A control system for controlling a molding machine used for exothermic curing senses the rate of change of the temperature of the material in the mold. When the rate of change of temperature has first exceeded and then fallen below a predetermined reference level, it is determined that the exothermic curing reaction has been completed, and the mold is opened after a predetermined delay.

The present invention relates to method for controlling molding machines, its particular application being to presses that are used to mold material that cures exothermically.
There are a variety of thermoset materials that are cured in the mold in an exothermic reaction. The reaction is typically initiated by heating the material while it is in the mold or just it is charged into it. The reaction thus initiated liberates heat that causes the action to continue until curing has completed.
It is important in this type of molding that the mold not be opened too soon. If it is opened prematurely, the thermoset material must be scrapped because it cannot be used again for molding. Accordingly, operators are usually conservative and allow more than the minimum time required before opening the mold. However, competing considerations such as the rather high cost of molding-machine time indicate that this conservative approach can be wasteful if carried too far. The ideal solution, of course, is to open the mold as soon as the curing has been completed. It might be thought that if the exact curing time for a particular cavity and material part were known, the cycle time of the machine could be set, and then all parts made with that particular cavity and material molded would be produced with the minimum necessary cycle time. Unfortunately, material variations and drift in machine and ambient conditions cause curing times to vary widely, even between parts of the same type on the same day. Therefore, it has been necessary to set the cycle time at the upper limit of expected curing time and suffer the concomitant waste in machine time.
It is accordingly the object of the present invention to detect when curing has caused in each cycle and direct the molding machine to open the mold shortly thereafter. Cycle times that are nearly as low as possible are thereby afforded while waste due to premature mold opening is avoided.

Method for controlling an exothermic molding process


An apparatus for catalytic reduction of a nitrogen oxide in a waste gas includes a regenerative heat exchanger containing a heat-storage material consisting at least partially of a catalytic material, inlet and outlet conduits for supplying the waste gases to the heat exchanger and for delivering purified waste gases from the apparatus, respectively, first and second hoods arranged in inlet and outlet conduits respectively, on opposite sides of the heat storage material, a conduit for conducting a gaseous medium through heat exchanger, the gaseous medium flowing, in heat exchanger, through first and second hoods, and a conduit for supplying a reducing agent into the heat exchange for assisting in the catalytic reduction of the nitrogen oxide in the waste gases by the heat-storage material.

In power station--and industrial heating plants, waste gases are used in a regenerative heat exchanger for preheating the combustion air. In this process, e.g., a nitrogen oxide (NO.sub.4) contained in a waste gas can be further reduced, when the heat-storage material of the regenerative heat exchanger, which may be stationary or circulating, is completely or partially formed of a catalytically acting material, and, e.g., first of all ammonia (NH.sub.3) is added thereto as a reducing agent. Thus, it is a case of a catalytic nitrogen oxide reduction, in which the reduction (deoxidation) of the nitrogen oxide is effected by addition of NH.sub.3 in the presence of a catalyst integrated into a regenerative air heater or a regenerative heat exchanger. As a rule, the NO.sub.x -containing waste gas is a crude gas of a furnace, which passes at an end of a steam generator for preheating the combustion air that flows through the regenerative heat exchanger. It is known to this end, for selective reduction of nitrogen oxides in waste gases from furnace apparatuses, to add NH.sub.3 in a vapor state, in mixture with air as a carrier gas, under pressure, or in water, without pressure, to waste gases exiting a furnace apparatus. Attempts were made to obtain a strand-free ammonia-and temperature distribution in a waste gas stream before its entry into the catalyst by providing a corresponding structure inside of an extending waste gas channel. The catalyst or the heat-storage material is connected in series with a rotating regenerative heat exchanger for transmitting the heat of the waste gas to the combustion air fed to the furnace, with the optimal reaction temperatures inside the waste gas stream being taken into account. Fixed-bed catalysts especially proved themselves for a vertical descending stream of a waste gas, of which several interchangeably were used for acting on the waste gases for removing nitrogen. The fixed-bed catalysts, which were formed as a honeycomb structure, contained as a catalytically acting material vanadium compounds, which fostered the reaction of the nitrogen oxide with NH.sub.3, which was previously supplied into the waste gas stream and mixed therewith in a small proportion on the way of the waste gas to the catalyst. The reaction with the nitrogen oxides, which are contained in the waste gases, results essentially in production of molecular nitrogen and water as reaction products, which can be let off harmlessly into the environment.
European patents 0 195 075 and 0 257 024 disclose that a reducing agent is added to the crude-, flue- or waste gas side, or to the pure gas-or air side, or to the gas side as well as to the air side. The NH.sub.3 is thus admixed either to the flue gas before it enters the catalyst, or to the preheated fresh air before it enters the catalyst, or to the both. In any way, compounds contained in the flue gas, namely, NO.sub.x, are catalitically transformed into harmless components. With flue gas side addition, the NH.sub.3 and the toxic compounds NO.sub.x have a too short dwell time in the catalyst, so that only an incomplete reaction occurs. The non-consumed NH.sub.3, therefore, is transported to the side with a purified flue gas which flows into the chimney, so that an undesirable slippage of non-consumed reducing agent into the environment occurs by emission through the chimney. With the air side addition of the NH.sub.3, as a rule, a leakage occurs and, despite presence of seals, a certain amount of NH.sub.3 is transported from the pure gas side to the purified flue gas side. This amount is therefore lost and burdens the adjacent portions of the apparatus.

Apparatebau Rothemuhle Brandt & Kritzler Gesellschaft mit besehrankter Haftung


An imaging device includes a semiconductor layer and a pixel cell. The pixel cell includes an impurity region of a first conductivity type, the impurity region located in the semiconductor layer, a photoelectric converter electrically connected to the impurity region and located above the semiconductor layer, a first transistor having a first gate, a first source and a first drain, one of the first source and the first drain electrically connected to the impurity region, a second transistor having a second gate of a second conductivity type different from the first conductivity type, a second source and a second drain, the second transistor including the impurity region as one of the second source and the second drain, the second gate electrically connected to the impurity region, and a third transistor having a third gate, a third source and a third drain, the third gate electrically connected to the photoelectric converter.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an imaging device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor are widely used for a digital camera or the like. As widely known, those image sensors have a photodiode that is formed in a semiconductor substrate.
Meanwhile, a structure has been suggested in which a photoelectric conversion unit having a photoelectric conversion layer is arranged above the semiconductor substrate (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-209342). An imaging device that has such a structure may be referred to as a stacked image sensor. In the stacked image sensor, charges produced by photoelectric conversion are stored in a charge storage region (also referred to as "floating diffusion"). Signals in accordance with the charge amount stored in the charge storage region are read out via a CCD circuit or a CMOS circuit that is formed on the semiconductor substrate.
In the stacked image sensor, in a case where the photoelectric conversion layer is irradiated with very high illuminance light, the electric potential of the charge storage region rises, and this may result in damage to a transistor or the like in a circuit for signal detection. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-209342 discloses a circuit in which a protection transistor which inhibits the electric potential of a gate electrode of an output transistor from becoming a prescribed value or higher is provided in a pixel (FIG. 1). In the circuit of FIG. 1 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-209342, in a case where a photoelectric conversion unit P is irradiated with high illuminance light, a diode-connected protection transistor 6 is turned on. The protection transistor 6 is turned on, and excessive charges are discharged to a power source that supplies a power source voltage VDD to an output transistor 7.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A vortex laser generation device in a degenerate cavity with a spiral phase element and a vortex laser generation method are provided. The vortex laser generation device has a degenerate cavity, and the degenerate cavity has a resonator mirror, a gain medium, an optical element, and an output coupler. The off-axis beams are formed in multiple pass transverse modes to resonate by disposing an optical element in the degenerate cavity, so that a vortex laser with orbital angular momentum can be generated.

Vortex laser is a spiral phase beam, also known as a vortex beam. The vortex laser shows a spiral wavefront that changes in a spiral-like manner along the beam propagation direction and has a Poynting vector following a spiral trajectory around a beam axis.
It refers to the vortex beam having an arbitrary polarization and a spiral phase structure in a cross section. Compared with other beams, the vortex beam has special properties that can be used in many fields, such as high resolution imaging, laser precision machining, particle manipulation, data storage, and remote sensing.
There are many methods for generating vortex beams, such as static spiral phase plate (SPP), computer-generated holography, and mode conversion. Since conventional laser cavity can hardly generate a vortex beam directly, it must be modulated by a vortex element placed outside the laser cavity. The vortex beam generated by the mode conversion needs to be incident by the laser beam after shaping, such as Hermite-Gaussian beams, causing the system complex. The conversion efficiency of the static spiral phase plate is limited and the quality of the vortex beam is poor. In addition, holography is widely used, however, its diffraction efficiency is low, and the light path of the diffractive element is complicated so that the quality of the vortex beam is poor.
As a result, it is necessary to provide a vortex laser generation device in a degenerate cavity with a spiral phase element and a vortex laser generation method to solve the problems existing in the conventional technologies, as described above.

Vortex laser generation device in degenerate cavity with spiral phase element and vortex laser generation method


In a record medium wherein information is recorded and/or erased by changing the optical state thermally by the irradiation with a laser beam or the like, a protection layer made from a material having a larger thermal conductivity than adjacent protection layers is used to decrease the temperature difference between the center and edges of a record mark on recording and/or erasing with a laser beam. By using the material having a larger thermal conductivity, the heat due to the irradiation with a laser beam or the like is diffused not only to the periphery of the substrate, but also to the plane of the substrate surely. Therefore, the temperature difference between the center and the edges in a mark on irradiation with the laser beam is decreased, and the recording/erasing characteristics and the power margin for erasing can be improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical record medium which can record or erase information of a large capacity at a high density with use of a laser beam or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A write-once type disk is known as an optical record memory, and it comprises a material which can transform from the crystalline phase to the amorphous phase such as TeO.sub.x (0<.times.<2.0) having Te and TeO.sub.2 as main components. In such an optical record memory, a data is written thermally by irradiating the optical disk with a laser beam or the like.
Further, a write erasable disk wherein information can be recorded and erased repeatedly has also been used practically as an optical record memory. Such a write erasable disk can record information by changing a mark point in a record thin film to the amorphous state with a laser beam to heat, melt and cool rapidly the record thin film, while it can erase information by changing a mark point in the record thin film to the crystalline state with a laser beam to heat and cool gradually the record thin film. Materials which can transform reversibly between the crystalline phase and the amorphous state are used for such a record thin film, and they include a chalcogenide material Ge.sub.15 Te.sub.81 S.sub.2 by S. R. Ovshinsky and the like, and As.sub.2 S.sub.3, As.sub.2 Se.sub.3, Sb.sub.2 Se.sub.3 and the like which are combinations of a chalcogen element with another element in group V such as As or in group IV such as Ge in the periodic table. An optical disk can be produced by forming such a record thin film on a substrate having grooves for guiding a laser beam. In order to record or erase information in such an optical disk with a laser beam, the record thin film is crystallized at first. Then, the intensity of a laser beam focussed at diameter of about 0.5 .mu.m on the rotated disk is modulated for irradiation in correspondence to information, so that the temperature of a point irradiated with the laser beam at a peak power is increased above the melting point of the record thin film and is cooled rapidly. Thus, the information is recorded as an amorphous mark. Further, the temperature of a point irradiated at a bias peak power rises above the crystallization temperature of the record thin film, so that the information recorded previously can be erased or an overwrite is possible.
As explained above, the temperature of the record thin film can be risen with a laser beam above the melting point or above the crystallization point. Therefore, heat-resistant dielectric layers are generally provided above and below the record thin film as protection layers for the substrate and for an adhesive layer. Because the characteristics of temperature rise, rapid cooling and gradual cooling vary with the thermal conduction characteristic of the protection layers, the recording and erasing characteristics depend on the materials selected for the protection layers.
As shown in FIG. 1, grooves 31 are provided in an optical disk and record marks 30 are formed along the grooves with a laser beam thermally. In the above-mentioned optical disks of the write erasable type and of the write once type, information can be recorded by rising the temperature of the record thin film above the melting point to transform the record thin film to the amorphous phase and by cooling the record thin film rapidly. On irradiation of a laser beam along a groove 31 to form a record mark 30, a temperature difference exists between the center line 32 and an edge 33 in a groove 31 in the groove 30. Then, if the power of the laser beam for erasing is small, the temperature of the edges 33 may not rise above the melting point and the edges 33 may be remained not to be transformed in the amorphous state. Then, a large recording power is needed for recording a mark, and the sensitivity of optical disk becomes worse.
Further, in a write erasable optical disk, information can be erased by rising the temperature above the crystallization temperature. If the power of the laser beam for erasing is small, the temperature of the edges 33 may not rise above the crystallization point and the edges 33 may be remained not to be erased. If the erasing power is increased for erasing the record mark 30 completely, the temperature difference increases and the temperature of the center line 32 increases. Thus, it is a problem that the margin of erasing power becomes narrow.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An improved low-voltage MOS device having high ruggedness, low on-resistance, and improved body diode reverse recovery characteristics comprises a semiconductor substrate on which is disposed a doped upper layer of a first conduction type. The upper layer includes a doped first well region of the first conduction type and a doped well region of the second conduction type underlying the first well region. The upper layer further includes at its upper surface a heavily doped source region of the first conduction type and a heavily doped body region of a second and opposite conduction type. A trench gate comprising a conductive material separated from the upper layer by an insulating layer is disposed in the upper layer of the substrate.

The present invention relates to MOS devices and, more particularly, to a rugged and reliable low voltage dual-well trench MOS device having low on-resistance and improved body diode reverse recovery characteristics.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,975,751 and 5,091,336, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe high voltage component devices with low series resistance. However the recent proliferation of battery-powered, portable communication electronics has increased the need for low voltage, low on-resistance power MOSFETs for efficient power management. Furthermore, because such devices are frequently used in applications that involve inductive loads, it is desirable that they have high UIS (Unclamped Inductive Switching) capability. This is an extremely high stress process, during which the amount of avalanche energy absorbed by the device is expected to be as high as possible without resulting in catastrophic device failure. This capability is generally referred to as the device ruggedness. In addition, some applications such as synchronous rectifiers require that the body diode of a power MOSFET have a low reverse recovery charge and soft reverese recovery characteristics.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,137,139, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a low voltage dual-well MOS device that is rugged and reliable, exhibits low on-resistance, and exhibits improved body diode reverse recovery characteristics.
Unfortunately, items of concern such as device breakdown rating, on-resistance, improved UIS capability, and desirable body diode characteristics are often in conflict with one another. Thus, there is an ongoing need for improved MOS devices that exhibit an optimum combination of these characteristics, a need that is met by the present invention.
The present invention is directed to a rugged, reliable, low-voltage dual-well trench MOS device having low on-resistance, and improved body diode reverse recovery characteristics, and comprising a semiconductor substrate on which is disposed a lightly doped upper layer of a first conduction type. The upper layer includes a doped first well region of the first conduction type and a doped well region of the second conduction type underlying the first well region. The upper layer further includes at its upper surface a heavily doped source region of the first conduction type and a heavily doped body region of a second and opposite conduction type. A trench gate comprising a conductive material separated from the upper layer by an insulating layer is disposed in the upper layer of the substrate.


A lock to prevent theft of a marine propeller assembly having a cylindrical shaped housing on which are exteriorly mounted a series of propeller blades, with the open end of the propeller housing being flared outwardly, the assembly further being mountable to a propeller shaft by means of a retaining nut. The propeller lock substantially covers the open end of the propeller assembly and effectively prevents access to the retaining nut and therefore prevents theft of the assembly. The lock has a flat, generally circular shaped face section, with a relatively short wall depending from the perimeter of the face section. The circular shaped face section is formed of two semi-circular sections with the two semi-circular sections being hinged at an edge so they can be closed to form the circular section or opened to form the two semi-circular sections. The depending relatively short wall is angled at an acute inwardly toward the center of the generally circular shaped face section. Means are provided to lock the two semi-circular sections together. In operation, the circular face sections open so that the two semi-circular sections are spread apart and then the lock is placed over the flared end of the propeller housing and the two semi-circular sections are then brought together and locked.

Most inboard and outboard power motors have bladed propellers that are mounted and retained on rotating propeller shafts by a releasable securing mechanism, usually castellated nuts threaded on the propeller shaft where one of the castellated openings is arranged to receive a cotter pin, for example, that is inserted in a transverse opening provided in the shaft. An arrangement such as this prevents retrograde movement of the castellated nut so as to assure positive retention of the propeller on the shaft during use.
Although such an arrangement is very effective to prevent the accidental loss of the propeller from the shaft during use, it does make it quite easy for thieves to quickly remove and appropriate the propeller when the motor is left unattended. When a propeller is stolen, not only is the owner faced with purchasing a replacement which is usually quite costly, but there are times when the theft takes place at locations where trips can be spoiled simply because there is no way the boat can be operated without a propeller and a replacement propeller is just not readily available.
In view of the foregoing, it is appreciated that there is a need for some type of locking device to prevent unauthorized removal of a marine propeller. Various propeller locks have been proposed in the past. Some of the devices are designed to remain in place during regular use of the propeller and examples thereof are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,732,033 and 3,981,617. Other propeller security devices are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,759,076, 3,981,165 and 4,257,247. The latter devices are of the type which must be removed during use of the propeller drive system. Although the locking devices disclosed in the foregoing U.S. patents are likely to be effective, they are, for the most part, quite complicated and thus rather expensive to manufacture. Thus there is a need to provide a simple yet highly effective device for preventing the theft of marine propellers. The need is for a device which is both strong and durable, economical to manufacture, and easy to use.


The invention has an object of providing ethylene/α-olefin copolymers having high randomness and a small number of double bonds in the copolymers. The ethylene/α-olefin copolymers of the invention are obtained by copolymerizing ethylene and an α-olefin having 3 to 20 carbon atoms in the presence of an olefin polymerization catalyst which includes a bridged metallocene compound (A) represented by the formula [I], and at least one compound (B) selected from organometallic compounds (B-1), organoaluminum oxy compounds (B-2) and compounds (B-3) capable of reacting with the bridged metallocene compound (A) to form an ion pair, and have a specific weight average molecular weight, a specific molecular weight distribution, a specific glass transition point and a specific value B.

Poly-α-olefins (PAOs) are frequently used in industry as synthetic lubricant base oils for lubricating oils such as automobile gear oils, engine oils, industrial lubricating oils and hydraulic oils. Such PAOs may be obtained by oligomerizing higher α-olefins with acid catalysts (see, for example, Patent Literatures 1 to 3). Meanwhile, it is known that ethylene⋅α-olefin copolymers are also usable as synthetic lubricating oils excellent in viscosity index, oxidation stability, shear stability and heat resistance (see, for example, Patent Literature 4).
In recent years, the conditions under which lubricating oils are used have become more extreme and at the same time the extension of life is required out of consideration for environmental problems. Thus, while there has been a tendency toward an increase in demands for synthetic lubricating oils such as PAOs and ethylene⋅propylene copolymers having excellent low-temperature viscosity characteristics, heat resistance and oxidation stability, further improvements in viscosity index and low-temperature viscosity characteristics are desired from the points of view of fuel efficiency and energy saving.
In particular, the request for higher fuel efficiency has been increasing day by day and consequently an approach is adopted in which the viscosity of lubricating oils themselves is lowered in order to reduce the resistance incurred during stirring of the lubricating oils. This approach also gives rise to a risk that metallic parts are brought into contact with each other due to the depression in lubricating performance. Thus, the designing of lubricating oils involves considering the balance between the conditions and loads under which the oils are used, and the viscosity of the lubricating oils. Such designing should take into account the drop in viscosity ascribed to the degradation of lubricating oils during use, specifically, the breakage of the molecules of lubricant oil materials mainly due to shear stress. Such a decrease in viscosity increases the risk of metallic contact between gears or bearings. It is therefore usually necessary that the initial viscosity of lubricating oils as produced be higher than the designed optimum viscosity by a degree depending on the shear stability of the materials used. Thus, there has been a strong need for lubricating oils with excellent shear stability in order to attain the maximum reduction in initial viscosity.
The production of ethylene⋅α-olefin copolymers used as synthetic lubricating oils conventionally involves a vanadium catalyst including a vanadium compound and an organoaluminum compound (see, for example, Patent Literatures 5 and 6). The main ethylene⋅α-olefin copolymers produced by such a method are ethylene⋅propylene copolymers.
Further, catalyst systems including a metallocene compound such as zirconocene and an organoaluminum oxy compound (aluminoxane) are known to afford copolymers with high polymerization activity (see, for example, Patent Literatures 7 and 8). Patent Literature 9 discloses a method for producing a synthetic lubricating oil that includes an ethylene⋅α-olefin copolymer obtained with use of a catalyst system combining a specific metallocene catalyst and an aluminoxane.
Ethylene⋅α-olefin copolymers used in lubricating oils desirably have high randomness in order to meet low-temperature viscosity characteristics that are required. In solution polymerization, high polymerization temperatures are generally considered as preferable because the productivity is enhanced. However, it is known to those skilled in the art that the randomness of olefin polymers produced is decreased with increasing polymerization temperature. Because of this fact, the upper limit of the polymerization temperature is depressed in many cases. Thus, polymerization catalysts which can give highly random olefin polymers even at high polymerization temperatures are desired in order to solve such problems.
Further, ethylene⋅α-olefin copolymers used in lubricating oils are required to be stable to oxidation. It is therefore desirable that the copolymers have a small number of double bonds. Although the number of double bonds can be reduced by hydrogenating the copolymers, copolymerization directly giving polymers with less double bonds is advantageous in that the process is simplified. Thus, polymerization catalysts capable of affording copolymers having less double bonds are desired.

Ethylene/α-olefin copolymers and lubricating oils


MTJ material stacks, pSTTM devices employing such stacks, and computing platforms employing such pSTTM devices. In some embodiments, perpendicular MTJ material stacks include a multi-layered filter stack disposed between a fixed magnetic layer and an antiferromagnetic layer or synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) stack. In some embodiments, non-magnetic layers of the filter stack include at least one of Ta, Mo, Nb, W, or Hf. These transition metals may be in pure form or alloyed with other constituents.

STTM devices are non-volatile memory devices that utilize a phenomenon known as tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR). For a structure including two ferromagnetic layers separated by a thin insulating tunnel layer, it is more likely that electrons will tunnel through the tunnel layer when magnetizations of the two magnetic layers are in a parallel orientation than if they are not (non-parallel or antiparallel orientation). As such, a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ), typically comprising a fixed magnetic layer and a free magnetic layer separated by a tunneling barrier layer, can be switched between two states of electrical resistance, one state having a low resistance and one state with a high resistance. The greater the differential in resistance, the higher the TMR ratio: (RAP−Rp/Rp*100% where Rp and RAP are resistances for parallel and antiparallel alignment of the magnetizations, respectively. The higher the TMR ratio, the more readily a bit can be reliably stored in association with the MTJ resistive state. The TMR ratio of a given MTJ is therefore an important performance metric of an STTM.
For an STTM device, current-induced magnetization switching may be used to set the bit states. Polarization states of one ferromagnetic layer can be switched relative to a fixed polarization of the second ferromagnetic layer via the spin transfer torque phenomenon, enabling states of the MTJ to be set by application of current. Angular momentum (spin) of the electrons may be polarized through one or more structures and techniques (e.g., direct current, spin-hall effect, etc.). These spin-polarized electrons can transfer their spin angular momentum to the magnetization of the free layer and cause it to precess. As such, the magnetization of the free magnetic layer can be switched by a pulse of current (e.g., in about 1-10 nanoseconds) exceeding a certain critical value, while magnetization of the fixed magnetic layer remains unchanged as long as the current pulse is below some higher threshold associated with the fixed layer architecture.
For a pSTTM device, MTJs include magnetic electrodes having a perpendicular (out of plane of substrate) magnetic easy axis and can realize higher density memory than in-plane variants. Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) can be achieved in the fixed magnetic layer through interfacial perpendicular anisotropy promoted by an adjacent layer during solid phase epitaxy.
An anti-ferromagnetic layer or a synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) structure within an MTJ stack can improve device performance by countering a fringing magnetic field associated with the fixed magnetic material layer. A filter or barrier material layer is typically inserted between the fixed magnetic material layer and SAF structure to decouple the crystallinity of materials employed in the SAF from that of the fixed magnetic material layer. Without a filter layer it is difficult to achieve perpendicular anisotropy in the fixed layer at high anneal temperatures. The higher TMR achieved with a filtered SAF structure has not proven robust to high temperature processing (e.g., 400° C.), with TMR often degrading to 100%, or less, as thermal treatments exceed 300° C. This loss of TMR renders such a MTJ material stack difficult to integrate with MOS transistor IC fabrication. A filter capable of improving the stability of the fixed layer that can sustain high temperature processing is therefore advantageous.

PSTTM device with multi-layered filter stack


A digital-to-analog converter includes an operational amplifying circuit, a switched capacitor circuit, an R-string sub-circuit, and a direct-charge transfer circuit. The operational amplifying circuit has a pair of differential input ends and a pair of differential output ends. The switched capacitor circuit is coupled to the pair of differential input ends of the operational amplifying circuit. The R-string sub-circuit is coupled to the switched capacitor circuit and the pair of differential input ends of the operational amplifying circuit. The direct-charge transfer circuit is coupled to the pair of differential input ends and the pair of differential output ends of the operational amplifying circuit.

The present disclosure is related to a digital-to-analog converter and a code mapping method applied to the digital-to-analog converter, and more particularly, to a digital-to-analog converter which integrates a switched capacitor circuit and a direct-charge transfer circuit into its architecture and related code mapping method.
A digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is a common circuit element in various electronic devices and can generate an analog output voltage for application to back-end circuits according to a digital input value. Traditionally, a high speed DAC circuit is implemented by a current steering DAC architecture. Although the current steering DAC architecture has an advantage of high speed, it also has disadvantages of occupying area and high power consumption. Thus, it is only suitable for applications of lower than 10 bits and higher than 100 MHz, and is not suitable for applications for low power consumption.
As regards applications for low power consumption, a switched capacitor (SC) DAC architecture or an SC DAC collocating with an R-string sub DAC architecture can give consideration to performance, area, and power consumption. However, the performance of this architecture is restricted to the slew-rate of the operational amplifier (OPA). A direct charge transfer SC DAC architecture can solve the abovementioned slew-rate problem, but it needs more capacitors than the SC DAC collocating with the R-string sub DAC architecture if they have the same number of quantized levels. Hence, in order to simultaneously possess all the abovementioned advantages without increasing the number of capacitors within the DAC architecture, the existing DAC architectures need to be improved.

Digital-to-analog converter and code mapping method applied to the digital-to-analog converter


A display device uses a control unit to analyze an image obtained by picturing a user using an image-capturing unit and detect a line of sight of the user with respect to the display region of a display unit. Further, the control unit identifies observation condition information indicating the condition of the user viewing the display region based on the detected line of sight of the user. A display control unit writes the image signal in the display region of the display unit for each frame, wherein the display control unit halts, for a predetermined frame period, writing of the image signal in a controlled region when the identified observation condition information meets a predetermined requirement, the controlled region being at least a part of the display region.

JP Hei09(1997)-120323 A discloses a technique for reducing power consumption according to the use condition of the electronic device. According to JP Hei09(1997)-120323 A, a line of sight of a user is detected from an image obtained by picturing the user using the electronic device and the tilt of the electronic device is detected, and the power supply of the electronic device is controlled depending on the detected parameters. More specifically, according to JP Hei09(1997)-120323 A, if the line of sight of the user is not in the direction of the electronic device and the electronic device has been tilted by a certain amount or more for a certain period of time or longer, power supply to the display control unit of the electronic device is stopped and the backlight is turned off. That is, according to JP Hei09(1997)-120323 A, an image is displayed when the user is viewing the display screen, and no image is displayed when the user is not viewing the display screen.


The present invention includes searching imagery data in order to identify one or more patterned regions on a semiconductor wafer, generating one or more virtual Fourier filter (VFF) working areas, acquiring an initial set of imagery data from the VFF working areas, defining VFF training blocks within the identified patterned regions of the VFF working areas utilizing the initial set of imagery data, wherein each VFF training block is defined to encompass a portion of the identified patterned region displaying a selected repeating pattern, calculating an initial spectrum for each VFF training block utilizing the initial set of imagery data from the VFF training blocks, and generating a VFF for each training block by identifying frequencies of the initial spectrum having maxima in the frequency domain, wherein the VFF is configured to null the magnitude of the initial spectrum at the frequencies identified to display spectral maxima.

Fabricating semiconductor devices such as logic and memory devices typically includes processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer using a large number of semiconductor fabrication processes to form various features and multiple levels of the semiconductor devices. For example, lithography is a semiconductor fabrication process that involves transferring a pattern from a reticle to a resist arranged on a semiconductor wafer. Additional examples of semiconductor fabrication processes include, but are not limited to, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), etching, deposition, and ion implantation. Multiple semiconductor devices may be fabricated in an arrangement on a single semiconductor wafer and then separated into individual semiconductor devices.
Inspection processes are used at various steps during a semiconductor manufacturing process to detect defects on a specimen such as a reticle and a wafer. Inspection processes have always been an important part of fabricating semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits. However, as the dimensions of semiconductor devices decrease, inspection processes become even more important to the successful manufacture of acceptable semiconductor devices. For instance, as the dimensions of semiconductor devices decrease, detection of defects of decreasing size has become necessary since even relatively small defects may cause unwanted aberrations in the semiconductor devices.
Accordingly, much work in the inspection field has been devoted to designing inspection systems that can detect defects having sizes that were previously negligible. Typical inspection processes detect defects by comparing similar semiconductor device areas on a wafer. The differences detected between the two device areas can either be a defect, which can cause a device to function improperly, or a nuisance, which will not affect system operations. An integral phase of semiconductor wafer inspection involves optimizing the settings, commonly referred to as the "recipe," of an inspection device so that it can accurately distinguish defects from nuisances.
Inspection for many different types of defects has also become more important recently. For instance, in order to use inspection results to monitor and correct semiconductor fabrication processes, it is often necessary to know what types of defects are present on a wafer. In addition, since controlling every process involved in semiconductor manufacturing is desirable to attain the highest yield possible, it is desirable to have the capability to detect the different types of defects that may result from many different semiconductor processes. The different types of defects that are to be detected may vary dramatically in their characteristics. For example, defects that may be desirable to detect during a semiconductor manufacturing process may include thickness variations, particulate defects, scratches, pattern defects such as missing pattern features or incorrectly sized pattern features, and many others having such disparate characteristics.
Traditionally, hardware based Fourier filtering is utilized in order to filter repeating pattern areas of an imaged semiconductor wafer, allowing for the enhanced ability to detect semiconductor wafer defects. Hardware based Fourier filters, however, are not capable of selectively filtering out specified regions or patterns of a semiconductor wafer. As such, hardware based Fourier filters require a global filtering process, which leads to some regions of the semiconductor wafer to be 'over filtered.' In this sense, more frequency domain peaks are filtered out of given frequency domain spectra associated with a given patterned region than necessary, causing a signal from the associated region to be light 'starved.' I would, therefore, be advantageous to provide a method and system suitable for filtering illumination from patterned areas of a semiconductor wafer on a region-by-region basis.


In a fluid container comprising a container main body, a first piston member which defines a fluid containing chamber of a variable internal volume in cooperation with associated walls of the container main body, and a content expelling tube for conducting the content of the fluid container to a content outlet, a second piston member is placed inside the content expelling tube so that the second piston member may be moved inside the content expelling tube to take out the content from the content outlet when the first piston member has reached its stroke end and the content inside the fluid containing chamber has been all taken out. Thus, the content expelling tube may be conveniently employed for guiding the movement of the first piston member without reducing the inner capacity of the fluid container. If the movement of the second piston member is detected with an appropriate sensor, it is possible to detect the depletion and/or the imminence of the depletion of the content of the fluid container in a reliable manner because the movement of the second piston member is typically more pronounced than the first piston member which normally has a substantially larger diameter than the second piston member.

As a fluid container for accommodating fluid such as liquids, viscous substances, granules and powders, there is conventionally known a piston/cylinder type fluid container comprising a tubular container main body having at least one end closed by an end wall, and a piston member internally received in the container main body in an axially slidable manner, thereby defining a fluid containing chamber having an annular cross section in cooperation with the end wall. Such fluid containers are disclosed, for instance, in Japanese patent laid open publication (Kokai) Nos. 59-37162 and 59-37163.
Such a fluid container is used, for instance, as an ink bottle for a printer such as a stencil printer, and its content or printing ink can be taken out of the container by suction via a content outlet provided in the tubular container main body connected to a suction pump.
In such a process of taking out the content by suction, the piston member axially moves inside the tubular container main body following the expulsion of the content out of the content outlet, but, as the inner diameter of the tubular container main body is increased to meet the demand for a larger capacity of the container, the piston member acquires the tendency to slant with respect to the axial line, thereby causing a sticking between the piston member and the cylinder wall. Once the piston member becomes stuck at a middle point in its axial movement inside the tubular container main body, the content inside the tubular container main body will be no longer available for use.
In view of such a problem of the prior art, the same applicant has proposed in Japanese utility model application No. 2-123755 a fluid container comprising an internal tubular member axially and securely fitted inside a container main body, and a piston member internally received in the container main body and externally fitted on the content expelling tube in an axially slidable manner, thereby defining a fluid containing chamber having an annular cross section in cooperation with an end wall so that a fluid containing chamber having an annular cross section may be defined inside the container main body and the end wall, and the axial movement of the piston member may be guided by the internal tubular member.
According to such a fluid container provided with an internal tubular member, a desired object can be achieved. Further, according to such a fluid container provided with an internal tubular member, it is possible to communicate the interior of the content expelling tube with the interior of the container main body at an end wall side of the container main body, and to provide a content outlet at an end of the content expelling tube.
However, in the case where the content expelling tube is given with the additional function as a member for defining the content outlet, after the piston member has reached its stroke end adjacent to the end wall of the container main body, the content remaining in the content expelling tube cannot be expelled, thereby wasting the part of the content finally remaining in the content expelling tube.
According to such a piston/cylinder type fluid container, the content can be taken out with less waste as compared to the more conventional fluid container such as a laminated tube, but, on the other hand, once the content of the fluid container is all taken out as designed, there is no way to take out the content therefrom any further no matter how attempts are made. On the other hand, in the case of a laminated tube, even after the content is depleted in normal sense, it is still possible to squeeze the laminated tube hard, and force out a small amount of content such as printing ink which may serve the purpose until a new laminated tube is made available.
Therefore, for instance, in the case of an ink bottle of a printer from which the content or printing ink is taken out by using power means, unless a new bottle is prepared before the content of the current ink bottle is depleted, a situation may arise in which printing becomes totally impossible without any warning.
To avoid such an inconvenience to occur, the operator must be always aware of the remaining amount of the content of the container, and this not only imposes a burden on the operator but is intrinsically unreliable.
In such a cylinder/piston type fluid container, as means for detecting the depletion or the imminence of the depletion of the fluid content, it has been proposed, for instance, in Japanese patent laid open publication (Kokai) No. 59-37163, to detect the position of the piston member by providing a sensing portion consisting for instance of a magnetic member in the piston member for detection by a non-contact type sensor for detecting the position of the piston member such as a reed switch placed at a stroke end of the piston member or a position adjacent thereto.
However, according to such a method for detecting the amount of fluid content remaining in a fluid container, it is necessary to detect the movement of the piston member in a non-contact manner and, to achieve a high precision in detection, it is necessary as a matter of course to precisely position the sensing means with respect to the fluid container. Further, when the sensing means is to be placed on one side of the fluid container for detecting the movement of the piston member, it is necessary for the piston member to move without inclining in the radial direction or without any rocking movement, and the sensing portion such as a magnetic member must be placed over the entire circumference of the piston member.
The internal cross section of the fluid container or the outer diameter of the piston member increases as the volume of the fluid content in the fluid container is increased, and the increase in the outer diameter of the piston member increases the tendency of the piston member to incline in the radial direction, and the increased length of the outer circumference of the piston member means the need for a larger amount of material for the sensing portion.
As the internal cross section of the fluid container increases, the speed of the movement of the piston member involved in taking out the content becomes lower. Such a slow movement of the piston member is advantageous when quantitatively and continually detecting the position of the piston member, but, when the arrival of the piston member at a certain position with an on-off sensing means is to be detected, as the speed of the movement of the piston member becomes lower, the accuracy of detection by the sensing means becomes increasingly more affected by the sensitivity of the sensing means, as well as the signal producing capability of the sensing portion, and becomes increasingly more prone to errors. For instance, when the arrival of a piston member at a prescribed position such as a stroke end of the piston member or a point adjacent thereto is to be detected by using a fixedly secured reed switch, the lower the speed of the movement of the piston member is, or, in other words, the more gradual the movement of the piston member is, the stronger the fluctuation in the position of the piston member at which the reed switch is activated, the position of the piston member at which the reed switch is activated being more strongly affected by the sensitivity of the sensing means and the signal producing capability of the sensing portion. This means the lack of reliability in the detection of the amount of the remaining content.


This invention provides a composition for anchoring materials in or to masonry. The composition comprises a methacrylate ester monomer, a methacrylate ester polymer, a free-radical catalyst and a filler.

Many applications require that a material be anchored in or to concrete or masonry. For example, anchor bolts are employed in various fields of engineering as strengthening or reinforcing members in rock formations, or concrete or masonry structural bodies. The bolts, which are typically metallic, are inserted into holes in the rock formations, or concrete or masonry structural bodies, and are fixed or anchored therein by means of an anchor composition. Typically, the anchor composition cures or hardens (polymerizes) to form a strong bond between the rock formation, or the concrete or masonry structural body and the bolt. In concrete and masonry, anchor bolts are used for reinforcement. Anchor bolts are also used for attaching objects to concrete or masonry. Objects that have been attached to concrete or masonry using anchor bolts include, but are not limited to, electrical conduits, panels, piping and wall sections. Adhesive anchors are preferred over mechanical anchors for anchoring in soft concrete or masonry because adhesive anchors place less stress on the concrete or masonry. As used herein, the term "masonry" shall include, but is not limited to, stone, brick, ceramic tile, cement tile, hollow concrete block and solid concrete block.
A useful anchor composition should be inexpensive, provide for a strong bond between the concrete or masonry and the material to be anchored to the concrete or masonry, be easy to dispense at the location of use and have a long storage shelf life.
Some anchor compositions that have been used include compositions based on aromatic vinyl esters, aromatic polyesters and epoxies. These compositions can be expensive or may not provide the desired bond strength between the concrete or masonry and the material that is anchored in or to the concrete or masonry.

Anchoring systems and methods utilizing acrylate compositions


There is provided a plant stress detection apparatus including a first light source that radiates a reference beam of a first wavelength that has a characteristic of tending not to be absorbed in water toward a plant by optical scanning, a second light source that radiates a measuring beam of a second wavelength that has a characteristic of tending to be absorbed in water toward the plant by optical scanning, and a detector that detects presence or absence of water or undulation of the plant based on reflection light of the reference beam that is reflected at an irradiation position of the plant that has a first irradiation area and reflection light of the measuring beam that is reflected at an irradiation position of the plant that has a second irradiation area that is different from the first irradiation area.

There is a potential difference inside and outside of a cell in a normal plant and electromotive force is generated. It is possible to describe a mechanism which generates such electromotive force based on, for example, an electrophysiological model of an axial organ of a higher plant. In particular, various methods are suggested in which a state of a root of the plant (for example, water stress) is examined non-destructively utilizing electromotive force between the root and soil.
As a technique in which water stress in a plant is measured utilizing the method described above, for example, PTL 1 discloses connecting a first nonpolarizable electrode to the plant, connecting a second nonpolarizable electrode to soil in which the plant is planted, providing a potentiometer between the two nonpolarizable electrodes, and being able to measure water stress which is received by the plant by measuring electromotive force between both nonpolarizable electrodes using the potentiometer.
The present disclosure has an object of providing a plant stress detection apparatus and a plant stress detection method which precisely detect a distribution relating to at least presence or absence of at least water stress obtained to plant without making work of an observer complex.

Device for detecting plant stress and method for detecting plant stress


A wind screen wiper apparatus includes a motor housing that has a perimeter wall for defining an interior space. The motor housing is for coupling to the windscreen of the motorcycle. A motor is positioned within the interior space of the motor housing such that the housing is for protecting the motor from inclement weather. A power supply is operationally coupled to the motor. The power supply provides the motor with power for operating the motor. A wiper assembly is coupled to the motor. The motor actuates the wiper assembly when the power supply provides power to the motor. The wiper assembly is for contacting a surface of the windscreen such that the wiper assembly is for clearing liquid from the windscreen when the power supply provides the motor with power.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wiper apparatuses and more particularly pertains to a new wind screen wiper apparatus for allowing a user sweep away moisture from the outside of a transparent panel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of wiper apparatuses is known in the prior art. More specifically, wiper apparatuses heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,876; U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,099; U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,242; U.S. Pat No. 3,968,537; U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,291; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 328,275.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new wind screen wiper apparatus. The inventive device includes a motor housing that has a perimeter wall for defining an interior space. The motor housing is adapted for coupling to the windscreen of the motorcycle. A motor is positioned within the interior space of the motor housing such that the housing is for protecting the motor from inclement weather. A power supply is operationally coupled to the motor. The power supply provides the motor with power for operating the motor. A wiper assembly is coupled to the motor. The motor actuates the wiper assembly when the power supply provides power to the motor. The wiper assembly is adapted for contacting a surface of the windscreen such that the wiper assembly is adapted for clearing liquid from the windscreen when the power supply provides the motor with power.
In these respects, the wind screen wiper apparatus according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of allowing a user sweep away moisture from the outside of a transparent panel.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of wiper apparatuses now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new wind screen wiper apparatus construction wherein the same can be utilized for allowing a user sweep away moisture from the outside of a transparent panel.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new wind screen wiper apparatus apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the wiper apparatuses mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new wind screen wiper apparatus which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art wiper apparatuses, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a motor housing that has a perimeter wall for defining an interior space. The motor housing is adapted for coupling to the windscreen of the motorcycle. A motor is positioned within the interior space of the motor housing such that the housing is for protecting the motor from inclement weather. A power supply is operationally coupled to the motor. The power supply provides the motor with power for operating the motor. A wiper assembly is coupled to the motor. The motor actuates the wiper assembly when the power supply provides power to the motor. The wiper assembly is adapted for contacting a surface of the windscreen such that the wiper assembly is adapted for clearing liquid from the windscreen when the power supply provides the motor with power.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new wind screen wiper apparatus apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the wiper apparatuses mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new wind screen wiper apparatus which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art wiper apparatuses, either alone or in any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new wind screen wiper apparatus, which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new wind screen wiper apparatus, which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new wind screen wiper apparatus which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such wind screen wiper apparatus economically available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new wind screen wiper apparatus, which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new wind screen wiper apparatus for allowing a user sweep away moisture from the outside of a transparent panel.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new wind screen wiper apparatus, which includes a motor housing that, has a perimeter wall for defining an interior space. The motor housing is adapted for coupling to the windscreen of the motorcycle. A motor is positioned within the interior space of the motor housing such that the housing is for protecting the motor from inclement weather. A power supply is operationally coupled to the motor. The power supply provides the motor with power for operating the motor. A wiper assembly is coupled to the motor. The motor actuates the wiper assembly when the power supply provides power to the motor. The wiper assembly is adapted for contacting a surface of the windscreen such that the wiper assembly is adapted for clearing liquid from the windscreen when the power supply provides the motor with power.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new wind screen wiper apparatus that would improve the users view to the roadway for allowing motorcyclists to safely travel in poor weather conditions instead of finding another means of transportation.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new wind screen wiper apparatus that would also improve confidence and reduce anxiety when riding in the rain.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty, which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.


A passenger side airbag module includes a reaction canister whose sidewalls define a pair of channels on opposite sides of its open mouth. An unperforated cushion cover carries a pair of splines which are engaged by the channels. One spline/channel combination locks the cover securely to the canister. The other spline/channel combination forms a snap-fit engagement which disengages under the force of the expanding airbag.

Most passenger side airbag modules employ cushion covers. The term "cushion" as used herein means the folded and undeployed airbag. The purposes of the cover are to prevent foreign objects from lodging inside the cushion and to retain the cushion fold until the module is installed in a vehicle and a deployment door is attached over it. Cushion covers presently employed may be made of plastic fiber papers such as Tyvek (a DuPont trademark), woven fabric, or injection molded or die cut sheet plastic. These prior art cushion covers are normally secured to the module by means of adhesive bonding, sewing, or fastening with screws or rivets. They are designed with perforated lines or tear seams which are designed to split when the airbag deploys. The cover portions then swing open allowing full deployment of the airbag.
The prior art cushion covers have a number of disadvantages. First, as previously explained, they require the use of fasteners or adhesives, thereby complicating the task of assembly. Second, the presence of a perforation or tear line invites inadvertent splits due to handling prior to or during installation. Finally, the presence of two relatively small and newly formed "doors" presents the possibility of snagging of the airbag which could thereby destroy its ability to function as a life saving element.
Accordingly it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a cushion cover for a passenger side airbag module which does not require the use of fasteners or adhesives. Another object is to provide such a cover which is unperforated and thereby resistant to inadvertent splitting. Another object of the present invention is to provide such a cover which provides a relatively wide guide flap against which the airbag may deploy to reduce the possibility of snags. Other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.

Unperforated slide-in passenger side airbag module cushion cover


A transport network is configured to connect one or more optical rings of optical add and drop devices with one or more digital units in a radio access network. The transport network comprises a first electronic cross-connect and a second electronic cross-connect. A switch is provided for connecting the first electronic cross-connect and/or the second electronic cross-connect to the one or more digital units. The first and second electronic cross-connects are each coupled to at least one of the one or more optical rings of optical add and drop devices.

In radio transport networks a number of different technologies may be used, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications/Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (GSM/EDGE), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), just to mention a few possible implementations. A radio transport network comprises Radio Base Stations (RBS) providing radio coverage over at least one respective geographical area forming a cell. The cell definition may also incorporate frequency bands used for transmissions, which means that two different cells may cover the same geographical area but using different frequency bands. User equipments (UEs) are served in the cells by the respective radio base station and are communicating with a respective radio base station. The user equipments transmit data over an air or radio interface to the radio base stations in uplink (UL) transmissions and the radio base stations transmit data over an air or radio interface to the user equipments in downlink (DL) transmissions.
In some RBS implementations a radio unit and a baseband processing equipment (digital unit (DU)) of the RBS are separated. In some examples, the radio unit and baseband processing equipment is split in two different locations.
In this case, the radio unit is remote and termed a remote radio unit (RRU). As such, the system separates a RBS into one or more DUs and RRUs.
The DUs and RRUs are connected, for example, via a transport network, such as an optical transport network. The one or more DUs may be centralized and located remotely, for example a few kilometers from the RRUs. The RRUs are placed close to the radio antennas, e.g. in antenna masts. This minimizes feeder and jumper losses between antenna and RRUs, which is often a major challenge to address in most radio transport networks, for example, to enhance the uplink capacity of mobile services.
Centralized radio access network (RAN) is based on the DU and signal processing centralization, which offers processing resources for multiple cells, each covered by an antenna driven by a RRU. This allows a pool of processing resources to be dynamically shared among many cells, in line with the cloud computing principle, saving energy, improving the radio link reliability and decreasing the number and size of access sites. Centralized DU processing can therefore help reduce the cost of the infrastructure and favor coordination among different RRU pools.
In systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE Advanced (LTE-A), where coordinated processing is beneficial to performance improvements, the capability to manage this centrally rather than via an external X2 interface between base stations could generate important performance gains.
In addition, coordinated processing can be beneficial to reduce and manage inter-cell interference between neighboring cells and across access layers in heterogeneous networks where small cells are used to offload part of the traffic originally handled by a macro cell. Here, coordination is needed to avoid interference and to enable frequency reuse among macro and small cells.
In some examples, the interface between the DUs and RRUs is an optical Non-Return to Zero (NRZ) signal, which is a sampled In-phase Quadrature (I/Q) air interface waveform. Sampling the air waveform makes the remote radio unit implementation relatively simple but leads to very high bitrates of the optical signal, in the order of 1.25 Gbps per antenna.
A Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) specifies a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) like protocol for RBS configurations in a system configured for RRUs and DUs over a first layer. CPRI defines a protocol which can be used to connect a DU and RRU. The application of CPRI between the DUs and the RRUs may be static, i.e. determined as the RBS is deployed, and in such an example the CPRI configuration is typically only changed as part of a predetermined topology involving the DUs and RRUs.
CPRI requires accurate synchronization and latency control. Even if conventional CPRI transport is normally operated on fiber using point-to-point optical connections between DU and RRU distances of less than a few hundreds of meters, there is a demand to extend its reach over geographical distances.
Traditional dedicated point-to-point links established between a limited number of DU ports and associated RRUs is inadequate to meet these new extended distance requirements. For example, the requirements of new installed fibers would be not sustainable as soon as the distances between RRUs and associated DUs became longer than a few kilometers.
Moreover, an increase of the optimization level could be achieved by having a pool of DUs serving a plurality of RRUs. This allows a wider geographical area, enabling a higher optimization of computational resources. The use of a pool of DUs should deal with at least the following issues:                CPRI has tight requirements and constrains (e.g. latency, jitter, symmetry). A transport and switching solution should therefore comply with them;        Efficient load balancing and failure recovery requires the ability to change which DU(s) is handling an RRU, possibly without traffic disruption;        A consistent reduction of infrastructure cost requires optimizing the geographical cabling which supports the connectivity among RRUs and DUs.
A transport network for providing connectivity among RRU clusters and a DU pool, as described above, is sometimes referred to as a front haul (FH) network. FH networks may use WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) networking solutions, for example using an optical ring topology. The use of a FH network should not impact the quality of service of a radio network, and thus in the case of a failure, the FH network should be recovered without impacting on the radio service. In addition, the FH network should preferably provide support for differentiated classes of services.


A semiconductor device is formed on a SOI substrate having a semiconductor substrate, a buried oxide film formed on the semiconductor substrate, and a semiconductor layer formed on the buried oxide film, the semiconductor substrate having a first conductive type, the semiconductor layer having a second conductive type, wherein the buried oxide film has a first opening opened therethrough for communicating the semiconductor substrate with the semiconductor layer, the semiconductor layer is arranged to have a first buried portion buried in the first opening in contact with the semiconductor substrate and a semiconductor layer main portion positioned on the first buried portion and on the buried oxide film, the semiconductor substrate has a connection layer buried in a surface of the semiconductor substrate and electrically connected to the first buried portion in the first opening, the connection layer having the second conductive type, and the semiconductor device includes a contact electrode buried in a second opening, a side surface of the contact electrode being connected to the semiconductor layer main portion, a bottom surface of the contact electrode being connected to the connection layer, the second opening passing through the semiconductor layer main portion and the buried oxide film, and the second opening reaching a surface portion of the connection layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Related Art
Recently, semiconductor devices using a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate have been developed. The SOI substrate is a substrate having a structure in which a buried oxide (BOX) layer (buried oxide film) is buried between a semiconductor substrate and a semiconductor layer (SOI layer). The SOI substrate is used as a substrate of, for example, a NAND type non-volatile semiconductor memory device (refer to JP-A 2006-73939 (KOKAI)).
In a semiconductor device formed using the SOI substrate, a film thickness of a semiconductor layer is optimized based on design items such as an operation frequency, a breakdown voltage, a maximum current value, and the like. For example, in a one side gate MOS static induction transistor (MOS-SIT) structure having a MOS gate on a surface of the SOI substrate, it is possible to make a semiconductor layer thin to improve cut-off characteristics.
However, when it was intended to dispose a contact electrode to a thin semiconductor layer having a thickness of, for example, about several tens of nanometers, a problem arose in that a contact resistance became higher than that when a thick semiconductor layer was used because a contact area (areas of a side surface and a bottom portion of a contact electrode in contact with a semiconductor layer) became insufficient. Further, it was difficult to stably control a depth of the contact electrode in the thin semiconductor layer. Accordingly, when the contact electrode reached a BOX layer formed under the semiconductor layer, a problem arose in that since the bottom portion of the contact electrode could not come into contact with the semiconductor layer, a contact resistance was increased by a further decrease of the contact area. Further, even if the bottom portion of the contact electrode could be formed in the semiconductor layer, since the semiconductor layer was thinned between the bottom portion of the contact electrode and the BOX layer, a problem arose in that the contact resistance was increased.
Further, when it was intended to reduce the contact resistance by causing a material of the contact electrode to react with the semiconductor layer, the semiconductor material was absorbed into the material of the contact electrode. Accordingly, a problem also arose in that partial disconnection occurred between the semiconductor layer and the contact electrode because the semiconductor material became insufficient in the vicinity of the contact electrode.
The following structure is considered to overcome these problems. That is, the structure is a contact structure arranged such that a semiconductor layer is formed after a BOX layer of a contact region is entirely removed, and a bottom portion of a contact electrode is connected to a conductive region disposed on a surface of a semiconductor substrate of the contact region. However, when the BOX layer of the contact region is entirely removed regardless of that a channel region of a transistor includes the semiconductor layer, a step corresponding to a thickness of the BOX layer is formed on the surface of the semiconductor layer and remains as a groove. The groove shape causes a new problem in a subsequent manufacturing process in that a wire is broken or, an unnecessary film buried in a groove is not sufficiently removed in a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process and remains, and the like in a wiring step.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


There is disclosed a photocleavable sense-antisense nucleobase polymer complex capable of modulating gene expression comprising an unnatural antisense nucleobase polymer that targets an mRNA, and a photocleavable sense nucleobase polymer noncovalently bound to the antisense nucleobase polymer, wherein the photocleavable sense nucleobase polymer comprises a plurality of nucleobase polymers connected by a photocleavable linkage. There is also disclosed a method for controlling the time and spatial position of gene expression comprising selecting a target mRNA, introducing the photocleavable sense-antisense nucleobase polymer complex into a cell, and selectively irradiating the cell with light.

There is a need in the art for spatiotemporal modulation of gene expression using targeted light to activate an antisense or RNA interference (RNAi) process within a cell. Fulfillment of such a need will have an important impact in functional genomics. This is particularly the case in transparent model organisms, such a zebrafish, c. elegans and drosophila. Irradiation can be specifically targeted visually to known anatomic landmarks (Dmochowski and Tang, BioTechniques 43(2):161, 2007). Irradiating selected organs or groups of cells within organs permits specific genes to be turned off at any time during the development of the organism and with cell-scale resolution, thereby permitting an in depth spatiotemporal understanding of the role of particular genes in the whole organism. Several photo-caging approaches have been employed to modify antisense and RNAi molecules to make them photoactivatable.
Investigators have used a hairpin design to control the activity of an antisense molecule, wherein the antisense molecule is covalently attached to a complementary sense molecule via a photocleavable linker. The sense and antisense molecules bind one another in a hairpin conformation, preventing the antisense molecule from binding to its target mRNA. Irradiation cleaves the linker and releases the antisense molecule, which dissociates from the complementary sense molecule and binds its target mRNA. Studies by Tang and Dmochowski in the zebrafish focused on negatively charged peptide nucleic acid (ncPNA) or phosphorothioate DNA (sDNA) as the antisense molecule, and 2′-OMe-RNA as the complementary sense molecule in the hairpin (Tang et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129:11000, 2007). Their work in human leukemia cells employed both DNA and phosphorothioated DNA as both sense and antisense components (Tang et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 36(2):559, 2008). In contrast, Shestopalov et al. controlled gene expression in the zebrafish using a morpholino polymer to form both the antisense and sense components in the hairpin (Shestopalov et al., Nature Chem. Biol. 3(10):650, 2007). Hairpin approaches have also been described for siRNA (U.S. Patent Applications 2005/0059028 and 2005/0282203, the disclosure of which are incorporated by reference herein). An important limitation of the hairpin approach is the difficulty or significant synthetic chemistry expertise that is required to assemble the hairpin (Tang and Dmochowski, Nature Protocols 1(6):3041, 2006).
Other investigators have approached light control of gene expression by applying sterically encumbered photolabile blocking (i.e. caging) groups to control the activity of siRNA molecules. Caging groups have been applied to the backbone phosphates in both random (Shah et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 44:1328, 2005) and targeted approaches (Shah and Friedman, Oligonucleolides 17:35, 2007; Nguyen et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1758:394, 2006). The problem with random caging was that either the inactivation or the activation was not complete (that is, fully inactive siRNA could not be entirely activated and vice versa). The targeted approach provided fully active siRNAs after irradiation, but suffered from substantial residual activity of the caged precursor. Others have caged an exocyclic base moiety at specific RNA bases to control siRNA, and noted instability on storage as a problem (Mikat and Heckel, RNA 13:2341, 2007).
Natural and unnatural nucleobase 'antisense' nucleobase polymers can interfere with specific gene expression when they are complementary to the target gene's 'sense' mRNA (Wagner, Nature 372:333, 1994; Crooke, Annu. Rev. Med. 55:61, 2004; Antisense Drug Technology: Principles, Strategies, and Applications. Second Edition. Edited by Stanley T. Crooke. CRC Press and Taylor & Francis Group, New York. 2007). Such antisense nucleobase polymers can reduce the stability and/or expression of the target mRNA by a variety of mechanisms including RNase H-mediated selective mRNA degradation, interference, and steric blockade of ribosomal machinery.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to the provide caged, non-stem loop RNA 1 duplex molecules having a photocleavable base moiety to effect light activated inhibition of gene expression. The present disclosure was made to address this need.


An anticounterfeiting device comprising a surface relief structure having both diffractive and polarizing properties. Polarization of reflected light is controlled by the orientation and composition of a fine grating structure whose shortest period is substantially smaller than the wavelength of visible light; and diffraction is controlled by a longer period component of the grating structure having a second orientation. Presence and arrangement of the polarizing properties of the device are detected by illuminating the device with polarized light and viewing the reflected light, or by illuminating the device with unpolarized light and viewing reflected light through a polarizer. Because such a device is difficult to copy or reverse engineer precisely, the authenticity of the device can be judged by the presence and arrangement of the polarization properties and the diffraction properties in the device.

In the document and product security industry, it is desirable to have a low-cost anti-counterfeiting device that can be used easily by any consumer. Ideally, the device is inexpensive to make but impossible to duplicate, and easy to verify but applicable to large numbers of different documents and products. Although it is probably not possible to meet those ideals, the various embodiments of the present invention do provide a low-cost anti-counterfeiting device that is very difficult to duplicate or reverse engineer, and that has an appearance visibly different from other optically variable anti-counterfeiting devices. In fact, a polarizing filter can allow easy observation of the distinguishing features of an anti-counterfeiting device made according to the various embodiments of the present invention.
The effective refractive index of a grating layer on a surface depends on the grating orientation and grating profile, as well as on the bulk properties of the material composing the layer. Specifically, when the grating period is significantly smaller than the wavelength of light incident on the grating, the effective refractive index is higher if the electric field vector of the light is aligned with the grating lines rather than being perpendicular to the grating lines. If the material composing the grating layer is metallic, the reflectivity of the layer depends on the alignment of the electric field vector relative to the grating lines. In the first case, the grating layer is birefringent, and in the second case the grating layer is a reflective polarizing filter. Both are referred to herein as cases of "form birefringence".
A common problem in the fabrication of gratings is "ghosting," which are periodic errors in the position or depth of the grating across a surface. For example, in electron-beam fabricated gratings, ghosting can be caused by uneven friction in drive screws, round-off errors in positioning algorithms, or finite step size in stepping motors. A very high frequency (short period) grating that is free of ghosting will show no diffraction effects. However, if ghosting is present with a period greater than half of the wavelength of visible light, diffraction effects appear, showing rainbow colors in white light. The polarization effects of the high-frequency grating are still apparent, however, in direct reflection (zero-order diffraction).
Form birefringence has been demonstrated and reported by several researchers, and is exploited commercially. For example, Nano-Opto Corporation sells a "Subwave Polarization Beam Splitter/Combiner" and a "Broadband Polarizer For Optical Networking Applications" that employ surface relief gratings having a period smaller than an optical wavelength.

Optically variable form birefringent structure and method and system and method for reading same


A device for compressing a digital audio signal, includes a device for allocating bits available for the transmission or storage of the signal, controlling means for the adaptive quantization of the signal, in order to enable a major reduction in the bit rate while at the same time preserving the quality of the starting signal to the maximum extent. The device includes means for allocating a specific number of bits for the expression of the coefficients of each frequency band of a transformed digital audio signal, as a function of a piece of auxiliary information corresponding to a description of the spectrum of the signal, said device being informed by means for the prior elimination of spectral components of said transformed signal as a function of a psychoauditive criterion.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is that of the compression of digital audio signals. The invention can be applied notably to the transmission of sound signals on digital channels as well as to devices for the storage of digital sound signals.
More precisely, the invention concerns a bit allocation device enabling an adaptive quantization of a digital audio signal, after this signal has been transformed into the frequency domain and cut up into frequency bands.
The invention may be implemented, for example, in direct satellite broadcasing systems such as those developed in the European DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) project, or again in ISDN broadcasting and high fidelity distribution systems. It can also be applied notably to storage devices such as digital disks.
Digital audio signals have many advantages over analog signals, notably as regards the fidelity of the sound, the preservation of the initial quality and flexibility of use. However, the bit rate resulting from the conversion of the audio signals into digital form is very high, especially for high quality signals, the bandwidth of which is greater than 15 kHz.
It is then necessary to use bit rate reduction techniques.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a known and widespread way, the techniques used employ algorithms for the mathematical transformation of the source digital audio signal. The transform coding techniques have been extensively applied to the fields of images or of speech. Since very recently, they are also applied to the processing of audio (chiefly musical) signals.
In existing coders implementing these techniques, the signal is first of all cut up into temporal blocks, and is then subjected to a time/frequency transformation. It is the coefficients of the transformed blocks that are encoded and transmitted. At the decoder, a reverse transformation delivers the decoded and reconstructed signal.
The application of mathematical transformation achieves a concentration of the energy of the source signal on the biggest coefficients, and thus enables a reduction of the bit rate by controlling the auditive degradation and reducing it to the minimum, notably by the selective elimination of certain of the transformed coefficients. Indeed, the fact of working in the frequency domain contributes towards taking account of perceptual and psychoauditive properties that are mainly linked to the spectral nature of the sound. The taking into account of the psychoauditive criteria in most existing devices is based on the analysis by ZWICKER in Psychoacoustique (Psychoacoustics), Masson, 1981, based on the concept of the masking of inaudible spectral components.
The known devices made on the basis of these principles differ from one another in certain preferences as regards their designing:
the transmission or non-transmission of a piece of auxiliary information (side information) to the main information;
the use or non-use of techniques overcoming the effect of transmission disturbances;
the techniques of taking account of the psychoauditive criteria to achieve the bit rate reduction and the localization of their implementation in the signal coding and decoding chains;
Thus, in a first known device of this type, as described in the French patent document No. 89 06194, "Procede et installation a codage des signaux sonores" (Sound Signal Coding Method and Equipment) filed on behalf of the present Applicants, the following are implemented successively: the cutting up of the sound signal into blocks of samples, the time/frequency transformation and a predictive and adaptive coding of the most significant coefficients of each block, using a stationarity of the signal. In this device, the auxiliary information is transmitted during transition blocks, thus making it impossible to take account of an inter-block correlation. In all the other situations, this auxiliary information is used solely to control the bit allocation module supplying the main signal quantizer. This device enables a reduction in the bit rate. However, it leads to a chain degradation of the reconstitution of the blocks received when an error occurs, because this error gets passed on to the next block, and so on and so forth, through the loop for preparing the auxiliary information controlling the bit allocator and the quantizer of the decoder.
There are also known devices in which a piece of auxiliary information is transmitted for each block, by adaptive coding. Such a device is described, for example, in the article by Bochow, "Multiprocessor Implementation of an ATC Audio Codec" (Acts of the ICASSP Congress 1989, Glasgow). A drawback of this device is that the continuous coding of the auxiliary information calls for a high bit rate, to the detriment of the bit rate allocated to the main information.
The document by Johnston, "Transform Coding of Audio Signals Using Perceptual Noise Criteria", IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communication", Vol. 6, No. 2, February 1988, pp. 314-323, has a bit reduction device using adaptive quantization, with application of the masking thresholds according to Zwicker's analysis in the form of a prediction algorithm applied at the quantizer of the main signal. This algorithm seeks to minimize the noise-to-masking threshold ratio. Just as in Bochow's device, the auxiliary information is transmitted continuously. Furthermore, this device has a variable length coding or Huffman coding at output of the quantizer, which is quite complicated to apply.
The invention is aimed at overcoming the drawbacks of these different known devices.

Bit allocation device for transformed digital audio broadcasting signals with adaptive quantization based on psychoauditive criterion

Centre National d'Etudes des Telecommunications


An electronic ignition safety device configured to reject signals below a predetermined ‘all-fire’ voltage comprising an exploding foil initiator having an electrical input and an output end, a pickup comprising a secondary explosive donor charge adjacent to the exploding foil initiator's output end and separated from a secondary explosive acceptor charge by an integral barrier, and an output charge adjacent to the acceptor charge.

While various electronic ignition safety devices exist, there is a need for an electronic ignition safety device that is suitable for use in applications such as rocket motors, but that can be configured to meet applicable U.S. military standards (e.g., MIL-STD-1316 and MIL-STD-1901) without requiring a safety mechanism that relies upon moving parts.

Electronic ignition safety device configured to reject signals below a predetermined ‘all-fire voltage’

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company