To suppress the deposition of thin films on exposed positions inside the process chamber and facilitate the selective deposition of good quality thin films with high productivity, disilane gas is introduced to a substrate 9 heated by a heater 4 inside a process chamber 1, and a silicon film is deposited only on the silicon surfaces of substrate 9 by thermal CVD. A heat-reflecting plate 6, which is provided inside process chamber 1 to reflect the heat radiated from substrate 9 back to the substrate, is made of silicon with a silicon oxide film 61 formed on its surface. Silicon atoms separate out and adhere to the surface of silicon oxide layer 61 through the decomposition of disilane, but a reforming operation in which oxygen gas is introduced is performed between the film deposition processing of each substrate 9, whereby the Si atoms which exist in an isolated state with no Sixe2x80x94Si bonds between them are converted to silicon oxide. Accordingly, the conditions for selective deposition are continuously maintained at the surface of heat-reflecting plate 6, and the deposition of a silicon film is suppressed.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention of the present application relates to a thin film deposition apparatus that produces a thin film on the surface of a semiconductor wafer substrate, and more specifically it relates to a selective deposition technique that selectively deposits a thin film only in specific regions of the substrate surface.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The deposition of thin films on the surface of semiconductor wafer substrates is frequently performed in the manufacture of various electronic devices. In particular, in the manufacture of integrated circuits such as LSIs, thin films are selectively deposited only on specific regions of the surface of a substrate. For example, a process is sometimes performed wherein a wiring pattern is formed in an insulating film of silicon oxide (SiO2) or silicon nitride (Si3N4) on a silicon substrate, and a silicon film is selectively deposited only on the regions of the substrate surface where the silicon is exposed.
FIG. 5 is a front view outlining the configuration of a conventional thin film deposition apparatus used for this sort of selective deposition of silicon. The thin film deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 5 has a process chamber 1 equipped with pumping systems 11 and 12, and a gas introduction means 2 that introduces a process gas into process chamber 1. A susceptor 3 on which a substrate 9 is positioned and a heater 4 which heats substrate 9 are disposed inside process chamber 1.
The apparatus shown in FIG. 5 is a cold-wall apparatus in which the enclosure walls of process chamber 1 are fitted with a cooling mechanism (not illustrated). A first pumping system 11 which pumps down the whole interior of process chamber 1, and a second pumping system 12 which principally pumps down the region surrounding heater 4 are also provided. First and second pumping systems 11 and 12 both employ ultra-high vacuum pumping systems using turbo-molecular pumps.
Gas introduction means 2 is made to introduce disilane (Si2H6)xe2x80x94a gaseous silicon hydridexe2x80x94as the process gas.
Susceptor 3 is shaped into a block which is fixed to the bottom surface of process chamber 1, and substrate 9 is mounted on its upper surface. A lift pin 5 which can be raised and lowered is provided in the interior of susceptor 3. Lift pin 5 rises and falls through a hole provided in the upper surface of susceptor 3. When mounting a substrate 9 on susceptor 3, lift pin 5 is raised up so that it projects from the upper surface of susceptor 3, and lift pin 5 is lowered after the substrate 9 has been mounted on top of lift pin 5. Substrate 9 is thereby mounted on the upper surface of susceptor 3. Susceptor 3 is formed from a material such as silicon, graphite or SiC (silicon carbide), and is made so that it contacts substrate 9 with good thermal conductivity.
A heater 4 is disposed inside susceptor 3. A heater 4 that heats substrate 9 mainly by radiative heating is used. Specifically, a carbon heater that emits heat by conducting electricity can be used. The heat radiated from heater 4 is conferred to susceptor 3, and substrate 9 is heated via susceptor 3. The temperature of substrate 9 is sensed by a thermocouple (not illustrated) and is sent to a heater control unit (not illustrated). The heater control unit performs feedback control of heater 4 according to the sensed result, whereby the temperature of substrate 9 is kept at a set temperature.
Susceptor 3 is made of the same silicon as substrate 9 to avoid contamination of substrate 9. To avoid contamination of the atmosphere inside process chamber 1 by the release of occluded gas from heater 4 when it becomes hot, second exhaust system 12 pumps down the region surrounding heater 4.
A cooling mechanism (not illustrated) is also provided at the side parts of susceptor 3. This is to prevent process chamber 1 from being heated by the conduction of heat from susceptor 3 to process chamber 1.
A heat-reflecting plate 6 is positioned above the substrate 9 mounted in susceptor 3 so as to be parallel with substrate 9. Heat-reflecting plate 6 reflects the radiation emitted from substrate 9 and susceptor 3 and returns it to substrate 9, thereby improving the efficiency with which substrate 9 is heated.
Heat-reflecting plate 6 is made of silicon. By making heat-reflecting plate 6 from the same kind of material as the film deposited on the surface of substrate 9, the thin film deposited on the surface of heat-reflecting plate 6 can be prevented from peeling away.
The silicon film deposited by thermal decomposition of a gaseous silicon hydride compound as described below is deposited not only on the surface of substrate 9 but also on heat-reflecting plate 6. If heat-reflecting plate 6 is made of a completely different material other than silicon, the thin film will have poor adhesion and can easily peel away due to internal stress. Parts of the film that peel away will form globular dust particulates that float about inside process chamber 1. If these particulates adhere to the surface of substrate 9, they will give rise to defects caused by localized reduction of the layer thickness, which are a cause of faulty products. To prevent the thin film from peeling away, heat-reflecting plate 6 uses the same silicon material as the thin film being formed.
The operation of a conventional apparatus relating to the above configuration is described next.
A substrate 9 is transferred into process chamber 1 via a gate valve 13, and is mounted on susceptor 3 by raising and lowering lift pin 5. The interior of process chamber 1 is pumped down in advance to 10xe2x88x928 Torr or thereabouts by first and second pumping systems 11 and 12.
Heater 4 is operated before the film deposition begins, and the substrate 9 mounted on susceptor 3 is heated by the heat from heater 4 and maintained at the desired temperature after reaching thermal equilibrium. After this state has been achieved, gas introduction means 2 is operated and a gaseous silicon hydride compound is introduced into process chamber 1 as the process gas. The process gas diffuses inside process chamber 1 and arrives at the surface of substrate 9. The gaseous silicon hydride compound then decomposes under the heat at the surface of substrate 9, whereby a film of polycrystalline silicon is deposited at the surface.
The surface of substrate 9 has a wiring pattern formed in an insulating film of silicon oxide or silicon nitride, so that the surface contains regions of exposed siliconxe2x80x94the material of substrate 9xe2x80x94and regions where silicon oxide or silicon nitride is formed on the surface. The thermal decomposition reaction rate at the silicon surface is much higher than the thermal decomposition reaction rate at the silicon oxide film surface or silicon nitride film surface. The silicon film is thus selectively deposited only on the silicon surface. Selective deposition of silicon is thereby achieved.
FIGS. 6(1) and (2) show the results of experimental selective deposition of silicon using the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 5. Specifically, FIGS. 6(1) and (2) show photographs of the reflection high energy diffraction (RHEED) pattern observed in film deposition using the apparatus of FIG. 5 with the temperature of substrate 9 held at 700xc2x0 C. and with disilane introduced at 6 sccm. FIG. 6(1) shows the state 30 seconds after introduction of the process gas, and FIG. 6(2) shows the state after 300 seconds.
As shown in FIG. 6(1), in the state 30 seconds after introducing the gas, the pattern contains a mixture of bright vertically-extending parts and a diffuse region of brightness. The bright vertically-extending parts represent the diffraction spots from the crystalline lattice, indicating the presence of crystalline silicon at the surface of substrate 9.
On the other hand, the diffuse region of brightness represents the reflection of electrons with no periodicity from disordered (amorphous) crystals. In this case, the electrons are reflected uniformly over a wide angle, resulting in the diffuse region of brightness shown in FIG. 6(1). The halo means that amorphousness is present at the surface of substrate 9. In this case, it is considered that the surface of the silicon oxide film or silicon nitride film is already exposed at the surface of substrate 9, and that the halo observed in FIG. 6(1) is observed due to the reflection of electrons at the surface of the silicon oxide film. As shown in FIG. 6(2), in the state 300 seconds after starting to introduce the gas, a ring-shaped diffraction pattern is observed in addition to the diffraction spots that were also seen in FIG. 6(a). This ring-shaped diffraction pattern is symptomatic of the deposition of a polycrystalline silicon film at the amorphous surface of the silicon oxide film. This ring-shaped diffraction pattern increases sharply in intensity during the interval between 300 and 330 seconds. Accordingly, it is considered that about 330 seconds after starting to introduce the gas, the polycrystalline silicon film covers not only the silicon surface but also the surface of the silicon oxide film.
FIGS. 7(1) and (2), like FIGS. 6(1) and (2), show the results of experimental selective deposition of silicon using the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 5. Specifically, FIGS. 7(1) and (2) show photographs taken with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) during film deposition using the apparatus of FIG. 5 with the temperature of substrate 9 held at 700xc2x0 C. and with disilane introduced at 6 sccm as in FIGS. 6(1) and (2). FIG. 7(1) shows the results observed on a substrate 9 removed from process chamber 1 60 seconds after starting to introduce the process gas, and FIG. 7(2) shows the results observed on a substrate 9 removed from process chamber 1 330 seconds after starting to introduce the process gas.
As shown in FIG. 7(1), in the state 60 seconds after starting to introduce the gas, a deposit of about 70 nm thickness is observed at the surface of the silicon. This is the silicon. This is the epitaxial silicon layer deposited at the silicon surface. Also, no deposit is observed at the surface of the silicon oxide film. Meanwhile, as FIG. 7(2) shows, in the state 330 seconds after starting to introduce the gas a substantial polycrystalline silicon film is deposited at the surface of the silicon oxide film.
As the above results show, in the selective eptaxial deposition of silicon under the above conditions, the selective growth of silicon continues when 60 seconds have elapsed, whereas the conditions for selective epitaxial growth break down after 300 seconds have elapsed and a polycrystalline silicon film is also deposited on the surface of the silicon oxide film. This is because, although the reaction rate is much slower than on the silicon surface, a prolonged gas introduction time leads to a large cumulative quantity of gas supplied, and the disilane decomposition reaction will thus also occur on the silicon oxide film. Nonetheless, a epitaxial silicon film can still be deposited only on the silicon surface by precisely controlling the gas introduction time.
However, in the abovementioned conventional apparatus, there are exposed positions inside process chamber 1 that are similarly heated to a high temperature, like the surface of substrate 9. For example, the heat-reflecting plate 6 provided opposite substrate 9 to increase the heating efficiency receives radiated heat from substrate 9 and susceptor 3 and is heated to a high temperature in the same way as substrate 9. For example, when the distance between substrate 9 and heat-reflecting plate 6 is about 45 mm, the pressure is about 10xe2x88x923 Torr, or less, and substrate 9 is heated to about 600xc2x0 C., and the heat-reflecting plate 6 is also heated to about 265xc2x0 C.
Since the process gas diffuses around the interior of process chamber 1, a thin film is deposited at the surfaces of parts that have thus been heated to a high temperature in the same way as the deposition on substrate 9. If the heated positions inside process chamber 1 are made of a material other than silicon, then the deposition of thin films should in principle be suppressed by a similar mechanism to that of the selective deposition on substrate 9. However, during repeated film deposition processes, the cumulative quantity of process gas supplied to the heated positions will suddenly exceed the threshold beyond which the abovementioned conditions for selective deposition break down, and thin films will also start to be deposited at the heated positions. This deposition of thin films at heated positions inside process chamber 1 gives rise to the following two problems.
The first problem is that the deposition of a thin film alters the radiation reflection conditions, causing a change in the heating conditions of substrate 9 as a result. For example, although the parts situated inside process chamber 1 are often made of stainless steel, the deposition of a silicon thin film on the surface of this stainless steel will affect the radiation reflectivity. As a result, the amount of radiation reflecting off the wall surfaces and returning to substrate 9 will change and the repeatability of temperatures attained with the same electrical power will be made less precise.
Since the reflectivity is normally reduced by the deposition of a thin film, the power supplied to heater 4 must be increased to compensate for this reduction of reflectivity. However, controlling the supplied power in this way necessitates sensing the temperature of substrate 9 with high precision and applying feedback to heater 4, which requires a very rigorous control precision.
The second problem is that particulates can be produced by parts of the deposited thin film peeling away, thereby impairing the quality with which substrate 9 is processed. If the thin films deposited at heated positions inside process chamber 1 reach this thickness, they can peel away either under their own weight or due to internal stress. Although heat-reflecting plate 6 suppresses the peeling of thin films to some degree since it is made of the same silicon material as substrate 9, as mentioned above, a silicon thin film is deposited in the same way as on substrate 9 since these positions have the same material as substrate 9 at their surface, and so the cumulative amount of deposition is higher than at other heated positions and peeling can easily occur due to internal stress.
Attempts have been made to make improvements by thermally oxidizing the surface of heat-reflecting plate 6 to cover it with a thermal oxide film and suppress the deposition of a silicon film on silicon heat-reflecting plate 6. If there is a film of silicon oxide at the surface, then this should suppress the deposition of a silicon film by the same mechanism as the selective deposition on substrate 9.
However, when a film is deposited on substrate 9 with, for example, a substrate temperature of 600xc2x0 C. and a disilane flow rate of 12 sccm, the deposition of a thin film of silicon on the surface of heat-reflecting plate 6 was observed after performing film deposition processes on at most 5 substrates. Having completed film deposition on about 4000 substrates, it was confirmed that the film deposited on heat-reflecting plate 6 had peeled away, resulting in about 60 dust particulates adhering to the surface of substrate 9. These results show that even if the surfaces of parts made of silicon are covered with a film of silicon oxide, the cumulative amount of gas supplied can still exceed the conditions for selective deposition so that a silicon film is deposited.
In conventional apparatus, to suppress the problem of dust particulates generated due to peeling of thin films in this way, maintenance is performed after the film deposition process has been repeated a fixed number of times, in which the interior of process chamber 1 is opened to the atmosphere and the parts inside process chamber 1 are replaced. Process chamber 1 is then pumped down to an ultra-high vacuum, and the processing is restarted after confirming that there are no dust particulates and that the process can be performed repeatably. To perform this sort of maintenance, the apparatus must be taken out of service for 6 hours and worked on by 3 operators, requiring a total of 18 man-hours of labor. Consequently, this can seriously impair the productivity of the apparatus.
The invention of the present application has been made to solve such problems. The invention of the present application relates to a thin-film deposition apparatus that performs selective deposition, and one of its aim is to provide a highly productive thin film deposition apparatus that can implement high-quality film deposition processes by suppressing the deposition of thin films on exposed positions inside the process chamber.
According to one embodiment of the present invention a thin film deposition apparatus utilizes a substrate having a first surface region made of a first material and a second surface region made of a second material that is different to the first material. The substrate is positioned inside a process chamber and introduces a reactive gas into this process chamber, and a difference in surface reactions between said first and second surface regions is exploited to deposit a thin film only on said first surface region. The apparatus is equipped with a reforming gas introduction system that introduces into said process chamber a reforming gas that either reforms the surfaces at exposed positions inside said process chamber so that they are made of said second material, or reforms them so that a similar difference in surface reactions as in the case of the second material is obtained.
The reforming involves causing a reaction whereby atoms or molecules of the first material that have been deposited on and adhered to said surfaces at exposed positions are converted into atoms or molecules of said second material.
The surface reaction is a thermal decomposition reaction wherein the difference in thermal decomposition reaction rates is used to selectively deposit a thin film, and said exposed positions are heated positions exposed to the interior of said process chamber.
The thin film is a silicon thin film, and said reactive gas is a gaseous hydride of silicon. The first material is silicon and said second material is silicon oxide or silicon nitride, and said reforming gas is oxygen gas, nitrogen gas, an oxidizing gas or a nitriding gas.
The surface of said exposed positions is covered beforehand with an oxide film or nitride film by an oxidizing process or a nitriding process.
The apparatus may be provided with a susceptor that holds said substrate inside said process chamber, and the surface of said exposed positions is the surface of this susceptor.


A bottle top that comprises a tough plastic outer cap (11), a tough plastic inner cap (6) and a soft polymer stopper (4). The stopper fits inside the inner cap. The bottle has a bead (3) around its neck. The wall of the composed of several vertical strips (9). The strips are resilient radially outward and are held against the neck of the bottle by the outer cap. The bottom ends of the strips have a beveled-in edge (5) that engages the bottom edge of the bead, forcing the stopper against the upper surface of the bottle's neck. At least one area (8) of the inner cap's roof rips out. The outer cap has a hole over the rip-out area of the inner cap and screws over a thread (10) on the resilient strips that constitute the wall of the inner cap.

The present invention concerns a bottle top that comprises a tough-plastic outer cap, a tough-plastic inner cap, and a soft polymer stopper. The stopper fits inside the inner cap. The bottle has a bead around its neck. The wall of the inner cap is composed of several vertical strips. The strips are resilient radially outward and are held against the neck of the bottle by the outer cap. The bottom ends of the strips have a beveled-in edge that engages the bottom edge of the bead, forcing the stopper against the upper surface of the bottle's neck. At least one area of the inner cap's roof rips out.
A bottle top of this type is known from German Published Patent Application No. OS 4 015 510. It is intended for transfusion and infusion bottles. It has a cap with a wall composed of vertical radially outwardly resilient strips that engage the bottom edge of a bead around the neck of a bottle. The cap is secured to the neck by a ring of hard plastic thrust over the cap and holding the strips in place. The cap also has locking strips that prevent removal of an outer cap. This bottle top has several drawbacks. The stopper is not forced uniformly enough against the upper surface of the bottle's neck to ensure a tight seal. The top is difficult to assemble. Discrepancies in the thickness of the bead occur that cannot be sufficiently compensated for by the beveled-in edge of the inner cap, allowing leaks from the irregular pressure of the stopper against the upper surface of the neck.
German Utility Model Patent No. GM 8 807 750 describes a plastic top for containers that are at least similar to bottles. An outer cap screws onto the inner cap, which is an integral component. The inner cap engages a bead integrated into the neck of the container. The inner cap rests against the whole circumference of the bead. The bead extends radially outward. The inner cap engages it with a claw that extends essentially radially inward. The inner and outer caps and bottle neck must be manufactured to very precise tolerances to ensure tightness, which leaves much to be desired from the aspect of manufacturing simplicity and cost. An O-ring is positioned against surface of the outer cap that faces the bottle. The O-ring comes apart at weak points when the outer cap is unscrewed from the inner cap.
Other tops are known that have a rubber stopper or disk forced against the neck of a medicine bottle by a metal cap. They are applied in two spatially separated manufacturing steps. First, the stopper is forced against the bottle in a sterile area of the plant. The full bottle is then transferred to another area, where the metal cap is applied and secured with capping machinery. The intention of such a complicated procedure is to keep particles of metal from the cap from contaminating the medicine. Another drawback of metal caps is that the ripped-out sections have dangerously rough edges. They are also complicated to dispose of because most hospitals do not have a separate aluminum-collecting point.

Bottle top having inner and outer caps for securing and sealing a resilient stopper


Multilayer cathode backplate structures are provided for use with a field emitter in display panels. Processes for making the structures are also disclosed. The backplate structures are made of a plurality of electrodes separated by one or more patterned layers of a dielectric composition, each said patterned layer being formed by firing a thick film dielectric composition which has been patterned by diffusion patterning.

Field emission electron sources, often referred to as field emission materials or field emitters, can be used in a variety of electronic applications, e.g., vacuum electronic devices, flat panel computer and television displays, emission gate amplifiers, and klystrons and in lighting.
Display screens are used in a wide variety of applications such as home and commercial televisions, laptop and desktop computers and indoor and outdoor advertising and information presentations. Flat panel displays are only a few inches thick in contrast to the deep cathode ray tube monitors found on most televisions and desktop computers. Flat panel displays are a necessity for laptop computers, but also provide advantages in weight and size for many of the other applications. Currently, laptop computer flat panel displays use liquid crystals which can be switched from a transparent state to an opaque one by the application of small electrical signals. It is difficult to reliably produce these displays in sizes larger than that suitable for laptop computers.
Plasma displays have been proposed as an alternative to liquid crystal displays. A plasma display uses tiny cells of electrically charged gases to produce an image and requires relatively large electrical power to operate.
Flat panel displays having a cathode using a field emission electron source, i.e., a field emission material or field emitter, and a phosphor capable of emitting light upon bombardment by electrons emitted by the field emitter have been proposed. Such displays have the potential for providing the visual display advantages of the conventional cathode ray tube and the depth, weight and power consumption advantages of the other flat panel displays. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,857,799 and 5,015,912 disclose matrix-addressed flat panel displays using micro-tip cathodes constructed of tungsten, molybdenum or silicon. WO 94-15352, WO 94-15350 and WO 94-28571 disclose flat panel displays wherein the cathodes have relatively flat emission surfaces.
However, in view of the above, there is a need for field emitter cathode backplate structures for panel displays that have control gate electrodes in proximity to the field emitter and that can be reliably produced in a large size and in quantity with the necessary precision required. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the attached drawings and to the detailed description of the invention which hereinafter follows.

Field emitter cathode backplate structures for display panels


A motor case, including an aluminum barrel and a composite overwrap wound around the barrel to form a composite layer, which protects the operator against case failure during motor firing due to thermal effects caused by insulator defects or the like. The overwrap is formed of a fibrous material and a low temperature curable resin, the overwrap being mechanically bonded to the barrel. The method includes the steps of imparting texture to the outer surface of the barrel, wherein the textured surface includes jagged protrusions extending outwardly therefrom, wrapping an strip of fibrous material impregnated with a low temperature curable resin around the barrel, and curing the case.

The present invention relates to a motor case provided with a composite overwrap which protects against case failure due to thermal effects caused by insulator defects or the like, and a method of manufacturing same.
Aluminum has become a desirable material for use in motor cases due to its light weight and durability under normal firing conditions. It is well known that aluminum can be successfully used for motor cases by employing an insulator, such as a sleeve silica phenolic material or the like, which is bonded to the inside of the case to protect the case from overheating when fired. However, such insulators can become cracked due to, for example, adhesive voids between the insulator and the case which allow the insulator to expand outwardly under pressure from motor firing, thereby exceeding the strain capacity of the insulator material. Cracks in the insulator can result in catastrophic case failure upon motor firing due to degradation in the case strength from case overheating caused by propellant gas flow through the cracked insulator. Case failure can result in serious injury or death to personnel in the vicinity of the case.
Therefore, a need has been created for an aluminum man-rated motor case which will not fail due to thermal effects caused by insulator defects or the like, and thereby will maintain safety for the operator and other personnel. The motor case including the composite overwrap and method of manufacture of the present invention meet this need.

Motor case with composite overwrap and method


The present invention relates to the use of selected polypeptides from African Swine virus for the prevention and therapy of African Swine infections as well as other infections, including immune deficiencies in mammals and humans.

African Swine fever is an endemic disease in sub-Saharan Africa and many other parts of the developing world. It is caused by the African Swine virus that primarily replicates in macrophages and monocytes leading to the impairment of the structure and function of the immune system of the infected organisms. Until now the African Swine epidemic continues to spread despite all efforts to contain it. Thus, there is an objective need for effective, safe and affordable preventive and therapeutic approaches, in particular for effective vaccines, to control and eventually eradicate this disease.
Since the characteristic feature of the African Swine virus is to impair the immune system and to cause immune deficiencies in its hosts the development of vaccines and other therapeutic approaches against the African Swine virus has implications for other immune deficiencies or diseases. Several other viruses are also known to cause immunodeficiency-like syndromes in humans, including cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr Virus and others. Moreover, a series of cases of so-called "idiopathic" immunodeficiencies have been documented that display CD4+ T-lymphocytopenia with opportunistic infections, but show no evidence of HIV infection (1).
Since antibodies for the African Swine virus have been detected in humans, the possibility of human infection with the African Swine virus exists and may thus far have escaped any systematic screening. Thus, any preventive and therapeutic approach to African Swine fever can have far-reaching implications to control immune deficiency conditions in humans.

Preventive and therapeutic use of polypeptides from African Swine virus as vaccines


Optical absorbers and methods are disclosed. The methods comprise depositing a plurality of precursor layers comprising one or more of Cu, Ga, and In on a substrate, and heating the layers in a chalcogenizing atmosphere. The plurality of precursor layers can be one or more sets of layers comprising at least two layers, wherein each layer in each set of layers comprises one or more of Cu, Ga, and In exhibiting a single phase. The layers can be deposited using two or three targets selected from Ag and In containing less than 21% In by weight, Cu and Ga where the Cu and Ga target comprises less than 45% Ga by weight, Cu(In,Ga), wherein the Cu(In,Ga) target has an atomic ratio of Cu to (In+Ga) greater than 2 and an atomic ratio of Ga to (Ga+In) greater than 0.5, elemental In, elemental Cu, and In2Se3 and In2S3.

Optical absorbers for use with solar cells are more economically attractive if they exhibit high efficiency and can be made from thin films. Absorbers based on various combinations of at least copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CuInxGa1−xSe2 or "CIGS") have been widely studied to meet these performance goals. CIGS has a strong absorption coefficient for visible light making it possible to use thinner absorber layers further reducing costs of assembled solar cells.
This composition is often described as having one Cu atom for every In and/or Ga atom (i.e., Cu/(In+Ga)=1, where the atomic symbols refer here to the number of each type of atom). However, high-efficiency absorbers are Cu-poor (Cu/(In+Ga)<1). For example, Weber et al. describe the preparation of a solar cell using a metallic precursor layer deposited by sputtering from a Cu85Ga15 target and an In target to produce a selenized absorber having a Cu/(In+Ga) ratio of 0.8 (Weber, A. et al. 2011 "Fast Cu(In, Ga)Se2 formation by processing Cu—In—Ga precursors in selenium atmosphere" 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Seattle, Wash.; Jun. 19, 2011). Absorbers are typically also Ga-poor, having a Ga/(In+Ga) ratio<0.4.
However, Cu(In,Ga) metal precursor films (used to form CIGSe via chalcogenization) with these preferred atomic ratios are multi-phasic and tend to separate into discrete domains when deposited, especially when exposed to processing temperatures above about 155° C. This phase inhomogeneity can be observed in X-Ray diffraction and also in various microscopy techniques, such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy (the roughness tends to go hand-in-hand with the multi-phasic nature of the film). For example, Weber et al. describe that at room temperature, the metal precursor layer contains the crystalline phases In and at least one Cux(In,Ga)y phase (though not clearly assigned), and that upon heating, an In melt is formed, with a resultant decreasing In/Ga ratio. This phase separation makes it difficult to form laterally uniform compositions, and after selenization, the resulting CIGS absorbers are also non-uniform, reducing the achievable open-circuit voltage and fill factor, and therefore, the overall performance (efficiency).
Attempts have been made to fabricate laterally uniform CIGS layers by physical vapor deposition (PVD) of the metals (followed by chalcogenization) by sequentially using sputtering targets such as In with alloyed sputtering targets such as Cu0.75—Ga0.25, Cu0.60—Ga0.40, or Cu0.85—Ga0.15 to force uniform deposition of layers having the desired composition. However, upon deposition or upon subsequent heating, the film always comes out laterally non-uniform, as indicated by optical and electron microscopy.
U.S. Patent Application Nos. 2012/0313200 to Jackrel and 2010/0248219 to Woodruff describe that even if a uniform precursor layer is deposited, the materials may flow and migrate during processing to result in a different layer uniformity, roughness, homogeneity and quality and number of crystals within the layer. These publications describe the use of particles mixed with a carrier liquid to form an ink and the ink is used to coat a substrate to form a precursor layer.
Further performance improvement in CIGS absorbers can be achieved by grading the bandgap across the thickness of the CIGS layer. As outlined above, it is challenging to control the lateral uniformity when starting from today's solutions for Cu(In,Ga) sputtering followed by chalcogenization. Controlling both lateral uniformity and compositional depth grading for CIGSe or CIGSSe, therefore, has proven even more challenging. Other CIGS growth methods try to improve the control over both lateral uniformity and compositional depth grading. For example, grading can be achieved by varying the In/Ga ratio through the thickness of the CIGSe film. This is most often done by co-evaporation which has proven to be challenging on the manufacturing floor. Similarly, the preparation of graded absorbers can be performed using chalcogenide targets. This, however, results in a decreased sputtering rate compared to metal deposition, decreasing throughput, and increasing capital expenditure, in addition to an increased cost in sputter target manufacturing compared to metal targets.


A funnel for a water tank is for adapting to a water injection portion. The water injection portion is communicated with the water tank. The funnel includes a container body and a valve assembly. The container body has an inner wall, an abutting portion, an internal space, and an injection opening and an output opening which are communicated with the internal space. The valve assembly is abuttable against the abutting portion. The valve assembly includes an actuating member communicated with the output opening and a valve body which is coupled with the actuating member. When the actuating member is located in a first position, the container body is uncommunicated with the interior of the water tank. When the actuating member is away from the first position, the container body is communicated with the water tank to allow liquid flow into the water tank.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a funnel, and more particularly to a funnel for a water tank.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A water tank is a very important part of a cooling system for an engine on a car. The water has a large specific heat so that the temperature of the water increases little after the water absorbs heat of the engine, and it prevents the engine from overheating. And the heat of the engine conducts to the water through a liquid loop of the water. It is ordinary to add chemical compounds with ethers into the water tank to increase the heat dissipation efficiency for the water and decrease the risk that the water tank gets rust. The heat is dissipated by passing through a heat dissipation plate with a large surface area and use of air convection so that the temperature of the engine decreases and remains at a workable temperature for the engine. After a period of using, the water (including chemical compounds with ethers) in the water tank gets acidified and corrodes the water tank and the liquid loop so that the water in the water tank must be replaced regularly. And it is easier to use a funnel to add the water into the water tank.
However, a funnel of a prior art is unequipped with a structure for stopping adding water. If the water in the water tank is filled and the funnel still has the water, and when moving away the funnel from the water tank, the water in the funnel flows out from the bottom of the funnel. When the water drops on ground, it needs to be cleaned because the water contains chemical compounds and it pollutes an environment. And the water with chemical compounds can also injure human skin. Furthermore, when the water tank is about to be filled, the engine needs to be started to heat itself and drive a water pump so that the water cycles in the cooling system. And it helps to remove air in the water tank and the liquid loop. Besides, it is normal that an oversized hot bubble comes out from the water tank through the funnel and causes people to hurt. This disadvantage is needed to be improved.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


A laundry treatment apparatus includes a connection duct into which air inside a drum, in which laundry is received, is discharged, and a discharge duct that extends in a longitudinal direction of the drum and that is connected to the connection duct. The laundry treatment apparatus also includes a filter assembly that has a filter unit located in the discharge duct and configured to filter air introduced into the discharge duct and an impurity remover unit configured to separate, from the filter unit, impurities remaining on the filter unit. The laundry treatment apparatus further includes an impurity storage device separable from the discharge duct. The impurity storage device is located below the filter unit and configured to store impurities separated from the filter unit by the impurity remover unit.

A laundry treatment apparatus is a generic term for home appliances including a washing machine for washing laundry, a dryer for drying laundry, and a combined drying and washing machine for both washing and drying laundry.
In addition, a laundry treatment apparatus capable of drying laundry (e.g., washed clothing) may be classified into an exhaust type laundry treatment apparatus and a circulation type laundry treatment apparatus.
More specifically, a laundry treatment apparatus may be classified into the exhaust type laundry treatment apparatus which is configured to exhaust hot and humid air discharged from a drum to the outside of the laundry treatment apparatus, and the circulation type laundry treatment apparatus that uses a heat exchanger that implements condensation and heating of air discharged from the drum while hot and humid air discharged from the drum is resupplied into the drum (e.g., during circulation of air discharged from the drum).
The air discharged from the drum during drying may contain impurities (e.g., lint, etc.) dropped from an object to be dried, such as laundry. Accumulation of the impurities on internal components of the laundry treatment apparatus may cause breakdown of the laundry treatment apparatus, and the impurities discharged outward from the laundry treatment apparatus may cause air contamination of an indoor space where the laundry treatment apparatus is placed. Therefore, laundry treatment apparatus having a drying function may remove the impurities from the air discharged from the drum.
A laundry treatment apparatus having a drying function may include a connection duct arranged in a height direction of a drum, and a discharge duct arranged in a longitudinal direction of the drum. The connection duct may be provided with a filter to filter air discharged from the drum.


A mobile device, a content delivery apparatus, a content providing apparatus and a control method thereof are provided. The mobile device includes a communication unit that performs communication with an external environment, a signal processor that processes signals transmitted and received through the communication unit, and a display unit that displays an image based on a signal processed by the signal processor. The mobile device also includes a controller that controls the communication unit to transmit a profile corresponding to a request to a content delivery apparatus when the request for the profile is received from the content delivery apparatus located within a predetermined zone, and to receive content corresponding to the transmitted profile. Customized contents can be provided to the mobile device on the basis of a user's profile.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mobile device, a content delivery apparatus, a content providing apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly to a mobile device, a content delivery apparatus, a content providing apparatus and a control method thereof, in which customized contents can be provided to the mobile device based on a user's profile.
2. Description of the Related Art
A content provider can provide various contents to a mobile device through a network. The content provider has difficulty providing contents that are customized for a profile of a user who uses a certain mobile device since it has to transmit contents to a plurality of mobile devices. The plurality of mobile devices may be divided into groups and contents may be transmitted differently in accordance with the groups. However, it still remains difficult to provide the customized contents.

Mobile device, content delivery apparatus, content providing apparatus and control method thereof


Techniques for writing logging files, where the logging files include multiple pieces of logging information. The pieces of logging information are based on operation of a computer system. The writing of the logging information includes the following steps (not necessarily in the following order): (i) choosing a set of logging rules; which logging rules determine the selection of which pieces of operational information relating to the computer system will be written to a non-volatile log file; (ii) operating the computer system; (iii) during operation of the computer system, collecting a first set of pieces of operational information; (iv) saving the first set of pieces of operational information to a volatile buffer memory; and (v) writing only a first sub-set of the first set of pieces of operational information to a first log file.

Computer data logging is the process of recording events, with a computer program (usually application software) within a certain scope in order to provide an "audit trail" that can be used to understand the activity of the system and/or to diagnose problems. Logs are useful to understand the activities of complex computer systems, particularly in the case of applications with little user interaction (such as server applications). Conventionally, the granularity of the information that gets logged is controlled by setting different log levels. A list of logging levels conventionally used is as follows: (i) DEBUG; (ii) INFO; (iii) WARN; (iv) ERROR; and (v) FATAL. DEBUG is the lowest logging level, which writes every possible piece of information, and is not recommended for a production environment. INFO is a restricted logging level, which writes information messages, and is also not recommended for a production environment. WARN is a more restricted logging level, which writes only warning and error messages, and is recommended for a production environment. ERROR is a more restricted logging level, which writes only error and exception messages, and is recommended for a production environment with a high volume of activity. FATAL is a level that logs only the "high" and/or "severe" messages, and is recommended for a production environment where all the actions are tracked closely.

Varying logging depth based on user defined policies

International Business Machines Corporation


A method of preparing an organic-inorganic hybrid material is described. A M(OR)x and an organically modified Si-alkoxide having a predetermined functional group are dissolved in a first solvent and a second solvent to form a first solution and a second solution, respectively. The first solution and the second solution are then mixed and heated. As a result, the M(OR)x reacts with the organically modified Si-alkoxide to form a functionalized organic-inorganic hybrid material. Furthermore, the solid content of the functionalized organic-inorganic hybrid material is increased by transferring the same into another solvent. Therefore, a thick hybrid film is fabricated by means of the transferred functionalized organic-inorganic hybrid material.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an organic-inorganic hybrid material. More particularly, an organic-inorganic hybrid material and a hybrid film derived therefrom and methods preparing the same by hybrid process without adding any chelating agent are disclosed.
2. Description of Related Art
Organic-inorganic hybrid materials possess not only the advantages of organic materials, such as processability and flexibility, but also the advantages of inorganic materials, like high mechanical strength and high thermal properties, and hence are studied internationally and are widely applied in various fields. In general, a hybrid material is prepared by mixing an organic material and an inorganic material, which are associated by molecular forces therebetween, such as, for example, London-van der Waals force or hydrogen bonding, on a nanometer scale. Therefore, the hybrid material is formed without phase separation in the macroscopic view, and further combines the properties of the organic material and the inorganic material.
Due to the poor thermal properties of organic materials, organic-inorganic hybrid materials cannot be prepared in a conventional ceramic-manufacturing process. Instead, a sol-gel process is usually adopted to fabricate organic-inorganic hybrid materials. Sol-gel process including a hydrolysis step and a condensation step performed at a low temperature. Consequently, organic materials can be introduced into inorganic materials without degradation.
The organic-inorganic hybrid materials prepared by the sol-gel process, however, are easily influenced by surrounding conditions, such as, for instance, temperature or humidity. As a result, the organic-inorganic hybrid materials tend to age, which decreases the shelf life thereof. Additionally, the organic-inorganic hybrid materials with a nanometer dimension incline to aggregate with one another. To stabilize the properties and the sizes of the organic-inorganic hybrid materials, chelating agents are required in preparing the same. The chelating agents are, for example, methacrylic acid, acetic acid, and acetyl acetone.
On the other hand, the solid content of the organic-inorganic hybrid materials prepared by the sol-gel process is usually around 20% to 30%, of which the viscosity is not high enough for preparing a thick hybrid film. Unfortunately, raising the solid content by increasing reaction time and reactant concentrations directly results in gelation of the organic-inorganic hybrid materials. Moreover, phase separation occurs if the viscosity of the organic-inorganic hybrid materials is increased by adding another polymer solution with higher viscosity.

Organic-inorganic hybrid material, hybrid film derived therefrom, and method for preparing the same

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


Based on counts detected by a photon counting detector, a characteristic of X-ray attenuation amounts μt is acquired for each X-ray energy bin. This characteristic is defined by a plurality of mutually different known thicknesses t and linear attenuation coefficients in the X-ray transmission direction. This substance is composed of a material which is included in an object and which is the same in type as the object or which can be regarded as being similar to the object in terms of the effective atomic number. Correcting data for replacing the characteristic of the X-ray attenuation amounts μt by a linear target characteristic are calculated. The linear target characteristic is set to pass through the origin of a two-dimensional coordinate having a lateral axis assigned to thicknesses t and a longitudinal axis assigned to the X-ray attenuation amounts μt. The correcting data are calculated for each X-ray energy bin.

In recent years, inspection using X-ray beams to check the internal state of an object has been widely used in various fields, such as foreign matter inspection of food, baggage inspection, and medical X-ray mammography.
For example, airports, public facilities, or the like use a content inspection that is an inspection of the types and shapes of baggage or mail contents, which is carried out without opening the baggage or mail. It is desired that such a content inspection should find out the presence of foreign matters (for example, metal pieces), if mingled into known types of objects (for example, food such as bread), and specify the types of the foreign matters. In other words, there is a potentially higher need for determining the types and/or shapes of objects (materials) by using X-rays.
For such needs, for example, there is proposed a technique as set forth in a patent publication 1 (JP-A-2010-091483, title of the invention is a "method and apparatus for inspecting foreign matters"). This patent publication 1 is based on an inspection technique called a dual energy technique (or a subtraction technique). This inspection technique uses the fact that two types of X-rays of energy (that is, two types of X-rays having different wavelengths) penetrating a substance arises a difference therebetween in X-ray transmission information. Practically, this inspection technique uses the following processing. First, two types of X-ray images based on lower X-ray energy and higher X-ray energy are made simultaneously, and a difference between the images is calculated. Then, from the resultant image difference, image components of a mingled foreign matter are extracted. The image components are then subjected to threshold processing to detect the foreign matter.
In the patent publication 1, optimum parameters for the difference calculation are set automatically, in addition to performing the foregoing basic process, to detect foreign maters at higher sensitivity. The patent publication 1 suggests use of a detector capable of detecting incidence of X-ray photons, with X-ray photon energy being discriminated. In other words, as a measure to simultaneously obtain two types of X-rays having lower energy and higher energy, the patent publication 1 suggests use of a well-known photon-counting X-ray radiation and detection system.
There is known another inspection method based on the foregoing dual energy technique as described in a non-patent publication 1. This non-patent publication 1 provides a detecting system using a basic configuration for the dual energy technique. With this configuration, an overlap of objects on the conveyance belt is ensured not to be mistakenly taken as foreign matters, so that foreign matters are detected with higher sensitivity.
When using the dual energy technique described in the patent publication 1 and the non-patent publication 1, an object or foreign matters mingled into the object may be detected with sensitivity that is improved to some extent. The term "improved to some extent" means that the detection sensitivity is improved if imaging conditions and/or image processing conditions are narrowed to specific conditions. Thus, detection conducted under such specific conditions limits imaging objects or imaging conditions to which the technique is applied, that is, narrows the conditions for detecting foreign matters.
Specifically, the dual energy technique described in these publications offers accuracy that is so low as not to reflect the difference in attenuation degree of the X-ray photon energy and materials, and gives little consideration to the electric noise or nonlinear characteristics of X-ray detection circuits, which may be unignorable problems. Accordingly, it is mostly difficult to detect the types or natures of foreign matters. This means that it is difficult to identify the types or natures of the materials the X-rays penetrate.
A patent publication 2 offers a proposal for eliminating such inconveniences. This proposal is based on a method of using an image acquired such as from a tomography apparatus which makes use of laminography. Using the acquired image, the type of the material contained in an object is easily identified with good accuracy. Specifically, in the method, the X-ray energy is discriminated into a plurality of energy regions to count photons in the regions, followed by reconstituting the image of the object using the counts. Then, based on the reconstituted image, the material that is present in a portion of interest in the object is identified. With this method, a reference image is produced based on the counts obtained from an image of the material where the thickness and the density are uniform. Then, the pixel value of the object image is divided by the pixel value of the reference image, for each pixel, to standardize the pixel value of the object image. Based on the standardized pixel values, a scatter diagram is prepared. In the scatter diagram, one axis of the two dimension is designated with absorption information, and the other axis thereof is designated with beam-hardening information of the X-rays. Identification information is acquired from the scatter diagram to identify the type of the material present in the imaged portion of the object.

X-ray apparatus, data processing apparatus and data processing method


Methods and apparatus are provided for suspending communications with a hard disk drive in order to transfer data relating to the hard disk drive between the host and an intermediate communications gateway, thereby isolating the hard disk drive from the bus while this data is transferred. The data transferred between the host and the intermediate communications gateway may include control signals transferred from the host to the intermediate communications gateway and status signals transferred from the intermediate communications gateway to the host. In one embodiment, normal communications with an IDE hard disk drive are suspended upon the assertion of the reset line of the AT bus. As such, the state of the reset line may be controlled such that the reset line is no longer merely utilized as a system reset but, instead, is used to define the state of communications between the host and the hard disk drive.

A variety of intelligent hard disk drives have been developed, such as intelligent drive electronics (IDE) hard disk drives, small computer systems interface (SCSI) hard disk drives and fiber channel (FC) hard disk drives. In addition to the hard disk and associated drive electronics, an intelligent hard disk drive includes an integral controller designed specifically for the particular type of hard disk drive in order to control its operation.
In a computer, such as a personal computer, a hard disk drive is connected to the central processing unit by means of the system bus. In this regard, conventional computer architectures have a motherboard that includes a central processing unit and the system bus to which various peripherals, including a hard disk drive, are connected. To support the connection of the various peripherals, including a hard disk drive, to the system bus, a motherboard also generally includes a number of bus slots. A hard disk drive is typically connected to a respective bus slot by means of another bus designed specifically to support communications between the system bus and the hard disk drive. With respect to an IDE hard disk drive, for example, the IDE hard disk drive is connected to the respective bus slot by means of an advanced technology (AT) bus. An AT bus is a flat cable having 40 lines, each designed to support communication of a predetermined type of signal. For example, an AT bus includes a number of address lines, data lines, chip select lines, a reset line and others.
Although an intelligent hard disk drive includes an integral controller, most computers also include another controller disposed between the system bus and the bus extending to the hard disk drive for directing communications with the hard disk drive. In one embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, this controller is mounted upon the motherboard 10 so as to be in communication with both the system bus and the hard disk drive 12. For example, a portion of the bus that extends to the hard disk drive may extend from the controller to a connector 14 that is also mounted upon the motherboard. This bus may be completed by an appropriate cable 16 having connectors on the opposed ends for connection, at a first end, with the connector mounted upon the motherboard and, at the other end, to a connector carried by the hard disk drive. As such, communication between the hard disk drive, the central processing unit and other components of the computer system is supported by the transfer of signals between the controller onboard the motherboard and the hard disk drive.
In other configurations such as that depicted in FIG. 2, the controller is not mounted upon the motherboard 10, but is, instead, mounted upon a separate printed circuit board, termed the host controller board 18, designed to connect, typically by means of an edge connector, with one of the bus slots so as to communicate with the system bus. The host controller board includes the controller as well as related electronics. As described above in conjunction with the configuration in which the controller is mounted upon the motherboard, a portion of the bus that extends to the hard disk drive is also carried by this additional board and extends from the controller to a connector 20 mounted upon the host controller board. Again, a cable 16 having appropriate connectors on the opposed ends is mated at one end to the connector carried by the host controller board and, at the other end, to a connector carried by the hard disk drive 12 in order to establish communications therebetween. In either configuration in which the controller is mounted upon the motherboard or the host controller board, the controller and its associated electronics are typically termed the host and are designed to communicate directly with the hard disk drive as shown schematically in FIG. 3.
Of the intelligent hard disk drives, SCSI hard disk drives and FC hard disk drives are designed and specified to be hot swappable. In this regard, SCSI and FC hard disk drives may be removed, inserted and/or exchanged while the computer is operating and power is supplied to the various peripherals, including other disk drives. In contrast, IDE hard disk drives have not traditionally been hot swappable. Instead, IDE hard disk drives have historically only been able to be removed, inserted or otherwise exchanged while the computer was shut down or powered off. In addition, SCSI and FC hard disk drives are designed to provide various status signals indicative of, among other things, the operational state of the hard disk drive to the host. Unfortunately, IDE hard disk drives do not include provisions for transmitting similar status signals to the host.
For various reasons, SCSI hard disk drives are typically utilized by mid-range and high-end computers and FC hard disk drives are used nearly exclusively in high-end computers. In contrast, IDE hard disk drives are not generally included in higher-end systems. Even though IDE hard disk drives are traditionally utilized in low-end systems, it would still be advantageous for the IDE hard disk drives to be hot swappable and to be capable of providing status or other signals to the host.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for suspending communication with a hard disk drive in order to transfer data relating to the hard disk drive


A balanced thrust vectoring system for an aircraft designed to provide even weight distribution, simple thrust vectoring, and hover stability. The system includes a main diverter that connects to a jet output port. Located inside the diverter is a 4 way splitter that divides the diverter into four equal volumes. Attached to the diverter and adjacent to the two upper volumes are two front upward extending ducts. Attached to the diverter and adjacent to the two lower volumes are two rear upward extending ducts. Each duct includes an upper bend that and diagonally aligned nozzle opening. Each duct has only two bends which help vector the exhaust downward in an efficient manner. The diameter of each duct is consistent to allow their entire length to maximize air flow.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to aircraft thrust diffusers, and more particularly to thrust diffusers that evenly distribute the flow of expelled air on opposite sides of the outlet's axis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Thrust vectoring is used in VTOL and STOL aircraft to redirect thrust from a main engine that is parallel to the aircraft's longitudinal axis to a downward direction to vertically lift the aircraft. In order to lift the aircraft vertically, the direction of thrust must be maintained through the aircraft's center of gravity. This is normally performed by using gimballed exhaust nozzles that rotate from a horizontal position to produce forward thrust and a vertical position to produce vertical lift. The gimballed exhaust nozzles must also swivel from side-to-side so that the direction of thrust is always directed through an axis that extends through the aircraft's center of gravity.
One drawback, which is addressed with the thrust vectoring system disclosed herein is that the gimballed exhaust nozzle systems currently used are relatively complex and do not adequately stabilize the aircraft when vertically lifting the aircraft or when performing hovering maneuvers.

Aircraft engine balanced thrust vectoring system


A layer direction determining method for a multilayer electronic component to accurately determine the layer direction of conductor layers in the multilayer electronic component.

Some electronic components, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), have polarities. The polarities of such electronic components are required to be aligned in a certain direction for inspection or mounting of the electronic components.
In order to solve the above challenge, a disclosure of an alignment apparatus for electronic components has been hitherto disclosed (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-332113). This alignment apparatus takes pictures of the appearances of electronic components that move along a conveying path from a container with a camera to determine the polarity directions of the electronic components on the basis of polarity display, which represents an appearance feature. The alignment apparatus excludes the electronic components having polarity directions different from a certain direction from the conveying path and returns the electronic components in the container to align the polarities of the electronic components in the certain direction.

Method for determining layer direction of conductor layers in a multilayer electronic component


Circuitry for detecting and recording latches in read bias current may include circuitry for generating a reference voltage, a pair of current to voltage converters to convert the bias and reference currents to voltage signals, a comparator to compare those two voltages, a latch to latch the compared signal, and a counter/register to count and store the number of glitches that have been detected. It may be possible to read from the register the number of detected glitches to be used in diagnosing faults in the disk drive system. In addition, it may be possible to provide a reset input to the register to zero the counter.

In hard disk drives, data is written to and read from magnetic recording media, herein called disks. Typically, one or more disks having a thin film of magnetic material coated thereon are rotatably mounted on a spindle. A read/write head mounted on an actuator arm is positioned in close proximity to the disk surface to write data to and read data from the disk surface.
During operation of the disk drive, the actuator arm moves the read/write head to the desired radial position on the surface of the rotating disk where the read/write head electromagnetically writes data to the disk and senses magnetic field signal changes to read data from the disk. Usually, the read/write head is integrally mounted in a carrier or support referred to as a slider. The slider generally serves to mechanically support the read/write head and any electrical connections between the read/write head and the disk drive. The slider is aerodynamically shaped, which allows it to fly over and maintain a uniform distance from the surface of the rotating disk. Typically, the read/write head includes a magnetoresistive read element to read recorded data from the disk and an inductive write element to write the data to the disk.
Various types of magnetoresistive sensor technology for read elements have been developed (AMR, GMR, TuMR, for example). For each of these, a bias current is directed through a magnetoresistive sensing layer. The magnetic field stored in the adjacent disk affects the resistance of this sensing layer. With a read bias current of a known magnitude, the voltage drop across the read sensor can be measured and the resistance calculated therefrom. In this manner, the sensor can detect the changing magnetic fields of each recorded bit on the adjacent spinning magnetic disk. Over the past five years or so, with each new generation of disk drive systems having smaller spacing between the head and disk, smaller spacing between adjacent tracks on the disk, and smaller spacing between adjacent bits on a given track on the disk, more sensitive read sensors are being employed.
Unfortunately, these more-sensitive read sensors occasionally experience glitches or current spikes of relatively high magnitude in the bias current. These glitches can occur for a variety of reasons, including electrostatic discharge (ESD) shock, sparks from contact between the head and the disk, unintentional injection of current into the head, cross-talk between the read sensor and write head, and other factors. Such glitches may result in degradation, damage, or failure of the read head.
These glitches can occur while reading data or while not reading data, during transitions between various operational modes, or in various different operational conditions. Glitches may occur in heads produced by one head manufacturer using a given fabrication process while not occurring in heads of identical design using another fabrication process.
Disk drive manufacturers may typically perform a failure analysis of the disk drive system to determine why certain manufactured heads failed. It is very difficult to replicate or detect the glitch when analyzing the disk drive system in the laboratory, for a variety of reasons.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

Technique for recording bias current glitches in magnetoresistive heads


A highly productive, continuous method for the production of room-temperature-curable organopolysiloxane compositions is obtained by continuously feeding 100 parts by weight of a diorganopolysiloxane with a viscosity at 25.degree. C. of 0.1 to 500 Pa.s that contains at least 2 silicon-bonded hydroxyl groups or hydrolyzable groups in each molecule; 1 to 30 parts by weight of an organosilane that contains at least 2 silicon-bonded hydrolyzable groups in each molecule, or the partial hydrolysis condensate thereof; 1 to 200 parts by weight of an inorganic filler in powder form, and 0 to 10 parts by weight of a cure-accelerating catalyst into a continuous mixing apparatus having starting material feed openings installed at its top, a discharge opening installed at its bottom, and a rotating disk installed within a casing and are therein mixed by the rotation of the said rotating disk, and in that the resulting mixture is thereafter continuously introduced into a vacuum mechanism- equipped degassing apparatus in which the water fraction present in the said mixture is removed under reduced pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for the continuous production of room-temperature-curable organopolysiloxane compositions that are cured at ambient temperatures by moisture present in air.
2. Prior Art and Problems Therein
Room-temperature-curable organopolysiloxane compositions that are cured by atmospheric moisture at ambient temperature into rubbery elastomers are already well known. They have found wide application as sealants, commercial adhesives, potting agents, mold-making materials, and so forth, in a number of fields, such as construction, machinery, and electrical applications. Room-temperature-curable organopolysiloxane compositions are typically produced by mixing diorganopolysiloxane having at least 2 silicon-bonded hydroxyl groups in each molecule, organosilane having at least 2 silicon-bonded hydrolyzable groups in each molecule, and inorganic filler powder using a mixing means having a stirring or agitating action, such as a Henschel mixer or kneader mixer. However, these production methods suffer from a poor productivity, and the appearance has therefore been desired of a highly productive method for producing room-temperature-curable organopolysiloxane compositions.

Method for the continuous production of room-temperature-curable organopolysiloxane compositions


Methods and compositions for the production of non-meat consumable products are described herein. A meat substitute is described which is constructed from a muscle analog, a fat analog, and a connective tissue analog.

Animal farming has a profound negative environmental impact. Currently it is estimated that 30% of Earth's land surface is dedicated to animal farming and that livestock account for 20% of total terrestrial animal biomass. Due to this massive scale, animal farming accounts for more than 18% of net greenhouse gas emissions. Animal farming may be the largest human source of water pollution, and animal farming is by far the world's largest threat to biodiversity. It has been estimated that if the world's human population could shift from a meat containing diet to a diet free of animal products, 26% of Earth's land surface would be freed for other uses. Furthermore the shift to a vegetarian diet would massively reduce water and energy consumption.
The consumption of meat has a profound negative impact on human health. The health benefits of a vegetarian diet are well established. If the human population would shift to a more vegetarian diet, there would be a decrease in health care costs.
Hunger is a worldwide problem, yet the world's 4 major commodity crops (soybeans, maize, wheat, and rice) already supply more than 100% of the human population's requirements for calories and protein, including every essential amino acid.
Plant based meat substitutes have largely failed to cause a shift to a vegetarian diet. The current state of the art for meat substitute compositions involves the extrusion of soy/grain mixture, resulting in products which largely fail to replicate the experience of cooking and eating meat. Common limitations of these products are a texture and mouthfeel that are more homogenous than that of equivalent meat products. Furthermore, as the products must largely be sold pre-cooked, with artificial flavors and aromas built in, they fail to replicate aromas, flavors, and other key features associated with cooking meat. As a result, these products appeal mainly to a limited consumer base that is already committed to vegetarianism/veganism, but have failed to appeal to the larger consumer segment accustomed to eating meat.
Food is any substance that is either eaten or drunk by any animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth.
Food typically has its origin in a photosynthetic organism, typically from plants. Some food is obtained directly from plants; but even animals that are used as food sources are raised by feeding them food derived from plants. Edible fungi and bacteria are used to transform materials from plants or animals into other food products, mushrooms, bread, yogurt and the like.
In most cases, the plant or animal is fractionated into a variety of different portions, depending upon the purpose of the food. Often, certain portions of the plant, such as the seeds or fruits, are more highly prized by humans than others and these are selected for human consumption whilst other less desirable portions, such as the stalks of grasses, are typically used for feeding animals.
Animals are typically butchered into smaller cuts of meat with specific flavor and handling properties before consumption.
While many foods can be eaten raw, many also undergo some form of preparation for reasons of safety, palatability, texture, or flavor. At the simplest level, this may involve washing, cutting, trimming, or adding other foods or ingredients. It may also involve mixing, heating or cooling or fermentation and individual foods may be combined with other food products to achieve the desired mix of properties.
In recent years, attempts have been made to bring scientific rigor to the process of food preparation, under the fields of food science and molecular gastronomy. Food science broadly studies the safety, microbiology, preservation, chemistry, engineering and physics of food preparation, whereas molecular gastronomy focuses on the use of scientific tools such as liquid nitrogen, emulsifying agents such as soy lecithin and gelling agents such as calcium alginates to transform food products into unexpected forms.
However, the raw material is typically an entire organism (plant or animal) or an isolated tissue such as a steak, the fruiting body of a fungus, or the seed of a plant. In some cases, the isolated tissue is modified before food preparation, such as making flour or isolating oils and bulk proteins from seeds.
Despite that fact that all of these items comprise a mixture of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, the physical arrangement of these materials in the original plant or animal determines the use to which the plant or animal tissue will be put. Disclosed herein are improved methods and composition for the production of consumables.

Methods and compositions for consumables


Apparatus and method to minimize power usage by electronic devices. In a particular disclosed example, the battery power of a remote handset is reduced by extending the sniff period of a cordless telephone when the remote handset is remote from its base unit and the user is not likely to use the cordless telephone (e.g., when away from the house or when asleep). A low power mode module causes the electronic device, e.g., the remote handset of a cordless telephone, to remain in an extended low power STANDBY mode, or to extends the period of the periodic transition to a receive only STANDBY mode to check status registers at the base unit, at appropriate times. In one embodiment, a low power mode table contains entries defining periods of time during which the remote handset may transition between the low power STANDBY mode and the receive only STANDBY mode. The remote handset transitions to a fully powered transmit/receive (TDD) ON mode, e.g., in response to an appropriate status condition, or in response to the activation of a particular button or sequence of buttons at the remote handset. The extended STANDBY mode may alternatively be activated in response to input from an external device such as a home security system indicating that the user of the cordless telephone is not willing or able to answering any incoming telephone calls. The extended STANDBY mode may also be entered upon determination by the cordless telephone that the telephone line is already in use by another extension (thereby rendering unlikely any receipt of a ring signal condition from the base unit).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electronic devices, such as a cordless telephone. More particularly, it relates to any electronic device which reduces standby power to minimize power usage based on selective criteria.
2. Background of Related Art
A modern home typically contains many electronic devices, e.g., home entertainment equipment such as televisions, video cassette recorders (VCRs), digital video disk (DVD) players, compact disk (CD) players, cordless telephones, etc.
As a particular example for the purpose of explanation, a modern home may contain a cordless telephone. A cordless telephone typically includes a cordless, remote handset, and an associated base unit or station. Typically, the base unit is powered by conventional AC current from a household electrical outlet and the remote handset operates using battery power. To recharge the battery in the remote handset, the remote handset is typically inserted into a cradle in the base station and recharging power (e.g., trickle power) is applied to the battery of the remote handset using the AC current of the base unit. Most users of cordless telephones, however, desire to keep the remote handset away from the base unit for extended periods of time, e.g., so that they may carry the remote handset with them as they move about their residence or other locale.
When removed from the base unit, it is typically desirable for the user to have the remote handset ring as soon as possible or feasible after a ring signal is detected on the telephone line by the base unit. To accomplish this, the remote handset is required to be in an ON mode having continuous communication with the base unit. In this way, the remote handset can detect and receive the incoming ring signal as soon as it is first transmitted by the base unit.
Another technique to conserve some battery power and thereby have the potential to extend the operational life of the remote handset between charges is to periodically power-down and power-up the remote handset. In this STANDBY mode, the remote handset is periodically powered-up at desired intervals to receive a status update from the base unit, then if not required to perform a particular task the remote handset will power back down. In this way, the remote handset will periodically enter the low power STANDBY mode and turn on the RF front end in a receive only mode to check if, e.g., an incoming call is being received by the base unit. If, e.g., an incoming ring signal is detected in the status update, the remote handset will fully power up and enter an ON mode. The remote handset will also enter the ON mode in response to the activation of a button or appropriate sequence of buttons on the remote handset or base unit.
Thus, in the typical STANDBY mode, a remote handset must periodically communicate with the base unit, e.g. approximately every one (1) second or so, to receive a ring signal relating to an incoming telephone call, at least within a reasonable proximity to when the ring signal was originally detected on the telephone line into the base unit. Moreover, the periodic communication helps the remote handset to maintain an aligned communication link with the base unit.
Much of the battery power in a typical remote handset is utilized by a radio frequency (RF) front end. The RF front end provides the radio communications between the base unit and the remote handset When the remote handset is in its ON mode, the RF front end will require a significant power drain from the battery in the remote handset, causing perhaps the shortest possible operational life between charges. Moreover, even though the STANDBY mode has the potential to extend the operational life of the remote handset significantly, the periodic powering of the RF front end still utilizes a significant amount of battery power.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional single handset, cordless telephone capable of answering an incoming call on a telephone line.
In particular, in FIG. 1, a cordless telephone 11 has a base unit 13 connected to a telephone company central office 15 via a telephone line 17. The base unit 13 is connected to a conventional household AC power outlet 19 for providing power to the base unit 13.
The base unit 13 further includes a base unit antenna 21 for communication with a remote handset antenna 23 on a remote handset 25. The remote handset 25 includes a battery 27 for providing power to the remote handset 25. The battery 27 is rechargeable by the conventional household AC power outlet 19 by placing the remote handset 25, e.g., into an appropriate cradle in the base unit 13.
When a ring signal is detected by the base unit 13 over the telephone line 17, the ring signal status is transmitted over the base unit antenna 21 to the handset antenna 23 for detection by the remote handset 25 to cause the remote handset 25 to ring and thereby indicate the presence of an incoming telephone call to the user.
In an ON mode, the remote handset 25 is in continuous communication with the base unit 13, e.g., actively transmitting and/or receiving data and/or control information with the base unit 13. In a STANDBY mode, the communications are periodic and receive only. In an OFF mode, the remote handset 25 is not in communications with the base unit 13 and is not able to detect and/or receive a ring signal from the base unit 13.
In any event, the user must recharge the battery 27 in the remote handset 25 by returning the remote handset 25 to the cradle in the base unit 13 to allow the battery 27 to be recharged by the AC power from the outlet 19. This recharging requirement necessarily requires connection of the remote handset to the base unit, and thus deprives the user of much of the flexibility and utility of a cordless telephone, at least while it is recharging.
Accordingly, there exists a need for apparatus and techniques for minimizing power usage of home electronic equipment such as a cordless telephone, to either minimize power usage in general and, for battery powered devices, to maximize the operational time between charges.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a cordless telephone comprises a base station, a remote handset associated with and supported by the base station, and a low power mode module within the remote handset. The low power mode module causes the remote handset to maintain a standby condition during at least one predetermined time period.
A method to reduce battery power usage in a remote handset of a cordless telephone when the remote handset is remote from its base unit in accordance with another aspect of the present invention comprises maintaining the remote handset in a standby mode for an extended period of time during an occurrence of a predetermined time period.

Extended power savings for electronic devices