The present invention is an improved reflector for use in a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) luminaire and a luminaire incorporating such a reflector. The present invention achieves significantly improved light output from a CFL by employing a reflector of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene. Not only is light output improved over presently employed CFL luminaire reflectors, providing more light and/or allowing for less energy usage, but the luminaire of the present invention also produces a more pleasing light output.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surfaces used to reflect light, and particularly to highly light reflectant surfaces that provide even diffusion of light for the purpose of maximizing efficiency for recessed compact fluorescent downlights and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
The present invention generally relates to the field of lighting, and more particularly to luminaires which utilize a reflector for redirecting light. The term "luminaire" as used herein is meant to describe a complete lighting unit comprising a lamp or lamps together with components designed to redirect and distribute light from the lamp(s), along with a housing which positions and protects the lamp(s) and components.
Luminaires can be categorized by numerous methods. Typically, there are indoor and outdoor luminaire applications. Indoor luminaires can be categorized by light output emitted above and below the horizontal. The Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) has various luminaire classifications. These are direct, semidirect, general diffuse, semi-indirect, and indirect. Direct lighting defines light that is at least 90% below the horizontal. Semidirect lighting is predominantly downward at 60-90% of the light below the horizontal. General diffuse light describes output where the downward and upward components are about equal. Semi-indirect are predominantly upward with 60-90% of the light above the horizontal. Indirect lighting describes systems are those where 90-100% of the light is directed toward the ceiling and upper side walls.
Within these categories, there are many applications. Some typical applications include recessed luminaires such as fluorescent troffers, incandescent and compact fluorescent downlighting, and high intensity discharge (HID) downlighting. There are also ceiling-mounted luminaires, track mounted, wall-mounted, suspended, and portable luminaires.
Outdoor luminaires can be categorized by similar methods. Light distribution of luminaires is categorized by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) into five light distribution types. These range from narrow symmetrical distribution to wide non-symmetrical patterns. Some typical applications include pole-mounted luminaires, surface-mounted luminaires, bollard luminaires, and floodlight luminaires.
In virtually all of the luminaire applications mentioned above, light is redirected by the use of a reflective material. The reflection characteristics of these materials can be described as being either specular, diffuse, or a combination thereof. While good mirrored surfaces can provide nearly perfect reflectivity of visible light, the light energy exiting these surfaces does so only at an angle equal to the incident angle of light contact. This type of reflection is referred to as specular reflectance. For many applications it is important that light be reflected with an even distribution of light from the surface. This latter property is referred to as diffuse or "lambertian" reflectance.
Throughout the years, reflective materials for luminaires have been studied, optimized, and specified. Specular materials are typically used in luminaires which are designed to preferentially deliver focused light to specific locations. Diffuse materials are more typically used for even dispersion of light having uniform characteristics without the undesirable high and low intensity light areas which are typically generated through the use of specular reflectors. This is desirable for many applications such as work and home locations where even lighting is preferred. Various methods of utilizing these type of diffuse reflectors are discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,192,128 and 5,378,965. There are also many designs which use both specular and diffuse materials to take advantage of both types of reflective characteristics, such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,051,878 and 5,075,827.
In other applications a diffuse reflector coupled with a fresnel lens is utilized to create a uniform directed beam. This is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,889.
In still other applications, a diffuse reflector is used in conjunction with diffusers, lenses, or louvers to preferentially direct the light emitting from the luminaire to specific areas. A diffuser scatters the light exiting the luminaire. A lens typically incorporates a series of prisms to preferentially light specific areas of its field of view. A louver is an array of open cells, the walls of which form reflectors. Any of these diffusers, lenses, or louvers can be utilized to redirect light in a wide range of applications, such as 2.times.4 foot fluorescent troffers, compact fluorescent downlights, as well as low and high bay HID warehouse luminaires.
Due to the many requirements, the diffuse reflective material choices are relatively few. The most commonly used diffuse reflective materials are diffuse aluminum, white synthetic enamel paint, and white porcelain enamel paint. According to the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, these three materials exhibit the highest diffuse reflectance through the listed visible wavelengths of 400 nm, 500 nm, and 600 nm. In these wavelengths, diffuse aluminum ranges from 75-84% reflection, white synthetic enamel paint ranges from 48-85% reflection, and white porcelain enamel paint ranges from 56-84% reflection.
Under these criteria, these typical diffuse reflective materials have a visible reflectance maximum of only 85%. At this reflectance level, 15% of the light which impinges upon the reflector is not utilized. Furthermore, in many applications which use diffuse reflectors, there can be additional loss of light stemming from the multiple reflections which are inherently created with diffuse reflective materials. Depending upon the design of the luminaire and the reflector geometry, there can be as many as fifteen or more multiple reflections of a ray of light before it exits the luminaire. At each reflection point, there is a cumulative loss of light associated with the reflection efficiency of the material. Thus an increase of reflectance efficiency of only a few percent can yield an overall luminaire output increase of as much as 10% to 20% to 50% or higher.
It is further evident that the percent reflection of each material listed varies significantly within its own measured visible wavelengths of 400 nm, 500 nm and 600 nm. This variation can introduce an undesirable color shift between the incident and reflected light. Thus the optimum diffuse reflective material for luminaire applications is one that has consistently high reflectance throughout the visible spectrum.
Due to the many different applications that exist for reflectant materials, it is not surprising that there are many different commercially available products with a variety of diffuse reflective properties. Until the present invention, the highest reflectance material known with excellent diffuse reflectivity was that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,720 and sold under the trademark SPECTPALON by Labsphere, Inc., North Sutton, N.H. This material comprises lightly packed granules of polytetrafluoroethylene that has a void volume of about 30 to 50% and is sintered into a relatively hard cohesive block so as to maintain such void volume. Using the techniques taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,720, it is asserted that exceptionally high diffuse visible light reflectance characteristics can be achieved with this material, with reflectance over previously available reflectant material increasing from 97% to better than 99%.
Despite the reported advantages of SPECTRALON material, it is considered quite deficient in many respects. First, this material comprises a relatively hard block of material that must be carefully carved or machined to desired shapes and dimensions. Commercially, this material is only available in a maximum size of 30.5 cm.times.30.5 cm. This severely limits how and where this material can be used and greatly increases the cost of using this material in many applications, especially where large single piece reflectors are desired. Therefore, where a pliable material is desired (such as with reflectors for fluorescent troffers), the SPECTRALON material plainly is inadequate. Furthermore, the additional machining process provides yet another source for contamination that can be detrimental to its reflective properties.
Second, the SPECTRALON material is apparently limited, both structurally and in its ability to reflect light, to a relatively thick minimum depth (i.e., a thickness of greater than 4 mm). Again, this serves to limit where and how this material can be used. Moreover, this limitation tends needlessly to increase both the amount of material required for a given application as well as the weight of the material required for such application.
Third, the SPECTRALON material is apparently relatively expensive to manufacture and purchase. These costs are only increased by the material's difficulty in processing into the final shape from the hard form (i.e., excessive amounts of material may have to be machined away and discarded during production) and its minimum thickness requirements. As a result, the SPECTRALON material is too expensive to be used in many applications that might otherwise benefit from its reflective properties.
Other materials currently used for coating reflective cavities are reflective paints or coatings based on barium sulfate, magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, and other white powders. One such example is Kodak White Reflectance coating No. 6080 which is available from Scientific Imaging Systems of Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y. This coating is a specially prepared composition of barium sulfate, binder, and solvent. Despite good initial diffuse reflectance, this material maintains its reflectance properties for only a limited period of time (e.g., for only about six months) under normal atmospheric conditions. The material is expected to be stable for even shorter periods of time when exposed to high intensity ultraviolet radiation. Furthermore, application of this coating is extremely laborious requiring 4-8 coats to ensure an adequate thickness for best reflectance. Storage, preparation, and application of the material also requires special care. Even after all of the necessary steps for application, it still does not guarantee uniform results.
Accordingly, there is a distinct need for a highly diffuse reflective surface that can be easily handled and installed and provide other distinct advantages over existing reflective surfaces used in luminaires.
One particular application which can benefit from a high diffuse reflective surface is that of a recessed compact fluorescent downlight. Compact fluorescent lamps are widely used as an energy efficient substitute for conventional incandescent lamps. In order to provide replacements for incandescent flood lights, a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) with its required ballast is packaged within a housing or cavity having a reflective surface. One application for such replacement lighting device is within a housing recessed within a ceiling. Another application for this replacement lighting is in architectural track lighting. Another use of a CFL is within a recessed fixture which incorporates its own reflector and ballast. This allows for easy replacement of the CFL without replacement of the ballast and reflector.
The problem with such compact fluorescent lamps is that, in contrast to an incandescent lamp which produces light at essentially a point source, the fluorescent lamp is elongated along an axis and emits its light from coated surfaces in a direction perpendicular to its elongated axis. Because of the configuration of recessed lighting fixtures, the elongated axis of the fluorescent lamp tubes is aligned with the direction in which the light rays are to be directed. In other words, the majority of the light emitted from the tube is directed into the recessed reflector, and not directly out of the lamp. Therefore, in order to be useful, as much light as possible must be efficiently reflected by a reflector from an emitted direction, perpendicular to the axis of elongation of the tubes, to a direction aligned with the axis of elongation.
Some designs attempt to overcome this problem by mounting the elongated axis perpendicular to the direction in which the light rays are to be directed. This configuration creates a new problem in which a large percentage of the light is directed away from the luminaire aperture which then must be redirected around the lamp(s).
Replacement floodlights, as well as all other recessed compact fluorescent applications have traditionally employed the same reflective surface materials and design of incandescent lamps. Such design makes use of the focusing characteristics of a parabolic surface. However, since the characteristics of the fluorescent lamp are different from those of incandescent lamps, such parabolic reflectors are inadequate to meet the needs of recessed compact fluorescent downlights. As a CFL light source becomes further recessed in a reflective cavity such that the lamp becomes more substantially surrounded by the reflective cavity, an increased average number of inter-reflections are required for the light to exit. For each inter-reflection (i.e., light bounce) required, there is a loss of light corresponding to the efficiency of the reflective material. For instance, a reflective material having a reflective efficiency of 96% would lose 4% of the light per bounce compared to a material of 98% reflectance, which loses only 2% of the light per bounce. Thus the 96% reflectant material loses twice as much of the light per bounce as the 98% reflectance material. Therefore, as the depth of the reflective cavity increases, further surrounding the lamp, the number of inter-reflections increases. In this situation, the efficiency of the reflective material becomes increasingly critical to maximize the light output of the system.
One such previous attempt to overcome these problems is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,295. This patent describes the use of a specular reflector which has segments that are shaped to individually reflect the light from each of the multiple fluorescent tubes. This design is useful for concentrating the light into a center beam but still suffers from relatively low efficiency of total light output.
A light source which is "substantially surrounded" by a reflector defines a category of reflective cavities that has an aperture to depth ratio of equal to or less than 2.0. The equation used to calculate this ratio is defined as: EQU R.sub.AD =CA.sub.min .div.CD.sub.max
where:
R.sub.AD =aperture to depth ratio PA1 CA.sub.min =minimum dimension of cavity aperture PA1 CD.sub.max =maximum dimension of cavity depth
Designs which employ reflective cavities having R.sub.AD ratios of 2.0 or less can be greatly enhanced by a highly efficient reflective material; with ratios of less than 1.5, and particularly less than 1.0, are even further benefited.
Therefore, for recessed downlighting and track lighting applications which utilize a CFL light source which is substantially surrounded by a reflective cavity there exists a need for highly efficient reflective materials and designs in order to make optimum use of the compact fluorescent lamp as a light source in a recessed cavity.

Light reflectant surface in a recessed cavity substantially surrounding a compact fluorescent lamp


A high-frequency dielectric ceramic composition that has excellent dielectric properties, such as a large εr, a large Q-value, and a small absolute value of τf, even in a high-frequency region, such as a microwave region or a millimeter wave region, and that can be fired at 1400° C. or less, which is much lower than before, is provided.

Dielectric ceramics have widely been utilized as materials for dielectric resonators and circuit boards employed in high-frequency regions such as a microwave region and a millimeter wave region.
Such high-frequency dielectric ceramics, particularly for use in dielectric resonators or dielectric filters, should have dielectric properties as follows: (1) a large relative dielectric constant (εr) to provide for required miniaturization, because the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave is reduced to 1/(εr1/2) in a dielectric material; (2) a small dielectric loss or a large Q-value, and (3) excellent temperature stability of resonance frequency or a temperature coefficient (τf) of resonance frequency of about 0 ppm/° C.
τf denotes an inclination (first-order differential coefficient) in the linear approximation of a temperature-resonance frequency curve. τf is calculated by the expression of τf=(f55−f25)/[f25×(55° C.-25° C.)], wherein f25 and f55 denote the resonance frequencies at 25° C. and 55° C., respectively.
Heretofore, many high-frequency dielectric ceramic compositions that meet the requirements described above have been proposed. Examples of the high-frequency dielectric ceramic compositions include CaTiO3—Ca{Mg1/3(Nb,Ta)2/3}O5-LnAlO3 disclosed in Patent Document 1 and CaTiO3—Ca{(Zn,Mg)1/3(Nb, Ta)2/3}O5-LnAlO3 disclosed in Patent Document 2, wherein Ln denotes a rare earth element.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-163665
Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-192265

High-frequency dielectric ceramic composition, dielectric resonator, dielectric filter, dielectric duplexer, and communication apparatus

Abstract: The high-frequency dielectric ceramic composition contains 100 parts by weight of main component and 0.005-0.300 parts by weight (on a B2O3 basis) of accessory boron compound. The main component has a composition formula of (1−y)xCaTiaO1+2a−(1−y)(1−x)Ca(M1z/3M22/3)bO1+2b-yLnAlcO(3+3c)/2, wherein x and y denote moles , and x, y, z, a, b, c, and α (wherein α=(1−y)x) satisfy the following relationships: 0.56≦x≦0.8, 0.08≦y≦0.18, 0.980≦z<1.000, α≦0.65, 0.985≦a≦1.05, 0.9≦b≦1.02, and 0.9≦c≦1.05.


A Multi-Channel Machine Learning system, method and computer program is for automated simultaneous transmission of a number of Buy/Sell orders generated according to differently self-optimized trading parameters for each independent trading strategy. Optimization could be performed according to every optimization method used. Perpetual real-time optimization (or self-optimization) of trading parameters adds Machine Learning feature to the invention and it is done independently for each trading strategy. A centralized trading system is provided for the individual user or organization that wants to perform his trading automatically and completely without human intervention from receiving the data from the central server provider to real-time order execution in computerized financial markets. The disclosed system is working based on an API/DSK programming tools and is integrated into a network of brokers, banks and other institutions trading on computerized markets, through a number of parallel working connection channels.

"Securities" are investment instruments issued by a corporation, government or other organization which offers equity or debt.
"Exchange" means a national, regional, or worldwide computerized marketplace where securities can be traded including for example, NASDAQ or FOREX.
"Execution" refers to completion of an order to buy or sell securities.
"Orders" are electronic orders for purchase or sale of securities.
"Filled order" means order fully executed, i.e. all shares in the order have been executed.
"Bar" means one unit of trading data. For example, 1-minute bar represents the data for one minute of trading.
"Bid price" is the highest price any buyer is willing to pay for a given security.
"Ask price" is the lowest price at which any buyer is willing to sell a given security.
"Long" is the position of owning a security.
"Short" is the position of having sold a stock without buying it first.
There are several products on the financial software market that offer to individual trader optimization and Machine Learning capabilities on the one hand, and automatic order execution capabilities on the other hand. The present invention provides the system that combines both capabilities in one product. It presents an automatic order execution system that sends orders for execution according to self-optimized trading strategy parameters determined using Machine Learning and self-optimization features. Also, it uses a unique optimization method for determining these optimized trading strategy parameters.
There is a TradeStation Automated Execution system which is allowing traders to transfer orders automatically to the marketplace according to the predetermined strategy parameters. In a fast-moving marketplace, trading conditions are changing constantly. Trading parameters that used to be valid just one day ago may not be applicable today or tomorrow. The TradeStation user has to come back and to change his trading parameters according to marketplace changes. TradeStation, contrary to the invented system, does not offer trading based on self-optimized and Machine Learning parameters.
Additionally, there are a few automatic securities trading systems that offer automatic trading opportunity for institutional market participants. These data processing systems are used by market dealers and are designed to receive market orders from a plurality of traders and to route them automatically for market execution. For example, one of the market dealer firms is receiving millions of Buy/Sell orders from a plurality of clients and it executes them automatically at the marketplace. These systems are designed to create "an automated trading market for one or more securities". One of those systems is disclosed at U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,044. Contrary to these systems, our invented system is designed for automatic order transition and execution from the trader's computer to the marketplace.
There are several trading software products using various optimization methods to achieve optimal trading parameters. For example, OmniTrader software is optimizing predetermined trading strategy parameters and produces Buy/Sell order for a plurality of securities. However, it does not send these Buy/Sell orders to the marketplace without human intervention. The trader has to check trade signal parameters, to open another trading software, to insert order parameters and particulars for the specific security into the order execution box and to click on Buy/Sell button to send the order to his broker or investment bank.
In the past, market traders were largely dependent on information is supplied directly from the database of transactions in a form selected primarily for ease in communication. Online data providing supplied traders with market real-time information in a matter of seconds or even milliseconds thus providing rapid trading order execution. The trading of financial instruments such as stocks, currencies, options, futures and commodities has largely become a computer-supported operation. Almost all significant trading of securities is accomplished by a computer pursuant to the established protocols of the major exchanges.
There are various modes of buying or selling ("trading") securities. Aside from inter-party private transactions, trading is typically engaged on a national or regional exchange. The principles of this invention are generically applicable to securities trading in any market where orders can be send using computer.
For purposes of illustration only, hereafter we concentrate on two biggest markets: electronic stock market exchanges and foreign currency exchange (FOREX) but the present invention relates in the same manner to trading of other financial instruments on other computerized markets.
Computerized or electronic exchanges utilize electronic access of dealer posted market prices without a negotiating specialist or floor based exchange. The largest of these is the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system, or NASDAQ. NASDAQ is a totally computer-based market where each member dealer (called market maker) can make its own market in the stocks traded on the exchange through a computer network.
A trader can route his orders to NASDAQ through one of the market makers or ECNs, or through one of the special electronic systems: SOES and SelectNet.
SOES (Small Order Execution System) is implemented by NASDAQ for orders up to 5,000 shares in order to help the small investor have his or her transactions executed without allowing market makers to take advantage of said small investor.
SelectNet, a negotiated system maintained by NASDAQ is a dialogue between the trader and the market makers for reflecting a bid or an offer. Only participating market makers can see trader's order.
On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), orders for specific securities are entered at a terminal operated by a licensed agent with a "seat" on the exchange. The order is processed through a stock "specialist", a firm that is obligated to manage transactions for a given security and the computerized order could be transmitted to NYSE through a "specialist" or ECNs.
The American Stock Exchange (AMEX) like the NYSE uses a "specialist" to maintain market liquidity. A computerized order could be sent to AMEX similarly as to NYSE.
Another important method of gaining access to all three major US exchanges (NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX) is through one of the ECNs (Electronic Communications Networks). ECN is a private computerized trading system maintained separately from the public markets. An ECN is an order matching service that provides liquidity only by matching orders rather than by maintaining inventory.
FOREX market is the largest financial marketplace in the world today with daily average turnover of over $US1 trillion. The FOREX market is considered an OverTheCounter (OTC) or "interbank" market, due to the fact that transactions are conducted between two counterparts over the telephone or via an electronic network. Trading is not centralized on an exchange, as with the stock and futures markets. FOREX trading has evolved a great deal in the past five years. Similarly to stock markets, it became largely a computer-based operation. Most FOREX trading firms are offering now online trading platforms to enable their clients to deal online.
As previously indicated, we described hereby two biggest marketplaces in the world—FOREX and stock markets. Nevertheless, the principles of current invention are applicable to other computerized exchanges.

Machine learning automatic order transmission system for sending self-optimized trading signals


A method and apparatus includes a signal generator, a power supply, a micro-controller, a transmitter and a receiver for determining the condition of a line. The signal is passed through the line and any reflection is used to determine varying characteristics of the line.

A wire tracer is an instruments that is capable of tracing wires, locating circuit breakers, finding faults and open-circuited and short-circuited wires. Wires are usually enclosed within a structure. It is difficult at times to tell their position within the structure. A number of electrical conductors are frequently routed through structures which hide the conductors from view and from accessibility. For example, a business has telephone, data and electrical wiring generally located behind the wall. The reason behind locating the wall within the structure is both aesthetic and safety. For the former, the buried line does not disrupt or deter from the appearance of business. For the latter, the interaction that could occur between the wiring and the employees is minimized.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating steps that may be followed in accordance with one embodiment of the method or process. This figure illustrates tracing a terminated line. When transmitting a signal on a terminate line, the reflected signal is very low. As the transmitted signal 28 pulse travels down the conductor 30 in the line 32, all of the signal's energy is absorbed because the cable has a constant character impedance.
After powering up the device, the preferred embodiment determines whether the wire 32 being traced is energized 38 or not. This is accomplished with the voltage detector circuit 18. It is important to note that an energized line permits a transmitted signal to transmit up to two miles in length. If the line 32 is not energized, a power booster is attached to boost the signal to achieve a two mile traceable signal.
As a result of the difficulty of tracing or isolating wires in walls or other conduits, or in a large bundle of similar wires, line or wire tracing devices have arisen as one possible solution in tracing embedded wires. Wire tracing devices generally include a transmitter for transmitting an electromagnetic signal along a wire to be analyzed. A receiver for wirelessly detecting the signal is positioned at another location along the length of the wire.
The electromagnetic signal is preferably a distinct modulated signal. The receiver acts as an antenna, receiving and supplying an indication of the captured signal.
There are many different existing types of wire tracers currently in existence. Previous models were produced only with a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter generated a 17 kHz signal and the receiver is tuned to pick up the 17 kHz signal. This specific model could only detect an energized circuit up to 300 volts and non-energized circuits. The problem with this model is that the transmitted signal is usually only able to be detected no more than three feet away from the transmitter.
In other equipment, the models can only trace energized lines at lower levels or only non-energized lines. These models cannot detect a combination of both an energized line and a non-energized line.
These previous devices were designed for professionals with deep knowledge in electronics and communication. The testing procedures can be a challenge for an less experienced technician. This is evidenced by the number of technical calls received by vendors of these devices.
Another problem with the current devices are their reliability. The devices on the market today are less then ninety-percent reliable. This is a fairly high rate of error in this particular field which can result in higher repair costs.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus that is able to permit that user to use a single device to determine whether the line is energized, the voltage and the condition. It is further desired to have a device with a low margin of error and is able to detect a reflected signal from an acceptable distance away from the generation of reflected signal without regard to the position of the receiver.


Disclosed is an alumina-silica resin additive consisting of amorphous alumina-silica particles in which a definite cubic or spherical shape is retained in primary particles and the particle sizes of both the primary particles and the secondary particles are controlled to very small values. This additive is excellent in dispersibility in a resin, non-blowing property, slip characteristic and anti-blocking property. A product obtained by surface-treating the amorphous alumina-silica particles with a certain amount of an organic lubricant is very valuable as a filler.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an alumina-silica resin additive. More particularly, the present invention relates to an additive which has a fine particle size and a definite particle shape and which gives good slip characteristic and anti-blocking property to a resin when it is incorporated in the resin, and process for the preparation of this resin additive.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
When shaped resin articles such as films and sheets are kept piled to one another, blocking is readily caused, and from oil, various inorganic additives have been incorporated into resins for imparting a slip characteristic to the resins.
It is known that zeolites are excellent in this property. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 16134/77 teaches that if a zeolite powder having an average particle size smaller than 20 microns is added in an amount of 0.01 to 5% by weight to polypropylene, the blocking resistance of a biaxially drawn polypropylene film can be improved. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Specification No. 34356/79 teaches that if an aluminosilicate of the zeolite crystal having an ion exchange capacity is incorporated in an amount of 0.01 to 10% by weight into a chlorine-containing polymer, the thermal stability is improved and improvement of the exterior lubricating property is attained as an additional advantage.
As described above, zeolite particles are excellent in a slip characteristic (external lubricating property) and an anti-blocking property to a shaped resin article. However, a zeolite contains considerable amounts of basic components such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium components in the form of an aluminosilicate, and therefore, because of the presence of these basic components, the shaped resin article is colored with the lapse of time. Moreover, since a zeolite has an adsorbing property, especially a water-adsorbing property, blowing is caused when the zeolite is incorporated into a resin.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Specification No. 213031/83 discloses an alumina-silica additive comprising cubic primary particles having an Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 SiO.sub.2 molar ratio of from 1/1.8 to 1/5 and having one side smaller than 5 microns, wherein said particles are X-ray diffractometrically substantially amorphous and a BET specific surface area smaller than 100 m.sup.2 /g. It also is taught that the alumina-silica cubic particles can be prepared by acid-treating a crystalline zeolite having a cubic particle shape under such conditions that the crystallinity is substantially lost but the particle shape is not marred, and that cubic particles having such a particle size distribution that the content of particles having a size smaller than 10 .mu. is at least 98% by weight and particles having a size of 1 to 5 .mu. occupy at least 70% by weight of the total particles are preferred.
Various problems which arise when zeolite particles are incorporated into resins are solved by amorphous alumina-silica particles formed by the acid treatment of a zeolite. However, in the use where a thin thickness is required, for example, when this additive is used for a household wrapping material or a base film of a magnetic tape, the particles are too coarse. Accordingly, development of an additive for imparting an excellent slip characteristic and an excellent blocking resistance, which has a fine particle size and an excellent dispersibility in a resin, is desired.
However, if the zeolite to be subjected to the acid treatment is finely divided, the regular cubic shape of primary particles of the zeolite is destroyed during the acid treatment and the primary particles come to have an indeterminate shape. Furthermore, these indeterminate primary particles are agglomerated to form coarse particles.


A resin composition for a mold used in forming micropatterns comprises (A) 40 to 90 parts by weight of an active energy curable urethane-based oligomer having a reactive group; (B) 10 to 60 parts by weight of a monomer reactive with the urethane-based oligomer, (C) 0.01 to 200 parts by weight of a silicone or fluorine containing compound, based on 100 parts of the sum of the components (A) and (B); and (D) 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a photoinitiator, based on 100 parts of the sum of the components (A), (B) and (C). The inventive resin composition can be easily cured by the action of an active energy ray, and the organic mold fabricated therefrom is easily lifted off from a master without irreversible adhesion or generation of defects and have excellent dimensional and chemical stabilities.

Various devices including integral circuits, semiconductors, electronic, photoelectric, display, magnetic or electromechanical devices and optical lens (e.g., prism sheet and lenticular lens sheet) involve micropatterns which have been conventionally formed by photolithography. However, the photolithography requires a complicated patterning process and a high production cost, and is not suitable for forming ultramicropatterns having a line width of below 100 nm.
Therefore, there has been recently developed a nano-imprint lithography wherein a pattern of a hard mold, e.g., a Si mold, is replicated on a thermoplastic polymer layer. This method is advantageous in fabricating a pattern having a narrow line width of about 7 nm owing to the hardness of the mold (see S. Y. Chou et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B15, 2897(1997)). However, this nano-imprint lithography has the problems that the mold is not easily lifted off from the substrate and it may break during the pressurizing procedure under a high temperature and pressure condition.
Other non-traditional lithographic methods for fabricating micropatterns include micro-contact printing (mCP), micro-molding in capillaries (MIMIC), micro-transfer molding (mTM), soft molding, and capillary force lithography (CFL) methods. These methods generally employ a mold made of an elastic polymer such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which is a silicon rubber type, but the PDMS mold has poor dimensional and chemical stabilities so that it cannot achieve a narrow pattern width of less than 500 nm.
Modified PDMS's including h-PDMS (hard PDMS) and hv-PDMS (photo-curable PDMS) have been developed to solve the problem of PDMS. However, h-PDMS still suffers from brittleness, low elongation at break, and poor conformal contact with a substrate (see Odom, Y. W. et al, Langmuir, 18, 5314-5320 (2002)), and hv-PDMS does not have enough modulus to replicate fine pattern below 100 nm even thouth troduced to overcome the aforementioned some limitations of conventional PDMS (see J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125, 4060-4061 (2003)).

Resin composition for mold used in forming micropattern, and method for fabricating organic mold therefrom


A full spectrum white light emitting device comprising: a broadband solid-state excitation source operable to generate broadband blue excitation light; and at least one photoluminescence material which generates green to red light, wherein the device generates white light whose intensity over the blue to cyan region of the spectrum has a maximum percentage deviation from the intensity of light of a black-body or CIE Standard Illuminant D of less than 50%.

White light emitting LEDs ("white LEDs") include one or more photoluminescence materials (typically inorganic phosphor materials), which absorb a portion of the blue light emitted by the LED and re-emit visible light of a different color (wavelength). The portion of the blue light generated by the LED that is not absorbed by the phosphor material combined with the light emitted by the phosphor provides light which appears to the eye as being white in color. Due to their long operating life expectancy (>50,000 hours) and high efficacy (100 lumens per watt and higher), white LEDs are rapidly replacing conventional fluorescent, compact fluorescent and incandescent lamps.
Various metrics exist for quantifying the characteristics and quality of light generated by white lighting sources. The two most commonly used metrics within the solid-state lighting industry are, Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) and International Commission on Illumination (CIE) General Color Rendering Index (CRI) Ra.
The CCT of a lighting source is measured in kelvin (K) and is the color temperature of a Planckian (black-body) radiator that radiates light of a color that corresponds to the color of the light generated by the lighting source.
The General CRI Ra characterizes how faithfully a lighting source renders the true colors of an object and is based on a measure of how well a light source's illumination of eight color test samples (R1 to R8) compares with the illumination provided by a reference source. In general, the higher the value indicates its closeness to a black radiator and natural sunlight. General CRI Ra can take negative values and has a maximum value of 100. Since the color samples R1 to R8 are all pastel colors (low saturation colors "Light Grayish Red" to "Reddish Purple") the General CRI Ra gives a useful measure of subtle differences in light output of incandescent sources which generate a full spectrum that closely resembles sunlight. However, for white LEDs whose spectrum is composed of peaks, the General CRI Ra can prove to be inadequate as it is an average measure of color rendition over a limited range of colors and gives no information of the lighting source's performance for particular colors or highly saturated colors. Thus, when characterizing full spectrum solid-state white light emitting devices the CRI color samples R9 to R12 (saturated colors "Saturated Red", "Saturated Yellow", "Saturated Green", "Saturated Blue") and R13 to R15 ("Light Skin Tone", "Leaf Green", "Medium Skin Tone") should be considered to give a meaningful characterization of full spectrum light.
There is growing concern that artificial light disrupts the normal regulation of human physiology and psychology, such as hormone synthesis, sleep-wake cycle, and level of alertness. In particular, recent evidence indicates that high color temperature (5000K) and high Illuminance light, such as for example light generated by LEDs, suppress pre-sleep melatonin secretion as well as reduce subjective alertness. It has also been reported that blue light has a greater tendency than other colors to affect living organisms through the disruption of their biological processes which rely upon natural cycles (circadian) of daylight and darkness. It is believed that exposure to blue light late in the evening and at night can be detrimental to health.
Various metrics have been proposed for predicting the melatonin suppression effect. Two of the more common metrics for measuring circadian stimulus are (i) Circadian Action Factor (CAF) and (ii) Melanopic Response (MR). CAF and MR are the ratio of the circadian luminous efficacy of radiation (CER) to luminous efficacy of radiation (LER) and each provide a measure of the brains sensitivity to light, that is, a measure of human non-visual sensitivity to light. CAF is based on studies that measure human melatonin levels before and after exposure to specific wavelengths of light to establish a Circadian Action Spectrum (CAS). CAF, denoted acv, is the ratio of the circadian efficacy to luminous efficacy of radiation. MR is based on the absorption spectrum of the melanopsin photopigment found in mammalian ipRGCs (intrinsically photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells) to establish a melanopic response spectrum. MR is the ratio of the circadian efficacy to luminous efficacy of radiation. Recently, a new metric Equivalent Melanopic Lux (EML) has been proposed that is weighted to the spectral response of the ipRGCs.
Currently in the LED lighting industry, full spectrum LED devices seek to generate white light with a General CRI Ra equal to 100 such as is exhibited by incandescent lamps and black-body radiation. Such LEDs, however, are found to sacrifice efficacy by 15 to 30% compared with white LEDs that generates light with a CRI Ra of about 80 (CRI80).
The present invention arose in an endeavor to overcome at least in part the shortcomings of known full spectrum LEDs and provide a full spectrum light emitting device with a efficacy at least approaching that of current CRI80 devices.

Full spectrum white light emitting devices


When a silicone gel is injected into a case, since the gel is liquid before curing, the gel attempts to rise along a minute gap formed between a front face of a first electrode and a rear face of a resin member due to capillary action. However, since the gap becomes larger at a cavity in the first electrode, the rising motion of the gel stops at the level of the cavity. More specifically, the gel is prevented from reaching portions of the first electrode and a second electrode for connection with external terminals. Further, since the rising motion of the gel can be prevented by the cavity, the first electrode and the second electrode can be arranged in a close relationship with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a semiconductor device such as a semiconductor power module.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in a semiconductor device as disclosed in JP 4-18468 A, semiconductor elements, electrodes, and soon are arranged on a base substrate and connections are made between predetermined portions through bonding wires, all of which are housed in a case, with a silicone gel injected therein and cured to protect the elements and the like inside the case.
However, in an encapsulated-type semiconductor device as described in the above, as illustrated in FIG. 6, one electrode 1 is fixed to a base substrate 2, and another electrode 3 is supported by a resin member 5 integrally formed with a cover 4. The two electrodes 1 and 3 are led out in a close relationship with each other from within a case 6, forming a minute gap D between the one electrode 1 and the resin member 5. In some cases, a gel 7 before curing rises along the gap D due to capillary action to reach and adhere to portions of the electrodes 1 and 3 for connection with external terminals. When the gel 7 adheres to the portions of the electrodes 1 and 3 for connection with external terminals, since the gel 7 is an insulator, the connection between the electrodes 1 and 3 and external terminals may be poor.
Here, by setting large the gap formed between the one electrode and the resin member supporting the other electrode, the rising motion of the gel along the gap can be prevented. However, such a larger gap makes the distance larger between the two electrodes as well, which increases the total size of the device.


A display stand has a front wall, a back wall, and two side walls defining four lower corners of the display stand. Near each lower corner, the display stand is equipped with a base, which is equipped with a first roller mounted to the base so as to be freely rotatable about a generally horizontal axis and with a second roller mounted to the base so as to be freely rotatable about a generally horizontal axis. The axes about which the first rollers are rotatable are perpendicular to the axes about which the second rollers are rotatable. Each of the first rollers is located beneath a respective one of the side walls, near a respective one of the front and back walls. Each of the second rollers is located beneath a respective one of the front and back walls, near a respective one of the side walls. Being so arranged, the rollers elevate the display stand above a floor and resist accidental movement of the display stand, as on a sloping floor, but facilitate manual pushing, pulling, or turning movement of the display stand.

Standing on floors in supermarkets, home centers, and other retail establishments, display stands of the type noted above are in widespread use to display food products, hardware products, and other merchandise. Commonly, such display stands made are made wholly or predominantly from corrugated paperboard, on which advertising graphics are printed.
If made wholly or predominantly from corrugated paperboard, a display of the type noted above tends to wick water from its lower edges so as to lose its structural integrity when a floor on which the display stand is standing is cleaned. Also, such a display stand tends to be readily damaged at its lower edges if struck by a cleaning appliance, such as a floor buffer. Generally, as known heretofore, such a display stand has been regarded as having a useful life not longer than about four to eight weeks.
A display stand of the type noted above may carry as much as one hundred fifty pounds of displayed merchandise. Consequently, it can be very difficult to push, pull, or turn such a display stand carrying displayed merchandise without stressing its lower edges and risking damage to its structural integrity.

Display stand with rollers arranged to elevate and to resist accidental movement but to facilitate manual pushing, pulling, or turning movement


A cloud game service providing apparatus includes an input reception unit configured to receive an input signal from a device from among at least one user device; a game execution unit configured to execute a cloud game in response to the received input signal; and a virtual graphic processing unit configured to encode a frame of the executed cloud game by using a virtual graphic resource, and to provide the encoded frame of the executed cloud game to the user device.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments broadly relate to a system and a method for providing a cloud game service, and more particularly, exemplary embodiments relate to a system and a method for providing a cloud game service by using a virtual graphic processing unit allocated to each of a plurality of users.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent development of computer related information communication technologies, the game industry has been rapidly advancing. In a related art, most parts of computer games include arcade or video games with simple synopsis. However, with recent development of multimedia technologies and network technologies, games in totally different dimensions from those of existing games have been developed one after another. In particular, the proliferation of the high-speed Internet and the wireless Internet has created a new game field, i.e., multi-user on-line games, thereby intensifying the groundbreaking development of the game industry.
There is increasing attention being paid to a technology for providing a cloud game service in a streaming manner to a multiplicity of devices that provide computing and networking functions.

System and method for providing cloud game service


A semiconductor laser device, which has a protective film at an end surface thereof, is adaptable to demands for higher outputs or shorter wavelengths. The semiconductor laser device according to the present invention includes a dielectric film on at least one end surface of an optical resonator, in which the dielectric film includes a first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer comprised of the same elements and disposed in sequence from the end surface side of the semiconductor, the first dielectric layer including a layer made of a single crystal material and the second dielectric layer including a layer made of an amorphous material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser device, in particular, to a high output semiconductor laser device whose oscillation wavelength is 600 nm or less.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently, high output semiconductor laser devices are in demand for use in writing onto optical discs and magnetic optical discs. Such semiconductor laser devices are required to operate stably for long time in a fundamental mode.
Also, in order to realize the shorter wavelengths necessary for higher recording density of optical discs, semiconductor laser devices using nitride semiconductors have been researched. The laser devices using the nitride semiconductors can be applied not only as a light source for optical discs, but also as light sources for exposure, printing, medical use, optical communication systems, measurement systems and the like. Also, with the laser devices having nitride semiconductors, the use in the ultraviolet region with the oscillation wavelength of 400 nm or less becomes possible, so that the application as a light source or the like in the bio-related area is also expected.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H09-162497 discloses a configuration in which an Al2O3 layer of λ/2 in thickness is disposed on the reflecting mirror of the laser device, and a configuration in which an Al2O3 layer of λ/4 in thickness and an amorphous silicon layer of λ/4 in thickness are alternately stacked on the reflecting mirror of the laser device. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-335053 discloses the use of Al2O3 as a dielectric film and the a method for disposing thereof.
However, when the Al2O3 layer of λ/2 in thickness is formed with a single layer, an amorphous Al2O3 layer may react with the semiconductor device under high output drive of 300 mW or higher, which leads to degradation of the end surfaces. Also, because of a large stress in a single crystal material Al2O3 film, heat generated during driving leads to separation of the Al2O3 film from the semiconductor device.
Also, in the semiconductor laser devices using the nitride semiconductors, if the dielectric layer of the end surface of the light emitting side is made of a single layer, destruction of the end surface tends to occur under high output operation such as at 30 mW or higher, resulting in a shortening the lifetime of the device. Moreover, in high output driving, the driving current becomes too large when the slope efficiency is low. A semiconductor laser device begins to oscillate the laser when strength of current applied to the laser device is increased and reaches a certain strength of current. As the current is increased, the laser output power is also increased. The slope efficiency usually means the ratio (ΔP/ΔI) of the increase of the laser output power (ΔP) to the increase of current (ΔI). The semiconductor laser device having the higher slope efficiency can obtain higher laser output power with lower current. On the contrary, a semiconductor laser device having lower slope efficiency needs higher current to obtain the higher laser output power. When the greater current is applied, heat can be generated at the laser device, and the heat can degrade or destroy the crystal. A reflectance ratio of the end surface of the light emitting side (front) and the slope efficiency can be adjusted by adjusting the refractive index and thickness of dielectric layer.


Disclosed herein are a resource control service, system, method and architecture. A client device's resource access is limited to an approved resource, or resources. A request for a resource is directed to a resource control service that determines whether or not to grant access to the requested resource. Where a determination is made to grant access to the resource, a response is transmitted to the client device, the response redirecting the client device to a second URI for the approved version of the requested resource. The response can be used by the client device request the resource from the location identified in the response.

A web-based, or web, application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet, or other network. The application may comprise program code, such as JavaScript or Adobe Flash code, which is executed by a computing device, e.g., a server computer, a user computer, etc., for example. A web site typically includes one or more web pages, each of which can include at least one web application, e.g., a link that results in the web application being executed on the server computer, the user computer or both. In some cases, a web application that is accessible via the web site's web page is provided by an entity, or third party, other than the web site entity, or party, providing the web site.
Since a web application can include powerful commands that can instruct the application to perform privileged operations on the web site and/or the user's computing device, the web site entity has an interest in ensuring that each web application that is accessible via the web site is trustworthy. Under the control of an untrustworthy web application, the web site and/or the user's computing device become vulnerable and the security of the web site and/or the user's computer device can be compromised by the web application's programming commands.
Security concerns can result in a web site entity avoiding partnering with third party web application providers, particularly third part web application providers having few resources to guarantee the trustworthiness of their web applications. A result being a web site entity forgoes including a web application with desirable functionality due to security concerns.

Third party program integrity and integration control in web-based applications


The invention relates to a method of draining a fiber pulp suspension, where the fiber pulp suspension is applied to a convergent dewatering space arranged between two wires travelling in the same direction. In the dewatering space, water and powdery substance are removed from the fiber pulp suspension through the wires. Pressure pulses are generated in the fiber pulp suspension along the length of the dewatering space with pressure pulse elements that are on opposite sides of the wires relative to the fiber pulp suspension and in contact with or at a distance from the wires. The invention also relates to an apparatus according to the method.

The present invention relates to a method of draining a fibre pulp suspension, in which method the fibre pulp suspension is applied to a dewatering space arranged between a first wire and a second wire, water and powdery substance are removed from the suspension in the dewatering space through the wires that travel in the same direction as the fibre pulp suspension, whereby the wires are arranged to travel in such a manner that the dewatering space converges from the pulp feed end towards the discharge end, and pressure pulses are generated in the fibre pulp suspension along the length of the dewatering space with pressure pulse elements that are on opposite sides of the wires relative to the fibre pulp suspension and in contact with or at a distance from the wires.
The present invention also relates to an apparatus for draining a fibre pulp suspension, the apparatus comprising a dewatering space that is defined by a first wire and a second wire travelling in its longitudinal direction and to whose one end the fibre pulp suspension is applied and, correspondingly, the fibre pulp suspension is discharged from a second end in such a manner that water is removed from the fibre pulp suspension in the dewatering space, the dewatering space being arranged between the wires, and water and powdery substance are removed through both wires, and that it comprises elements for generating pressure pulses in the fibre pulp suspension while it is in the dewatering space.
In known solutions, the fibre pulp suspension is led after the feeder chamber of the former to the former for dewatering of the fibre pulp suspension, whereby a fibre web is formed from the fibre pulp suspension in the former. The former typically comprises an upper and lower wire, a fibre pulp suspension jet being directed from the feeder chamber to the roll gap formed by the upper and lower wires. In the former, water is typically removed by recovering the water drained upwards through the wire by means of doctor blades or drainage foils. Under the lower wire is arranged a so-called forming shoe composed of for instance two separately adjustable suction chambers by means of which water is removed downwards. Against the wire, transversely to its travel direction, the forming shoe comprises drainage foils for enhancing the dewatering. The weakness of such a foil former is low dewatering capacity, which is caused by the limited capability of the dewatering elements to remove water through the wires and by the premature drainage of the fibre mat on the surface of the wires caused by the dewatering elements, whereby water is prevented from passing through the wires. For this reason, at the start, the dewatering has to be carried out extremely carefully to prevent premature drainage, and thus the dewatering area of the former has to be quite long. This makes the former large and, consequently, expensive and bulky.

Method and apparatus for draining fibre pulp suspension


Provided is a method of detecting characteristics of a reaction of interest, including instituting the reaction of interest, obtaining an amplified heat related to the reaction of interest, measuring the amplified heat, and determining the characteristics of the reaction of interest, using the signal obtained in the step of measuring.

Calorimetry is used to measure enthalpic changes, including enthalpic changes arising from reactions, phase changes, changes in molecular conformation, temperature variations, and other variations of interest that may occur for a particular specimen. By measuring enthalpic changes over a series of conditions, other thermodynamic variables may be deduced. For example, measurements of enthalpy as a function of temperature reveal the heat capacity of a specimen, and titrations of reacting components can be used to deduce the equilibrium constant and effective stoichiometry for a reaction. Calorimetry measurements are useful in a broad variety of applications, including, for example, pharmaceuticals (drug discovery, decomposition reactions, crystallization measurements), biology (cell metabolism, drug interactions, fermentation, photosynthesis), catalysts (biological, organic, or inorganic), electrochemical reactions (such as in batteries or fuel cells), and polymer synthesis and characterization, to name a few. In general, calorimetry measurements can be useful in the discovery and development of new chemicals and materials of many types, as well as in the monitoring of chemical processes. It is understood that an enthalpy array may be considered an array of calorimeters (e.g., nanocalorimeters).
Calorimeters and enthalpy arrays can, therefore, be used to screen for substrates, cofactors, activators, and inhibitors of enzymes, including at the proteome level, and can also be used to quantify the enzymatic kinetics. Calorimeters/enthalpy arrays detect the amount of heat evolved from an enzymatic reaction. The heat evolved depends on the enthalpy of the reaction, enzyme concentration, substrate concentrations, the presence of inhibitors, activators, or cofactors, values for the kinetic parameters for the reaction of interest, buffer conditions, as well as various other factors and parameters. In particular, the concentrations of the enzyme, one or more substrates, and/or regulators (e.g. agonists, inhibitors, and inverse agonists) are often a limiting factor in analyzing enzymatic reactions by detecting the enthalpy of reaction. Specifically, it is often necessary to use low concentrations of enzyme and/or substrates when examining enzymatic reactions, yet at the low concentrations of interest, the amount of heat evolved is low.
One benefit of low concentration studies is that the use of smaller concentrations provides for more selective reactions. Consider, for example, the study of a binding reaction with a dissociation constant Kd:
            A      +      B        ->    C              K      d        =                            [          A          ]                                  [          B          ]                            [        C        ]            In this reaction, A and B bind to form the complex C, and the dissociation constant is written in terms of concentrations denoted by square brackets. This equation assumes ideal solution behavior, but it is sufficient for the purposes herein. In testing for binding, it is often desired to obtain an indication of the magnitude of Kd. In many biochemical studies, including drug screening and development studies and proteome-wide investigations of protein-protein interactions, among others, Kd values of interest are typically <1-10 μM, and values from 1-1000 nM—and especially <100 nM—are not uncommon and often of particular interest. In order to measure Kd, the reaction must be studied at concentrations that are not too distant from the value of Kd. At the upper end of this range, titrations may be performed at concentrations of 10 to 100 times Kd, but titrations at concentrations near the value of Kd are preferred when possible. Thus, there is a benefit to performing studies at as low a concentration as possible. In particular, there is a benefit to being able to perform studies at concentrations as low as 10−6 to 10−7 M. Likewise, it is a benefit to be able to measure kinetics of enzymatic reactions at low concentrations, including enzymatic reactions with slow turnover rates.
It is also useful to work with substrates at low concentrations. In analyzing enzymatic reactions, benefits arise from determining the Michaelis constant, Km, which provides an indication of the substrate concentration at which an enzyme is most effective at increasing the rate of reaction. If the concentration of the substrate needs to be increased beyond the Km for that substrate, it then becomes difficult or impossible to accurately determine Km using calorimetry. Measuring reactions at lower concentrations allows one to differentiate, e.g. strong binding from weaker binding, or larger Km in the case of enzymatic reactions from smaller Km, etc.
Likewise, in drug screening studies, reaction information at lower concentrations is often necessary to determine binding constants, for example, or to differentiate strongly binding hits in drug screening campaigns from hits that do not bind as strongly. The concentrations used in the experiments will then set the lower limits of reactions that are being distinguished. It is therefore advantageous to work at low concentrations in a variety of areas, including but not limited to drug screening and biochemical research.
In addition to the needs for using low concentrations, it is also important in many studies to use as small a volume of materials as possible, since the combination of small volume and low concentration means small amounts of the materials of interest. The amount of sample, e.g. purified enzyme or other protein, is often limited, and making the samples is often labor intensive and costly. Additionally, the quantity of desired experiments may require the use of low concentrations and small volumes. In drug screening or proteome scale experiments, for example, researchers may be running anywhere from 1,000 to 100,000 or more different experiments. Also, one may desire to study a natural extract or synthesized compound for biological interactions, but in some cases the available amount of material at concentrations large enough for calorimetry might be no more than a few milliliters. The use of enzymes and/or substrates in such studies can only be kept within a tolerable range if sample concentrations and volumes are kept as low as possible. In particular, performing such studies is not feasible using sample sizes of about 1 ml, as required for measurement using commercially available microcalorimeters such as products sold, for example, by MicroCal® Inc. (model VP-ITC) or Calorimetry Sciences Corporation® (model CSC4500).
In certain situations, the enzymatic reactions of interest, at the low concentrations and small volumes required by many studies, may not generate a sufficient amount of heat to be reliably detected by calorimetric methods. Thus, using small quantities of materials may not yield a signal and prevents researchers from monitoring the reactions. It would, therefore, be advantageous to provide a method for monitoring enzymatic reactions using calorimetric measurements and/or enthalpy arrays that allows researchers to operate and perform experiments within the boundaries in which they are required to work, including limitations in concentration and sample volume. In that regard, it would be a further advantage to provide a method for monitoring enzymatic reaction via, calorimetry and/or enthalpy arrays using low concentrations and small volumes of enzymes, substrates, activators, regulators, inhibitors and/or co-factors.
Binding of ligands, such as agonists, inverse agonists, or inhibitors, to GPCRs (G-protein coupled receptors) is an example of a reaction that may not produce a sufficient amount of heat to be reliably detected using a desired calorimetric method. It may be desirable in drug screening applications to test for binding of library compounds to GPCRs by high throughput calorimetry, using arrays of calorimeters such as those described in, U.S. application Ser. No. 10/114,611, filed Apr. 1, 2002, titled "Apparatus and Method for a Nanocalorimeter for Detecting Chemical Reactions"; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,380,605 B1 and 6,545,334 B2, each entitled, "Device and a Method for Thermal Sensing", to Verhaegen; U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,413, entitled, "System and Method for an Improved Calorimeter for Determining Thermodynamic Properties of Chemical and Biological Reactions", to Lieberman; Johannessen, et al., Applied Physics Letters, vol 80(11):2029-2031; Johannessen, et al., Analytical Chemistry A 2002 May 1; 74(9):2190-7; K. Verhaegen, et al., Sensors and Actuators 82(2000):186-190; and F. Hellman, NSF Award Abstract—#9513629 AWSFL008-DS3: "Development of Instrumentation for Microcalorimetry of Biological Systems". However, preparing samples with a high enough GPCR concentration to yield a detectable signal in such systems can be difficult or even impractical, in part because the cost of expressing GPCRs in the desired amounts is large and in part because GPCRs are membrane proteins. Membrane proteins can be provided in suspensions of cell membranes, membrane fragments, vesicles, or micelles, but they are only a part of the membranes, fragments, vesicles, or micelles, which makes increasing the concentration more challenging than for soluble proteins.
GPCRs are one of the most important classes of protein targets for the pharmaceutical industry. GPCR's are membrane proteins involved in signaling cells based on extracellular signaling molecules, and approximately 50% of the top 200 drugs currently on the market target GPCRs. Today, GPCRs with known ligands are screened by measuring how test compounds affect the behavior of the GPCR, using assays that include the known ligand. Accordingly, traditional drug screening for GPCR targets has relied on the identification of small molecules that interfere with binding of a know ligand to the GPCR, as described in "The Use of Constitutively Active GPCRS in Drug Discovery and Functional Genomics", Derek T. Chalmers & Dominic P. Behan, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 1, 599-608 (2002). The situation for orphan GPCRs, which do not have known ligands, is more complicated. In an article on assays for ligand regulation of orphan GPCRs (Drug Discovery Today vol. 8, No. 13, July 2003, pp. 579-585) by G. Milligan, the author states that efforts to identify ligands that interact with orphan GPCRs have shifted from ligand-binding assays to functional assays because it is currently impossible to perform binding assays in the absence of a known ligand. Methods for screening for ligands of orphan GPCRs use cellular assays that involve fluorescent tagging, hypotheses about cellular behavior of the GPCRs, and possibly modifying the GPCR itself, e.g. to make it constitutively active. Examples include AequoScreen™ technology from Euroscreen, which is based on using fluorescent reporters of Ca+2 activity in cellular assays, Ca+2 changes being a common result of GPCR activity, and CART Constitutively Activating Receptor Technology (CART), described in an article in, "Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 1, 599-608 (2002); "The Use of Constitutively Active GPCRS in Drug Discovery and Functional Genomics", by Chalmer and Behan, which is based on modifying GPCRs to make them constitutively active and using these GPCRs in cellular assays. These methods do not directly detect ligand binding to a GPCR or the associated G-protein activity. A method that directly probes ligand binding to a GPCR without requiring an assay based on a previously known ligand would be very useful. In particular, a calorimetric method would be very useful, especially if it could be used with arrays of calorimeters that enable parallel measurements at appropriate concentrations and with small amounts of material for each measurement.
Similarly, calorimetric studies of kinases, proteases, ion channels, phosphatases, metabolic enzymes, nucleic acid binding and modifying enzymes, transcription/translation factors, signaling enzymes, protein modifying enzymes, transport/trafficking enzymes, and orphan enzymes are all of potential benefit in biological research and drug discovery activities, especially if they could be performed with arrays of calorimeters that enable parallel measurements at appropriate concentrations and with small amounts of material for each measurement.

Amplification of enzymatic reactions for use with an enthalpy array


An electromechanical rotary actuator includes a rotor and a stator having one or more slots into which one or more coils are placed. The stator includes a rotor position restoring means which overcomes cogging outside a desired rotation range. The rotor position restoration means may include one or more restoring magnets or optionally include a contoured cavity within the stator proximate the rotor. One stator includes teeth having contoured ends forming a portion of the aperture within which the rotor operates. Distal ends of the teeth form a relatively large gap compared to typical actuators, wherein the gap is sized to the rotor magnet. An actuator desirably having a high torque constant, low coil resistance and a low coil inductance is provided.

Electromechanical rotary actuators have been in existence for decades. They are used in a variety of industrial and consumer applications, but they are particularly useful in the field of optical scanning, where an optical element is attached to an actuator output shaft, which is then rotated back and forth in an oscillating manner.
For example, it is common to attach a mirror to the output shaft of a rotary actuator in order to create an optical scanning system. In this application, the actuator/mirror combination can redirect a beam of light through a range of angles, or redirect the field of view of a camera so that it can observe a variety of targets.
Other optical elements can be attached to the output shaft as well. For example, a prism or an optical filter can be attached to the shaft and the rotation of the actuator shaft can vary the angle of the prism or filter. If a dielectric filter is used, changing the filter's angle-of-incidence will shift the band-pass wavelength characteristics higher or lower, thus allowing the optical system to be tuned to a particular wavelength. Alternatively, the prism or filter can be rotated completely into and out of the beam path, thus allowing selective filtering of the beam.
Typical electromechanical rotary actuators used in the field of optical scanning are generally made from some combination of magnet, steel and coils of insulated "magnet" wire. These elements have been arranged in a variety of ways, but for the past twenty years, the most popular arrangement has been to use a simple two-pole rotor magnet, and a "toothless" stator design.
The rotor within these actuators is typically a solid, cylindrical magnet made from high grade Neodymium Iron Boron which is diametral magnetized, and onto which two shafts are attached. One shaft portion may be attached to a mirror, and another shaft portion operable with a position sensor. The shaft is typically supported by ball bearings. By way of example, dimensions for this disclosure may comprise a rotor magnet having a diameter of 0.12 inches (around 3 millimeters) and a length of 1.3 inches (around 33 millimeters).
It will be helpful to review known actuator technology and make reference to known actuators to have the reader better understand the needs satisfied by embodiments of the present invention. While addressing problems in the art in this background section of the disclosure, it will also be helpful to describe developing embodiments generally accomplished through extensive analysis and experimentation. Therefore, all the disclosure included in this background section should not be construed as being a known prior art teaching.
FIG. 1 illustrates a sectional view of the rotor and stator arrangement found in a typical "toothless" optical scanner of the current state of the art. The stator is essentially tubular. For the rotor magnet diameter described above, a typical stator tube may have an outside diameter of 0.5 inches (around 12.7 millimeters), an inside diameter of 0.196 inches (around 5 millimeters), and is typically made from cold rolled steel. Coils of magnet wire are formed and bonded to the inside wall of the stator steel tube, occupying around a 90 degree arc. There is typically around a 0.007 inch gap between the outside wall of the rotor magnet and the inside wall of the coil, thus allowing the magnet to rotate freely. Within FIG. 1, the coil areas are designated "Coil plus" and "Coil minus" to indicate turns going into the page and turns coming out of the page, respectively.
FIG. 2 illustrates magnetic field lines found in a typical "toothless" optical scanner of the current state of the art as illustrated in FIG. 1. It can be seen that the magnetic flux lines must extend ("jump") across a relatively large gap to reach the stator steel. The coil resides in between the magnet and the stator steel. When the coil is energized, a Lorentz Force is imposed on both the coil and the magnet. Since the coil is typically bonded to the stator and thus, held stationary, all of the force is conveyed to the rotor magnet. Since force is created on opposite sides of the magnet, the force being in the form of torque, the actuator creates torque and thus creates motion.
In this example of an actuator, there are 50 turns of AWG #33 magnet wire used, having a coil resistance (R) of around 2.5 ohms, a coil inductance (L) of around 100 microhenries, and producing a torque constant (KT) of around 38,000 Dyne*Centimeters torque per Amp of electrical current passed through the coil.
The toothless arrangement provides benefits. One benefit is the relatively low coil inductance that results from the fact that the coil does not completely surround a closed steel core. Quite the contrary, the entire inside of the actuator is open, containing only the rotor magnet whose permeability is almost the same as that of air.
However, the toothless structure is not without drawbacks. One primary drawback is the amount of heat generated during fast/wide angular rotor motions. Further, the heat that is generated cannot be removed effectively. Both of these drawbacks stem from the fact that, the coil occupies a relatively small space (cross-sectional area), and that it is bonded to the inside of the stator tube, so that it only has a direct attachment on one side (the outside of the coil).
Referring again to FIG. 1, it can be seen that the left, right, and inside of the coils are essentially not attached to any surfaces. Because of this, heat generated by the coil can only be removed from one surface (the outside). Indeed, heat generated at the inside surface of the coil tends to heat up the rotor magnet, which degrades performance and can risk demagnetizing the rotor magnet if the heat exceeds around 100 degrees C.
In order to generate less heat, a lower coil resistance is needed, and in order to decrease the coil resistance, thicker wire must be used.
If, for example, AWG #29 magnet wire was used instead of AWG #33 magnet wire, and was placed into the same coil area, only around 22 turns could be used, providing a coil resistance (R) of 0.48 ohms and a torque constant (KT) of 16,720 Dyne*Centimeters per amp. The coil resistance is certainly lower (because of the thicker wire), but the torque constant is also lower (because there are fewer turns).
When comparing motor designs, it is useful to use figures of merit. One important figure of merit is referred to as a motor constant (KM), which indicates the amount of heat generated for a given amount of torque produced by the actuator. The KM can be calculated several ways, but the easiest way is: KM=KT/√R.
The KM of the original actuator with 50 turns, whose KT=38,000 and R=2.5 ohms is 24,033 Dyne*Centimeters per square root of watt. Therefore, to generate 24,033 Dyne*Centimeters of torque, the motor will need to dissipate 1 watt of heat. To generate twice this amount of torque, or 48,066 Dyne*Centimeters, the motor will need to dissipate 4 watts of heat. Doubling the torque output requires doubling the electrical current input. Since heat is proportional to current squared, it illustrates that doubling the current creates four times the heat.
Comparing these values to the same actuator with 22 turns of AWG #29, whose KT=16,720 and R=0.48, reveals that the KM is now 24,133 or, roughly the same as it was before.
This demonstrates an important law of moving magnet actuators. The KM is dictated by the area allocated for the coil. It does not matter how many turns of wire occupy the coil area. If the coil area remains the same and is fully filled with turns, then the KM will remain the same.
For this reason, it is tempting to simply increase the coil area, for example, by increasing the outside diameter of the coil (and inside diameter of the stator tube). However, increasing the diameter of the stator tube will increase the magnetic air-gap, across which the magnetic flux must jump.
Another figure of merit used in magnetic design is called the Permeance Coefficient (PC). The Permeance Coefficient indicates the "operating point" of the rotor magnet. For a simple circuit consisting of magnet, air, and high permeability steel, the Permeance Coefficient can be found by dividing the Magnetic Length, by the total magnetic air-gap. For the electromechanical actuator described above, having rotor diameter (magnetic length) of 0.120 and stator inside diameter of 0.196 inches, the magnetic air-gap is 0.196−0.120=0.076 inches. Therefore the Permeance Coefficient is roughly 0.120/0.076=1.6.
FIG. 3 provides a B/H curve of a typical high performance Neodymium Iron Boron Magnet. The X axis represents the coercivity (H) of the magnet. The Y axis represents the flux density (B). The numbers around the outside (starting at 0.1 and ending at 5.0 on this plot) are the Permeance Coefficient, which dictates the "operating point" of the magnet. This plot illustrates that at a Permeance Coefficient of 1.6 (as is the case for a typical actuator used in the current state of the art), the magnet operates at a flux density of 8.7 kilogauss when the temperature is 20 degrees C.
If the inside diameter of the stator tube is increased to 0.24 inches, by way of example, this will provide more than double the area for coil wires, easily allowing more than 22 turns of AWG #29 magnet wire to be used. However, increasing the inside diameter of the stator tube also increases the magnetic air-gap that the magnetic flux must jump across. Because of this, the magnetic field becomes weaker. This is shown in the plot of FIG. 4, indicated by the Permeance Coefficient of 1.0. The weaker magnetic field requires even more coil turns to produce the same torque constant. The lower Permeance Coefficient also creates a risk of demagnetization at elevated temperatures.
Analysis and testing have shown that the KM of a toothless actuator remains roughly the same between a Permeance Coefficient of 1.0 and 2.0, and thus, there is essentially no well-known way to overcome the problem of heat generation within a toothless actuator. Therefore if heat generation is a performance limiting factor, another type of actuator must be sought.
In the past, some companies have tried to overcome the problem of heat generation by using "toothed" (also referred to as slotted) actuators. By way of example, FIG. 5 illustrates a sectional view of one such actuator used in known optical scanners. In a toothed actuator, the coil is not located between the magnet and the stator steel, and instead is wound around a steel core which forms "teeth" around the magnet. Since the coil is no longer located between the magnet and the stator steel the stator teeth can be much closer to the magnet. As a result, the Permeance Coefficient of toothed actuators is much higher than for toothless actuators.
FIG. 6 illustrates the same magnet B/H curves as was shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, but also highlights the resulting flux density when the Permeance Coefficient is 6. Since the magnet is operating at a higher flux density, now only 38 turns of wire is required to generate 38,000 Dyne*Centimeters per amp, given the same rotor magnet described above. And since the coil area is much greater, thicker wire can be used.
Clearly a "toothed" stator arrangement can solve the heat generation problem. However, a new problem emerges which is one of greatly increased electrical inductance (L). For an actuator shown in FIG. 5, by way of example, the inductance is greater than 300 microhenries, which is around three times the inductance of a "toothless" actuator with the same torque constant.
Referring again to the plot of FIG. 6, inductance is increased because of two factors. The first factor is "external fringe lines" which circulate magnetic flux around the coil, but do not interact with the rotor magnet to create torque. A second factor is "tooth-to-tooth" fringe lines which circulate magnetic flux around a gap between teeth and do not create torque, as illustrated with reference to FIG. 7.
To eliminate external fringe lines, the toothed stator could be rearranged, as shown in FIG. 8. In this arrangement, the coils are wound around teeth that are located completely contained inside the stator, essentially forming a series magnetic circuit between the two coils. Indeed this does help to reduce inductance to about 212 microhenries, but this is still more than double that of a toothless actuator that produces the same torque.
To reduce the inductance even further, the tooth-to-tooth fringe must be reduced, and thus the gap between stator teeth must be opened up. For example, if the gap between stator teeth is increased to 0.050, the inductance becomes 180 microhenries. If the gap between stator teeth is increased even further—to 0.070, the inductance becomes 157 microhenries. This is still more than 50% higher than a slotless actuator, but this may be tolerable for certain applications.
However, increasing the gap between stator teeth has negative consequences. The largest being that the actuator will tend to "cog" toward angles away from the center, since the North and South poles of the rotor magnet will strongly orient themselves in the direction of the stator teeth themselves. A small amount of cogging can be tolerated by the servo system located outside the optical scanner, but a large amount of cogging is detrimental to performance and thus, highly undesirable.
For example, with the toothed or slotted actuator described above with reference to FIG. 8, whose gap between teeth is 0.030 inches, the cogging torque is 14,000 Dyne*Centimeters at 20 degrees. When the gap between teeth is increased to 0.036 inches, the cogging torque is 22,000 Dyne*Centimeters at 20 degrees. When the gap between teeth is increased to 0.050 inches, the cogging torque increases to 40,000 Dyne*Centimeters at 20 degrees. When the gap between teeth is increased to 0.070 inches, the cogging torque increases to 85,000 Dyne*Centimeters at 20 degrees. A cogging torque of 14,000 Dyne*Centimeters is tolerable, but higher cogging torques are not.
Since limiting the inductance in a toothed actuator also means increasing the cogging torque, this means that a toothed actuator should not be used if inductance is a performance-limiting factor.
To reiterate, the typical toothless actuator is typically not capable of delivering a high torque constant along with low coil resistance, and a typical toothed actuator is not capable of delivering low coil inductance. Thus, there is clearly a need for an electromechanical rotary actuator that provides high torque constant and low coil resistance along with a low coil inductance.

High torque low inductance rotary actuator


A pixel structure is provided. The pixel structure includes a control device, a main pixel electrode, and a sub pixel electrode. The main pixel electrode is electrically connected to the control device, and the main pixel electrode has a plurality of main pixel slits where the width thereof is S. The sub pixel electrode is electrically connected to the control device, and the sub pixel electrode has a first electrode pattern and a second electrode pattern. The first electrode pattern has a plurality of first slits where the width S1 thereof is equal to or greater than the width S of the main pixel slits. The second electrode pattern has no slits or has a plurality of second slits where the width S2 thereof is less than the width S of the main pixel slits. A pixel array including the pixel structure is also provided.

Field of the Invention
The invention relaters to a pixel structure and a pixel array having the same.
Description of Related Art
As the LCD technology continuously progresses in a direction of providing a bigger display screen, the wide viewing techniques are being developed to improve the limited viewing angle inherent in a large-size display device. At the current stage, a commonly used wide viewing angle technique is a multi-domain vertical alignment (MVA) LCD panel.
In the LCD panel, an alignment pattern is designed to divide liquid crystal molecules of a same pixel region into a plurality of different alignment domains to achieve a wide viewing angle display effect, i.e., the MVA LCD panel. Limited by optical characteristics of the liquid crystal molecules, such type of the LCD panel may have a color shift phenomenon or inadequate color saturation under different viewing angles. In order to mitigate such phenomenon, based on amelioration of a driving technique and a pixel design, a technique of forming display regions with different brightness in a single pixel region, and forming a plurality of alignment regions in each of the display regions with different brightness is provided.
Although the aforementioned methods for resolving the color shift phenomenon or inadequate color saturation can mitigate a problem of white-bias (color washout) in case of a large viewing angle (side view), a side view image as compared to a front view image still has problems of blue-bias, green-bias or red-bias under different viewing angles. For example, when these techniques are employed, the following situations are still met: a side-view image as compared to a front-view image goes bluish at a low gray level, goes greenish or yellowish at a mid gray level, and goes yellowish at a high gray level. Namely, a problem of color shift in a side view occurs, and this causes the side-view image of the display panel to look unnatural.

Pixel structure and pixel array having the same


Each stackable screen module arrangement includes a first elongated side wall and a second elongated side wall, the side walls being spaced from each other by a plurality of cross members which extend between the side walls. The cross members also serve to support a screen. Connecting plates connect a lower one of the arrangements to an upper one of the arrangements when the arrangements are stacked to form an assembly. Each plate is connected to the top edge of a side wall of a lower arrangement and the bottom edge of a side wall of an adjacent upper arrangement. Aligned cut-outs are provided in the side walls of the lowermost arrangement and aligned cut-outs are also provided in the side walls of the second lowermost arrangement, and the two sets of cut-outs are aligned with each other to receive, support and surround the vibrator.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a stackable screen module arrangement for use in a stacked vibratory screen assembly. The invention also relates to such a stacked vibratory screen assembly.
2. Description of Prior Art
Known in the prior art are vibratory screens for, for example screening material such as gravel, crushed rock and the like. Examples of such vibratory screens are illustrated in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,413, Taylor-Smith, Nov. 15, 1966, U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,012, Thacher, Sep. 12, 1967 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,469, Archer, Jul. 20, 1982.
The '413 patent teaches a stacked screen arrangement including overlapping screens 35 and 36. As can be seen, the '413 patent does not teach a module such arrangement.
The '012 patent teaches an arrangement including a plurality of stacked screens 190 having side walls 198. (See FIG. 2). The adjacent screens are rods 201 and 203 fastened at their lower ends 206 and 208 to opposite sides of a base plate 125 of the screen unit 15, as is illustrated in FIG. 2 of the '012 patent. Although the screens and side walls 198 could be seen as forming modules, the hold down and clamping means is a relatively awkward arrangement, and there is no real explanation in the '012 patent about how the spacers between side walls 198 are held in place.
The '469 patent also teaches a stacked screen arrangement. As seen in FIG. 1 of the patent, screens 22, 23 and 24 are stacked in a vertical direction and held in frame 15 which includes side walls 16 and 17. As can be seen, each side plate 16 and 17 is a one-piece construction. Such large side plates are difficult to handle, and separate type plates must be provided for horizontal versus inclined screen arrangements. There is no teaching in the '469 patent relating to the possibility of modular constructions.
In addition, with the '413 and '469 patents, as the vibrators have to be formed on the site, they cannot be pre-assembled, nor can the vibrators be shipped as units.
Further difficulties with the '413 and '469 arrangements are that the vibrators have to be formed on the site as they are formed within the assembled frames. As there is a good deal of dust and sand on the sites, the vibrators can be contaminated during the formation thereof. Additionally, the sites are not the most convenient places for assembling the vibrators.


In an LCD driver IC, a high-breakdown-voltage MISFET is mounted together with a typical low-breakdown-voltage MISFET. Because the high-breakdown-voltage MISFET has a gate oxide film thicker than that of the typical MISFET, the electrode of the high-breakdown-voltage MISFET is inevitably high in level. Accordingly, the depth of a gate contact is shallow so that process compatibility with the typical portion is necessary. In the present invention, in, e.g., the channel width direction of the high-breakdown-voltage MISFET, the boundary of a thick-film gate oxide region is located inwardly of the end of a gate electrode. At the gate electrode portion thus lowered in level, a gate contact is disposed so that the boundary of the thick film is located inwardly of the end of the gate electrode and between the gate contact and a channel end.

The present invention relates to a technique which is effective when applied to a semiconductor integrated circuit device (or a semiconductor device) in which plural types of MISFETs (Metal Insulator Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors) having different breakdown voltages are integrated.
Each of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-170888 (Patent Document 1) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,780,717 (Patent Document 2) discloses a semiconductor integrated circuit device in which two types of MISFETs having a low breakdown voltage and a high breakdown voltage, respectively, are integrated. In the high-breakdown-voltage MISFET, a gate electrode has an entire periphery thereof overlying a high-breakdown-voltage gate insulating film formed by CVD.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-340627 (Patent Document 3) discloses a technique which couples a gate electrode directly to a substrate to form a path for accumulated charges in order to prevent a dielectric breakdown in a lower-layer gate insulating film which occurs during the plasma etching of a metal wiring in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor integrated circuit device in which typical MISFETs are integrated. In the publication, there is shown a structure in which a gate electrode extending beyond the end portion of a gate insulating film deposited over a substrate has a portion coupled to a contact electrode outside a region covered with the gate insulating film.
[Patent Document 1]
    Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-170888[Patent Document 2]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,780,717[Patent Document 3]    Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-340627