An electronic device can include a transistor structure of a first conductivity type, a field isolation region, and a layer of a first stress type overlying the field isolation region. For example, the transistor structure may be a p-channel transistor structure and the first stress type may be tensile, or the transistor structure may be an n-channel transistor structure and the first stress type may be compressive. The transistor structure can include a channel region that lies within an active region. An edge of the active region includes the interface between the channel region and the field isolation region. From a top view, the layer can include an edge the lies near the edge of the active region. The positional relationship between the edges can affect carrier mobility within the channel region of the transistor structure.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to electronic devices and processes for forming electronic devices, and more particularly, to electronic devices including transistor structures having active regions adjacent to stressor layers and processes for forming the electronic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor-on-insulator ("SOI") architectures are becoming the more common as electronic and device performance requirements continue to be more demanding. Carrier mobility within the channel regions of the p-channel transistors is an area for continued improvement. Many approaches use a dual stressor layer before forming a premetal dielectric ("PMD") layer. The dual stressor layer can be incorporated into an electronic device as an etch-stop layer before forming the PMD layer. For the dual stressor layer, the etch-stop layer includes a tensile layer over n-channel transistor structures and a compressive layer over the p-channel transistor structures.
Some of the attempts have focused on changing the stress within the active region along the channel length direction of the transistor structure to affect drain current and transconductance of the transistor.
Skilled artisans appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the invention.

Electronic device including a transistor structure having an active region adjacent to a stressor layer and a process for forming the electronic device


A spacer fluid containing blast furnace slag is utilized in a well drilling operation. In one embodiment an oil emulsion drilling fluid is displaced using spacer fluid comprising water, blast furnace slag and a surfactant. In another embodiment a spacer fluid comprising blast furnace slag and water is used in the cementing of an annulus surrounding a pipe with a blast furnace slag cementitious slurry.

This invention relates to drilling and cementing boreholes.
The drilling of boreholes is generally carried out using a rotary drilling process. The rotary drilling of a borehole is accomplished by rotating a drill string having a drill pipe and a drill bit at its lower end. Weight is applied to the drill bit while rotating to create a borehole into the earth. The drill string is hollow and sections are added to the drill string to increase its length as the borehole is deepened This rotary drilling process creates significant amounts of friction which produces heat along with fragments of the strata being penetrated. The fragments of the strata must be removed from the borehole and the drill bit must be cooled to extend its useful life. Both of these necessities are accomplished by the circulation of a fluid down through the drill string and up to the surface between the drill string and the wall of the borehole.
Once the borehole has been drilled to the desired depth, it may be desirable to isolate the separate areas, zones or formations transversed by the borehole. For extraction of fluids from formations, and for protection against borehole collapse, one or more conduits (casings) must be inserted into the borehole extending from the surface downward Thereafter, liners may be hung inside the casings.
At this point it becomes necessary to fill the annulus between the casing and the borehole wall or between the liner and casing with a cementitious material which will seal the annulus to inhibit communication between various formations penetrated by the wellbore and which will provide structural support for the casing or liner. This is commonly referred to as primary cementing.
Generally, the borehole into which the casing or liner being cemented is introduced is filled with drilling mud. Therein lie several problems. Conventional Portland cement and conventional drilling muds are incompatible. Thus, as the cement is forced down the casing or liner and up into the annulus it is commingled with the drilling mud at any interface between the mud and the cement. The resulting mixture generally becomes a gel and does not set up into a strong cement. In addition, the gel strength and viscosity become uncontrollable and the mixture may either become too viscous to pump or may get thinner. In either event, the situation is unsatisfactory.
The industry has developed a complex system to attempt to circumvent this problem. A device generally known as a landing collar is attached to the bottom of the casing or liner being cemented. The landing collar has an annular shoulder projecting inwardly. A first wiper plug with a diaphragm which can be ruptured is introduced into the casing or liner followed by a spacer fluid, the cementitious slurry and finally, a solid wiper plug. Displacement fluid then pushes the solid wiper plug downward thus displacing the spacer fluid and the cementitious slurry through the ruptured first wiper plug, out of the casing or liner and into an area at the bottom thereof where it changes direction and flows upwardly into the annulus. When the second wiper plug reaches the area of the landing collar it is stopped by the first wiper plug which is resting on the shoulder.
The spacer fluid, however, can create its own set of problems because it mixes somewhat with both the drilling mud ahead of it and the cementitious slurry behind it. Usually, the most damaging is the contamination of the drilling mud. The spacer fluid remains a fluid in admixture with the drilling fluid and thus cannot be easily separated therefrom. In many instances this necessitates the disposing of the thus-contaminated drilling fluid. This is an economic problem with any drilling fluid but with more expensive, less environmentally friendly oil based fluids, it is a major obstacle to successful operation. In addition, the mixture of spacer fluid and drilling fluid usually results in a more viscous material thus exacerbating the pumping problems. This can even result in a total failure of the cement job because a good seal at the top of the liner may not be obtained and this is where any cement weakened by drilling fluid contamination most likely will be.
Slag, broadly, as a cementitious material is shown in Tragessar, U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,876 (Jan. 26, 1971). Clarke, U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,119 (Jan. 30, 1990) discloses blast furnace slag in cement slurries and discusses a variety of particle sizes for the slag and a variety of alternatives to pure water in preparing the slurries. Blast furnace slag for solidifying a drilling fluid is broadly described in Hale et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,679 (Oct. 22, 1991). Oil and water based drilling fluids are disclosed in Shell Internationale patent GB 2,223,255A (Apr. 4, 1990) and Shell Internationale patent GB 2,216,574A (Oct. 10, 1989), respectively. Cowan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,711 (May 21, 1991) broadly discloses improved cement adhesion through the use of a surfactant.


The present invention provides a gas diffusion electrode having: an electrode substrate; and a catalyst layer containing a hydrophilic catalyst and a hydrophobic binder, which is carried on the electrode substrate, wherein the electrode substrate contains at least one carbon material selected from a carbon cloth, a carbon paper, a foamed carbon material, and a sintered carbon material.

A gas diffusion electrode has a feature in that a gas as a reaction substance is supplied to a surface of an electrode to proceed oxidation or reduction of the gas on the electrode, and it has been developed so far mainly for the application use of fuel cells, etc., and it has been started for the study on the use of the gas diffusion electrode for industrial electrolysis in recent years. For example, a hydrophobic cathode for conducting oxygen reduction reaction is utilized for an electrolytic production apparatus of hydrogen peroxide. Further, in alkali production and winning processes, hydrogen oxidation reaction is conducted as a substitute for the oxygen generation at the anode (hydrogen anode) or oxygen reducing reaction is conducted as a substitute for hydrogen generation at the cathode (oxygen cathode) by using a gas diffusion electrode intending to decrease the electric power consumption. It has been reported that depolarization is possible by collecting metals such as zinc, or substituting the oxygen generation at the anode as the counter electrode in zinc plating with hydrogen anode.
However, since the composition of the solution and the gas is not simple or the operation conditions are severe in the industrial electrolysis described above compared with the case of fuel cells, it gives rise to a problem that a sufficient electrode life and a sufficient performance can not be obtained.
Sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and chlorine which are important as industrial materials are mainly produced by the sodium chloride electrolytic method. The electrolytic process has been changed through a mercury method of using a mercury cathode and a diaphragm method of using an asbestos diaphragm and a soft iron cathode to an ion-exchange membrane method of using an ion-exchange membrane for a diaphragm and using an activated cathode with a low overvoltage as the cathode. Meanwhile, the unit power consumption required for the production of sodium hydroxide has been decreased down to 2000 kwh per one ton. However, since the production of sodium hydroxide steel requires a great amount of power consumption, a further reduction for the unit power consumption has been desired.
The anode and cathode reactions in the existent electrolytic method are as follows, respectively:2Cl−=Cl2+2e (1.36 V)2H2O+2e=2OH−+H2 (−0.83 V)in which the theoretical decomposition voltage is 2.19 V.
In a case of using an oxygen cathode instead of taking place hydrogen generation reaction at the cathode, it is expressed as follows:2H2O+O2+4e=4OH− (0.40 V)in which power consumption can be decreased by 1.23 V theoretically and by about 0.8 V also in a practical range of current density and saving of unit power consumption by 700 kwh per 1 ton of sodium hydroxide can be expected. Accordingly, while the practical use of sodium chloride electrolytic process by utilizing a gas diffusion electrode has been studied since 1980 years, it is indispensable for the development of an oxygen cathode at a high performance and having a sufficient stability in the electrolytic system in order to attain the process.
The domestic or foreign situation regarding the oxygen cathode in sodium chloride electrolysis is detailed in "Domestic and Foreign Situations Regarding Oxygen Cathode for Sodium Chloride Electrolysis" (Sodium and Chlorine, vol. 45, p. 85-108 (1994)).
FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a sodium chloride electrolytic cell 1 using an oxygen gas diffusion cathode which is practiced most generally at present.
An oxygen gas diffusion cathode 5 is disposed on the side of the cathode of a cation-exchange film 2 through a cathode solution chamber 6, and oxygen as a raw material is supplied from a gas chamber 7 at the back of the cathode. The oxygen diffuses in the cathode 5 and reacts with water in a catalyst layer to form sodium hydroxide. Accordingly, the cathode 5 used in the electrolytic method need to be a so-called gas-liquid separation type gas diffusion electrode that allows only the oxygen to permeate therethrough sufficiently and inhibiting the sodium hydroxide from leaking to the gas chamber. Oxygen gas diffusion cathodes proposed at present for use in sodium chloride electrolysis to satisfy such a requirement mainly include those of gas diffusion electrodes supporting a catalyst such as silver, platinum, etc. on an electrode substrate formed by mixing a carbon powder and PTFE and molding them into a sheet.
However, this type of the electrode described above involves several significant subjects. That is,
(1) Carbon used as an electrode material is easily deteriorated under the co-existence of sodium hydroxide and oxygen at high temperature to remarkably lower the electrode performance.
(2) It is difficult to prevent leakage of a sodium hydroxide solution generated along with increase of the liquid pressure and degradation of the electrode to the side of the gas chamber so long as the existent electrode is used.
(3) It is difficult to manufacture electrodes of a size necessary for a practical level (1 m2 or more) uniformly.
(4) While the pressure in the cathode solution chamber opposed to the gas chamber through the gas diffusion electrode changes depending on the height, it is difficult to provide a corresponding pressure distribution of the oxygen gas supplied.
(5) There is a solution resistance loss of the cathode solution, and it requires a power for the stirring thereof.
(6) Upon practical application, a remarkable improvement is necessary for existent electrolytic equipments.
The problem (1) can be coped with by the formation of a protective layer with silver catalyst powder or silver plating. On the other hand, a novel electrolytic method for solving the problems (2) to (6) has been proposed (refer to FIG. 2). An electrolytic cell 8 has a feature in that an oxygen gas diffusion cathode 9 is disposed in close contact with an ion-exchange membrane 10 (zero-gap structure), oxygen and water as the raw materials are supplied from the back of the electrode, and sodium hydroxide as a product is collected at the back or below the electrode. Since this is structured with two chambers comprising a cathode chamber served both as a cathode gas chamber and a cathode solution chamber, and an anode chamber, it is referred to as a 2-chamber method.
In a case of using the electrolytic method, the problem (2) can be solved, and separation between the cathode chamber (caustic chamber) and also the gas chamber is not necessary. Further, since the electrode is in close contact with the ion-exchange membrane in the structure, existent facilities of the ion-exchange membrane method can be used as they are, which can solve the problems (5) and (6).
The performance required for the oxygen gas diffusion cathode suitable to this electrolytic process is greatly different from that in the existent type and it is necessary to ensure a sufficient gas permeability, a sufficient hydrophobic property for avoiding flooding due to the solution of sodium hydroxide and a hydrophilic property for easily allowing the solution of sodium hydroxide to permeate in the electrode at the same time.
On the other hand, for collecting the solution of sodium hydroxide leaked to the back of the electrode, it is no more necessary that the electrode has a function of separating the cathode solution chamber and the cathode gas chamber. Accordingly, it is not necessary that the electrode is in an integrated structure and the size can also be increased also relatively easily to dissolve the problem (3).
Naturally, since it undergoes no effect of the change of the liquid pressure along the direction of the height, the problem (4) can not occur.
As such an electrode, JP 8-283979 A proposes a 2-chamber type gas diffusion electrode using a foamed or meshed nickel body as a substrate. Also in a case of using the gas diffusion electrode, since the formed sodium hydroxide moves not only to the back but also moves gravitationally in the direction of the height, sodium hydroxide stagnates inside the electrode in a case where sodium hydroxide is formed excessively to result in a problem of inhibiting the gas supply.
For solving the problem, Japanese Patent No. 3553775 proposes a method of disposing a hydrophilic layer between the ion-exchange membrane and the electrode.
As described above, while the gas diffusion electrode has been improved so as to be suitable to the industrial electrolytic system, in a case of operation at a high current density, even such an improved electrolytic cell structure for the 2-chamber method does not tend to obtain a sufficient primary electrolytic performance. It is supposed that since supply of the oxygen gas as the raw material to the electrode catalyst constitutes a rate-determining factor to hinder the reducing reaction of oxygen at the electrode.


A hydraulic apparatus comprises a housing having a central axis; a plurality of radially-oriented piston-cylinder assemblies each including a cylinder supported by the housing and a piston movable within the cylinder, the piston separating radially inner and outer chambers within the cylinder; and valving and associated flow passages for individually controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid to and from the radially inner and outer chambers of each piston-cylinder assembly. The piston-cylinder assemblies are mounted to the housing for pivotal movement by trunnions provided with flow passages for connecting the piston-cylinder assemblies to inlet and outlet ports via the valving and porting.

Radial piston hydraulic motors are well known in the art. Such radial piston hydraulic motors include a plurality of cylinders oriented in a radial direction relative to a central axis of the motor. In some conventional radial piston hydraulic motors, the cylinders are formed in a cylinder block to which an output shaft is connected. The cylinder block rotates within a housing having an undulating inner cam surface. Each cylinder receives a piston assembly provided with a roller at its radially outer end that engages the undulating cam surface of the housing. During operation, hydraulic fluid pressure forces the pistons radially outward and this causes the rollers to roll over the undulating surface. Reactionary forces act on the cylinder block and cause it and the output shaft to rotate.
Other conventional radial piston hydraulic motors include an output shaft that is mounted on a centrally located eccentric cam. A plurality of piston-cylinder assemblies are located radially outwardly of the eccentric cam with one surface of either the piston or the cylinder engaging the eccentric cam. Hydraulic fluid pressure provided to a chamber within each cylinder acts on the piston to cause relative movement between the piston and the cylinder. The relative movement between the piston and the cylinder results in a force being applied to the eccentric cam by the engaging surface. This force causes rotation of the eccentric cam and thus rotation of the output shaft.

Double-acting radial piston hydraulic apparatus


An automated endpoint detection process includes obtaining a baseline graph of reflected radiation signal versus time of radiation exposure for a standard integrated circuit substrate surface that is substantially free of residual metal, directing radiation generated from a radiation source through a radiation transparent region of a polishing pad such that radiation is incident on at least a portion of a surface of the integrated circuit substrate, detecting a reflected radiation signal from the integrated circuit substrate surface through the radiation transparent region of the polishing pad, comparing an area under a graph of the reflected radiation signal versus time of radiation exposure obtained for the integrated circuit surface to the baseline graph of the standard integrated circuit substrate surface and thereby determining whether residual metal is present on the surface of the integrated circuit substrate and signaling the chemical-mechanical polishing assembly to stop polishing after polishing for a predetermined time, if the area under the graph of the reflected radiation signal versus time of radiation exposure obtained for the integrated circuit surface is substantially equal to the baseline graph of the standard integrated circuit substrate surface.

The present invention relates to automated endpoint detection systems during chemical-mechanical polishing (commonly known in the art as "CMP") of an integrated circuit substrate. More particularly, the present invention relates to automated endpoint detection systems that employ radiation sources and detectors to direct and detect radiation through a polishing pad to test for residual metal on an integrated circuit substrate during CMP.
CMP typically involves mounting a semiconductor wafer face down on a holder, and rotating the wafer against a polishing pad mounted on a platen, which in turn is rotating or is in an orbital state. A slurry containing a chemical that chemically interacts with the facing wafer layer and an abrasive that physically removes that layer is flowed between the wafer and the polishing pad or on the pad near the wafer. This technique is commonly applied to planarize metallization layers in the semiconductor wafer.
An endpoint determination mechanism currently employed during CMP to determine a polishing endpoint of a wafer layer includes a motor current measuring mechanism, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,438, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Briefly, according to this patent, the endpoint determination mechanism includes a motor, which rotates the wafer against a polishing pad. The power required to maintain a set rotational speed in the rotating motor changes (sometimes significantly) when a layer is removed from the wafer surface and a new wafer layer is being polished. In other words, as a layer is removed from the wafer surface, the amount of current being drawn by the motor changes due to the change in the frictional force induced by the changing wafer surface. Thus, by measuring the change in the current being drawn by the motor during polishing, the CMP endpoint of a wafer layer may be determined.
Endpoint determination using the motor current measuring mechanism, however, provides an average signal and is therefore imprecise, i.e. the motor current is not sensitive to the full surface of the wafer area during the monitoring of the polishing process. FIG. 1 shows the surface of a semiconductor wafer 100 that may result when the endpoint for CMP is determined by employing a motor current. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of die (or integrated circuits) 102 are formed on the surface of wafer 100, which has residual metal regions 104 that are large enough, i.e. on the order of several square millimeters, to cover several of die 102. Residual metal regions 104 represent underpolished or not completely polished metallization regions of the wafer surface that may render one or more die inoperable.
What is therefore needed is an improved endpoint detection system for detecting residual metal on an integrated circuit substrate that more precisely determines the CMP endpoint than the conventional polishing techniques.

Automated endpoint detection system during chemical-mechanical polishing


The power barn system provides a way to eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from livestock. The power barn system seals and traps the methane gas that is emitted from the livestock and converts the methane into electric power and carbon dioxide to enhance plant growth. The power barn system uses PV solar arrays and plastic sheeting to make sealed, airtight structures. The carbon dioxide is provided to one or more sealed greenhouse areas. The plants use the carbon dioxide and release oxygen, thereby completely eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from livestock. The power plant uses the methane at peak times at night while solar panels supply power during the day producing zero emission and 24/7 electricity at better than market rates.

Greenhouse gases have far-ranging environmental effects on ecosystems around the world, and on plants and animals that inhabit them. Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change by trapping heat inside Earth's atmosphere causing severe droughts, extreme weather, food supply disruptions, and increased wildfires. The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the United States is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation. Livestock, such as cattle or are responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gases in the world and around 10 percent in the United States. Livestock, especially ruminants such as cattle, produce methane (CH4) as part of their normal digestive processes. This process is called enteric fermentation. There is a great urgency for ways to shrink livestock's methane worldwide.


The present invention is directed to plants that display a pathogen resistance and increased drought tolerance phenotype due to altered expression of a PRDT1 nucleic acid. The invention is further directed to methods of generating plants with a pathogen resistance and increased drought tolerance phenotype.

Crop production is affected by numerous environmental factors. Attempts to improve crop yield under stress conditions by plant breeding have been largely unsuccessful, primarily due to the multigenic origin of the adaptive responses (Barkla et al. 1999, Adv Exp Med Biol 464:77-89). Consequently, an increasing amount of research has been dedicated to developing transgenic plants that show increased tolerance to various environmental stresses. For example, transgenic plants have been described having resistance to a broad range of plant pathogens (Stuiver and Custers, 2001, Nature 411:865-8; Melchers and Stuiver, 2000, Curr Opin Plant Biol 3:147-52; Rommens and Kishore, 2000, Curr Opin Biotechnol 11:120-5; and Mourgues et al. 1998, Trends Biotechnol 16:203-10). Transgenic plants displaying increased drought tolerance have also been described (Laporte et al. 2002, J Exp Bot 53:699-705; Qin et al. 2002, Plant Physiol 128:544-51; and Iuchi et al. 2001, Plant J 27:325-33).
Activation tagging in plants is a method of generating random mutations by insertion of a heterologous nucleic acid construct comprising regulatory sequences (e.g., an enhancer) into a plant genome. The regulatory sequences can act to enhance transcription of one or more native plant genes. Accordingly, activation tagging is a fruitful method for generating gain-of-function, generally dominant mutants (Hayashi et al., Science (1992) 258: 1350-1353; Weigel et al., Plant Physiology (2000) 122:1003-1013). The inserted construct provides a molecular tag for rapid identification of a native plant gene whose mis-expression causes a mutant phenotype of interest (e.g. drought tolerance or pathogen resistance).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Generation of plants with improved drought tolerance


An image processing method for registering first and second images including the same subject is provided. The method includes the repeating the following steps multiple times: a first step including determining feature vectors related to gradients of pixels values at coordinates on the first and second images for each of the coordinates, a second step including calculating for all mutually corresponding coordinates on the first and second images, correlation values each equivalent to a value obtained by an N-th (where N is a natural number) power of an absolute value of an inner product of the feature vectors at the coordinates and determining an evaluation value including an integrated value of the correlation values calculated for each of the coordinates, and a third step including changing the second image in such that the evaluation value becomes larger.

The present invention relates to a registration technology between different images including the same subject.
As imaging apparatuses, there have heretofore been known, for example, a magnetic resonance apparatus (MR), a radiation tomography imaging apparatus (CT), an ultrasound apparatus, etc. These imaging apparatuses respectively have merits/demerits existing for every imaging modality and may be deficient in diagnosis accuracy only in an image by a specific imaging modality. Therefore, in recent years, attempts have frequently been made to improve diagnosis accuracy by performing a diagnosis using images based on a plurality of different imaging modalities.
In the diagnosis using the images by the different imaging modalities, image coordinate systems differ for every imaging modality. Therefore, a technology for correcting positional displacements due to the difference between these coordinate systems and variations/deformation of an organ, i.e., a technology for registration between images is important.
As a method of performing registration between a plurality of images different in imaging modality from each other, a method using mutual information is the most common (refer to, for example, IEEE Trans. on Med. Imaging, 16:187-198, 1997). This method is of an intensity based method based on the brightness value of an image in a broad sense. That is, it is a prerequisite that object images have to do with brightness values thereamong to perform registration using the mutual information.
In an ultrasound (US) image, however, an acoustic shadow occurs and hence a brightness value at the back of a high reflector is lowered more than the original value. The brightness value of each blood vessel also changes depending on the running direction of the blood vessel. Therefore, for example, in the registration between an MR image and a US image or the registration between a CT image and a US image, the situation in which brightness values have poor relevance often occurs. A feature based method other than the method based on the brightness values like the mutual information is suitable for such images.
As a typical example of the feature based method, there has been proposed a method using a normalized gradient field (NGF) (refer to, for example, Proceeding of SPIE Vol. 7261, 72610G-1, 2009). The normalized gradient field is that after primary partial differentiations (i.e., gradient vectors in respective directions x, y and z) have been calculated at coordinates on each image, the gradient vectors are normalized by their lengths (VectorNorm). That is, the normalized gradient field is a feature amount indicative of only the direction of gradient without depending on the magnitude of a pixel value or a brightness value and the magnitude of gradient. If the normalized gradient field in the same direction is generated at mutually corresponding positions in some two images, the positions of the two images can be assumed to be aligned. Thus, this method is capable of performing registering by optimizing the matching degree of the directions each indicated by the normalized gradient field.
The normalized gradient field n is mathematically described as follows:
                              n                                (                          I              ,              p                        )                          :=                  {                                                                                ∇                                              I                                                                          (                          p                          )                                                                                                                              ∇                                                  I                                                                                (                            p                            )                                                                                                                                        ,                                                                                if                                                                                ∇                                              I                                                                          (                          p                          )                                                                                ≠                  0                                                                                0                  ,                                                            otherwise                                                                        Equation                                                  1
In the Equation 1, ΔI(p) indicates a gradient vector at a coordinate p of an image I. Further, ∥ΔI(p)∥ indicates the length (Norm) of the gradient vector. The coordinate p is composed of components of x, y and z.
As can be understood from the Equation 1, the normalized gradient field n itself is not capable of separating a gradient caused by a structure and a gradient caused by noise. Thus, in order to suppress the influence of the gradient caused by noise, the following method has been proposed in Proceeding of SPIE Vol. 7261, 72610G-1, 2009:
                                          n            ɛ                                          (                          I              ,              p                        )                          :=                              ∇                          I                                            (                p                )                                                                                                      ∇                                  I                                                        (                    p                    )                                                                                      ɛ                                              Equation                                                  2                                                                                ∇                              I                                                  (                  p                  )                                                                          ɛ                :=                                                            ∇                                                      I                                                              (                      p                      )                                                        T                                                                          ∇                                  I                                                        (                    p                    )                                                                        +                          ɛ              2                                                          Equation                                                  3                                ɛ        =                  η                                                              ∫                Ω                                                                            [                                      ∇                                          I                                                                    (                        p                        )                                                                              ]                                                                                ⅆ                  p                                                                                ∫                Ω                                                                                ⅆ                p                                                                        Equation                                                  4
where ε is a constant arbitrarily selected according to the amount of noise in an image. In the related art method, the noise term ε is set in accordance with the Equation 4, and the gradient vector is normalized in consideration of the noise term.
An evaluation function D taken to be a registration index is defined by the following equations (it may be defined by either one of them).D(T,R)=∫Ω<n(R,p),n(T,p)>2dp  Equation 5D(T,R)=∫Ω∥n(R,p)×n(T,p)∥2dp  Equation 6
In Equations 5 and 6, T and R respectively indicate two images targeted for registration. Equation 5 calculates an integrated value of the square of an inner product of two normalized gradient fields n(R,p) and n(T,p). Equation 6 calculates an integrated value of the square of an outer product of two normalized gradient fields n(R,p) and n(T,p).
In the image registration method using the above-mentioned normalized gradient fields, the vector caused by nose takes a small value on the normalized gradient field. Since, however, the evaluation functions take the integrated values of the inner products or the outer products at all coordinates as in Equations 5 and 6, it is not ignored how they will affect the evaluation functions if the absolute number thereof increases, even though they are individually small values. Therefore, the influence of gradient due to noise may not be eliminated sufficiently.
With the foregoing in view, there has been desired a registration method capable of more effectively suppressing the influence of gradient due to noise in registration between two images including the same subject.

Image processing method and apparatus and program


An image forming apparatus is provided that receives data for an authentication print job from an external terminal connected thereto via a network, receives a user authentication request from a user, and executes the job when the user authentication is successfully performed. The image forming apparatus comprises: a display unit; and a display control unit displaying information related to an amount of time expected to be required for the execution of the job on the display unit when the user authentication is successfully performed prior to completion of the reception of the data for the job.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a copier and a printer.
(2) Related Art
Conventionally, proposals have been made of methods for printing confidential documents with the use of image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, and fax machines.
As one example of a method for printing such confidential documents, Patent Literature (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-3006) discloses a method of utilizing authentication print jobs. More specifically, when an image forming apparatus connected to an external terminal via a network receives an authentication print job from the external terminal, the image forming apparatus does not immediately execute (print out) the authentication print job so received. Instead, the image forming apparatus first stores data for the authentication print job to a storing unit composed of a hard disk or the like. Here, note that the authentication print job is transmitted by the external terminal according to an instruction provided by a user. Following this, the user travels from the external terminal to the image forming apparatus and performs user authentication by inputting a user ID and a password from a user operation unit provided to the image forming apparatus. When user authentication is successfully completed, the image forming apparatus reads out data for the authentication print job from the storing unit, and executes (prints out) the authentication print job.
As such, when the authentication print job technology is applied, printing of authentication print job documents is executed only when user authentication is successfully performed on the image forming apparatus. This technology has an advantageous effect of avoiding the risk of printed documents being seen by others besides the user having requested for printing thereof. This effect is particularly evident in a case where a user operating an external terminal located distant from an image forming apparatus issues a request for printing a certain document with respect to the image forming apparatus. In such a case, the user has to travel to the image forming apparatus in order as to collect the output document, and there is a risk of the printed documents being exposed to others while the user is traveling towards the image forming apparatus if the printing of the document is performed automatically. The authentication print job technology eliminates such a risk, and thus, maintains the confidentiality of the documents.
When the authentication print job technology is applied, an authentication print job is executed by an image forming apparatus when the image forming apparatus has already received data for the authentication print job at a point where the user having issued the job performs input of information required for user authentication such as user ID and the like, and further, after user authentication is successfully performed. The user performs the input of necessary information from a user operation unit provided to the image forming apparatus.
However, cases may exist where the reception of data for an authentication print job is still in progress when a user is performing input of information required for user authentication with respect to the user operation unit. Such cases may arise due to network congestion taking place, the amount of data for an authentication print job being enormous, and etc.
If the reception of data for an authentication print job is still in progress at a point where the user performs input of information required for user authentication as in such cases as described in the above, the user is caused to wait in front of the image forming apparatus. In specific, the user has to wait for the completion of the reception of data and for the eventual completion of printing of the authentication print job.
However, the technology disclosed in Patent Literature 1 does not provide a structure for informing a user of the amount of time the user has to wait in front of the image forming apparatus for the completion of the reception of data for an authentication print job.
Since the amount of time required until the completion of the reception of data for an authentication print job differs according to the data amount and the like for each authentication print job, the user is caused to wait in front of the image forming apparatus without any idea of how long he/she would have to wait, even in cases where it actually takes a great amount of time until the completion of the reception of data. This is inconvenient from the user's point of view, since, if only the user were informed of the long period of time he/she would be caused to wait, the user would be able to work on other tasks and the like, instead of wasting time by waiting for a long time.
Additionally, the printing of an authentication print job is executed when a corresponding user authentication operation is successfully performed by the user. That is, user authentication needs to be successfully performed for each authentication print job. This is troublesome from the user's point of view. For instance, when the same user issues two separate authentication print jobs A and B, and the image forming apparatus receives data for the authentication print job B while executing the authentication print job A, the user has to perform a separate user authentication operation corresponding to the authentication print job B after the execution of the authentication print job A is completed.
One countermeasure for avoiding such a troublesome situation is to enable successive printing of the authentication print jobs A and B while requiring for the user to perform an input operation only once, for instance. However, this countermeasure does not provide a perfect solution. There are cases where data relating to multiple authentication print jobs are not continuously transmitted to the image forming apparatus for reasons such as network congestion. That is, the reception of data for the authentication print job B may be delayed with respect to the reception of data for the authentication print job A.
When the reception of data for the authentication print job B is delayed as in such a case, the execution of the authentication print job B is delayed accordingly. Therefore, so as to avoid others from viewing the printed documents and thus, to maintain confidentiality, the user having issued the authentication print jobs A and B is caused to wait in front of the image forming apparatus until the printing of the authentication print job B is finally completed.
Further, when the user having issued the authentication print jobs A and B is caused to wait in front of the image forming apparatus for a great amount of time, other users are unable to perform input operations for user authentication from the user operation unit for an extended period of time. This results in reduced convenience of the image forming apparatus.
In view of the above-mentioned problems, one aim of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that realizes enhanced convenience in the execution of authentication print jobs while maintaining confidentiality.

KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.


A multi-stage capacitive sensor is provided having a layered structure, including a user-contact surface, a first capacitive sensor for the user-contact surface, a second capacitive sensor which is spaced apart from the first capacitive sensor in a direction away from the user-contact surface, and a conductive member. The conductive member is positioned between the first and second capacitive sensors, and is engaged with the first circuit substrate and spaced apart from the second capacitive sensor. In a preferred embodiment, under the application of a force at the user-contact surface, the conductive member is deflected relative to the second capacitive sensor to alter a distance therebetween to create a detectable change in a capacitance at the second capacitive sensor.

Modern automobiles typically use dashboard-mounted controls which utilise switches mounted on or behind the fascias of the dashboard. A user can activate these controls using touch-based technology. Traditionally, mechanical or rotary switches have been provided, for example, to control the air-conditioning, navigation or audio functions within the vehicle.
An issue with mechanical switches is that an aperture must be provided in the fascia and/or fascia support in order to permit user actuation of the switch, and also a large amount of space is required behind the fascia in order to install the movable components of the mechanical switch. This can diminish the aesthetic appeal of the fascia.
Capacitive switches have also been considered. Such switches can be readily integrated behind fascias, without adversely affecting the appearance of the fascia; however, capacitive switches are prone to false-firing when a user brings their hand into close proximity with the switch. This can result in unintentional activation of the functions within the vehicle, and could cause dangerous distractions for the driver.


A dielectric ceramic composition consists essentially of 100 mole parts of a major ingredient expressed by the formula, EQU (Ba.sub.1-x Ca.sub.x)(Ti.sub.1-y Zr.sub.y)O.sub.3,. where x is a numeral in the range of 0.01 to 0.10, and y is a numeral in the range of 0.10 to 0.24. To this major ingredient there are added from 0.10 to 2.0 mole parts of an erbium compound, and from 0.03 to 0.30 mole part of a manganese compound. Optionally, for the provision of low temperature sinterable ceramic compositions, there are also added from 0.03 to 0.40 mole part of a zinc compound and from 0.01 to 0.20 mole part of a silicon compound. Monolithic, solid dielectric capacitors are also disclosed which have ceramic bodies formulated from the above compositions.

This invention relates to dielectric ceramic compositions and to capacitors having a single or multiple layered ceramic body of such compositions.
A variety of dielectric ceramic compositions have been suggested and used for capacitors with a view to greater capacitance. Among such known compositions are those composed primarily of barium titanate (BaTiO.sub.3), or of a compound obtained by partly substituting calcium (Ca) for barium (Ba), and zirconium (Zr) for titanium (Ti), of BaTiO.sub.3. It has also been known to add manganese compounds to such compositions. Ceramic capacitors of these known compositions possess specific dielectric constants of up to 14,000 or so.
There are, however, strong, consistent demands from electric and allied industries for dielectric ceramic capacitors of even greater capacitance and other performance characteristics. One obvious solution to the problem of how to increase the capacitance of monolithic ceramic capacitors is to reduce the thickness of the ceramic body between the pair of electrodes. This solution works only to a limited extent, however, because too much reduction in the thickness of the ceramic body would make the voltage withstanding capabilities of the capacitors inconveniently low. The only practical solution is therefore to use dielectric ceramics of higher specific dielectric constants and higher voltage withstanding capabilities than those attainable with conventional materials including those composed principally of BaTiO.sub.3 or the like.
Another inconvenience heretofore encountered in the manufacture of ceramic capacitors is that some ceramic materials have to be sintered at temperatures as high as 1300.degree. C. or more. Such high sintering temperatures have required the use of palladium as a material of electrodes in cosintering these electrodes with the ceramic bodies. Palladium is currently very expensive and has added substantially to the costs of ceramic capacitors. The advent of ceramic materials that are sinterable at lower temperatures has been awaited to enable use of less expensive electrode materials.

Ceramic materials of improved dielectric constants, and capacitors fabricated therefrom


Anti-PD-1 antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof are described. Also described are nucleic acids encoding the antibodies, compositions comprising the antibodies, and methods of producing the antibodies and using the antibodies for treating or preventing diseases such as cancers and autoimmune diseases.

Tumor cells are able to evade the immune system by "editing" host immunity in the tumor microenvironment in a variety of ways. One way in which tumors carry out this so-called "cancer immune escape" is by up regulating the expression of immune checkpoint proteins, which are key regulators of the immune system, thus suppressing the immune response. One such immunosuppressive co-signal is mediated by the PD-1 receptor and its ligand PD-L1.
PD-1 (Programmed Cell Death Protein 1) is a type I transmembrane protein that is 288 amino acids long and is one of the major immune checkpoint molecules (Blank et al., 2005, Cancer Immunotherapy, 54:307-314). PD-1 is primarily expressed on activated T cells, and it interacts with the ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2 to induce an inhibitory signal resulting in reduced T cell proliferation, cytokine production, and cytotoxic activity (Freeman et al., 2000, J. Exp. Med., 192:1027-34). PD-L1 is expressed on many cell types, including T, B, endothelial, epithelial, and antigen presenting cells, on cells of lung, liver and heart tissues, and on several types of tumor cells. In contrast, PD-L2 is narrowly expressed on professional antigen presenting cells, such as dendritic cells and macrophages.
The interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 is critical for modulating the immune response, and it is the predominant mechanism by which PD-L1-expressing tumor cells escape from immune surveillance (Zippelius et al., 2015, Cancer Immunol Res., 3(3):236-44). Persistent expression of PD-1 by T cells is highly indicative of an exhausted phenotype, noted by a decrease in effector function. This phenotype has been observed in various types of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) and linked to poor prognosis and tumor recurrence (Wherry, 2011, Nat. Immunol., 12:492-99).
Blocking of the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction can activate the immune system and enhance antitumor immune responses, and it has been demonstrated that in multiple syngeneic mouse tumor models, blockade of PD-1 or its ligands promotes antitumor activity (Hirano et al., 2005, Cancer Res., 65:1089-96). Thus, the interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 is an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy.
Cancer immunotherapy, a recent breakthrough in cancer treatment, employs a patient's own immune system to attack tumor cells. Inhibitors of immune checkpoint proteins have the potential to treat a variety of tumor types, such as metastatic melanoma, lung cancer, breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma, etc. Recent studies using cancer immunotherapy approaches have shown promising results, especially in the case of metastatic carcinomas (Weinstock and McDermott, 2015, TherAdv Urol., 7(6):365-77). In addition, cancer immunotherapy has shown great potential in the treatment of blood cancers, including Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma, bone marrow dysplasia syndrome, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, etc. (Zou and Chen L, 2008, Nat Rev Immunol., 8(6):467-77). Side effects caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors are negligible, reversible and manageable, and an effective immune checkpoint inhibitor may substantially improve the overall survival of cancer patients Immune checkpoint inhibitors can be used in combination with targeted therapy or conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and such combinatorial therapy may be effective in the treatment of many types of cancer. Clinical trials of anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies have been initiated by BMS, Merck, MedImmune and CureTech, including, for example, three trials at the market stage; and clinical trials of anti-PD-L1 mAbs have also been initiated by Roche, MedImmune, Merck Serono and BMS, including, for example, three trials that have been withdrawn or terminated (clinicaltrials.gov, 2015).
Phase I clinical trials of a fully human IgG4 mAb from BMS, Nivolumab (Opdivo®), have been carried out. The first of those trials, carried out in 2010, was conducted in 39 patients with advanced solid tumors (Brahmer et al., 2010, J. Clin. Oncol., 28:3167-75). The response was 3/39, with mostly immune-related adverse effects (AEs) and one serious AE. The second trial, carried out in 2012, was conducted in 294 patients (Topalian et al., 2014, J. Clin. Oncol., 32:1020-30). There were objective responses in 16% of the non-small cell lung cancer patients, 28% of the metastatic melanoma patients, 29% of the renal cell cancer patients, and 0% of the castrate-resistant prostate cancer or colorectal cancer patients. Grade 3/4 treatment-related AEs occurred in 15% of patients, and there were three deaths.
Thus, despite the progress, there is a need in the art for more effective therapeutics comprising anti-PD-1 antibodies that effectively inhibit the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling activity while causing minimal adverse side effects in humans.

SHANGHAI YUNYI HEALTHCARE AND TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A topsheet layer material for use on an absorbent article includes a longitudinal direction, a transverse direction and a depth direction and comprises a planar sheet. The topsheet layer material includes visually and spatially coordinated embossed channels and apertures. The embossed channels are curvilinear indentations configured along either the longitudinal, the transverse direction, or a combination of longitudinal and transverse directions. The apertures are positioned along the topsheet layer material laterally adjacent to the channels such that at least a portion of the apertures have an overall shape configuration that is substantially similar or the same as at least a portion of the shape of the embossed channel. Such coordinated aperture configuration may also be generally concentric with or generally parallel to the embossed channels.

Absorbent personal care articles such as feminine hygiene products, adult incontinence products and baby and child care products often incorporate at least two layers, and more commonly, at least three layers in their structures. For example, sanitary napkins and pads, panty liners, incontinence pads, diapers and bed mats commonly include at least a user-facing topsheet layer (cover layer) for contacting a user's skin, a backsheet layer or baffle, for contacting a user's garments or bedding and for preventing leakage, and an absorbent core layer sandwiched between the topsheet layer and backsheet layer for absorbing and retaining body waste, such as urine, feces and menses. Additional interiorly-situated layers may also be included in the personal care article structure, such as for example, a surge layer, transfer delay layer, or distribution layer positioned between the topsheet layer and absorbent core layer. Alternatively, multiple interiorly-situated layers, such as the aforementioned layers and/or multiple core layers may also be utilized in an article structure.
It is known that such topsheet layer may be of a single layer construction, or of a multiple layer construction (such as a laminate of two or more nonwoven layers) and is commonly embossed either as an individual layer, or in combination with more interiorly-situated article layers. Such embossments (or embossed features) are often employed either to direct or restrict the flow of body exudates along specific paths on the topsheet layer surface, or to affect the flow of such exudate waste into the article core layer(s). An embossing pattern therefore, not only creates in some instances an aesthetically pleasing surface, but the channels may also facilitate intake/movement of menses fluid. Menses will tend to flow along the densified edges of the embossed channels rather than pool on contact points of the topsheet layer. Such embossments are typically formed by compression of the topsheet layer using a pattern/pin and anvil roll set. Heat may also be applied to the pattern roll to fuse the embossed layer materials together. Such embossments are usually in the form of extended channels or discrete points. Examples of such embossments may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,634 to J. J. Such et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,764 to Alikhan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,458 to Schulz, U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,555 to Lynard et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,067,711 to Kuroda et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,323,072 to Engelhart et al., and in United States Publications 2003/0187418 to Kudo et al., 2008/0294135 to Hara et al., 2010/0178456 to Kuroda et al., and 2010/0280471 to Shah. It is known that such embossments may slow the flow of waste off of an article's surface along an article's transverse direction/axis by providing enhanced surface area, and a barrier-type structure, as well as specific liquid wicking paths. For example, embossment channels that direct waste to a product's longitudinal ends for absorption into peripheral end regions of a core layer and away from the initial centralized location of article soiling (article central insult region), are often described in the patent literature. Nevertheless, there exists a continued need for a topsheet layer material which allows for targeted waste absorbency/fluid capture and barrier protection. There exists a continued need for a topsheet layer material which assists with the capture of body waste before it flows off of an absorbent article, by providing increased surface area with non-straight embossments. There also exists a need for a topsheet layer material which provides signals to a product user of targeted absorbency/fluid capture features through visually apparent topographical features.
Topsheet layer materials are also often apertured, either via initial layer formation, or through a mechanical, post layer-formation process, so as to create direct channels for body waste to travel from the point of article soiling (insult region) to an interiorly positioned absorbent layer. For example, if such a topsheet layer is a film, such film may be apertured following immediate film extrusion via a vacuum and screen process to create a series of holes or apertures through which waste may eventually flow. Alternatively, film or nonwoven topsheet layers may be apertured or perforated via a mechanical pin, rolling device such as a pin roller set, so as to create relatively larger apertures in a topsheet layer. Examples of these apertures are described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,764 to Alikhan which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Even with the wide array of known aperturing methods, there exists a continued need for topsheet layer material aperturing configurations, which may promote targeted/localized and regional absorbency/fluid capture to interiorly situated absorbent layers within personal care articles, and/or which provide a visual signal to a user as to the localized absorbency/fluid capture regions of the article. A further need exists for a liquid-receiving arrangement which provides improved aesthetic appearances to a topsheet layer user-facing surface.
It is known to utilize combination bonding and aperturing patterns with apertures being placed entirely within bonding patterns as for example, those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,764 to Alikhan. It is also known to surround a matrix-style series of apertures with a continuous embossed channel, as can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 7,067,711 to Kuroda. Finally, it is also known to have curvilinear/wavy embossed features (both in the form of points/dots and channels) on topsheets. See for example, United States publication 2004176734 to Rasmussen et al. and international publication WO 2007/116346 to Di Virgilio et al. However, such embossments do not provide a coordinated visual cue with apertures, to provide a user with multiple visually distinct and targeted/localized, fluid receiving/absorbency features for a topsheet layer. There is therefore a need for aperture and embossment combinations which offer enhanced visual cues of localized absorbency/fluid capture features to a product user. Such features would enhance user confidence in such products.

Coordinated apertured and embossed topsheet layer materials, and absorbent articles containing such


The invention relates to a clamping and/or braking device with a base element (7) and a force-applying element (17), by means of which the generated clamping and/or braking forces can be transferred to an object (39), as well as at least two adjacent wall sections (3), which each apply force with an end region on the base element (7) and the force-applying element (17), and wherein the two or more adjacent wall sections (3) define an essentially sealed pressure chamber that can be pressurized with pressure or negative pressure, wherein the two or more wall sections (3) each have a bending region (3a), which is resistant to tensile force and nevertheless can be bent elastically so that the bending regions (3a) form an elastic element between the base element (7) and the force-applying element (17).

Clamping or braking devices are known in a wide variety of embodiments for a wide variety of applications. Thus, in EP-A-0 936 366, a braking device for a linear guide is known, which has a carrier body, which can move along a guide rail. The carrier body has brake shoes, which act on the two longitudinal sides. The carrier body has an H shape and a thin, flexible connecting piece and two lower limbs, with which it grips around the guide rail. A brake shoe is arranged between each lower limb and the guide rail. The carrier body is provided with two upper limbs, which, together with the connecting piece, form a receptacle space, in which a force-generating means acting on the upper limbs is provided. Here, the force-generating means can be a toggle lever mechanism that can be activated hydraulically or pneumatically or a piezo-actuator. In addition, a tapered slide valve used as a force transducer can be provided, can be activated hydraulically or pneumatically, and is guided in a space becoming narrower in the longitudinal direction of the braking device between the upper limbs of the carrier body. In all cases, the elastic connecting piece bends due to the application of force on the two upper limbs, so that the two lower limbs with the brake shoes are moved inwards or a greater force is applied to the guide rail.
A disadvantage in this known braking device in connection with the use of an electromechanical transducer, for example, a piezoelement, is particularly its sensitivity to vibrations or other mechanical loads.
The use of a toggle lever mechanism or a tapered slide valve, as well as an electromechanical transducer, means high assembly or manufacturing expense.
In addition, particularly for clamping devices, there is the requirement for sufficiently high clamping forces, which can be realized in known devices only with a relatively high structural and thus financial expense.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,446, a hydraulic clamping sleeve is known, which is aligned on a shaft and can be connected to it, e.g., locked in rotation. The sleeve has an essentially stable sleeve body, which is arranged around a drive shaft at a distance. A pressurized chamber abuts this sleeve body and faces the shaft. A side wall of this chamber, which extends essentially parallel to the shaft, is used here simultaneously as a braking element, which is pressed against the shaft by the expansion of the chamber when the chamber is pressurized, in order to establish a frictionally engaged connection. A Σ-shaped formation of the laterally adjacent walls of the chamber is intended to prevent the sleeve from becoming misaligned relative to the shaft when the chamber is pressurized. In the pressurized state, the Σ-shaped side walls enable expansion of these side walls in the radial direction towards the shaft, even before the increasing chamber pressure also presses the chamber wall running parallel to the shaft against the shaft. Thus, the sleeve can be aligned perpendicular to the shaft axis before the rotationally fixed connection is generated.
This clamping device does not exhibit satisfactory force transfer for generating high contact forces. Furthermore, the chamber is limited in its shape and especially in its possible placement relative to the sleeve body. Braking action can be achieved here only by pressurizing with positive pressure, and the actual brake element, which must possibly transfer high driving forces, is not connected rigidly to the sleeve body, but instead only via the forced relatively unstable pressure chamber.
From WO 01/34990 A1 by the applicant, a clamping and/or braking device is known, in which a base is provided with a chamber, which can be pressurized and which is limited at least in one part of at least one wall section that is flexible but resistant to tensile force and pressure. The limit of the chamber opposite the wall section can also be formed like the first wall section. However, it can also be a rigid part of a body. Preferably, the wall sections lie at a relatively small distance from each other. The forces resulting from the deformation of the chamber are guided at least partially in the direction towards or along the wall section and introduced into a base in the region of the connection of the wall section to this base. If the application point of such points on the base is selected appropriately, and if this base is at least partially elastically deformable, then the forces can be transferred via this base to other points of the base, e.g., in clamping or braking regions. A corresponding braking or clamping means in these regions can then be moved by means of forces into a pressurized position or from this position in order to brake or release a guide element or an element to be clamped or braked. In this way, the application of both positive pressure and also negative pressure in the chamber can be used in order to introduce both tensile and also compressive forces into the base. Obviously, the clamping and/or braking regions can still be engaged with the guide element or the element to be clamped or braked before and after the force introduction, wherein, however, this generates changes in the pressurizing forces between the clamping and/or braking regions and the corresponding other element.
This known clamping and/or braking device starts from the knowledge that when a suitable chamber is pressurized with negative pressure or positive pressure, it tends to deform. If this chamber is formed to a large part from at least one approximately flat wall section, then positive pressure or negative pressure in the chamber first causes deformation in a first direction, which runs essentially perpendicular to this wall section. In order to yield to the deformation (expansion or contraction) in this first direction, this deformation generates contraction or expansion of the chamber accordingly and respectively in a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction (thus essentially parallel to the wall section). In this way, the fact is used that small forces or deformations in the first direction generate large forces in the second direction, which can be used for braking or clamping or for loosening biased clamping or braking devices.
Finally, from DE 28 48 651 A1, a contracting cell is known, which enables the generation of a linear movement path with a corresponding tensile force in a wide variety of embodiments. The contracting cell can also comprise two spring plates, for example, steel plates, in one embodiment, with a compression chamber, which can be sealed, for example, by means of a bellows, being defined between the plates. By pressurizing the bellows with compressed air, the spring steel plates are bent, so that the lower ends of the two steel plates move in the direction towards the corresponding upper ends. However, at no point does this publication describe the generation of braking and/or clamping forces by means of such a contracting cell.
Starting from the state of the art named above, the invention is based on the problem of designing a clamping and/or braking device, which can be produced with low construction expense and with which sufficiently high braking or clamping forces can be generated in a simple way.

Abstract: By means of the force-applying element (17), in the unpressurized built-in state of the clamping and/or braking device (1), a predetermined clamping and/or braking force can be exerted on the object (39), wherein the two or more wall sections (3) and their bending regions (3a) are formed, such that when the pressure chamber is pressurized with positive pressure or negative pressure as a result of a change in the curvature of the bending regions (3a), the clamping and/or braking forces transferred by the force-applying element (17) to the object (39) are changed or the force-applying element (17) is moved in the direction towards the base element (7) or away from this element.

Abstract: According to one alternative, the two more adjacent wall sections (3) can also be connected rigidly to the force-applying element (17) and/or to the base element (7).


A socket for an electrical part of the present invention has a socket body provided with an accommodation portion in which an IC package is accommodated, an open/close mechanism having a heat sink for performing radiation of heat of the IC package accommodated on the socket body, and a latch member for pressing the IC package accommodated on the socket body, in which opening and closing timings of the open/close mechanism and the latch member are set such that the latch member is first closed and the open/close mechanism is thereafter closed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a socket for an electrical part holding an electrical part such as semiconductor device (called hereinlater "IC package") or like and provided with an open/close mechanism abutting against an upper surface of such electrical part so as to widely press the same.
2. Prior Art of the Invention
One example of a socket of the kind mentioned above is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-113954, in which a socket includes a socket body to which an IC mount space is formed and a contact to be electrically connected to an IC package mounted to the IC mount space.
The socket body is also provided with a pressing member to be rotatable, and a heat sink is provided for the pressing member for performing heat radiation through contacting to the IC package. After the IC package is pressed by the pressing member, this pressing member is pressed by a latch so as to indirectly press the IC package.
However, in the structure disclosed in this publication, after the pressing member provided with the heat sink is closed, this pressing member is pressed by the latch, so that it is required for the heat sink to have a size capable of being positioned inside arrangement of a plurality of latches so as not to be interfered with the latches. According to such requirement, it is difficult to make large the size of the heat sink, resulting in less heat radiation function of the heat sink.


There is provided a semiconductor device including a transistor, said transistor having (a) a semiconductor substrate, (b) source and drain regions formed in the semiconductor substrate, (c) a gate electrode formed on the semiconductor substrate between the source and drain regions, (d) a silicide layer formed partially on one of the source and drain regions, and (e) an electrode terminal making contact with the silicide layer. The silicide layer extends so that it covers at least an area through which the electrode terminal makes contact with the drain region. In the above mentioned semiconductor device, since the silicide layer is formed only in the vicinity of an area through which the electrode terminal makes contact with the silicide layer, it is possible to construct an output transistor in LDD structure. Thus, there can be obtained an output transistor having higher ESD immunity, higher driving ability, and higher integration. In particular, comparing to a conventional output transistor having the same driving ability, but not having a silicide layer, it could be possible to reduce a device area by 10% or more, ensuring avoidance from an increase in fabrication cost caused by increased chip size.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an output transistor having resistance against electro static discharge (hereinafter, referred to simply as "ESD").
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been used metal-silicidation in CMOS and BiCMOS devices for reducing a diffusion layer resistance and a gate resistance to thereby ensure operation at a higher speed and higher integration. For instance, a layer resistance of a diffusion layer can be reduced down to one thirtieth by metal-silicidation, specifically from 200-300 .OMEGA./.quadrature. to 5-10 .OMEGA./.quadrature.. Hence, an operation speed or an integration density is improved by about 20% in comparison with devices to which metal-silicidation is not applied. If a particular layout is used, the improvement could reach about 60%, which means that metal-silicidation is quite useful for enhancing operation speed.
The latest MOS devices need to have a lightly doped drain (LDD) structure which is helpful for fabricating a device in smaller size. In LDD structure, source and drain region diffusion layers are designed to include diffusion layers having a lower impurity concentration in the vicinity of a gate electrode. Specifically, the diffusion layers have an impurity concentration one or two smaller in order than that of a usual diffusion layer. The LDD structure reduces influence by hot carriers which is accompanied with a channel length being shortened. Thus, the latest MOS transistors adopt both the metal-silicidation and LDD structure to thereby ensure a higher operation speed and higher integration.
Hereinbelow is explained ESD phenomenon with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a circuit doubling as an output transistor and an output protection circuit, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a device corresponding to the circuit illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 illustrates CMOS transistor including a silicide and LDD structure. In the illustrated CMOS transistor, PMOS transistor is formed in a device region defined by p-type impurity region comprising p+ diffusion layers 6A and 7A and p- diffusion layers 6B and 7B, and an n-type well 3, and NMOS transistor is formed in a device region defined by n-type impurity region comprising n+ diffusion layers 8A and 9A and n- diffusion layers 8B and 9B, and a p-type silicon substrate 1. The layers 6B, 7B, 8B and 9B are all LDD layers. A silicide layer 13 entirely covers the p+ diffusion layers 6A, 7A and n+ diffusion layers 8A, 9A therewith. The source diffusion layer 7A of PMOS transistor is in electrical connection with a electric power source line Vdd through a source electrode 15C, and similarly, the source diffusion layer 8A of NMOS transistor is in electrical connection with a ground line GND through a source electrode 15A, and the drain diffusion layers 6A and 9A of PMOS and NMOS transistors are in electrical connection with an output terminal OUT through a drain electrode 15B. A gate of PMOS transistor is in electrical connection with the power source line Vdd, and a gate of NMOS transistor is in electrical connection with the ground line GND.
In ESD evaluation, four kinds of breakdown voltages at which a device is destroyed is tested by electrically connecting an ESD testing kit to the output terminal OUT, and applying static electricity which is positive (+) and negative (-) relative to a voltage at Vdd or GND, to the output terminal.
Hereinbelow, how a current flows when static electricity is applied to the output terminal OUT is explained with reference to FIG. 2. For instance, when static electricity positive relative to the ground line GND is applied to the output terminal OUT, an NPN type parasitic bipolar transistor defined by the drain diffusion layer 9A, the p-type substrate 1 and the source diffusion layer 8A of the NMOS transistor is turned on. That is, since a positive electricity is applied to the drain diffusion layer 9A acting as a collector, a reverse bias is applied to the transistor. At this time, since static electricity reaches hundreds of to thousands of volts, a breakdown takes place at a pn junction, and accordingly a current flows. The current raises a base voltage to thereby turn the NPN parasitic bipolar transistor on. Thus, the current flows from the source diffusion layer 8A to the ground line GND.
When static electricity negative relative to the ground line GND is applied to the output terminal OUT, a forward bias is applied to a diode defined by the drain diffusion layer 9A and the p-type substrate 1. Thus, the diode is turned on, and hence a current flows from the p-type substrate 1 to the output terminal OUT through the drain diffusion layer 9A.
A phenomenon which would take place when static electricity positive or negative relative to the power source line Vdd is applied to the output terminal OUT is the same as the above mentioned phenomenon except that the NPN parasitic bipolar transistor is replaced with PNP parasitic bipolar transistor. Hence, explanation is not made.
Herein, it should be noted that the parasitic bipolar transistor has a lateral structure. Hence, immediately after a voltage has been applied, a diffusion layer as a whole does not act as a collector, and thus is locally turned on. As a current is increased, on-state spreads over the entirety of a diffusion layer. Accordingly, the parasitic bipolar transistor needs to consider as an aggregate of a plurality of lateral transistors Tr1 to Trx having different base width, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The ESD immunity is dependent on how the on-state is dispersed in a diffusion layer when a voltage is applied thereto. The reason is as follows. If a current were concentrated into a certain lateral transistor, electric breakdown would take place in the lateral transistor. Accordingly, the ESD immunity could be obtained by propagating the on-state to all the other lateral transistors, if one of lateral transistors is turned on, to thereby avoid local concentration of current.
When MOS transistor having LDD and silicide as mentioned above is used as an output transistor, silicide might be a cause to lower the ESD immunity. For instance, suppose that there is not formed the silicide layer 13 in the NMOS transistor illustrated in FIG. 2, even if a positive static electricity is applied to the output terminal OUT, the concentration of current would not take place, because a diffusion layer has a high resistance. Hence, it is possible to have high ESD immunity. In contrast, when there is formed the silicide layer 13 as illustrated in FIG. 2, a voltage applied to the output terminal OUT could instantaneously reach the LDD layer 9B without a voltage drop. Since the LDD layer 9B has a low impurity concentration, the parasitic bipolar transistor Tr1 is first made to turn on among all the diffusion layers, and hence a current flows in the transistor Tr1. However, since a collector resistance is quite high and hence much heat is generated there, the parasitic bipolar transistor Tr1 is destroyed before the subsequent parasitic bipolar transistors Tr2 to Trx are made to turn on.
Hereinbelow is shown the results on ESD evaluation relating to presence or absence of silicide. Electric charge is charged into a capacitor having a capacity of 100 pF through a resistor of 1.5 k.OMEGA., and is connected to the output terminal OUT. In this arrangement, deterioration in performance of an output transistor has been observed before and after discharge of the capacity. It has been found that the ESD immunity of about -4000V could be maintained in diode operation regardless of presence or absence of silicide. In contrast, the circuit which could maintain the ESD immunity of about +4000V without silicide in parasitic bipolar transistor operation was destroyed at about +1000V by forming silicide therein. As is obvious from the above mentioned results, the ESD immunity of an output transistor is significantly concerned with the operation of a parasitic bipolar transistor.
In order to solve the above mentioned problem, a conventional semiconductor device has been designed to have MOS transistor including both silicide and LDD for an internal circuit thereof, taking integration and so on into consideration, and have another MOS transistor including no silicide for an output transistor, to thereby have the ESD immunity.
As mentioned earlier, when MOS transistor including LDD and silicide, as illustrated in FIG. 2, is used as an output transistor, there arises a problem that the ESD immunity is lowered, and hence the transistor is easily destroyed by static electricity.
In order to solve this problem, a conventional semiconductor device has been designed in such a manner that an output transistor thereof is not formed with silicide to have the ESD immunity. However, since an output transistor is a device for driving an external circuit, it is required to have a driving ability as well as the ESD immunity. As mentioned earlier, presence or absence of silicide makes a difference of about 20% in driving ability of MOS transistor. Thus, in order to satisfy a certain driving ability required, a transistor having no silicide has to be larger in size by 20% or more than a transistor having silicide. This is accompanied with an increase in cost in accordance with chip size.
Many methods have been suggested to fabricate a semiconductor device in which only output transistor has no silicide. However, such methods have excessive fabrication steps, which deteriorates a yield of fabrication. Specifically, a transistor used for an internal circuit is separately formed from an output transistor in the above mentioned methods. Hence, those methods have to have a step of forming source and drain diffusion layers of an output transistor with an internal circuit being covered with a mask, and some of those methods may need to further have a step of removing silicide formed on diffusion layers of an output transistor.
As a simple solution to the above mentioned problem, a transistor may be made larger in size with silicide being as it is, to thereby enhance resistance against destruction of a parasitic bipolar transistor in LDD layers. However, it has been confirmed in view of the experiments that a gate width has to be made two times longer or greater in order to have a certain ESD immunity. Thus, the above mentioned simple solution is accompanied with a problem of an increase in size of a transistor.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-259560 has suggested a semiconductor integrated circuit device which includes an input and output protection circuit, an internal circuit, and a silicide layer formed on diffusion regions and polysilicon layers of the internal circuit. The silicide layer is not formed in diffusion regions of the input and output protection circuit.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-234162 has suggested a semiconductor device including a semiconductor substrate having first electrical conductivity, a shallow junction region formed in the semiconductor substrate and having a certain depth and second electrical conductivity, a low-resistive wiring layer formed on the semiconductor substrate with an insulating layer sandwiched therebetween, said wiring layer being electrical connection with both the shallow junction region through contact holes formed throughout the insulating layer and an output terminal, and a deep junction region formed in the semiconductor substrate and having second electrical conductivity, said deep junction region having a region including a contact region in the shallow junction region, and also having a depth sufficient to surround junction destroyed portion generated, due to static electricity applied to the output terminal, in the semiconductor substrate through a contact portion of the low-resistive wiring layer and the shallow junction region.

Method of fabricating electrostatic discharge device


An anode, an anode current collector, an anode active material and a battery using the anode are provided. The anode includes the anode current collector and the anode active material. The anode current collector has a projection. The anode active material layer is formed via at least one of a vapor deposition method, a liquid-phase deposition method, a sintering method and the like.

The present invention relates to an anode including an anode current collector and an anode active material layer, and a battery using the anode.
In recent years, as mobile devices have higher performance and more functions, secondary batteries with higher capacity used as power sources of the mobile devices have been desired. As a secondary battery which meets the requirement, there is a lithium secondary battery. However, in a now-typical lithium secondary battery using lithium cobalt oxide as a cathode and graphite as an anode, its battery capacity is in a saturation state, so it is extremely difficult to significantly increase the capacity. Therefore, it has been considered since a long time ago that lithium (Li) metal is used for an anode, but in order to put the anode to practical use, it is required to improve precipitation/dissolution efficiency of lithium and control dendrite deposition.
On the other hand, an anode with a higher capacity which uses silicon (Si), tin (Sn) or the like has been studied actively. However, due to expansion and shrinkage of an anode active material which occur when charge and discharge are repeated, the anode active material is cracked into small pieces, thereby the anode has extremely poor cycle characteristics such as a decline in current collecting performance, and promoting the decomposition of an electrolyte solution due to an increased surface area. Therefore, an anode which includes an anode active material layer formed on an anode current collector through a vapor deposition method, a liquid-phase deposition method or a sintering method has been studied (refer to, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 8-50922, Japanese Patent No. 2948205 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 11-135115). According to the anode, compared to a conventional coating type anode formed through coating with slurry including an anode active material in a particle shape, a binder and so on, the anode can be prevented from being cracked into small pieces, and an anode current collector and an anode active material layer can be formed as a unit, so electronic conductivity in the anode becomes very good, and in terms of capacity and cycle life, the anode is expected to have higher performance. Moreover, an electrically conducive material, a binder, a gap and so on conventionally included in the anode can be reduced or eliminated, so the anode can be formed into a thin film in essence.
However, even in the anode which includes the anode active material layer formed on the anode current collector by the vapor deposition method, the liquid-phase deposition method or the sintering method, due to expansion and shrinkage of the anode active material upon charge and discharge, the anode active material layer falls off or peeling off from the anode current collector, so the cycle characteristics are not sufficient enough.


The present invention provides a system and method for measuring latency in a continuous processing system. The invention involves generating “tracer” messages that are specifically designed for measuring latency. A tracer message is configured to pass through and be outputted by each primitive in the tracer message's path regardless of the function of the primitive and without changing the state of the primitive. Tracer messages are not filtered by filter primitives or delayed by time-delay primitives. Tracer messages are detected and discarded within loops. These rules provide for predictable behavior of tracer messages, thereby making them reliable indicators of latency and liveness in the continuous processing system. A tracer message is inserted into the continuous processing system at a desired start point for measuring latency. At a desired end point for measuring latency, latency is measured by calculating the amount of time the tracer message took to travel from the start point to the end point.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to continuous processing systems that process streaming data, and, more specifically, to measuring latency in a continuous processing system.
2. Description of the Background Art
A continuous processing system processes streaming data. It includes statements (such as queries), written by programmers, which operate continuously on input data streams and which publish to output data streams.
When statements written by programmers are compiled, an execution graph may be created, where the execution graph is comprised of connected primitives that correspond to the compiled statements. An execution graph in a continuous processing system specifies the path for processing messages in accordance with the statements. In other words, the continuous processing system processes messages by "pushing" them through the execution graph.
For performance measurements, it is desirable to be able to measure latency in a continuous processing system. In particular, it is most desirable to be able to measure the total time it takes for a message generated by an "input adaptor" in the continuous processing system to travel though the execution graph and reach an "output adaptor." An input adaptor receives data from an external input source and conditions the data for processing by the continuous processing system. Data processed by an input adaptor is published as rows of messages into one or more data streams. Such data streams are input to a query processor. If input data to the query processor generates output (by nature of the particular query being run), the query processor publishes such output to one or more output data streams. An output adaptor subscribes to one or more output data streams and conditions data in such streams for an external output destination.
A known method for measuring latency is to add tracking information to standard data messages. However, the problem with adding tracking information to data messages is that, data messages, by their nature are filtered, transformed, delayed or discarded on their way through the execution graph. In general, it is impossible to know if a particular input data message will generate an output message (especially when the execution graph includes a filter). This unpredictability makes calculating latency and detecting processing stalls very difficult.
Consequently, there is a need for a method for calculating latency that bypasses the unpredictability of the execution graph and allows for latency to be calculated reliably and easily.

System and method for measuring latency in a continuous processing system