A light coupling assembly for use in providing light for illuminating an area of a patient's anatomy during the use of a medical instrument such as, for example, a laryngoscope is disclosed herein. The light coupling assembly includes a first light conveyance member having an input end for receiving light and an output end cooperating with the instrument in a way which illuminates the area with the light. A second light conveyance member includes an input end and an output end. The input end of the second member is positioned in optical communication with a source of light which also generates heat. A coupling arrangement is connected with the first and second members for positioning the input end of the first member in thermally isolated optical communication with the output end of the second member such that light from the first member is initially coupled to the second member in a way which prevents heat produced by the light source from damaging the first member. A system utilizing the light coupling assembly as one of its components and an associated method are also disclosed. The system provides for remote viewing of the illuminated anatomy of the patient on a monitor.

The present invention relates generally to a light coupling assembly for use with medical instruments. More particularly, it relates to a light coupling assembly and associated system specifically configured to receive light from a remote source of light, which also generates heat, and to then direct this light to an instrument such as, for example, an endoscope such as a laryngoscope, through a fiber-optic cable in a way which prevents heat generated by the light source from damaging the fiber-optic cable.
Systems including a light source and associated equipment for coupling light from a light source to a medical instrument are known in the art. Typically, such systems utilize glass fiber-optic cable to couple the source light to the instrument and, thereafter, illuminate a particular area of a patient's anatomy. A medical practitioner can then view the illuminated area during a particular procedure by using a viewing arrangement such as a fiber-optic cable with an attached eyepiece. Such a prior art viewing arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,761, issued to the inventor of the present invention, in association with a laryngoscope so that an image of the illuminated area is provided at the eyepiece. In using such past systems, however, the subject anatomical area is generally rather dimly illuminated because relatively weak light sources are used, as these sources are typically powered by batteries housed, for example, in the handle of the instrument. More recently, external light sources have been provided. These sources typically couple light from a remote light source directly into a glass fiber-optic cable. However, illumination levels have not been dramatically improved by such external light sources. The relatively low light levels have been acceptable only because they are compensated for by the relatively sensitive eye of the practitioner directly viewing the image at the eyepiece.
Recent advances in the field of video imagery, including the availability of compact low cost CCD video cameras, have resulted in a fundamental change in the way practitioners may perform such procedures. It is now highly possible to directly couple a video camera to an eyepiece or other such arrangement whereby to allow a practitioner to view a procedure on a video monitor. This technique is advantageous for a number of reasons. For one, such a system is extremely useful in an instructional environment for training new practitioners. Trainees may be present for observation as the procedure is being performed or, alternatively, the procedure may be recorded for later viewing in a classroom environment. Additionally, a permanent video record of the procedure may prove to be useful for insurance and other purposes.
Unfortunately, the use of even the latest video camera requires relatively bright illumination of the patient's anatomy. It would seem that the simple expedient of increasing the brightness of the light source in the above described external source would resolve this problem. However, the light source also generates heat and a significantly brighter light source, which is suitable for use with a video camera, produces much more heat than former light sources which were used in conjunction with direct viewing by the human eye. In fact, the heat produced is increased to a level at which direct exposure damages plastic fiber-optic cables of this type which are desirable for use in this application. In prior art systems utilizing external light sources, such cables are positioned in close proximity with the light source to initially receive light for transmission to the instrument. This type of arrangement is not suitable for use with light sources contemplated for use with state of the art video viewing arrangements since the plastic fiber optic cable will ultimately be damaged by the generated heat of the light source. Substitution of other heat resistant light conductive materials such as, for example, glass or quartz in place of the plastic fiber-optic cable is also problematic. These alternate materials, while being less sensitive to heat, are also characterized by high internal light transmission losses. In addition, they are extremely expensive and have a tendency to break due to their multiple tiny fiber construction. Therefore, the use of these alternate materials, as a direct substitute for plastic fiber-optic cable, is self-defeating in that transmission losses are high enough that it becomes difficult to achieve acceptable illumination levels, without using very large composite bundles, and even when using the much brighter light sources contemplated by the present invention. It should be added that composite bundles have dead space between the fibers which significantly decrease their functional cross-section. This is not true of solid plastic fibers.
The present invention resolves the foregoing difficulties by providing a highly advantageous light coupling assembly which is adapted for use with an intense, heat producing light source and which couples this intense light to a low loss fiber-optic cable in a hybrid light path without subjecting the latter to damaging levels of heat produced by the light source; the cable can be made of a heat sensitive material, such as plastic, rendering the cable both light weight and disposable.

Light coupling assembly for use in a medical instrument, system and method


A semiconductor package substrate is provided having a plurality of bonding pads on at least one surface thereof and covered by a conductive film. A photoresist layer formed over the conductive film has a plurality of first openings for exposing portions of the conductive film corresponding to the bonding pads. The exposed portions of the conductive film is removed to expose the bonding pads respectively via the first openings. The exposed bonding pads are plated with a metal layer respectively. Then, the photoresist layer and the remainder of the conductive film covered by the photoresist layer are removed. A solder mask having a plurality of second openings may be formed on the surface of the substrate, and allows the plated metal layer on the bonding pads respectively to be exposed via the second openings.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a semiconductor package substrate having a plurality of bonding pads with a plated layer thereon, and a process of manufacturing the substrate. More particularly, the invention relates to a semiconductor package substrate in which a Ni/Au plated layer is formed on an exposed surface of a bonding pad, and a process of forming the Ni/Au plated layer on the exposed surface of the bonding pad of the semiconductor package substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor package manufacturers have confronted great challenges to satisfy the requirements of product size reduction. A plurality of conductive traces, made of copper, for example, are formed on a substrate of a semiconductor package, and respectively extend to a plurality of bonding pads for signal and electrical current transmission. A Ni/Au layer is usually formed over the exposed surface of each bonding pad to improve electrical connection between gold wires, bumps or solder balls, chips or printed circuit board elements, and to further prevent oxidation of the bonding pads.
The bonding pads are the electrical contacts, for example, bump pads or presolder pads used to electrically connect a flip-chip package substrate to the chip, or a ball pad used to electrically connect the package substrate to the printed circuit board. A Ni/Au layer is usually formed over exposed surfaces of the bonding pads to prevent the bonding pads, which are usually made of copper, from oxidizing in the atmosphere.
Therefore, electrical connection of the bumps, presolder or solder balls to chips or the printed circuit board is improved.
In the prior art, the process of forming the Ni/Au layer over the bonding pads includes either chemically forming Ni/Au or electroplating Ni/Au. The chemical formation of a Ni/Au layer includes a non-electrical process such as the Nickel/Immersion Gold (EN/IG) process, which comprises electroless plating of the substrate in a Nickel bath to form a nickel layer on the bonding pad and immersion of the substrate in a gold bath to deposit a gold layer on the nickel layer. This process usually has disadvantages such as poor solderability and insufficient soldering strength, and further may form black pads and soldering with non-uniform-thickness. Soldering with non-uniform-thickness occurs when the nickel bath varies between temperature cycles. Even if the optimal operating conditions have been satisfied, the Gold layer often does not fully cover the nickel layer and thus the underlying copper layer may be externally exposed. Black pads are typically formed when the substrate is dipped in a gold bath while excessive oxidation is occurring. Specifically, gold atoms irregularly deposit on the nickel surface, resulting in a porous structure of a gold plated layer that, owing to a chemical battery effect on the underlying Nickel layer, causes continuous oxidation and aging of the underlying nickel layer. Problems such as non-uniform thickness and black pads deteriorate the connection and bonding of gold wires, solder bumps, presolder or solder balls to the bonding pads. Therefore, the reliability of the semiconductor package is reduced.
In order to avoid the above problems of chemical formation of the Nickel/Gold layer, another approach is to use the electroplating method. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional process forms a plurality of plating wires 11 respectively on a plurality of bonding pads 10 of a semiconductor package substrate 1. A Ni/Au layer 12 is plated on the bonding pads 10 by means of the plating wires 11. However, the plating wires 11 undesirably occupy a portion of the routing area of the substrate 1, and further may generate noise due to an antenna effect when used at high frequency.
In order to solve the above problems, gold pattern plating has been proposed in the art. Referring to FIG. 2A, a conductive layer 21 is formed on either side of a substrate 2, being used to carry a semiconductor chip. A plurality of plated through holes (PTH) or blind vias (not shown) are formed through the substrate 2. A photoresist layer 22 is formed to cover a portion of the conductive layer 21 so that traces can be formed. The conductive layer serves as a path for electrical current. The conductive layer 21 not covered by the photoresist layer 22 is plated with a Ni/Au layer 23, as shown in FIG. 2B. Then, the photoresist layer 22 is removed, leaving the Ni/Au layer 23, as shown in FIG. 2C. The conductive layer 21 is patterned to form a trace layer 24 by using the Ni/Au layer 23 as an etching mask. Thereby, an exposed surface of the trace layer 24 is plated with a Ni/Au layer 23, as shown in FIG. 2D.
Although plating wires are not required in this case, the Ni/Au layer is necessary to form the whole trace layer over the bonding pads and the trace layer of the substrate. Since the material cost of the Ni/Au layer is expensive, material wastage of the Ni/Au layer increase the total production cost. Also, the solder mask subsequently formed to cover the substrate is not very compatible with the Ni/Au layer, which further reduces the reliability.
Therefore, there is a need for a simple process of manufacturing a semiconductor package substrate with a reduced cost which can avoid the problems of the prior art such as non-uniform thickness and black pads.

Semiconductor package substrate having bonding pads with plated layer thereon and process of manufacturing the same

Phoenix Precision Technology Corporation


During the formation of metallization layers of sophisticated semiconductor devices, the damaging of sensitive dielectric materials, such as ULK materials, may be significantly reduced during a CMP process by applying a compressive stress level. This may be accomplished, in some illustrative embodiments, by forming a compressively stressed cap layer on the ULK material, thereby suppressing the propagation of micro cracks into the ULK material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of fabricating semiconductor devices, and, more particularly, to metallization systems including low-k dielectric materials.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today's global market forces manufacturers of mass products to offer high quality products at a low price. It is thus important to improve yield and process efficiency to minimize production costs. This holds especially true in the field of semiconductor fabrication, since, here, it is essential to combine cutting-edge technology with volume production techniques. One important aspect in realizing the above strategy is seen in continuously improving device quality with respect to performance and reliability, while also enhancing the diversity of functions of semiconductor devices. These advances are typically associated with a reduction of the dimensions of the individual circuit elements, such as transistors and the like. Due to the continuous shrinkage of critical feature sizes, at least in some stages of the overall manufacturing process, frequently, new materials may have to be introduced to adapt device characteristics to the reduced feature sizes. One prominent example in this respect is the fabrication of sophisticated metallization systems of semiconductor devices in which advanced metal materials, such as copper, copper alloys and the like, are used in combination with low-k dielectric materials, which are to be understood as dielectric materials having a dielectric constant of approximately 3.0 and significantly less, in which case these materials may also be referred to as ultra low-k dielectrics (ULK). By using highly conductive metals, such as copper, the reduced cross-sectional area of metal lines and vias may at least be partially compensated for by the increased conductivity of copper compared to, for instance, aluminum, which has been the metal of choice over the last decades, even for sophisticated integrated devices.
On the other hand, the introduction of copper into semiconductor manufacturing strategies may be associated with a plurality of problems, such as sensitivity of exposed copper surfaces with respect to reactive components, such as oxygen, fluorine and the like, the increased diffusion activity of copper in a plurality of materials typically used in semi-conductor devices, such as silicon, silicon dioxide, a plurality of low-k dielectric materials and the like, copper's characteristic of generating substantially no volatile byproducts on the basis of typically used plasma enhanced etch processes, and the like. For these reasons, sophisticated inlaid or damascene process techniques have been developed in which typically the dielectric material may have to be patterned first in order to create trenches and via openings, which may then be coated by an appropriate barrier material, followed by the deposition of the copper material. Consequently, a plurality of highly complex processes, such as the deposition of sophisticated material stacks for forming the interlayer dielectric material including low-k dielectrics, patterning the dielectric material, providing appropriate barrier and seed materials, filling in the copper material, removing any excess material and the like, may be required for forming sophisticated metallization systems, wherein the mutual interactions of these processes may be difficult to assess, in particular, as material compositions and process strategies may frequently change in view of further enhancing overall performance of the semiconductor devices.
For example, the continuous shrinkage of the critical dimensions may also require reduced dimensions of metal lines and vias formed in the metallization system of sophisticated semiconductor devices which may lead to closely spaced metal lines, which in turn may result in increased RC (resistive capacitive) time constants. These parasitic RC time constants may result in significant signal propagation delay, thereby limiting overall performance of the semiconductor device, although highly scaled transistor elements may be used in the device level. For this reason, the parasitic RC time constants may be reduced by using highly conductive metals, such as copper, in combination with dielectric materials of very reduced permittivity, also referred to as ULK materials, as previously discussed. On the other hand, these materials may exhibit significant reduced mechanical and chemical stability, for instance when exposed to the various reactive etch atmospheres and mechanical stress, for instance during etch processes, resist removal, the removal of excess metal by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and the like.
For example, the reduced mechanical stability of the low-k dielectric material, in particular when ULK materials are considered, may result in increased damage during the CMP process, which may typically require the provision of an additional cap layer, which may be removed during the chemical mechanical polishing process. However, in sophisticated applications, a high degree of damaging may still be observed, as will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1a-1c.
FIG. 1a schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device 100 at a manufacturing stage in which a metallization system is to be formed on the basis of sensitive dielectric materials in combination with highly conductive metals. As illustrated, the semiconductor device 100 comprises a substrate 101 above which may be formed a plurality of device levels, i.e., various levels in which circuit elements and other device features may be formed. For example, the substrate 101 may have incorporated therein an appropriate semiconductor layer in and above which circuit elements, such as transistors and the like, may be formed in accordance with design rules of the device 100. For instance, in complex semiconductor devices formed on the basis of CMOS technology, transistors having a gate length of 50 nm and less may be provided in the device level. Furthermore, any appropriate contact structure connecting to the circuit elements may be provided so as to act as an interface between the circuit elements and a metallization system 120 of the semiconductor device 100. For convenience, any such contact structures are not shown in FIG. 1a. The metallization system 120 may comprise a plurality of metallization layers 110 and 130, wherein the number of metallization layers in the system 120 may depend on the overall complexity of the semiconductor device 100. For example, the metallization layer 110 comprises an appropriate dielectric material 111, such as a low-k dielectric material, whose dielectric constant may be 3.0 or significantly less, such as 2.0, when ULK materials are considered. It should be appreciated that the dielectric material 111 may comprise different material compositions, depending on the overall device requirements. Furthermore, one or more metal lines 112 may be formed in the dielectric material 111 and may represent respective metal lines or any other metal regions as required according to the overall circuit layout of the device 100. The metal line 112 may comprise a conductive barrier material 112A, which may act as an interface between a highly conductive metal 112B, such as copper, copper alloy and the like, and the dielectric material 111. Hence, the conductive barrier material 112A may suppress any diffusion of reactive components, such as oxygen, fluorine and the like, to the copper-based metal 112B in order to suppress any unwanted chemical reaction, while on the other hand out-diffusion of copper atoms into the surrounding dielectric material 111 may also be suppressed by the barrier material 112A. For example, tantalum nitride, tantalum and the like are well-established barrier materials used in view of maintaining a desired chemical and mechanical integrity of the metal 112B. Moreover, an etch stop layer 113 may be formed on the dielectric material 111 and on the metal line 112, wherein the etch stop layer 113 may, in some approaches, also act as a cap material for confining the metal 112B.
Similarly, the metallization layer 130 may comprise a low-k dielectric material 131, such as a ULK material, when the metallization layer 130 may represent a critical metallization level with respect to parasitic RC time constants. That is, in complex metallization systems, such as the system 120, at least some metallization levels may require a reduced parasitic capacitance between neighboring metal lines, thereby demanding a very low dielectric constant of the dielectric material 131. On the other hand, the reduction of the dielectric constant is typically associated with a reduced density and thus mechanical stability of the dielectric material 131, which may affect the further processing of the device 100. For example, exposure to reactive atmospheres during process steps, such as etching, resist stripping and the like, may cause the creation of a damaged surface area which may result in reliability concerns and non-uniformities during the further processing. Furthermore, the reduced mechanical stability may also lead to increased yield loss during planarization processes, such as CMP, which is conventionally addressed by providing an additional dielectric cap layer 135 which is comprised of a dielectric material of increased stability, such as silicon dioxide and the like, thereby reducing degradation of severe defects during the CMP process to be applied in a later manufacturing stage. Moreover, in the manufacturing stage shown, the metallization layer 130 may further comprise an interconnect structure 132 including a metal line 132L and a via 132V that connects to the metal line 112 of the metallization layer 110. The interconnect structure 132 may also comprise a barrier layer 132A which may have a similar composition to the barrier layer 112A. In the manufacturing stage shown, the interconnect structure 132 may be filled with a conductive metal, such as copper, which may be provided in an amount so as to reliably fill the metal line 132L. Hence, a certain amount of excess material may have to be provided, which may be removed by a CMP process.
The semiconductor device 100 as shown in FIG. 1a may be formed on the basis of well-established process techniques including the formation of any circuit elements, such as transistors and the like, in and above the substrate 101. Thereafter, an appropriate contact structure may be formed using well-established techniques and thereafter the metallization layer 110 may be formed by depositing the dielectric material 111 and patterning the same using well-established lithography and etch techniques. Next, the barrier layer 112A may be formed, followed by the electrochemical deposition of the copper material, an excess material of which may be removed by CMP. It should be appreciated that a corresponding cap material may also be used for forming the metallization layer 110 when the dielectric material 111 may suffer from a reduced mechanical stability. In this case, similar techniques may be used as will be described when referring to the metallization layer 130. Thus, after planarizing the surface topography, the etch stop layer 113 may be formed, for instance comprised of silicon carbide, nitrogen-containing silicon carbide and the like, followed by the deposition of the dielectric material 131 which may include, at least partially, a highly sensitive portion having a reduced dielectric constant. Next, the cap layer 135 may be formed, for instance in the form of silicon dioxide and the like, using well-established thermally activated chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma assisted CVD and the like. Next, an appropriate patterning regime may be used, such as a dual damascene or dual inlaid technique, in which a via opening and a trench opening may be formed in the dielectric material 131 and the cap layer 135 followed by the deposition of the barrier material 132A and the filling in of the copper material. Next, a CMP process 102 may be performed to remove excess material of the copper and the barrier layer 132A. During a CMP process, typically, an appropriate slurry material may be applied to the surface to be polished, which is selected such that a desired chemical reaction may be induced. At the same time, a physical polishing component may be created by relatively moving the surface to be polished with respect to a polishing pad, thereby obtaining a total removal rate that is determined by the characteristics of the slurry material and the parameters of the polishing process, such as down force, speed of the relative motion and the like. Due to the physical component, therefore, certain mechanical stress is exerted to the surface to be polished and thus to the dielectric material 131, wherein the cap layer 135 is provided to provide enhanced mechanical strength.
FIG. 1b schematically illustrates the semiconductor device 100 in a further advanced phase of the CMP process 102. As illustrated, during the removal of the excess copper material and also during the polishing of the cap layer 135, the mechanical stress of the polishing process 102 may result in the creation of micro cracks 135C, which may form in the surface that is in immediate contact with the polishing pad of the corresponding CMP tool. The size and the number of micro cracks 135C may significantly depend on process parameters, such as down force and relative speed, and may therefore require a corresponding adaptation of these CMP parameters, thereby resulting in an overall reduced removal rate. On the other hand, with respect to overall process throughput, a minimum removal rate may be required, thereby also producing a certain degree of defects in the form of the micro cracks 135C. It has been recognized, however, that, due to the provision of the cap layer 135, the micro cracks 135C may frequently be increased during the polishing process 102, thereby deepening the cracks 135C, which may thus extend into the dielectric material 131 (see FIG. 1c) and which may result in reduced reliability during the further processing after the removal of the cap layer 135. For instance, the micro cracks 135C may further propagate into the dielectric material 131 during further manufacturing processes, such as the formation of further metallization layers, which may finally result in an overall reduced mechanical stability, which in turn may result in significant yield losses in a very advanced manufacturing stage due to delamination of metallization layers and the like, or which may result in reduced reliability of the metallization system during operation of the device 100.
The present disclosure is directed to various methods that may avoid, or at least reduce, the effects of one or more of the problems identified above.

Enhancing structural integrity of low-k dielectrics in metallization systems of semiconductor devices by using a crack suppressing material layer


A near-field exposure mask according to an embodiment includes: a silicon substrate; and a near-field light generating unit that is formed on the silicon substrate, the near-field light generating unit being a layer containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of Au, Al, Ag, Cu, Cr, Sb, W, Ni, In, Ge, Sn, Pb, Zn, Pd, and C, or a film stack formed with layers made of some of those materials.

In recent years, there have been increasing demands for devices with higher densities and higher integration degrees in the fields of various electronic devices that require fine processing, such as semiconductor devices. To satisfy those demands, formation of finer patterns is essential. In procedures for manufacturing such semiconductor devices, the photolithography technology plays an important role in the formation of fine patterns.
To increase photolithography resolution, it is necessary to shorten the wavelength of the light source to be used for exposures or increase the numerical aperture of the projector lens. When the numerical aperture is increased, the resolution becomes higher, but the focal depth becomes smaller. As a result, predetermined resolution cannot be achieved with respect to an exposure of a surface having concavities and convexities with a depth equal to or greater than the focal depth. Therefore, the flatness of the substrate needs to be increased. To form even finer patterns, the wavelength λ, of each light source is required to have a shorter wavelength. The wavelength λ, of each light source used for exposures has been shortened from g-ray (436 nm) to i-ray (365 nm). At present, excimer lasers (248 nm, 193 nm) are being mainly used as the light sources. By the photolithography technology, however, the diffraction limit of a light source is the resolution limit. Therefore, even with the use of a 193-nm ArF excimer laser immersion exposure technique, it is difficult to form patterns of 10 nm or smaller in linewidth.
To form even finer patterns, it is necessary to use the X-ray lithography technology or the electron beam lithography technology. By the X-ray lithography technology, the resolution can be made ten or more times as high as the resolution achieved when an exposure is performed with the use of an excimer laser. By the X-ray lithography technology, however, it is difficult to form a mask, and the device costs are high.
By the electron beam lithography technology, formation of patterns on the order of nanometers can be controlled with high precision, and a greater focal depth than that of an optical system can be achieved. The electron beam lithography has the advantage that a pattern can be drawn directly on a wafer without a mask. However, the electron beam lithography has low throughput, and is costly. Therefore, the electron beam lithography is not suited to mass production.
Further, in lithography using an X-ray or an electron beam, it is necessary to develop a resist in accordance with each exposure method, and there are a large number of problems in terms of sensitivity, resolution, etching endurance, and the like.
To solve those problems, there has been a suggested method in which by near-field light leaking from openings with diameters sufficiently smaller than the wavelength of the light to be emitted, a resist is then exposed and developed, to form a fine pattern. This method is characterized by achieving a spatial resolving power on the order of nanometers, regardless of the wavelength of the light source. The method using near-field light is not subjected to a restriction in terms of the optical diffraction limit, and accordingly, is capable of achieving a spatial resolving power that is a third or less of the light source wavelength. Further, with the use of a mercury lamp or a semiconductor laser as the light source, the size of the light source can be reduced. Accordingly, the device can be made smaller in size, and the costs can be lowered.
As one of the lithography techniques using near-field light, there has been a known method by which a near-field exposure mask having a light shielding layer with openings smaller than the light source wavelength is brought into contact with a resist so that the distance in between becomes 100 nm or less, which is a near-field range, and the fine pattern on the mask is transferred to the resist by a collective exposure. In this operation, the contact properties are critical. It is known that a membrane mask can be used as the near-field exposure mask. It is also known that a resin mask can be used as the near-field exposure mask.
As a method of performing an exposure through contact with the use of a membrane mask, there has been a disclosed near-field exposure method by which the thickness of the mask is reduced to such a value that the mask can be elastically deformed, and the mask is elastically deformed by applying a controlled pressure onto the thinned portion so that the exposure mask is brought into contact with the substrate to be exposed. By this method, however, the required manufacturing process consists of a large number of procedures for forming the mask having a thin-film structure, and the thinner portion of the mask might be broken at the time of pressure application or pressure release.
By a method of performing an exposure with the use of a resin mask, on the other hand, the contact between the mask and the light shielding layer is strong. Therefore, the mask might be broken at the time of mask detachment, or the resist might come off the substrate.
When a resist such as a chemically-amplified resist or a photo cation polymerizable resist that exhibits a development contrast through a reaction with a catalyst that is the acid generated by an exposure, the light shielding layer to be the mask is corroded by the generated acid. As a result, the life of the mask might be shortened.
As described above, conventional near-field masks have room for improvement to achieve excellent contact properties with respect to to-be-exposed substrate over a large area, reduce the number of procedures in the manufacturing process, and increase the durability.
There has been a known method by which a near-field exposure is performed by using resonant light with a light wavelength equivalent to the resonant energy of the molecules forming a resist. The near-field exposure using resonant light is performed as follows.
A first substrate having a photoresist layer formed thereon, and a mask having a mask pattern formed on a transparent second substrate are prepared. The mask pattern is then brought into contact with the resist layer. With the mask being in contact with the photoresist layer, an i-ray (365 nm) is emitted onto the back surface of the mask. As a result, near-field light leaks from the openings of the mask pattern by virtue of the i-ray irradiation, and an exposure is performed. The exposed resist portions react to the light.
After the exposure, the mask is detached from the photoresist layer, and the photoresist layer is developed with a developer. As a result, the exposed portions are dissolved, and a pattern is formed.
As another near-field exposure method, there has been a known method by which a near-field exposure is performed by using nonresonant light with a longer wavelength than the wavelength of light equivalent to the resonant energy of the molecules forming a resist. A mask pattern transfer through a near-field exposure using such a nonresonant wavelength is performed as follows. A resist layer is formed on a first substrate, and a mask having a mask pattern with openings formed on a transparent second substrate is prepared. The mask pattern is then brought into contact with the resist layer. With the mask pattern being in contact with the resist layer, nonresonant light having a longer wavelength than the wavelength of light equivalent to the resonant energy of the molecules forming the resist is emitted on to the back surface of the mask.
As a result, near-field light leaks from the openings of the mask pattern by virtue of the nonresonant light irradiation, but the resist layer does not react to the nonresonant light. However, strong electronic polarization occurs at the edge portions of the mask pattern, and near-field light is generated from the nonresonant light. The molecules forming the resist get dissociated through excitation caused by multiple light absorptions by the near field light generated from the nonresonant light (a multistep transition process).
After the exposure, the mask is detached from the resist layer, and the resist layer is developed with a developer. As a result, the portions exposed by the near-field light generated from the nonresonant light are dissolved, and a pattern is formed. The difference from an exposure using resonant light is that a pattern is formed along the edge portions of the mask pattern. Accordingly, a finer pattern can be formed with the use of nonresonant light.
Since the photosensitive wavelength of the photoresist is in a visible range, a glass material is normally used as the transparent second substrate. To increase the efficiency in the exposure process, the size of the transparent second substrate needs to be made larger. In recent years, the sizes of wafers used in semiconductor manufacturing processes are 300 mm in diameter. Since the near-field exposure method using nonresonant light is a contact exposure method, the size of the transparent second substrate needs to be approximately 300 mm in diameter. Since the mask pattern and the resist layer need to be in contact with each other, the transparent second substrate should have low surface roughness and small warpage.
However, where a glass material of approximately 300 mm in diameter is used as the transparent second substrate, it is difficult for the second substrate to have sufficiently low surface roughness and small warpage over a large area. On the other hand, a Si wafer of 300 mm in diameter can have sufficiently low surface roughness and small warpage. However, such a Si wafer cannot be used as the mask, because visible light cannot pass through Si.
Further, at the time of an exposure, light from the light source enters perpendicularly to the first substrate. When the transparent second substrate is made of glass, the reflectivity at the interface between the air and the glass is 4%, and the loss of the incident light energy is small. However, the reflectivity at the interface between the air and Si is as high as 30%, and the exposure time becomes longer. Therefore, the productivity becomes lower in the exposure process.
Further, there has been a demand for higher-density microfabrication of semiconductor packages, interposers, printed circuit boards, and the like, as semiconductors have been made to have smaller sizes, higher densities, and higher speeds. Particularly, in recent years, at the time of formation of a storage media fine structure pattern or formation of a biochip nanostructure, high-density microfabrication is more and more strongly required. As a mass-production means to satisfy such a technical demand, the nanoimprint technology has been studied in recent years.
The nanoimprint technology has been developed by applying a pressing method using a metal mold to the nanoscale technology, and involves a nanoscale mold processing technique for performing molding by pressing a mold with minute concavities and convexities against an object to be processed. By the nanoimprint technology, patterns with a width of several tens of nanometers can be formed. Compared with an equivalent processing technology using an electron beam, the nanoimprint technology has the advantage that a large number of patterns can be molded at very low costs.
In the nanoimprint technology, the use of near-field light has been suggested. Particularly, an ultrafine pattern of 10 nm or smaller can be transferred with high precision by the nanoimprint technology using near-field light. When a Si substrate is processed, light needs to be emitted onto a glass template. However, this irradiation direction lowers the near-field light generation efficiency.
The use of near-field light has also been suggested for template and pattern forming methods based on the nanoimprint technology. However, when a fine pattern is transferred, the contact between the template and the Si substrate needs to be improved. Therefore, there is still room for improvement to develop an optimum pattern forming method.
The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a near-field exposure mask that can secure contact between a mask and a to-be-exposed object over a large area, a resist pattern forming method, and a device manufacturing method.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a near-field exposure method by which the exposure time can be shortened.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a pattern forming method by which an ultrafine pattern can be transferred onto a Si substrate with high precision.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a high-precision near-field optical lithography technique that can realize double patterning with high efficiency.

Near-field exposure mask, resist pattern forming method, device manufacturing method, near-field exposure method, pattern forming method, near-field optical lithography member, and near-field nanoimprint method


A mode-selecting apparatus for selecting one of a first mode in which images are displayed on a display unit in accordance with a vertical synchronization control signal and a horizontal synchronization control signal, and a second mode in which images are displayed on the display unit in accordance with a data-enable signal, includes a first unit which counts a number of input horizontal synchronization control signals in each of frame periods, a second unit which counts a number of input data-enable signals in each of frame periods, and a third unit which selects one of the first and second modes in accordance with both the number of input horizontal synchronization control signals and the number of input data-enable signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a mode-selecting apparatus for selecting a first mode or a second mode in a display unit, a display apparatus including the mode-selecting apparatus, and a method of selecting a first mode or a second mode in a display unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
For instance, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-148812 (A) has suggested a liquid crystal display device having a function of automatically judging whether images are displayed in a liquid crystal display panel in accordance with either a vertical synchronization control (VSC) signal and a horizontal synchronization control (HSC) signal or a data-enable (DE) signal.
In the suggested liquid crystal display device, if VSC and HSC signals are input into a liquid crystal display panel, the detection of synchronization is carried out in accordance with the VSC and HSC signals, even when a DE signal is input into a liquid crystal display panel.
The suggested liquid crystal display device is designed to count a number of dot clocks received in a high level period or a low level period of the VSC signal in order to judge whether the VSC signal, the HSC signal or the DE signal is input thereinto. If a number of dot clocks is greater than a predetermined number, the liquid crystal display device judges that the VSC signal is not received. If a high period and a low period of the HSC and DE signals are longer than a predetermined period, the liquid crystal display device judges that the HSC and DE signals are not received.
Since the above-mentioned liquid crystal display device is designed to carry out the detection of synchronization in accordance with the VSC and HSC signals, even if the DE signal is input into the liquid crystal display device, the liquid crystal display device is accompanied with a problem that it fails to accomplish the detection of synchronization, if the DE signal is input thereinto, and further if one of the VSC and HSC signals is input thereinto.
That is, when the liquid crystal display device receives only the VSC and DE signals (namely, when the HSC signal is not input), or when the liquid crystal display device receives only the HSC and DE signals (namely, when the VSC signal is not input), the liquid crystal display device cannot accurately judge a synchronization signal as a reference signal.
Furthermore, since it is necessary in the above-mentioned liquid crystal display device to count a number of dot clocks associated with one frame in order to judge whether the VSC signal is input thereinto, a circuit size of a counter for counting a number of dot clocks is unavoidably increased.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-83927 (A) has suggested a display unit including a first circuit for decoding image signals to thereby output a digital image signal, a synchronization signal, a panel enable signal and a dot clock signal, a second circuit for identifying a polarity of the panel enable signal and outputting a signal having a fixed polarity, the first counter for measuring a difference in phase between leading and trailing edges of the panel enable signal in the unit of a dot clock to thereby detect a horizontal resolution, and a second counter for measuring a period of time during which the panel enable signal is maintained to thereby detect a vertical resolution.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-92401 (A) has suggested a mode-selecting circuit comprised of a horizontal dot counter having a first divider, and a vertical line counter having a second divider. Until the horizontal dot counter and the vertical line counter overflow, the first and second dividers are not driven, and counts counted by the horizontal dot counter and the vertical line counter are input into an input-mode identifier. If the horizontal dot counter overflows, the first divider is driven, and the count counted by the horizontal dot counter is compensated for with a dividing ratio of the first divider. The thus compensated count is input into the input-mode identifier. If the vertical line counter overflows, the second divider is driven, and the count counted by the vertical line counter is compensated for with a dividing ratio of the second divider. The thus compensated count is input into the input-mode identifier.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-236052 (A) has suggested a display driver for producing a control signal to apply predetermined signal-processing to an image signal in accordance with a synchronization signal included in the image signal, including a first unit which produces a first signal indicative of variance in a timing of a first synchronization signal included in the image signal, a second unit which produces a first reference signal in accordance with the first synchronization signal, a third unit which determines a tolerance for timing variance of the first synchronization signal, in accordance with a second synchronization signal independent of the first synchronization signal, a fourth unit which produces a second reference signal in accordance with the second synchronization signal, a fifth unit which judges whether a predetermined timing of the first signal is in the tolerance, and a sixth unit which selects one of the first and second reference signals in accordance with the result of the judge carried out by the fifth unit, and outputs the selection as the control signal.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-278493 (A) has suggested an image display device including a line-counting circuit which counts data enable signals indicating that image signals are valid, and judges whether a number of the thus counted data enable signals is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, a controller which, when a number of the thus counted data enable signals is equal to or greater than the predetermined number, detects vertical synchronization by virtue of the data enable signals to output a vertical synchronization signal, and a scanning circuit which vertically scans an image-display area in accordance with the vertical synchronization signal.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-134571 (A) has suggested a driver circuit for driving a liquid crystal panel in each of fields with an image signal, including first means for counting horizontal synchronization signals, based on vertical synchronization signals of image signals to be input in order to obtain a number N of drive horizontal lines in a field, second means for detecting that a total number M of drive lines of the liquid crystal panel is greater than the number N, and third means for masking reset signals for resetting the first means, from inputting thereinto, while the number M is greater than the number N.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-83174 (A) has suggested a display unit which identifies a display mode of an image signal in accordance with a synchronization signal, including a first device for separating synchronization signals from an input image signal, a second device for generating a clock signal, a third device for controlling the synchronization signals, a fourth device for measuring a cycle of a horizontal synchronization signal, a fifth device for measuring a cycle of a vertical synchronization signal, a memory for storing the measured cycles, and a sixth device for identifying a display mode in accordance with the cycles of the synchronization signals.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-260667 (A) has suggested a display device in which if a data enable signal is not received in a vertically scanning period, switching frame memories in accordance with a next vertical synchronization signal is not carried out.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-69263 (A) has suggested a vertical blanking producing circuit including a first counter which counts dot clocks synchronizing with a horizontal synchronization signal, and is reset with a vertical synchronization signal, a first decoder which decodes signals transmitted from the first counter, and outputs a pulse, a second counter which counts horizontal synchronization signals, and is reset with a vertical synchronization signal, a second decoder which decodes signals transmitted from the second counter, and outputs a pulse, and a first S-R-FF circuit which is set by the pulse transmitted from the first decoder and reset by the pulse transmitted from the second decoder, and outputs a vertical blanking signal.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-143448 (A) has suggested a memory controller including first and second counters each having reset and enable functions, and a block which detects vertical and horizontal synchronization signals. The first counter is reset by the vertical synchronization signal detected by the block. An enable signal of the first counter and a reset signal of the second counter are controlled by the horizontal synchronization signal detected by the block. An enable signal of the second counter is controlled with a signal indicative of an effective period of images, and addresses of a memory are controlled by the first and second counters.
Japanese Patent No. 2740364 (B2) (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-304787) has suggested an apparatus for inserting a title image, including a memory storing image data, a vertical counter which receives a horizontal synchronization signal of an input video signal as a clock signal, and a vertical synchronization signal of the input video signal as a reset signal, and outputs address data with which image data in a first address range is read out of the memory, a scroll counter which receives the horizontal synchronization signal as a clock signal, resets itself at a cycle different from that of the vertical counter, and outputs address data with which image data in a second address range different from the first address range, a switch for selectively switching the address data transmitted from the vertical and scroll counters, and stores the selected one into the memory, a control circuit which operates in accordance with the vertical synchronization signal of the input video signal, and controls the switch in accordance with scroll commands, and means for inserting a title image signal including the image data read out of the memory, into the input video signal.

Mode-selecting apparatus, display apparatus including the same, and method of selecting a mode in display unit


Methods of determining stimulation related characteristics of a subterranean zone penetrated by a well bore prior to stimulating the zone are provided. The methods basically comprise injecting a small amount of a stimulation fluid having an X-ray contrasting agent admixed therewith into the zone and then obtaining one or more preserved core samples from the zone. The core samples are scanned with X-rays and computed tomographic images are produced for determining the characteristics of the zone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods of determining subterranean formation characteristics, and more particularly, to methods of determining stimulation characteristics of a subterranean formation prior to performing a stimulation treatment therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of stimulation procedures have heretofore been developed and used for increasing the production of oil and/or gas from subterranean producing formations. The most common of such procedures involves the creation and propping of fractures in the formation to provide flow passages through which oil and gas can flow from the formation to the well bore, and/or acidizing the formation to increase the permeability thereof or to etch flow channels in the faces of created or natural fractures in the formation. A particular stimulation procedure is selected based on the stimulation characteristics of a subterranean formation or zone to be stimulated, i.e., the type of rock or other material making up the formation, the porosity of the formation, the permeability of the formation, the abundance of natural fractures in the formation, the presence or absence of high permeability streaks or zones in the formation, the rate of fluid loss into the formation while the stimulation procedure is carried out and whether or not the formation permeability is damaged when particular stimulation fluids are utilized. While some of the foregoing characteristics are generally always known about a particular formation or zone to be stimulated, very often a number of important characteristics are not known. As a result, performances of subterranean formation production stimulation treatments are not always successful in increasing the production of hydrocarbons, and sometimes permanent damage in the form of lost permeability and lower production results.
A commonly used technique for determining the characteristics of subterranean formation materials involves the taking of individual core samples from the subterranean formation and testing the samples to determine one or more characteristics of the type described above. The heretofore utilized testing techniques have generally been time consuming, individual samples may be biased due to spatial heterogeneity of the formation and have not provided all of the important characteristics required for determining if a subterranean formation can be stimulated; and if so, how best to accomplish such stimulation.
Recently, X-ray computed tomography (CT) technology has been applied to the determination of subterranean formation properties. Computed tomographic scanning instruments can produce a cross-sectional image of a core sample along any chosen axis. The plane of the image can be moved in discrete intervals to obtain information in three dimensions. Such X-ray computed tomographic scanning has been utilized to determine information useful in enhanced oil recovery and fluid mobility control in subterranean formations. For example, the permeabilities of core samples of formation materials to various fluids at varying conditions of temperature and pressure can be determined. By subtracting the images of the core samples before and after saturation with a particular fluid, the distribution and penetration of the fluid can be determined. The CT scanning technique is non-destructive and can, for example, be conducted while the core sample is contained in a pressurized or other core preservation container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,483 issued Mar. 10, 1987 describes a method of determining the oil, gas and brine content of core samples taken from subterranean formations utilizing computed tomographic scanning. The sample is scanned with X-rays of differing energies in the fluid saturated and fluid extracted states. The computed tomographic images produced are utilized in the determination of the X-ray mass attenuation coefficients for the sample and the extracted fluid. From the mass attenuation coefficients, the weight fractions and volume fractions of each of the extracted fluids are determined.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,238 issued Aug. 18, 1987 discloses a method of using computed tomographic scanning on a core sample to determine pore volume changes, pore compressibility and core fracturing over a range of pressures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,382 issued Jan. 24, 1989 discloses methods for determining reservoir characteristics of a subterranean formation core sample. The core sample is subjected to pressure cycling and scanned with X-rays at least once each pressure cycle. Computed tomographic images of the sample for each pressure cycle are produced, and core sample fracturing is determined from the produced images.
While the above described formation core sample testing methods using computed tomography scanning have been useful in determining the subterranean formation properties specified, various formation characteristics useful in determining if a subterranean formation can be stimulated and how best to accomplish such stimulation have not been determined.
Thus, there is a need for improved methods of determining stimulation related characteristics of subterranean formations or zones prior to stimulating the formations or zones.

Methods of determining subterranean formation characteristics using computed tomographic images


An electric connector includes: an insulating body, having holes aligned in a widthwise direction thereof at an equal pitch distance in a plurality of levels shifted in phase and spaced apart from one another in correspondence with contacts of a mating connector; a plurality of levels of contact groups, each including L-shaped contacts with tip end sides thereof being received and retained in the holes and base end sides thereof being disposed along a rear face of the body, lead portions at rear ends of the contacts being aligned in a line in the widthwise direction at a pitch distance t; and a dielectric spacer, disposed in a blank region on the rear face of the body, the blank region being defined by adjacent ones of the contacts with base end sides thereof spaced apart at a distance “n×t,” the n being an integer not smaller than two.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric connector mainly used in digital signal transmission at a high speed and optimal for impedance matching with high accuracy.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are transmission systems of an unbalanced (single-end) type and of a differential type, which have been conventionally used in electric signal transmission at a high speed. In the unbalanced type, each signal path employs one signal line, the respective paths share one common ground line, and a voltage of the signal line is transmitted as a signal with a ground regarded as a reference. On the other hand, in the differential type, each signal path employs two signal lines, and a difference in voltage between the two lines is transmitted as a signal. The differential type is not responsive to signals such as electromagnetic noise, which are applied equally to its two signal lines, because voltages of the two signal lines are equal in amplitude and different from each other in phase by 180 degrees. Therefore, in comparison to the unbalanced type, the differential type is more sustainable with respect to noise and is suitable for transmission at a high speed.
FIG. 12 illustrates one example of an electric connector which is used in such a transmission system of the differential type. A body 500 is provided with terminal receiving holes 510, and upper and lower contacts 600a and 600b are respectively inserted into and retained by the terminal receiving holes 510. The upper and lower contacts 600a and 600b are arranged in a zigzag shape in a widthwise direction of the body 500, and base ends thereof are led out of a rear face of the body 500 and are substantially orthogonally bent downwards so as to be attached to an external circuit board (not shown).
Each of the upper and lower contacts 600a and 600b has a main portion to be inserted into one of the terminal receiving holes 510 of the body 500, a linking portion provided continuously from a rear end of the main portion to be substantially orthogonally bent along the rear face of the body 500, and a lead portion provided continuously from a rear end of the linking portion (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-293970).
However, in the above-described conventional example, there is caused impedance mismatching between the adjacent contacts due to an offset between the upper and lower contacts 600a and 600b. Moreover, it is difficult to realize impedance matching at a high level, which is one of the major reasons for deterioration in transmission characteristics.
With the upper and lower contacts 600a and 600b, in a case where, as indicated in FIG. 12, each width of the main portions is set to 0.7 mm, a pitch distance between the adjacent main portions is set to 1 mm, the offset between upper and lower levels is set to 0.5 mm, and each width of the linking portions and the lead portions is set to 0.2 mm, then a pitch distance between the adjacent lead portions is equal to 0.5 mm. However, the upper contacts 600a are spaced apart from adjacent contacts 600a at a distance of 1 mm in particular portions from points where the linking portions of the upper contacts 600a are led out of the rear face of the body 500 and are bent at a substantially right angle to extend downwards to points where the linking portions of the upper contacts 600a are aligned in parallel with the linking portions of the lower contacts 600b.
As described above, the distance between the adjacent contacts led out of the rear face of the body 500 is not entirely set to 0.5 mm but is partially set to 1 mm. Increased distance between the adjacent contacts causes decrease in electrostatic capacitance and increase in impedance. Another factor to decrease in electrostatic capacitance is that the linking portions of the upper contacts 600a are longer than the linking portions of the lower contacts 600b by the distance between levels of the upper contact 600a and the lower contact 600b, and that the upper contact 600a thus have larger areas that are not covered with the dielectric body 500 but are exposed to air.
As a result, the upper contacts 600a have larger impedances than those of the lower contacts 600b. Depending on the arrangement etc. of the contacts, the upper contacts 600a may have impedances significantly exceeding a predetermined standard value. Moreover, it is not easy to match impedances with high accuracy within a differential pair or between differential pairs. Such a problem is not unique to electric connectors of differential type but is also applicable to electric connectors of unbalanced type.


The disclosure of the present invention proposes a communication method. The method may be performed by a wireless device and comprise: if a full duplex of a downlink (DL) reception and an uplink (UL) transmission is configured in an uplink carrier spectrum including a DL portion and a UL portion, considering that the DL portion in the uplink carrier spectrum is configured as protected DL portion for another device configured with non full-duplex. Here, the protected DL portion may allow the device configured with a non full-duplex to perform a UL transmission in the protected DL portion at a low power. The DL portion and the UL portion may be flexibly configured in the uplink carrier spectrum.

3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long-term evolution (LTE) is a technology for enabling high-speed packet communications. Many schemes have been proposed for the LTE objective including those that aim to reduce user and provider costs, improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity. The 3GPP LTE requires reduced cost per bit, increased service availability, flexible use of a frequency band, a simple structure, an open interface, and adequate power consumption of a terminal as an upper-level requirement.
As more and more communication devices require more communication capacity, there is a need for improved mobile broadband communication over existing radio access technology. Also, massive machine type communications (MTC), which provides various services by connecting many devices and objects, is one of the major issues to be considered in the next generation communication. In addition, communication system design considering reliability/latency sensitive service/UE is being discussed. The introduction of next generation radio access technology considering enhanced mobile broadband communication, massive MTC, ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC) is discussed. This new technology may be called new radio access technology (RAT) for convenience. The new RAT may be also abbreviated to a NR.
For operating NR efficiently, various schemes have to be adopted. However, until now, efficient scheme has not been introduced.

Communication method of using full duplex in NR


The invention is directed to an impeller of an axial-flow type fan, in particular for appliances for drying and dressing hair, in which adjacent blades overlap each other completely over the radial extent of the blades in the edge regions of the blades. To ensure that the injection-molded impeller is capable of being ejected from the mold, the angle of opening is required to be smaller than or equal to the angle of rotation.

An impeller incorporating these features is already known from FR-PS 1 326 701. This impeller is particularly provided to accomplish an improved pressure stability in dependence on the flow rate. The essential feature of the impeller is that the efflux surfaces of the blades have trailing edges curving inwardly in opposite direction. Impeller blades of such a profile produce a stable air stream on their trailing edges along the entire zone of pressure flow of the blower, in contrast to an unstable flow developing in blowers with a conventional blade profile in the presence of specific pressure relations and specific amounts of flow. Preferably, the trailing edges of the blades are arranged in parallel with the leading edges of the blades, satisfactory results being obtained also if the alignment of the leading edges departs from that of the trailing edges by as much as 15 degrees. The curvature in opposite direction of the trailing edges of the blades relating only to the last fourth of the efflux surfaces, it may nevertheless be advantageous in certain cases that this curvature in opposite direction begins directly after the area between the trailing and leading edge of the blades. The rotors may be integrally manufactured by casting, injection-molding or milling, and may be made of an aluminum alloy, stainless alloyed steel, plastic, or a similar material.
The teaching is essentially aimed at obtaining a blade geometry such that the direction vector of the leading and trailing edge of each blade extends largely in parallel. The design method selected for this purpose consists in projecting various profiles on concentric circles. This results in a type of surface for the description of the blade geometry which cannot be described by rulers. Generating and making a pattern of such a type of surface incurs increased expenditure in all stages of the design and manufacture of such an impeller, starting with the determination of the surface points in the design stage up to the manufacture of the tools or injection molds. Moreover, the design method as it appears from FR-PS 1 326 701 does not ensure that an impeller with a predetermined blade profile is in fact ejectable from the mold, that is, it does not ensure that a slide of the injection mold inserted between two blades is movable radially to the axis of rotation of the impeller without a collision occurring. Overall, FR-PS 1 326 701 does not suggest a design for the manufacture of an impeller in which it is ensured that the impeller is capable of being manufactured by injection molding in addition to being ejectable from the mold, with the individual blade profile being practically exclusively determined by fluidic or physical, rather than manufacturing or tool related, side constraints.
A further impeller is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,410. The impellers described in this prior publication have shown excellent results in practice on account of their high efficiency, their particular engineering design lending itself to large-scale production applying injection-molding processes. It is especially this last-mentioned advantage of the known impeller which is remarkable in so far as the problem of ejecting such impellers from the mold has been solved in a simple manner, in spite of undercuts existing between the blades and the hub structure, by using an injection mold of a straightforward structure. However . the blades of the known impeller are shaped and arranged on the circumferential outer surf ace of the hub structure such that there is no overlap of adjacent blades. A gap is invariably maintained between adjacent blades.
In the presence of this known and already largely optimized impeller, it is nevertheless desirable for a variety of reasons to provide an impeller with overlapping blades. To begin with, the efficiency of an impeller can be further increased by having blades of a suitable profile overlap each other. In the second place, the use of impellers having overlapping blades makes specific supplementary structures redundant which otherwise would be necessary to protect the user. Thus, the use of an impeller with overlapping blades obviates the provision of supplementary structures, as for preventing the user from accidentally reaching through the impeller with thin metallic objects into the interior of the axial-flow fan or the appliance for drying and dressing hair, thereby eliminating the danger of contact with live parts inside the axial-flow fan or the hair dryer. Moreover, the design methods hitherto known and the methods derived therefrom for producing test specimens and injection molds have not been perfected to a degree ensuring ejection of an impeller with overlapping blades from the mold, that is, its manufacture by injection molding has not been technically feasible. The absolutely necessary prerequisites for a manufacture of the impellers by injection molding, such as the ejective capability, a realistic slide geometry and slide kinematics of the injection mold, presented material difficulties in the manufacture of such an impeller as an injection-molded plastic part, in addition to imposing restrictions on a blade profile affording optimum fluidic conditions.


This invention is directed to a method for stimulating, the proliferation of V.gamma.2V.delta.2 T cells comprising contacting V.gamma.2V.delta.2 T cells with a V.gamma.2V.delta.2 T cell proliferation stimulating amount of a compound selected from the group-consisting of a monoalkyl phosphate, a hydroxy monoalkyl phosphate, a carboxy monoalkyl phosphate, a monoalkyl pyrophosphate, an alkenyl pyrophosphate, a .gamma.-monoalkyl nucleoside triphosphate, a .gamma.-monoalkyl deoxnucleoside triphosphate, a .gamma.-alkenyl nucleoside triphosphate, and a .gamma.-alkenyl deoxynucleoside triphosphate.

T cells are thymus-derived cells in the immune system which mediate cellular immune reactions and regulate immune response. T lymphocytes (T cells) are divided into two subgroups by their usage of T cell receptors. About 90-98% of T cells have a.beta. receptors (a.beta. T cells) which recognize antigenic peptides bound to major histo-compatibility complex I or II molecules. About 2-10% of T cells have .gamma..delta. receptors (.gamma..delta. T cells).
A major human .gamma..delta. T cell subset expressing V.gamma.2 and V.delta.2 germlines (ie. V.gamma.2V.delta.2 T cells) is found in human mycobacterial lesions (Hodlin, R. L., et al. Nature 339:544-548 (1989)) V.gamma.2V.delta.2 T cells have been shown to expand acutely in response to mycobacterial pathogens such as M. tuberculosis and M. luprae, bacterial pathogens such as Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as parasites such as Plasmodium vivax (Kabelitz, D., et al. J. Exp. Med. 171:667-679 (1990); Panchamoorthy, G., et al. J. Immunol. 147:3360-3369 (1991); De Libero, G., et al J. Exp. Med. 173:1311-1322 (1991); Hara, T., et al. J. Clin. Invest. 90:204-210 (1992); Goerlich, R., et al. Eur. J. Immunol. 21:2613-2616 (1991); and Goodier, M., et al. Int. Immunol. 4:33-41 (1992)). In addition, certain hematopoietic tumor cell lines such as Daudi and RPMI 8226 are specifically recognized and lysed by V.gamma.2V.delta.2 T cells (Fisch, P., et al. Science 250:1269-1273 (1990); Selin, L. K., et al. Scand. J. Immunol. 36:107-117 (1992)).
Because V.gamma.2V.delta.2 T cells recognize antigens which are expressed by a variety of diseases in humans, there exists a need to selectively stimulate the proliferation of V.gamma.2V.delta.2 T cells to enhance the immune response against these diseases. The present invention satisfies this need.

Method for proliferating V.gamma.2V.delta.2 T cells

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University


A substantially enclosed sound absorbing unit for an anechoic chamber is disclosed. The sound absorbing unit includes a substantially flat panel member comprising a layer of sound absorptive material. An anechoic member is disposed adjacent to the flat panel member. The anechoic member is disposed adjacent to a base and a generally spaced apart sound transparent wall member. The wall member includes a layer of sound absorptive material and a cover sheet made of perforated, substantially sound reflective material. The free space of the perforated cover sheet is at least 7 percent of the total area of the cover sheet.

An anechoic chamber is a room in which acoustically free field conditions exist. For practical measurements, it must also be clear of extraneous noise interferences. An environment meeting these conditions is a requirement for precision acoustical measurements. Anechoic chambers are widely used in the development of quieter products in many industries and institutions including the following: aircraft, electrical, transportation, communications, business machines, medical research and universities.
An acoustical free field exists in a homogenous, isotropic medium which is free from reflecting boundaries. In an ideal free field environment, the inverse square law would function perfectly. This means that the sound pressure level (L.sub.p) generated by a spherically radiating sound source decreases six decibels (6 dB) for each doubling of the distance from the source. A room or enclosure designed and constructed to provide such an environment is called an anechoic chamber.
An anechoic chamber usually must also provide an environment with controlled sound pressure level (L.sub.p) free from excessive variations in temperature, pressure and humidity. Outdoors, local variations in these conditions, as well as wind and reflections from the ground, can significantly and unpredictably disturb the uniform radiation of sound waves. This means that a true acoustical free field is only likely to be encountered inside an anechoic chamber.
For an ideal free field to exist with perfect inverse square law characteristics, the boundaries must have a sound absorption coefficient of unity at all angles of incidence.
Conventionally, an anechoic element is defined as one which should not have less than a 0.99 normal incidence sound absorption coefficient throughout the frequency range of interest. In such a case, the lowest frequency in a continuous decreasing frequency sweep at which the sound absorption coefficient is 0.99 at normal incidence is defined as the cut-off frequency. Thus, in an anechoic chamber, 99% of the sound energy at or above the cut-off frequency is absorbed. For less than ideal conditions, different absorption coefficients may be established to define a cut-off frequency.
As mentioned above, another characteristic of a true free field is that sound behaves in accordance with the inverse square law. In the past, testing wedges in an impedance tube has been a means for qualifying wedges used in chambers simulating free field conditions. A fully anechoic room can also be defined as one whose deviations fall within a maximum of about 1-1.5 dB from the inverse square law characteristics, depending on frequency. Semi-anechoic rooms, i.e., rooms with anechoic walls and ceilings which are erected on existing acoustically reflective floors such as concrete, asphalt, steel or other surfaces, can deviate from the inverse square law by a maximum of about 3 dB depending on frequency.
The table below reflects the maximum allowable differences between the measured and theoretical levels for fully anechoic and semi-anechoic rooms:
______________________________________ Maximum Allowable Differences Between the Measured and Theoretical Levels One-Third Octave Band Centre Allowable Type of Frequency Differences Test Room Hz dB ______________________________________ Anechoic <630 .+-.1.5 800 to 5,000 .+-.1.0 >6,300 .+-.1.5 Semi-anechoic <630 .+-.2.5 800 to 6,000 .+-.2.0 >6,300 .+-.3.0 ______________________________________
Because of the very high degree of sound absorption required in an anechoic chamber, conventional anechoic elements typically comprise fully exposed sound absorptive material or sound absorptive fill elements which are covered with a wire cage to contain and somewhat protect the sound absorbing material. Typical wire mesh coverings have approximately 90-95% open space to allow maximum exposure of sound absorbing material to the sound waves, yet providing a certain level of protection for the material.
A disadvantage with anechoic construction elements as explained above is that in highly industrial environments the wire mesh structure may not provide sufficient physical protection for the elements. The sound absorbing material can therefore become easily disfigured by unintentional impact that is quite foreseeable in a heavily industrial environment.
Another disadvantage of the conventional anechoic elements is potential medical hazards. The sound absorptive materials such as fiberglass, rockwool or foams can be highly erosive. Over a period of use such materials could erode into particulate matter floating in the air which could be inhaled into lungs.
A further disadvantage of the conventional anechoic elements and their wire mesh coverings is that in highly industrial applications, oil spills and dirt may rapidly accumulate on the sound absorbing materials. This may impede sound absorption performance of the material and additionally may impose a fire hazard. Cleaning the sound absorptive material is difficult and not efficient.
Therefore there is a need for an anechoic element which provides a very high degree of sound absorption capabilities and sufficient protection for the sound absorbing material.

Anechoic structural elements and chamber


A mechanical anti-theft device of the type applied to the steering wheel of an automotive vehicle which automatically ratchets to it's applied position without necessity of key lock actuation is provided with several security enhancing features which cumulatively prevent or make the device exceedingly difficult to unlock using conventional burglary tools or lock picking techniques. The features include configuring the ratchet teeth of the telescoping rod member in a way which minimizes any attempt to deactivate the lock unless the key is used. In combination with the ratchet teeth configuration, the lock pawl mechanism is configured to include an arcuate, transversely extending apex edge line or surface which cooperates with or is sized to be coincident with the rod members circumference to prevent a wedge, shim or pick from being readily easily inserted between pawl and ratchet tooth to force a retraction of the pawl.

A chronological development of mechanical, anti-theft devices is contained in the Background sections of both Johnson and Wu patents which are incorporated by reference herein and the reader is advised to review those patents for a more thorough description of the prior art than that which will be presented in the specifications hereof. Suffice it to simply note that vehicular anti-theft devices of the type to which this invention relates are those in which a protruding portion of the device extends beyond the periphery of the steering wheel (to which the device is attached) to prevent continued rotation of the steering wheel by the protrusion interfering with or contacting something within the interior of the vehicle. The vehicle is not totally disabled by the device but nevertheless rendered unsuitable for driving because the steering wheel cannot be rotated any significant degree.
The Johnson patent describes a device marketed under the brand name "THE CLUB" which has enjoyed significant commercial success within and outside the United States. This success is attributed in part to the telescoping rod-sleeve nature of the device in combination with a key actuated lock which utilizes a ball detent to permit the serrated rod to ratchet out from the sleeve or tube member into an applied position on the steering wheel. The Johnson device has received wide-spread commercial success and is entirely satisfactory. However, it has a relatively secure, positive lock which requires rotation of a cylindrical, half-moon locking member into one of a plurality of serrated grooves formed in the rod to lock the device. While the Johnson lock is positive and somewhat secure, THE CLUB, nevertheless, requires that a key be inserted into the lock so that the device can be applied to the steering wheel as well as removed from the steering wheel when the driver wants to operate the vehicle.
The Wu patented device marketed under the brand name, SUPER CLUB, has also achieved widespread commercial success. The SUPER CLUB is conceptually similar to THE CLUB but has a lock which permits the device to be applied, from a collapsed position to the steering wheel of the vehicle without having to actuate the key lock. This feature is a convenience to the operator of the vehicle. That is, after the driver stops the car and removes the keys from the ignition, he applies the anti-theft device to the steering wheel. Having placed the keys into his pocket (or her purse), it is somewhat inconvenient to retrieve the keys to "unlock" the device so that it can be applied to the steering wheel of the vehicle and then "lock" the device after it is applied to the steering wheel. (Note, this "inconvenience" is not present when the device is to be removed since the driver already has taken out the keys to start the vehicle.) The SUPER CLUB provides a locking arrangement which achieves this objective. It permits the operator, without actuation of any key, to simply pull, or telescope, or ratchet the rod out of the sleeve or tube from a collapsed position to an extended or applied position in which the hooks from the rod and sleeve grasp the rim of the steering wheel in the conventional manner.
As the popularity of the SUPER CLUB and THE CLUB have grown, automotive thieves have become more cognizant or familiar with such devices as well as the countless imitations which are now on the market. It is, of course, well recognized that any anti-theft device can be defeated and that any accomplished thief can break into and steal any automobile no matter how sophisticated the anti-theft device applied to that automobile may be. Accordingly, it is a primary objective of any anti-theft device that the security of the device be established or set at a level which establishes a sufficient degree of "resistance" to deter professional car thieves from stealing a vehicle which is equipped with the anti-theft device. With respect to THE CLUB and the SUPER CLUB, the device is made of hardened steel so that it cannot be readily cut. The device uses a telescoped arrangement to prevent or minimize pry points which could otherwise be leveraged or utilized to remove the device from the steering wheel. Similarly, the mechanical arrangement in which the lock tumbler is positioned within the anti-theft device prevents or affords a significant degree of resistance to it's being removed or pried from the device. To defeat the device, the steering wheel rim has to be severed and even in this regard, the assignee has procured patents designed to prevent severing the steering wheel rim.
Notwithstanding such measures, for anti-theft devices utilizing designs of the lock type employed in the SUPER CLUB device, where the slack between rod and sleeve is taken up by a spring biased pawl which also functions as the key actuated locking mechanism, it has been discovered that in some instances, it is possible to "pick" the lock by conventional burglar tools. The procedure is to essentially wedge a burglar pick or shim between the spring biased ratchet pawl and the ratchet "tooth" in the rod member which receives the pawl to force the pawl to be wedged or retracted back into its bore thus permitting the rod to move relative to the sleeve. In this manner, it is conceptually possible to retract or push the rod member into the tube member and remove the device from the steering wheel.

Automotive, steering wheel anti-theft device


A system for collecting, verifying, and managing identity data, skill data, qualification data, certification data, and licensure data of emergency responders. The system trusted verification of identity, skills, qualifications, certifications, and licensure, and disseminates information specific or related to identity, skills, qualifications, certifications, and licensure at the scene of an emergency. The system includes information collection devices, data storage media, information retrieval devices, and information management devices. The information collected, managed, and disseminated may include identity information, medical information, skills information, qualification information, certification information, licensure information. Data in the system is stored in multiple formats, allowing for the retrieval of trusted information in an environment that is part of a network or devoid of network connectivity.

Identity theft and fraud are substantial threats to informational security in today's technological age. As a result, governmental entities must be more and more vigilant in verifying the authenticity of documents being presented, for example, in procuring drivers' licenses and/or other public entitlements. Trust is the key to credentialing. People need to be able to trust the documents presented definitively.
The attacks on the United States of America on Sep. 11, 2001, prompted a review of how governmental entities identify those responding to an incident. For example, can the public trust that the fire fighter and police officer showing up on scene truly have the skills they say they do? How does Incident Command effectively keep unauthorized people from a disaster area, while at the same time account for the activities of authorized people?
In the years following the 2001 attacks, new federal guidelines and initiatives have been developed that have changed the way personnel are managed in disaster situations by laying out the specific procedures and checks to be done to trust the identification presented in a crisis situation. This focus has been increased by the federal government's issuance of four major guidance documents including Homeland Security Presidential Directive ("HSPD-12"), Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors; Federal Information Processing Standard 201-1 ("FIPS 201"), Personal Identity Verification ("PIV") of Federal Employees and Contractors; and Department of Health and Human Services—Health Resources and Services Administration—Emergency Systems for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals ("ESAR-VHP") Program; Real ID Act of 2005 and subsequent 2007 Guidance from the Department of Homeland Security.
We have learned from other disasters that the term "responder" can encompass a variety of skill sets. For example, the assistance of telecommunications workers and heavy equipment operators became vital in recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The lessons from the 2001 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and other disasters indicate that significant improvements are needed in crisis management.
There exists a great deal of historic evidence supporting the need for development of an interoperable network of credentialing systems. It is important to point out the perceived requirement is to develop an interoperable network, and not to establish a federally sponsored, sole-sourced data store system.
Local, regional, and state authorities require an identification system to provide for the advanced and/or acute credentialing of first responders and critical personnel. Given the number of federal agencies working both independently and in concert to develop future standards for the early identification, registration, and credentialing of first responders, the Authority Having Jurisdiction ("AHJ") also desires the system be configurable to current needs as well as future state and federal requirements. The AHJ is the entity responsible for authenticating identity as well as authentication and validation of professional training and licensure information in the home region or geographic area with which the credentialing candidate is affiliated via his/her primary credentialing classification. The AHJ will determine the level of information necessary to meet for both security and operational requirements. The AHJ should be aware that their current local requirements might be superseded by state or federal regulations in the future. Failure to conform to these regulations may result in the disqualification of locally issued credentials by other regional authorities.
A fundamental truth is that the emergency services community is the most dedicated to its mission, yet with the same passion, is the most tradition-bound. Nowhere is this more noticeable than with the introduction of "technology." Although tremendous strides have been made over the last twenty years using technology to assist in supporting safer and more effective firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMS professionals etc., they still find themselves resistant to change when something new comes down the pike. One of the latest uses of technology concepts introduced over the last few years involves the push to introduce interoperable credentialing systems.
There exists a great deal of confusion as to what a credential actually is. It is actually easier to define what a credential is not. It is not simply a badge. A badge in its various forms is relatively easy to duplicate. Although it obviously identifies the owner, it offers no guarantees to the accuracy of that identification. This perception is also true in regards to systems for credentialing, resource allocation, and accountability supported by bar code technology including the modern version of that technology referred to as radio frequency identification (RFID). This technology is also easy to duplicate and does not provide for adequate security in relation to both the technology and the technology's ability to support a trusted process.
Government authorities at local, regional, and state levels can issue credentials. Also, large private sector institutions such as hospitals, or even professional associations can issue credentials. However, the credential does not give the credential holder the legal right to perform any action or act on any authority. The credential does offer verified, definitive proof of credential holder's identity, and a record of licenses granted to credential holder, and professional qualifications and/or training certifications that allow a credential holder (e.g., emergency responder) to perform his or her job.

Emergency responder credentialing system and method


The invention relates to a front hinge pillar (9) of a vehicle, consisting of a stamped part comprising a central body (11) that is intended to extend vertically, so as to exhibit a lower end (13) and an upper end (15) and lateral edges, the front hinge pillar (9) being characterized in that it further comprises a front extension (17) extending from one of said lateral edges of said central body (11) such that said central body (11) and said front extension (17) form a single part. The invention also relates to the methods for producing such a front hinge pillar (9).

The present invention relates to the field of vehicles and, in particular, of motor vehicles. The invention relates, in particular, to a front hinge pillar structure of a vehicle, a vehicle comprising such a structure, and a method for manufacturing such a front hinge pillar structure.
Generally, the front and rear hinge pillars of a vehicle are uprights located toward the front or rear on the side of the body between a wheel arch and a door opening. The hinge pillars have different geometries specific to their location at the front or rear of the vehicle.
A front hinge pillar can be composed of a plurality of structural parts that are assembled together by welding or riveting. FIG. 1 comprises an arrangement of parts that are welded together so as to form a front hinge pillar 1. The various parts assembled in this way comprise a front reinforcing hinge pillar 3, an upper gusset 5 of the front hinge pillar, and a front reinforcement 7 on the passenger compartment side.
During a frontal impact, the resulting forces are transmitted to the structure of the vehicle through the side members and through the bay uprights, forming two force paths. A third force path comprises the front reinforcement 7 on the passenger compartment side, arranged on each side of the vehicle at the level of the wheel arch so as to transmit the forces received to the side members and to the bay uprights via the upper gussets 5 of the front hinge pillar and front hinge pillar reinforcements 3.
In particular, in the event of a frontal impact with a little overlap of the front of the vehicle, known as a "small-overlap" impact, the lateral portion of the front structure of the vehicle is highly stressed. This type of impact corresponds to a situation in which an impactor pushes down the front of the vehicle while only coming into contact with a portion of the front face of the vehicle comprising the lateral edge of the front face. This type of impact corresponds, for example, to a frontal impact between two vehicles that are offset from one another. In this type of impact, it is the front reinforcement on the passenger compartment side opposite the impactor that will primarily come into play. If the mechanical strength of this reinforcement is not sufficient, the reinforcement will deform excessively during this type of impact until the impactor is allowed to push against the wheel, which itself will load the front hinge pillar and cause it to move toward the rear of the vehicle. In addition, if the front hinge pillar does not have sufficient strength, it may also move back under the stress transmitted by the front reinforcement during the impact. The risks of intrusion into the passenger compartment are then substantial. It is useful to have a balance between the mechanical strength of the reinforcement and of the front hinge pillar in order to ensure the deformation of both the front of the vehicle and of the reinforcement, thus allowing for absorption of energy during the impact while limiting intrusions into the passenger compartment.
One known problem resulting from the assembly of these different parts is a sealing problem that it would be beneficial to be able to solve. In addition, the automotive industry is constantly looking for solutions to reduce the manufacturing costs of vehicles and to reduce their mass. Finally, there is a constant concern for improving mechanical performance and impact resistance. This is why several other types of front hinge pillar structures have already been proposed.
French Pat. No. FR2926056 proposes a reinforced front hinge pillar for a vehicle comprising an upper part, or gusset, and a lower part, or front hinge pillar reinforcement. The front hinge pillar reinforcement is made of a single part with different stampings, making it possible to stiffen it in order to improve its performance in terms of limiting the rotation of the front hinge pillar in the event of a frontal impact.
French Pat. No. FR2800698 proposes a front hinge pillar structure that combines the front hinge pillar reinforcement and the upper front hinge pillar gusset in a single part. The resulting part extends substantially vertically and comprises beam end supports for connection to the side member, to the bay upright, and to the front reinforcement on the passenger compartment side. The part is preferably made from a single casting of light metal, particularly aluminum or an alloy of light metals, particularly an aluminum alloy.
European Pat. No. EP2080689 describes a lateral reinforcement device that is intended to equip a front unit of a motor vehicle. The device comprises an elongated reinforcing element that is intended to be fixed to the body structure of the vehicle at the level of a side wall of the front unit, extending, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, between a front hinge pillar upright of the vehicle adjacent to the side wall and a front end of the front unit, with the longitudinal axis of the reinforcing element being oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction.