Disclosed herein is a circuit for generating reference current. The circuit for generating reference current comprises a current providing unit for generate a PTAT current, mirroring the PTAT current to generate an analogous PTAT current and generate an analogous BGR current, a current ratio control unit for generating an analogous BGR current in a first ratio, a PTAT current in a second ratio, and a current corresponding to the difference between the analogous PTAT current in the second ratio and the analogous BGR current in the first ratio, and a current increasing/decreasing unit for generating a BGR current in the first ratio.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit for generating reference current, and more particularly, to a circuit for generating reference current for providing a band gap reference (BGR) current and a proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) current using a single external pad.
2. Background of the Related Art
In general, a circuit for generating reference current for providing a constant current having a predetermined level is widely used in a bias circuit or an active load of an analog integrated circuit or an RF integrated circuit. Particularly, most analog integrated circuits use a bias mode based on the circuit for generating reference current. The circuit for generating reference current provides a band gap reference (BGR) current which can supply a constant current irrespective of a fabricating process or a surrounding temperature variation, and a proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) current which can supply a current linearly proportional to absolute temperature.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional circuit for generating reference current 1. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional circuit for generating reference current 1 generates a BGR current IBGR and a PTAT current IPTAT using two external pads P1 and P2 and two external resistors RBGR and RPTAT and provides them to an analog integrated circuit or an RF integrated circuit 2 as a reference current.
With the rapid development of information communications, an analog integrated circuit or an RF integrated circuit is required to operate at a high speed. Thus, techniques of manufacturing the analog integrated circuit or RF integrated circuit are being developed such that the integration, reliability and response speed of the analog integrated circuit or RF integrated circuit are improved. The increased integration of the analog integrated circuit or RF integrated circuit reduces its package size. To reduce the package size of the analog integrated circuit or RF integrated circuit requires a decrease in the number of external pads.

Circuit for generating reference current


Vinylamide oligomers and lower molecular weight polymers are prepared by the cationic polymerization of vinylamides in the presence of a Lewis acid at a temperature between -100.degree. and 100.degree. C. The resultant vinylamide oligomers and polymers can optionally be hydrolyzed under acidic or basic conditions to form the corresponding vinylamine oligomers and polymers.

Oligomeric materials containing primary amine groups are desirable in numerous applications, particularly coatings, adhesives and curatives for epoxy, isocyanate, aminoplast and other reactive systems. Preparation of low molecular weight or oligomeric primary amine containing polymers has previously been impossible even using the desired precursor monomer N-vinylformamide. Even with use of large amounts of chain transfer agents suitably low molecular weights could not be achieved.
Polymerization of N-vinylformamide (NVF) has been widely reported under free radical conditions to give high molecular weight homo and copolymers. Polymers containing mixtures of primary, secondary and tertiary amine groups (e.g., polyethyleneimine) or oxidatively unstable ethyleneamines (mainly secondary, with terminal primary amines) have been prepared by other routes and used previously.
Vinylamine polymers with molecular weights from 3,000 to 6.7 million have been reported. U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,826 discloses the preparation of poly(vinylamine) salts of mineral acids by polymerizing vinylacetamide with a free radical polymerization catalyst and hydrolyzing the polymer to the desired amine salts by contacting the p-vinylacetamide with an aqueous solution of the corresponding mineral acid. Poly(vinylamine) product of about 3,000 to about 700,000 molecular weight (4000 to about 1,000,000 for the salt product) is suggested. U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,656 discloses polymerization of NVF to extremely high molecular weight polymers above 3 MM using inverse emulsion conditions. NVF polymers and copolymers have the unusual ability to be hydrolyzed easily under acid or base conditions to the corresponding polyvinylamine, giving polymers with highly reactive primary amine groups or, when protonated, high levels of cationic charge. Such materials have numerous applications as curatives in coatings and adhesives, for papermaking, water treatment, enhanced oil recovery, for personal care polymers, in biomedical applications and in mineral recovery. To prepare free radical polymers, it is well known that oxygen and other radical inhibitors Must be removed in order to allow the radical chains to grow, consuming the monomer, without excessive use of expensive initiators. The resulting polymers are also rather high in molecular weight, 600,000 to 2 million under bulk polymerization techniques for vinylamide monomers. Such polymers are highly viscous and difficult to process, even in solution (typically in water, one of the few good sol vents for poly-N-vinylformamide (PNVF) or poly-vinylamine (PVAm)). For many applications it is desired to have very low molecular weight polymer, e.g., to give low viscosities or better miscability and solubility, or in reactive systems to give moderate crosslink densities that prevent the system from becoming too brittle. This is typically done with free radical polymerizations with the addition of chain transfer agents, such as dodecanethiol, bromotrichloromethane, or isopropanol. Such agents add unwanted cost and co- or by-products (such as halogens) to the polymer and result in unwanted high polydispersity or too high molecular weights. Unreacted chain transfer agents are also difficult to remove from the mixture.
Alternatively, the free radical polymerization may be run by delay feeding monomer and/or at high dilution in a solvent. This option gives poor kettle utilization, requires the use of much solvent which may be expensive, toxic or hard to remove and, with MVF, still gives polymers with molecular weights in the 50,000 range at reasonable (10%) monomer levels. Running the polymerization at high temperature with excess initiator, particularly with the delay feeds as described above, is not suitable because of the low thermal stability of NVF in the condensed phase and its tendency to auto decompose to colored byproducts. The added initiator is also a significant cost factor.
In addition to free radical polymerization, amine and formamide containing polymers have been made via other means, such as the condensation of ethylene glycol and ammonia, ethanolamine or ethylenediamine or combinations of these compounds at high temperatures in the presence of a catalyst to give polyethylenepolyamines. Such materials give complex mixtures with mainly secondary and tertiary amines and numerous cyclic, substituted piperazine structures. Such materials have limited thermal and oxidative stability and frequently have color problems. Similar materials can be made using ethylenedichloride and ammonia or ethylenediamine, along with a base. These materials produce significant salt byproducts and may also give some quaternary nitrogens.
Polymerization of aziridine produces highly branched polyamines with nearly equal quantities of primary, secondary and tertiary nitrogens. In addition to the problems cited for condensation reactions, the monomer is highly toxic, carcinogenic and explosive.
German Patent Application DE 4030-380-A discloses an anionic N-vinylformamide polymerization process using a basic catalyst to form primarily an NVF dimer and an oligomer with a hydrolytically unstable nitrogen containing backbone.

Process for the synthesis of oligomeric vinylamines


A method for collecting position information in a disk drive having a read head and a disk with a set of spirals formed thereon includes: while the read head crosses a first spiral included in the set of spirals, opening a first frame integration window; while the first frame integration window is open, generating first signals with the read head as the read head crosses over a first set of magnetic transitions; closing the first frame integration window; after closing the first frame integration window, generating second signals with the read head as the read head crosses over a second set of magnetic transitions; and determining a radial position of the read head by integrating amplitudes of the first signals, wherein the first set includes magnetic transitions having a first polarity, and the second set includes two or more magnetic transitions having a second polarity.

In a typical hard disk drive (HDD), servo sectors on the disk are used to provide position information about the location of a magnetic head over a disk surface. A common approach for writing such servo information on one or more disk surfaces in an HDD is referred to as spiral-based self-servo writing, or spiral-based SSW. According to this approach, multiple spiral-shaped servo information patterns (or "servo spirals") are written on at least one disk surface prior to the SSW process. During the SSW process, a magnetic head of the HDD is positioned relative to a disk surface based on timing and position information in the servo spirals, so that the final servo information (the servo sectors) can be written on the disk surface by the magnetic head.
For an error-free and robust SSW process, the servo spirals used should be precisely written on the disk surface with a predetermined and constant slope. Such servo spirals may be written on the disk surface with an external media writer before assembly of the disk drive, or with a servo writing machine that uses an external precision actuator to position the disk drive actuator with a mechanical push pin through an opening in the disk drive housing. In either case, setup and use of such external equipment for each individual HDD is time-consuming and expensive in the context of high-volume manufacturing.
In light of this, in-drive spiral-writing schemes have been employed, in which an HDD itself writes servo spirals prior to performing the SSW process. For example, a set of coarsely positioned spirals may be written by the HDD while the actuator is moved across a disk surface by applying a suitable open-loop voltage profile, or by using velocity control that is based on back electromotive force (back-EMF) feedback. More precisely positioned sets of spirals can then be written in one or more subsequent closed-loop spiral-writing processes, by demodulating signals from the more coarsely positioned sets of spirals. For example, a set of coarse servos spirals, a set of fine servo spirals, and a set of final servos spirals may be progressively written by the HDD itself in this way. The servo sectors are then written on a disk surface by positioning the magnetic head based on the final, most accurately positioned, set of servo spirals in a spiral-based SSW process.
During an SSW process, radial head position is typically determined at each servo spiral crossing by a read head. Specifically, the radial head position at a particular servo spiral is computed by finding the center of weight of the integrated magnetic transition amplitudes of the servo spiral. Typically, spirals have embedded sync marks that are needed for timing purposes. These sync marks are magnetic transitions formed on a disk that have inverted polarity relative to the other magnetic transitions forming the servo spiral. When this is the case, during the amplitude integration process, the magnetic transitions of the sync marks are integrated with opposite sign compared to the magnetic transitions forming the rest of the servo spiral. As a result, sync marks have been found to cause a significant drop in amplitude during spiral amplitude integration. Because sync marks are not positioned symmetrically before and after the ideal center of a given servo spiral, the center of weight for each servo spiral is distorted by the relative location of the ideal center of the servo spiral and the sync marks included in the servo spiral. Further, in each servo spiral crossing, sync marks are typically positioned differently relative to the ideal center of the servo spiral. Thus, for each servo spiral crossing, the distortion of the center of weight is affected differently by the sync marks included therein. This random distortion of amplitude integration causes increased non-coherent repeatable runout, which is the component of position-error signal that repeats during each disk revolution and is different on adjacent tracks. During an SSW process, non-coherent repeatable runout is a major source of position-error signal, and ideally is minimized. However, sync marks provide necessary timing information for SSW processes and cannot be eliminated. Consequently, there is a need in the art for reducing the generation of non-coherent repeatable runout by sync marks during SSW.

Reducing the effect of spiral sync marks in non-coherent repeatable runout

TOSHIBA ELECTRONIC DEVICES & STORAGE CORPORATION


An animal feed with a high level of arachidonic acid is produced from microalgae, and fed to aquatic animals grown in aquaculture. The arachidonic acid-rich microalgae are fed directly to the aquatic animals, or processed to produce an oil that can be used as a human nutritive supplement. The arachidonic acid-rich microalgae can be combined with long chain omega-3 fatty acids to provide a source of nutrition for humans and animals. The animal feed and nutritional supplements are free of animal byproducts.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to the production and use of certain arachidonic acid (ARA) rich microalgae for or in animal feeds and human foods. Such sources of arachidonic acid may be important for the enrichment of feeds used in agriculture, as they are vegetarian in nature and a renewable resource. There is a particularly important application in the field of aquaculture, as this environment is particularly depleted in sources of long chain omega-6 fatty acids, such as ARA. The algae can be produced in conventional autotrophic productions schemes or adapted, or engineered, to growth under heterotrophic conditions. The algae can be used as a feed directly through pelleting or compounding with other conventional feed sources, or used indirectly as a particulate for the enrichment of zooplankton (e.g., Artemia and rotifers) or other form of bioencapsulation, which are then consumed by the fish, crustaceans or mollusks. The ARA-rich algal biomass can also be processed to produce a pure triglyceride containing the ARA and delivered to humans or animals directly as the crude or refined oil. Other lipids and byproducts removed during the processing of the algal oil as well as the oil-extracted biomass can also be used as a feed ingredient.
2. Description of Related Art
Many seed oils are highly enriched in the 18-carbon, di-unsaturated, omega-6 fatty acid, linoleic acid (LA), and some even contain the 18-carbon, tri-unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid, gamma linolenic acid (GLA). However, terrestrial plants in general do not produce significant quantities of the 20-carbon, tetra-unsaturated, arachidonic acid (ARA). ARA is generally considered a fatty acid of animal origin and is an integral component of the structure, physiology and general biochemistry of most animals. For example, ARA makes up at least 20% of the fatty acid structure of the lipids of the gray matter of the brain in mammals. Consequently, all herbivorous animals have the ability to convert the dietary LA into ARA through elongation and desaturation enzymes inherent in those species. During periods of an animal's life history, however, preformed dietary ARA may be required due to a particularly high requirement for the ARA. Such a situation occurs, for example, in human infants where there is a period of accelerated brain growth and a requirement for large quantities of this building block of brain tissue. In this case, preformed ARA is delivered from the mother across the placenta to the fetus in utero and through the breast milk when the infant is nursing. Thus, sources of ARA are being sought for the supplementation of infant nutrition products to provide the ARA needed by the growing infant in a form similar to what it would get naturally from its mother.
Although the terrestrial environment is dominated by plants that are rich in omega-6 fatty acids other than ARA, it is deficient in plants that produce large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Thus, terrestrial animals, herbivores in particular, tend to be omega-3 deficient. The marine environment, on the other hand, is dominated by plants (phytoplankton and seaweeds) that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, but are generally deficient in plants that produce large amounts of omega-6 fatty acids. Thus, marine animals, herbivores in particular, can potentially be omega-6 deficient, and particularly ARA deficient. Heretofore, this fact has not been recognized.
The consequences of omega-3 deficiency in the terrestrial animal diet (particularly man) have been well studied and it is believed that the effects of many of our chronic illnesses may be relieved in part by increasing the omega-3 intake in our diet (ie., lowering the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in our diet). Hyperimmune responses, platelet aggregation, and vasoconstriction are all thought to be related to excessive amounts of omega-6 fats in our diet. In an omega-6 deficient diet, that was replete in omega-3 fatty acids, immunosuppression, increased bleeding times and vasodilatation can be problematic. Since such an omega-6 deficient situation exists in most marine diets, the supplementation of ARA to such a diet should improve health and resistance to disease. This, in fact, was shown to be the case when an ARA-enriched dietary supplement was added to the regular diet of the marine fish Sea bream. In this case, there was an unexpected improvement in resistance to stress and disease when the ARA-supplement was used in this omega-6 deficient situation. Several products have now been offered for sale as aquaculture products containing supplements of ARA. These include VEVODAR™ (DSM, The Netherlands) and AQUAGROW™ AA (Martek Biosciences Corp, USA).
Both of the above mentioned products are produced using an ARA-rich oil from the cultured filamentous fungus Mortierella alpina. The fungus is grown according to procedures well established in the art and the ARA-rich oil is extracted and used for various purposes. In the case of VEVODAR ™,the oil itself is used as a raw material for feed formulations. In the case of AQUAGROW™ AA, the oil is mixed in with a feed matrix and provided as a novel feed formulation. No other sources of ARA have been anticipated as being acceptable for feeds or feed applications to date.
A few microalgae are known to produce ARA, although this is highly unusual in the marine environment. Such microalgae include, but are not limited to, Euglenophytes (e.g. Euglena), Rhodophytes (e.g., Porphyridium), and Chlorophytes (e.g., Parietochlods). Certain macroalgae (seaweeds) are also known to produce ARA. Such algae, or extracts thereof, would provide a beneficial diet for marine animals as whole algae, broken algae, or extracted material.
Certain crustaceans (e.g., brine shrimp, Artemia) or other zooplankton (e.g., rotifers) are used as feeds for various aquaculture crops (e.g., fish or shrimp) as they represent live feed for important first larval stages. In many cases, the Artemia are "loaded" with certain microalgae, which are carried into the larval animal through the consumption of the Artemia. In this way, certain beneficial nutrients, including ARA, can be provided from the algae to the larvae through the feed.

Microalgal feeds containing arachidonic acid and their production and use


A carrier substrate, or interposer, for use in a chip-scale package includes a material, such as a semiconductive material, that has a coefficient of thermal expansion that is the same or similar to that of the semiconductor device to be secured thereto. The interposer may also include a rerouting element laminated over the remainder of the interposer and including one or more dielectric layers, as well as a conductive layer for rerouting the bond pad locations of a semiconductor device with which the interposer is to be assembled. The interposers may be fabricated on a “wafer scale.” Accordingly, a semiconductor device assembly may include a first, semiconductor device-carrying substrate and a second, interposer-comprising substrate. Regions of the second substrate that comprise the boundaries between adjacent interposers may be thinner than other regions of the second substrate, including the regions from which the interposers are formed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to carrier substrates, or interposers, for use in chip-scale packages and to chip-scale packages including such carrier substrates. Particularly, the present invention relates to silicon carrier substrates. Methods of fabricating chip-scale packages are also within the scope of the present invention.
2. State of the Art
In conventional semiconductor device fabrication processes, a number of distinct semiconductor devices, such as memory chips or microprocessors, are fabricated on a semiconductor substrate, such as a silicon wafer. After the desired structures, circuitry, and other features of each of the semiconductor devices have been fabricated upon the semiconductor substrate, the substrate is typically singulated to separate the individual semiconductor devices from one another.
Various post-fabrication processes, such as testing the circuits of each of the semiconductor devices and burn-in processes, may be employed either prior to or following singulation of the semiconductor substrate. These post-fabrication processes may be employed to impart the semiconductor devices with their intended functionality and to determine whether or not each of the individual semiconductor devices meets quality control specifications.
The individual semiconductor devices may then be packaged. Along with the trend in the semiconductor industry to decrease semiconductor device sizes and increase the densities of semiconductor device features, package sizes are also ever-decreasing. One type of semiconductor device package, the so-called "chip-scale package" or "chip-sized package" ("CSP"), consumes about the same amount of real estate upon a carrier substrate as the bare semiconductor device itself. Such chip-scale packages typically include a carrier substrate, or interposer, having roughly the same surface area as the semiconductor device itself. As the interposer of such a chip-scale package is small, electrical connections between the semiconductor device and the carrier substrate are often made by flip-chip type bonds or tape-automated bonding ("TAB"). Due to the typical use of a carrier substrate that has a different coefficient of thermal expansion than that of the semiconductor substrate of the semiconductor device, these types of bonds may fail during operation of the semiconductor device.
In view of the potential for failure of the flip-chip or TAB electrical connections in chip-scale packages, chip-scale packages that include more flexible electrical connections, such as wire bonds, were developed. An exemplary chip-scale package that includes such flexible electrical connections is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,885 (hereinafter "the '885 Patent"), issued to Khandros et al. on Nov. 11, 1997. The chip-scale package of the '885 Patent may be assembled by orienting and disposing a sheet of interposer material over a wafer including a plurality of semiconductor devices thereon. The bond pads of the semiconductor devices may then be wire-bonded or otherwise flexibly bonded to corresponding contacts of the interposer. The wafer and interposer sheet may then be simultaneously singulated to separate individual semiconductor device packages from each other. The method and devices of the '885 Patent are, however, somewhat undesirable. In addition to including a semiconductor device and a carrier substrate therefor, the package of the '885 Patent includes another flexible, sheet-like dielectric interposer configured to be positioned between and aligned with both the semiconductor device and the carrier substrate. The double alignment of this additional interposer increases the likelihood that the resulting semiconductor device package will fail.
Following packaging, the packaged semiconductor devices may be retested or otherwise processed to ensure that no damage occurred during packaging. The testing of individual, packaged semiconductor devices is, however, somewhat undesirable since each package must be individually aligned with such testing or probing equipment.
Accordingly, there is a need for a semiconductor packaging process that facilitates testing, probing, and burn-in of semiconductor devices without requiring the alignment of individual semiconductor devices with probes or contacts of testing equipment and by which a plurality of reliable chip-scale packages may be substantially simultaneously assembled. An efficient chip-scale packaging process with a reduced incidence of semiconductor device failure is also needed. There is a further need for chip-scale packaged semiconductor devices that withstand repeated exposure to the operating conditions of the semiconductor devices thereof.

Interposers for chip-scale packages and intermediates thereof


The disclosure relates to systems and methods for compliance monitoring in a secure facility. A method can include generating, by a mobile radio frequency identification (RFID) device, data regarding a proximate stationary RFID device of stationary RFID devices situated about a correctional facility, the mobile RFID device associated with a user, and comparing, by a server, the generated data to compliance monitoring rules that govern actions to be performed by the personnel in monitoring offender behavior, each of the compliance monitoring rules including an associated timeframe in which an action of the compliance monitoring rule is to be performed, and generating, by the server, an alert to be provided to the mobile RFID device in response to determining a time associated with a compliance monitoring action has already expired or will expire in a specified amount of time.

Officers at secure facilities face many challenges in complying with requirements imposed on the secure facility. Some of the difficulty comes with documenting when a compliance check is made. Some of the difficulty comes with keeping track of when to make a compliance check.
Such a compliance check can include visual inspection and verification on a strict schedule. Such a compliance check can require the officers to have a detailed knowledge of which inmates can associate with each other, and which areas of a premises the individual inmates are permitted to occupy.


An image forming apparatus, including: an image bearing member; a transfer member to which a transfer voltage is applied to transfer the toner image on the image bearing member to a recording medium; a transfer voltage applying unit configured to apply the transfer voltage to the transfer member to make a value of a current flowing through the transfer member into a set current value; and a control unit configured to control the transfer voltage applying unit by changing stepwise the set current value according to a resistance of the transfer member, wherein the control unit sets a set current value smaller than a target current value when a target voltage value is larger than a preset threshold voltage value, the target current value being set according to the resistance of the transfer member, the target voltage value being applied to flow a current of the target current value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine configured to form an image by an electrophotographic method or an electrostatic recording method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the image forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic method or an electrostatic recording method, a toner image formed on a surface of a photosensitive drum is transferred onto a sheet as a recording medium so that the image is recorded on the sheet. In general, as for the transfer of the toner image, toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum is electrostatically transferred onto the sheet by an application of a bias to a transfer roller while the sheet is conveyed by being nipped between the photosensitive drum and the transfer roller.
A method of applying a bias to the transfer roller includes a constant voltage control method and a constant current control method. The constant voltage control method is a method of applying a transfer bias so that a voltage to be applied is maintained at a constant value. The constant voltage control method has been conventionally widely used. However, according to the constant voltage control method, in a case of small-sized sheets, a current flows intensively through a region in which the transfer roller is in direct contact with the photosensitive drum, and hence a current cannot be sufficiently supplied to the small sheets so that a transfer failure may occur.
In contrast, according to the constant current control method, the transfer bias is applied so that a constant current flows through a sheet irrespective of a size of the sheet, and the current is compensated when the size of the sheet is small. Under the circumstance, in recent years, the constant current control method has been more widely used as the method of applying a transfer bias. In the constant current control method, it is necessary to set a voltage for passing a constant current through the transfer roller. Thus, conventionally, a constant current, which is supposed to flow at the time of transfer, is flowed through the transfer roller at a time of non-image formation, specifically, prior to the start of an image forming operation, and a voltage applied at that time is maintained and applied at a time of image formation (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H07-146619).
However, an electric resistance of the transfer roller varies depending on an environment (temperature and humidity) in which the image forming apparatus is installed and a long-term use. In extreme cases, a value of the electric resistance may fluctuate by an order of magnitude or more. Thus, when the resistance of the transfer roller is higher than usual, a voltage to be applied to flow a target current also increases. When the voltage to be applied exceeds a predetermined value, a separation electric-discharge phenomenon occurs near a nip between the photosensitive drum and the transfer roller. The separation electric-discharge occurs when a sum of a strength E1 of an electric field between the photosensitive drum and a sheet and a strength E2 of an electric field between the transfer roller and the sheet exceeds a strength Em of a discharge start electric field. In particular, the separation electric-discharge is liable to occur when a high voltage is applied to the transfer roller. When the separation electric-discharge occurs, toner transferred on the sheet is scattered so that the scattered toner may pose a problem of griming an inside of a main body of the image forming apparatus.
However, when the voltage to be applied is kept as low as possible in order to prevent occurrence of the separation electric-discharge, the current flowing through the sheet at the time of transfer becomes smaller, which may cause transfer failure of the toner.


An error correction and/or detection device for product code block data, applied to a digital video tape recorder of a so-called D1 or D2 format, is disclosed, in which the correction mode of the correction by the outer codes is selected and the correlation between correction states of inner code corrected outer code blocks as well as the correlation of the correction states between the product code blocks are checked to lower the rate of correction or detection errors.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a correction and/or detection device for product code block data applied to e.g. a so-called D1 or D2 format digital video tape recorder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The formats for digital video tape recorders for recording video signals in a digital form include a so-called D1 format in which component signals of luminance and chrominance signals are digitized, and a so-called D2 format in which composite signals of the standard television systems, such as NTSC or PAL systems, are digitized directly. With the digital video tape recorder of the D1 or D2 formats, a product code system is adopted which enables a high error correcting ability by using inner and outer codes.
With the above D2 format digital video tape recorder, 8-bit-per-sample video data are handled in, for example, the NTSC system, in which video data have been sampled at the sampling frequency fs which is four times the subcarrier frequency fsc, or 4fsc. Referring to FIG. 1, one field is composed of 255 effective lines, with each line containing 768 samples of effective data, with the exclusion of horizontal sync signal portions. Thus the above video data are 768.times.255.times.8 bit data, with the exclusion of vertical sync signal portions. These video data are alternately allocated on a sample-by-sample basis to two channels, that is a channel 0 and a channel 1, while the 255 lines are divided into three equal segments 1, 2 and 3, each consisting of 85 lines. The video data are recorded and/or reproduced via six video tracks, as shown in FIG. 2.
With the D2 format digital video tape recorder, segment data are distributed to the respective channels, that is 768/2.times.85 byte data, are distributed, after shuffling, to six blocks each consisting of 64.times.85 bytes, as shown in FIG. 3A. Then, 4-byte outer codes for error correction and checking are annexed to each vertically extending 64-byte outer code block, as shown in FIG. 3B, and then 8-byte inner codes for error correction and checking are annexed to each horizontally extending 85-byte inner code block, as shown in FIG. 3C. Double error correction and checking may be realized in this manner by adopting the Reed-Solomon code with the inner codes (93, 85) and the outer codes (68, 64).
Six product code blocks, each composed of the annexed outer and inner codes and the data, constitute one video track, as shown in FIG. 3C, and the 85-line video data are recorded on the two video tracks, that is the channel 0 and channel 1 video tracks.
The manner in which recorded data are reproduced and the manner in which error correction and checking is performed by the product code will be hereinafter explained.
The error correction checking is performed with each product code block as a unit. Correction by the inner code is first made. Thus, correction with the inner code block as a unit is performed, as shown in FIG. 4A.
With the correction by the inner code, error correction can be made satisfactorily if the number of errors in one inner code block is up to three, as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C. However, when the number of the errors in one inner code block is four or more, error correction cannot be made satisfactorily, and it is only detected that there are four or more errors in the inner code block. In this manner, error correction is made on all of the inner code blocks but, if error correction can not to be made, error detection is performed.
After the error correction by the inner code is terminated, error correction by the outer code is performed for correcting the portion which was unable to be corrected by the inner codes. This correction is performed with an outer code block shown in FIG. 6A as the correction unit. When the number of the regions which were unable to be corrected by the preceding correction by the inner code and which were detected as the regions containing the error is up to four within an outer code block as shown in FIG. 6B, complete error correction is made with the use of the results of detection obtained by the inner code correction. In this manner, all video data are corrected, as shown in FIG. 6c. To perform an outer code correction by employing the data of the error region, that is, the error flags obtained by the inner code correction, is known as erasure correction.
If, as a result of the correction by the inner code, five or more error flags indicating the detection of error regions are set, as shown in FIG. 7A, error correction by solely the outer code is performed, without having recourse to the results of error detection by the inner codes. Only the outer code blocks which have been detected as being free of errors are ultimately output as correct data.
When the video data are allocated to six blocks shown in FIG. 3, as described previously, the video data are scrambled by a prior shuffling, so that, even if several product code blocks are all in error, video data can be reconstituted by interpolation.
Meanwhile, when a so-called insert edition is performed on a prerecorded magnetic tape in a digital video tape recorder of the D1 or D2 format in which plural product code blocks are comprised in one track and the inner codes of the product codes are recorded on an end of the track, new data are recorded by overwriting old data without using an erasure head. In case of a failure in overwriting due to, for example, head clogging old data are partially left as unerased data. Such failure in overwriting due to head clogging, for example, occurs for a longer period of time in the form of a burst such that the failure occurs across plural inner code correction blocks, as shown in FIG. 8A.
When the correction by the inner code is first made in this case, new data and old data exist together in the inner code blocks in which the start and end points of the unerased old data portions are located as in the example of FIG. 8A. Supposing that four or more data errors exist in the unerased data portions, error correction becomes infeasible, so that the error flag indicating the presence of four or more errors in the inner code block is output as the result of detection.
On the other hand, old data of the unerased portions are correct data per se, so that they cannot be detected as errors by the inner codes and hence are output in admixture with new data. In the conventional reproducing system, full trust was placed on the error flags of the inner codes and the outer code correction was performed only on the regions where the error flags were set in decoding the reproduced data. Thus the unerased old data portions where no error flags have been set in the course of the inner code correction, as shown in FIG. 8B, are directly output as error-free data.
When the data that have undergone the correction by the inner codes as shown in FIG. 8B are to be corrected by the outer codes, the error correction is made with the use of old data which are intrinsically error data, so that, as shown in FIG. 8c, correct data are handled as error data and mistakenly corrected.
Such malfunction occurs not only on the occasion of failure in erasure but also on the occasion of mistaken error detection or correction during correction by the inner codes.
In a digital audio tape (DAT) system, since the corrective capacity of the inner codes is fully utilized, a strategy is used in which the reliability of the error flags of the inner codes is checked by the outer codes or in which correction of the regions where no error flags are set is made by the outer codes. Although such error correction and detection is made solely by the outer codes and hence the detection probability is low, such low detection probability raises no particular problem since the mistaken correction occurs on only rare occasions and such mistaken correction, should it occur, is limited to one of the inner code blocks or to several samples in one inner code block.
However, since the failure in erasure occurs more frequently than the mistaken correction and since several inner codes may fail to be detected, the detection errors are likely to be produced unless the detection probability is raised. On the occurrence of an erasure, burst errors are likely to be produced in its vicinity. It is therefore more desirable that correction or detection of unerased data portions can be made even if the number of the error flags is increased to a more or less extent. In addition, if detection cannot be made because of the presence of an excessive number of error flags, unerased data portions would be directly output unless means are provided for detecting if there are any unerased data portions in the product code block. The above mentioned DAT system is primarily designed for error correction and, should the unerased data be detected in an error-free condition, the unerased data would be reproduced as the output.
Meanwhile, with the conventional D2 format digital video tape recorder making use of the Reed Solomon code with the inner codes (93, 85) and the outer codes (68, 64), the data of the unerased portions may or may not be detected as error depending on whether the number of errors in the product code block is not more than three or not less than four, respectively.

Error correction and/or detection device for product code block data


A pressure regulating valve in a fuel injection system for internal combustion engines for regulating the pressure in a fuel reservoir in which the operating pressure is adjusted by the dimensioning of an adjusting disk, whose function-determining axial height is ascertained with high precision by a force measuring system and by a travel measuring system by way of ascertaining a spacing between an end face of a valve member of the pressure regulating valve and a reference face of a housing of the pressure regulating valve.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a pressure regulating valve, having an electromagnet and a movable armature, that is used in particular in a fuel injection system for internal combustion engines for regulating a pressure in a fuel reservoir.
Electromagnets with a movable armature are also used as actuators in manifold applications.
2. Prior Art
Manifold versions of pressure regulating valves are known. The pressure regulating valve serves to regulate the pressure in a fuel reservoir, with which it communicates via an inlet. The pressure regulating valve has a pistonlike valve member, which is guided axially displaceably in a bore and which can move counter to a force that acts on the valve member, preferably by means of the current in the electromagnet. The force acts in the closing direction, so that the valve member is pressed onto a closing element of the pressure regulating valve and is pressed against a valve seat. The valve member forms an armature bolt of an electromagnet, which can be supplied with current to control the force.
By means of the current supply, a magnetic field is created, which penetrates the armature of the electromagnet and causes a magnetic force to act on the armature bolt. With this force, the valve member presses the closing element against the valve seat.
If the force generated by the hydraulic pressure of the fuel exceeds the closing force that is exerted on the closing element via the valve member, then the closing element is lifted from the valve seat. In this case, fuel flows out of the fuel reservoir through the inlet via the opened pressure regulating valve into a relief chamber.
When a higher pressure is set in the fuel reservoir, the current in the electromagnet is increased, so that the closing force is increased, and thus the closing element does not lift from the valve seat until at a higher pressure in the fuel reservoir, and then fuel can flow out of the fuel reservoir into the relief chamber.
3. Disadvantages Of The Prior Art
Regulating the pressure in the fuel reservoir is done via the setting of the current in the coil of the electromagnet. The actual pressure thus depends on the parameters of the electromagnet. These include not only the electromagnetic parameters but also the geometrical dimensions. The air gap between the movable armature and the fixed valve housing, within which gap the coil of the electromagnet is located, is of particular importance. The air gap is defined by the component geometry.
To enable adjusting the pressure precisely or regulating a precise pressure interval, the components must be adapted to one another precisely. The requisite manufacturing tolerances are correspondingly low, which means major assembly effort and hence expense.


A stringed musical instrument (12) that can be played either in a fretted or a fretless mode includes an interconnected fret assembly (38) including frets (24) and a longitudinal fret interconnecting member (40) that is attached to, and movable with, the frets. A movable linear cam structure (46) has two cams at each fret, one positioned on each side of the fret interconnecting member, and includes rack teeth (52) which mesh with a pinion (62) driven by a lever (66) for causing linear movement of the linear cam structure. The interconnecting member is an elongated slat (40) which is positioned in a slot (50) between the cams. The linear-movable cam includes an elongated guide protrusion (56) and an interior cavity (30) of the fingerboard, in which the cam rides, defines an elongated guide slot (58) for receiving the guide protrusion and thereby limiting lateral movement of the linear cam. The linear cam structure and the interior cavity have tapered lateral sides.

This invention relates generally to stringed musical instruments and more specifically to such instruments having fingerboards, normally on necks thereof.
Stringed musical instruments, such as four-string bass guitars or conventional six-string guitars, are often specialized, most being fretted but some being fretless. Each type instrument has unique identifiable sounds which makes it preferable for use in certain music styles. For examples, a fretless electric bass guitar is very popular for use with jazz music because of its sound, which is similar to that of an upright acoustic bass fiddle, whereas fretted bass guitars are more popular in funk rock and country music.
However, due to changes in musical trends and the merging of various musical styles, new music has been created which combines different aspects of different types of music. Thus, it is no longer uncommon to hear instruments which were previously restricted to certain types of music played together in the same songs with instruments which were restricted to other types of music. Further, many musicians simply enjoy playing in different musical styles. For this reason, many players purchase both fretted and fretless instruments so that they can create the various different types of sounds. Although this allows musicians to play both fretted and non-fretted types of music, it is relatively expensive. Further, it is inconvenient for musicians to have to transport and maintain two different instruments rather than only one. For this reason, it is an object of this invention to provide a stringed musical instrument that can be played either as a fretted instrument or as a fretless instrument.
A related problem is that some music demands that the different sounds of fretted and fretless instruments be played in quick consecutive order, alternating from one type to the other within a song. Even when a musician has two different guitars, for example, it is difficult and extremely inconvenient to continually change instruments, and in some songs it is virtually impossible. For this reason, it is often necessary to have two musicians each playing a different instrument in order to achieve desired different sounds in sequence. Again, it is expensive to provide two musicians for performing music which otherwise could be performed by one performer and also it is difficult for a single performer to provide an adequate performance when he must continually switch instruments. Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a single stringed musical instrument that can be easily and quickly switched between fretted and unfretted modes of operation.
Several stringed instruments have been suggested which allow transformation between fretted and unfretted operation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,936 to Mouton describes an electric bass guitar having laterally retractable frets. In this case, the frets are commonly attached at lateral ends thereof to a flexible thumb bar which runs parallel to a guitar neck. The thumb bar is so flexible that when a player applies lateral pressure, only adjacent frets are activated, with others remaining unperturbed. One difficulty with the guitar of Mouton is that the laterally extending frets get in the way and the guitar does not look or feel like a conventional instrument. Further, there is a fret hold-down tension wire therein which extends the length of the guitar neck and which allows simultaneous movement of all the frets. This wire could create an extraneous vibration, which is undesirable. Further, the frets of this instrument are somewhat cumbersome not being positively secured in their positions nor including a simultaneous positive adjustment of all frets since a wire could tend to bow if a fret meets movement resistance.
Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a stringed musical instrument that can be played either as a fretted or a fretless instrument, which has an appearance quite similar to that of conventional stringed instruments, which has a positive, accurate and sturdy simultaneous adjustment of all frets, and which does not include an unduly flexible structure which could cause undesirable vibrations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,260 to Pigozzi describes a stringed musical instrument having retracting frets with each fret being driven by two rotating cams, one located on each side of center of the fret. Each fret is separately biased downwardly by a coiled spring acting on a lateral shaft extending into a neck of the stringed instrument. The cams are simultaneously rotated by two longitudinal shafts which are driven by a central pinion attached to a knob. A major problem with the musical instrument of this patent is that the neck thereof is unduly weakened by the structures of the fret actuating mechanisms. Further, because of the positions of these mechanisms, it is not possible to have a normal truss rod running along the neck on a side thereof opposite to the strings to counteract tension of the strings. Yet another difficulty with the stringed musical instrument of Pigozzi is that it appears to be somewhat complicated in structure having many different pieces which require an undue amount of time and undue expenditure of labor to manufacture. Also, the appearance of the guitar itself is not conventional. For this reason, it is an object of this invention to provide a stringed musical instrument whose neck is quite similar in structure and shape to a neck of a normal stringed instrument but yet is quite strong, allowing the use of a normal truss rod to counteract string tension. It is a further object of this invention to provide a stringed musical instrument which has relatively few parts and is therefore relatively easy, and not time-intensive, to construct.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a stringed musical instrument which can be played both as a fretted and as a fretless instrument, operating effectively in both modes in substantially the same manner as respective conventional fretted and fretless instruments.

Fret retractable neck for stringed musical instruments


A plunger of a syringe characterized by a hook unit formed integrally at the front end of the stopper of thereof. The hook unit comprises a central rod and a push wing extended outwardly from a lateral wall of the central rod. The push wing can be attached to the central rod by a lateral force, which is urged during an insertion process, so that the hook unit will be inserted into a receptacle formed at the rear end of the needle hub in the axial direction. The receptacle has an entrance hole and a cavity lager then the hole, whereby the flexible push wing will be extended again after the unit is in the cavity, forming a locked configuration. As the plunger is pulled back, the needle mount will be pulled into the needle barrel accordingly, achieving a function of self destruction.

A safety syringe of the prior art emphasizes the function that the needle thereof will be pulled back into the syringe barrel by a link rod after being used. However, such a structure cannot destroy the needle completely.
A safety syringe of rotational contraction of the prior art can attain the goal of single usage; but it is quiet costly to manufacture and cannot be immune from the possibility of being used again. The safety syringe of rotational contraction has a hook portion in the front of a needle barrel for forming a granular support against a needle hub. A receptacle is formed at the rear end of the needle hub, which receptacle has a small neck portion, whereby a conic head in the front of a push rod will be locked within the receptacle. The conic surface of the head is further provided with a plurality of projected teeth for engaging corresponding holes on the inner wall of the receptacle, whereby a user may rotate the needle hub so that a plurality of granules on the hub will be departed from the hook portion. Thereby, the needle hub can be pulled back into the barrel, and an oblique flexible rod at the front end of the conic head will tilt the needle hub and the needle into an oblique configuration and therefore cannot be used again.
The safety syringe of rotational contraction of the prior art has the following disadvantages. The hook stricture for preventing a departure of the needle hub from the barrel is locked in a groove of granular structure, which is quite a complex design. It is further complicated by the engagement between the projected teeth on the conic head and the holes within the hub. Such a complicated design is difficult to make by plastic injection molding.
Further, as the flexible rod is entering, the attack angle of the rod should be controlled with precision so as to avid hitting the inner wall of the barrel and gets deflected. To achieve the goal of tilt the needle hub the projected teeth on the conic head should be precisely coupled with the holes of the hub, which is too complex a structure.


A method of manufacturing a mineral fiber insulating board comprising i) spraying a formaldehyde free aqueous binder solution onto a plurality of mineral fibers, the aqueous binder solution comprising binder reactants comprising a) a reducing sugar reactant and b) an amine reactant, wherein the reducing sugar reactant is selected from the group consisting of: a reducing sugar; a reducing sugar yielded by a carbohydrate in situ under thermal curing conditions; and combinations thereof, wherein the percent by dry weight of the reducing sugar reactant with respect to the total weight of the binder reactants in the binder solution ranges from about 73% to about 96%, and wherein the percent by dry weight of the amine reactant with respect to the total weight of the binder reactants in the binder solution ranges from about 4% to about 27%, ii) dehydrating the aqueous binder solution such that a dehydrated binder is disposed on the plurality of mineral fibers, and iii) curing the dehydrated binder on the plurality of mineral fibers to provide cured binder in about 0.5%-15% by weight as determined by loss on ignition.

Industry standard binders used for fibre insulation, for example glass wool and rock wool insulation are based on phenol formaldehyde. Whilst such binders can provide suitable properties to the insulating products there has for some time been a desire to move away from the use of phenol formaldehyde, particularly due to environmental considerations.
Traditional polyester based binder systems have previously been proposed but have not gained acceptance in the insulation industry, particularly as their strength in holding the mineral fibres together, especially when exposed to moisture or weathering, has been perceived as insufficient.
To date, only one low formaldehyde based mineral insulation binder system has been used on an industrial scale on glass wool insulation; this is based on polyacrylic acid and supplied by Rohm&Haas. Unfortunately, the highly acid nature of these types of binders can cause excessive corrosion of manufacturing plant unless significant investment is made in acid resistant equipment. U.S. Pat. No. 5,977,232 discloses a formaldehyde free binder for glass wool insulation based on a polycarboxylic acid. European patent application EP1698598A discloses use of a corrosion meter to try to mitigate problems associated with polycarboxylic acid-based fibreglass binder resins. In addition, whilst the strength of these binders is acceptable for some applications it is not as good as the commonly used phenol formaldehyde based binders.
It has not been thought possible to provide a formaldehyde free binder system useable on an industrial scale that will confer characteristics to mineral wool insulating products that could match or even exceed those obtained with formaldehyde binders.


A baby-wipe mitt comprising an outer absorbent layer, with an added inner highly absorbent layer, both premoistened with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agents, the inner lining an impermeable plastic lining extending beyond the outer layer, covering at least part of a user's wrist for further protection is disclosed. The mitt has an elastic band that encircles the wrist of a user. The mitt features opposed digit surrounds to allow easy cleaning of crevices. The mitt features a special non-abrasive pad on digit surround.

Various products are available for cleaning a baby's bottom of defecation or urine, or for cleaning a baby or an older individual anywhere on their body. A plethora of issues are faced in addressing the cleaning issues. Among the issues are (a) absorbency, (b) single layer devices through which undesirable materials can migrate, (c) wipes that are difficult to grasp, and especially grasp while maintaining a sanitary cleaning effort, (d) devices which do not properly shield a user from contamination associated with such cleaning efforts, and (e) inability to use one's digits in cleaning. Standard mitts, for example, do not allow the human dexterity needed in such tasks, even if a thumb surround is included. Standard scouring mitts, by their very nature, cannot offer the gentleness and features needed in cleaning a human, and more especially an infant. The present invention offers unique solutions to these issues that, while basic, have previously been cumulatively overlooked.


A method for forming an anti-reflective coating useful in the fabrication of integrated circuits is discussed. Applicants have found that preheating semiconductor wafers prior to the application of amorphous silicon anti-reflective coatings tends to reduce undesirable particulates which may attach to the wafer. The process is illustratively performed in a Varian 3180 machine having four stations. Illustratively, the wafer may be preheated between 70.degree. C. and 175.degree. C. prior to and during the sputter deposition of an amorphous silicon anti-reflective coating.

Many processes utilized for the fabrication of integrated circuits involve the formation, by sputtering or deposition, of a material layer. A photoresist is spun on top of the material layer and subsequently patterned. The patterned photoresist serves as a mask through which the material layer may be etched using either dry or wet processes.
Anti-reflective coatings (ARC) are often positioned between the material layer and the photoresist. Anti-reflective coatings absorb the light which is used to expose the photoresist and prevent undesired reflections which might inadvertently expose portions of the photoresist which should not be exposed. Amorphous silicon is frequently employed as an anti-reflective coating over materials such as aluminum, spin-on glass, oxides, etc.


A method and apparatus for detecting a level of a content in a vessel using an RFID tag. In one embodiment, an RFID tag located on one side of the vessel opposite a side on which the reader is, is interrogated. A reply signal, if any, received from the RFID tag is interpreted to determine the information returned from the RFID tag. The level of the content in the vessel is determined based on the information received from the RFID tag.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to RFID interrogation systems and, more particularly, to monitoring fluid levels using RFID tags.
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
Radio Frequency Identity or Identification (RFID) is a means of storing and retrieving data through electromagnetic transmission to an RF compatible integrated circuit.
Read-only transponders store information that can be electronically "read". The stored information can be for example, a unique code. In some systems, a signal can be sent to a RFID tag, which charges the tag and allows the information stored in the tag to be returned.
RFID systems have several basic components or technical characteristics that define them. Referring to FIG. 1, generally, these are a reader 2, including an antenna 7 (the device that is used to read and/or write data to RFID tags), a tag 8 (a device that transmits to a reader the data) and the communication between them (RFID uses a defined radio frequency and protocol to transmit and receive data from tags). The reader 2 can be coupled to a computer 4, which might also be connected to a database 6.
RFID tags are generally classified as active tags and passive tags, as defined by their power source.
Active tags contain both a radio frequency transceiver and a battery to power the transceiver. Because there is a transceiver on the tag, active tags have substantially more range (approximately 300 feet or more) than passive or "active/passive tags." Active tags are also considerably more expensive than passive tags and, as with any battery-powered product, the batteries must be replaced periodically or the product life cycle is less than the battery life.
Passive tags can be either battery or non-battery operated, as determined by the intended application. Passive tags reflect the RF signal transmitted to them from a reader or transceiver and add information by modulating the reflected signal. A passive tag does not use a battery to boost the energy of the reflected signal. A passive tag may use a battery to maintain memory in the tag or power the electronics that enable the tag to modulate the reflected signal. Battery-less ("pure passive" or "beam powered") tags do not contain an internal power source such as a battery. These purely passive or "reflective" tags rely upon the electromagnetic energy radiated by an interrogator to power the RF integrated circuit that makes up the tag itself.
There is a version of a passive tag that does contain a battery. This type of passive tag with a battery ("active/passive") has some of the enhanced, and speed attributes of a true active tag, but still communicates in the same method, as do other passive tags. These active/passive tags that do contain an internal power source, usually are much more complex integrated circuits with multiple components.
RF tags can also be distinguished by their memory type. Read/write memory, can be read as well as written into. Its data can be dynamically altered. Read only (typically "chipless") type of tag memory is factory programmed and cannot be altered after the manufacturing process. Its data is static.
The tags and a reader communicate by wireless signal in a process known as coupling. Two methods of wireless signal distinguish and categorize RFID systems. Close proximity electromagnetic or inductive coupling systems and propagating electromagnetic waves. Coupling is via antenna structures forming an integral feature in both tags and readers.
An inherent weakness of RFID technology is that readings are affected by liquid in the transmission path. If there is liquid between the reader and the tag, reading the tag is not possible and the effects of this increase with the increase of the transmission frequency.

Radio frequency tagging for indicia printing and product information


Various methods are disclosed herein for forming alternative fin materials that are in a stable or metastable condition. In one case, a stable replacement fin is grown to a height that is greater than an unconfined stable critical thickness of the replacement fin material and it has a defect density of 104 defects/cm2 or less throughout its entire height. In another case, a metastable replacement fin is grown to a height that is greater than an unconfined metastable critical thickness of the replacement fin material and it has a defect density of 105 defects/cm2 or less throughout at least 90% of its entire height.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the present disclosure relates to the manufacture of FET semiconductor devices, and, more specifically, to various replacement growth methods for forming substantially defect-free replacement fins for a FinFET semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The fabrication of advanced integrated circuits, such as CPU's, storage devices, ASIC's (application specific integrated circuits) and the like, requires the formation of a large number of circuit elements in a given chip area according to a specified circuit layout, wherein so-called metal oxide field effect transistors (MOSFETs or FETs) represent one important type of circuit element that substantially determines performance of the integrated circuits. A conventional FET is a planar device that typically includes a source region, a drain region, and a channel region that is positioned between the source region and the drain region, and a gate electrode positioned above the channel region. Current flow through the FET is controlled by controlling the voltage applied to the gate electrode. For example, for an NMOS device, if there is no voltage applied to the gate electrode, then there is no current flow through the NMOS device (ignoring undesirable leakage currents, which are relatively small). However, when an appropriate positive voltage is applied to the gate electrode, the channel region of the NMOS device becomes conductive, and electrical current is permitted to flow between the source region and the drain region through the conductive channel region.
To improve the operating speed of FETs, and to increase the density of FETs on an integrated circuit device, device designers have greatly reduced the physical size of FETs over the past decades. More specifically, the channel length of FETs has been significantly decreased, which has resulted in improving the switching speed and in lowering operation currents and voltages of FETs. However, decreasing the channel length of a FET also decreases the distance between the source region and the drain region. In some cases, this decrease in the separation between the source and the drain makes it difficult to efficiently inhibit the electrical potential of the source region and the channel from being adversely affected by the electrical potential of the drain. This is sometimes referred to as a so-called short channel effect, wherein the characteristic of the FET as an active switch is degraded.
In contrast to a planar FET, there are so-called 3D devices, such as an illustrative FinFET device, which is a three-dimensional structure. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an illustrative prior art FinFET semiconductor device A that is formed above a semiconductor substrate B. The device A includes three illustrative fins C, a gate structure D, sidewall spacers E and a gate cap layer F. The gate structure D is typically comprised of a layer of insulating material (not shown), e.g., a layer of high-k insulating material, and one or more conductive material layers that serve as the gate electrode for the device A. In this example, the fins C are comprised of a substrate fin portion C1 and an alternative fin material portion C2. The substrate fin portion C1 may be made of silicon, i.e., the same material as the substrate, and the alternative fin material portion C2 may be made of a material other than the substrate material, for example, silicon germanium. The fins C have a three dimensional configuration: a height H, a width W and an axial length L. The axial length L corresponds to the direction of current travel in the device A when it is operational. The portions of the fins C covered by the gate structure D are the channel regions of the FinFET device A. In a conventional process flow, the portions of the fins C that are positioned outside of the spacers E, i.e., in the source/drain regions of the device A, may be increased in size or even merged together (not shown in FIG. 1A) by performing one or more epitaxial growth processes. The process of increasing the size of or merging the fins C in the source/drain regions of the device A is performed to reduce the resistance of source/drain regions and/or make it easier to establish electrical contact to the source drain regions.
In the FinFET device A, the gate structure D encloses both sides and the upper surface of all or a portion of the fins C to form a tri-gate structure so as to use a channel having a three-dimensional structure instead of a planar structure. In some cases, an insulating cap layer, e.g., silicon nitride, is positioned at the top of the fin C and the FinFET device only has a dual-gate structure (sidewalls only). Unlike a planar FET, in a FinFET device, a channel is formed perpendicular to a surface of the semiconducting substrate so as to reduce the physical size of the semiconductor device. Also, in a FinFET, the junction capacitance at the drain region of the device is greatly reduced, which tends to significantly reduce short channel effects. When an appropriate voltage is applied to the gate electrode of a FinFET device, the surfaces (and the inner portion near the surface) of the fins C, i.e., the vertically oriented sidewalls and the top upper surface of the fin, form a surface inversion layer or a volume inversion layer that contributes to current conduction. In a FinFET device, the "channel-width" is estimated to be about two times (2×) the vertical fin-height plus the width of the top surface of the fin, i.e., the fin width. Multiple fins can be formed in the same foot-print as that of a planar transistor device. Accordingly, for a given plot space (or foot-print), FinFETs tend to be able to generate significantly higher drive current density than planar transistor devices. Additionally, the leakage current of FinFET devices after the device is turned "OFF" is significantly reduced as compared to the leakage current of planar FETs, due to the superior gate electrostatic control of the "fin" channel on FinFET devices. In short, the 3D structure of a FinFET device is a superior MOSFET structure as compared to that of a planar FET, especially in the 20 nm CMOS technology node and beyond.
Device manufacturers are under constant pressure to produce integrated circuit products with increased performance and lower production costs relative to previous device generations. Thus, device designers spend a great amount of time and effort to maximize device performance while seeking ways to reduce manufacturing costs and improve manufacturing reliability. As it relates to 3D devices, device designers have spent many years and employed a variety of techniques in an effort to improve the performance capability and reliability of such devices. Device designers are currently investigating using alternative semiconductor materials, such as so-called III-V materials, to manufacture FinFET devices which are intended to enhance the performance capabilities of such devices, e.g., to enable low-voltage operation.
However, the integration of such alternative materials on silicon substrates (the dominant substrates used in the industry) is a non-trivial matter due to, among other issues, the large difference in lattice constants between such alternative materials and silicon. That is, with reference to FIG. 1A, the lattice constant of the alternative fin material portion C2 of the fin C may be greater than the lattice constant of the substrate fin portion C1 of the fin C. As a result of this mismatch in lattice constants, an unacceptable number of defects may be formed or created in the alternative fin material portion C2. As used herein and in the claims attached hereto, a "defect" is a misfit dislocation in the crystalline structure of the alternative fin material portion C2 of the fin C.
With respect to forming such lattice-constant-mismatched materials on one another, there is a concept that is generally referred to as the "critical thickness" of a material. The term "critical thickness" generally refers to materials that are in one of three conditions, i.e., so-called "stable," "metastable" or "relaxed-with-defects" conditions. These three conditions also generally reflect the state of the strain on the material. That is, a stable material is in a fully-strained condition that is 100% strained in at least one crystalline plane of the material, a relaxed-with-defects material is a material that has zero strain in all crystalline planes, and a metastable material is strained to a level that is above zero strain but less than 100% strained in at least one crystalline plane of the metastable material. In general, a fully-strained (stable) material or a partially-strained (metastable) material will have fewer defects than a fully relaxed, unstrained material.
FIG. 1B is a graph taken from an article entitled "Silicon-Germanium Strained Layer Materials in Microelectronics" by Douglas J. Paul that was published in Advanced Materials magazine (11(3), 101-204 (1999)). FIG. 1B graphically depicts these three conditions for silicon germanium materials (Si1-xGex; x=0-1). The vertical axis is the critical thickness in nanometers. The horizontal axis is the concentration of germanium in the silicon germanium material. At the leftmost point on the horizontal axis is pure silicon (Ge concentration equals 0.0). At the rightmost point on the horizontal axis is pure germanium (Ge concentration equals 1.0). The two curves R and S define the stable, metastable and relaxed-with-defects regions for silicon germanium materials having differing germanium concentration levels. Above and to the right of curve R are materials that are in the relaxed-with-defects condition. Below and to the left of the curve S are materials that are in the stable condition. The region between the two curves R and S defines the region where materials are in the metastable condition.
To add more precision to the terminology regarding critical thickness, the term "stable critical thickness" will be used herein and in the attached claims to refer to a maximum thickness of a material at which it may be formed in a substantially defect-free and "fully-strained" condition above a substrate material, i.e., in an unconfined growth environment. Additionally, as used herein and in the attached claims, the term "metastable critical thickness" will be used to refer to a maximum thickness of a material at which it may be formed in a metastable condition above a substrate material, i.e., in an unconfined growth environment. As noted above, a material that is in the metastable condition is a material that has experienced some degree of strain-relaxation, but still remains strained to some degree (i.e., 1-99% strained but not 100% strained) in one crystalline plane of the metastable material such that defects are not typically formed in the metastable material itself. However, a metastable material may or may not have some amount of defects at the interface between the alternative material and a silicon substrate depending upon the amount of strain relaxation that has happened to the material.
With reference to FIG. 1B, a layer of pure germanium (Ge concentration equal to 1.0) may be in the stable condition at a thickness up to about 1-2 nm (point CT1) and it may be in a metastable condition for thicknesses between about 2-4 nm (point CT2). Above a thickness of about 4 nm, a layer of pure germanium will be in the relaxed-with-defects condition. In contrast, a layer of silicon germanium with a 50% concentration of germanium may be in the stable condition at thicknesses up to about 4 nm (point CT3) and it may be in a metastable condition for thicknesses between about 4-30 nm (point CT4). Above a thickness of about 30 nm, a layer of silicon germanium with a 50% concentration of germanium will be in the relaxed-with-defects condition.
A material that is in the relaxed-with-defects condition is a material that contains visible defects that are indicative that the material has relaxed to the point where defects have been formed in the material. For example, FIG. 1C is a TEM photograph of a crosssectioned fin of a FinFET device (taken along the axial length "L" of the fin) wherein the substrate fin C1 is comprised of silicon and the alternative fin material portion C2 of the fin is comprised of silicon germanium with a 50% concentration of germanium (SiGe0.5). The axial length direction "L" and height direction "H" of the fin are indicated in FIG. 1C. In this example, the thickness or height "H" of the alternative fin material C2 was about 30 nm, a thickness greater than the metastable critical thickness for this material (which is about 30 nm according to FIG. 1B). Accordingly, the alternative fin material C2 is in the relaxed-with-defects condition and defects are visible throughout the alternative fin material C2 and at the interface between the materials C1/C2. Thus, in the example, the alternative fin material C2 shown in FIG. 1C is fully relaxed in all three directions—axial length L, height H and width W, i.e., it is in the relaxed-with-defects condition.
As another example, a substantially pure layer of germanium (Ge concentration equal to 1.0) may have a maximum stable critical thickness of about 1-2 nm when formed on a silicon substrate, i.e., in an unconfined growth environment. A substantially pure layer of germanium formed to a thickness of 1-2 nm or less would be considered to be a stable, fully-strained layer of germanium. In contrast, a layer of silicon germanium with a concentration of germanium of about fifty percent (SiGe0.5) may have a maximum stable critical thickness of about 4 nm and still be substantially free of defects, i.e., in a stable condition. However, such a layer of germanium or silicon germanium would no longer be considered to be a stable material if grown beyond their respective maximum stable critical thickness values. When such a layer of material is grown to a thickness that is greater than its maximum stable critical thickness but less than its maximum metastable thickness, it is considered to be a metastable material that would start experiencing some degree of relaxation, i.e., there will be some degree of strain relaxation along one or more of the crystalline planes of the material and there may or may not be some defects present at or near the interface between the alternative fin material and the substrate fin. Thus, in general, the formation of stable, fully-strained, substantially defect-free alternative materials on silicon is limited to very thin layers of the alternative materials.
The presence of defects in an alternative-material fin structure would be detrimental to device operations. One process that has been investigated for use in forming such alternative fin materials is known as aspect-ratio-trapping (ART). In general, the ART process involves forming a masking layer, such as silicon dioxide, above a semiconductor substrate, such as silicon, patterning the masking layer to define a trench that exposes the underlying substrate, and performing an epitaxial growth process to form an alternative fin material, e.g., silicon germanium, on the exposed substrate, wherein the growth is confined within the trench. That is, the ART process involves epitaxially growing fully relaxed, unstrained material hetero-structures in a high aspect-ratio silicon dioxide trench having an aspect ratio of 5 or greater in an effort to decrease defects. In some applications, the ART process may involve the formation of trenches that have a very high aspect ratio, e.g., about 25-30. Importantly, in the ART process, the trench is made deep enough such that defects generated in the alternative fin material will be trapped at or near the bottom of the original trench and in the sidewalls of the trench positioned slightly above the interface between the substrate material and the alternative fin material. The amount of defects generated and the propagation of such defects will depend upon the crystal orientation of the substrate. The intent of the ART process is that, while the defect-containing fin material is present at or near the bottom of the trench, the upper-most portions of the epitaxially grown alternative fin material will be substantially defect-free material but, importantly, it is an un-strained material. That is, the alternative fin material is fully relaxed in all crystalline planes, e.g., in the crystalline planes that correspond to the axial length direction, height direction and width direction of the fin. This occurs due to the "trapping" of the defects at or near the bottom of the trench, with the result being the formation of substantially defect-free alternative fin material above the defective-containing portions of the alternative fin material in the lower portion of the trench. The ART process reduces the thickness of the material requirement for non-defective growth in comparison to the blanket growth of a similar structure. However, in the ART growth process, there are intentionally-formed defects present in the bottom portion of the alternative fin material as well as defects at the interface of the hetero-structure, and the grown material is typically relatively thick, e.g., about 200-300 nm, which corresponds to the fin height direction. The defects are generated along the 111 crystallographic direction of the alternative fin material and they are captured or stopped by the sidewalls of the trench.
The present disclosure is directed to various methods of forming replacement fins for a FinFET semiconductor device.

Methods of forming replacement fins for a FinFET semiconductor device by performing a replacement growth process


A positioning apparatus for an electrical discharge machine includes: a power supply 106 for applying a pulse voltage between an electrode 101 and a workpiece 102; a discharge detecting means 1108 for detecting the occurrence of electrical discharge between the electrode 101 and the workpiece 102; and a means for generating a positioning completion signal on the basis of a detection signal from the discharge detecting means 1108.

In an electrical discharge machine for machining a workpiece by electrical discharge occurring in a gap between an electrode and a workpiece (hereafter referred to as the electrode gap, as necessary) while changing the relative position of the electrode and the workpiece, it has been the practice to set a reference value for accurately ascertaining the aforementioned relative position so as to obtain high geometric accuracy. Conventionally, to set such a reference value, a positioning apparatus is known in which the electrode and the workpiece are brought into direct contact with each other, and this position of contact is set as the reference.
Referring to FIG. 10, a description will be given of this positioning apparatus. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional electrical discharge machine in its entirety. In FIG. 10, the electrical discharge machine has as its main components an electrode 101 for machining; an X-axis moving means 103, a Y-axis moving means 104, and a Z-axis moving means 105 for relatively moving a workpiece 102 with respect to the electrode 101; a power supply 106 for machining for applying a voltage pulse between the electrode 101 and the workpiece 102; an NC control means 107 for imparting instructions on the position to the X-axis moving means 103, the Y-axis moving means 104, and the Z-axis moving means 105; and a contact detecting means 108 serving as a positioning apparatus for detecting the state of contact between the electrode 101 and the workpiece 102.
Referring to FIG. 10, a description will be given of the positioning of the electrical discharge machine arranged as described above. First, in the setup work prior to machining, the X-axis moving means 103, the Y-axis moving means 104, and the Z-axis moving means 105 are operated in accordance with the instructions on the position from the NC control means 107, and the fact that the electrode 101 has contacted the workpiece 102 is detected by the contact detecting means 108 so as to set a reference value. Since the coordinates of the relative position of the electrode 101 and the workpiece 102 can be detected, high-accuracy machining is possible.
However, in a case where a contact portion of the electrode 101 is very small, since the electrode 101 and the workpiece 102 are brought into contact with each other, there has been a first problem in that the tip of the electrode 101 can be broken by the impact.
In addition, to effect very fine machining, it has been the practice to subject a rod electrode having a diameter of several tens of microns or thereabouts as the electrode 101 to dressing forming by means of reverse discharge by using a block electrode and a wire electrode, and to effect fine machining by means of the formed electrode 101, but there has been a problem similar to the aforementioned first problem.
In addition, the actual depth after machining subsequent to the positioning is one in which the amount of discharge gap is added to the amount of feeding of the haft during machining, as shown in FIG. 11. Accordingly, the amount of feeding is a value in which the amount of discharge gap is subtracted from the depth after machining. However, since data on the amount of discharge gap must be acquired in advance for each electrical condition, and the value varies due to the working-fluid jetting pressure for the electrode gap, the electrode-gap sludge, and the like, there has been a second problem in that the above-described conventional electrical discharge machine is unsuitable for high-accuracy machining.

Positioning apparatus for an electrical discharge machine and a method therefor

Mitsubishi Electric Engineering Kabushiki Kaisha


A liquid fixing agent prepared by dissolving in dilute acetic acid chitosan and natural polysaccharide (such as cellulose, pectin, and alginic acid). It is used to fix planted soil (in a terrarium) by application to the surface of soil, followed by drying. Fixed soil prevents ornamental plants from falling or moving in the container during transportation and also remains in place even when the container is inclined.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and agent for fixing soil for ornamental plants and also to a terrarium containing fixed soil.
2. Description of the Related Art
Growing ornamental plants, especially those for interior decoration, in a terrarium has a long history in England. A terrarium is often referred to as horticulture in a glass pot, and it is designed such that a variety of ornamental foliage plants are grown on soil in a round transparent container made of glass or the like. A terrarium placed at a corner of the living room reminds one of green of nature. Production of commercial terrariums needs expertise about the selection and planting of adequate plants and the balanced arrangement of plants in the container. In other words, an overall design by expertise is an important factor for commercial success. There cannot exist a terrarium kit consisting of individual components.
The disadvantage of conventional terrariums is that soil in the container is moved by vibration and inclination that occur during transportation. Soil for terrariums is of granular structure (2-3 mm in size), with little adhesion between granules and adhesion to the container wall. Movement of soil disrupts the harmony of plants in the container and hence impairs the commercial value of terrariums. To prevent such troubles, the transportation of terrariums over a long distance needs a great care, and this hinders the diffusion of terrariums. An actual means to cope with this situation is to cover the surface of soil with a piece of corrugated board after planting, thereby fixing soil to the container. In practice, however, it is very difficult to put and remove such fixing materials without moving plants in the container.

Method for fixing soil for oranmental plants


A film image reproducing apparatus includes an image pick-up device which picks up a film frame image recorded on a film to generate image data; an information reader which reads information about photographing conditions of the film frame image; a reproducing area designator which designates a reproducing area of the film frame image; a measuring device which measures a domestic light condition having to do with the designated reproducing area when the film frame image is picked up; a correcting device which corrects image data corresponding to the designated reproducing area using either the domestic light condition of the designated reproducing area or an undomestic light condition not having to do with the designated reproducing area; and a judging device which judges based on the information which is proper to use for image data correction, the domestic light condition or the undomestic light condition.

This invention relates to a film image reproducing apparatus for picking up and reproducing a light image representing a film image and, particularly to an apparatus capable of enlarging and reproducing a part of a film frame image.
There has been known film video players or apparatus for reproducing on a monitor a film image recorded on a photographic film. The reproducing apparatus of this type is such that: light is projected to a film to form a light image representing a film image; this light image is reproduced, i.e., displayed on a monitor or printed after being sensed by a photoelectric conversion element to be converted into an electrical signal. In reproducing the film image, it is not always necessary to reproduce the entire film frame image. Sometimes, an operator wishes to enlarge a part of the film frame image and to display the enlarged part of the film frame image. In view of this, there has been proposed a reproducing apparatus provided with a zooming function.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,300 discloses a film video player in which light is projected to a film from one direction, and the film image is picked up by way of a zoom lens while controlling the amount of light to be projected by the use of a light attenuation disk. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,735 discloses printing of film image in which a specified zooming is applied to a light image representing a film frame image, and a zoomed image is printed after correcting the exposure and the white balance thereof.
The picture taking is normally performed under the photographing conditions set on the basis of a main subject. Accordingly, there are cases where a part of a film frame image, e.g., a background image, may be reproduced differently from the main subject image. In other words, this part of the film frame image cannot be reproduced with proper brightness and colors.
In the aforementioned film video player, a zoomed part of a film frame image is also picked up under a specified exposure condition. The exposure and the white balance are not corrected under conditions suitable for the zoomed images. Thus, there is a likelihood that the zoomed image cannot be suitably reproduced depending upon the reproduction area.
In the aforementioned film frame image printing, the exposure and the white balance are corrected for a zoomed image. However, in reproducing a zoomed image, there may be the demand of reproducing the zoomed image under the same reproduction conditions for the film frame image, not under the reproduction conditions suitable for the zoomed image. However, U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,735 does not disclose a printing or reproducing way which can satisfy such demand.

Film image reproducing apparatus using a domestic light condition or an undomestic light condition for generation of a designated area


The present invention discloses a method for reconstructing an image obtained from kVp switched imaging of a body by acquiring a plurality of images at a first kVp defining a first image scan and a plurality of images at a second kVp defining a second image scan, wherein the plurality of images at the first kVp are acquired interleaved with the plurality of images of the second image scan and by reconstructing an image from the first and second image scan, comprising determining at least one gradient location for at least two images in the first and second image scans, determining divergent gradient locations in respect of a same part of the body for said at least two images in the first and second image scans, tagging each divergent gradient location as an under sampling artifact, generating the reconstructed image from the at least two images in the first and second image scans by correcting for each tagged under sampling artifact. The invention further discloses an imaging system for imaging at least a part of a body by means of a first image scan and a second image scan and a computer program product.

The present invention generally relates to multi-energy imaging acquisitions. While it is described with particular application to medical imaging, in particular computed tomography (CT), it also relates to other applications in which it is desirable to reconstruct images from scans of photons with different energies.
In CT a radiation source, present in a gantry that is rotatable around an examination area, emits photons, usually x-rays. A detector, generally opposite the radiation source, detects the photons after they traversed the examination area, usually to scan a body present in said examination area. In multi-energy CT the radiation source emits photons at two (or more) different energy levels, which are attenuated at different levels by different materials in the object, e.g. various organs, fluids or bones within a patient's body. Multi-energy CT is used to increase inherently weak soft-tissue contrasts in x-ray imaging and at the same time allows for reduction of beam-hardening artifacts. Among various multi-energy CT techniques (including dual source CT and use of multi-layer detectors or photon-counting detectors), a peak kilovoltage (kVp) switching technique is of particular interest, since it operates with a conventional detector.
The kVp-switching technique is based on acquisition of projections at two (or more) different anode voltages, i.e. different photon spectra. An example of kVp-switched CT may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2011/0085719A1, wherein a set of first (low kVp) image scans and a set of second image scans (high kVp) are acquired interleaved as a function of a rotation angle of the gantry. An image is reconstructed from the obtained first and second image scans.
When demanding a constant x-ray dose and scan time, angular undersampling occurs with interleaved projection sets, since these consist of fewer projections than a conventional 'complete' CT acquisition. This angular undersampling often leads to artifacts, such as streak artifacts and moiré patterns, in reconstructed images. The present invention aims at mitigating such undersampling artifacts resulting from interleaved multi-energy imaging acquisitions.

Image reconstruction in interleaved multi-energy imaging