An information processing apparatus incudes a schedule determination unit configured to determine a schedule of an operating status for causing a temperature of an air-conditioned space of each of a plurality of load-side units to reach a specified set temperature at a specified set time, based on a learning model representing an input-output relationship between input data indicating an influencing factor of a thermal load of each of the load-side units and output data indicating the thermal load.

There has been proposed an optimum start-up control device that controls an air-conditioning apparatus including an indoor unit and an outdoor unit such that a target temperature is reached at a target time by performing a precooling operation or a preheating operation for saving energy (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).

Information processing apparatus and air-conditioning system provided with the same


A wire singulating device includes a carrier member and a retention feature. The carrier member has a front edge and an opposite rear edge. The front edge defines an opening to a slot that extends at least partially towards the rear edge. The carrier member is configured to move relative to a wire bundle that includes plural wires such that the front edge engages the wire bundle. The slot is configured to receive one wire of the wire bundle therein. The retention feature is coupled to the carrier member and juxtaposed relative to the slot to retain the wire within the slot as the carrier member moves away from the wire bundle to separate the wire from the wire bundle.

The subject matter herein relates generally to wire transfer systems that have wire singulating devices for singulating wires from wire bundles.
Many electrical systems utilize electrical leads to electrically connect electrical components or devices. Electrical leads are typically produced by cutting a segment of wire, stripping one or both ends of the wire, and then crimping a terminal to one or both ends of the wire segment. Known lead-making operations have different levels of automation depending on cost and complexity of the machinery. For example, in a semi-automatic bench machine, a human operator presents wires one at a time to a terminator that crimps a terminal on the end of the wire. In another example, some lead-maker machines are fully automated such that wire is automatically pulled from large spools of wire, cut to length, and presented to a specific terminator to crimp the wire to a pre-selected terminal. Thus, the automatic lead-makers may control the wire throughout the operation from the supply spool to the production of the lead, culminating in delivery to a storage container.
Both types of machinery have recognized shortcomings. With the semi-automatic bench machine, for example, the operator has to pull each individual wire from a bundle of wires that may include hundreds of wires and present each wire to the terminator. The bench machine thus requires significant human intervention to separate or singulate wires from the wire bundle, which limits the efficiency and productivity of the lead-making operation and also requires the expense for operator's labor costs. The fully-automated lead-maker machines do not require the level of human intervention as the bench machines, but the lead-maker machines are typically much more complex and expensive than bench machines, so the cost may be prohibitive. In addition, it may be difficult and time-consuming to change wire sizes in the automatic lead-maker machines, as such changeover may require substitution of the large supply spool and other modifications to the system throughout the production line. A need remains for a wire singulating device that is more automated than known semi-automatic bench machines and is not as complex or expensive as fully-automated lead-maker machines.

Wire transfer system having wire singulating device


The invention provides a stretch blow molded container formed from a thermoplastic resin material which comprises polyglycolic acid having. (a) a repeating unit represented by the following formula (1): ##STR1## (b) a melt viscosity, .eta.* [as measured at a temperature of (the melting point, Tm of the polymer+20.degree. C.) and a shear rate of 100/sec] of 500-100,000 Pa.multidot.s; PA1 (c) a melting point, Tm of at least 180.degree. C.; PA1 (d) a melt enthalpy, .DELTA.Hm of at least 20 J/g; and PA1 (e) a density of at least 1.50 g/cm.sup.3 as measured in an unoriented, crystallized form,. wherein the stretch blow molded container has tensile strength (in a circumferential direction) of at least 100 MPa and a carbon dioxide permeability (as measured at a temperature of 23.degree. C. and 80% relative humidity; in terms of the thickness of 50 .mu.m) of 300 cc/m.sup.2 .multidot.day.multidot.atm or smaller at the body sidewall thereof, and a production process thereof.

In recent years, increase in plastic waste has become a great social problem. Since many of polymeric materials have hitherto been developed and produced in search of high performance and long-term stability, they are not easily decomposed in a natural environment. Therefore, how to dispose and manage a large quantity of plastic waste which has become useless becomes a social problem on a world-wide scale. Of the plastic waste, hollow containers formed from a variety of synthetic resins, such as polyolefin resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyvinyl chloride resins become a special problem because they are bulky.
Under the circumstances, biodegradable polymers, which are degraded by natural microorganisms, attract attention as polymeric materials which impose no burden on the environment. The biodegradability can be evaluated by, for example, a degradability test in soil (soil degradability test). Since plastic hollow containers such as PET bottles are required to have, for example, good barrier properties, toughness, heat resistance, melt processability and profitability, however, any plastic hollow container, which fully satisfies these requirements and exhibits biodegradability, has not been yet obtained.
More specifically, hollow containers making use of the conventional biodegradable plastics involve the following problems. For example, hollow containers based on starch are unsatisfactory in water resistance, barrier properties, mechanical properties, heat resistance and mildew resistance and involve a problem that such a plastic material is difficult to melt-process, so that its processing cost becomes high. Hollow containers based on cellulose are unsatisfactory in barrier properties to oxygen and carbon dioxide and mechanical properties and involve a problem that such a plastic material is difficult to melt-process, so that its processing cost becomes high. Hollow containers based on a microorganism-produced polyester are unsatisfactory in barrier properties to oxygen and carbon dioxide and mechanical strength and involve a problem that their production cost is very high. Hollow containers based on a synthetic type polyester such as a polysuccinate (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 172425/1995) are unsatisfactory in barrier properties to oxygen and carbon dioxide, mechanical strength and heat resistance and involve a problem that succinic acid and butanediol, which are raw materials for the polyester, are considerably expensive.
Hollow containers based on polylactic acid, which is a semi-synthetic type polyester, are unsatisfactory in barrier properties to oxygen and carbon dioxide and mechanical strength. Since L-lactic acid, which is an optically active substance used as a raw material, is required to have a high purity, the hollow containers must be produced through fermentation of a biological process, and there is hence a limit to their production at low cost. Further, since polylactic acid has a high glass transition temperature, Tg, it also involves a problem that it is difficult to compost under ordinary composting conditions.
Biodegradable containers making use of a lactic acid polymer have recently been proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 23828/1994). As a specific example thereof, a hollow container based on a lactic acid-polyglycolic acid (weight ratio=50:50) copolymer is disclosed (Example 6). However, the copolymer containing a lactic acid component in such a great amount generally loses crystallizability and becomes an amorphous polymer having a glass transition temperature, Tg of about 30-50.degree. C., so that the copolymer involves a problem that it is brittle, low in mechanical strength and extremely low in barrier properties to carbon dioxide and oxygen and heat resistance.
A biodegradable bottle for drippings obtained by molding polylactic acid or a copolymer of lactic acid and glycolic acid in accordance with a blow molding process has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 278785/1994). The bottle for drippings is a small-sized hollow container generally having an internal volume of 5 ml or smaller and is used as a small-lot packaging container for edible seasonings such as soy, sauce, drippings for spitchcock and buckwheat noodle, and liquid spices. In this publication, pellets of a lactic acid-glycolic acid copolymer, which are obtained by melting an artificial fibrous cloth for a synthetic absorbent, tissue substitute ("VICRYL MESH", trade name) produced by Johnson & Johnson Medical Co. at about 200.degree. C. in an extruder into a strand and chopping the strand are used as the copolymer of lactic acid and glycolic acid (Example 1). The lactic acid-glycolic acid copolymer used in this example has a melt viscosity as low as about 300 Pa.multidot.s (at a shear rate of 100/sec). Therefore, it is difficult to apply such a copolymer to usual extrusion blow molding to mold it due to too hard drawdown of its melt though it can be formed into small containers such as bottles for drippings. This publication describes the fact that blow molding was conducted at a resin temperature of about 175.degree. C. Even when a parison is blow-molded at such a high resin temperature, only a substantially non-oriented, extrusion blow molded container which scarcely undergoes molecular orientation can be obtained. Such a non-oriented, extrusion blow molded container has poor barrier properties and heat resistance. Besides, such hollow containers of medium size (about 25 ml) or greater become insufficient in mechanical properties.

Stretch blow molded container and production process thereof


Forming of a first silicon oxide film is started on an internal surface of a trench formed on a surface or upwardly of a semiconductor substrate according to an HDP technique. Then, deposition of the first silicon oxide film stops before an opening of the trench closes. Further, the first silicon oxide film deposited in the vicinity of an opening is etched, and a second silicon oxide film is formed on the first silicon oxide film deposited on the bottom of the trench according to the HDP technique. In this manner, the first and second silicon oxide films can be laminated on the bottom of the trench.

The present invention relates to a method for filling a trench that is formed in a production process of a semiconductor device. Particularly, the present invention relates to a method for filling the trench with a high aspect ratio by using a high density plasma (HDP) technique. Further, the present invention relates to the Shallow Trench Isolation (STI) technique with a high isolation resistance.
The minute isolation is required in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, along with the shrink of the semiconductor device in recent years. STI has been used. And, the shrink of STI area is also being carried out for the same purpose. The width of the opening of the STI trench becomes narrow and the depth of it becomes deep. That is, the aspect ratio that is the ratio of the depth to the width of the opening increases. Thus, the process filling an insulator into the trench with high aspect ratio is needed in forming the STI area.
The silicon oxide (SiO2) film by HDP chemical vapor deposition (CVD) (hereinafter, this silicon oxide film is called an HDP film) is filled into the high aspect trench. However, the aspect ratio of the trench of STI area increases with the further shrink of the semiconductor device in recent years. A trench exceeding a high aspect ratio of 3 is not able to fill even by the HDP film. When the HDP film is filled into the trench on a silicon substrate, the upper part of the trench is closed with the HDP film. A void results within a trench. The trench cannot completely fill.
Also, the STI area, whose width is narrow and isolation performance is high, is required in the device that uses the high voltage such as EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory). The STI area, whose width is narrow and isolation performance is high, has a deep trench. The aspect ratio of the trench becomes very high in the STI area of the cell array of the EEPROM. The filling of the HDP film into the deep trench was difficult.

Manufacturing method of semiconductor device with filling insulating film into trench


A method of producing a structure containing a phase-separated structure, including forming, on a substrate, a layer containing a block copolymer having a block of a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane structure-containing structural unit; forming a top coat film by applying, to the layer containing the block copolymer, a top coat material which undergoes a change in polarity upon heating, and controls a surface energy of the layer containing the block copolymer; and subjecting the layer containing the block copolymer on which the top coat film is formed to phase separation by thermal annealing.

In recent years, the continued miniaturization of large scale integrated circuits (LSI) has lead to demands for techniques capable of processing ever finer structures. In response to these types of demands, testing has commenced into the formation of finer patterns using phase-separated structures that are formed by the self-assembly of a block copolymer containing mutually incompatible blocks bonded together.
In order to utilize this type of phase-separated structure of a block copolymer, a self-assembled nanostructure formed by microphase separation must be formed within only a specific region, and must be oriented in the required direction. In order to achieve this positional control and orientation control, processes such as graphoepitaxy, which controls the phase-separated pattern using a guide pattern, and chemical epitaxy, which controls the phase-separated pattern based on differences in the chemical state of the substrate, have been proposed.
For these block copolymers, block copolymers having a block formed from a repeating unit of a styrene and a block formed from a repeating unit of methyl methacrylate (PS-b-PMMA) are being widely investigated, and it is claimed that PS-b-PMMA is a material that can be used in the formation of very fine patterns down to approximately 13 nm.
Further, investigations are currently also being conducted into pattern formation methods using Si-containing block copolymers, which have been identified as materials potentially capable of realizing the formation of patterns of even finer dimensions. Block copolymer layers formed using these Si-containing block copolymers have low surface energy. Consequently, during the self-assembly of the block copolymer, controlling the surface state of the block copolymer layer is very important.
Accordingly, a method is being investigated in which phase separation is achieved by subjecting the block copolymer layer to an annealing treatment in a solvent atmosphere (solvent annealing). For example, a method of forming a pattern has been disclosed which uses a phase-separated structure obtained by forming a block copolymer layer having a block of a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) structure-containing structural unit on a substrate, and then subjecting the block copolymer layer to phase separation by carbon disulfide (CS2) solvent annealing (see Non-Patent Document 1).

Method of producing structure containing phase-separated structure, method of forming pattern, and top coat material


An apparatus for energy recovery of an aircraft, an aircraft comprising the apparatus and a method of energy recovery are disclosed. The apparatus comprises a turbine having a body and rotor blades. The turbine is adapted to be mounted to the exterior of an aircraft, such that the body receives an air stream flowing at the exterior of the aircraft. The rotor blades are selectively movable between a stowed position and a deployed position, wherein at the deployed position the rotor blades are rotated by the air stream so as to generate electricity. The blades may be deployed during descent of the aircraft to recover energy normally irretrievably dissipated as the aircraft descends and slows. The blades are stowed when not in use, such as during take-off and cruise.

In the automotive industry, it is known that during braking a portion of the reduction in kinetic energy of the vehicle can be harvested and used to generate electricity. Commonly, there are two ways in which regenerative braking is used. The energy of the slowing vehicle can be transferred to a flywheel and stored there. Alternatively, the kinetic energy can be converted to electrical energy through a motor or generator. The electricity can then be stored in a battery or supercapacitor. If the vehicle is not a car but is instead a tram or train, the electricity can be fed back to the vehicle's traction power supply such as overhead power line.
Such systems provide increased efficiency and reduced fuel costs. There is little in the way of such technologies for aircraft.
One known system for generating electricity from the movement of an aircraft is a ram air turbine (or RAT), such as disclosed in GB 2461057. The ram air turbine is a turbine mounted and stored within a compartment of the aircraft. The turbine can be deployed from the compartment by opening a door and swinging the turbine out into the airstream to generate electrical power. Such ram air turbines are deployed in the event of an emergency to provide a back-up source of electrical power. For example, an emergency might be when the main engines or auxiliary power unit of the aircraft fails.
A ram air turbine is shown in FIGS. 1a-1c. FIG. 1a shows the general location of a ram air turbine 10 at the underside of the aircraft fuselage. FIG. 1b shows more detail of how the ram air turbine is deployed from a compartment 20 in the fuselage. FIG. 1c shows the ram air turbine stowed in the compartment 20. In the event of a loss of electrical power, the ram air turbine 20 is deployed by opening a compartment door 30 and swinging the turbine out beyond the skin of the aircraft 5 into the airstream flowing past the aircraft. The airstream rotates the blades of the turbine which drives a generator of the turbine to generate electrical energy. When not in use, such as during normal flight where electrical power is provided by the main engines or auxiliary power unit, the turbine 20 is stowed in the compartment 20 and the compartment door 30 is closed. In the stowed position the turbine is not in the airstream, the blades do not turn and no power is generated by it.
Other attempts have been made to recover energy from the movement of an air vehicle. For example, an energy recovery speed brake has been proposed (see www.airbus-fyi.com/finalists_2011.php) for inclusion in the wing. The speed brake would be a turbine placed between the wing surface and a conventional air brake. However, the small size and location of the speed brake limits the amount of energy that can be generated.
There is therefore a need for an improved method and apparatus for recovering energy from the movement of an aircraft.


A substrate processing apparatus that includes an outer tank, an inner tank, and opposed electrodes. The inner tank is provided in the outer tank and the opposed electrodes are provided in the inner tank. A distance between the opposed electrodes can be changed in a state in which the inner tank can completely confine plasma therein. The inner tank includes first and second inner tank constituent members, and the state in which the inner tank can completely confine plasma therein is established by superposing a side wall of the second inner tank constituent member on a side wall of the first inner tank constituent member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method, and more particularly, to a plasma-enhanced film forming apparatus and a plasma-enhanced film forming processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
As such a plasma-enhanced CVD (chemical Vapor Deposition) film forming apparatus, one having a structure as shown in FIG. 6 has been proposed.
This conventional plasma-enhanced CVD apparatus 6 is an inner tank closed type plasma-enhanced CVD apparatus in which a closed inner tank 30 is formed in an outer tank 20.
In this plasma-enhanced CVD apparatus 6, a lower inner tank wall 37 is mounted around an anode plate 34 which constitutes a lower electrode (anode) 33 together with a susceptor 35. The lower inner tank wall 37 is lifted together with the anode plate 34 so that a side wall 375 of the lower inner tank wall 37 abuts against an upper inner tank side wall 31, thereby forming the closed inner tank 30. Therefore, when the closed inner tank 30 is formed, the position of the anode 33 is determined uniquely, and a distance L between an upper electrode (cathode) 24 and the lower electrode (anode) 33 is determined uniquely.
As today""s working method of a plasma-enhanced CVD apparatus, especially in a plasma-enhanced CVD apparatus for LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), it is general to carry out an online gas cleaning process. That is, it is necessary to carry out two different kinds of processes such as a CVD process and a gas cleaning process with the same electrodes.
In the case of the CVD apparatus, it is required that the processing speed of both CVD process and gas cleaning process is enhanced. Although the distance between the electrodes is one of important factors to determine the processing speed, there is almost no case in which the distance between the electrodes suitable for CVD process is the same as that suitable for gas cleaning process and in generally, an optimal distance between electrodes for CVD process is different from that for gas cleaning process. Further, in the case of CVD process also, an optimal distance between the electrodes differs depending upon the kinds of film.
However, in the conventional CVD apparatus, there are drawbacks that it is impossible to change the distance between the electrodes while keeping the closed structure, and if the distance between the electrodes which is suitable for one of the processes, the other process must be carried out inefficiently.
Furthermore, if distances between the electrodes which are respectively optimal for the two processes, during either one of the processes, it is impossible to keep the closed structure. For this reason, there are problems that plasma is spread out in the outer tank 20, the plasma density is lowered and as a result, the processing speed is decreased. Further, since gas leaks into the outer tank 20, there is a problem that the outer tank 20 is contaminated.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus, including:
an outer tank,
an inner tank provided in the outer tank, and
opposed electrodes provided in the inner tank, wherein
a distance between the opposed electrodes can be changed in a state in which the inner tank can completely confine plasma therein, and
the inner tank includes first and second inner tank constituent members, and the state in which the inner tank can completely confine plasma therein is established by superposing a side wall of the second inner tank constituent member on a side wall of the first inner tank constituent member.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus, including:
an outer tank,
an inner tank provided in the outer tank, and
opposed electrodes provided in the inner tank, wherein
the inner tank can completely confine plasma therein with respect to two or more different distances between the opposed electrodes, and
the inner tank includes first and second inner tank constituent members, and the state in which the inner tank can completely confine plasma therein is established by superposing a side wall of the second inner tank constituent member on a side wall of the first inner tank constituent member.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus, including:
an outer tank,
an inner tank provided in the outer tank, and
opposed electrodes provided in the inner tank, wherein
a distance between the opposed electrodes can be changed in a state in which the inner tank is closed, and
the inner tank includes first and second inner constituent members, and the inner tank is closed by superposing a side wall of the second inner tank constituent member on a side wall of the first inner tank constituent member,
at least one of the side wall of the first inner tank constituent member and the side wall of the second inner tank constituent member includes a plurality of auxiliary side walls, and
the plurality of auxiliary side walls of one of the side wall of the first inner tank constituent member and the side wall of the second inner tank constituent member, and the side wall of the other of the first inner tank constituent member and the side wall of the second inner tank constituent member are superposed on each other, thereby closing the inner tank.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus, including:
an outer tank,
an inner tank provided in the outer tank, and
opposed electrodes provided in the inner tank, wherein
the inner tank can be closed with respect to two or more different distances between the opposed electrodes, and
the inner tank includes first and second inner constituent members, and the inner tank is closed by superposing a side wall of the second inner tank constituent member on a side wall of the first inner tank constituent member,
at least one of the side wall of the first inner tank constituent member and the side wall of the second inner tank constituent member includes a plurality of auxiliary side walls, and
the plurality of auxiliary side walls of one of the side wall of the first inner tank constituent member and the side wall of the second inner tank constituent member, and the side wall of the other of the first inner tank constituent member and the side wall of the second inner tank constituent member are superposed on each other, thereby closing the inner tank.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus, including:
an outer tank,
an inner tank provided in the outer tank, and
opposed electrodes provided in the inner tank, wherein
a distance between the opposed electrodes can be changed in a state in which the inner tank can confine plasma therein,
the inner tank includes first and second inner tank constituent members,
the state in which the inner tank can confine plasma therein is established by bringing the second inner tank constituent member into contact with the first inner tank constituent member,
the opposed electrodes include first and second electrodes which are opposed to each other,
the first electrode is disposed closer to the first inner tank constituent member,
the second electrode is disposed closer to the second inner tank constituent member,
the second electrode can move in a state in which the second inner tank constituent member is in contact with the first inner tank constituent member,
the substrate processing apparatus further includes a further inner tank constituent member coupled to the second electrode, and
a further inner tank can be formed in the inner tank by bringing the further inner tank constituent member into abutment against the first inner tank constituent member.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus, including:
an outer tank,
an inner tank provided in the outer tank, and
opposed electrodes provided in the inner tank, wherein
the inner tank can confine plasma therein with respect to two or more different distances between the opposed electrodes,
the inner tank includes first and second inner tank constituent members,
the state in which the inner tank can confine plasma therein is established by bringing the second inner tank constituent member into contact with the first inner tank constituent member,
the opposed electrodes include first and second electrodes which are opposed to each other,
the first electrode is disposed closer to the first inner tank constituent member,
the second electrode is disposed closer to the second inner tank constituent member,
the second inner tank constituent member can contact the first inner tank constituent member with respect to two or more different distances between the opposed electrodes,
the substrate processing apparatus further includes a further inner tank constituent member coupled to the second electrode, and a further inner tank can be formed in the inner tank by bringing the further inner tank constituent member into abutment against the first inner tank constituent member.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including:
an outer tank,
an inner tank provided in the outer tank, and
opposed electrodes provided in the inner tank, wherein
a distance between the opposed electrodes can be changed in a state in which the inner tank is closed, and
the inner tank includes first and second inner tank constituent members, and the state in which the inner tank is closed is established by superposing a side wall of the second inner tank constituent member on a side wall of the first inner tank constituent member.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including:
an outer tank,
an inner tank provided in the outer tank, and
opposed electrodes provided in the inner tank, wherein
the inner tank can be closed with respect to two or more different distances between the opposed electrodes, and
the inner tank includes first and second inner tank constituent members, and the state in which the inner tank is closed is established by superposing a side wall of the second inner tank constituent member on a side wall of the first inner tank constituent member.


A method for determining the location of a vehicle whose movement is constrained to a route whose location is fixed and known, such as a train. An initial estimate of location is made based upon information contained in a route database based on distance traveled from a reset point. The accuracy of the estimated vehicle location is improved through use of just two global positioning satellites.

The present invention relates to the determination of the location of an object through the combined use of a route database and satellite measurement. More specifically, the invention relates to location determination of a train through the use of a track database and data from just two global positioning satellites.
The ability to locate trains across a wide area is becoming of increasing importance. Resource limitations inherent in any track system such as the number and availability of sidings, loaders, unloaders, switches, and personnel make the intelligent use of such resources of utmost importance. These resources are best used through the efficient transit of trains to and from these resources. Efficient transit can only be accomplished if the locations of the various trains in the system are known with accuracy.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) and other satellite based location determining systems have been available and in use for a number of years (the term GPS is used hereafter to denote any positioning system which uses satellites and has capabilities similar to those of the GPS system.) Use of GPS systems with a wide variety of vehicles, including trains, is known to the field. Also known to the field are the inherent limitations of GPS use.
An accurate GPS location determination requires a GPS receiver to receive signals from four different GPS satellites. A train or any other vehicle can easily receive signals from the four required satellites if the vehicle is located in an open area, free of signal obstructions. For this reason, ships at sea and airplanes in flight are well positioned to make full use of GPS to accurately determine their location. A train located in an open area can similarly receive signals from the required four satellites. However, trains are not always so conveniently located.
The very nature of train travel is such that trains will be found in locations where they cannot easily receive from four satellites. Trains travel next to tall, signal obstructing structures, both natural and man-made. Trains travel through canyons and other areas which interfere with signal reception. As such, trains are often in the situation, unique from some other forms of mass and freight transit, in which they can receive signals from fewer than the required four satellites, and frequently can receive signals from only two satellites.
Obviously, there are other methods for determining the location of a vehicle. Particularly with respect to rail-based transportation, it is possible for a vehicle to have access to a database of information pertaining to rail routes whose locations are fixed and known. Such a database may be used to provide a way of converting elapsed distance from a known point along a known route into a location in two or three dimensional coordinates.
Such a system is well suited to rail vehicles by virtue of the fact that these vehicles cannot stray from their fixed and known tracks. The advantages of such a system are limited by its logistics, however. In order to know the distance traveled from a fixed point, an odometer type of measurement must be taken. Such a measurement is generally taken by counting wheel rotations, which is fraught with inaccuracies: wheels slip on rails, potentially both during acceleration and braking; wheel diameter changes over time as wheels wear down and develop flat spots; any wheel rotation measurement and calculation method is inherently at least partly mechanical, thus subject to mechanical problems; all such measurements are based on correctly resetting a counter at a designated zero point from which such measurements are taken, which might not be easily performed; and independent of the ability to measure distance travelled, the entire system is subject to the accuracy of the initial database upon which the final location determination is based.
It is desirable to combine the best features of satellite based and elapsed distance based location determination methods. Such a system could approximate a rail vehicle's location based on a track database to within some range of error. This estimate could be used as the basis for a satellite based measurement which takes into account not only the estimated location of the rail vehicle, but also the relative location of nearby geosynchronous satellites. Such a system need not have access to the full four satellites normally required.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel method of determining the location of a vehicle whose movement is constrained to a route whose location is fixed and known which obviates the problems of the prior art.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel method of determining a vehicle's location along a fixed route by using a database of route locations in conjunction with positional information from just two satellites from a global positioning system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method of determining the location of a vehicle by estimating the vehicle's location along a route, determining angles from a vector tangent to the route to each of two satellites, determining range errors between an estimated range from the estimated location of the vehicle to each satellite and a measured range from the vehicle to each satellite, and using the determined angles and determined range errors to determine a distance error which is combined with the estimated location of the vehicle to determine its location.
These and many other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

Application of GPS to a railroad navigation system using two satellites and a stored database


A method and assembly for treating hazardous and/or unknown fluids either liquids or compressed gases contained in a gas cylinder (12) having a cylinder body (14) and a removable fixture (16). The assembly (10) includes a tubular housing (18) having an open end (20). An adjustable carriage assembly (34, 38, 40) is included for supporting the cylinder body (14) in the center of the housing (18). A clamping assembly (30) secures the cylinder body (14) to the carriage assembly (34, 38, 42). An end cap (70) seals the open end (20) of the housing (18). A shaft (72) is rotatably disposed through the end cap (70). The shaft (72) includes a fixture engagement assembly (78) on one end (76) thereof for engaging a portion of the fixture (16) and imparting a rotational force thereto. A motor driven gear box (86) imparts the rotational force to another end (74) of the shaft (72 ). Gas or fluid removed from the cylinder body (14) exits the housing (18) through an opening (94) and is treated in a scrubber assembly (96) comprising a treatment tank (104) and a packed column (106).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and assembly for removing fixtures from gas cylinders and for treating known or unknown fluids of either liquids or compressed gasses contained within the cylinder in an environmentally safe manner.
2. Prior Art
Gas cylinders having removable fixtures, such as valves are commonly used for many purposes. Problems existing are that some cylinders are not marked, are corroded beyond recognition and/or contain hazardous fluids. Disposal of these cylinders and more particularly, the fluid in them has been a problem. previously, these cylinders were taken to a remote location and breached such as by shooting them. The penetration released any fluid contained in the cylinder to render them harmless. However, regulations now prohibit such treatment of the fluid in the cylinders.
Applicant is generally aware of one apparatus of the type for treating fluids comprising either liquids and/or gasses contained in a gas cylinder. Generally, the apparatus includes a housing for enclosing a gas cylinder having the gas and/or liquid therein. The housing is closed and the assembly has a piercing mechanism for piercing or punching a hole in the gas cylinder to allow the gas to escape and be containerized within the housing. Subsequently, the fluid from within the cylinder is treated. Although applicant is generally aware of this assembly and process, applicant is unaware of the exact configuration of the piercing mechanism or housing. Further, applicant is not specifically aware of the manner in which the fluid is treated.
This prior art device, is deficient in that each time it is used, the gas or fluid cylinder is punctured. Therefore, the cylinder is required to be scrapped after this prior art assembly and method have been used.

Gas cylinder handling process and assembly


The present invention provides a handle or shroud for carrying or manipulating portable gas cylinders and gas cylinder valves for the administration of medical gases, such as oxygen. The shroud of the present invention provides improved safety and versatility to the handling process of such cylinders and valves. In one embodiment, the handle or shroud allows an individual to lift the cylinder, valve and shroud from about 26″ off the ground or floor with the wrist turned up.

While portable gas cylinders, gas cylinder valves and handles for carrying or manipulating such cylinders and valves for the administration of medical oxygen are known, the handles are often not designed to account for various physical differences among individuals who use such handles. It would therefore be desirable to provide improved ergonomic handles or shrouds for carrying or lifting gas cylinders and gas cylinder valves or regulators (e.g., flow regulators) attached to gas cylinders.

Ergonomic shroud for medical gas cylinders


A method and system of increasing efficiency within a data processing system having multiple applications executing within the data processing system. Each of the applications requires a specific environment. A collection of parameters which specify an environment is stored within the data processing system in response to an initialization of the environment for utilization by a first application. Next, the minimal requirements of an second application requesting an environment are determined in response to an attempted initialization of the second application. An existing environment is then utilized if the collection of parameters specifying the environment meets the minimal requirements of the second application, wherein data processing efficiency is increased.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to an improved data processing system and in particular to a method and system for improving the efficiency of an environment established within a data processing system. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for improving the efficiency of an environment established in a data processing system by reducing the initialization time required for the environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In large software systems and environments located within a data processing system, performance may be hampered due to various factors. For example, in object-oriented software systems and environments, general performance problems may be attributed to the dynamic nature of object-oriented programming and to some extent, to specific implementations of the methodology and/or the run time environment. In a production environment (i.e., an environment where an end user object-oriented system is installed and operating on a day-to-day basis), one specific aspect of the performance problem tends to be the time required to instantiate and initialize objects and their associated classes upon entry into the object-oriented environment. For example, each time the environment is started or invoked some amount of initialization is required in order to perform some function for a user. A large part of this initialization is simply instantiating and initializing objects and their associated classes that are going to be utilized continuously and have some initial or default values. The environment may be started for various purposes, such as a single user session, a communication session, or some batch processing session. In each case, the object-oriented environment must be initialized.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and system for reducing the time necessary to provide a data processing environment for a particular task.

Method and system for managing environments with a data processing system

International Business Machines Corporation


A spin transistor conducive to the miniaturization and large scale integration of devices, because a magnetization direction of a source and a drain is determined by a direction of the epitaxial growth of a ferromagnet. The spin transistor includes a semiconductor substrate having a channel layer formed thereinside; ferromagnetic source and drain epitaxially grown on the semiconductor substrate and magnetized in a longitudinal direction of the channel layer due to magnetocrystalline anisotropy—the source and drain being disposed spaced apart from each other in a channel direction and magnetized in the same direction—; and a gate disposed between the source and the drain to be insulated with the semiconductor substrate and formed on the semiconductor substrate to control the spin of electrons that are passed through the channel layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spin transistor, and more particularly, to a spin transistor that is conducive to the miniaturization and large scale integration of devices, because a magnetization direction of a source and a drain is determined by a direction of the epitaxial growth of a ferromagnet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most integrated circuit technologies include devices manufactured utilizing metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) technology. In addition, memory devices such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or flash memory, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) microprocessors, and logic circuits also operate based on an on/off operation of MOSFET.
In MOSFET, it is difficult to reduce the power consumption and area of the electronic device, and there is a physical limit on the gate oxide film. Among next-generation devices developed to solve the above-mentioned problems, there are devices to control the precession of electron spin using a voltage. Among these devices, a spin transistor includes a source, a drain, and a channel connecting the source and the drain. Here, the spin transistor is turned on/off under the control of the electron spin direction, and there have been attempts to use the spin transistor in switching devices, logic circuits, etc. The conventional semiconductor-based FET devices control the charge in the semiconductor using an electric field, but the spin transistor may control the charge and spin at the same time.
It was known that the previously proposed Datta-Das spin transistor (Applied physics letter, vol 56, 665, 1990) and its similar spin transistor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,566 entitled "Magnetic spin injected field effect transistor and method of operation" are required for injecting spin from a ferromagnet (a source) into a semiconductor, or from a semiconductor into a ferromagnet (a drain). Since ferromagnets (a source and a drain) determining a direction of electron spin in this spin injection are magnetized in a channel direction by using shape anisotropy, the ferromagnetic source and drain have a shape that is extended in a channel direction, and therefore the size (or, length) of the device is enlarged in the channel direction. Implementation of this earlier spin transistor in a large scale device has been difficult, and this spin transistor has problems (for example, low spin injection efficiency) caused by the heterogeneity in the interface of the semiconductor (a substrate) and the ferromagnets (a source and a drain).

Spin transistor using epitaxial ferromagnet-semiconductor junction

Korea Institute of Science and Technology


Multilayer magnetic structures comprising composite layers and spacer layers are disclosed. The composite layers include a discontinuous magnetic phase such as Co, Ni or Fe platelets, and a continuous nonmagnetic phase such as C, AlOx, SiOx, ZrOx, Cu, Ag and Au. The spacer layers may comprise Pt, Pd, Au or the like. The composite layers and spacer layers may be made by sputtering. The multilayer structures are useful as magnetic recording layers of magnetic recording media. In one embodiment, the recording media comprises a perpendicular magnetic recording medium including a substrate, a soft magnetic underlayer, a seed layer and the multilayer structure.

Media noise suppression and thermal stability remain key challenges to extending magnetic recording technology beyond the currently achieved areal densities. Future density advancements may require magnetically harder materials and, as a consequence, larger write fields. It is also known that in order to exploit the potential of magnetically harder materials a finer grain structure with properly decoupled grains and tight control of magnetic and physical grain size distributions are required.
Perpendicular magnetic recording employing magnetic media comprising a hard magnetic recording layer and a soft magnetic underlayer is evolving as a follow-on technology to current longitudinal magnetic recording systems. There are currently very few media and materials technology options in light of the stringent boundary conditions imposed by thermal stability and signal-to-noise requirements which must be met in order to extend perpendicular magnetic recording to areal densities beyond 80 or 100 Gbit/in2. Although significantly higher areal densities are theoretically achievable in perpendicular magnetic recording systems, such densities may only be achieved if the grain-count per bit is drastically reduced, e.g., from currently about 80 grain-count per bit (based upon an areal density of 100 Gbit/in2; 35 nm×180 nm bit cell; 750 kfci×150 ktpi; and 10–15% channel overhead) to as low as 10 grain-count per bit (based upon an areal density of 500 Gbit/in2; 11 nm×47 nm bit cell; 1850 kfic×540 ktpi; and greater than 35% channel overhead). However, such increased areal densities will lead to higher relative media noise and will require significantly improved channel detectors, with associated large error-correction overhead.
In order to achieve significantly improved areal densities with perpendicular magnetic recording media, the magnetic cluster size needs to be reduced, e.g., to about 8 nm, and the grain size distribution should be trimmed, e.g., below about 10 percent (sigma over mean). Current state-of-the-art sputtered media have grain size distributions of about 25 percent. It remains a major challenge to achieve the grain distribution target using current thin film sputtering processes and materials.
A need therefore exists for perpendicular magnetic recording media having enhanced signal-to-noise ratios and sufficiently high thermal stabilities.

Multilayer magnetic recording media including composite layer with discontinuous magnetic phase and continuous non-magnetic phase


A passive personal vocal monitor is described for enhancing the sound of a singer's voice to the singer during a performance. The monitor has an earpiece with a nipple configured to be disposed snuggly within the singer's ear and having an internal channel terminating in an open end adjacent the singer's eardrum. A tubular acoustic waveguide extends from the earpiece to an open end that is positionable adjacent the singer's mouth when the nipple is in the singer's ear. A canal in the earpiece couples the tubular waveguide to the channel of the nipple so that sounds of the singer's voice are conveyed along the waveguide and to the user's eardrum during a singing performance. An adjustable ambient sound inlet is provided on the earpiece so that a singer may admit a desired amount of ambient sound to be mixed with his voice as he sings.

A singer in a band, choir, or other musical group often finds it difficult to hear his (which should be read "his or her" throughout this disclosure) own voice clearly amidst the background sounds of drums, electrically amplified instruments, and/or fellow singers. Without this feedback, the singer's voice can and often is off-pitch. Further, a singer can find it difficult to control the dynamics of his voice in an environment with high levels of background sound, and commonly finds himself screaming or belting out a song rather than singing it in a controlled manner. The ultimate result is a poor performance by the singer, which he often does not realize until listening back to a recording of the performance.
Vocal monitors exist to provide singers on stage with the ability to hear themselves over the loud background sounds of a band or fellow singers. Such monitors include, for example, stage monitors, often referred to as wedges, which are loudspeakers placed on the floor facing up at the singer. The singer's voice is amplified and reproduced through the stage monitors to allow the singer to hear himself more clearly. A problem with stage monitors is that they are large, heavy, expensive, and require electronic amplifiers and mixers which generally must be operated by a sound engineer, who may be dedicated to providing custom vocal mixes to a number of performances. Further, the loud amplified vocal sounds produced by the monitors can interfere with the overall house mix of the band's public address (PA) system, often making it muddy and difficult to control by a front-of-house (FOH) sound engineer. This is particularly true in smaller venues where sounds produced by stage monitors reflect off of walls back toward an audience.
Spot monitors are similar to stage monitors, except that they are smaller loudspeakers that usually are mounted on a stand facing the singer. While spot monitors are indeed smaller and lighter, they nevertheless require electronic amplification and mixers for operation and can also interfere with the overall house mix of the band. More recently, in-ear vocal monitors have become available. These are very small sophisticated audio transducers disposed within ear buds that a singer can insert into his ear during a performance. Amplified sounds of the singer's voice and perhaps other sounds are reproduced by the transducers directly within the singer's ear so that the singer has a personal monitor mix that cannot interfere with the overall sound of a band or vocal group. While in-ear monitors have proven somewhat successful, they nevertheless can be exceedingly expensive due to their high degree of electronic sophistication. They generally operate on small batteries, which can die or fail during a performance with dire results. Further, in-ear monitors require amplification equipment, mixing equipment, and the like, which generally must be operated by a dedicated sound engineer.
A need exists for a vocal monitor for use by singers in bands, choirs, and other vocal groups that is simple to use, operates without electronics or batteries, inexpensive, controllable by the singer himself without a sound engineer, and that cannot interfere with the overall sound mix of the band or group. It is to the provision of such a vocal monitor that this disclosure if primarily directed.


The seat adjustment mechanism has a housing with an outer ring and an inner ring. The rings are arranged concentrically. Clamping bodies interact with double clamping ramps on the rings and are arranged in an annular space between the rings. Spring supports pivot in relation to each other, interact with a stop on the housing, are arranged concentrically with the rings, and engage in each case both in the annular space and in an inner space arranged radially within the inner ring. The spring supports are braced in relation to each other by a spring, which is arranged in the inner space to secure the clamping bodies in the center of the double clamping ramps. Stop surfaces of the spring supports are acted upon by a force in the direction in which they are minimally spaced apart.

A step-by-step mechanism which is configured as a clamping roller mechanism is known, for example, from DE 198 54 931 A1. In interaction with a clamping roller locking mechanism, the clamping roller step-by-step mechanism forms a setting device for adjusting a motor vehicle seat. The driven shaft of the clamping roller locking mechanism can be coupled to the driven element of the clamping roller step-by-step mechanism, the driven shaft and the driven element being mounted in or on a common housing. Overall, the setting device according to DE 198 54 931 A1 is a proven construction.

Step-by-step mechanism, in particular for a seat adjustment


Multi-layer printing of a thermal printer allows editing of print objects in a plurality of editing pages, and creation of a relationship between the editing pages and a plurality of dye areas of a dye ribbon. The print objects in the editing pages are converted into a plurality of pages of printing data. A thermal printer drives the dye areas of the dye ribbon to sequentially transfer two pages of the printing data onto a first surface of a card. With visible editing windows, the operation of editing the print objects for a thermal printer can be simplified.

1. Field of the Invention
The claimed invention relates to a printing method of a thermal printer, and more particularly, to a method for multi-layer printing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a thermal printer 10, and FIG. 2 is a diagram of a dye ribbon 12 used in the thermal printer 10. The thermal printer 10 comprises a dye ribbon 12, a thermal print head 14, an auto-insert mechanism 16, and a turnover mechanism 18. The auto-insert mechanism 16 is used to feed a card 20 into the thermal printer 10, and the turnover mechanism 18 is used to turn over the card 20. A dye ribbon 12 comprises a plurality of dye areas 30Y, 30M, 30C, 30W, 30G, and 30K which are respectively used to print out yellow, magenta, cyan, watermark, golden, and black colors. When the thermal print head 14 is heated, its thermal energy can transfer color from the dye areas 30Y–30K to the card 20. Each dye area 30Y–30K has a partition 32 or 34 in front of it, which helps the thermal printer 10 to recognize the beginning of each dye area 30Y–30K. Furthermore, the dye areas 30Y–30K appear repeatedly, and a partition 32 can be used to recognize the beginning of dye areas 30Y–30K in each dye section. There are many kinds of dye ribbons that can be used in the thermal printer 10, the dye ribbon 14 mentioned above is merely one of them.
However, software tools for the thermal printer are difficult to use at present; users usually need a lot of time to learn these. Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is the interface of an editing tool used in the thermal printer. In the prior art, when a thermal printer user needs to edit print data, he or she must open an editing window 40 as shown in FIG. 3. The editing window 40 comprises an input frame 42 for editing print data and an output frame 43 for displaying edited data. Users can use the columns and control buttons in the input frame 42 to edit the printing data. For example, if a user wanted to print out his portrait and his name on a card (i.e. to make a business card), he could edit the portrait file path and the corresponding name with the input frame 42. Such editing tools usually have different editing windows for all kinds of printing effects, and the editing window 40 mentioned in FIG. 3 is merely one of these. When users use a thermal printer for multi-layer printing, the edit tools are too complicated to operate. In addition, the above edit tool cannot preview images, so it is difficult to get the desired result on the first attempt at printing.

Method for multi-layer printing of a thermal printer


As shown in FIG. 1A, a first resist film 2 comprising organic high molecules and a second resist film 3 comprising a photosensitive material are sequentially applied to a substrate 1 by the spin coat method or the spray method for forming a two-layer resist. Then, a mask 4 with which a metallic fine opening pattern 6 is formed on a mask substrate 5 comprising a dielectric, such as glass, is tightly contacted with the two-layer resist. Then, light is projected onto the back of the mask substrate to carry out exposure with near field light 7 which is effused from the opening portions of the mask 4 where no metal is formed. Then, a pattern is formed by processing the second resist layer 3 for development with a developing solution. Thereafter, with the pattern in the second resist layer 3 being used as a mask, the first resist layer 2 is dry-etched with O2 plasma to form a fine pattern having a high aspect ratio, and with the pattern in the two-layer resist, the substrate is worked by etching, vapor deposition, or the like, before the two-layer resist is peeled off.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fine pattern forming method, and particularly to a method which forms a fine pattern on a substrate by photolithography using near field light.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The evolution of photolithography technology has been supported particularly by the advance of reduced projection exposure technology and resist technology. The performance of reduced projection exposure technology mainly depends upon two basic parameters, i.e., the resolution, RP, and the depth of focus, DOP. If the exposure wavelength for the projection optical system is xcex, and the numerical aperture of the projection lens is NA, the above-mentioned two basic parameters are expressed by RP=k1xcex/NA, and DOP=k2xcex/NA2. In order to improve the resolution for lithography, it is essential to reduce the wavelength xcex, and increase the numerical aperture of the projection lens, NA. However, if NA is increased, the resolution is improved, but the depth of focus is reduced in inverse proportion to the square of NA. Therefore, reduction in wavelength xcex has been demanded in the trend toward finer pattern formation. The exposure wavelength xcex has been shortened from that for the g-line (436 nm) to that for the i-line (365 nm), and at present, the excimer laser (248 nm, 193 nm) has become the most popular.
However, with lithography using light, the diffraction limit for light provides the limit of resolution, and it is generally accepted that, if an F2 excimer laser with a wavelength of 248 nm is used, a fine pattern of 100 nm in line width is the limit of lithography using a lens series optical system. If it is attempted to provide a resolution in the order of less than 100 nm, electron beam or X-ray (particularly SOR light, i.e., synchrotron orbital radiation) lithography technology must be used.
Electron beam lithography can control the formation of a pattern in the order of nanometers with high accuracy, providing a significantly greater depth of focus than that for the optical system. In addition, it offers an advantage that it can directly draw a figure on the wafer without a mask, but because the throughput is low, and the cost is high, it has a drawback that it is far from suited to volume production.
X-ray lithography can provide an approx. one digit higher resolution and accuracy than those for the excimer laser lithography either when full-scale exposure is carried out with a 1-to-1 mask or when a reflection type image formation optical system is used for exposure. However, X-ray lithography presents problems that the mask is difficult to prepare, the feasibility is low, and the cost is high due to the device.
With lithography using an electron beam or X-ray, a resist must be developed in accordance with the exposure method, and problems still exist with respect to sensitivity, resolution, resistance to etching, etc.
As a method for solving the problems described above, a method has been proposed with which near field light effused from openings having a diameter sufficiently smaller than the wavelength of the projected light is used as a light source, and a fine pattern is formed by exposing the resist to the near field light and processing the resist for development. This method allows a spatial resolution in the order of nanometers to be obtained regardless of the wavelength for the light source.
However, unlike the conventional propagated light, the near field light has a propagation depth of as small as several tens of nm (therefore, the word xe2x80x9ceffusedxe2x80x9d is used in place of xe2x80x9cpropagatedxe2x80x9d, and in the drawings, the near field light is depicted as if it were a drop of water hanging from a faucet). It is impossible to expose a thick-film resist having a thickness as large as 1000 nm, and a problem where it is difficult to form a resist pattern with a high aspect ratio is presented. Here, if the line width and the line height for the resist are xe2x80x9caxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cbxe2x80x9d, respectively, the aspect ratio is expressed as b/a, and it can be said that, for a given resist thickness, the higher the aspect ratio, the finer the pattern will be.
In addition, there is a problem that, when the substrate has a difference in level, it is difficult to apply the resist to a uniform thickness over the entire surface, even if the thickness of the resist is so small that the near field light can reach the bottom, which means that an area where the light cannot reach the bottom occurs in the resist, and it is extremely difficult to carry out high-precision lithography.
The fine pattern forming method according to the present invention is a fine pattern forming method in which a first resist layer capable of being removed by dry etching, and a photosensitive second resist layer having a resistance to dry etching with which only the irradiated portion or only the non-irradiated portion is made soluble in a developing solvent are stacked together in this order for creating a recording material, and by means for generating near field light on the projected light, the near field light is projected onto the second resist layer of the recording material in the form of a desired pattern. Thereafter, by processing the second resist layer for development, a pattern is formed in the second resist layer, and by using the pattern as a mask, the first resist layer is dry-etched to form a pattern on the substrate of the recording material.
The above-mentioned second resist layer preferably has a film thickness of 100 nm or less.
The fine pattern forming method according to the present invention preferably uses a recording material which provides antireflection means against the projected light on the substrate. In this case, the antireflection means is preferably an antireflection film formed between the substrate and the first resist layer, or an antireflection film formed between the first resist layer and the second resist layer.
The means for generating near field light may be a mask with which the near field light is generated from a metallic pattern formed on a material having a permeability to the projected light, and the metallic pattern is tightly contacted with the second resist layer or brought close thereto within the reach of the near field light for carrying out exposure.
The means for generating near field light may also be an optical stamp with which a convexity and concavity pattern is formed on the surface of a material having a permeability to the projected light, and near field light is generated from the convexity and concavity pattern by total reflection, and the convexity and concavity pattern is tightly contacted with the second resist layer or brought close thereto within the reach of the near field light for carrying out exposure.
The means for generating near field light may also be a probe having an opening with a diameter smaller than the wavelength of the projected light, and the probe is moved on the second resist to carry out exposure.
The second resist layer and the means for generating near field light are preferably tightly contacted with each other by carrying out evacuation in the exposure device for projecting the near field light.
The second resist layer and the means for generating near field light may be tightly contacted with each other by carrying out evacuation in the exposure device and blowing air from the back of the substrate for projecting the near field light.
The first resist layer is preferably etched by oxygen plasma.
The second resist layer preferably comprises a pattern forming material which contains a compound having silicon atoms. The content of the silicon atoms is preferably 1% to 50% of the solid content in the second resist layer.
The second resist layer may comprise a pattern forming material which contains at least one of a naphthoquinone diazide compound and a diazo ketone compound, and a water-insoluble and alkali-soluble silicone-containing polymer.
The second resist layer may comprise a pattern forming material which contains a water-insoluble and alkali-soluble silicone-containing polymer, a compound generating an acid when irradiated with active light beam or radiation, and a high molecular or low molecular compound which has a group capable of being decomposed by an acid, and the solubility of which in an aqueous alkali developing solution is increased under the action of the acid.
The second resist layer may comprise a pattern formation material which contains a water-insoluble silicone-containing polymer which has a group capable of being decomposed by an acid, the solubility of which in an aqueous alkali developing solution is increased under the action of the acid, and which has a functional group, a compound generating an acid when irradiated with active light beam or radiation, and a high molecular or low molecular compound which has a group capable of being crosslinked by the acid.
The second resist layer may comprise a pattern formation material which contains a water-insoluble silicone-containing polymer which has an olefin unsaturated group and the solubility of which in an aqueous alkali developing solution is decreased through the polymerization reaction, and a compound providing a polymerization reaction initiating capability when irradiated with active light beam or radiation.
The second resist layer may comprise a pattern formation material which contains a water-insoluble and alkali-soluble silicone-containing polymer, a compound providing a polymerization reaction initiating capability when irradiated with active light beam or radiation, and a high molecular or low molecular compound which has an olefin unsaturated group and the solubility of which in an aqueous alkali developing solution is decreased through the polymerization reaction.
With the fine pattern forming method of the present invention, a pattern having a line width of 100 nm or less, which is said to be the limit for the conventional photolithography, can be formed by exposing the resist to the near field light effused from the pattern having a line width sufficiently smaller than the wavelength of the projected light, and processing the resist for development.
Up to now, the resolution for lithography has mainly depended upon the wavelength for the light source, but the light source for generating the near field light may have any wavelength, which means there is no need to develop a new light source, which allows a substantial cost reduction.
As the resist, a two-layer resist having a photosensitive resist and a resist of the lower layer comprising organic high molecules is used, which allows the surface to be flattened with the resist of the organic high molecules, and therefore the film thickness of the photosensitive resist of the upper layer to be made uniform, even when the substrate has a difference in level, resulting in an area where the near field light cannot reach the bottom being produced in the first layer. Consequently, the near field light can be uniformly projected even for a pattern having a large area, and a precision pattern of the photosensitive resist can be formed. By using the pattern of the photosensitive resist as a mask for patterning the resist layer of the organic high molecules, which is the lower layer, by the conventional dry-etching method, a fine pattern having a high aspect ratio can be easily formed.
After working the substrate, the two-layer resist can be easily peeled off with a well-known organic solvent which is used as the solvent for the resist, because the organic high molecule resist layer has not been changed by the exposure, which offers an advantage of a good productivity.
Thus, with the fine pattern forming method of the present invention which uses near field light and a two-layer resist, a fine pattern of 100 nm or less can be formed with a high aspect ratio and at a low cost.
The present invention provides a fine pattern forming method which assures a high aspect ratio in lithography using near field light.


A millimeter-wave radar device including at least one millimeter-wave circuit and at least one antenna, wherein the millimeter-wave radar device is designed as a module having a multilayered multipolymer circuit board having at least a first layer composed of a polymer material having low dispersion of the dielectric constant, a second layer composed of a high-strength polymer material, which stabilizes the multipolymer circuit board, and a metallization layer, which is arranged between the first layer and the second layer and serves for shielding and for signal carrying, and the multipolymer circuit board carries the at least one millimeter-wave circuit and the at least one antenna.

The present invention relates to a microwave radar device.
Radar devices are known in prior art, which operate for radar applications in the frequency range from approx. 30 MHz to 300 GHz, with the presently used frequencies ranging from 1 GHz to 100 GHz. Unlike optic measuring systems, the touchless radar measurement yields reliable distances and relative speeds even in difficult environments.
There are various approaches for realizing radar devices, with the most common ones being the pulse radar and the frequency-modulated continuous wave radar (FMCW-radar). The distance and speed of the target can be determined from the extended measuring and the Doppler shift of the receiver signal reflected by the target using signal processing. In the frequency range above 80 GHz the waveguide technology, using modules of the split-block technology, horn antenna, and a separate signal processing unit, is considered prior art, which presently is used primarily in military systems.
W-band radar provides a wide range of applications. The W-band is in the range of millimeter-waves with frequencies from 75 to 110 GHz. The W-band is the best suitable frequency band when small wavelengths are required, for example measuring 3 mm, and thus high spatial resolution and the detection of small objects via radar as well as additionally a low HF-capacity and the detection over long distances. At 94 GHz, thus within the W-band, the atmosphere exhibits a local damping minimum, so that aerosols, such as dust, smoke, steam, and fog can be penetrated very well in the W-band.
Today the wide use of W-band radar applications is still limited by the very high costs and the voluminous design.

FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.


In etching a polysilicon film having a large step difference by means of the RIE method, use is made of a mixed gas of HBr and Ar (10 to 25%) or a mixed gas of HBr, Ar (5 to 25 %), and O.sub.2 (0.2 to 2%). With this arrangement, it is possible to eliminate the residuals in the step part, and etch the polysilicon film with high anisotropy with little etching of the underlying oxide film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an etching method for a polysilicon film, and more particularly, to a dry etching method for a polysilicon film formed during the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, semiconductor devices are being designed with increasingly three-dimensional features in their structures, along with the enhancement of the degree of integration. Because of that, the processes for film formation in parts with large step difference are increasing in number. So far as the polysilicon films are concerned, one that is used as an electrode of a stacked capacitor for a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is formed on underlying material having the large step difference. A method of forming the lower electrode of a stacked capacitor that uses a polysilicon film will be described as follows.
First, after forming a field oxide film with thickness of about 300 nm on a silicon substrate by a selective oxidation method, a wiring that is connected to a gate electrode is formed on one end of the field oxide film using a first polysilicon film with thickness of about 500 nm. Next, after forming all over the surface a 150 nm thick silicon oxide film as an interlayer insulating film, a 600 nm thick second polysilicon film which is to become a lower electrode is formed on top of it. At this time, a step difference of about 800 nm is generated in the second polysilicon film due to the roughness of the underlying material.
Next, the second polysilicon film on the field oxide film is masked with a photoresist film so as to have an end of the photoresist film to be situated on the wiring of the first polysilicon film, and the exposed part of the second polysilicon film is etched by the reactive ion etching (RIE) method. When the etching (namely, RIE, and similarly in the following) of the flat part of the second polysilicon film is completed, there is left a residue of the second polysilicon film on the side faces of the wiring because the second polysilicon film is being formed thick. In order to remove the residue of the second polysilicon film completely, an etching time which is about twice as long is required. The RIE method is principally employed for etching the polysilicon film, and a chlorofluorocarbon gas such as CClF.sub.3, a bromochlorofluorocarbon gas such as CClBrF.sub.2, and a gas consisting mainly of Cl.sub.2 are frequently employed as the etching gas.
Further, the use of HBr gas as an etching gas for the polysilicon film based on its high selectivity with the oxide film formed on the semiconductor substrate and its high anisotropy has been reported by L. Y. Tsou in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol. 136, No. 10, 1989, p. 3003. In etching a polysilicon film using HBr gas, there is a case in which HBr gas alone is used or a case in which He is added to stabilize the plasma discharge. In either case, however, the selectivity of polysilicon to SiO.sub.2, the ratio of the etching rate of the polysilicon film to the etching rate of the oxide film, is higher than 100.
However, the conventional etching gases for a polysilicon film described in the above, a chlorofluorocarbon gas such as CCl.sub.2 F.sub.2 or a bromochlorofluorocarbon gas such as CClBrF.sub.2 has a small selectivity with respect to the oxide film on the order of 20. Therefore, if the second polysilicon film is overetched in order not to leave etching residue, even the oxide film in the underlying base is etched, adversely affecting the formation of a source-drain diffused layer.
On the other hand, the use of Cl.sub.2 gas makes it difficult to control the etching shape because of its small sidewall protective effect at the time of etching. Moreover, in order to carry out an anisotropic etching by the use of Cl.sub.2 gas it is necessary to perform the etching at low pressure and the selectivity has to be lowered. Furthermore, since the Cl.sub.2 gas even etches the photoresist film which is a mask, there is also a problem that a pattern formation with high accuracy cannot be obtained.
Finally, with the use of HBr gas, the selectivity with respect to the oxide film is a high value of over 100, and an etching with high anisotropy can be accomplished, but when the second polysilicon film is etched as in the above, a deposited film is formed on the side face parts of the wiring. Because of this, at the time of over etching filamentlike residuals are formed with this deposited film as a mask, becoming the cause of short-circuiting of the wiring or generation of dust and generating defects deteriorating the reliability of semiconductor device and the yield of manufacturing.


An inspecting method inspects an optical stacked structure having a reflection layer and at least one light transmitting thin film sequentially stacked on a substrate. The inspecting method irradiates inspection light on the optical stacked structure from a side provided with the light transmitting thin film, measures a light intensity of reflected light from each layer, that changes depending on a change in an optical path length to each layer, and inspects a thickness of the light transmitting thin film based on the light intensity of reflected light for a specific wavelength.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to optical stacked structure inspecting methods and optical stacked structure inspecting apparatuses, and more particularly to an optical stacked structure inspecting method and an optical stacked structure inspecting apparatus for inspecting a dye layer thickness and/or a dielectric layer thickness of an optical stacked structure in which a reflection layer and an organic dye layer are successively stacked on a substrate or, a reflection layer, an organic dye layer and a dielectric layer are successively stacked on a substrate. The present invention also relates to a method and an apparatus for producing such an optical stacked structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally known write-once type optical recording media, to which information can be written once by a laser beam, include CD-R, DVD+R and DVD-R. Such write-once type optical recording media have a stacked structure made up of a transparent polycarbonate substrate formed with a tracking groove, a recording layer made of an organic dye spin-coated on the substrate, a light reflection layer made of Au or Ag sputtered on the recording layer, and a projection layer made of an ultraviolet curing resin that are stacked in this order. The DVD+R and the DVD-R have a structure in which two substrates having a thickness of 0.6 mm are bonded together, and have a large recording capacity.
As a method of inspecting the layer thickness of the organic dye recording layer during the production process of the write-once type optical recording medium, a Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-510107 proposes a method of measuring the layer thickness based on transmitted or reflected light that is diffracted by the groove.
A Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-367244 proposes a method of measuring the thicknesses of a land part and a groove part based on diffracted light of different orders, and inspecting the dye layer thickness by measuring the transmittance and the diffracted light intensity in a state where the dye layer is formed on the substrate.
In addition, a Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 11-66633 proposes an apparatus for inspecting defects from the reflected light using, as the inspection light, light having a characteristic absorption wavelength of the dye as a main component.
The existing DVD-ROMs for read use include those having two information recording layers for the purpose of increasing the recording capacity. A first substrate and a second substrate are bonded via a transparent intermediate layer made of an ultraviolet curing resin. A first information recording layer L0 has a semi-transparent first layer formed on an inner surface of the first substrate formed with concavo-convex pits. A second information recording layer L1 has the transparent intermediate layer and a metal reflecting second layer formed on the first information recording layer L0. The semi-transparent first layer is formed by a dielectric layer or a thin metal layer.
By converging a reproducing laser beam on the first information recording layer L0 or the second information recording layer L1 and detecting the reflected light therefrom, it is possible to reproduce the signal from the corresponding first information recording layer L0 or second information recording layer L1. Since the signals are read from the two information recording layers L0 and L1, it is possible to obtain a maximum recording capacity of approximately 8.5 GB.
Recently, a type of optical recording medium having two recording layers and having information reproducing compatibility with the DVD-ROM having the first and second information recording layers L0 and L1 has been developed. This type of optical recording medium is made up of a first substrate and a second substrate that are bonded via an adhesive agent. The first substrate includes a transparent substrate formed with a groove, a recording layer made of an organic dye formed on the substrate, a semi-transparent reflection layer formed on the recording layer, and an ultraviolet curing resin formed on the recording layer, that are stacked in this order. The second substrate includes a substrate formed with a groove, a total reflection layer formed on the substrate, a recording layer made of an organic dye formed on the substrate, and a transparent organic thin film formed on the recording layer, that are stacked in this order. Examples of this type of optical recording media are proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Applications No. 10-340483 and No. 2000-311384.
However, when producing this type of optical recording medium by forming the recording layer and the semi-transparent reflection layer on each substrate and bonding the first and second substrates, there was a problem in that the thicknesses of the dye layer formed on the total reflection layer and the dielectric layer formed on the dye layer cannot be measured using the transmitted light because the light cannot be transmitted through the total reflection layer of the second substrate.

Optical stacked structure inspecting method and optical stacked structure inspecting apparatus


A system and method for logging a non-reader into a corresponding user account is disclosed. A system can include a processor, a user interface, a display, and a camera. The processor can be programmed to display a first plurality of pictures and configure the user interface to allow the user to select a first picture corresponding to the user from the first plurality of pictures to provide a first authentication step and allow the user to select a second picture from a second plurality of pictures providing a second authentication step. The system can log the user into the corresponding user account if the second picture selected from the second authentication step corresponds to the first picture selected from the first authentication step. A system and method for logging multiple users into corresponding user accounts is also disclosed.

Technology is playing an ever increasing role in students' education. Not only are almost all of today's young students exposed to computers at home, but many classrooms incorporate personal computers that can execute applications to teach lessons and skill sets. Just as with any other form of education, a student's progress must be tracked and evaluated periodically to best serve the student's educational plan. However, due to the expense of such technology, many classroom environments only incorporate one computer that all the students of the class share. It therefore becomes important to be able to monitor which student is executing the applications in order to track each student's progress on an individual basis.
Personal computers used in classroom environments therefore frequently employ a log-in system. These log-in systems often assign a unique password to each student, so each student can access their own personal user account such that their progress can be monitored and tracked during computer use. However, non-readers may have difficulty remembering and typing a password to log themselves into the computer because they may not be proficient with the alphabet or even recognize letters of the alphabet. In addition, relying on the teacher or instructor to log each student into the system before the student can be associated with their unique user account can be time consuming for the teacher, occupying time that could be spent instructing other students in the classroom.
The present invention addresses these problems and other issues.

System and method for a log-in procedure for non-readers


A cell adhesive material with excellent cell adhesion and cell proliferating property and a method for producing the same are provided. The adhesion and proliferation of cells can be improved remarkably by the surface modification of a cell adhesive material comprising a polymer material containing carbon as a constituting element, such as polystyrene or segmented polyurethane, wherein at least a part of the surface is modified by ion bombardment through ion implantation. The method for producing such cell adhesive material comprises implanting ions into at least a part of the surface of the polymer material. The cell adhesive material and the method for producing the same are promising for application to cell culture petri dishes and hybrid-type medicinal materials.

The present invention relates to a cell adhesive material applicable to cell culture containers or various medicinal materials and also relates to a method for producing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates particularly to a material with improved cell adhesion and a method for improving the adhesion.
For organs such as skin, mucosa, blood vessel, liver, and spleen which functions cannot be replaced satisfactorily with artificial materials alone, the trend to develop hybrid artificial organs of integrated cell type have been more popular in recent years. In such case, an important issue resides in the selection and designing of a matrix material on which culturing cells spread. For example, it is well known that the adhesion, growth and proliferation of endothelial cells depends on the state of fixing the cells. Matrices are generally constituted of polymer materials, and such polymer materials have conventionally been surface modified by a variety of processes.
Surface modification processes are schematically grouped in dry process representatively illustrated by plasma process, arc process, etc. and wet process represented by coating, graft polymerization, etc.
The plasma process includes, for example, non-reactive plasma process based on the sputtering action of inactive ions such as argon, etc., reactive plasma process using reactive gases such as oxygen, water vapor, etc. In any of these processes, the incident energy of ions is approximately several keV, which can modify cell adhesion or the contact angle of cells to water by rendering the surface of a polymer material in a rough surface or can give hydrophilicity via the introduction of polarized structures such as >C.dbd.O group, C--O-- bond, and the like.
The coating is conducted by precoating an adhesive protein in solution from connective tissues such as collagen, fibronectin, etc. onto a matrix surface, thereby improving the adhesion of endothelial cells, fibroblasts, etc.
However, such conventional techniques still have some problems to be solved.
Firstly, the surface of polymer materials gets rough once the plasma process is effected, so the resulting surface is likely to suppress cell proliferation although it generally propagates cell adhesion. The plasma status varies depending on the apparatus, so uniform conditions for such process are substantially impossible to realize, resulting in no chance of improving controllability and reproducibility.
Alternatively, the coating has a problem in that the adhesive strength between a matrix and a cell is relatively weak because cells bond through the layer of an adhesive protein to the matrix.

Cell adhesive material and method for producing same


A novel ophthalmic lens is provided. The lens includes an astigmatism subtracting surface that removes unwanted astigmatism caused by other elements of the lens.

One of the problems encountered by lens designers is that of astigmatic error. This refers to astigmatic errors caused by ophthalmic lenses themselves, as opposed to an astigmatism that exists as part of a patient's uncorrected vision.
Astigmatic error can be found in almost any ophthalmic lens, including single-vision lenses used to correct nearsightedness. It is a particularly significant problem in multifocal lenses, including progressive addition lenses (PAL's), which are a special case of such lenses.
Progressive addition lenses for correction of presbyopia have been the subject of extensive research and development over the past five decades, as reported in the patent literature. All progressive lens optics consist of two refracting surfaces. The anterior surface contains a non-spherical shape which provides the different powered regions, and the posterior surface is either a pure sphere or a toric which provides the base power or provides the base power and corrects for the user's astigmatism respectively. The front surface geometry is optimized to minimize unwanted astigmatism and other aberrations, provide a first optical zone with minimal astigmatic aberrations for viewing distant objects, a second optical zone with a higher spherical power for viewing near objects, and a third optical zone connecting the first two zones, of variable spherical power for providing intermediate vision. In an early design, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,878,721, the unwanted astigmatism was spread out over the entire optic, thus reducing the peak astigmatism. But the connecting intermediate zone does not provide a smooth transition in refractive power, and the residual unwanted astigmatism in the distance and the near viewing zones remains unacceptably high. In more recent progressive designs, the zones designed for distance and near vision are kept spherical, while the unwanted astigmatism which inevitably comes from connecting the distance and near zones with a smooth, continuous surface is (1) spread over as large an area of the optic as possible in order to reduce the maximum unwanted astigmatism, (2) spread out more evenly. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,056,311 and 4,315,673. In all cases, the posterior surface of the optic is left spherical or toroidal, and is not designed to provide correction of unwanted astigmatic error caused by a progressive lens surface itself. As a result, even after fifty years of research and development, state of the art progressive addition lenses have numerous shortcomings, including high levels of peripheral astigmatism, significant peripheral refractive errors, narrow channel width, as well as insufficient widths of the near and distance power zones, limiting peripheral vision. Design of ophthalmic lens optics eschew optimization of the posterior surface, because the conventional method of fabrication of progressive addition lens optics precludes development and specification of complex geometries for the posterior surface, as will be made clearer in the subsequent section. Indeed, the aspheric correction provided to minimize the unwanted astigmatism inherent in single vision lenses, are also confined to the front surface of the optic.
All of these methods of dealing with unwanted astigmatic errors involve managing the error by distributing it over larger or remote areas of the lens or other such techniques. None actually eliminate the astigmatic error.
Previously known methods of fabrication of ophthalmic lens optics may have so far prevented optics designers from providing aspheric corrections to the posterior surface of the optic, and also from proposing multilayer optics incorporating intermediate or "buried" surfaces. The method of fabrication of ophthalmic optics begins with the casting a semi finished blank from an optical material which incorporates the front (anterior) surface of the optic in finished form, often coated with a scratch resistant layer. This semi finished blank is subsequently custom ground and polished in regional grinding laboratories, or occasionally in retail locations to fit a particular prescription. The posterior surface is thus rendered spherical or toroidal, depending on the prescription, the axis of the cylinder correction being set by placing the principal meridian passing through the optical center of the distance power zone and the optical center of the near power zone at the appropriate angular orientation with reference marks on the mounting fixture used to hold the blank during the machining process. For the most part, the grinding and polishing equipment used in finishing labs is only capable of providing spherical or toroidal curves, hence for the ophthalmic optics to be available widely, the optics designer can not rely upon the posterior surface to be aspheric or corrective.
There is thus a need to develop designs for ophthalmic lens optics in which the posterior surface of the optic and/or intermediate surfaces are designed to eliminate as nearly as possible the unwanted astigmatism induced by the continuous change of the radius of curvature of the front surface required for intermediate vision, and to provide methods of their fabrication.