A frequency converter having no solid-state devices having nonlinear characteristics and no complex resonator structure and operable in a wide frequency range from microwave frequencies to terahertz wave frequencies. An input section (1) inputs an input wave into a high-frequency transmission line (2). A waveguide portion of an output section (6) reflects the input wave. A laser light source (4) inputs a laser beam into an optical delay circuit (5). The optical delay circuit (5) delays the laser beam and directs the delayed laser beam into a high-frequency transmission line (2) and a substrate (3). The laser beam transmitted through the optical delay circuit (5) produces an electron-hole plasma over the surface of the substrate (3) such as of a semiconductor thereby to short-circuit the high-frequency transmission line (2) and to reflect the input wave. The reflection point moves at high speed together with the laser beam, thereby converting the frequency on the same principle as the Doppler effect. The output section (6) total-reflects the input wave and takes out only an output wave.

Conventionally, as a method of increasing/converting the frequency of an input wave in an electromagnetic wave region of a frequency of 1 THz or less, there has been used a method in which electric nonlinearity of a semiconductor element such as a varactor diode or various transistors is used, and the element is incorporated in a resonator to perform multiplication (see non-patent documents 1 and 2).
Besides, conventionally, non-patent document 3 discloses a theoretical analysis of reflected and transmitted waves in the case where the boundary surface of a stationary plasma moves at high speed. Non-patent document 4 discloses a theoretical analysis of reflected and transmitted waves in the case where only the boundary surface of a stationary dielectric moves at high speed. Non-patent document 5 discloses the Doppler frequency transition of an electromagnetic field moving at high speed to generate a frequency change by the Doppler effect, in which a variable-capacitance diode is mounted to a coaxial cable, a voltage pulse is made to travel to generate an equivalent moving boundary surface, and a change in transmission frequency of an incident wave is measured. Non-patent document 6 discloses an experiment to examine that in a line loaded with a capacitor charged at high voltage, discharge is performed by a laser beam as a trigger to generate an equivalent plasma boundary surface, and the electromagnetic wave generated at that time is in the microwave band.
Non-Patent Document 1
E. Schlecht, G. Chattopadhyay, A. Maestrini, A. Fung, S. Martin, D. Pukala, J. Burston and I. Mehdi, "200, 400 and 800 GHz Schottky Diode "Substrateless" Multipliers: Design and Results" 2001 MMT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest, vol. 3, pp. 1649-1652, 2001.
Non-Patent Document 2
X. Melique, A. Maestrini, R. Farre, P. Mounaix, M. Favreau, O. Vanbesien, J-M. Goutoule, F. Mollot, G. Beaudin, T. Narhi, D. Lippens, "Fabrication and Performance of InP-based Heterostructure Barrier Varactors in a 250-GHz Waveguide Tripler" Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 48, no. 6, pp. 1000-1006, June 2000.
Non-Patent Document 3
M. Lampe, et al., "Submillimeter-Wave Production by Upshifted Reflection from a Moving Ionization Front", Year 1977
Non-Patent Document 4
C. S. Tsai and B. A. Auld, "Wave Interaction with Moving Boundaries", 1967
Non-Patent Document 5
Hiroshi Ito, Kiyoshi Hayata, "Doppler Frequency Transition of Electromagnetic Field Moving at High Speed", 1979
Non-Patent Document 6
J. R. Hoffman, et al., "High power radiation from ionization fronts in a static electric field in a waveguide", 2001

Frequency converter using optical excitation surface plasma and its method


A continuous process for converting benzene or a derivative thereof to phenol or a derivative thereof comprises continuously activating .alpha.-sites on a zeolite catalyst by contacting the catalyst with a free oxidant activator, thereby producing an activated zeolite hydroxylation catalyst, and separately and continuously contacting benzene or a derivative thereof with the activated zeolite catalyst, thereby producing phenol or a derivative thereof. The benzene or derivative thereof can be separately contacted with the activated zeolite catalyst by (a) contacting in a reaction vessel that is physically separate and distinct from the vessel in which the catalyst is contacted with the free oxidant activator, (b) contacting in a zone of a vessel that is separate from the zone in that same vessel in which the catalyst is contacted with the free oxidant activator, or (c) contacting with the catalyst in a reaction vessel in a first time pulse, with the benzene or derivative thereof being contacted with the activated zeolite catalyst in a second time pulse in the same reaction vessel which does not overlap substantially with the first time pulse.

The present invention relates to an improved process and reactor system for the hydroxylation of benzene or derivatives thereof to form phenol or related compounds.
Phenol or a derivative thereof can be produced by a single-step oxidative hydroxylation of benzene or a derivative thereof, using nitrous oxide over a catalyst. For example, PCT publication WO 95/27560 describes such a process in which benzene is combined with nitrous oxide over a zeolite catalyst that has been hydrothermally treated, converting the benzene to phenol. It is believed that specific active sites on the zeolite, referred to as .alpha.-sites, are responsible for the desirable conversion in such a process. After a batch of catalyst is used for a time in the process, some of the .alpha.-sites become deactivated, and the catalyst must then be reactivated.
In prior art processes of the general type described above, reactivation of the zeolite catalyst has been done in situ with an oxidant activator such as nitrous oxide. However, this presents several problems. For example, the intermediates and products of the hydroxylation reaction are generally more reactive than the reactant. This often leads to production of undesirable over-oxidated byproducts instead of maximum production of the desired end product. Moreover, the free oxidant used to activate the .alpha.-sites is generally less selective than the .alpha.-sites, which also contributes to increased production of undesirable byproducts. Another problem is that explosive mixtures can sometimes be formed between the reactant and the free oxidant activator, which can present a safety problem.
These problems constrain the practical operation of a commercial process. In general, in situ reactivation of the catalyst leads to a compromise choice of process conditions because the preferred conditions for activating the .alpha.-sites may not be the optimum conditions for the hydroxylation reaction. In particular, with in situ activation of .alpha.-sites, reaction conditions must be sought that minimize raw material, energy, and capital consumption while forming a safe and commercially viable operation. Inevitably this involves a compromise among these three major cost factors. For example, to maintain operation outside of flammability regions, inert diluents are often added that must eventually be separated and recycled, requiring additional capital and energy. Also, because of the nonselective nature of the oxidant activator, the reactions are run at relatively low reactant conversion to minimize over-oxidation to undesired byproducts. This results in a compromise between raw material cost and energy usage for recycle.
A need exists for processes and catalysts having improved performance, so that the conversion of an aromatic hydrocarbon such as benzene to phenol or another desired product can be made more economical. One potential way of improving catalyst performance is by selective introduction of sites for hydroxylation, for example by introducing iron into the catalyst. However, introduction of active iron via synthesis can present complications.


An apparatus of controlling an engine including an electric supercharger includes: an engine to combust fuel to generate power; a drive motor to assist the power of the engine and selectively operate as a generator to generate electrical energy; a battery configured to supply electrical energy to the drive motor and to be charged by the electrical energy generated from the drive motor; a plurality of electric superchargers respectively installed in a plurality of intake lines through which an ambient air flows to be supplied to a combustion chamber of the engine; and a controller that based on a determined driving tendency, adjusts a target speed of the electric superchargers of the plurality of electric superchargers, determine a driving mode of the electric superchargers, limits a maximum output of the engine, and variably adjusts a SOC electricity-generating region where the engine charges the battery.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle using two or more power sources and generally refers to a hybrid electric vehicle driven using an engine and a motor. A hybrid electric vehicle may form various structures using two or more power sources including an engine and a motor.
In general, a hybrid electric vehicle uses a power train in a manner of a transmission mounted electronic device (TMED) in which a drive motor, a transmission, and drive shaft are connected in series to each other.
In addition, a clutch is disposed between an engine and a motor, and the hybrid electric vehicle is driven in an electric vehicle (EV) mode or in a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) mode, depending on whether the clutch is engaged,
The EV mode is a mode in which a vehicle is driven by only driving torque of a drive motor, and the HEV mode is a mode in which the vehicle is driven by driving torque of the drive motor and the engine.
In the hybrid vehicle, it is very important to manage the state of charge (SOC), which is a charged amount of a battery that supplies electric power to the drive motor and electrical components provided in the vehicle.
In the case that a battery's SOC is low and the vehicle is run by only an output power of the engine without assistance of the drive motor, when a high driving load of the vehicle is desired (e.g., a very high speed driving situation, a continuous up-climbing driving situation, a driving situation on a highland, etc.), the driving speed may be deteriorated, and fuel efficiency and exhaust gas may become worse due to an excessively required output and a high engine speed of the engine.
On the other hand, the customer's satisfaction with respect to the vehicle's driving performance depends on how much closely to the customer's tendency the vehicle may run. Since a single vehicle type typically has only a single vehicle performance characteristic although the customer's tendency may be diverse, a discrepancy between the customer's driving tendency and the vehicle's reaction may occur. Accordingly, customers often complain about the vehicle's driving performance. That is, the customer's satisfaction with respect to driving performance may be maximized by grasping a customer's driving tendency of and controlling shifting such that the vehicle reacts appropriately to the customer's driving tendency.
However, we have discovered that it may be difficult to stably maintain a SOC of the battery regardless of a driver's driving tendency. For example, although an insufficient engine output should be assisted by the drive motor in order to satisfy a sporty driver's driving tendency, there is a limit to increase the output power of the drive motor when the SOC of the battery is low.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Apparatus of controlling engine including electric supercharger based on driver's tendency, and method thereof


An improved power supply apparatus for controlling electrical elements of a vehicle which is used for a vehicle using 12 volts as well as a vehicle using 24 volts. The apparatus includes a mode selection switching unit which is selectively switched in accordance with a voltage level inputted from a battery, a first voltage transformation unit, which is not operable when the mode selection switching unit is in the turned-on mode and is operable when the mode selection switching is in the turned-of mode, for dropping an input voltage from the battery to a predetermined level, and a second voltage transformation unit for dropping a voltage from the battery when the mode selection switching unit is in the turned-on mode and dropping an output voltage from the first voltage transformation unit to a predetermined level when the mode selection switching unit in the turned-off mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power supply apparatus, and in particular, to an improved power supply apparatus for controlling electrical elements of a vehicle which apparatus is used for a vehicle using 12 volts as well as a vehicle using 24 volts.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
Generally, when parking a vehicle, the vehicle is moved in the backward direction.
When moving a vehicle in the backward direction, a transmission gear is positioned at a Rear position, and then a driver checks whether there is an obstacle behind the vehicle by turning his/her head to the backward direction using a rear mirror and a room mirror.
However, behind the vehicle and below a rear bumper of the vehicle, there is a non-checkable area where it is impossible to check by turning his/her head and using the rear mirror and the room mirror. If there is an obstacle in this area, the vehicle may collide with the obstacle when the vehicle is moved in the backward direction.
In order to overcome the above-described problem, a vehicle is provided with an ultrasonic sensor which is capable of sensing an obstacle placed or positioned just behind the rear portion of the vehicle. Therefore, when the vehicle is moved toward the obstacle, an alarm is issued when there is a predetermined distance between the vehicle and the sensor.
FIG. 1 illustrates a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional backward movement control apparatus. As shown therein, the conventional backward movement control apparatus includes a central processing unit (CPU) 1 for controlling an alarm when a vehicle is moved in the backward direction, an ultrasonic wave oscillator 2 for oscillating ultrasonic waves in accordance with a control of the central processing unit 1, a sensor driving unit 3 for amplifying an output signal from the ultrasonic wave oscillator 2, an ultrasonic wave sensor unit 4 for generating an ultrasonic wave in accordance with an output signal from the sensor driving unit 3 and detecting whether there is an obstacle behind the vehicle using a reflected ultrasonic wave, a wave shaping unit 5 for shaping an output signal from the ultrasonic sensor unit 4, an amplifier 6 for amplifying an output signal from the wave shaping unit 5, a comparator 7 for comparing the output signal from the amplifier 6 with a previously set reference voltage, detecting an obstacle, and inputting the detected result into the central processing unit 1, and an output interface unit 8 for driving the alarming unit 9 in accordance with a control of the central processing unit 1 and generating an alarm. Here, a power (preferably, 5 volts) is supplied to the central processing unit 1 through a power supply unit 20.
FIG. 2 illustrates a detailed circuit diagram of the power supply unit 20. A voltage of 12 volts is applied to a regulator 30 through a diode D10 and condensers C10 and C11 and then is transformed to a voltage of 5 volts. Thereafter, the voltage of 5 volts is supplied to the central processing unit 1. In the drawings, reference numerals C12 through C14 denote condensers, and R10 denotes a resistor.
In the thusly constituted conventional backward movement control apparatus, a voltage of 5 volts is applied to the central processing unit 1 through the power input unit 20. In this state, when a driver sets a transmission gear lever in the Rear mode in order to drive the vehicle in the backward direction, a backward movement signal is generated and inputted into the central processing unit 1.
Therefore, the central processing unit 1 judges the backward movement of the vehicle, controls the ultrasonic wave oscillator 2, thus oscillating ultrasonic waves.
The ultrasonic waves oscillated by the ultrasonic wave oscillator 2 are inputted into the sensor driving unit 3 and are amplified to a predetermined level and are inputted into the ultrasonic wave sensor unit 4 for driving the same.
Therefore, the ultrasonic wave sensor 4 generates ultrasonic waves and receives the reflected ultrasonic waves.
Since noises are mixed in the signals from the ultrasonic sensor unit 4, the ultrasonic waves are shaped by the wave shaping unit 5, thus filtering noises. Thereafter, the signals are amplified by the amplifier 6 and are inputted into the comparator 7. The thusly inputted signals are compared with a previously set reference voltage, and a result of the comparison is inputted into the central processing unit 1.
Thereafter, the central processing unit 1 judges whether there is an obstacle behind the vehicle based on the output signal from the comparator 7. As a result of the judgement, when an obstacle is judged to be within a predetermined range from the rear side of the vehicle, the central processing unit 1 outputs an alarm control signal, and the thusly outputted alarm control signal is inputted into the alarm unit 9 through the interface unit 8, whereby the alarming unit 9 alarms that there is an obstacle behind the vehicle.
Here, the comparator 7 judges the distances between the rear side of the vehicle and the obstacle by the distance of 110 cm, 80 cm, and 50 cm. Therefore, the alarming unit 9 generates three alarms in accordance with a control of the central processing unit 1.
However, in the conventional backward movement control apparatus for a vehicle, since the power circuit unit is provided with a power input unit for only 12 volts, it is impossible to use the backward movement control apparatus for 24 voltage units of a vehicle such as a bus, truck, or mini truck.

Power supply apparatus for controlling electrical elements of vehicles


An improved method for radio-labelling leucocytes in vitro with Tc-99m d,1-HMPAO (Technetium-99m-d,1-hexamethyl propyleneamine oxime) for use in scintigraphic imaging of inflammatory lesions enhances the labelling efficiency by incubating the leucocytes with Tc-99m d,1-HMPAO in the presence of an acid citrate dextrose solution and by depleting residual RBCs from the leucocytes prior to such incubation step. The RBC depletion is accomplished by means of a rocking step.

Methods for radiolabelling human leucocytes with gamma emitters have been reviewed by H. J. Danpure and S. Osman ("A Review of Methods of Separation and Radiolabelling Human Leucocytes," Nuclear Medicine Communications (1988); vol. 9, 681-685). Danpure and Osman indicate that successful radiolabelling methods employ neutral lipophilic agents which chelate the selected gamma emitting radionuclide and carry the radionuclide across the cellular membrane into the patient's or donor's isolated leucocytes. Once inside the leucocyte, the lipophilic chelator may be degraded or otherwise modified so as to produce a hydrophilic radionuclide product. The hydrophilic radionuclide product remains entrapped within the leucocytes for a period sufficiently long to allow rapid injection of the labelled leucocytes into the patient, migration of the labelled leucocytes to inflamation sites, and scintigraphic imaging of inflamation sites by means of the labelled leucocytes. Danpure and Osman indicate that the gamma-emitting radionuclide Indium-111 oxine has been successfully employed in clinical settings for radiolabelling mixed leucocytes for scintigraphic imaging.
As an alternative to Indium-111 oxine, A. M. Peters et al. introduced Tc-99m d,1-HMPAO (Technetium-99m-d,1-hexamethylpropylene-amine oxime) for radiolabelling leucocytes ("Preliminary Clinical Experience with Tc-99m d,1-HMPAO for Labelling Leucocytes and Imaging Infection," Lancet (1986); vol. 11, 945-949) Technetium-99m is a widely available generator-produced radionuclide ideally suited for gamma detection. Use of Tc-99m d,1-HMPAO can produce a good scintigraphic image at a relatively low radiation dosage. The conversion of Tc-99m d,1-HMPAO from a lipophilic form to a hydrophilic form has been characterized by Joseph C. Hung et al. ("Kinetic Analysis of Technetium-99m d,1-HM-PAO Decomposition in Aqueous Media," Journal of Nuclear Medicine (1988); vol. 29, 1568-1576).
An advanced method for labelling leucocytes with Technetium-99m d,1-HM-PAO has been disclosed by N. N. Solanki et al. ("A Rapid Method for the Preparation of TC99-m Hexametazine-Labelled Leucocytes," Nuclear Medicine Communications (1988); vol. 9, 753-761). Solanki et al. indicate that leucocytes are best separated from whole blood by a 1.times.g sedimentation followed by a gentle (100.times.g) centrifugation of the resultant leucocyte platelet-rich plasma (LPRP). The resultant pellet is then re-suspended in 10% cell free plasma (CFP) and incubated with Tc-99m d,1-HMPAO. Solanki et al. claim a labelling efficiency of 25.9% when employing the recommended reconstitution volume and a labelling efficiency of 49% when employing a low reconstitution volume.
Achieving a labelling efficiency in excess of 25.9% with Tc-99m d,1-HMPAO while employing the recommended reconstitution volume is desirable since enhanced labelling efficiency reduces the size of the blood sample which must be drawn from the patient, enhances the resultant image quality, and decreases the amount of Technetium-99m d,1-HM-PAO reagent which must be employed, and minimizes contamination by red blood cells (RBCs).

Method of labelling leucocytes with Tc-99m, d,1-HMPAO


The synthesis, and use as precatalysts of chiral organozirconium complexes for olefin polymerization are disclosed, having the structure (C.sub.5 R'.sub.4-x R*.sub.x) A (C.sub.5 R".sub.4-y R'".sub.y) M Q.sub.p, where x and y represent the number of unsubstituted locations on the cyclopentadienyl ring; R', R", R'", and R* represent substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups having 1-30 carbon atoms and R* is a chiral ligand; A is a fragment containing a Group 13, 14, 15, or 16 element of the Periodic Table; M is a Group 3, 4, or 5 metal of the Periodic Table; and Q is a hydrocarbyl radical, or halogen radical, with 3.ltoreq.p.ltoreq.o. Related complexes may be prepared by alkylation of the corresponding dichorides. In the presence of methylalumoxane or triarylborane cocatalysts, these complexes form "cation-like" species which are highly active for olefin polymerization. In combination with a Lewis acid cocatalyst, propylene or other .alpha.-olefin polymerization can be effected with very high efficiency and isospecificity.

The polymerization and copolymerization of .alpha.-olefins, and acetylenic monomers with so-called Ziegler-Natta catalysts, which are generally defined as a mixture of a group I-III metal alkyl and a transition metal complex from group III-VIII, are well established in the chemical industry. However, catalyst improvements would be of great practical importance if better control over molecular weight and molecular weight distribution could be obtained, the use of undesired excess of co-catalysts were eliminated, and stereoregular polymers could be easily prepared.
As such, there is a need to control stereochemistry in a great many chemicals and polymers and chiral metal catalysts offer an efficient means to do this. The design of a chiral metal catalyst necessarily relies on the design of appropriate ligands which create an asymmetric environment about the metal center. Certain classes of organolanthanide catalysts which are highly active for a variety of reactive purposes are known and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,668,773 and 4,801,666. Organolanthanide hydrides, (Cp'.sub.2 LnH).sub.2 and (Me.sub.2 SiCp".sub.2 LnH).sub.2, (Cp'=N.sub.5 (CH.sub.3).sub.5 C.sub.5, Cp"=N.sub.5 (CH.sub.3).sub.4 C.sub.5 are known to effectively and selectively catalyze a number of olefin transformations including hydrogenation, oligomerization/polymerization, and hydroamination. Heretofore it has not been known whether an appropriate coordination environment could be devised to effect metal-centered asymmetric catalytic transformation and to obtain favorable characteristics, such as extremely rapid kinetics, large turnover capacity, and reactivity tunable with the specific chiral ligand used. The synthesis of stereoregular polymers has been reported with the use of chiral organo-group IV (Ti, Zr, Hf) catalysts having approximate C.sub.2 symmetry. Such catalysts resulted in isospecific polymerization of .alpha.-olefins. Most of the ligands for these "C.sub.2 " catalysts are based upon indenyl or related cyclopentadienyl components, and are difficult and expensive to synthesize. In only a few cases are the isotacticities of the polymeric products at a useful level.

Homogeneous catalysts for stereoregular olefin polymerization


An electrical connector includes: an insulating block, provided with at least one adjusting groove; and a plurality of terminals, fixed to the insulating block and arranged in at least one row. The terminals include at least one pair of differential signal terminals and at least two ground terminals. Each of two opposite sides of the pair of differential signal terminals is provided with a corresponding one of the ground terminals. The adjusting groove is provided between only one of the two opposite sides of the pair of differential signal terminals and the corresponding one of the ground terminals, such that electric charges and electric fields between the pair of differential signal terminals and the ground terminals at the two sides are not distributed uniformly, thus reducing the ground mode resonance of the ground terminals to the differential signal terminals, and improving the high frequency performance of the electrical connector.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
The electrical connector is a medium for exchanging electronic signals between different electronic devices. A conventional electrical connector includes an insulating body having an insertion slot, and two rows of terminals respectively fixed to two insulating blocks and then assembled to the insulating body. Each row of terminals includes multiple pairs of differential signal terminals and multiple ground terminals. Each of two sides of each pair of the differential signal terminals is provided with one of the ground terminals to block crosstalk between two adjacent pairs of the differential signal terminals. Each of the terminals has a fixing portion fixed to the insulating body, a contact portion exposed to the insertion slot to mate with a mating component, and a soldering portion extending backward out of the insulating body from the fixing portion and soldered to a circuit board.
However, with the current improvement of the scientific and technological level, the frequencies of signals transmitted by electrical connectors are increasingly high, and the requirements for high frequency performance of the electrical connectors are also increasingly high. In the conventional electrical connector, the fixing portions are fixed to the insulating blocks, and the dielectric constant of each of the insulating blocks is more than three times larger than that of air, such that the ground terminals at two sides have large ground mode resonance to the differential signal terminals, thereby seriously affecting the high frequency performance of the electrical connector and not satisfying the requirement for transmission of high frequency signals.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need to design a new electrical connector exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Electrical connector improving high frequency characteristics


The present invention relates to a method for providing a widget service. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for providing a widget service for a receiving device using a Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-2 layer, the method comprising the steps of: receiving MPEG broadcast data; loading a widget general information table (WGIT) stored in program specific information (PSI) of the MPEG broadcast data; loading the information indicated by a widget information table (WIT) of the WGIT; and generating a widget using the information indicated by the WIT.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing widget information in a system using Moving Picture Experts Group Program Specific Information (MPEG PSI), Advanced Television Systems Committee Program and System Information Protocol (ATSC PSIP), and Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Program Specific Information/Service Information (PSI/SI).
2. Description of the Related Art
The recent multimedia service is simultaneously providing a supplementary service such as a widget form to a user, together with a main service provided.
If a widget service is provided to a real-time provided service, for example, a broadcast service, a service provider can additionally provide various supplementary services related to the broadcast service.
Accordingly, a method and apparatus for providing the widget service to the real-time broadcast service are needed.

Method and apparatus for providing widget information using an MPEG-2 layer


A method of manufacturing a composite body of a sheet-like member of an absorbent article, the method includes: holding a first sheet-like member on a holding surface of a holding section; and delivering and attaching the first sheet-like member from the holding surface to a second sheet-like member. The first sheet-like member has a section that is to be delivered first, and a section that is to be delivered subsequently during delivery to the second sheet-like member. The first sheet-like member is held on the holding surface with suction air from a plurality of holes that have been formed on the holding surface. The holding section has at least two suction chambers. A first suction chamber is in communication with holes that suck the section that is to be delivered first, and a second suction chamber is in communication with holes that suck the section that is to be delivered subsequently.

In the past, in a manufacturing line of an absorbent article such as a disposable diaper and a sanitary napkin, a composite body of a sheet-like member has been manufactured by a first sheet-like member held on a holding surface of a holding section being delivered from the holding surface and attached to a second sheet-like member.
Here, holding of the first sheet-like member with this holding surface is generally performed using suction force that is generated on the holding surface with suction air from the multiple suction holes that have been formed on the holding surface. Further, these suction holes are in communication with just one suction chamber that has been partitioned and formed inside the holding section, and suction is performed from the suction holes based on a negative pressure state of this suction chamber (refer to PTL 1).

Manufacturing method and manufacturing equipment of composite body of sheet-like member of absorbent article


An image projector is disclosed. The image projector includes a lamp emitting light rays, a filtering unit having a first device including a plurality of color filters including a white color filter each formed to correspond to a section therein, and a second device including a plurality of color filters except a white color filter each formed to correspond to a section therein and formed at one side of the first device, and filtering the light rays emitted from the lamp through any one of the first device and the second device, a rod lens focusing and projecting the light rays separated from the filtering unit, and a digital micromirror device displaying an image through electric signals in accordance with the projected light rays.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to an image projector. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for selecting one of image brightness and color definition through a single projector, when viewing a projected image, thereby projecting the image in accordance with the user's preference.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As image projection devices, also known as the projector, are being extensively introduced and provided, diverse types of product are being developed and sold on the market. Such image projection devices are under development for a structure focusing on the brightness of the projection and the compact size and light weight of the device.
An optical part of a general image projection device includes a lamp as a light source, an illuminating part focusing the light emitted from the lamp, an image display device representing the focused light into an image, and a projecting part enlarging the image displayed on the image display device and projecting the enlarged image onto a screen.
In the present technology, high pressure mercury lamps are most widely used as the lamp of the image projection device, and liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and digital micromirror devices (DMDs) are most widely used as the image display device of the projector. Additionally, depending upon the number of image display devices used, the image projection device can be categorized as a single-chip projector, a two (2)-chip projector, and a three (3)-chip projector.
As the recent trend introduces projectors of compact size, light weight, and low cost, single-chip optical parts using only a single image display device is generally used.
The single-chip image projection device includes a projector type mounting color filters of red, green, and blue, a projector type externally separating red, green, and blue light rays and simultaneously illuminating the separated light rays to the image display device, and a projector type externally and sequentially illuminating red, green, and blue light rays onto the image display device with a time interval. Herein, when using the projector type externally and sequentially illuminating red, green, and blue light rays onto the image display device with a time interval, the response speed of the image projection device is required to be three times faster than that of the three (3)-chip image projection device. In the recent technology, the digital micromirror device (DMD) most satisfies such requirements.
A color separating device is formed in order to illuminate separated light rays onto the image display device. When using the projector for presentations focusing on the brightness of the screen is important, a four-sectioned color wheel should be used. On the other hand, when using the projector for viewing video images emphasizing various colors, a three-sectioned color wheel should be used. The same principle applies to a color drum.
As described above, the single-chip DMD projector is disadvantageous in that an adequate color separating device emphasizing either one of brightness or color representation should be selected, depending upon whether the product is focused on the brightness of the screen or the color picture quality of the image. However, the single-chip projector used in the current technology cannot satisfy the user environment of the recent multimedia trend requiring both characteristics (i.e., brightness and color representation).


The present invention provides cell permeable NF-κB inhibitors consist of a polypeptide derived from the p65 subunit of NF-κB and a protein transduction domain derived from antennapedia third helix sequence. The inhibitor suppressed NF-κB activation induced by TNF, LPS, IL-1, okadaic acid, PMA, H2O2 and cigarette smoke condensate. NF-κB-regulated reporter gene expression induced by TNF, TNFR1, TRADD, TRAF2, NIK, IKK and p65 was suppressed by the inhibitor. The inhibitor enhanced TNF- and chemotherapeutic agent-induced apoptosis. Overall these results demonstrate a NF-κB inhibitor that can selectively inhibit NF-κB activation induced by various inflammatory stimuli, downregulate NF-κB mediated gene expression and upregulate apoptosis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the molecular biology of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). More specifically, the present invention relates to polypeptides that can selectively inhibit NF-κB activation, downregulate NF-κB mediated gene expression and enhance apoptosis induced by TNF and other apoptotic stimuli.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nuclear Factor-κB (NF-κB) represents a group of five proteins, namely c-Rel, Rel A (p65), Rel B, NF-kB1 (p50 and p105), and NF-κB2 (p52). NF-κB is regulated by a family of inhibitors called IκB. In an inactive state, NF-κB is present in the cytoplasm as a heterotrimer consisting of p50, p65, and IκBα subunits. In response to an activation signal, the IκBα subunit is phosphorylated at serine residues 32 and 36, ubiquitinated at lysine residues 21 and 22, and degraded through the proteosomal pathway, thus exposing the nuclear localization signals on the p50-p65 heterodimer. The p65 is then phosphorylated, leading to nuclear translocation and binding to specific DNA sequence, which in turns results in transcription of various genes including cyclin D1, cyclooxyenase (COX) 2 and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9.
The p65 subunit of NF-κB, which contains at least two strong transactivation domains (TAD) within the C terminus (TA1 30 amino acid; TA2 90 amino acid), has been shown to undergo phosphorylation upon activation. The sites of phosphorylation and the kinase responsible for p65 phosphorylation remain controversial. For instance, phosphorylation at Ser 276 by protein kinase A, at Ser 529 by casein kinase II, at Ser 536 by IKK-β, and at serine 471 by PKC-ε have been demonstrated. In addition, phosphorylation of p65-TAD by glycogen synthase kinase-3β and by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV have been demonstrated.
NF-κB has been shown to regulate the expression of a number of genes whose products are involved in inflammation, viral replication, carcinogenesis, anti-apoptosis, invasion and metastasis. These include anti-apoptosis genes, adhesion molecules, chemokines, inflammatory cytokines, and cell cycle regulatory genes. Thus agents that can suppress NF-κB activation have the potential to treat a variety of diseases that involves inflammation, apoptosis and carcinogenesis.
Most proteins enter the cell through their specific cell surface receptors. Recent studies, however, indicate that certain short protein sequences can enter the cells without any receptors and such proteins have been described as protein transduction domain (PTD) peptides (Lindgren et al., 2000; Schwarze and Dowdy, 2000). Most of the protein transduction domain peptides are arginine-rich peptides (Futaki et al., 2003). Importantly, conjugation of proteins, peptides and antisense oligonucleotides to these protein transduction domain peptides has been shown to deliver these cargos effectively, allowing observation of biological action in several cell and animal models (Lindgren et al., 2000; Schwarze and Dowdy, 2000). Peptides derived from third helix of the antennapedia homeodomain, herpes virus structural protein, and HIV tat protein have been used to deliver both small and large peptides of interest to the cells through an energy- and receptor-independent mechanism (Derossi et al., 1994; Elliott and O'Hare, 1997; Fawell et al., 1994).
Using these protein transduction domain peptides, several peptides based on protein-protein interaction domains have been delivered to the cells to suppress cell signaling. These include Grb2 binding peptide, mitogen-activated protein kinase, STAT3, NEMO-IKK interacting peptide, and peptides carrying nuclear localization sequences. Besides peptides, protein transduction domain peptides have also been used to deliver larger full length polypeptides, including IκBα, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitory protein p27, anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-xl, and proapoptotic proteins.
The prior art is deficient in providing a cell permeable inhibitor specific for NF-κB. The present invention fulfills this long-standing need and desire in the art by disclosing the construction of a cell permeable NF-κB-specific inhibitor comprising a NF-κB polypeptide linked to an antennapedia-derived protein transduction domain. This inhibitor can suppress NF-κB activation, suppress NF-κB-mediated gene transcription and enhance apoptosis induced by TNF and other apoptotic stimuli.

Selective inhibitors of nuclear factor-κB activation and uses thereof


A method of removing a polymer of a semiconductor device is disclosed including the steps of: forming a photoresist pattern on a to-be-etched layer; etching the to-be-etched layer using a mixed gas containing carbon/fluorine compound and oxygen gas with the use of the photoresist pattern; and removing the photoresist pattern at a temperature of below 200 C., and at the same time, dry-etching a polymer, the polymer being generated during the etching of the to-be-etched layer, the photoresist pattern being removed in a dry etching chamber.

The present invention relates to a method of removing a polymer of a semiconductor device and, more particularly, to a method of removing a polymer which is generated during a dry etching of an oxide layer using a CxFy+O.sub.2 plasma for the purpose of forming a contact hole of a semiconductor device.
A conventional method of removing a polymer of a semiconductor device will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1D. Referring to FIG. 1A, an oxide layer 2 is formed on a silicon substrate 1, and a photoresist pattern is formed thereon. Referring to FIG. 1B, when oxide layer 2 is dry-etched using a CxFy+O.sub.2 plasma with the use of photoresist pattern 3 as an etch mask, CxFyOz polymer 4 is left after the dry etching. Here, CxFyOz polymer 4 is not left on a portion where oxide layer 2 is exposed because silicon is generated at the portion during the dry etching and thus CxFyOz polymer 4 is volatilized as SixFy and CxOy. However, CxFyOz polymer 4 is left on a portion where only the photoresist pattern is left because silicon is not generated at this portion.
Referring to FIG. 1C, photoresist pattern 3 is removed through a dry etching. Here, it is not possible to remove CxFyOz polymer 4 through an oxidation of it because photoresist pattern 3 is etched at a higher temperature of above 200 C. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1D, the polymer is completely removed using a diluted solution containing HF.
As described above, in the conventional method of removing the polymer, the CxFyOz polymer generated during the dry etching of the oxide layer is not completely removed when the photoresist pattern is removed. Accordingly, an additional treatment using the diluted HF solution is required in order to remove the CxFyOz polymer. This increases the time required for fabrication of the semiconductor device and decreases the characteristic of the device and its production yield.

Method of removing polymer of semiconductor device

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.


A device includes first and second semiconductor chips. The first semiconductor chip includes an edge defining a periphery of the first semiconductor chip. The second semiconductor chip is greater in size than the first semiconductor chip. The second semiconductor chip is stacked over the first semiconductor chip so that the second semiconductor chip hangs over from the edge of the first semiconductor chip. The second semiconductor chip includes a plurality of wiring patterns including a first wiring pattern that positions over the edge of the first semiconductor chip, an insulating film which covers the wiring patterns and which includes on or more holes that expose one or more the wiring patterns, and one or more bump electrodes formed on the one or more the wiring patterns. Remaining one or ones of the wiring patterns is kept covered by the insulating layer and includes the first wiring pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, with miniaturization of electronic equipment embedding semiconductor devices or the like, demand for fining of the semiconductor devices has been intensifying. Therefore, development of the semiconductor devices advances in which a plurality of semiconductor chips are stacked over and the plurality of semiconductor chips are connected via penetration electrodes.
In general, in the semiconductor device in which the plurality of semiconductor chips are stacked over, in order to prevent bumps for connecting the semiconductor chips from rupturing resulting from a warp of the semiconductor chip, dummy bumps or reinforcing bumps (which will later be called "dummy bumps" also including the reinforcing bumps) are formed on each semiconductor chip (see, JP-A 2010-161102 which will be called Patent Document 1 and which corresponds to US 2010/0171208 A1).
However, in a case where semiconductor chips having different sizes such as a logic chip and a memory chip of Patent Document 1 are stacked over, dummy bumps formed on one semiconductor chip may be positioned to edges (edge portions) of another semiconductor chip and it is feared that crack occurs in the edge portions of the other semiconductor chip in the manner which will later be described in conjunction with FIGS. 9A and 9B.

Semiconductor device including stacked semiconductor chips without occurring of crack


A water cooling type heat dissipation module for an electronic device includes a base disk, a suction disk, a water guide and a cover. The base has two containing spaces and a plurality of cooling strips in the containing space. The suction base is attached to the base disk and further includes two water chambers for receiving sucked water, two inlets and two outlets. The water guide is attached to the suction disk with two guide port at the periphery thereof. The cover closes the suction disk and is movably joined to a guide fan. When the heat dissipation module is full with fluid, the fluid can flow therein rapidly while the guide fan rotating such that the fluid is discharged from and flows into the heat dissipation module more effectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a water cooling type heat dissipation module and particularly to a heat dissipation module with which a guide fan is associated for speeding up circulation of cooling water to enhance efficiency of heat exchange.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Many electric circuits being formed as electronic components or electronic circuits being formed of a plurality of integrated circuits joining to each other that were developed in the early stages have more and more been replaced with a comfortable integrated circuit due to growing technology of the integrated circuit and progressive manufacturing process of the semiconductor. That is, an integrated circuit is capable of performing more functions and is capable of processing more complicated instructions and signals. It is inevitable that a great deal of amount of heat is generated during the electronic component is in operation. In order to avoid temperature rise effect occurs at the time of the large amount of heat is generated to influence operation of the electronic component, proper heat dissipation becomes a subject worth to be paid attention and placing the heat dissipation device on the electronic component has been a popular technique nowadays.
When the integrated circuit with a unchanged volume contains more electronic components such as FET (Field Effect Transistor) and COMS, more heat is generated while the integrated circuit is in operation. Heat generated from the integrated circuit developed in the early stages such as the conventional central processing unit can be dissipated sufficiently with mere cooling fins. However, heat generated from the central processing unit developed in the recent years is unable to be dissipated with the cooling fins only and a fan for removing heat becomes a required device in addition to the cooling fins. Normally, the cooling fins have a base for being attached to the integrated circuit such that the heat can be removed outward with the fan, which is disposed at the tops of the cooling fins. Because there is a distance between the base of the cooling fins and the fan, the heat received by the base is incapable of transmitting to the tops of the cooling fins immediately. As a result, most of the heat accumulates at the base to deteriorate efficiency of heat dissipation. In order to increase the efficiency of heat dissipation, guide heat pipes are employed in the cooling fins to speed up removal of the heat with air cooling. Further, water cooling type heat dissipation is applied to add water in the guide heat pipes and the guide heat pipes are connected to a water tank and a pump for cooling water being able to circulate between the water tank and the guide heat pipes for enhancing removal of heat done with guide heat pipes.
The preceding water cooling type heat dissipation allows the cooling water moving in the guide heat pipes to perform heat exchange between the cooling water and the heat in the guide heat pipes only. However, the heat generating component such as the central processing unit contacts with the cooling fins directly instead of the guide heat pipes such that the heat received with the cooling fins are still incapable of being directly dissipated effectively.

Water cooling type heat dissipation module for electronic device


There are provided a drive unit which can be adjusted to various mounting forms and which can be reduced in power consumption and scale, and an electronic equipment containing such a drive unit. When a control signal DIR is switched from L-level to H-level, a logical operation circuit comprising a plurality of logic gates changes a READ address A which is in turn outputted toward a display memory. More particularly, an inverted signal of the READ address A is outputted as a READ address B. Thus, an image displayed on a liquid crystal display panel is vertically inverted. The drive unit can be adjusted to various mounting forms for the liquid crystal display device. Where the display memory includes a code data memory and a CG-ROM, first and second logical operation circuits are provided for each of the code data memory and CG-ROM. The output of the CG-ROM is connected to a third logical operation circuit which performs the lateral inversion for each character. The vertical and lateral inversion can also be accomplished by providing a decoder which outputs a latch signal at different timing at each time when the control signal DIR is switched from one level to another.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a drive unit and an electronic equipment which contains such a drive unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the liquid crystal display is used for various electronic equipment such as a portable telephone, a personal haydyphone system (PHS), a cellular phone, a pager, a printer, an electronic notebook, a television and a personal computer as a small display device of low power consumption. It is desired for the liquid crystal display to be further reduced in power consumption and size. Therefore, it is also demanded for a liquid crystal drive unit included in this liquid crystal display device to be reduced in power consumption and scale.
In general, a lot of wiring connects the liquid crystal drive unit with a liquid crystal display panel. Therefore, there is raised a problem in that the above-mentioned wiring may become very complex depending on a direction of the drive unit relative to the display screen of the display panel. A technique which solves such a problem is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-152339, for example. In this disclosure, an address generating procedure for an access to a display RAM which stores code data is stored in a nonvolatile display control ROM. However, this technique needs a display control ROM having the same memory capacity as the display RAM. Since an area necessary for this display control ROM is very large, the liquid crystal drive unit will be increased in scale. Moreover, it is necessary to arrange all transistors composing the display control ROM in one unit on a semiconductor chip. Therefore, this technique using the display control ROM has a limited freedom of layout.


The invention relates to an electrosurgical instrument that comprises two branches joined to one another in an articulated manner, which can be actuated to open or close in a manner corresponding to a clamping, spreading or cutting tool. The instrument further comprises electrode parts at distal ends of the branches, which are used for grasping tissue and passing a coagulation current through the tissue for the purpose of coagulating it and which are electrically insulated from one another, as well as current-supply devices to supply the coagulation current to the electrode parts. In addition, on at least at one electrode part, a cutting section designed as a cutting electrode is provided whereby the electrode part comprises the cutting section and a coagulation section. In addition a control unit is provided to control the HF current in such a way that when a threshold value characterizing a particular property of the grasped tissue has been reached, a cutting current different from the coagulation current is supplied to at least the cutting section.

Electrosurgical instruments have been used for many years in high-frequency surgery, in order to coagulate and/or cut biological tissue. In this process a high-frequency current is conducted through the tissue to be treated, so that the latter becomes altered owing to protein coagulation and dehydration. The tissue thus contracts in such a way that the vessels are closed and bleeding is stanched. A subsequent increase in current density causes an explosion-like evaporation of the tissue fluid and tearing apart of the cell membranes, so that the tissue is completely transected. Procedures of this kind present the advantage, as opposed to a purely mechanical cutting process, that hemostasis is produced at the cut edges.
The employment of bipolar instruments is becoming increasingly significant, because the current intensities are less than in the case of monopolar instruments. It is especially advantageous that the current route between the electrode parts of bipolar instruments can be calculated and does not pass for large distances through the patient's body.
Bipolar instruments comprise substantially two clamp parts having an articulated connection to one another, with gripping devices provided at their proximal ends for manipulation of the clamp parts. At distal ends of the clamp parts there are electrode parts for grasping tissue and for conducting a coagulation current through the tissue. The HF current generated by a HF generator is conducted to the electrode parts of the bipolar instrument by way of current-supply devices.
When the bipolar instruments described above are being used, after a coagulation procedure cutting instruments must be employed for the final transection of the coagulated tissue. The cut is carried out with either a surgical scissors or a HF cutting instrument. However, this use of different instruments requires interruption of the surgical operation, which is thus unnecessarily prolonged.
To counteract this disadvantage, multifunctional instruments have meanwhile come into use, designed at least for both coagulation and cutting. Such an instrument is known, for example, from the document DE 199 15 060 A1, with which diverse working devices such as forceps, hooks or even ultrasonic devices and electrodes for cutting or coagulation can be put into operation by actuators. A control unit enables the planned working steps to be carried out consecutively.
The embodiment of a multifunctional instrument described there, however, has the disadvantage that coagulating and cutting are still two different treatments, to be performed successively in time, even though the steps can be carried out by single instrument. A first procedure must therefore be intentionally ended, after which a second procedure is, again intentionally, begun. Between these procedures at least one manipulation must be done, namely to activate the multifunctional instrument for the next task. This, too, unnecessarily delays the course of the operation. In addition, during the activation of a procedure errors can occur regarding the setting of appropriate operating parameters, such as a suitable HF current.
Known multifunctional instruments of the kind described above furthermore comprise poles that are electrically insulated from one another, being provided for coagulation and for cutting respectively, so that the instrument must have relatively large dimensions. This distinctly limits the surgeon's freedom of movement in the operation region and hence limits the range of functions for which the known instruments can be used.


A head lamp for a vehicle wherein an actuator is made to be able to be moved to a leveling actuation range corresponding to output from a vehicle body sensor and to a beam change position B out of a leveling actuation range when a beam changing switch is set to a drive beam position, and if the actuator is moved to the beam change position B at least a part covering a lower half of a discharge lamp of the hood is moved back to switch it from a passing beam state to a drive beam state. The actuator for leveling actuation indispensable to be provided for the head lamp for a vehicle having the discharge lamp as a light source, makes it possible also to switch between the passing beam state and drive beam state, thereby dissolving problems of large size and high cost of the head lamp.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a head lamp for a vehicle such as automobiles and bicycles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a head lamp having a discharge lamp, such as metal halide lamp, used as light source that is hard to contain two light sources closely adjacent to each other for passing beam state and driving beam state.
2. Background Art
There are many applications for a head lamp 90 constructed to switch it between a passing beam state and a drive beam state with use of a discharge lamp as a light source. For example, there has been proposed the head lamp in Laid-Open Japanese Patent Application No. 8-111101. As major parts of the head lamp is shown in FIG. 7, a top of a discharge lamp 91 is held with a fulcrum 92a as an axis, a lever 92 is provided in a perpendicular direction thereof, and a burner 91a is positioned on roughly an optical axis Z as a passing beam position.
In that construction, to switch to the drive beam state, the lever 92 is moved back with the fulcrum 92a as center of turning by an actuator 94 such as a motor or a solenoid to turn the discharge lamp 91 by a specific angle a. This moves the discharge lamp 91 from the passing beam position to the drive beam position that is backward and downward relative to the reflecting mirror 93.
The head lamp 90 mentioned above can considerably increase amount of light as it uses the discharge lamp 91 as a light source, thus being effective for a driver to increase visibility. However, the passing beam of the head lamp 90 causes much dazzling even with the head lamp 90 moved little upward for oncoming cars, particularly in a road having a large amount of traffic.
To solve such a problem, there has been proposed another head lamp having an automatic leveling device used therein. Namely, to overcome a moving condition that a front portion of a vehicle may be moved up if a weight matter is put on a rear body or if starting or acceleration is made, the automatic leveling device can automatically adjust angles of elevation and depression of the reflecting mirror 93 of the head lamp 90 depending on state of a suspension, thereby preventing the illumination light from directing upward.
However, with such an arrangement, the head lamp 90 has an disadvantage that it needs such a device for automatically leveling in addition to a mechanism for switching between the passing beam state and drive beam state. In addition, the head lamp 90 is involved in such a problem that it is complicated in construction and made large size and high cost.


A computer-implemented method comprising receiving, at a tablet display unit of a first tablet that is coupled to a host computer, image data representing a selected portion of a common display file that is stored on an administrator computer; displaying the image data on a stroke-sensitive display of the tablet display unit; receiving user input from the stroke-sensitive display of the tablet display unit and representing handwritten strokes; transmitting the user input to the administrator computer; receiving, from the administrator computer, second image data representing strokes that other users have applied to the same image data using other tablets that are coupled to the administrator computer over a network; displaying, on the stroke-sensitive display, the second image data; storing, in a memory of the tablet display unit, a data file based at least upon the user input and the image data.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Despite the widespread use of computers and information technology, some areas of commerce continue to require archaic practices, such as requirements for physical signatures. In response, some organizations, such as the United States Patent & Trademark Office, have relaxed their requirements for handwritten signatures and will accept electronic signatures comprised of typewritten (ASCII) characters. Similarly, electronic commerce is widely performed without use of handwritten signatures or other handwritten information. The Federal Rules of Evidence treat electronic signatures and handwritten signatures equivalently. Nevertheless, a physical signature remains required practice in many commercial fields. For example, real estate transactions are often documented by multiple facsimile transmissions containing handwritten signatures and text, even though legibility may be difficult and there is no convenient way to digitally store signature information.
However, in some cases handwriting and physical signatures are desirable. For example, collaborative document editing and management is sometimes better performed using handwriting rather than a keyboard.
Marking and annotating documents on a computer screen has been difficult or expensive in past practice. Digitizing tablets have been used to enable sketching on computer screens. Typically such digitizing tablets have used sophisticated pressure sensing circuits and materials, but they are not easy for ordinary people to use. Further, relatively few digitizing tablets are deployed in the field and few host computer applications (such as personal computer applications) can accept input from digitizing tablets. One manufacturer offers displays with integrated pen sensors, but these displays are very expensive and not easy to carry. Tablet computers have been offered, but for reasons of price and functionality, have not proved popular.

Annotating digital files of a host computer using networked tablet computers


Various embodiments provide for deep learning-based architectures and design methodologies for an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) receiver under the constraint of one-bit complex quantization. Single bit quantization greatly reduces complexity and power consumption in the receivers, but makes accurate channel estimation and data detection difficult. This is particularly true for OFDM waveforms, which have high peak-to average (signal power) ratio in the time domain and fragile subcarrier orthogonality in the frequency domain. The severe distortion for one-bit quantization typically results in an error floor even at moderately low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) such as 5 dB. For channel estimation (using pilots), various embodiments use novel generative supervised deep neural networks (DNNs) that can be trained with a reasonable number of pilots. After channel estimation, a neural network-based receiver specifically, an autoencoder jointly learns a precoder and decoder for data symbol detection.

Wireless systems are trending towards ever-higher data rates, which requires ever-more antennas and larger bandwidth; a canonical example being millimeter wave (mmWave) systems but in the future will extend to even higher carrier frequencies which will have proportionally more antennas in order to meet the link budget. Wireless systems of interest for this invention include cellular systems under the dominion of 3GPP such as 5G NR and its descendants; wireless LAN and peer to peer protocols, most prominently the IEEE 802.11 class of standards; as well as proprietary systems developed for a range of other applications. For example, virtual and augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, telemedicine, mobile robotics, and other future use cases are expected to demand extraordinarily high data rates with a high level of security, and in many cases low power consumption.
Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) consume a significant fraction of the power in modern receivers, which is a key bottleneck to large bandwidth and many antenna systems, since the ADC clocking rate typically scales linearly with the bandwidth and the number of antennas. Low resolution quantization—by which usually means less than 6 bits per real and imaginary (I & Q) channel—dramatically reduces the power consumption, e.g., by two or more orders of magnitude relative to 12-bit ADCs, and can in principle perform satisfactorily for a large amount of receive antenna combining (which averages the quantization noise) or at low signal-to-noise-ratios (SNRs). The most aggressive form of low resolution quantization is one-bit quantization, which means one bit for each I & Q channel, and in this case involves only a simple polarity (sign) check, which greatly reduces the ADC circuit area and power consumption.
However, low resolution ADCs fundamentally have poor performance at medium and high SNRs or for the case of few receive antennas. Additionally, OFDM waveforms—which are the core of the physical layer for virtually all modern high-rate wireless systems—are more sensitive to low resolution quantization than single carrier systems. This is because OFDM waveforms have a high peak-to-average ratio, and so low resolution quantization leads to severe inter-carrier interference (ICI) in the frequency domain, where channel estimation and data detection are performed.

Low resolution OFDM receivers via deep learning

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System


Ultrasound-based estimation of disease activity, such as for NAS or other activity index for NAFLD for liver disease, is provided. Ultrasound measures acoustic scatter and shear wave propagation parameters, such as measuring acoustic backscatter coefficient, shear wave velocity, and shear wave damping ratio. A score for the disease activity is determined from these scatter and shear wave propagation parameters. The physician may be assisted by relatively inexpensive and rapid ultrasound as compared to biopsy or MRI based scoring in scoring activity of a disease, such as NAFLD. Ultrasound imaging is more readily available and less expensive and MRI, and is non-invasive.

The present embodiments relate to ultrasound imaging. A disease-related activity in tissue, such as liver, is measured using ultrasound.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease in American adults and children. NAFLD is characterized by excess hepatic fat accumulation as well as hepatic fibrosis. Fat fraction may be measured as an indicator of NAFLD. Fat fraction in the liver or other tissues, such as breast tissue, and/or other tissue properties (e.g., degree of fibrosis) provide diagnostically useful information.
Over 25% of patients with NAFLD develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH may progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. A NAFLD activity score (NAS) is used to diagnose and monitor changes or level of NASH. NAS is provided from histologic evaluation of liver biopsies and is calculated as an unweighted sum of the observed steatosis, lobular inflammation, and ballooning scores.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may measure the proton density fat fraction (PDFF) as a biomarker of hepatic fat content. MRI may be used to further estimate NAS. However, MRI is not widely available and is expensive.

Liver disease activity estimation with ultrasound medical imaging


A tool for autoscaling applications in a shared cloud resource environment. The tool registers, by one or more computer processors, one or more trigger conditions. The tool initiates, by one or more computer processors, a scaling event based, at least in part, on at least one of the one or more trigger conditions. The tool determines, by one or more computer processors, a scaling decision for the scaling event based, at least in part, on one or more scaling rules related to the one or more trigger conditions.

The present invention relates generally to cloud computing, and more particularly to autoscaling applications in shared cloud resources.
Users of cloud computing systems assume unlimited capacity; however, in reality there exists a finite set of resources. Cloud computing systems attempt to dynamically allocate resources for user applications from this finite set of resources to provide the illusion of an unlimited capacity. Dividing a resource into a finer grained quantity, such as one virtual computer processing unit (vCPU), and assigning these grained quantities dynamically is one typical method used in autoscaling.
Cloud platforms as a service (PaaS) can contain hundreds of applications per virtual machine. As these applications receive traffic, the applications consume resources, and each application may consume different amounts of resources. When the capacity for a resource, such as computer processor unit (CPU) memory, of a virtual machine is saturated, some of the applications may need more resource capacity, while other applications do not.

Autoscaling applications in shared cloud resources

International Business Machines Corporation


A pneumatic radial ply truck tire for use on medium truck trailers includes a tread, a casing with two sidewalls, one or more radial plies extending from, and wrapped about, two annular beads, and a belt reinforcement structure located radially between the tread and the one or more radial plies. The tread includes a plurality of circumferentially extending tread grooves, a pair of circumferentially extending shoulder ribs, a pair of radially recessed ribs being radially recessed and non-road contacting under static load disposed at a lateral edge of the shoulder ribs, and a pair of circumferentially extending decoupling grooves. Each decoupling groove defines a transition between a corresponding shoulder rib and a corresponding recessed rib. A lateral edge of one of the shoulder ribs has a first radius of curvature forming a transition from a radially outer surface of the shoulder rib to a first side surface of the corresponding decoupling groove. A base surface of the decoupling groove has a second radius of curvature forming a transition from the first side surface to a second side surface of the decoupling groove. A radially outer surface of the corresponding recessed rib has a third radius of curvature forming a continuous transition from the second side surface to a third outer side surface of the shoulder portion of the tread.

The use of treads specifically designed for truck tires has been directed to various forms of rib-type tires. This non-driving axle exhibits cornering and turning loads as well as straight line running loads. Some skilled in the art believe the tread ribs should ideally have a sharp edge adjacent circumferential grooves to provide improved handling.
These conventional sharp edges, during normal use, may exhibit irregular tread wear. Thus, high wear erosion may be common in the shoulder region of such a tread. One conventional approach may use a laterally located circumferentially continuous rib that, under normal driving conditions, may be in contact with the road. The force or pressure exerted by the lateral rib on the road is less than the force or pressure of a shoulder rib on the road. The conventional tire thereby may rely on the lateral rib to protect the sharp edge of the shoulder rib.
Another conventional approach includes a non-radially-recessed circumferential rib adjacent a narrow circumferentially continuous groove and a shoulder rib. Still another conventional approach provides a tire tread with a plurality of circumferentially continuous grooves, a pair of radially recessed shoulder ribs, and a pair of narrow circumferential decoupling shoulder grooves. The radially recessed ribs of the tire, as molded, may be non-road contacting, under static load and normal driving conditions. The tire may exhibit improved wear, maintaining the sharp edge of the shoulder rib without creating other non-uniform wear problems. Although the above-mentioned conventional tires may provide wear in excess of 100,000 miles on the original tread, a new and superior solution to irregular tread wear problems would be desirable.

Decoupling groove for pneumatic tire tread


Systems and methods for providing personalized information to a registered customer of a business make use of a central computer server and a database that is in communication with the central computer server. The database includes data associated with the registered customer and data associated with products offered by the business, and is managed by the central computer server. A mobile device associated with the registered customer communicates with the central computer server via a software application running on the mobile device, and an image of a selected product is thereby communicated from the mobile device to the central computer server. Upon the identification of the selected product from the image, data associated with the selected product is retrieved and compared to data associated with the registered customer to thereby transmit personalized information to the mobile device of the registered customer based on that comparison.

Retailers, including a number of online retailers, often allow for product detection through the use of a software application on a customer's mobile device. In such applications, the mobile device's camera is first used to obtain an image of the product. That image is then processed and subsequently linked to a web page that, in turn, provides information to the customer about the product, such as pricing, reviews, manufacturer specifications, and the like. Moreover, in making use of the mobile devices of customers, certain retailers have also utilized augmented reality technology that, in communicating through a software application running on the customer's mobile device, overlays three-dimensional (3D) images of products onto the customer's environment by interacting with the camera of the customer's mobile device. In both instances, however, no customization or personalization of information is provided to the registered customer. Rather, in those applications, the same data or images are generally presented to every customer in response to each request from a customer via their mobile device. Accordingly, a system and method that allows customers to interact with a product offered by a business and, in return, receive additional personalized information about those products would be both highly desirable and beneficial.


A composition of matter is disclosed in which nanophase metal particles are effectively dispersed in a polymer matrix so that hitherto unattainable thermoelectric properties are attained. Preferred polymers and metals are taught. A method of making the composition of matter useful as a themoelectric composite material using a conducting polymer matrix is disclosed as is a thermoelectric cooling/heating device which uses that composition.

Thermoelectric cooling has been found useful in such diverse applications as CCD cameras, infrared imaging systems and other electro-optic devices, microwave electronic devices, medical instruments, precision temperature controls, laser diodes, and cryoelectronic computer processors. This technology serves well because a unitary component provides cooling for the entire device in a compact form without moving parts and associated mechanical vibrations. At present, the method is cooling capacity limited because the materials in use, primarily semiconducting ceramics such as bismuth telluride are not efficient enough. This limitation confines the practical end-uses to physically smaller devices. Given a thermoelectric material with a higher cooling capacity and efficiency than any currently available, many practical advantages could be achieved. Larger cooling systems could be built replacing those using vapor compression cycles. This would reduce the use of chlorofluorocarbons and their substitutes, reduce the weight and expense of the coolers, and would save energy, all considerations in marine, transportation, consumer, military and industrial applications.
The thermoelectric figure-of-merit, ZT, measures the ability of a material to function in a thermoelectric device. The figure-of-merit is expressed by the well known equation: EQU ZT=S.sup.2 .sigma.T/.kappa.
where;
S=Seebeck coefficient (.mu.V/K) PA1 .sigma.=electrical conductivity ((S/cm; (.OMEGA.-cm).sup.-1)) PA1 .kappa.=thermal conductivity (W/cm K) PA1 T=temperature (K) PA1 i) a conductive polymer characterized by a high inherent Seebeck coefficient and a low inherent thermal conductivity; and PA1 ii) an effective amount of nanometer-sized metal particles dispersed into and intimately associated with said polymer to establish a nanophase metal/polymer composite material;
Despite three decades of effort, only small increases in the figure-of-merit for semiconducting ceramic materials have been attained (Mahan G. et al.; Physics Today, 3/97; p 42). The ZT for the best inorganic semiconductors such as Bi.sub.2 Te.sub.3 is about 1. In commercial practice, the value ranges between 0.7 and 0.9. The best organic conductors such as polythiophene have ZT very much less than 1 even though these materials may have Seebeck coefficients greater than one thousand. Their problem is low electrical conductivity. For example, the electrical conductivity of undoped polythiophene is 10.sup.-11 (.OMEGA.-cm).sup.-1.
It is clear that large values of Seebeck coefficient and of electrical conductivity are desired. Unfortunately, in known materials, increases in Seebeck coefficient are associated with reduction in conductivity and vice versa.
Howell investigated a number of conjugated, conducting polymers (see Technical Report, Howell B., "Thermoelectric Properties of Conducting Polymers", CARDIVNSWC-SSM-64-94/Jul. 12, 1994) because these have small values for thermal conductivity, low density, moderate electrical conductivity and some have moderately large Seebeck coefficients. The term "conjugated" above refers to polymers whose backbone consists of (1) single bonds alternating with (2) unsaturated groups such as double bonds, triple bonds, or aromatic groups. Tests of a number of conducting, conjugated, polymers including polyacetylene, polyacenes, polyaniline, polyparaphenylene and polyparaphenylenevinylene, polyphenylene sulfide, polypyrrole, polythiophene, and Schiff's Bases were carried out along with various additions (carbon, iodine, tetraethylamineammonium tetrafluoroborate, potassium persulfate and ferric chloride). These materials did not yield the desired improvement in thermoelectric figure-of-merit. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,519, Howell et al. disclose using poly-3-octylthiophene and ferric chloride in a respective molar ratio of approximately 2:1 as a thermoelectric material. The figure-of-merit so obtained, 0.007, shows a modest increase over the prior art for doped conducting polymers but other known semiconductor materials, e.g. Bi.sub.2 Te.sub.3, approach 1.0.
It is an object of the instant invention to provide a composition of matter having a significantly higher ZT than that of presently known materials and to establish methods of making and using this composition of matter.
It is a further object to provide thermoelectric devices, based on the novel composition of matter, that will have hitherto unachievable efficiency.


A high-power heat dissipation module for cooling down electronic components comprises a heat exchange element with a sealed cavity, in which a powder sintering portion and a working liquid is provided. The heat exchange element further has a flat section for mounting the electronic component, and a fixing structure. The heat dissipation module further comprises a heat sink with a central hole portion and a heat dissipation structure around the central hole portion. The heat generated by the electronic component is transferred to the heat sink by the heat exchange element, and then quickly dissipated into the air surrounding by the heat dissipation structure. The heat dissipation modules can handle the heat dissipation task for the electronic components with a power of 100 Watts or more and are suitable for cooling high-power electronic components.

In the electronic industry, heat dissipation modules are used to cool electronic components using heat conduction. The heat dissipation modules include a fin structure, which is in contact with the electronic components for absorbing heat. The heat is transferred to the fins and then dissipated into the surrounding air by the fins. The total contact area of the fins to air significantly impacts heat dissipation efficiency of the heat dissipation module.
The basic type of heat dissipation construction described above can handle the heat dissipation of the electronic components with a power less than 100 W. For the electronic components with higher power, the heat dissipation module requires extra components, such as a fan, to accelerate the speed of air flow. Alternately other heat conduction techniques are used. However, for some high-power electronic components, such as LEDs, the lifespan of the fan is much shorter than the electronic components. Therefore, in some applications the fans fail or are damaged before the electronic components. Therefore, a reasonable design of the heat dissipation module based on the basic construction to achieve a balance of the service life between the electronic component and the heat dissipation module is desired.


A method and apparatus for reducing a fracture provides a provisional fixation pin to provisionally affix the bone plate to the bone prior to the installation of the bone plate with permanent attachment, such as bone screws. The method and apparatus of the present invention will maintain some reduction without significantly compromising the bone. The method utilizes a provisional fixation pin having an upper or proximal unthreaded shaft section and a lower externally threaded shaft section. A cutting tip is provided at the extreme distal end of the fixation pin. In between the proximal and distal sections is an enlarged diameter section that has an annular surface sized and shaped to conform to the countersunk surface of openings in the bone plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reducing a patient's fractured bone using an elongated bone plate that has a plurality of openings therethrough, the openings having countersunk portions that correspond in shape to the countersunk head portion of a bone screw used to affix the bone plate to the patient's tissue and improved provisional fixation pins that preliminarily affix the plate in a selected position. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for reducing a patient's fractured bone at a fracture site wherein provisional fixation pins are used to preliminarily position the bone plate prior to permanent attachment with bone screws, each provisional fixation pin featuring a lower drilling tip portion and an enlarged diameter middle section having a surface that fits the countersunk openings of the bone plate. The lower drilling tip portion is smaller in diameter than the final bone screws to be used for permanent affixation.
2. General Background of the Invention
Bone plates have long been used to reduce and stabilize a patient's fractured bone at a fracture site. Bone plates are often shaped to conform to the patient's bone, having a concave rear surface shaped to fit a long bone of the leg or arm. Presently, many bone plates provide openings that include countersunk surfaces that are sized and shaped to conform to the countersunk head bone screws used to attach the bone plate to the patient's bone tissue.
One of the problems with the placement of a bone plate during surgery is that the bone screws used in cooperation with the plate typically have a diameter and distal tip that are imprecise when trying to perfectly place the screw. Often times, the surgeon misplaces a bone screw by a millimeter or two so that the plate is misaligned when all of the bone screws are finally implanted through the bone plate and into the patient's underlying bone tissue. This problem of preliminary fixation of bone plates has been recognized in the art.
Bone clamps are the standard method of provisionally attaching a plate to the bone prior to placing the bone screws through the plate. At least one spinal cervical plate for use in vertebral interbody fusions provides series of smaller holes in addition to the larger screw holes. These smaller holes accept pins that temporarily position the plate prior to placement of the larger bone screws. Clamps are not practical in the cervical area of the body. The limitations of these pins, however, is that they have no threads and must be driven in. This dictates that such pins can only be used to position the plate and not to hold the fracture reduced (i.e., hold the bone to the plate along the axis of the pin). In the case of a comminuted fracture with small bone fragments, attempting to drive the pins in instead of screwing them in may further displace the fragment from the plate.
There has been some discussion of standard bone plates with smaller holes similar to those in the spinal plates. These holes are used with standard K-Wires that have no shoulder and only position the plate, not affix it to the bone. Another draw back to this prior art methods is that it requires a special corresponding plate with small holes to accommodate the pins and cannot be used with standard bone plates.
One patent that discusses fixation pins for small bone fragments is the Pennig Pat. No. 5,433,719, entitled "Fixation Pin For Small-Bone Fragments". The '719 patent contemplates an implantable fixation pin for retaining small bone fragments in an osteosynthesis procedure. The pin comprises a smooth-walled shank portion and an adjoining threaded portion, wherein a step-down conical shoulder is formed between the shank portion and the threaded portion.
The Hausman Pat. No. 5,676,667 discloses a fixation plate for fixing the position of a fractured bone. The plate includes an elongated rigid plate having a plurality of first aperture spaced along the length of the plate. The first apertures are arranged and sized to receive threaded fasteners for fastening the plate to the bone on both sides of the fracture. The fixation plate also includes a plurality of second apertures spaced along the length of the plate. The second apertures, which are smaller than the first apertures, are arranged and sized to receive tacks to temporarily attach the plate to the bone on both sides of the fracture.
A publication that discusses the reduction of bone using plates and illustrates bone clamps is the Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Information Catalog entitled "Aline.TM. Anterior Cervical Plating System".


The present invention provides an exposure apparatus including a projection optical system configured to project a reticle pattern onto a wafer, a selector configured to select a dummy wafer to be placed near an image plane of the projection optical system, from a plurality of dummy wafers having the same shape as that of the wafer and different reflectance with each other, a transfer unit configured to place the dummy wafer selected by the selector near the image plane of the projection optical system, and a controller configured to perform control such that dummy exposure is performed by irradiating the dummy wafer, which is placed near the image plane of the projection optical system by the transfer unit, with light via the projection optical system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus, a measurement method, a stabilization method, and a device fabrication method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A projection exposure apparatus has conventionally been used when fabricating fine semiconductor devices such as an LSI and ULSI by using the photolithography technique. In this projection exposure apparatus, a projection optical system transfers a circuit pattern formed on a reticle (mask) onto a substrate such as a wafer by projecting the circuit pattern onto the substrate.
Recently, as demands for micropatterning of semiconductor devices increase, the projection exposure apparatus is beginning to require high resolution, and attempts are being made to obtain a short wavelength of exposure light and a high numerical aperture (NA) of the projection optical system (i.e., to increase the NA of the projection optical system). When increasing the resolution, however, the depth of focus decreases, and this makes it necessary to increase the accuracy of focusing to match the surface of a wafer with the image formation plane (focusing plane) of the projection optical system.
Also, in the projection exposure apparatus, the accuracy of alignment that accurately aligns circuit patterns transferred in a plurality of steps is one important characteristic. Since the fluctuation in magnification of the projection optical system largely influences this alignment accuracy, it is extremely important to maintain the magnification of the projection optical system at a predetermined value (constant value).
On the other hand, when irradiated with exposure light, the projection optical system absorbs part of the energy of this exposure light. Heat generated by this absorption changes the temperature, and the optical characteristics (e.g., the magnification and aberration) of the projection optical system change. If the projection optical system is kept irradiated with the exposure light, therefore, the optical characteristics of the projection optical system fluctuate, and the focusing accuracy or alignment accuracy may decrease (i.e., a non-negligible focusing error or alignment error may occur).
Accordingly, Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-16725 has proposed a technique that corrects the fluctuations in optical characteristics of the projection optical system caused by irradiation with the exposure light. In this technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-16725, the fluctuations (fluctuation amounts) of optical characteristics of the projection optical system caused by irradiation with the exposure light are calculated by a model expression using the exposure amount, exposure time, non-exposure time, and the like as parameters, and the fluctuations in optical characteristics of the projection optical system are corrected based on the calculation result.
The above-mentioned model expression has a coefficient (correction coefficient) unique to the projection optical system for each optical characteristic of the projection optical system. To calculate this correction coefficient, it is necessary to measure the fluctuation in optical characteristic by actually irradiating the projection optical system with the exposure light. The application of the exposure light to the projection optical system performed for purposes, such as the calculation of the correction coefficient, other than intended exposure (i.e., exposure for transferring a reticle pattern onto a wafer) will be referred to as "dummy exposure" hereinafter.
Dummy exposure may be performed for purposes other than the calculation of the correction coefficient. For example, dummy exposure is performed to stabilize the transmittance of the projection optical system. When emission and pause of the exposure light (e.g., an excimer laser) is repeated, quartz, which is generally used as the glass material of the projection optical system, abruptly changes the transmittance due to the emission time and pause time of the exposure light. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the transmittance of the projection optical system temporarily decreases immediately after the emission (exposure) of the exposure light is started, starts increasing from a certain point, and saturates at a certain value when the exposure light emission continues. It is very difficult to correct this abrupt change in transmittance. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-116766, therefore, it is effective to stabilize the transmittance of the projection optical system by performing dummy exposure of about tens of thousands of pulses before starting (resuming) exposure. FIG. 9 is a graph showing the change in transmittance of the projection optical system as a function of the emission time (exposure time) of the exposure light. Referring to FIG. 9, the ordinate indicates the transmittance of the projection optical system, and the abscissa indicates the emission time of the exposure light.
The exposure light of dummy exposure passes through almost the same optical path as that of the exposure light of intended exposure. Accordingly, if dummy exposure is performed with a wafer being placed on a wafer stage (i.e., with a wafer being set in the exposure position), the wafer is exposed and becomes unusable as a product, so the exposure light of dummy exposure must irradiate an object other than the wafer. Therefore, an object (for dummy exposure) to be irradiated with the exposure light of dummy exposure is fixed on the wafer stage, and set in the exposure position when performing dummy exposure.
When fixing the object for dummy exposure on the wafer stage, however, a space for fixing the object must be secured, and this upsizes the wafer stage.
Also, in dummy exposure for calculating the correction coefficient, the object for dummy exposure preferably has the same reflectance as that of a wafer for fabricating an actual product, in order to measure the fluctuation in optical characteristic of the projection optical system in intended exposure. However, the object for dummy exposure generally has a reflectance and shape different from those of a wafer. Therefore, the fluctuation in optical characteristic of the projection optical system in dummy exposure differs from that in optical characteristic of the projection optical system in intended exposure. This makes it difficult to accurately calculate the correction coefficient. This is so because if the intensity of reflected light from the object for dummy exposure differs from that of reflected light from a wafer, an optical characteristic fluctuation different from that in intended exposure occurs.
In dummy exposure for stabilizing the transmittance of the projection optical system, the transmittance of the projection optical system can be stabilized more efficiently (i.e., within a shorter time) when the amount of light returning to the final plane (the plane closest to a wafer) of the projection optical system is larger. Accordingly, the object for dummy exposure must have a highest reflectance. This requirement does not match the requirement for the reflectance of the object for dummy exposure for calculating the correction coefficient.
The above problem can be solved by fixing a plurality of objects for dummy exposure different in reflectance on the wafer stage. However, if the number of the objects for dummy exposure increases, the area of the space to be secured on the wafer stage increases.
Also, when the object for dummy exposure fixed on the wafer stage is irradiated with the exposure light for a long time, the object raises the temperature of the wafer stage, and mechanisms (e.g., a holding mechanism for holding a wafer) of the wafer stage thermally deform.
Furthermore, even when the object for dummy exposure is made of a material having a resistance to the exposure light such as an excimer laser, the surface of the object deteriorates and changes its properties if the object is irradiated with the exposure light for a long time, so the object must be exchanged. However, the object for dummy exposure is fixed on the wafer stage as described previously, and this makes the work of exchanging the object difficult and cumbersome.

Exposure apparatus, measurement method, stabilization method, and device fabrication method