A high-pressure source of hydraulic fluid and a sump are connected to a cyclically operating user of hydraulic fluid having a hydraulic accumulator by a high-pressure feed line having one end connected to the source and an opposite end connected to the accumulator and user. A pressure-limiting valve has an input side connected to the high-pressure line between the ends thereof and an opposite output side connected to the sump. This valve opens only when pressure in the line exceeds a preset maximum to allow flow between its sides. A detector is connected to the output side of the valve for measuring the peak pressure thereof over several operating cycles of the user and a controller is connected to the detector for operating when the peak pressure detected over several operating cycles exceeds a predetermined threshold.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydraulic system having a pressure accumulator. More particularly this invention concerns the monitoring of the operation of an accumulator associated with a percussion hammer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is standard to power a periodically operating hydraulic tool, for instance a percussion hammer used in a mining operation, from a pump source that supplies liquid at a generally constant pressure and/or volume whose average rate is sufficient to operate the tool but which lies well below the peak rate the tool consumes. For instance the percussion hammer consumes a substantial amount of hydraulic fluid on its forward stroke and on its return stroke only a little. Accordingly it is standard to connect a pressure accumulator to the pressure user to store up the fluid during the part of the cycle when consumption is low and feed it to the user during the part of the cycle when consumption is high.
Thus as seen in FIG. 1 where volume D is plotted on the ordinate and time t on the abscissa, a supply pump produces a constant output Do. The user, however, consumes fluid at a rate shown by the square-wave trace t that lies wholly above the abscissa and that is roughly bisected by the line of output Do. During the cycle halves QA of low consumption the accumulator stores up the fluid from the pump, and during the high-consumption cycle halves QR it feeds this fluid to the user.
The accumulator typically is formed as a substantially closed chamber subdivided by an impermeable but flexible membrane into a compartment that is pressurized with an inert gas, typically nitrogen, at superatmospheric pressure, and a compartment that is connected to the conduit between the pump and the user. When the accumulator becomes damaged or for some reason--leakage, improper filling, valve failure--loses pressure, the effect on the tool is often extremely damaging in that hydraulic shocks that are propagated in the tool and lines that can easily lead to mechanical failure. Unfortunately in the case of a hydraulic percussion hammer used for mining such failure is not rare and is often not noticed immediately because the hammer itself is carried on an arm extending some distance from the tractor and is therefore at some distance from the operator of the machine.
It has been suggested to provide a pressure sensor on the accumulator, typically mounted right on the hammer, and to connect it via a hydraulic or electric line back to a warning device at the operator's station. This solution just adds to the complexity of the piece of equipment and requires that yet another carefully shielded line be extended from the operator to the tool.

System for monitoring a hydraulic accumulator


An apparatus for monitoring blood glucose comprising an invasive component for invasively measuring blood glucose and a non-invasive component, including color image sensor(s) to generate images from absorption of light that traversed the tissue, to receive a body part and generate a non-invasive blood glucose reading. Processor(s) convert the images into a vector V associated with a particular at least one invasive blood glucose measurement gk1, form a regular learning matrix, λ, implement a noninvasive isolation mechanism of the tissue glucose level by unique association of the vector Vk with an invasive blood glucose level, determine a neural network from the learning set λ by pairing vectors into a branch and forming multiple branches into loops, wherein two vectors are paired if they have a pre-defined similarity in the blood glucose levels that each are associated with; and calibrate the neural network by having it pass at least one test.

The present invention relates to apparatuses and methods for computing tissue glucose non-invasively
Diabetes is a global health burden, declared by World Health Organization (WHO) as a global epidemic due to its rapidly growing prevalence. It is a chronic disease in which sugar levels are increased in the body due to either insufficient insulin production by the pancreas or un-effective usage of insulin by the body. The effects of diabetes include long-term damage, dysfunction and failure of various organs including the retina, kidney and vasculature.
Intensive management of blood glucose levels is crucial in diabetes management and treatment. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial and the UK Prospective Diabetes Study follow-up showed that early, tight glucose control in people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes reduced the risk of development or progression of long-term diabetes complications.
Today, finger stick testing is the mainstay of blood glucose detection. Sufficient blood glucose monitoring requires frequent (more than four times a day) blood measurements accompanied by discomfort and pain.
The need for convenient blood glucose self-monitoring technique has led to the development of alternative technologies including the continuous and non-invasive monitoring. Continuous blood glucose devices require invasive sensor inserted under the skin, being replaced at least once or twice a month, which is inconvenient and expensive.
So far, several non-invasive methods including near-infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, ultrasound and so forth were proposed, however no satisfactory solution was introduced to the market. Optical methods have failed to recognize blood glucose levels mainly because glucose has weak connection to light, e.g. visual to IR light. Moreover, it is highly unlikely to calibrate the entire worldwide population under universal calibration manifold with so many obstacles on the way, such as: tissue perfusion, tissue temperature, other blood substance, hemodynamic factors, skin color, nails, dry skin, etc. Furthermore, glucose is less than 0.1% of human tissue by weight. Therefore, variances due to thermal, mechanical, hemodynamics, optical, or other instabilities may interfere with the non-invasive glucose reading.

Method and apparatus for non-invasive glucose measurement


In order to maintain a memory system's performance levels to its end-of-life, latency threshold level(s) are specified and associated with different memory system operating parameters. In one embodiment, the memory system monitors and gathers performance statistics in real time, and in accordance with specific memory transfer sizes. A current latency level can be dynamically calculated using the performance statistics and compared to previously established latency threshold levels. If the current latency level is greater than or equal to a specific latency threshold level, the memory system's configuration setting can be adjusted according to the operating parameters associated with the latency threshold level to offset the increased latency.

This invention relates to methods for maintaining the performance of memory systems until end-of-life, in particular nonvolatile memory systems that include a memory controller.
Memory systems generally include multiple components which are in communication with each other and perform different functions as part of an overall system. One example of such a memory system is a nonvolatile memory system. Nonvolatile memory systems are used in various applications. Some nonvolatile memory systems are embedded in a larger system such as a personal computer. Other nonvolatile memory systems are removably connected to a host system and may be interchanged between different host systems. Examples of such removable memory systems (removable memory units) include memory cards and USB flash drives. Electronic circuit cards, including non-volatile memory cards, have been commercially implemented according to a number of well-known standards. Memory cards are used with personal computers, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital still cameras, digital movie cameras, portable audio players and other host electronic devices for the storage of large amounts of data. Such cards usually contain a re-programmable non-volatile semiconductor memory cell array along with a controller that controls and supports operation of the memory cell array and interfaces with a host to which the card is connected. Memory card standards include PC Card, CompactFlash™ card (CF™ card), SmartMedia™ card, MultiMediaCard (MMC™), Secure Digital (SD) card, a miniSD™ card, microSD™ card, Memory Stick™, Memory Stick Duo card and microSD/TransFlash™ memory module standards to name a few. There are several USB flash drive products commercially available from SanDisk Corporation under its trademark "Cruzer®." Other examples of removable memory units include Solid State Drives (SSDs), e.g. using SATA, PCle, ExpressCard or similar standards. SSDs use solid state memory systems in applications where Hard Disk Drives have traditionally been used, such as in laptop computers.
In many memory systems, degradation occurs with use over time, which prevents the memory system from maintaining its performance levels to its end-of-life. Degradation of the memory contributes to an increase of memory errors, which in turn leads to longer overall transfer times due in part to latency in transfers as more errors are detected and require correction.

Guaranteed memory card performance to end-of-life


Electroless copper plating baths include alternative reducing agents to the conventional reducing agents currently used in the electroless plating industry. The electroless copper baths are stable and deposit a salmon bright copper deposit on substrates. Exclusion of many environmentally unfriendly conventional reducing agents enables environmentally friendly electroless copper plating baths.

Electroless copper plating compositions are in widespread use in metallization industries for depositing copper on various types of substrates. In the manufacture of printed wiring boards, for example, the electroless copper baths are used to deposit copper into through-holes and circuit paths as a base for subsequent electrolytic copper plating. Electroless copper plating also is used in the decorative plastics industry for deposition of copper onto non-conductive surfaces as a base for further plating of copper, nickel, gold, silver and other metals as required. Typical electroless plating baths which are in commercial use today contain divalent copper compounds, chelating agents or complexing agents for the divalent copper ions, formaldehyde reducing agents and various addition agents to make the bath more stable, adjust the plating rate and brighten the copper deposit. Although many of such baths are successful and are widely used, the metallization industry has been searching for alternative electroless copper plating baths that do not contain formaldehyde due to its toxic nature.
Formaldehyde is known as an eye, nose and upper respiratory tract irritant. Animal studies have shown that formaldehyde is an in vitro mutagen. According to a WATCH committee report (WATCH/2005/06—Working group on Action to Control Chemicals—sub committee with UK Health and Safety Commission) over fifty epidemiological studies have been conducted prior to 2000 suggested a link between formaldehyde and nasopharyngeal/nasal cancer but were not conclusive. However, more recent studies conducted by IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) in the U.S.A. showed that there was sufficient epidemiological evidence that formaldehyde causes nasopharyngeal cancer in humans. As a result the INRS, a French agency, has submitted a proposal to the European Community Classification and Labelling Work Group to reclassify formaldehyde from a category 3 to a category 1 carcinogen. This would make usage and handling of it more restricted, including in electroless copper formulations. Accordingly, there is a need in the metallization industry for a comparable or improved reducing agent to replace formaldehyde. Such a reducing agent must be compatible with existing electroless copper processes; provide desired capability and reliability and meet cost targets.
Hypophosphites have been suggested as a replacement for formaldehyde; however, plating rates of baths containing this compound are generally too slow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,692 discloses formaldehyde free electroless plating solutions. Compounds such as boron hydride salts and dimethylamine borane (DMAB) are included as reducing agents. However, such boron containing compounds have been tried with varying degrees of success. Further, these compounds are more expensive than formaldehyde and also have health and safety issues. DMAB is toxic. Additionally, resultant borates have adverse effects on crops on release into the environment.
Accordingly, there is still a need for an electroless copper bath which includes alternative reducing agents to replace many of the conventional reducing agents currently used in the electroless plating industry that is stable, provides acceptable copper deposits and is environmentally friendly.


Polymeric compositions having a polymeric component and an inorganic filler which undergoes a crystal (phase) inversion within the operating temperature range of the composition are provided. The present invention relates to a method for reducing the water sensitivity of particles of a crystallized phosphate glass. The particles are composed of P.sub.2 O.sub.5 and one or more cations selected from the group consisting of magnesium, cobalt, arsenic, zinc, iron, aluminum, and zirconium. The method includes nitriding the particles.

I. Fillers
Polymers commonly used in adhesives, coatings, sealants, and the like generally have high CTEs when compared to glasses, ceramics, metals, and metal oxides. This mismatch in expansion creates internal and interfacial stresses which often cause either delamination or poor product performance. The problem is the greatest at temperatures lower than the glass transition temperature (T.sub.g) of the polymer where the polymer has its greatest modulus and thus cannot effectively release stresses through creep. As a result, at its in-use temperature, the polymer is typically in tension, while the lower CTE substrate is in compression.
A common approach to this problem is to add inorganic fillers having a lower CTE to the polymer. In some cases, special fillers with negative CTEs on the order of -5.times.10.sup.-7 /.degree. C. have been used, such as lithium aluminum silicates. Notwithstanding these efforts, polymeric compositions having CTEs close to zero or below zero (i.e., negative CTEs) have been difficult to achieve, even when large amounts of filler have been employed.
Examples of fillers which have been added to polymers of various types can be found in: C. F. Hofmann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,871, W. A. Ernst, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,568,012, M. Tsukui, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,750, C. R. Sporck, U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,969, Chenoweth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,238, Shinohara et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,552, Miller et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,274, Cheilis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,192, and H. Bayer, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,990.
II. Crystallized Phosphate Glasses
Crystallized phosphate glasses which undergo a crystal (phase) inversion have been used to control the CTEs of lead and tin-phosphorous oxyfluoride sealing glasses. See Cornelius et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,089,446 (tin-phosphorous oxyfluoride sealing glass), and Francis U.S. Pat. No. 5,089,445 (lead sealing glass).
In connection with these applications, the crystallized phosphate glass and the sealing glass, in particular, a tin-phosphorous oxyfluoride sealing glass, have been compounded with an organic medium to form a sealing composition, e.g., a sealing tape. See Francis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5, 179,046.
The organic medium included in these sealing compositions serves as a binder (carrier) for the sealing glass and the crystallized phosphate glass. The binder is specifically designed to vaporize as the sealing composition is used, i.e., the binder is chosen to have a high vapor pressure within the operating range of the sealing composition. In particular, the Francis et al. patent specifies that the binder should have a boiling point below 350.degree. C.
In contrast, the polymers of the present invention constitute an essential pad of the finished, in-use composition and thus do not substantially vaporize within the composition's operating range. That is, the organic medium of the Francis et al. patent was a fugitive medium, while the polymers of the present invention are non-fugitive. Moreover, in the Francis et al. patent, the crystallized phosphate glass does not serve to control the CTE of the binder, but rather is designed to control the CTE of the sealing glass after the binder has been vaporized. As discussed below, in accordance with the present invention, crystallized phosphate glasses are used to control (reduce) the CTEs of polymer compositions, an application very different from that of the foregoing Francis, Cornelius et al., and Francis et al. patents.
III. Optical Waveguide Couplers
The use of adhesives in the assembly of optical waveguide couplers is disclosed in, for example, Miller et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,692. Adhesives have also been used in the formation of integrated optical components in which an optical waveguide formed in a substrate is coupled to one end of an optical waveguide fiber. See Vial et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,835.
The use of filled adhesives having low CTEs in the construction of optical waveguide couplers is discussed in EPO Patent Publication No. 553,492. This publication discloses a variety of fillers for use in such adhesives, including fillers composed of lithium aluminum silicates which have a negative CTE. The reference, however, does not disclose or suggest the use of crystallized phosphate glasses for this purpose.

Method of reducing water sensitivity of phosphate glass particles


A differential control apparatus for a self-balancing scooter includes platform interfaces, such as clamping mechanisms, configured to be rigidly connected to respective foot platforms of the self-balancing scooter, and a differential drive coupler mechanically joined to the platform interfaces to impart differential rotational motion thereto in response to a mechanical control input. A rider interface control mechanism is connected to the differential drive coupler to supply the mechanical control input in response to user control actions to control movement of the self-balancing scooter in operation.

The present invention generally relates to the field of self-balancing scooters and more specifically to the field of control mechanisms for self-balancing scooters.
A self-balancing scooter (SBS) is a recreational transportation vehicle or device designed to carry a single passenger. Typically, an SBS has two wheels mounted symmetrically on either side of a center line of the scooter and having a common axis of rotation. Each wheel is independently driven, and steering is accomplished by differential speed control of the two wheels.
One type of SBS has a unitary body with a footrest on which the passenger/rider stands. An example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,230 and available as the "Segway®" from SEGWAY, INC., 14 Technology Drive, Bedford, N.H. 03110. This form of SBS is speed-controlled by tilting the body forward or backward, and it is steered by differentially increasing the speed of an "outside" wheel relative to an "inside" wheel. In the Segway "PT" device this differential speed control is accomplished by moving a "LeanSteer Frame", essentially a handle bar support shaft, to the left or right.
Another type of SBS employs a split body with mirror-image left and right halves, with each half having a drive wheel located on a common axis outboard of the rider's feet. An example of such an SBS is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,738,278 and is known colloquially as a "hoverboard". The left and right halves are rotationally coupled to each other, allowing relative rotation of approximately plus or minus 5° in the forward/backward direction. Each half of the hover board has its own motorized and servo controlled drive wheel for propulsion. Each wheel is driven by a brushless DC motor, controlled by rotational inputs that the rider makes to each half of the hoverboard by tilting his or her feet forward or backwards. When the feet are tilted in unison, the hoverboard moves forward or backwards in a straight line; when the feet are tilted at different angles, the hoverboard turns in the direction of the less-forward-tilted foot. If the feet are tilted by the same angle but in opposing directions, the hoverboard rotates about a vertical axis.

Self-balancing scooter differential control apparatus


The present invention provides a tool steel containing, by mass percent, 0.55 to 0.85% of C, 0.20 to 2.50% of Si, 0.30 to 1.20% of Mn, 0.50% or less of Cu, 0.01 to 0.50% of Ni, 6.00 to 9.00% of Cr, 0.1 to 2.00% of Mo+0.5 W, and 0.01 to 0.40% of V, with the balance of Fe and inevitable impurities, in which, when an area rate of a coarse carbide having a circle equivalent diameter of 2 μm or more in a cross section parallel to a forging direction is represented by L(%) and an area rate of the coarse carbide in a cross section perpendicular to the forging direction is represented by T(%), the area rate L is 0.001% or more, the area rate T is 0.001% or more, and the ratio L/T is within a range from 0.90 to 3.00. The tool steel of the invention exhibits an isotropic size change in quenching and tempering.

Conventionally, tool steels have been widely used for forming a mold (such as trimming, die, or drawing) for cold forging, precision forging, progressive press, plastic molding, warm forging, powder molding and magnet molding, and mold parts attached to the mold.
Tool steels are materials which are required to have high hardness and hence, the structure of the tool steels is transformed into martensite by applying quenching and tempering to them so as to impart desired hardness, and such tool steels are used as materials of the above-mentioned mold or the like.
Tool steels expand a volume thereof due to quenching and tempering. Although there arises no problem when the expansion is an isotropic expansion, conventional cold work tool steels generate anisotropic and non-uniform expansion thus giving rise to a serious problem in the manufacture of a mold or the like.
This anisotropic and non-uniform expansion of tool steels is liable to conspicuously appear particularly with respect to tool steels containing a large quantity of carbide. However, the reason of such a phenomenon has not been clarified yet.
The anisotropic and non-uniform expansion of tool steels gives rise to a following problem in the manufacture of a mold, for example.
In the manufacture of a mold, a tool steel is roughly formed into a rough mold having a shape and a size which are preliminarily estimated by adding a size change to be caused by heat treatment to a desired mold size and, thereafter, quenching and tempering are applied to the rough mold and, finally, finish working is applied thereto to form a mold having a desired shape.
In the case that the mold material (tool steel) generates an isotropic expansion thereof due to quenching and tempering, the mold may be roughly formed into a size and a shape allowing the expansion of equal quantity in all directions.
However, when the mold material extends (expands) largely in one direction while extends little or contracts in another direction due to quenching and tempering, it is necessary to determine the size of the mold material before quenching and tempering with taking a size change in such another direction into consideration.
However, the direction that the mold material extends due to quenching and tempering also differs depending on the direction along which a material to be the mold is taken out from a raw material. Therefore, there is no reproducibility of size after quenching and tempering and the size of the mold cannot be controlled with desired accuracy. This drawback largely hampers the manufacture of the mold.
Accordingly, for example, compared with mold size accuracy of ±0.03% (size accuracy of ±30 μm when a length of the mold is 100 mm) which is required to be satisfied by general users, a size of the mold before heat treatment is conventionally made uniformly large (approximately +0.06%) so that even when the size cannot be controlled due to quenching and tempering (+0.06±0.03%=0.03% to 0.09%), a sufficient machining margin (+0.03% or more, and 1 to 30 μm being removed when the machining margin by cutting is less than 0.03%, and this cutting being difficult from a viewpoint of rigidity of a machine or the like) is ensured.
However, in this case, a machining margin of finish working becomes 0.09% at maximum and, at the same time, tool steel is basically a material which has high hardness and hence, working after heat treatment requires a considerably long time (assuming that cutting is performed for every 0.03%, it is necessary to perform cutting three times).
Alternatively, there also arises a serious drawback that a load which a cutting tool receives is excessively increased (when the working margin of 0.09% being worked one time), leading to breaking of the cutting tool.
Accordingly, there has been a strong demand for the reduction of machining margin. However, factors which controls the non-uniformity of expansion due to heat treatment has not been revealed and hence, no countermeasure has been found up to now.
JP-A-2005-113161 discloses a technique which aims at solving a problem on anisotropy of thermal expansion ratio in hot work tool steels. In this case, the thermal expansion ratio is a ratio at which the material to which heat treatment of quenching and tempering is applied (with no phase transformation) expands corresponding to a temperature.
The present invention relates to a heat treatment in quenching and tempering, that is, the isotropy of a size change of a tool steel when the phase transformation is generated. Therefore, the present invention fundamentally differs from the technique disclosed in JP-A-2005-113161 with respect to a point that the phase transformation is present or not. Accordingly, the isotropy of the size change of the tool steel of the present invention when the phase transformation is generated should not be estimated by this document.
Further, JP-A-2003-226939 discloses a technique which improves machinability by controlling particle sizes and quantities of carbide and non-metallic inclusions in hot work tool steel.
However, this document fails to disclose the problems to be solved by the present invention, and the present invention also differs from the technique disclosed in this document with respect to a technique for overcoming the problems.

Tool steels and manufacturing method thereof


A radiating plate of a light regulator switch has a bent engaging member integrally formed at one corner of the back side thereof and a hole bored at another corner diagonally opposite to such one corner. A case of the light regulator switch has a detaining recess in and with which the bent engaging member of the radiating plate is received and engaged. The detaining recess has a pair of side walls engaging the side edges of the bent engaging member to prevent sideways shifting thereof and a horizontal wall connecting these side walls. Further, a hole is bored in the case in alignment with the hole of the radiating plate. In assembling the light regulator switch, the case is disposed in back of the radiating plate so that the bent engaging member is located above the detaining recess of the radiating plate, and then the radiating plate is slid downward to receive and engage the bent engaging member in and with the detaining recess. Thereafter, the radiating plate is attached to the case by fitting screws into the holes of the case and the radiating plate.

This invention relates to a switch, and more specifically to a switch for regulating a quantity of light.
Usually attached to a wall, a light regulator switch is so constructed that the quantity of light may be regulated when a front contact plate is touched by part of a human body, e.g. a finger, or by turning a rotatable control knob. In general, a light regulator switch 10, as shown in FIG. 1, comprises a case 12 containing electronic components for volume or light quantity control (not shown), a radiating plate 14 attached in front of the opening of the case, and a front panel 16 covering the front of the radiating plate. The front panel 16 is furnished with a volume or control knob or a front contact plate, a volume knob 18 for the switch being shown. The radiating plate 14 of the switch 10 is attached to a switch box 21 embedded in the wall by means of screws. The light regulator switch 10 is therefore fixed to a wall 20.
In the prior art light regulator switch 10, the case 12 and the radiating plate 14 are put together as follows. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, the case 12 has pairs of projecting engaging members 22 integrally formed on its top and bottom faces, respectively, and a through hole 24 bored on one side. On the other hand, the radiating plate 14 has four bent engaging members 26 integrally formed on the back side thereof and a threaded hole 28. The bent engaging members 26 are capable of receiving the projecting engaging members 22. The case 12 is disposed in back of the radiating plate 14 so that the projecting engaging members 22 are located beside the bent engaging members 26, and then the case 12 is slid sideways to receive and engage the projecting engaging members 22 in and with the bent engaging members 26. The case 12 is slided until the through hole 24 is brought in alignment with the threaded hole 28, and the case 12 and the radiating plate 14 are put together by fitting a screw 30 into the threaded hole 28 through the through hole 24.
As described above, in the assembly of the conventional light regulator switch 10, the four projecting engaging members 22 of the case 12 must be located in parallel with the four bent engaging members 26 of the radiating plate 26. Such parallel location, however, is difficult to achieve because there is provided no guide means. Also, it is difficult to align the through hole 24 with the threaded hole 28 since there is employed no stopper means to restrict the slide of the case 12. Accordingly, it is impossible to fix the case 12 easily and efficiently to the radiating plate 26, and the assembly of the light regulator switch 10 would be a hard task.


A plug for joining a polyethylene (PE) jacketed cable to a PE tube is provided. The plug includes first and second heating wires and a PE body. The PE body includes a first section and a second section. The first section is insertible into the PE tube and includes a first surface to engage with the PE tube. The first heating wires are embeddable in the first surface. The second section is within the first section and the PE jacketed cable is insertible into the second section. The second section includes a second surface to engage with the PE jacketed cable. The second heating wires are embeddable in the second section.

The present disclosure relates to undersea cables and, more particularly, to plug for joining an undersea cable and another undersea cable with an encasement.
Undersea cable systems typically require that housings and cables be encapsulated with polyethylene (PE) in order to achieve long term life in seawater. Expensive molds are employed in current processes for forming the PE encapsulations and these processes can take a relatively long time to complete. That is, a significant investment in time and money is often required in order to achieve a high-strength durable cable with a PE housing overmold.
More particularly, traditional sub-sea signal cable splice interconnections can use a field applied termination element as the PE housing overmold. The cable splicing process involves strength member termination and fiber-optic conductor splicing and relies on the PE overmolding to achieve long term durability.
Meanwhile, natural gas and oil industries often use electrofusion to produce high quality inexpensive welding of high and medium density pipelines. Electrofusion can provide a controllable heating of pipes and fittings that results in a high pressure seal. In addition, the portability of electrofusion features is usually inexpensive and reliable heating systems are available to support field operations. Such electrofusion features may include heating elements that are integrated into fittings and current in the form of direct current (DC) provides the necessary power (at, e.g., 40 volts) to activate the heating elements. Once electrofusion is complete, pipes and fittings can be used underwater and, even though wire themselves may corrode over time, electrofusion joints will not be affected.


A method for wafer high voltage testing of semiconductor devices is disclosed. The method involves adding a patterning layer onto a passivation layer of the semiconductor devices and then etching vias through the passivation layer to expose conductive test points. Testing of the semiconductor devices begins with engaging the conductive test points with high voltage test probes of a testing apparatus and then applying a high voltage test sequence to the conductive test points via the high voltage test probes. The testing of the semiconductor devices concludes by disengaging the high voltage test probes from a last one of the semiconductor devices and then removing the patterning layer from the passivation layer of the semiconductor devices.

On-wafer parametric and Known Good Device (KGD) testing for high voltage devices can be challenging. Test voltages in excess of 600 V are typically applied to a wafer with semiconductor devices under test in order to measure leakage and/or breakdown voltage. Often high voltage ionization and breakdown of air or surface flashover will confound electrical measurements of the semiconductor devices' intrinsic device performance. For example, an electric field of around about 30 kV/cm will cause the air between features of a semiconductor device to ionize, which will usually allow a destructive energy flow into the semiconductor device. Fortunately, electric field levels for materials making up semiconductor devices typically exceed 30 kV/cm. Thus, high voltage semiconductor devices are packaged such that an ionization of air to the point of breakdown is prevented. However, before packaging and during wafer testing an air ionization leading to a destructive voltage breakdown is an ever present risk for the semiconductor devices under test. Moreover, even nondestructive voltage breakdowns resulting from air ionization and/or flashover are not indicative of intrinsic device performance.
A common technique for suppressing air ionization and breakdown is to dispense a fluid having a relatively high dielectric strength onto a wafer having semiconductors to be tested. Examples of high dielectric strength fluids include fluorocarbon-based fluids such as perfluorohexane (C6F14). While suppressing air ionization and breakdown using high dielectric strength fluids is effective, it is also impractical for high volume production testing.
FIG. 1 depicts a cross-section of a prior art semiconductor device 10 before undergoing a prior art approach that involves depositing a relatively increased amount of a high dielectric strength material that makes up a passivation layer 12, that at least partially covers conductive features 14 and 16 to suppress air ionization. The semiconductor device 10 has a substrate 18 that carries epitaxial layers 20 onto which the conductive features 14 and 16 are disposed. The passivation layer 12 also covers a section of the epitaxial layers 20 that is between the conductive features 14 and 16.
High electric fields between the conductive features 14 and 16 can sometimes be confined to the passivation layer 12. However, a destructive breakdown may still occur if the layer thickness of the passivation layer 12 is not thick enough. In such a case, a thickening of the passivation layer 12 may be considered as illustrated in FIG. 2. However, there are practical limitations as to how thick the passivation layer 12 can be. For example, inorganic dielectrics like silicon nitride (SiN) are more prone to cracking as a function of increased thickness. A practical thickness for SiN is around about 1 μm, whereas a thickness approaching 5 μm is approaching impracticability. Moreover, if the passivation layer 12 is deposited using a relatively slow process such as atomic layer deposition (ALD), impracticalities of excessive time consumption and excessive cost are introduced for the deposition of material layers greater than 0.1 μm. Thus, a need remains for a high voltage on-wafer testing method for semiconductor devices in a high volume production environment.

Method for on-wafer high voltage testing of semiconductor devices


A circuit board is wave soldered as it is carried by a conveyor through a solder wave established in a solder reservoir. Disposed on both sides of the solder wave are gas plenums which discharge shield gas. Each gas plenum includes a top wall, a side wall, and a bottom wall. The side wall is spaced horizontally from the wave, and the bottom wall is submerged within the solder. The side and (optionally) top walls include orifices for directing shield gas (i) at high velocity toward the solder wave to protect the solder wave with an atmosphere of shield gas, and (ii) upwardly toward an underside of the circuit board to strip entrained air therefrom. Instead of being submerged within the solder, the bottom wall could be spaced above the solder and provided with orifices to emit shield gas downwardly between the plenum and solder reservoir to create an inert atmosphere above the solder. Dividers disposed within the plenum form sub-chambers communicating with orifices in respective walls of the plenum so that different gas velocities can be entitled from the orifices. The gas plenums can be rotatably adjustable and further adjustable either vertically or horizontally.

The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for providing a non-oxidizing atmosphere at the surface of a wave soldering bath to discourage the formation of oxides on the liquid solder surfaces, especially during the wave soldering of circuit boards.
Wave soldering machines have been introduced for a long time in the industry to automatically solder components on a circuit board, such as a circuit board, wiring board, etc., which operation was earlier done by hand. A usual wave soldering machine comprises at least one preheating zone to preheat the circuit board, at least one soldering zone to solder the components to the board by coating the bottom side of the circuit board with molten solder contained in a solder pot, and at least one cooling zone where the solder is solidified. This soldering process, or coating process, is usually conducted in the presence of a fluxing agent which agent is used to improve the wetting of the copper surface on the bottom of the circuit board which surface needs to be joined or coated. The fluxing agents are usually corrosive and the excess or residue of these agents must be cleaned after the wave soldering operation.
Low residue no-clean fluxes or flux-less processes have been developed wherein it is possible to carry out the wave soldering process without the inconvenience of standard fluxing agents, under a substantially oxygen-free atmosphere, such as nitrogen.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,705,457 discloses one of the earliest wave soldering processes, including injection of an inert gas to avoid oxidation of the metallic surfaces of the printed circuit board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,757 discloses a wave soldering process under a reducing atmosphere comprising nitrogen and hydrogen, and nitrogen curtains at entrance and exit of the machine to inhibit atmosphere exchange with the ambient air.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,493 discloses a method and apparatus for soldering printed circuit boards under an inert gas atmosphere to prevent oxidation of the electrical (usually copper) connections due to the heat produced during soldering and reduce the occurrence of thermal stress defects in the circuit carrier. To this end, an inert gas is injected through slits to provide a plurality of jets of high velocity which impinge the bottom side of the printed circuit board. As a condition of operation, the temperature of the inert gas jets is about twice as high as the temperature of the molten solder in the solder pot (600.degree. C.).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,958 discloses a solder reflow, or solder chip process which is carried out in a flux-less or flux free system, under an atmosphere comprising nitrogen and saline, or hydrogen and saline.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,947 discloses a process to coat a molten metal to a metal-comprising surface without using a flux. This process is carried out in an inert atmosphere in which the temperature is sufficiently low that no damage is done to the metal-comprising surface, and no damage is done to materials such as components adjacent to the metal-comprising surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,058 discloses a process for conducting a joining/coating operation which is carried out in a controlled oxidizing atmosphere, having an oxidation capability greater than that required to oxidize a metal-comprising filler material used for joining or coating, but having less oxidation capability than that of air. In case of a wave soldering process the oxygen content in the inert gas atmosphere is at least 10 ppm and preferably at least 500 ppm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,875 discloses a short hood for wave soldering machines, wherein preheating of the printed circuit boards is carried out under air. In this process a no-clean flux is used and an oxygen concentration which is less than 5% is recommended at the solder pot.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,156 discloses an apparatus having a soldering chamber and comprising means to inject a protective gaseous atmosphere in the soldering chamber and sealing skirt means protruding downwardly into the pool of molten metal solder. Preferably the protective gaseous atmosphere is comprised of nitrogen and possibly of some reducing agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,289 discloses a process for treating parts under a non-reactive atmosphere with laminar flow conditions. The laminar flow conditions disclosed in this patent usually apply for inert gas injection in wave soldering machines.
In sum, a substantially oxygen-free atmosphere has been achieved by a so-called fully inerted wave soldering system, and a dross reduction boundary system.
The fully inerted wave soldering systems currently uses a tunnel type of system. That type of system is very expensive and time-consuming to install. Because this type of machine uses a tunnel, the access to the assemblies being soldered is greatly reduced. To achieve the desired results that type of system must operate at very high gas flow rates (over 1500 scfh). By doing this, the oxygen ppm level in the inerting system is kept low, thus yielding the desired results. If the flow rate is reduced, the atmosphere becomes unstable and benefits are lost. The primary goal of the fully inerted system is keep the oxygen ppm level below approximately 100 ppm, and preferably below 10 ppm. This then would yield the maximum dross reduction with the greater wettability for soldering.
The dross reduction boundary inerting system was developed to address the problems of the fully inerted system. The design was such that it can be easily installed and is much lower in cost. The other goal of this system was to have a reduced inerting gas flow rate. While those goals appear to have been met, the performance of that system is greatly reduced as compared to that of the fully inerted system. Because the boundary inerting system depends on a circuit board being present for the inerting to take place, the actual inerting effect is never fully achieved. The dross reduction of such a system is typically at best 70% (with reference to a solder pot operating without an inerting gas) with only marginal if any improvements in wettability.
Examples of a dross reduction boundary inerting system can be found in the following Japanese documents: Japanese Utility Model Laid/Open (KOKAI) No. Sho-49-119433 (Yamada et al); Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho-57-90-10 (Takemura); and Japanese Laid/Open (Kokai) NO. Sho-61-286058 (Furuya). Each of those documents discloses an inerting system in which a cover is positioned over a solder bath to form a space above the bath, and inerting gas is supplied beneath the cover to inert the solder surface, as well as to pass upwardly through slots formed on opposite sides of a solder wave. The inerting gas thus flows in counterflow relationship with both sides of the wave along the entire height of the wave to inert the wave. Circuit boards are conveyed across the upper end of the wave to cause the undersides of the boards to be soldered.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,203,489; 5,240,169; 5,292,055; and 5,121,874, similar inerting systems are disclosed and wherein gas supply pipes are located on opposite sides of the wave. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,036 a gas supply pipe is disposed on only one side of the wave.
A shortcoming which is characteristic of the systems of all of the previously referenced patents involves the relatively large surface area of the solder bath that is susceptible to being oxidized by any air that may migrate thereto. That is, notwithstanding the presence of a cover, the entire surface of the solder bath beneath the cover is exposed to whatever atmosphere exists beneath the bath. In the prior art system depicted in FIG. 13, a cover plate C extends across the top of the reservoir R and includes recesses to accommodate the solder waves. On the sides of each solder wave there is thus formed a chamber CH bordered on its top by the cover, on its bottom by the solder reservoir, one side by the solder wave, and on an opposite side by either (i) a stationary wall (of the solder pot or solder pot housing), or (ii) another solder wave (in the case where the chamber is situated between two solder waves). Each chamber includes a gas outlet defined by a gap G formed between the solder wave SW and an edge of the cover slot.
Disposed within each chamber is a gas discharge pipe P extending parallel to the length of the solder wave. A shield gas is discharged from orifices in the gas discharge pipe to create an inert atmosphere within the chamber CH, whereby virtually the entire surface of solder in the reservoir is inerted by the shield gas. A flow F of shield gas exits the chamber through the outlet. That gas flow is intended to provide an inert blanket across the portion of the wave side which projects above the gap G when a circuit board is present. However, when no circuit board is present, the portion TS of the top surface of the wave which curves away from the gap G is exposed to any ambient oxygen which may be present in the ambient atmosphere, whereupon dross can be formed. In the case of soldering operations in which there occurs a wide spacial gap between successive circuit boards being conveyed to the solder pot, it is not unusual for the solder wave pumps to be deactivated between the soldering of successive boards in order to minimize dross formation.
Furthermore, the behavior of the gas flow F emerging from the chamber can actually promote the formation of dross on the solder wave. In that regard, the pressure difference between the gas in the discharge pipe on the one hand and the atmosphere disposed above the chamber outlet, on the other hand, is relatively low. As a result, the velocity of the gas traveling within the chamber toward the outlet is relatively slow. Due to its slow travel, the gas will be significantly heated by the hot solder wave. Consequently, the hot gas flow F emerging from the gap G has a tendency to rapidly rise and create a free swirling convection current CC which draws the cooler atmosphere (and any oxygen contained therein) downwardly toward the solder wave, thus resulting in the formation of dross.
As pointed out earlier herein, all of the solder disposed beneath the cover is exposed and thus great care must be taken to inert the atmosphere beneath the cover. It would be desirable to minimize the amount of exposed solder and to do so while being able to eliminate the need for a cover.
Another region in which dross is formed in the solder is at the place where the drive shafts for the wave pumps enter the solder reservoir. The rotation of those shafts produces a churning of the solder, whereby oxidation is promoted.
It will be appreciated that the dross formed in the solder eventually builds up to a level requiring that the solder pot be shut-down to enable the dross to be skimmed off the top of the solder reservoir. The frequency at which those costly shut-downs occur is a function of the rate of dross formation.
Therefore, it would be desirable to minimize the rate of dross formation beyond the rates currently achieved.
There is presently still a need for wave soldering machines regarding an inert gas injection system and/or device which, without the need of covering the molten bath of solder and the related waves, provides similar or better results on dross reduction essentially by way of controlling the flow of inert gas, particularly in the wave(s) area(s), so that the gas shields the molten metal against oxidation.

Apparatus and methods for inerting solder during wave soldering operations

L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude


In order to provide an incandescent lamp in which an unlit state of the lamp caused by a hang-out of the coil as well as a short lifetime thereof are prevented using a simple construction and its lifetime in practical application is long, a coil (21)-like filament (20) is held in a bulb (11) by upholding parts (30, 30xe2x80x2) with an axis of the coil (21) being oriented in a vertical direction, and a coil pitch of the coil (21) at the upper part thereof is made narrow as compared with that of the lower part of the filament (20). Or the filament (20) of the incandescent lamp (10) is constituted by the coil (21) of a conical shape or that of a frustum of a circular cone, and the filament is arranged within the bulb (11) in such a way that it may be held by upholding parts (30, 30xe2x80x2) with an axis of the coil (21) of the filament (20) being oriented in a vertical direction and the one end of the oil (21) having a smaller diameter being positioned upward.

This invention relates to an incandescent lamp at is turned on with a coil axis of a filament being directed in a vertical direction, and, for e ample, an incandescent lamp filled with inert gas containing halogen.
In the case of a usual incandescent lamp of the one-end sealed type which is widely used, for example, a coil-like filament within a cylindrical glass bulb is connected to upholding parts also acting as an inner lead wire at both ends of the filament, and the filament is held and arranged in such a way that a bulb axis of the bulb and an axis of the coil are coincident with each other.
In the case of such an incandescent lamp as described above, the lamp is turned on while it is kept in a vertical orientation. In doing so, it may sometimes happen that, when the time of the turning-on operation expires, the coil of the filament is extended and hangs out.
In particular, in the case of an incandescent lamp with the coil axis of the filament being oriented in a vertical direction as described above, a load corresponding to the weight of the coil itself is applied to the filament, resulting in that the stress of the net weight of the filament increases from the lower end of the filament to its upper end and the coil hangs out considerably at the upper end of the filament.
Since both upper and lower ends of the filament of the incandescent lamp as described above are held and fixed by the upholding parts, the filament length and the number of turns of the coil however do not change, and when the coil hanging-down state is generated above the filament the pitch of the coil positioned further below is gradually narrowed and the coils which are present adjacent to each other in a vertical direction get in contact with each other. As a result, a short-circuit state or a melting cut of the filament occurred and turned off the lamp resulting in the problem of making the lamp life short.
In particular, in the case of an incandescent lamp in which the turning-on or turning-off operation was repeated within a short period of time under such a high temperature that the temperature of the filament exceeded 2600xc2x0 C., for example, and the lamp was turned on in a periodic manner, the hang-down of the coil was produced remarkably often and caused the lifetime of the lamp to become quite short.
In view of the aforesaid problem, it is also possible to fix the upholding parts not only to the upper and the lower ends of the filament, for example, but also over a longitudinal direction of the filament and to prevent the coils from getting in contact with each other. However, application of such a prior art method as described above causes the structure of the filament to become a complicated structure and further its productivity to become quite poor.
In addition, in the case that the incandescent lamp is utilized as a heat source, in particular in the case that the filament of the incandescent lamp has a size relation wherein the length of the filament and the diameter of the coil are identical with each other, this may cause the thermal efficiency of the lamp to be reduced, resulting in that it is preferable that the number of upholding parts is as low as possible.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an incandescent lamp in which an unlit state as well as a short lifetime of the lamp and a hang-out of the coil is prevented by a simple configuration and its lifetime in practical application is long.
In view of the foregoing, in a first aspect of the present patent application there is provided an incandescent lamp in which a coil-like filament is stored in a bulb and the filament is held by upholding parts with an axis of the coil being oriented in a vertical direction, wherein the coil is made such that a coil pitch at the upper part of the filament is made narrower than a coil pitch at the lower part of the filament.
With such an arrangement as above, when the coil hangs out considerably as described above at the upper part of a usual filament and the coil extends to hang down, the pitch of the coil is made narrow at the lower side of the filament resulting in that the filament may contact the coil. In accordance with the first invention, the upper coil is wound more closely than the lower coil of the filament without changing the filament length or the number of turns of the coil, the coil pitch of the upper coil of the filament is made narrower in advance than that of the lower coil in anticipation of a deformation of the coil, and the pitch of the lower coil of the filament is wound wide. In doing so, even if the coil hangs out to cause the pitch of the lower coil to be narrowed, it requires a lot of time until the coils themselves get in contact with each other, so that the contact of the coils can be avoided and, further, it becomes possible to prevent a short-circuit state and a melting cut of the filament. Then, as a result, it is possible to prevent an unlit state of the lamp and attain a long lifetime of the lamp.
Further, in a second aspect of the present patent application there is provided an incandescent lamp in which a coil-like filament is stored in a bulb and the filament is held by the upholding parts with an axis of the coil being arranged in a vertical direction and wherein the coil has a conical shape or its shape is a frustum of a circular cone and it is arranged with its one end having a smaller coil diameter being placed to the upside. With such an arrangement as above, since the shearing force applied to the coil is reduced relative to the axial load of the coil as the coil diameter is decreased, resistance against the stress applied to the coil, i.e. the anti-hang out characteristic, is increased. Accordingly, even if the load is increased from the lower end of the filament to the upper end thereof, a gradual reduction of the coil diameter causes the anti-hang out characteristic of the coil to be increased and, accordingly, the hang-out of the coil can be effectively restricted. Thus, deformation caused by the hang-out of the coil is hardly produced even at the upper part of the filament so that it is possible to prevent the coil pitch below the filament from being narrowed, and it is also possible to avoid contact between the coils themselves.
As a result, it is possible to prevent a short-circuit state and melt-cut of the filament, to prevent an unlit state of the lamp and to attain a long lifetime of the lamp. Even if a remarkable hang-out of the coil is produced, it is possible to extend the lifetime of the lamp.

Coil filament structure for an incandescent lamp


The present disclosure provides an electronic cigarette. The electronic cigarette includes a battery box. The battery box includes a support, a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) accommodated in the support, and a button assembly connected to the support. The button assembly includes a first casing, a first magnet arranged in the first casing, and a second magnet abutting against the first magnet. The support defines a limiting hole configured for accommodating the second magnet. The second magnet is connected to the PCB. The electronic cigarette is simple in overall structure and is convenient to carry, and the button has a long service life.

Smoking is harmful to health. At present, all countries of the world are vigorously promoting tobacco-free campaigns. Electronic cigarette, also called simulating cigarette, has the same appearance as conventional cigarettes and the similar flavor to conventional cigarettes, even has much more flavors than conventional cigarettes. The electronic cigarette also can create aerosols, flavors and a feeling of smoking, like conventional cigarettes. However, the electronic cigarette has no harmful ingredients such as tar and particulate matter existing in conventional cigarettes, and forms no second hand smoke filling in air. The electronic cigarette can effectively eliminate the harmful substances produced during conventional smoking, and can give a feeling of smell the same as conventional smoking to users. Therefore, the electronic cigarette is mainly used for quitting smoking and substituting conventional cigarettes, and it plays a great role in the promotion of tobacco-free campaigns. Current electronic cigarettes mainly include an atomizer and a battery box. The battery box has a big button thereon. The big button generally is complex in structure and tedious to assemble. The assembly of many parts inside the big button occupies a large space and the electronic cigarette is inconvenient to carry. Moreover, the big button often is stuck, oblique, shaky, etc., resulting in uneven strength or failure of the big button. Consequently, the button has a short service life.


An underlying layer is composed of Co—Fe—B that is an amorphous magnetic material. Thus, the upper surface of the underlying layer can be taken as a lower shield layer-side reference position for obtaining a gap length (GL) between upper and lower shields, resulting in a narrower gap than before. In addition, since the underlying layer has an amorphous structure, the underlying layer does not adversely affect the crystalline orientation of individual layers to be formed thereon, and the surface of the underlying layer has good planarizability. Accordingly, PW50 (half-amplitude pulse width) and SN ratio can be improved more than before without causing a decrease in rate of change in resistance (Δ R/R) or the like, thereby achieving a structure suitable for increasing recording density.

1. Field of the Invention
Particularly, the present invention relates to a magnetic sensing element in which PW50 (half-amplitude pulse width) and SN ratio (Signal to Noise Ratio) are improved more than before without causing a decrease in reproducing characteristics such as rate of change in resistance (Δ R/R) and which is thus suitable for increasing recording density, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, tunneling magnetoresistive elements have such a structure that a multilayered film, which makes use of a tunneling magnetoresistance effect, is interposed between lower and upper shied layers that are opposed to each other in a film thickness direction.
More specifically, the multilayered film is formed by depositing, for example, an underlying layer, an antiferromagnetic layer, a pinned magnetic layer, an insulating barrier layer, a free magnetic layer, and a protective layer on the lower shied layer in the that order from the bottom.
In the prior art, generally, the underlying layer has been composed of Ta, which is a nonmagnetic material. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses in the paragraph [0056] a case where Ta is used as an underlying layer.
Patent Document 1:
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No 2001-176027
Patent Document 2:
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No 2001-52316
Patent Document 3:
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No 2001-28108
In order to increase recording density, it is necessary to be able to accurately read data recorded at small bit intervals, and for this purpose, it is important to decrease a half-amplitude pulse width (PW50).
In order to decrease the half-amplitude pulse width (PW50), it is effective to decrease a gap length (GL) obtained from a distance between upper and lower shield layers. In tunneling magnetic sensing elements having a conventional configuration, the gap length between the upper and lower shields corresponds to a film thickness of a multilayered film interposed between the upper and lower shields.
Thus, the gap length can be decreased by simply reducing the film thickness of the multilayered film, but individual layers of the multilayered film already have a film thickness as thin as a few tens of A. Therefore, it is desirable to realize a narrow gap with a minimum change in film thickness of the individual layers.
When narrowing the gap, moreover, it has to be avoided to cause deterioration of reproducing characteristics such as rate of change in resistance (Δ R/R).
In short, it has been desired to decrease the half-amplitude pulse width (PW50) by narrowing the gap while avoiding a decrease in the rate of change in resistance (Δ R/R). In the prior art, however, no improvement has been made, particularly, on the underlying layer, which is to be disposed in contact with the lower shield layer, so as to facilitate narrowing the gap without deteriorating reproducing characteristics.

Magnetic sensing element and method for manufacturing the same


Some embodiments are directed to an unmanned vehicle. The unmanned vehicle can include a memory unit that is configured to store a planned path of the unmanned vehicle. The unmanned vehicle can also include a position unit that is configured to determine a current position of the unmanned vehicle, the position unit further configured to determine a planned position of the unmanned vehicle based on the planned path data stored in the memory unit. The unmanned vehicle can further include a control unit disposed in communication with the position unit, the control unit configured to determine a deviation based on the planned position and the current position of the unmanned vehicle, and control a movement of the unmanned vehicle such that the unmanned vehicle moves along the planned path if the deviation is less than a predetermined threshold.

The disclosed subject matter relates to unmanned vehicles or optionally manned vehicles, systems and methods for controlling unmanned vehicles or optionally manned vehicles. More particularly, the disclosed subject matter relates to systems and methods for determining a planned path for unmanned vehicles or optionally manned vehicles.
The unmanned vehicle is a vehicle without a person on board, which is capable of sensing their surrounding and navigation on their own. The unmanned vehicle can operate in, but not restricted to, air, water, land, and so forth. The unmanned vehicle can either be autonomous or remotely operated by an operator. Optionally manned vehicles can be operated with or without a person on board. The optionally manned vehicles may enable manual testing of the vehicles before unmanned operation or allow manual control, if necessary, during an unmanned mode of operation.
Generally, the unmanned vehicles or optionally manned vehicles are vulnerable to collisions with each other and/or with obstacles present in their operational environments. These collisions may result from a lack of geographic information of an obstacle and/or unpredictable environmental conditions. Further, a group of unmanned vehicles may have increased likelihood of such collisions as each of the unmanned vehicles may be subject to similar changes in the environmental conditions.

Unmanned vehicle, system and method for determining a planned path for unmanned vehicles


The clamp includes a body having a grooved plane surface, facing which a clamping jaw is pivotally mounted. The body is constituted by an elongate flat support having a top plane face provided with a recess, and by a plate which is complementary to the recess, which is grooved so that it can receive one or more fibers, and which is removably mounted in the recess in the support. Application: tool for handling optical fibers.

Document FR-A-2,590,959 describes a device for gripping an optical fiber. That device is constituted by a body and a clamping jaw, and it has an overall shape that is suitable for it to be held in a system having a cylindrical clamping chuck or three jaws at 120.degree. engaging the periphery of the body.
In that known device, the body has two parallel and opposite side flats. A first one of the flats defines a plane surface provided with a rectilinear groove in which the sheathed fiber can be positioned. The fiber installed in the groove remains proud relative to the plane surface of the first flat. The jaw is pivotally mounted to rotate about a pin that is parallel to the groove, which pin secures the jaw to the body, and enables the jaw to be put either in the open position or in the closed position against the first flat. The jaw itself has a plane abutment surface that bears resiliently against the sheathed fiber installed in the groove, when the Jaw is in the closed position. The resilience is provided by the jaw having a slot in the vicinity of the abutment surface so that said abutment surface can be deformed. When that jaw is in the closed position, its abutment surface is not parallel to the grooved plane surface of the body, and it is not possible for a plurality of fibers disposed side-by-side to be retained thereby.
That device further includes means for opening the jaw, which means are constituted by springs working in compression. That device also includes locking means for locking the jaw in a limited open position, and in a closed position, the limited open position being just sufficient to enable the sheathed fiber to be passed and installed in the groove. Those locking means are relatively complex. They are situated against the second flat and are difficult to access.

Clamp for retaining at least one optical fiber


A concentrating solar collector includes a radiation reflective surface having the configuration of a paraboloid of translation, the axial extent of the paraboloid being the portion between the apex and the plane perpendicular to the axis and passing through the focus. A receiver of reflected radiant energy is located along the focal line of the paraboloid, and includes a receiver entrance aperture whose plane is oriented at an angle to the axis, preferably at an angle of 29.degree..+-.10.degree.. The width of the entrance aperture is a function of the distance between the lip and axis of the parabola and the angular radius of the sun.

The present invention relates to an improved parabolic trough concentrating solar collector whose optical design is optimized to maximize the concentration ratio and collection efficiency. The collector, which is intended for use in a solar tracking mode, has a geometry that facilitates fabrication and is insensitive to manufacturing imperfections. The use of the high concentration ratio collector of the present invention permits a working fluid to be heated to a higher temperature than is possible with a comparable collector of low concentration ratio, and its ease of fabrication and insensitivity to fabrication errors reduces manufacturing costs and increases reliability.
In recent years, the rising interest in solar energy has stimulated a substantial effort in the design of effective solar collectors. The simplest devices intercept incident solar radiation without concentration, for example flat plate collectors. With nonconcentrating devices, a working fluid can be heated up to e.g., 90.degree. C. While such a temperature is useful in certain applications, for example domestic hot water systems, it has low thermodynamic efficiency for processes depending upon a heat engine since large temperature differences are not possible. Furthermore, industrial process heat applications often require higher temperatures.
A variety of concentrating collectors have been designed and built whose objective is to increase the solar power density incident on the absorber to permit higher operating temperatures. Among the concentrating collectors suggested heretofore are compound parabolic collectors (Winston collector), Fresnel lenses, concentrating paraboloids, inflated tube concentrating collectors, and faceted fixed mirror collectors. The concentration ratios vary from 2X to over 100X. In some cases the collectors track the daily motion of the sun across the sky and in other cases the collector positions are adjusted less frequently, e.g., with a period of weeks. There is no consensus in the solar energy field on the question of which is the "best" type of collector. The performance varies with the design and so does the cost of fabrication/installation/maintenance. Recent approaches are summarized in the proceedings of 3rd Annual Solar Heating and Cooling Research and Development Branch Contractors Meeting, Sept. 24-27, 1978, U.S. Department of Energy Report CONF-780983, March, 1979.
A parabolic trough concentrating solar collector consists of an image forming optic which is a paraboloid of translation, and a receiver or absorber located at the focal line of the paraboloid. One such arrangement, comprising a tracking parabolic trough reflector developed heretofore, is described in Antrim et al "A Parabolic Solar Reflector For Accurate And Economic Producibility", Proceedings of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, Vol. 161, p. 36 (1978), and operates in the manner to be discussed hereinafter in reference to FIG. 1 of the drawings herein. The tracking system is used to point the paraboloid at the sun so that the direct rays of sunlight are parallel to its axis. A mirror surface is manufactured, by one of several methods, and conforms to a portion of the mathematical paraboloid surface. The rays from the sun strike the paraboloid mirror and are reflected toward the receiver at the focus of the paraboloid. The concentration ratio is 12X (the theoretical limit is 67X). A single collector of this type is capable of achieving a 200.degree. C. stagnation temperature and an efficiency up to 60%, and the collectors can be disposed in a modular array consisting of, for example, eighteen such collectors.
The present invention may, if desired, make use of certain auxiliary features of the system described above, such as the tracking system, the fabrication method, and the absorber design. However the present invention employs basically different collector and absorber configurations whereby the collector has maximum concentration ratio under the condition that no rays, from reflections at any point on the paraboloidal surface, are lost, and whereby the configuration of the paraboloidal reflector is such that its performance is insensitive to manufacturing imperfections.

Parabolic trough concentrating solar collector


Methods and apparatus implementing systems and techniques for determining quantizer values for a signal. In general, in one implementation, a technique includes: obtaining a target distortion and a transformed signal having sub-bands resulting from a source signal being transformed by a wavelet-based decomposition; distributing the target distortion among the sub-bands based on energy weights to produce target sub-band distortions; ascertaining actual sub-band distortion values that result at different grades of quantization; determining quantizer values for the sub-bands, including interpolating between at least two of the quantization grades; and quantizing the sub-bands with the determined quantizer values. The signal may be a digital image. Additionally, in another implementation, determining the quantizer values can involve determining approximations of sub-band coefficient quantization error rather than performing the interpolation, in which case, the ascertaining operation need not be performed.

The present application describes systems and techniques relating to determining scalar quantizers for a signal, for example, determining scalar quantizers to generate an image of a desired distortion in wavelet-based compression.
Quantization is a process by which an input signal is limited to a set of discrete values that reduce the precision of the signal. Scalar quantization of digital signals, such as digital images, is used in various lossy data compression schemes, including the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) 2000 Recommendation|International Standard. In transform based lossy image compression systems, such as a JPEG 2000 system, the extent of compression is typically controlled by providing the compression system with a target, either a net compressed file size or an indication of how much loss of image quality is acceptable. For example, at the user interface level, an image quality indication can be input as a quality number of 1-10 or as a qualitative description ('low quality', 'medium quality', or 'high quality'). In order to maintain consistency across images, the subjective quality inputs can be mapped to objective estimates of image distortion, such as peak-signal-to-noise-ratio (PSNR).
In the context of wavelet-based compression, such as in JPEG 2000, a desired PSNR can be achieved using a post-compression rate-distortion (PCRD) optimization. The PCRD method is a complex algorithm that operates on a wavelet-transformed and compressed image, assembling a smaller bitstream from the original compressed bitstream such that the new bitstream is optimal with respect to image distortion. In JPEG 2000, image compression can involve application of a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) to produce image transform coefficients, quantization of the transform coefficients, and entropy coding of the quantized coefficients. Valid JPEG 2000 codestreams can also be created without applying PCRD.

Determining scalar quantizers for a signal based on a target distortion


The present invention relates to a fish measuring device manufactured from environmentally friendly material and will reduce the manhandling of fish that need to be returned to the water as the fish can be quickly placed into the fish measuring device, an accurate measurement taken and finally, live released as required. The fish measuring device comprises a base member having top and bottom surfaces, first and second sides and first and second ends, side containment means and means for connecting the side containment means to the top surface of the base member, said side containment means providing a fish containment trough and a scale provided within said fish containment trough; and means for extending the fish containment trough to measure larger fish.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus to measure the length of a fish. In particular the present invention provides an accurate and user-friendly fish measuring device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conservation regulations prescribing certain length limitations on fish which may be kept, increased awareness of preserving our fisheries, infractions of fishing regulations and associated severity of penalties have all contributed to the need for an accurate and user-friendly fish measuring device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,617 describes an apparatus for measuring fish. It consists of an elongated V-shaped trough. Both ends of the trough are closed. Indicia on the sides of the trough provide the length of the fish from one end of the trough and can also be marked with the legal limit for different species. However this device will not facilitate the live release of fish that are under the limit. In addition it is not easily transported or stored.
Other devices for fish measuring are shown in U.S. Design Pat. No. 348,405; U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,532; U.S. Design Pat. No. 369,115; U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,575; U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,838 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,932. None of these prior art devices facilitate the live release of fish that are under the limit and are not easily transported or stored.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fish measuring device that will reduce the manhandling of fish that need to be returned to the water and permit live release as required.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fish measuring device that can be easily transported and stored.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fish measuring device that can measure both smaller and larger fish.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a fish measuring device comprising a base member having top and bottom surfaces, first and second sides and first and second ends, side containment means and means for detachably connecting the side containment means to the top surface of the base member, said side containment means providing a fish containment trough and a scale provided within said fish containment trough; and means for extending the fish containment trough to measure larger fish.
The fish measuring device of the present invention reduces the time the fish is out of the water thereby increasing it""s chances of survival. If the fish must be released the fish measuring device of the present invention is put into the water to permit the fish to swim away. In addition the fish measuring device of the present invention, has detachable components that easily assembled and unassembled to facilitate transport and storage.
Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.


An illuminated ear cleaning device with the illuminating means in close proximity to an ear cleaning means. The illuminating means and or the ear cleaning means may be replaceable or sterilizable and reusable. The illuminated ear cleaning device includes a handle means containing an energy means which may be permanent, rechargeable or throw-a-way and a switch means to turn the illuminating means on and off. A magnifying means is also included to provide magnification at the point of use.

In the cleaning of ears by physicians the normal practice is to look into the ear and locate the wax or other obstruction to be removed and then use an unlighted cleaning device to remove the obstruction. Often the physician will use a flash light or other illumination device in conjunction with the unlighted cleaning device. When the physician uses both the unlighted ear cleaning tool and a flash ight another person may be needed to hold the head of the patient. These types of ear cleaning devices are in common use and may be public domain. Our search uncovered primarily two types of ear cleaning devices. One type is made of stainless steel and has a rounded stainless steel wire loop connected to a handle about six inches long. The other type of ear cleaning device was made of molded plastic with a curved thin ribbon loop of plastic at one end of an approximately five inch curved handle. There were no patent numbers on either type of the ear cleaning devices as described above. A patent search was conducted at the Washington D. C. Patent Office which uncovered no patents with the illuminating lamp in close proximity to or part of the ear cleaning or scraping tip. Our invention also uses a cleaning tip similar to those in common use or possibly in public domain but in conjunction with a lamp as part of or in close proximity to the cleaning tip which is the object of our invention. The cleaning tip could also be of a different shape such as a hook rather than a loop. For this reason we do not intend to limit our invention to that which is common even though we show a common cleaning tip in our drawing. This is an improvement over the existing ear cleaning devices in that the physician can see the inside of the ear without the need for a flashlight or other separate illuminating device and the illumination is at the point of use and part of the cleaning tip, both of which are sterilizable and replaceable. In addition, we have incorporated a magnifying means to further enhance and improve the ability of a physician to see a magnified view of the inside of the ear wherein the magnifying means is designed to provide focus in the area of the illuminated cleaning tip.


An ink jet recording method includes ejecting an ultraviolet-ray curable ink of which a viscosity at 28° C. is 8 mPa·s or more from a head to a recording medium, and curing the ultraviolet-ray curable ink attached to the recording medium, wherein, in the ejecting of the ultraviolet-ray curable ink, the ultraviolet-ray curable ink is heated such that a temperature of the ejected ultraviolet-ray curable ink becomes 28° C. to 40° C., and a viscosity of the ultraviolet-ray curable ink at the temperature is 15 mPa·s or less.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording method, an ultraviolet-ray curable ink, and an ink jet recording apparatus.
2. Related Art
In the related art, various methods are used as a recording method of forming an image on a recording medium such as paper on the basis of an image data signal. Among them, since an ink jet method of ejecting an ink onto only a necessary image part with low-priced apparatus and directly forming an image on a recording medium, an ink can be used with high efficiency and thus running costs are low. In addition, noise is small and thus the ink jet method is good as a recording method.
In recent years, in an ink jet recording method using an ultraviolet-ray curable ink in which monomers are photopolimerized (cured) by irradiating the monomers with ultraviolet rays, an image with good water resistance and rubfastness can be formed on a recording surface of a recording medium, and thus the method is used for manufacturing of color filters, printing on a printed board, a plastic card, a vinyl sheet, a large-sized signboard, and a plastic part, printing of barcodes or the date, and the like.
An ink used for ink jet recording may include an aqueous ink of a solvent system, an ultraviolet-ray curable ink (UV ink) of a nonsolvent system, or the like. Among them, since the ultraviolet-ray curable ink of the nonsolvent system has a considerably higher viscosity than the aqueous ink of the solvent system, a viscosity fluctuation due to a temperature fluctuation during ejection is great, and this viscosity fluctuation exerts great influence on a variation in a droplet size and a variation in droplet ejection speed and further causes image quality deterioration. Therefore, a technique is disclosed in which, when the ultraviolet-ray curable ink is ejected, the ink is heated so as to reduce a viscosity and is then ejected.
For example, JP-A-2003-200559 discloses a UV ink in which, since the UV ink has a higher viscosity than general ink at room temperature and is thus required to be ejected in a low viscosity state by heating the ink inside a recording head so as to maintain a set target temperature (a set temperature necessary for the ink to have a viscosity in which the ink can be ejected), the UV ink is varied by adjusting a heating temperature such that the ink viscosity is 7000 mPa·s to 500 mPa·s in a condition of 5° C. and the ink viscosity is 20 mPa·s to 3 mPa·s in a condition of 80° C. (paragraphs [0034], [0041] and [0042] of JP-A-2003-200559).
However, the UV ink disclosed in JP-A-2003-200559 has a problem in that members of the head deteriorate due to the heating. In addition, since the UV ink has a very high viscosity, if the ink is to be ejected without heating, ejection stability or ejection amount stability worsens.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Ink jet recording method, ultraviolet-ray curable ink, and ink jet recording apparatus


When a user conducts a search for content using one or more of the many search engines known in the art, embodiments of the present invention may receive results returned to the user's browser by the search engine, and may then proceed to filter, organize, modify, or enhance those results and/or their presentation by performing various editing and/or presentation operations on the search results, based on information relating to the user's prior interactions with the search results and the user's interests and preferences. Search results may also be modulated based on information about the way other users have responded to or interacted with each of the search results in the past.

A great number of new applications and websites leverage the breadth of the World Wide Web to deliver requested or desirable information to users, and many of them do so with the help of popular search engines. Despite the availability of a vast wealth of user information, conventional search engines fail to meaningfully incorporate this information into the display of search results. For example, search engine users regularly repeat the same searches over time, or they perform similar searches comprising overlapping search results. Existing search engines, however, do not incorporate information about the users' prior interactions with their search results. They do not remember which results users liked, disliked, found useful, etc. As a result, users may be forced to unnecessarily repeat their research efforts.
User information, in this context, may include individual user interactions, interests and preferences, as well as the collective interactions, interests, and preferences of many users. User information may also include, for example, identifications of particular web pages, documents, or other information resources that users believe are useful or interesting. Similarly, user information may include identifications of information resources that users believe are not useful or interesting. Further, user information may include semantic information about information resources that associates certain resources with other related information resources. For example, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/664,166, entitled "Deriving Semantic Relationships Based on Empirical Organization of Content by Users," describes embodiments for deriving semantic relationships among information resources based on user actions.
It would be beneficial if users could interface with popular search engines in a manner that more precisely leverages user information to identify, filter, modify, and present search results in a more productive manner.


In an in-drive erase process in a single-surface HDD, erase spirals on the surface being erased can be employed to control writer position. A reader-to-writer timing offset value is determined for a plurality of radial locations on the surface to be erased, and an erase window is determined for a radial location disposed between two erase spirals. The erase window includes an erase start time, which is based on a spiral exit time of a reader and the reader-to-writer timing offset value for the radial location, and an erase stop time, which is based on a spiral encounter time of the reader and the reader-to-writer timing offset value. The erase window prevents complete erasure of erase spirals, so that the servo system of the HDD can continue to servo off of the erase spirals. The erase spirals may be written with a lower slope than conventional spiral tracks.

At various points in the manufacture and use of a hard disk drive (HDD), failures or errors can occur that generally require erasure of servo information, and/or user information extant on the recording surfaces of an HDD. For example, during manufacture, errors may occur that render an HDD unusable, but can be corrected, such as spiral write errors. In the servo self-write (SSW) process, an HDD writes servo information (such as product wedges) for each data track of each recording surface of the HDD while servoing on spiral tracks previously written on a surface of the HDD. Errors in the shape or position of these spiral tracks can prevent sufficiently accurate product wedges from being written causing the HDD to fail the SSW process. To rework an HDD that has failed to successfully complete SSW, new spiral tracks typically cannot simply be rewritten onto a surface of the HDD and the SSW process repeated. This is because obsolete spiral tracks and product wedges remaining on one or more recording surfaces of an HDD can be confused with subsequently rewritten spiral tracks, and therefore interfere with the SSW process, even when the new spiral tracks have no errors. Consequently, the recording surfaces of an HDD need to be erased prior to reworking or refurbishing the HDD.
External equipment may be used to thoroughly erase the data recording surfaces of HDDs prior to repeating SSW, such as media bulk erase devices or servo-track writers. For either device, partial disassembly of the HDD to be erased is generally required, necessitating use of a clean room. Furthermore, setup and use of such external equipment for each individual HDD to be erased is time-consuming and expensive in the context of high-volume manufacturing. Alternatively, an HDD can be configured to erase one or more of its own data recording surfaces by controlling write head position with spiral patterns that are written on a different recording surface than the recording surface being erased. However, for an HDD that has only a single recording surface, such an approach is not possible, since there is no other surface on which to write the spiral patterns used to control the erase process. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for systems and methods facilitating in-drive erasure of recording surfaces in a single-surface HDD.


PZT ferroelectric thin films for capacitors comprise a combination of a donor dopant and an acceptor dopant in a total amount of about 0.1 to 8 mole percent of PZT, or Sc alone in an amount of about 0.1 to 5 mole percent. Nb or Ta is employed as a donor dopant, while Sc, Mg or Zn can be used as an acceptor dopant. The presence of a single Sc acceptor dopant, or both an acceptor dopant and a donor dopant, results in increased endurance. Fatigue cycles are increased on the order of about 10.sup.5 relative to dopant-free films. Doping with a single Sc acceptor dopant, or both an acceptor dopant and a donor dopant, reduces coercive field, allowing PZT films to switch at relatively low voltages. PZT thin films of a pure perovskite phase are obtained in which a pyrochlore phase is completely excluded. Pt may be used as an electrode material. The leakage current of PZT films doped with both the acceptor and donor elements are similar to the leakage current level of pure PZT thin films.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to PbZr.sub.x Ti.sub.1-x O.sub.3 (hereinafter referred to as "PZT") thin films for ferroelectric capacitors and, more particularly, to introduction of dopants for improvement in endurance properties and electrical properties of PZT films. The present invention is also concerned with methods for preparing the PZT ferroelectric thin films.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Of the ferroelectric materials used for capacitors, PZT exhibits exceptionally high polarization values and superiority in electrical and material properties. PZT, widely utilized for applications in ferroelectric devices, has a perovskite structure in which a phase transition between a tetragonal phase and a rhombohedral phase appears when the composition ratio of Zr to Ti is 53:47. Around this morphotropical phase boundary, PZT exhibits superior properties as a ferroelectric material with maximized polarization and dielectric constant.
A significant disadvantage of PZT as a ferroelectric material is in its inferior endurance. For example, when subjected to repeated switching, PZT shows a deterioration in polarization properties, such as reduction of remanent polarization and a distortion in the shape of the hysteresis loop. This phenomenon is known as fatigue.
In order to utilize ferroelectric materials as memory devices, these materials are required to have an endurance of 10.sup.12 cycles or more. In general, after 10.sup.6 cycles, pure PZT begins to show serious fatigue. After 10.sup.9 cycles, it no longer exhibits a ferroelectric property or the material itself is broken down.
To date, various efforts have been made to improve the endurance of PZT thin films for ferroelectric capacitors.
First, there was an attempt to change the electrode material from conventional Pt to a material selected from metal oxides with relatively good electroconductivity. It has been accepted that one of the known fatigue mechanisms for PZT thin film is the accumulation of an oxygen vacancy at the interface between the PZT thin film and the electrode in the ferroelectric capacitor. That is to say, oxygen vacancies randomly generated in the PZT thin film by repeated switching cycles are gradually accumulated at the interface between the PZT thin film and the electrode. The oxygen-vacant layer is expanded with the repetition of switching cycles, and finally the entire PZT thin film becomes electrically degraded. It has been recognized that a metal oxide electrode material can substantially accommodate the oxygen vacancies accumulated at the interface between the electrode and the PZT thin film and thus, the endurance of the PZT thin film can be significantly improved. As an example, it was reported that the electrode endurance cycle was notably improved by employing RuO.sub.2 as an electrode material (See, D. P. Vijay, C. K. Kwok, W. Pan, I. K. Yoo and S. B. Desu, "Electrode Effects on Electrical Properties of Ferroelectric Thin Films", ISAF Proceedings 8th IEEE, 408 (1992)).
However, the use of a conductive metal oxide an electrode material results in an increase in the leakage current in a PZT ferroelectric capacitor. In addition, another problem is that the fabrication process for an electrode of a conductive metal oxide is too intricate to yield an electrode with good reproducibility.
Another attempt to improve the endurance of PZT thin films for ferroelectric capacitors was made by doping PZT with donors in order to reduce the oxygen vacancies in the PZT thin film. For example, La was employed as the dopant. However, PZT doped with La proved to be an unsuitable system because the remanent polarization rapidly decreased as the amount of the dopant increased. PZT was doped with other donor elements, Nd and Nb, by S. B. Desu et al. However, they could not achieve any appreciable improvement in the fatigue of the PZT films.

PZT thin films for ferroelectric capacitor and method for preparing the same