fabrics, it is now common to co-knit a small amount of spandex fiber with the companion hard yarn. As used herein, "spandex" means a manufactured fiber in which the fiber-forming substance is a long-chain synthetic polymer comprised of at least 85% of a segmented polyurethane. The polyurethane is prepared from a polyether glycol, a mixture of diisocyanates, and a chain extender and then melt-spun, dry-spun or wet-spun to form the spandex fiber.
For jersey knit constructions in circular knit machines, the process of co-knitting spandex is called "plating." With plating, the hard yarn and the bare spandex yarn are knitted parallel, side-by-side relation, with the spandex yarn always kept on one side of the hard yarn, and hence on one side of the knitted fabric. FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of plated knit stitches 10 wherein the knitted yarn comprises spandex 12 and a multi-filament hard yarn 14. When spandex is plated with hard yarn to form a knit fabric, additional processing costs are incurred beyond the added cost of the spandex fiber. For example, fabric stretching and heat setting usually are required in the finishing steps when making elastic knit jersey fabrics.
By "circular knitting" is meant a form of weft knitting in which the knitting needles are organized into a circular knitting bed. Generally, a cylinder rotates and interacts with a cam to move the needles reciprocally for knitting action. The yarns to be knitted are fed from packages to a carrier plate that directs the yarn strands to the needles. The circular knit fabric emerges from the knitting needles in a tubular form through the center of the cylinder.
The steps for making elastic circular-knit fabrics according to one known process 40 are outlined in FIG. 4. Although process variations exist for different fabric knit constructions and fabric end uses, the steps shown in FIG. 4 are representative for making jersey knit elastic fabrics with spun hard yarns, such as cotton. The fabric is first circular knit 42 at conditions of high spandex draft and feed tensions. For example, for single-knit jersey fabrics made with bare spandex plated in every knit course, the prior-art feed tension range is 2 to 4 cN for 22 dtex spandex; 3 to 5 cN for 33 dtex; and 4 to 6 cN for 44 dtex (DuPont Technical Bulletin L410). The fabric is knit in the form of a tube, which is collected under the knitting machine either on a rotating mandrel as a flattened tube, or in a box after it is loosely folded back and forth.
In open-width finishing, the knitted tube is then slit open 44 and laid flat. The open fabric is subsequently relaxed 46, either by subjecting it to steam, or by wetting it by dipping and squeezing (padding). The relaxed fabric is then applied to a tenter frame and heated (for heat setting 46) in an oven. The tenter frame holds the fabric on the edges by pins, and stretches it in both the length and width directions in order to return the fabric to desired dimensions and basis weight. This heat setting is accomplished before subsequent wet processing steps and, consequently, heat setting is often referred to as "pre-setting" in the trade. At the oven exit, the flat fabric is released from the stretcher and then tacked 48 (sewed) back into a tubular shape. The fabric then is processed in tubular form through wet processes 50 of cleaning (scouring) and optional bleaching/dyeing, e.g., by soft-flow jet equipment, and then dewatered 52, e.g., by squeeze rolls or in a centrifuge. The fabric is then "de-tacked" 54 by removing the sewing thread and re-opening the fabric into a flat sheet. The flat, still wet, fabric is then dried 56 in a tenter-frame oven under conditions of fabric overfeed (opposite of stretching) so that the fabric is under no tension in the length (machine) direction while being dried at temperatures below heat-setting temperatures. The fabric is slightly tensioned in the width direction in order to flatten any potential wrinkling. An optional fabric finish, such as a softener, may be applied just prior to the drying operation 56. In some cases a fabric finish is applied after the fabric is first dried by a belt or tenter-frame oven, so that the finish is taken up uniformly by fibers that are equally dry. This extra step involves re-wetting the dried fabric with a finish, and then drying the fabric again in a tenter-frame oven.
Heat setting "sets" spandex in an elongated form. This is also known as redeniering, wherein a spandex of higher denier is drafted, or stretched, to a lower denier, and then heated to a sufficiently high temperature, for a sufficient time, to stabilize the spandex at the lower denier. Heat setting therefore means that the spandex permanently changes at a molecular level so that recovery tension in the stretched spandex is mostly relieved and the spandex becomes stable at a new and lower denier. Heat setting temperatures for spandex are generally in the range of 175 to 200° C. For the prior art process 40 shown in FIG. 4, the heat setting 46 commonly is for about 45 seconds or more at about 190° C.
If heat-setting is not used to "set" the spandex, after the fabric is knitted and released from the constraints of the circular knitting machine, the stretched spandex in the fabric will retract to compress the fabric stitches so that the fabric is reduced in dimensions compared to what those dimensions would be if the spandex were not present. Compression of the stitches in the knitted fabric has three major effects that are directly related to elastic knit fabric properties, and thereby usually renders the fabric inappropriate for subsequent cut and sew operations.
First, stitch compression reduces fabric dimensions and increases fabric basis weight (g/m2) beyond desired ranges for single jersey knit fabrics for use in garments. As a result, the traditional finishing process for elastic circular-knit fabric includes a fabric stretching and heating step, at sufficiently high temperatures and sufficiently long residence time, so that the spandex yarn in the knit will "set" at desired stretched dimensions. After heat setting, the spandex yarn will either not retract, or will retract only modestly below its heat-set dimension. Thus, the heat-set spandex yarn will not significantly compress the knit stitches from the heat-set dimensions. Stretching and heat setting parameters are chosen to yield the desired fabric basis weight and elongation, within relatively tight limits. For a typical cotton-jersey elastic single-knit, the desired elongation is at least 60%, and the basis weight ranges from about 140 to about 240 g/m2.
Second, the more severe the stitch compression, the more the fabric will elongate on a percentage basis, thus far exceeding minimum standards and practical needs. When a plated knit with elastic yarn is compared with a fabric knit without elastic yarn, it is common for the plated elastic knit fabric to be 50% shorter (more compressed) than the fabric without elastic yarn. The plated knit is able to stretch in length 150% or more from this compressed state, and such excessive elongation is generally undesirable in jersey knits for cut and sew applications. This length is in the warp direction of the fabric. Fabrics with high elongation in length (stretch) are more likely to be cut irregularly, and are also more likely to shrink excessively upon washing. Similarly, stitches are compressed by spandex in the width direction, so that fabric width is reduced about 50% as well, far beyond the 15 to 20% as-knit width reduction normally encountered with rigid (non-elastic) fabrics.
Third, the compressed stitches in the finished fabric are at an equilibrium condition between spandex recovery forces and resistance to stitch compression by the companion hard yarn. Washing and drying of the fabric can reduce the hard-yarn resistance, probably in part because of agitation of the fabric. Thus, washing and drying may permit the spandex recovery forces to further compress the knit stitches, which can result in unacceptable levels of fabric shrinkage. Heat-setting the knit fabric serves to relax the spandex and reduce the spandex recovery force. The heat setting operation therefore improves the stability of the fabric, and reduces the amount that the fabric will shrink after repeated washings.
Heat setting is not used for all varieties of weft knit elastic fabrics. In some cases a heavy knit will be desired, such as in double knits/ribs and flat sweater knits. In these cases, some stitch compression by the spandex is acceptable. In other cases, the bare spandex fiber is covered with natural or synthetic fibers in a core-spinning or spindle-covering operation, so that the recovery of the spandex and resultant stitch compression is restrained by the covering. In still other cases, bare or covered spandex is plated only on every second or third knit course, thereby limiting the total recovery forces that compress the knit stitches. In seamless knitting, a process wherein tubular knits are shaped for direct use while being knitted on special machines, the fabric is not heat set because dense, stretchy fabrics are intended. For circular-knit jersey elastic fabrics made for cutting and sewing, however, wherein bare spandex is plated in every course, heat setting is almost always required.
Heat setting has disadvantages. Heat setting is an extra cost to finish knit elastic fabrics that contain spandex, versus fabrics that are not elastic (rigid fabrics). Moreover, high spandex heat-setting temperatures can adversely affect sensitive companion hard yarns, e.g., yellowing of cotton, thereby requiring more aggressive subsequent finishing operations, such as bleaching. Aggressive bleaching can negatively affect fabric tactile properties, such as "hand," and usually requires the manufacturer to include fabric softener to counteract bleaching. Also, heat-sensitive hard yarns, such as those from polyacryonitrile, wool and acetate, cannot be used in high-temperature spandex heat-setting steps, because the high heat-setting temperatures will adversely affect such heat-sensitive yarns.
The disadvantages of heat setting have long been recognized, and, as a result, spandex compositions that heat-set at somewhat lower temperatures have been identified (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,948,875 and 6,472,494 B2). For example, the spandex defined in U.S. Pat. No. 6,472,494 B2 has a heat set efficiency greater than or equal to 85% at approximately 175–190° C. The heat set efficiency value of 85% is considered a minimum value for effective heat setting. It is measured by laboratory tests comparing the length of stretched spandex before and after heat setting to the before-stretched spandex length. While such lower heat setting spandex compositions provide an improvement, heat setting is still required, and the costs associated with it have not been significantly reduced.
The traditional practice of making and heat setting circular-knit fabrics has further disadvantages. The knit fabric emerges from a circular knitting machine in the form of a continuous tube. As the tube is formed in knitting, it is either rolled under tension onto a mandrel, or it is collected as a flat tube under the knitting machine by plaiting, or loose folding. In either case, the fabric establishes two permanent creases where the fabric tube has been folded or flattened. Although the fabric is "opened" by slitting the fabric tube along one of the creases, subsequent use and cutting of the fabric usually must avoid the remaining crease. This reduces the fabric yield (or the amount of knit fabric that can be further processed into garments).
New methods are sought for making circular-knit, elastic, single-knit jersey fabrics that have bare spandex plated in every knit course, and that avoid the costs and disadvantages associated with heat setting.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method to make circular-knit elastic fabric comprising spandex and hard yarns


The present invention provides a filter that can minimize the amount of residual liquid within the housing or container with a simplified construction. The article includes a cylinder portion having a cylindrical internal space with both ends open, a cylindrically formed pleated filter 5 inserted in the internal space of the cylinder portion 3 in contact with the inner wall of the cylinder portion 3 and having upper and lower edges liquid-tightly sealed. A perforate inner core 7 supports the inner surface of the pleated filter 5, lower and upper end caps 9, 11 are liquid-tightly bonded to the respective ends of the cylinder portion 3. A liquid distribution passage 21 communicates with gaps between the pleats of the pleated filter 5 from the lower portion of the cylinder portion 3. A liquid feed inlet 15 communicates with the liquid distribution passage 21 formed between the periphery of the pleated filter and a tapered inner wall surface 8 of the cylinder portion 3. A filtrate liquid withdrawal passage 25 communicates with an internal passage 23 of the perforate core 7, and a filtrate outlet 27 communicates with the withdrawal passage.

In the filtration, particularly of expensive chemicals in semiconductor industry or the like, it is often necessary to filter a small amount of liquid, for example, about 1 liter and after the completion of filtration it is necessary to recover the residual liquid as much as possible. Particularly, in filtration operations which require a high precision, the size of the particles to be trapped is becoming smaller and smaller and an improved technique for processing a liquid containing such particles is correspondingly demanded. Performance of trapping object particles down to a particle diameter of 0.02 μm is presently required.
In the conventional filtering system which has a principal object of minimizing residual amount of liquid, a filter device including a disc filter (a disc-like filter membrane supported on a perforate support disc) is encased in a housing. However, with such conventional filter device, the filtering surface area of the disc filter is small relative to the size of the housing and according the filtering operation tends to require a long filtering time, because the filtering surface area is restricted to that proportional to square of the outer diameter of the disc filter.
As a measure, a filter device including two or more disc filters stacked on each other (stacked filter) encased in a housing can provide a filtering surface area which is a surface area of a single filter multiplied by the total number of the stacked disc filters, whereby the filtering time is reduced. In this case, however, the volume required for encasing the disc filters becomes larger with the increase of the number of the disc filters because the filter device requires flow passages between the inner surface of the housing for the stacked disc filters and the outer diameter of the stacked disc filters and between the discs, and thus the added volumes of the primary flow passage and the secondary passage become larger per one disc filter with the increase of the number of disc filters. Thus, there is a problem that the residual liquid amount of liquid remaining within these spaces in the housing is large at the time when the filtration of a small quantity of liquid has been terminated.
On the other hand, a filter device composed of a pleated filter, which is formed by pleating a filter membrane, forming it into a cylindrical form and inserting it in a housing, has an advantage that the filtration surface area can be made much larger than the disc filters for the same size of housing, and thus the time period for filtration operation becomes shorter. However, there is a structural disadvantage with respect to the residual quantity of the liquid under treatment.
For example, where a desired amount of liquid is treated within a predetermined period of time, the pleated filter can increase the filtering surface area without significantly increasing the volume of the flow passages and minimize the pressure loss. However, even with this type of structure, a perforate inner cylinder (core) and a perforate outer cylinder (sleeve) having a number of openings are usually required to be installed within a housing for supporting the inner and outer surfaces of the pleated filter and the core has an internal passage, and a space is formed between the sleeve and the cylindrical housing (container) to form a liquid passage for example, Japanese Publication No. 05-111622. These passages are disadvantageous because they form spaces for the stagnant residual liquid unfiltered as well as filtrate at the terminal point of filtration operation.
Especially for filtration of a small amount of liquid, a trial to enhance the filtration precision and to minimize the residual liquid within the filter housing requires a long period of treatment, while a trial to enhance the filtration precision and to minimize the time necessary for the treatment increases the residual liquid within the filter housing.
There is a need to filter small amounts of a liquid to enhance the filtration precision and to minimize the residual liquid within the filter housing. There is a need to filter small amounts of liquid to enhance the filtration precision, minimize the residual liquid within the filter housing, and minimize the filtering time.

Filter device including pleated filter incorporated in a housing


Provided is a modem apparatus of power line communication using a power line as a transmission path. The modem apparatus includes: an amplifier for amplifying communication signals and outputting a differential signal obtained from a pair of output signals having a phase difference of 180 degrees therebetween; a signal transformer for applying the amplified communication signals to the power lines; and a balance circuit connected at the primary side of the signal transformer, for enhancing circuit balancing. The balance circuit is constituted by a variable element capable of changing an element value, and there is provided a common mode detecting circuit that detects a common mode current flowing through the secondary side of the signal transformer and that changes the element value of the variable element of the balance circuit such that the detected common mode current becomes small.

Power line communication (hereinafter, referred to as "PLC") that uses existing power lines as transmission paths, for performing communication has a problem of a leakage electromagnetic field radiated from the power lines during communication. A PLC signal is inputted in a differential mode to the power lines. However, there is a case where a common mode signal is generated by circuit unbalance in the power lines.
Common mode signals are transferred through two power lines in a common mode, and form current loops with the ground being feedback paths. It is possible that a leakage electromagnetic field radiated from a power line is proportional to the magnitude of a common mode current. Therefore, in order to reduce the leakage electromagnetic field, the common mode current flowing through the power line needs to be suppressed.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of a general conventional modem apparatus. In FIG. 4, the conventional modem apparatus is provided with an amplifier 1, a signal transformer 3, and a common mode choke 2A. In the modem apparatus which outputs a PLC signal to power lines 4, a method of using the signal transformer 3 and the common mode choke 2A is generally adopted at an output end of the modem apparatus in order to suppress the common mode current. When the signal transformer 3 operates ideally, an unbalanced signal at a primary side is transformed into a balanced signal, and a common mode component does not flow.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of another conventional modem apparatus (for example, see Patent Document 1). In FIG. 5, another conventional modem apparatus 10A is provided with a transmission circuit 1A that includes an amplifier, a common mode detecting circuit (balancing detector) 5A, and two balance circuits (balancing adjusting circuits) 2B. The configuration of FIG. 5 shows an example of suppressing the common mode current. Specifically, the balance circuits (balancing adjusting circuits) 2B are provided for power lines 4 serving as transmission paths, and the common mode detecting circuit (balancing detector) 5A controls the balance circuits 2B such that the levels of common mode signals become smaller.    Patent Document 1: JP 2004-80441 A


The invention relates to a filing appliance, a system for information management, a method in a computer system, a computer program and a memory medium. The filing appliance includes a holder for holding a plurality of sheets, with at least one input field, which is provided with a position-coding pattern and is adapted to be filled in using a drawing device, which while using the position-coding pattern records positions in the input field in order to record information entered in the input field, and an initiation icon provided with a position-coding pattern, a marking of the initiation icon using the drawing device being adapted to initiate an operation in a computer system communicating with the drawing device, in which operation an information object is created, which is identifiable at least by information entered in the input field.

Filing appliances, binders, or files of the above-mentioned type, are used in huge amounts almost everywhere. A file or a filing appliance generally relates in the present application to a cover for use over and/(or) under a set of sheets of paper, like the cover of a book. The cover can, but need not, be more or less stiff. The file is provided with means for holding these sheets, which sheets in principle can also be made of other materials than paper. These means can be openable, such as in a ring binder, but the sheets of paper can also be permanently fixed to the filing appliance e.g. by means of a spiral binding, such as in a spiral binder, or by gluing, folding etc.
Filing appliances or files of this type are, as mentioned above, widely used, in many fields of application. A spiral binder can be used, for instance, to make notes about a specific subject field. The user of the binder can then use it at, for instance, lectures, seminars and in individual studies.
Filing appliances of prior-art type have, however, a number of limitations. It can be difficult to copy notes from such a filing appliance and this necessitates at least the use of a special copying machine which is not available to all users. Sharing, over long distances, notes from a filing appliance of prior-art type is not easy either. Of course, a sheet copied from the file can be faxed, which in addition to the above-mentioned copying machine also requires a fax machine. Alternatively, the pages that are to be transmitted can be scanned, which requires a flat bed scanner. In general, filing appliances of prior-art type result in complicated and expensive handling and communication of information, if writing down things on the sheets of paper of the filing appliance and reading the information written on the sheets is not sufficient.

Device and system for information management utilizing a filing appliance


A system and method are provided for measuring an integrated circuit age. A first clock generator is provided for generating a first clock signal and a second clock generator is provided for generating a second clock signal. Further, a phase detector in communication with the first clock generator and the second clock generator is provided for receiving the first clock signal from the first clock generator and the second clock signal from the second clock generator, and outputting a phase difference signal that is capable of being used as a measure of an integrated circuit age. Still yet, a circuit in communication with the phase detector and the first clock generator is provided for receiving the first clock signal from the first clock generator and the phase difference signal from the phase detector and for synchronizing the phase difference signal from the phase detector with the first clock signal from the first clock generator.

Integrated circuits are electronic circuits that are typically manufactured from a semiconductor material (e.g. silicon, etc.). Due to the reliability of integrated circuits and developments within the industry that allow integrated circuits to be mass produced, the usage of integrated circuits has become ubiquitous in the manufacture of many commercial electronics equipment produced today and have contributed significantly to the proliferation and development of the electronics industry. Integrated circuits are often combined to form products including various devices or components, which both comprise an underlying computing system, and are integrated as peripheral devices in the computing system, etc.
Integrated circuit developers typically design an integrated circuit with an intended lifetime before failure. During a typical design phase for an integrated circuit, an integrated circuit developer generally specifies the voltages and frequencies at which the integrated circuit or "chip" is going to operate with and/or under. However, these operating conditions (along with temperature) may contribute to aging effects that naturally occur with silicon or like-material based products.
These conditions can change as aging effects and wear are accumulated by an integrated circuit product. For example, a product which requires a certain voltage to operate under a specific frequency at the beginning of the lifetime of the product may require a higher voltage to operate under the same frequency later in the lifetime of the product, due to the aging effect. Moreover, the operating conditions can fluctuate drastically and frequently, depending on usage of the underlying computing system, which, naturally, can vary from user to user. As a result, designing an integrated circuit with sufficient tolerances to last the intended lifespan under such wildly varying conditions can be a complex process.
Further, ever shrinking deep-submicron geometries come with multiple degree of complexity both at design and fabrication. These complexities include thermal management, power distribution, cross-talking, and electromigration. Thus, it is helpful to understand the silicon degradation of an integrated circuit to precisely predict how the system behaves with aging. Silicon degradation refers to deterioration of system performance over time and usage.
One major silicon degradation consequence is change in the threshold voltage of the transistors which significantly determines various factors such as system slack, operating frequency, setup-hold constraints, and on-chip parasitics, among other factors. With continued deep-submicron scaling, reliability issues such as hot carrier injection (HCI), bias temperature instability (BTI), and time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) have become more prevalent. There is thus a need for addressing these and/or other issues associated with the aging of integrated circuits.

System and method for measuring an integrated circuit age


A food cutting device has a bowl, two cutting blades supported in the bowl for rotation relative to each other, and a drive mechanism supported by the bowl for rotating the cutting blades to cut food in the bowl. The cutting blades are rotatable in opposite directions relative to each other to perform a scissors-like cutting action.

Food cutting devices of the type concerned, such as food choppers, find common use in kitchens for cutting food items such as garlic cloves and carrot cubes into much smaller pieces. These food cutting devices are hand-operated utensils, especially those for domestic use.
In a typical construction, such food cutting devices has a container in which a rotary cutter unit is provided for cutting food in the container and includes a manually-operated drive mechanism atop or on one side for driving the cutter unit. The drive mechanism usually incorporates a handle on a crank for turning by a user.
The performance of such food cutting devices is not found to be satisfactory, especially concerning how small they can cut food into and how quickly they can do so.
The invention seeks to obviate or at least alleviate one or more of such problems or shortcomings by providing a new or otherwise food cutting device.


A method of surgically treating occlusive disease in an intraluminal tissue using both a retractor (6) and a retractable one-piece stent. The stent is constructed and arranged such that it can exist in at least a stable initial collapsed state (12) and a stable deployed expanded state (10). In conjunction with the retractor, the stent is positioned at an appropriate location within an occluded intraluminal tissue and converted from a stable initial collapsed state to a stable deployed expanded state, and is then converted to a collapsed state and removed before significant restenosis occurs.

1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of the treatment of occlusive disease and in particular, to an improved surgical method for treating occlusive disease.
2. Prior Art
Percutaneous coronary intervention and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty are medical procedures used to widen occluded blood vessels. These procedures are often accompanied by insertion of a stent to help keep the occluded vessel open. However, current stents, while sufficient in mechanical strength and durability to keep occluded vessels open, fail in that they cause inflammation and immune responses that encourage re-blocking of the blood vessel in a condition known as restenosis. In addition to the problems of inflammation and restenosis, retrieval of an implanted stent (usually because of restenosis, and sometimes because of severe inflammatory or immune responses) involves difficult and risky surgical procedures. Generally, all current stents must be retrieved and replaced sooner or later due to restenosis (the exact rate of restenosis varies in different people), usually within 10 years. People with severe inflammatory or immune responses often need to have their stent removed within a few months or a year. Surgeons need to perform open heart surgery to retrieve an implanted stent. There are numerous health-related issues, risks, and concerns, including death, that accompany open heart surgery.
Biliary stent implantation is a medical procedure used to treat problems associated with blockages in the bile ducts. The procedure involves the implantation of a stent to help keep the occluded passageway open. Current stents used in the bile ducts can cause inflammation and immune responses and also are not easily retrievable, sometimes requiring surgery. Biliary stents often need to be replaced every few months (because they get clogged up); thus, the fact that current stents are not easily retrievable is a major problem as they may need to be replaced frequently.
Stents are also implanted in other structures to treat occlusions. These structures include, but are not limited to, the peripheral arteries and veins, esophagus, trachea or large bronchi, ureters, and urethra. Current stents used in these structures can cause inflammation and immune responses and often are not easily retrievable, sometimes requiring surgery. Stents in some of these structures may also need to be replaced relatively frequently, something that presents a major problem associated with current stents since current stents are not easily retrievable once placed.
The prior art consists of surgical methods involving stents in the two existing categories: metallic wire mesh, and bioresorbable. Both such categories have flaws. The metallic wire mesh stents cause inflammatory and immune responses that may lead to restenosis, besides causing other localized tissue damage and trauma. The bioresorbable stents' only advantage over metallic wire mesh stents is that they degrade and go away after 5 to 10 years. Otherwise, they behave exactly the same as wire mesh stents: a similar, if not increased, rate of immune responses (especially due to breakdown/degradation products generated during stent degradation), a requirement for surgical intervention if removal becomes necessary, and a similar, if not increased, rate of inflammatory responses (especially due to breakdown/degradation products generated during stent degradation).
Bioresorbable stents were invented to deal with the core problem of metal stents: inflammatory and immune responses eventually lead to restenosis, blocking the duct or vessel the stent originally opened, and requiring retrieval of the stent, which often involves highly invasive surgical procedures. Bioresorbable stents attempted to solve this problem by degrading in vivo within five to ten years; however, serious immune and inflammatory responses caused by this degradation often occur before the stent is completely degraded, in which case the stent must be surgically removed. Also, the associated memory immune responses associated with the immune responses and inflammation often preclude bioresorbable stents from being used more than once in a person (that is, it is often not medically sound to implant a second bioresorbable stent in a person after the first bioresorbable stent has degraded or been retrieved).
The surgical method of the present invention involves a one-piece retractable stent that belongs to a completely different stent category and is the first and only member of this new category. It is made of a one-piece sheet material (such as an elastic metallic polymer). Also, it is not bioresorbable. Because it is one-piece (which minimizes damage to the luminal membranes of ducts or vessels the stent is deployed in), and because it is not bioresorbable, it prevents, or at least minimizes, inflammation, immune responses, and restenosis. Unlike the stents in both existing categories of stents, the structure of the invention allows it to be collapsed when desired at any time and then retrieved easily, without need for highly invasive surgical intervention (e.g., if deployed in a coronary artery, open heart surgery would not be necessary to retrieve my stent). Existing stents cannot be collapsed due to their design; once expanded/deployed, their many pieces lock into place permanently, making it impossible to collapse the stent, and thus making it impossible to retrieve the stent without complicated surgical procedures (such as open heart surgery in the case of coronary stents).
As such, there is no relevant prior art pertaining to the method for surgical treatment of occlusive disease of the invention.
3. Objects and Advantages
Current surgical methods involve stents that fall into two broad categories: metallic and bioresorbable. Both metallic and bioresorbable stents are non-retractable and are made up of many interconnected parts, similarly to a metal wire fence. The stent involved in the surgical method of the invention is in a new third category: one-piece (sheet) retractable stent. It consists of a much simpler one-piece design rather than a wire mesh and is simply made of a material (e.g., an elastic metallic polymer) fabricated into a continuous non-porous sheath. Thus, there is no prior art relevant to the invention.
The surgical method of the invention provides much needed improvements over existing surgical methods involving metallic or bioresorbable stents. The method of the invention provides a stent with the novel feature of retractability, a stent that thus never requires open heart surgery for removal. Also, the stent provides reduced inflammation and immune responses over both metallic and bioresorbable stents.
To summarize, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
(a) to allow retractability of an implanted stent, solving an important problem associated with implanted metal or bioresorbable stents. The stent involved in the invention functions similarly to a regular metal stent, but, because of its special one-piece sheet design, can be retracted with a special retractor in a minor surgical procedure similar to the procedure for implanting the stent (without major surgery, such as open heart surgery in the case of coronary stents) and replaced with a new stent if and when it needs to be replaced with a new one;
(b) to allow the use of a simple, inexpensive, and easily constructed stent that can be manufactured in several standard lengths and diameters, but can also be made to special non-standard specifications easily and cheaply, upon order;
(c) to allow the use of a smooth one-piece stent that naturally (due to its smooth one-piece nature) inhibits the biological mechanisms leading to restenosis, leading to a longer functional operating time per stent.
Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

Method for surgical treatment of occlusive disease


A semiconductor sensor has a semiconductor substrate including both of a conductive or semiconductor surface and an insulative surface and a pair of conductive members provided on said conductive or semiconductor surface of the substrate. There is constructed a sensor section in which at least one of the pair of conductive members can be deformed and an electrostatic capacitance between the pair of conductive members is variable. The semiconductor substrate has a functional element which is electrically connected to the sensor section.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a semiconductor sensor to detect dynamic amounts such as acceleration, pressure, and the like and, more particularly, to a semiconductor sensor of the electrostatic capacitance type of detect a change in electrostatic capacitance of a displacement portion which is deformed according to an acceleration or pressure.
2. Related Background Art
As a conventional semiconductor sensor, there is known a sensor having a structure in which a silicon wafer is worked into a diaphragm shape and a resistance layer is formed thereon. In such a type of sensor, a change in resistance of the resistance layer due to a deformation of the diaphragm is detected by using a Wheatstone bridge circuit.
On the other hand, according to the conventional pressure sensor of the electrostatic capacitance type, a change in electrostatic capacitance due to deformations of two metallic diaphragms is detected by an external circuit.
The conventional semiconductor sensor, however, still has many points to be improved with respect to the detecting sensitivity, stability, corrosion resistance, and the like.
The conventional pressure sensor of the electrostatic capacitance type still has many points to be improved with regard to the miniaturization, connection with an external circuit, and the like.
On the other hand, in association with the progress of information equipment, consumer equipment, and control units, a demand for sensors using semiconductors is increasing more and more increasing. Various kinds of sensors have been developed to measure light, electricity, magnetism, acoustic wave, chemistry, dynamics, and the like. However, in association with the remarkable advancement in the development of robots or the like, the development of sensors for detecting and controlling a dynamic amount and having an excellent performance is demanded. Moreover, miniaturization and realization of a hybrid structure of the acceleration sensor and pressure sensor are required due to progress of the micromechanics technique.

Semiconductor sensor of electrostatic capacitance type


A surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor system and associated method for accurately measuring mercury gas concentrations. The sensor includes a SAW device that may be a SAW delay-line oscillator or a SAW resonator. The surface of the piezoelectric substrate of the SAW device includes a material suitable for amalgamation with mercury. Mercury in the gaseous environment is captured with the amalgamating material so as to cause a change in the mechanical and electrical properties on the surface of the device, thereby causing a change in the frequency output of the device. The piezoelectric substrate of the SAW device is preferably coupled to a heater to permit control of the temperature at the surface of the device. The piezoelectric substrate temperature may be regulated to produce a substantial equilibrium of mercury amalgamation/desorption kinetics. Under the conditions provided by the invention, the mercury concentration in the gaseous environment can be determined.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surface acoustic wave mercury vapor sensors, and more particularly to the in situ detection and measurement of low concentrations of gaseous mercury in air using such surface acoustic wave mercury vapor sensors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mercury, for example, originating from nuclear fuel and weapons production and disposal, fossil fuel combustion, incineration, and industrial processes, is a major environmental pollutant that exists in air, soil and groundwater. Mercury is particularly dangerous since it can bio-accumulate within the food chain and lead to irreversible neurological disorders and other health related problems.
Current techniques that are used to detect mercury require a variety of elaborate separation strategies in conjunction with chromatographic, electrochemical, or spectroscopic methods, such as atomic absorption and emission.
German Patent No. DD 268 530 A1 is an example of current techniques and is generally directed to a method and device for the concentration determination of mercury in gases, and more specifically relates to the quantitative mercury amount determination of gases, as they arise from the Hg.sup.0 emission in reduction-ventilation-processes.
The mercury containing gas is brought into contact with a SAW (surface acoustic wave) device. The surface structure of the SAW device is designed such that the surface acoustic wave passes through a gold-plated contact zone on which the mercury is adsorbed as amalgam. Depending on the amalgam content, the propagation velocity of the surface wave changes. This velocity change is a measure for the mercury concentration and is recorded. The regeneration of the SAW device is done by thermal desorption.
From the literature, various other methods for mercury analysis are know, like photometry, fluorescence-, X-ray-, and mass-spectroscopy. Some of these methods are very costly.
Most common is the method of atom absorption (AAS) based on the cold vapor principle. The detection limit of this method is about 0.1 ng Hg/ml. With the usual dimensions of kuvettes, a relatively large sample amount is necessary for this detection limit, where an enrichment by means of a gold trap may be carried out to improve the sensitivity. Here, in order for the analysis, the mercury has to be released again, where thermodynamic and hydrodynamic problems occur, which is disadvantageous.
In the "American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal", 1975, p. 897-901, a mercury detection method is described based on a piezoelectric crystal. Here, the mass loading of a gold-plated longitudinal oscillator is detected as a change in the resonance frequency.
Conventional use of a bulk oscillator limits the sensitivity because of a relatively low operation frequency, since for a given mass of the layer the dynamic mechanical tension on the crystal surfaces is frequency dependent.
Although these techniques may be able to detect mercury, they are not as advantageous as the surface acoustic wave mercury vapor sensors of the present invention, at least in part because they are not appropriate for in situ monitoring, and typically, samples must be collected and shipped to a central processing facility for analysis.
The numbers in brackets below refer to references listed in the Appendix, the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Those concerned with these and other problems recognize the need for an improved surface acoustic wave mercury vapor sensors.

Surface acoustic wave mercury vapor sensors


A diffuser plate for a reflow oven includes an upper surface and a plurality of nozzle openings therein. Each of the plurality of nozzle openings has a raised surrounding portion for restricting condensed flux on the upper surface of the diffuser plate from flowing through the nozzles. A drain hole permits condensed flux on the upper surface to flow downward through the plate.

Reflow soldering ovens are used in the production of printed circuit boards employing surface mount technology. Typically, in a reflow soldering oven, the products to be soldered pass through heating zones to a cooling zone. The heating zones are separated into a number of different zones which are generally broken down into preheat zones, soak zones and spike zones. In the preheat zones and the soak zones, the products are heated and the flux volatile components vaporize in the surrounding gas atmosphere. The spike zones are hotter than the preheat zones and soak zones, and it is in the spike zones that the solder melts. A reflow solder oven may have many heating zones and these heating zones can be varied depending on the products to be soldered. Different products require different heat profiles and a solder oven should be flexible so that, for example, a machine with ten heating zones may have one preheat zone followed by seven soak zones and two spike zones for one type of circuit board, and a machine may have three preheat zones, six soak zones and one spike zone for a different type of board. The cooling zone or zones follow the heating zones and are used to solidify the solder on the board.
During production, a paste containing solder particles mixed with flux, adhesives, binders, and other components is applied to selected areas of a printed circuit board. Electronic components are pressed against the applied solder paste, while adhesives in the paste hold the components to the printed circuit board. A conveyor belt within a reflow oven carries the printed circuit board and components through a high temperature region within the oven where they are heated to a temperature sufficient to cause the solder particles in the paste to melt. Molten solder wets metal contacts on the components and printed circuit board. The flux in the solder paste reacts with the contacts to remove oxides and to enhance wetting. The conveyor belt moves the heated printed circuit board to a cooling region of the oven where the molten solder solidifies forming a completed electronic circuit.
The reaction of the flux with the contacts liberates vapors. Further, heat within the oven vaporizes un-reacted flux as well as the adhesives, binders, and other components of the solder paste. If the vapors migrate to the cooling region, they can undesirably condense on the circuit boards. The vapors may also condense on cooler surfaces within the oven.
The vapors generated by the reflow operation collectively are referred to herein as "flux vapors." It is understood that the flux vapors can include vaporized flux, vapors from other components of the solder paste, reaction products released when the flux is heated, as well as vapors out-gassed from the printed circuit board and electronic components.
It is therefore desirable to provide a flux management system that removes flux from the system while preventing or minimizing flux from dripping on the printed product. It is also desirable to provide a flux management system that can be cleaned with little or minimized maintenance downtime for the associated reflow oven.

Reflow solder oven with cooling diffuser


A method of dicing a wafer of III-V compound material without causing chipping and cracks. The method includes the steps of forming a scribe line on a surface of the wafer orthogonal to a crystal plane (011) by means of a scribing method, forming a groove in the semiconductor wafer in parallel to the crystal plane (011) by means of a grinding-cutting method, and breaking the semiconductor wafer along the scribe line and the groove.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of dicing a semiconductor wafer, and it relates, more particularly, to an improvement in the method of dicing wafers made of a III-V compound semiconductor material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, semiconductor substrates made of a III-V compound semiconductor material such as GaAs, GaP and InP have been mass-produced for semiconductor devices, in addition to silicon. The substrates made of a III-V compound semiconductor material are weak in mechanical strength as compared to the silicon, and such weakness is overcome technically.
One or a plurality of kinds selected from a group consisting of passive and active elements such as a resistor and transistor are made into an element. A plurality of such elements are fabricated in a wafer of a III-V compound semiconductor material in the same way prepared for a wafer made of silicon.
In the course of production, dicing lines are marked between the boundary lines of chips 3 by using, for instance, a diffusion method. A wafer will be separated to the chips 3 by a specific method.
Of dicing processes, the following three methods are well known in the art. These are the diamond scribing method, the diamond blade method and the dicing saw method. For each method implemented, it is necessary to minimize the distance of a groove between chips 3 in terms of maximum available area and to minimize also the damage to the chips 3, for instance, to prevent so-called chipping 2 that causes a crack and breakage as shown in FIG. 2A.
Among the three methods, each are used according to its specific purpose. In the dicing saw method, the thin wheel, in the tip of which diamond particles are sintered, dices the wafer from the X- and Y-axis directions (see FIG. 2A) in the width of 20-40 .mu.m on the wafer with a high speed of 10,000 to 50,000 rpm. The depth of the groove to be cut can be chosen freely and a complete cut (through-cut) is also possible.
The advantages of the dicing saw method lies in the fact that the method provides a stable width of cut in the groove and a deep groove of cut. Further, there are little cracks or chipping 2 caused, and the cutting takes places at a high speed, and is thus preferable in a mass-production. This dicing saw method is suitable for dicing the wafer having the width of 400 .mu.m through 600 .mu.m.
In the diamond scribing method, a wafer to be processed is fixed by means of a vacuum chuck or static chuck, and the groove of cut is formed by a diamond cutter with a predetermined load from the directions of X- and Y-axes as shown in FIG. 1B. After the depth of cut in the groove is formed at a rather shallow depth of, say, 50 .mu.m, the wafer will be separated into chips 3 by applying a mechanical force by means of a rubber roller or the like. In this method, there is a drawback that the chipping 2 and cracks are likely to occur. Notwithstanding, the apparatus used in this method is simple and inexpensive.
In the diamond blade method similar to the diamond scribing method, the groove of cut is formed at a predetermined position by a diamond cutter with a certain load from the directions of X- and Y-axes. Then, the wafer is usually cut through by moving the blade made from diamond as shown in FIG. 2B.
As shown in FIG. 2A, an orientation flat 6 is usually provided in a circular wafer of a III-V compound semiconductor material. A chip 3 whose typical dimension is 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm of rectangular shape is fabricated in the wafer.
In the diamond scribing method using the cleaving characteristics, there are cases where an incomplete breakage occurs though the width of groove can be made as small as about 40 .mu.m or less. When dicing the wafer of a III-V semiconductor material with this method to obtain chips 3, it is especially hard to cut the chip in a parallel direction with a longer side of the rectangular chip, namely in the direction parallel to a cleaving direction. This will cause a chip pair 1 or a broken chip pair 7 shown in FIG. 1, thus affecting to lower the yield.
In the diamond blade method used to dice the wafer of a III-V semiconductor material as shown in FIG. 3, there are cases where chipping 2 shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3 often occurs even though the method can perform to cut through the wafer completely. For this reason, the width of the dicing line should be formed as wide as about 100 .mu.m. This requires the area occupied by a chip 3 to be greater. FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2B show the occurrence of chipping 2. FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view thereof.


Exemplary embodiments provide an infrared (IR) retinal system and method for making and using the IR retinal system. The IR retinal system can include adaptive sensor elements, whose properties including, e.g., spectral response, signal-to-noise ratio, polarization, or amplitude can be tailored at pixel level by changing the applied bias voltage across the detector. “Color” imagery can be obtained from the IR retinal system by using a single focal plane array. The IR sensor elements can be spectrally, spatially and temporally adaptive using quantum-confined transitions in nanoscale quantum dots. The IR sensor elements can be used as building blocks of an infrared retina, similar to cones of human retina, and can be designed to work in the long-wave infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum ranging from about 8 μm to about 12 μm as well as the mid-wave portion ranging from about 3 μm to about 5 μm.

Spectral imagery has emerged in the past decade as one of the most powerful tools for a range of remote sensing problems including defeating camouflage, remote identification of chemical and biological compounds, and anomaly detection. Spectral imagery can take on many forms. For example, two-color infrared spectral imagery is useful for applications such as locating recently disturbed earth. In another example, multi-spectral imagery (MSI) are designed to have a small number (e.g., 3-15) of spectrally distinct bands in the visible, near infrared (IR), and mid IR range and with minimal overlap in their spectral responses. Some MSI systems utilize spatially separate focal plane arrays (FPAs) to measure each spectral band, which leads to increased system cost and results in large data volumes that make storage and transmission of data challenging in real time.
Other than near IR and mid IR portions, the long-wave-IR (LWIR) portion of spectrum has also been the focus of specific efforts, because objects near room temperature tend to be emissive rather than reflective in this wavelength range. This allows thermal imaging to be largely independent of illumination conditions, which may cause all the IR imaging "black and white" with no spectral content.
The human eye is a sensor that can elegantly represent a dynamic scene by extracting enormous visual information. The human eye uses a paradigm where the foveous of the eye is populated by three classes of cones, often referred to as the long—(L), middle—(M), and short—(S) wavelength sensitive cones. Unlike typical MSI bands, the L, M, and S cones have spectral responses with extremely high correlations (ρLM=0.91, ρLS=0.097, ρMS=0.18, where ρ is the correlation coefficient). The eye compensates for this redundancy by initially decorrelating the responses of the individual receptors through weighted combinations of the receptor outputs. A consequence of this processing is that the relative importance of the combination channels are not equal, with the vast majority of the information being transmitted in the achromatic channel, and much less in the two chromatic channels with one including a red-green difference and the other including a blue-yellow difference.
Thus, there is a need to overcome these and other problems of the prior art and to provide a retinal system that operates in long-wave IR region similarly to the human eye operating in the visible spectral range and brings "color" to the IR range.

Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona


A circular display includes a columnar waveguide plate and an image projection device. The upper width of the cross-section of the columnar waveguide plate is less than the bottom width of the cross-section of the columnar waveguide plate. The outer surface of the columnar waveguide plate is utilized for displaying an image, and the image projection device is used for projecting the image to the bottom of the columnar waveguide plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circular display device, and more particularly, to a circular display device for displaying an image on an outer surface of a columnar waveguide plate with a projective light source.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Large display devices can be used to communicate information to a large number of people in advertisements. Large outdoor display devices often utilize light emitting diodes (LEDs) to be the light source. However, the maintenance of the large display device costs much due to a large number of LEDs. Otherwise, a television wall also can be utilized for advertisements, but the grid of the television wall due to the partition of televisions decreases the image quality. For solving above-mentioned problems, a 360 degrees circular display device is utilized.
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a drawing of a display apparatus 10 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,401. The display apparatus 10 includes a pedestal 12, a cylindrical body 14 rotatably mounted on the pedestal 12, and a plurality of LED arrays 16 secured on the wall of the cylindrical body 14. Each LED array 16 includes a plurality of LEDs 18. When the cylindrical body 14 rotates at a speed in which a viewer's eyes cannot distinguish that the individual LED array 16 and the LEDs 18 are sequentially turned on, a viewer sees the corresponding image on the rotating cylindrical body 14 due to the persistence of vision. Please refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a drawing of a display apparatus 20 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,714. The display apparatus 20 includes a pedestal 22, a cylindrical body 24 rotatably mounted on the pedestal 22, and a plurality of LED sections 26 secured on the wall of the cylindrical body 24. Each LED section 26 includes a plurality of LEDs 28. When the cylindrical body 24 rotates at a speed in which a viewer's eyes cannot distinguish that the individual LED section 26 and the LEDs 28 are sequentially turned on, a viewer sees the corresponding image on the rotating cylindrical body 24 due to the persistence of vision. Generally, the method for displaying images using LEDs has disadvantages of large pixels and non-uniform illumination, decreasing the image quality.

Circular display device with a projective light source