Embodiments may provide variable geometry turbine, a nozzle vane for a variable geometry turbine, and a method. The variable geometry turbine that may include a turbine wheel and a plurality of adjustable vanes radially positioned around the turbine wheel. The turbine may also include a flow disrupting feature on one or more outside surfaces of one or more of the plurality of adjustable vanes.

Engines may use a turbocharger to improve engine torque and/or power output. A turbocharger may include a turbine disposed in line with the engine's exhaust stream, and coupled via a drive shaft to a compressor disposed in line with the engine's intake air passage. The exhaust-driven turbine may then supply energy, via the drive shaft, to the compressor to boost the intake air pressure. The desired amount of boost may vary over operation of the engine. One approach to controlling the boost pressure is to use a variable geometry turbine to vary the flow of exhaust gas through the turbine. The variable geometry turbine may include a variable turbine nozzle configured to control the angle at which exhaust gas strikes the turbine blades, and/or to control a cross-sectional area of channels upstream from the turbine blades through which the exhaust passes.
One type of variable geometry turbine includes a number of pivot-able nozzle vanes. Exhaust gas flowing through the turbine nozzle flows through channels formed between the nozzle vanes. Pivoting the vanes in one direction may increase the cross-sectional area of channels upstream of the turbine and may decrease the incident angle of gas flowing across the turbine blade(s). Pivoting the vanes in the other direction may decrease the cross-sectional area of channels upstream of the turbine and may increase the incident angle of gas flowing across the turbine blade.
Engine braking is a technique wherein the engine may be used to help slow a vehicle in order to, for example, reduce wear on a vehicle's brakes and/or to reduce the amount of heat that may otherwise be generated if only the vehicle brakes are used to slow, or stop the vehicle. During engine braking the exhaust gas stream is constricted thereby creating a backpressure in the exhaust passage. The piston(s) in the engine are thereby forced to work against the backpressure to expel the combusted gas from the cylinder(s). In a turbocharged engine with a variable geometry the nozzle vanes can be used to constrict the flow. However when the flow is restricted the gas that is allowed to pass is directed toward the turbine with greatly increased speed. This may cause shock waves. This may generate strong interaction and excitation on turbine blades downstream. This shock wave induced excitation, which may also be referred to as force response excitation, or fluid structure interaction, may be a source of high cycle fatigue concern of the turbine blades and a limiting factor of further increasing the exhaust braking power of turbocharged diesel engines.
The basic design of variable geometry turbines has been modified to yield various advantageous results. For example, U.S. Patent Publication 20130042608 attempts to provide a way to independently vary the cross-sectional area of the channels between nozzle vanes and the angle of incidence of gas flowing across the turbine blade. The disclosure provides an annular turbine nozzle having a central axis and a number of nozzle vanes. Each nozzle vanes include a stationary vane and a sliding vane. The sliding vane is positioned to slide in a direction substantially tangent to an inner circumference of the turbine nozzle. The vane modification accordingly attempts to substantially maintain a desired angle of incidence and a preferred cross-sectional area of the channels over a range of engine operating conditions.
The inventors herein have identified a number of shortcomings with this approach. For example, the disclosure fails to address the potential shock issues when the cross-sectional area of the channels is made small to constrict flow in an engine braking condition and the flow is consequently relatively very fast.
Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure may provide a variable geometry turbine that may include a turbine wheel and a plurality of adjustable vanes radially positioned around the turbine wheel. The turbine may also include a flow disrupting feature on one or more outside surfaces of one or more of the plurality of adjustable vanes. In some example embodiments the flow disrupting feature may be a plurality of flow disrupting features that may each be adjacent to a respective trailing edge of the plurality of adjustable vanes. In this way the intensity of a possible shock wave may be reduced on the turbine blades. Also in this way possible excitation on the turbine blades may be reduced.
With various embodiments the adjustable vanes may be adjustable in a pivoting fashion, and/or they may be adjustable in another fashion. For example, each may include two or more portions that may move relative to one another. In some embodiments one or more nozzle vanes may each include a stationary portion and a sliding portion. In such embodiments one of the portions, for example a portion that may extend forward in a leading edge direction, may include one or more flow disrupting features in accordance with the present disclosure.
In some example embodiments the flow disrupting feature may be grooves or dimples. In some cases the grooves or dimples may be of different scales on an otherwise smooth nozzle vane surface. The nozzle vane surface may face the turbine blades. In this way the flow disrupting feature(s) may effectively disperse a sharp and strong shock wave into much weakened shock waves that may be spread over a finite area.
Some example embodiments may provide a nozzle vane for a variable geometry turbine for a turbocharger. The nozzle vane may include a leading edge and a trailing edge. The nozzle vane may also include an outside surface for directing a flow of exhaust gases toward a turbine of the turbocharger from the leading edge toward the trailing edge, and one or more flow disrupting features on the outside surface to disrupt the flow adjacent to the trailing edge.
Various other example embodiments may provide a method, including during engine braking, expanding exhaust gas through a variable geometry nozzle of a turbocharger; and disrupting flow via flow disrupting grooves on a surface of nozzle vanes upstream from exhaust vanes of the turbocharger.
Various embodiments may provide a solution that may be applied to a wide variety of variable geometry turbines with swing nozzle vanes. In this way it may be avoided that the turbine blades be made more thick and therefore thick enough to have the structure natural frequency to operational frequency ratio above, for example 7.0, as may heretofore have been proposed in order to withstand a strong shock wave induced excitation or force response excitation on the turbine blades.
Some embodiments may provide a change in the orientation of grooves on the nozzle surface which may manipulate the angle of interaction or excitation in the space domain of the shock wave on the turbine blade, and may thus regulate and weaken the excitation in the time domain on the specific location of the turbine blade. With the weakened shock wave excitation in accordance with the present disclosure, the turbine blade design may be optimized for better aerodynamic performance, in terms of efficiency and flow capacity, with structural natural frequency to operational frequency ratio as low as 5. This may reduce the inertia and weight, of the nozzle without high cycle fatigue concerns due to shock wave induced excitation on the blades.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.


Provided is a semiconductor device that includes: a transistor; an oxide semiconductor film; a first conductive film electrically connected to the oxide semiconductor film; and a first insulating film provided between the first conductive film and the oxide semiconductor film.

The present application relates to a semiconductor device having an oxide semiconductor film, to a display unit, and to an electronic apparatus.
An oxide containing elements such as zinc (Zn) and indium (In) exerts an excellent property as an active layer of a semiconductor device, and is recently being developed for applications to TFT, a light-emitting device, and a transparent conductive film. In particular, it has been known that an electron mobility of TFT using a composite oxide containing elements such as Zn, In, and Ga is large as compared to that of the TFT using amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) generally used for a liquid crystal display, and an excellent electrical characteristic is exerted.
In the TFT (Thin Film Transistor) using such an oxide semiconductor, a bottom-gate type TFT and a top-gate type TFT have been reported up to now. The bottom-gate type TFT has a configuration in which a thin-film layer of the oxide semiconductor is provided on a gate electrode with a gate insulating film provided therebetween. This structure is similar a structure of the TFT, which is commercialized at the present, in which amorphous silicon is used for a channel. Therefore, it is possible to divert an existing manufacturing process of the TFT using amorphous silicon thereto easily, and the bottom-gate type structure is often used in the TFT using an oxide semiconductor.
As described above, an oxide semiconductor material is used as a channel film of the TFT. On the other hand, a method for improving electrical conductivity of the oxide semiconductor material and applying it to an electrode of a capacitor has also been studied (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-100091). In the oxide semiconductor material, carriers are generated due to oxygen defects. That is, a reduction process is applied to the oxide semiconductor material, and thereby it is possible to improve electrical conductivity thereof. Examples of the reduction process include an argon process, an annealing process under a nitrogen (N2) atmosphere, and a hydrogen process (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2010-166030, 2010-222214, and 2011-091279). The hydrogen process may be, for example, hydrogen plasma irradiation.

Semiconductor device, display unit, and electronic apparatus


A belt buckle feeder for a vehicle seat belt system includes a spindle drive and a belt buckle (12) mounted on a spindle (14) of the spindle drive, the belt buckle being movable in height via a spindle nut (26) located on the spindle (14). A safety mechanism comprising at least one locking element (44) is provided which is configured so that the locking element (44) enters into force fit and/or form fit with the spindle (14), when a predetermined force threshold is exceeded, and introduces force acting on the belt buckle (12) in the extending direction (R) of the spindle (14) into a mounting point fixed to the vehicle white bypassing the spindle drive.

The invention relates to a belt buckle feeder for a vehicle seat belt system.
Belt buckle feeders as they are called assist the buckling operation in passenger cars by moving the belt buckle along a defined distance from a home position into a feeding position in which the belt buckle can be better grasped by the vehicle occupant. After inserting the plug-in tongue into the belt buckle, the latter is moved back from the feeding position into the home position.
Such system is intended to be as space-saving as possible and to be manufactured at low cost. At the same time, however, it has to be ensured that even when high forces are acting on the belt buckle, for example in the case of accident, the belt buckle cannot be removed from its home position.


Described are a reputation analysis device, reputation analysis method, and reputation analysis-use program capable of suitably analyzing temporal changes in reputation for an object indicated by a keyword. The disclosed reputation analysis device is provided with a voluntary activity description extraction means for extracting descriptions representing voluntary activity related to an object indicated by a keyword that has been input from within a plurality of documents; and a reputation chronological data estimation means for counting the number of occurrences of voluntary activity at each time point wherein the voluntary activity expressed by a description representing the voluntary activity related to the object has been performed, and estimating reputation chronological data for chronologically representing evaluations for the object by the agents of the voluntary activity.

There are technologies which extract people's reputation about a certain subject by analyzing a large amount of text information. Such technologies are very useful for supporting people's decision making and for marketing. For example, for persons wondering whether or not to buy a certain product, it is important reference information how other people evaluate the product. Further, knowing reputation about a certain product, enterprises can reflect it to development and promotion of a successive product.
In particular, technologies which analyze change in reputation with time by analyzing the number of appearances of evaluations in the form of a time series have attracted much attention in recent years. A first advantage of analyzing change in reputation with time is that it is possible to preclude evaluations of the past which are too old and ineffective. A second advantage is that knowing a cause of a change in reputation becomes an important hint for decision making.
For example, it is supposed that a serious problem about a subject became clear at a point of time t, and since then, reputation of the subject changed and everyone came to have a negative evaluation of the subject. In such a case, evaluations in days after t, where people know the problem, are more important hints for decision making than that in days before t, where people did not know the problem.
Also in such a case, by identifying a point of time of the reputation change, it is possible to know the serious problem about the subject which influenced an evaluation by individual person, and to use it as an important hint for decision making.
Because of the advantages described above, technologies of extracting change in reputation with time from a set of a large number of documents such as blogs have been studied in a variety of ways.
Non-patent document 1 describes a technology which extracts from documents, using an evaluation-expression extraction technology, expressions used by writers of the documents when exhibiting their own evaluations about a subject, and then sums up the numbers of appearances of the expressions and graphs them in the form of a time-series, and thereby presents a change in reputation with time.
The technology described in non-patent document 1 firstly collects evaluation expressions such as "good" and "bad" which are used by writers when exhibiting their evaluations of a subject, by means of mechanical automatic processing, and registers them in a dictionary in advance. The technology described in non-patent document 1 limits evaluation expressions to adjectives and adjectival verbs, and to extract such evaluation expressions, it uses a method of non-patent document 2.
By extracting expressions in documents which agree with expressions in the dictionary, the technology described in non-patent document 1 collects affirmative evaluation expressions and negative evaluation expressions. The technology described in non-patent document 1 regards a graph of the numbers of appearances of affirmative evaluation expressions and negative evaluation expressions as a graph indicating reputation about a subject at each point of time, and outputs it.
Non-patent document 2 describes a technology, which is used in non-patent document 1, of extracting expressions which appear in an unevenly concentrated manner in affirmative reviews and negative reviews as evaluation expressions. The technology described in non-patent document 2 extracts expressions, such as "bright", "beautiful", "terrible" and "bad", which are often used by writers of reviews when exhibiting their own evaluations.
Further, technologies relating to the present invention are described in patent documents 1-3.
A technology described in patent document 1 is a search server for searching for information used to solve a problem, which stores sub-tree information representing a hierarchical structure about a task including an object word and an action word, and stores the object word and action word and a modifier representing the problem, relating the sub-tree information and the group of words to each other. The search server recognizes an object word, an action word and a modifier from inputted search words. The search server acquires stored sub-tree information on the basis of the recognized object word, action word and modifier.
As the search server described in patent document 1 is configured as described above, the user can search for information for solving a problem by a simple and easy input, and thus can reduce the effort of input.
A technology described in patent document 2 is an emotion evaluation system, which collects text information existing on a network, then classifies the text information on the basis of time information obtained along with the text information, and stores the text information in a storage device. From the text information, the emotion evaluation system extracts a combination of an adjective and an adverb which shows the sensitivity, and a noun relevant to the formers, using a dictionary stored in a storage device. Further, the emotion evaluation system assigns, from among adjectives and adverbs relevant to each noun extracted in an emotion information extraction process, an adjective and an adverb whose appearance rates are high as indexes, and generates an emotion map corresponding to each noun, which indicates transitions of appearance rates of adjectives and adverbs resembling respectively the adjective and the adverb assigned as indexes. The emotion evaluation system performs an emotion information mapping process of storing the generated emotion map in a storage device as an emotion map database. The emotion evaluation system performs the following emotion map search process. First, when a search keyword is inputted, the emotion evaluation system searches for an emotion map resembling the most an emotion map created on the basis of a word identical with the search keyword from the emotion map database stored in the storage device. Secondly, the emotion evaluation system outputs the search result as a predictive result of an evaluation.
As the emotion evaluation system described in patent document 2 is configured as described above, the user can search for a transition of emotion with high accuracy.
A technology described in patent document 3 is a time series information processing apparatus, which detects the user's specifying input of a first time series information as time series information in which a date and time is related to a value. The time series information processing apparatus acquires a second time series information for comparing with the first time series information from a database storing a plurality of kinds of time series information. The time series information processing apparatus compares a trend of change during a predetermined period of time in the values in the first time series information with that in the values in the second time series information, and calculates a degree of resemblance between the trends of change as a correlation value by the use of a predetermined evaluation function. When the correlation value is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value, the time series information processing apparatus makes an order to display the first and the second time series information in an overlapping form on one screen.
By having the above-described configuration, the time series information processing apparatus described in patent document 3 can provide a technology which visualizes a plurality of pieces of time series information correlated with each other and thereby supports an analysis.

Reputation analysis system and reputation analysis method


A silicide layer (first silicide layer, second silicide layer) is laminated on top laminate surfaces of gates of a transmission transistor and a reset transistor, respectively. Each of the first silicide layer and the second silicide layer respectively formed on each of the gates extends in a direction along the main surface of the semiconductor substrate among at least a portion of a plurality of image pixels, connecting gates with one another among the respective image pixels. On the other hand, a signal outputter is not in contact with any silicide layers, has the top laminate surface that is covered with an insulating layer, and is connected with other transistors via a metal wiring layer.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device and a manufacturing method for the same, in particular to a structure of an image pixel of a MOS-type solid-state imaging device and a forming method thereof.
(2) Description of the Related Art
MOS-type solid-state imaging devices which are used in digital cameras and the like can be driven with a lower power consumption compared to CCD-type solid-state imaging devices. Also, a sensor region of the MOS-type solid-state imaging device and a peripheral circuit region thereof for driving the sensor region can be manufactured based on the same CMOS processing. Thus, their manufacturing processes can be more simplified, and semiconductor devices can be more integrated, compared to the CCD-type solid-state imaging devices. The structure of the conventional MOS-type solid-state imaging devices will be described using an example of an amplification-type MOS-type solid-state imaging device.
As shown in FIG. 1, the sensor region of the MOS-type solid-state imaging device includes a plurality of image pixels 60 (FIG. 1 shows 4 of the image pixels 60). Each image pixel 60 includes a photodiode 61 and 4 transistors (a transmission transistor 62, an amplifier transistor 63, a selection transistor 64, and a reset transistor 65) as its main components.
In the plurality of image pixels 60 that are two-dimensionally arranged along the direction of the paper surface of FIG. 1, gates of the transmission transistors 62 are connected with one another by lines L61. Likewise, gates of reset transistors 65 are connected with one another by lines L62, and gates of selection transistors 64 are connected with one another by lines L63. Also, in the plurality of image pixels 60 two-dimensionally arranged along the direction of the paper surface of FIG. 1, sources of the selection transistors 64 are connected with one another by lines L64.
Among structural components of the image pixel 60 shown in FIG. 1, the transmission transistor 62 and its peripheral regions will be described using FIG. 2A, and the reset transistor 65 and its peripheral regions will be described using FIG. 2B.
As shown in FIG. 2A, at the transmission transistor 62 and the peripheral regions thereof, an n-type signal charge accumulator 602 is formed in a p-well (p-type device formation region) 601 on a semiconductor substrate 600. Also, a p-type surface shield layer 606 and an n-type signal outputter 605 are formed in a vicinity of the surface of the p-well 601. The n-type signal charge accumulator 602 is a component comprising part of a photodiode and accumulates signal charges generated by receiving incident light.
The p-type surface shield layer 606 is formed in an upper area with respect to the n-type signal charge accumulator 602 (the p-well 601 surface side) in order to reduce dark current. The n-type signal outputter 605 is formed away from both the n-type signal charge accumulation 602 and the p-type surface shield layer 606. Also, an insulating layer 603 is formed on a region between the p-type surface shield layer 606 and the n-type signal outputter 605 of the p-well 601. Further, a gate 604 of the transmission transistor 62 for controlling transmission of signal charge is provided on the insulating layer 603. Additionally, the gate 604, the signal outputter 605, and the surface shield layer 606 are covered with an insulating layer 621.
Also, an STI (Shallow Trench Isolation) region 607 is formed adjacent to the surface shield layer 606 (in FIG. 2A, adjacent to the left side of the surface shield layer 606). It should be noted the STI region 607 is formed in regions separating adjacent image pixels 60 and the like.
As shown in FIG. 2B, at the reset transistor 65 and peripheral regions thereof, a source 611 and a drain 612 of the reset transistor 65 are formed apart from each other in a vicinity of one of the surfaces of the p-well 601 formed on the semiconductor substrate 600. Also, the insulating layer 603 is formed above a region between the source 611 and the drain 612 of the semiconductor substrate, and the gate 613 is provided on the insulating layer 603. The source 611, the drain 612, and the gate 613 are covered with the insulating layer 621.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the sensor region of the MOS-type solid-state imaging device, the transistors 62 to 65 of the plurality of image pixels 60 are connected to one another, respectively, by such as the lines L61 to L64. Wiring lengths can be extremely long, and are likely to cause an increase in wiring resistance if the wirings are to be extended to connect with gates and the like. The following describes conventional techniques developed in attempts to solve this problem, with reference to FIG. 3.
As shown in FIG. 3, the conventional MOS-type solid-state imaging devices are structured in such a manner that metal wirings 633a to 633c are provided on each of the gate 604 of the transmission transistor 62 and the gate 613 of the reset transistor 65, and the gates 604 and 613 are connected with the metal wirings 633a and so on with contact plugs 641, respectively. The conventional MOS-type solid-state imaging devices attempt to reduce wiring resistance by adopting such a structure. However, as shown in FIG. 3, an insertion of the metal wirings 633a to 633c causes a problem, that is, an increase in a light path length, a distance D0, from the on-chip lens 631 to the signal charge accumulator 602 via a color filter 632. Since the distance D0 directly affects the sensitivity of the MOS-type solid-state imaging device, with the conventional MOS-type solid-state imaging devices, it is difficult to reduce wiring resistance while also preventing deterioration of the sensitivity. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 3, the sensitivity deteriorates due to a decrease in a light receivable angle θ0 also.
Various attempts have been made to solve the above-mentioned problem. For example, one technique uses a salicide method in laminating a silicide layer on gates, a signal outputter and the like and connects the image pixels 60 with this silicide layer in order to reduce resistance. Another technique attempts to reduce resistance by forming a silicide layer at peripheral circuits with similar use of the salicide method (for examples, see Japanese laid-open patent application publication No. 2001-111022 and Japanese Patent No. 3782297).
However, when adopting the techniques proposed by the above-mentioned documents (Japanese laid-open patent application publication No. 2001-111022 and Japanese Patent No. 3782297), it is difficult to reduce electrical resistance among the image pixels and prevent the deterioration of playback images at the same time. Specifically, with the technique proposed as a first embodiment of the above-mentioned document (Japanese laid-open patent application publication No. 2001-111022), no silicide layer is formed at a sensor region where image pixels are formed, and thus, wiring resistance cannot be reduced sufficiently. Accordingly, in view of the sensitivity characteristics, it is difficult to adopt the technique proposed as the first embodiment of the above-mentioned document (Japanese laid-open patent application publication No. 2001-111022).
On the other hand, according to a second embodiment of the above-mentioned document (Japanese laid-open patent application publication No. 2001-111022) and the other document mentioned above (Japanese Patent No. 3782297), a silicide layer is formed on everything except for a light receiver of a photoelectric converter in a pixel cell, including drains of transmission transistors. Consequently, when adopting the technique proposed by these, leakage current is likely to occur, and thus, noise is likely to occur due to aliasing output from the signal outputter 605.
A junction depth of the signal outputter 605 and the source 611 of the reset transistor 65 is 0.1 [μm] to 0.5 [/μm], and this could be reduced down to approximately 0.05 [μm] to 0.1 [μm] if a pixel size is further miniaturized. Abstracts of 1995 IEEE-IEDM (International Electron Devices Meeting) pp. 449-452 contain a description that cobalt silicide spikes reach a length of 20 [nm] to 100 [nm]. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, a junction between an impurity diffusion layer and a silicon substrate is destroyed due to a cobalt silicide spike, causing leakage current to occur from the impurity diffusion layer to the silicon substrate.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, VOL. 46, No. 1, JANUARY 1999 pp. 117-123 contains descriptions on mechanism caused by cobalt silicide, such as that cobalt diffuses from a cobalt silicide layer due to a thermal process, increasing leakage current, and the leakage current value has a distribution within a region, in addition to that the cobalt silicide spikes reach a length of 20 [nm] to 100 [nm].
In other words, according to the techniques proposed by the second embodiment of the above-mentioned document (Japanese laid-open patent application publication No. 2001-111022) and the other document (Japanese Patent No. 3782297), a silicide layer is laminated on the signal outputter 605 and the source 611 of the reset transistor 65 as well as on the gate 604 of the transmission transistor 62 and the gate 613 of the reset transistor 65. As a result, a metal-semiconductor compound, the component of the silicide layer, penetrates to the p-well (p-type device formation region) 601 or even if it does not penetrate to the p-well 601, it shortens the distance to the p-well 601. Consequently, leakage current increases and has a distribution with in the region.
Due to an increase in the number of pixels for cameras in recent years, when practically used, the signal outputter 605 and the source 611 of the reset transistor 65 electrically connected to the signal outputter 605 are placed in each of several million to ten million pixels in a pixel array. Also, when the peripheral temperature of the several million to ten million sources 611 of the reset transistors 65, which are electrically connected to the several million to ten million of signal outputters 605 and the signal outputters 605, is 60[° C.], leakage current indicates a distribution as shown in FIG. 5 under the condition, for example, that a total area of the signal outputters 605 and the sources 611 of the reset transistors 65 is 0.48[μm2].
FIG. 5 shows a case where a sample time for transmitting a signal downstream for an output to eliminate noise is 4.88 [μsec] and a saturation number of electrons of the signal charge accumulator 602 is 3000. In this case, 90 electrons or more, which approximately account for 3[%] of the saturation number corresponding to a dynamic range of a playback image, that is, image pixels with a leakage current of approximately 300 [fA] or more in the maximum applicable temperature, become visible as a noise in the playback image. As can be seen from the above, the techniques proposed by the second embodiment of the above-mentioned document (Japanese laid-open patent application publication No. 2001-111022) and the other document mentioned above (Japanese Patent No. 3782297) suffer deterioration of playback images due to leakage current generation as a tradeoff for gaining an advantage of reducing wiring resistance by forming silicide layers.

Solid-state imaging device having wiring layer which includes lamination of silicide layer in order to reduce wiring resistance, and manufacturing method for the same


A Roebel bar for a rotating electrical machine includes a straight slot part disposed in a slot in an iron sheet of a stator of the rotating electrical machine and a bent yoke part adjacent to the straight slot part and protruding from the stator, wherein the bent yoke part is configured to connect the Roebel bar to at least one more Roebel bar so as to form a winding. A copper conductor disposed in the straight slot part and the bent yoke part is surrounded by an insulation having an outer surface. A slot corona shielding includes an electrically conductive layer disposed on the outer surface of the insulation in an area of the straight slot part. A yoke corona shielding includes a semiconducting layer disposed on the outer surface of the insulation in an area of the bent yoke part.

Bars referred to as Roebel bars, as known for example from the document EP-A1-0 778 648, are used as electrical conductors of the stator winding of rotating electrical machines, in particular turbogenerators. In the case of such a Roebel bar, a distinction is made between the straight slot part, which is in direct contact with the iron sheet of the stator, and the bent yoke part, which protrudes from the stator and by means of which each bar is connected to other bars to form a winding (see FIG. 1 of the aforementioned document). Roebel bars are provided with an insulation, in order to avoid a short-circuit with the iron sheet of the stator (slot part) or with other Roebel bars (yoke part).
As corona shielding, the surface of this insulation is usually provided with a conductive layer (sheet conductivity approximately 1000 ohms.cm/cm) in the (straight) slot part and with a semiconductive layer, which preferably has a field-dependent conductivity (sheet conductivity 107-1012 ohms.cm/cm), in the (bent) yoke part. Correspondingly, the two corona shielding layers are referred to as slot corona shielding (SCS) and yoke corona shielding (YCS).
Probably the most critical point of the SCS/YCS corona shielding system is the transition between SCS and YCS. As a result of the low resistance of the SCS, the shielding is at ground potential up to its end. In the case of high-impedance YCS, on the other hand, the capacitor coupling via the insulation gains in significance. This has the effect that, with increasing distance from the SCS end, the surface potential of the Roebel bar assumes the potential of the electrical conductor (UL). Therefore, equalizing currents flow on the surface, and these currents are particularly high in the region of the SCS/YCS transition.
This can be easily explained for the case where R(YCS)=∞. In this case, the surface potential U(x) at the point x on the yoke is given by the ratio of surface capacitance (Co) to capacitance of the insulation (Ciso). It is:U(x)=UL*ƒ(Co, Ciso)=UL*Ciso/(Co+Ciso);where x denotes the distance from the end of the SCS, which is at x=0. Co is proportional to 1/x, while Ciso is proportional to ε/d (d=insulation thickness), as in the case of a conventional plate capacitor. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the variation of U(x)/UL in arbitrary units of x, where the ratio of Co(x=1)/Ciso=0.1 ("normal coupling", curve b) or 0.2 ("strong coupling", curve a) is chosen. The two figures differ by different scaling of the x axis.
In the case of the field-dependent resistance of the YCS, the situation is similar, but more complicated to describe (see in this respect J. Thienpont, T. H. Sie "Suppression of surface discharges in the stator winding of high voltage machines" in "Conference Internationale des grands résaux électriques à haute tension", Paris, 1964).
The electric field E=dU/dx is the strongest at x=0. However, this also means that there the density of the displacement currents, j, also increases, and consequently also the dielectric heat losses, which are proportional to E*j. This is the cause of the increased temperatures at the SCS end. The electric field strength itself is also problematic: it can increase so much that surface discharges occur. On the other hand, although the corona shielding helps, it does not help up to any level of voltage and capacitor coupling. Temperature increases and discharges may occur in particular under the following conditions:                When testing with Utest above 2Un for Un above 20 kV.        When testing with insulations with increased dielectric coupling (i.e. higher Ciso). Such insulation is concerned if, for example, an insulation with En≧3.5 kV/mm is to be achieved (the standard is En=2.5 kV/mm-3.0 kV/mm). For Un=.const., increasing En means a reduction in the insulating thickness by 25%-40% and a corresponding increase in Ciso. In addition to this there is also an increase in ε of about 50%, since the proportion of the mica with ε=9 is higher than in the standard insulation.

Roebel bar for rotating electrical machines


Described is a portable confocal microscope which includes a microscope stand including a shaft having top and bottom ends, a platform connected to the shaft by a height adjustment mechanism, a base member connected to the bottom end of the shaft and first and second elongated channel members slidably and rotatably connected to the base member, an optical assembly including an objective lens including a first position adjustment mechanism for adjusting a position of the objective lens along a first axis, a confocal module transmitting light to and receiving light from a specimen to be imaged via the optical assembly, an image acquisition system recording images through the optical assembly, a specimen stage including a position adjustment mechanism for moving the stage along a second and third axis, and a computer controlling the first and second position adjusting mechanisms to generate an image for recording by the image acquisition system.

The confocal microscope is widely used in many areas of biological and medical research because of its ability to image subsurface features with high resolution and contrast. The operating principle of a confocal scanning optical microscope ("CSOM") is that an illuminating beam of light is scanned across a field of view from which only light emerging from a focal plane of an objective lens contributes to image formation. This differs from conventional light microscopy, wherein light from the focus plane of the objective lens, as well as from all out of focus planes across the entire field of view, is observed. In practice, the focal plane can be positioned below the surface of an opaque material for the non-destructive imaging of microscopic details at depth, or it may be positioned on the surface of a reflective material for observing high-resolution surface detail.
CSOMs are generally available in two basic configurations. The first scans a high intensity laser across the field of view with a computer compiling an image from the scan. These laser CSOM devices are generally too heavy and sensitive to motion to be portable. The second configuration uses a rotating "Nipkow" disk with a series of pinholes formed therein to transmit portions of an illuminating beam of light to and from the object to compile an image in real time. The image compiled from a Nipkow CSOM is generally visible through objective eyepieces without computer compilation.
Nipkow disks typically contain thousands of perforations (e.g., 32,000 or more), each having a diameter of about 50 microns. These perforations are generally arranged as a series of Archimedean spirals. In operation, the disk is spun to rotate the series of precisely aligned perforations across an incident light beam to create an incident light scan with returning light directed back through the disk. One available form of a Nipkow disk CSOM uses both sides of the rotating disk, e.g., one side for light passing to the specimen and the other side for light returning from the specimen. Because the precise alignment of multiple internal mirrors is required to obtain an accurate image, these instruments are very sensitive to motion and are not easily portable. In fact, even limited motion of such devices may require time consuming realignment of the mirrors. Although Nipkow disk CSOMs using only one side of the rotating disk for both purposes are less motion sensitive, current devices achieved the required base stability only through a heavy, non-adjustable base permanently mounted to the optics.


A programmable ASIC architecture allows the size of programming transistors to be reduced along with other parts of the device as advances in processing technology are made. Programming enable circuits are used to allow a programming address shift register having fewer bits to be used in the programming of antifuses. Methods of simultaneously programming multiple corresponding antifuses to speed ASIC programming are disclosed. Aspects of the architecture allow output protection for digital logic elements in modules to be eliminated, some testing transistors to be eliminated, the sizes of other testing transistors to be reduced, capacitances on interconnect wire segments to be reduced, some programming transistors to be eliminated, and the sizes of other programming transistors to be reduced.

A programmable application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is a versatile integrated circuit chip, the internal circuitry of which may be configured before packaging by a manufacturer or after packaging by an individual user to realize a user-specific circuit. To configure a programmable ASIC, the user configures an on-chip interconnect structure of the programmable ASIC so that selected input terminals and selected output terminals of selected on-chip circuit components are electrically connected together in such a way that the resulting circuit is the user-specific circuit desired by the user. In a programmable ASIC employing, for example, amorphous silicon antifuses, selected amorphous silicon antifuses electrically disposed between selected wire segments are "programmed" to connect the selected wire segments together electrically. Which antifuses are programmed and which antifuses are left unprogrammed determines how the circuit components are interconnected and therefore determines the resulting circuit. Programmable ASICs can employ other types of antifuse structures including, for example, antifuses employing nitrides and oxides.
FIG. 1 (Prior Art) illustrates the programming of an antifuse of a programmable antifuse device in accordance with a prior art method. Four antifuses 1-4 are illustrated. Antifuse 1 is disposed between wire segments 5 and 6. Antifuse 2 is disposed between wire segments 6 and 7. Antifuse 3 is disposed between wire segments 7 and 8. Antifuse 4 is disposed between wire segments 8 and 9. Each of antifuses 1-4 has a corresponding pass programming transistor 10-13 disposed in parallel with the antifuse. Breaks are shown in wire segments 5 and 9 to indicate that the string of antifuses and wire segments includes more antifuses and wire segments than are shown. A string may, for example, comprise ten to fifteen antifuses and associated wire segments.
To program an antifuse in the string, a programming voltage Vpp is typically applied to one end of the string and a ground potential GND is typically applied to the other end of the string. This may be accomplished by turning on programming drivers (not shown) connected to the wire segments at either end of the string. If, for example, antifuse 3 is to be programmed, then pass programming transistors 10, 11 and 13 are turned on whereas pass programming transistor 12 is turned off. As a result, a voltage of sufficient magnitude develops across antifuse 3 such that antifuse 3 is programmed to be conductive.
In some antifuse structures such as some amorphous silicon antifuse structures having a given feature size, it is desirable to achieve a low programmed antifuse resistance. Such amorphous silicon antifuse structures are programmed with programming currents on the order of 12 mA or greater in order to achieve a desired low programmed antifuse resistance.
To maximize the amount of programming current available to program an antifuse in the string, the "on" resistance of the pass programming transistors in the string should be low. If, for example, the programming voltage Vpp is about 12 volts, and if there are eleven pass programming transistors in the string from programming voltage Vpp to ground potential GND, and if the programming current flowing through antifuse 3 in FIG. 1 is to be at least 12 mA, then each pass programming transistor must have an on resistance of 100 ohms or less.
Not only must the on resistance of the pass programming transistors be low, but the voltage at which the pass programming transistors break down should be high. Consider the attempted programming of antifuse 3. If pass programming transistor 12 were to break down at a lower voltage between wire segments 7 and 8 than the voltage at which antifuse 3 begins to be programmed, then pass programming transistor 12 would effectively shunt some of the programming current around antifuse 3. Accordingly, the amount of programming current which would flow through antifuse 3 could be insufficient to achieve the desired 50 ohm programmed resistance. Because both the breakdown voltage and the on resistance of a pass programming transistor are typically dependent upon the size of the pass programming transistor, the pass programming transistors in the structure of FIG. 1 are made sufficiently large to have a low enough on resistance and a high enough breakdown voltage to allow an adequate amount of programming current to flow through the antifuses to be programmed.
Although the architecture illustrated in FIG. 1 operates effectively, it is desirable to achieve the same functionality while utilizing a smaller amount of silicon area. Uniformly shrinking the structures illustrated in FIG. 1 may, however, result in pass programming transistors 10-13 being smaller and therefore having undesirably low breakdown voltages and undesirably high on resistances. Accordingly, an architecture is sought in which the transistors used to program antifuses can be reduced in size while maintaining the ability to program the antifuses with sufficient programming current.

Programmable application specific integrated circuit employing antifuses and methods therefor


An isoxazoline derivative represented by the following general formula [I]:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel isoxazoline derivative and a herbicide containing the isoxazoline derivative as the active ingredient.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The herbicidal activity of isoxazoline derivatives are reported in, for example, JP-A-8-22558, JP-A-9-328477 and JP-A-9-328483. The compound of the present invention described in detail later, however, is not described in these literatures.
Herbicides applied to useful crops are desired to (a) be applicable to soil or foliage, (b) show a sufficient herbicidal effect at a low ingredient amount, and (c) show a high selectivity between crop and weed. In these respects, the compounds described in the above literatures are not fully satisfactory.

Isoxazoline derivative and herbicide comprising the same as active ingredient

Abstract: wherein R1 and R2 may be the same or different and are each an alkyl group;                R3, R4, R5 and R6 are each a hydrogen atom;        Y is an optionally substituted 5- to 6-membered aromatic heterocyclic group or fused aromatic heterocyclic group having a hetero atom selected from a nitrogen atom, a oxygen atom and a sulfur atom; and        n is an integer: of 0 to 2.

Abstract: The isoxazoline derivative has an excellent herbicidal effect and an excellent selectivity between crop and weed.


A sensor monitoring system is described that identifies inaccurate or degraded sensor data and corresponding sensors. The system analyzes a plurality of sensors to determine reliable sensors and isolate or reinterpret unreliable sensor data. An analysis component analyzes a traffic representation that varies as context varies and determines the probability that current sensor data is invalid. Learning and reasoning are performed from a case library of sensor failure data to build predictive models of sensor health that can provide inferences about the output of sensors. Resulting inferences about sensor reliability can be employed in base-level inferences and predictions about traffic flow.

Computer-driven systems utilize sets of sensors to monitor arterial flow systems. In general, arterial flow systems describe the movement of liquids, gases or granular materials through pipes, conveyors or other conduits. Movement of traffic through streets of a city or geographic region can also be viewed as an arterial system. The flow of automobiles and other vehicles through a city can be tracked using various types or sets of sensors. The collected sensor data can be utilized by a traffic flow system to monitor movement of traffic.
Traffic flow systems can be utilized for a variety of purposes including route planning and road design. For example, flow of traffic can be monitored to detect and predict bottleneck situations. Identification of bottlenecks in an arterial flow system, such as a traffic system, allows for diversion of materials and alleviation of the bottleneck. In addition, identification of road segments prone to bottlenecks can assist in planning future traffic flow or modifying existing roadways (e.g., expanding an existing two-lane road into a four-lane road).
Traffic flow can be monitored utilizing a variety of sensors. In particular, during rush hours, when most commuters are in transit between work and home, traffic in most major cities is monitored using helicopters, strategically positioned cameras and/or commuter reports of traffic incidents. In addition, particularly well-traveled roads can include networks of pressure sensors designed to monitor the flow of traffic. Commuters can be provided with traffic information necessary to plan a commute route via traffic reports broadcast over the radio or on their television. Traffic information can also be displayed via electronic signs alerting travelers approaching an interchange or other problem area. The signs can even include a prediction of travel time based upon the density and speed of traffic detected by the sensors. The provided traffic information allows drivers to plan their commute to avoid bottlenecks and minimize travel time.
The validity of the traffic flow information and systems that monitor or predict the traffic flow are dependent upon the validity of data received from sensors. In general, large sets of sensors are used to estimate or compute the current flow of the system and to predict the future flow. However, even in a system utilizing data collected by numerous sensors, invalid sensor information can lead to degraded performance of a traffic flow system.

Learning and reasoning about the context-sensitive reliability of sensors


The present invention relates to a composition for topical use comprising a hydroxycarboxylic acid and oat extract. The present invention also relates to a method of enhancing the rate of skin desquamation by incorporating oat extract into a composition containing hydroxycarboxylic acid. The composition can be topically applied.

The present invention relates to a composition to enhance the rate of skin cell renewal or exfoliation and to a method of increasing the skin cell renewal rate. In particular, the present invention relates to a composition containing hydroxycarboxylic acid and an enhancing effective amount of oat extract. The present invention also relates to a method of increasing the rate of skin-cell renewal by applying a composition to the skin, wherein the composition comprises a hydroxycarboxylic acid and an enhancing effective amount of oat extract.
With the aging population, there is a continuing effort to provide cosmetic compositions to improve the appearance of the skin. Thus, many compositions are directed to improving the moisture retaining properties of the skin and consequently, include known moisturizers. At the same time, many consumers seek to use only natural ingredients. As a result, moisturizers such as oatmeal and related oat products have been incorporated into cosmetic compositions.
Recently, in addition to improving the moisture retaining properties of the skin, many compositions have included hydroxycarboxylic acids such as glycolic, lactic, citric, and malic acids in an effort to increase the exfoliation or desquamation of the outermost layer of skin. Thus, cosmetic compositions containing hydroxycarboxylic acids are being marketed for such uses as dry skin, the reduction of wrinkles and fine lines and to combat the effects of aging.
Human skin may be classified into two major parts: the outer layer or epidermis and an underlying layer or dermis. The dermis contains, among other things, blood vessels, nerves, collagen, elastin, and fibroblast cells, which are responsible for the biosynthesis of collagen and elastin.
The epidermis itself also may be considered to consist of two major zones, an inner or malpighian layer and an outer or horny layer. The malpighian layer, a living tissue, may be further divided into basal, spinous, and granular layers. The horny layer, a dead tissue, is also referred to as stratum corneum.
In the natural process, basal cells in the basal layer move outward through the spinous and granular layers to become dead cells called corneocytes, in the stratum comeum. The stratum corneum consists of approximately 14 layers of corneocytes. In the normal skin it takes about 14 days for the basal cells to move from the basal layer to the end of the granular layer and to become corneocytes, and another 14 days to reach the outermost layer of the stratum corneum, where they are naturally shed or exfoliated. This process of forming corneocytes is called keratinization, and stratum corneum are the natural products produced by this process. The stratum comeum is the skin tissue that one feels when touching the skin. Usually, it takes about 28 days for cells of the basal layer to move outward to the surface in the course of making new skin.
It is thought that by increasing the natural desquamation rate of the outermost part of the stratum corneum and thus exposing lower layers of the stratum corneum, the appearance of the skin will be improved. Many substances are known to increase the rate of natural desquamation but recently hydroxycarboxylic acids have received an increasing amount of attention. A drawback to the use of hydroxycarboxylic acids is that they can irritate the skin of the user. Thus, it would be desirable to incorporate a substance to reduce the possible irritating effect of the hydroxycarboxylic acid. It would also be desirable to increase the rate of desquamation beyond that provided by the hydroxycarboxylic acid without further increasing the possibility of skin irritation.


An electric wire insert is first produced from a primary product 10 having support projections 13 which abut on the interior of a mold and at least one bore 12 is provided on a final portion to be a part of the exterior of a resin-molded portion 1 so that at least one of the electric wires 22 extends through the bore 12 having a slightly smaller internal diameter than the external diameter of the electric wires. After inserting a terminal-pressed electric wire 20, the primary product 10 with the terminal electric wire 20 is set and disposed in position in the mold by the support projections 13. Then, a secondary forming operation is carried out. Thus, a resin-molded product 1 is formed in which a secondary forming resin covers the exterior of the primary product 10. Since the electric wire does not come into contact with the interior of the mold because of this construction, it is possible to prevent damage due to biting of the mold and to effect an automatic setting of the electric wire in the mold by a robot.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for producing an electric wire insert in which a resin-molded portion is integrally formed around an outer periphery of an electric wire.
2. Statement of the Prior Art
A portion which cannot be formed into a connector due to a limitation of space, or a portion which is required for anticorrosion, water-proofing, dust-proofing, or the like for a terminal is compacted and protected by forming a resin-molded portion around an outer periphery of a terminal-pressed electric wire or the like by means of insert forming.
Such an electric wire insert is produced by setting the electric wire in a split type of mold and injecting a resin material into the mold.
In the method for producing the electric wire insert, cracks are caused in the wire due to biting of the split type of mold, molding fins are generated due to resin leak, and scars are generated in a wire-fixed portion if the split type of mold is not correctly coupled.
When such faults occur in the molded portion, it is necessary to repeat the step of cutting a terminal and to then carry out further steps.
In addition, it is necessary to position the electric wire in the mold by using fins when a curved portion of the wire is formed in the mold. Consequently, it is difficult to carry out an automatic operation of setting the wire in the mold. In addition, pin-draw out holes remained in the resin-molded portion.

Method for producing an electric wire insert


Penetrometer comprising a probe with a conical nose, a cylindrical friction casing, and means for measuring axial friction forces acting on the friction casing when the probe is advanced in an area of ground which is to be analysed.. The probe furthermore has a conical casing and means for measuring the axial forces acting on the conical casing.. The conicity of the conical casing is so minor that the conical casing causes a displacement of the surrounding ground which is directed substantially transverse to the axial direction of the probe.

The present invention relates to a penetrometer comprising a probe with a conical nose, a cylindrical friction casing, and means for measuring axial friction forces acting on the friction casing when the probe is advanced in an area of ground which is to be analysed.
A penetrometer of this kind is known, for example, from EP 0 010 988. In this document, the penetrometer is provided with a first force transducer for measuring the forces acting on the conical nose, which is referred to below as the cone, and with a second force transducer for measuring the friction forces acting axially on the cylindrical friction casing. When the known penetrometer is pressed vertically into the ground at a substantially constant speed, the cone resistance and the friction force are measured simultaneously. As a result, a soil profile is obtained, which is desirable, for example, for designing the foundations of a building.
In order to determine the soil profile, it is also desirable to gain an insight into the horizontal strength of the ground. A generally known device for determining the horizontal strength of the ground was developed by Prof. S. Marchetti and is known as the "Marchetti Dilatometer". The drawback of this known device is that the horizontal strength of the ground can only be measured while the instrument is standing still, with the result that, in order to determine a soil profile, the device has to be pressed into the ground in steps, for example of 0.2 meter, in order in this way to obtain a sufficiently high number of measured values. For this reason, this measurement method is time-consuming. Furthermore, to determine the soil profile it is sometimes also necessary to carry out penetrometer tests.
The Cambridge Institute has developed a probe, under the name of "Cone Pressuremeter" which comprises a conventional penetrometer with a conical nose and a friction casing, on the one hand, and a pressure-measuring apparatus which is arranged one meter from the conical nose, on the other hand. The pressure-measuring apparatus comprises a diaphragm, the diameter of which can be expanded by the application of internal pressure. This "Cone Pressuremeter" is pressed into the ground in steps, in order to expand the diaphragm while the device is at a standstill, then to carry out the measurement, and finally to allow the diaphragm to deflate again, after which the probe is pressed further into the ground.
The Russian publication SU-A-548,684, published on 22 Mar. 1977, discloses a penetrometer which is designed to simultaneously determine both the cone resistance, the friction forces and the horizontal ground pressure. This known penetrometer has a cone with an associated first force transducer for measuring the cone resistance. Furthermore, this known penetrometer has a substantially cylindrical metal casing which is cut open in the axial direction. As a result, the diameter of the casing can vary under the effect of radial forces exerted by the ground. The known penetrometer is provided with a second force transducer for measuring the forces acting on the casing in the axial direction and with means for measuring the change in diameter of the casing, which change provides an insight into the horizontal pressure exerted on the casing by the ground. This known penetrometer has the advantage over the Marchetti Dilatometer that the three measurements are performed simultaneously and there is no need to move the penetrometer in steps.
The split-casing design of the penetrometer which is known from SU-A-548,684 has the drawback that it is not possible to interpret the measurement results unambiguously. As the horizontal pressure on the casing increases, the diameter of the casing will decrease. This results in an active stress condition in the ground which is characterized by a fall in the horizontal pressures as a result of the arch action in the surrounding ground. This fall depends on the frictional properties of the material of which the ground is composed. An increase in the diameter of the casing of the known penetrometer causes a passive stress condition in the ground, with the result that the horizontal pressures in the ground actually increase. As the penetrometer is pressed into the ground, the variations in the composition of the ground which arrive as the depth increases will cause the stress condition to vary constantly between passive and active, with the result that the measurement results obtained using the penetrometer cannot be interpreted unambiguously. A further drawback of this known penetrometer is that its operation can be interfered with by the penetration of groundwater and soil material.

Verenigde Bedrijven Van den Berg Heerenveen Holding B.V.


A radiation source includes an anode and a cathode for creating a discharge in a vapor in a space between anode and cathode and to form a plasma of a working vapor so as to generate electromagnetic radiation. The cathode defines a hollow cavity in communication with the discharge region through an aperture that has a substantially annular configuration around a central axis of said radiation source so as to initiate said discharge. A driver vapor is supplied to the cathode cavity and the working vapor is supplied in a region around the central axis in between anode and cathode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to lithographic projection apparatus and specifically to a plasma discharge radiation source for use therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
The term "patterning structure" as here employed should be broadly interpreted as referring to structure that can be used to endow an incoming radiation beam with a patterned cross-section, corresponding to a pattern that is to be created in a target portion of the substrate; the term "light valve" can also be used in this context. Generally, the pattern will correspond to a particular functional layer in a device being created in the target portion, such as an integrated circuit or other device (see below). Examples of such patterning structure include:
A mask. The concept of a mask is well known in lithography, and it includes mask types such as binary, alternating phase-shift, and attenuated phase-shift, as well as various hybrid mask types. Placement of such a mask in the radiation beam causes selective transmission (in the case of a transmissive mask) or reflection (in the case of a reflective mask) of the radiation impinging on the mask, according to the pattern on the mask. In the case of a mask, the support structure will generally be a mask table, which ensures that the mask can be held at a desired position in the incoming radiation beam, and that it can be moved relative to the beam if so desired;
A programmable mirror array. An example of such a device is a matrix-addressable surface having a viscoelastic control layer and a reflective surface. The basic principle behind such an apparatus is that (for example) addressed areas of the reflective surface reflect incident light as diffracted light, whereas unaddressed areas reflect incident light as undiffracted light. Using an appropriate filter, the undiffracted light can be filtered out of the reflected beam, leaving only the diffracted light behind; in this manner, the beam becomes patterned according to the addressing pattern of the matrix-addressable surface. The required matrix addressing can be performed using suitable electronic means. More information on such mirror arrays can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,296,891 and 5,523,193, which are incorporated herein by reference. In the case of a programmable mirror array, the support structure may be embodied as a frame or table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required; and
A programmable LCD array. An example of such a construction is given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,872, which is incorporated herein by reference. As above, the support structure in this case may be embodied as a frame or table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required.
For purposes of simplicity, the rest of this text may, at certain locations, specifically direct itself to examples involving a mask and mask table; however, the general principles discussed in such instances should be seen in the broader context of the patterning structure as hereabove set forth.
Lithographic projection apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In such a case, the patterning structure may generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g. comprising one or more dies) on a substrate (silicon wafer) that has been coated with a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). In general, a single wafer will contain a whole network of adjacent target portions that are successively irradiated via the projection system, one at a time. In current apparatus, employing patterning by a mask on a mask table, a distinction can be made between two different types of machine. In one type of lithographic projection apparatus, each target portion is irradiated by exposing the entire mask pattern onto the target portion at once; such an apparatus is commonly referred to as a wafer stepper. In an alternative apparatus—commonly referred to as a step-and-scan apparatus—each target portion is irradiated by progressively scanning the mask pattern under the projection beam in a given reference direction (the "scanning" direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate table parallel or anti-parallel to this direction; since, in general, the projection system will have a magnification factor M (generally <1), the speed V at which the substrate table is scanned will be a factor M times that at which the mask table is scanned. More information with regard to lithographic devices as here described can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,792, incorporated herein by reference.
In a manufacturing process using a lithographic projection apparatus, a pattern (e.g. in a mask) is imaged onto a substrate that is at least partially covered by a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). Prior to this imaging step, the substrate may undergo various procedures, such as priming, resist coating and a soft bake. After exposure, the substrate may be subjected to other procedures, such as a post-exposure bake (PEB), development, a hard bake and measurement/inspection of the imaged features. This array of procedures is used as a basis to pattern an individual layer of a device, e.g. an IC. Such a patterned layer may then undergo various processes such as etching, ion-implantation (doping), metallization, oxidation, chemo-mechanical polishing, etc., all intended to finish off an individual layer. If several layers are required, then the whole procedure, or a variant thereof, will have to be repeated for each new layer. Eventually, an array of devices will be present on the substrate (wafer). These devices are then separated from one another by a technique such as dicing or sawing, whence the individual devices can be mounted on a carrier, connected to pins, etc. Further information regarding such processes can be obtained, for example, from the book "Microchip Fabrication: A Practical Guide to Semiconductor Processing", Third Edition, by Peter van Zant, McGraw Hill Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 0-07-067250-4, incorporated herein by reference.
For the sake of simplicity, the projection system may hereinafter be referred to as the "lens"; however, this term should be broadly interpreted as encompassing various types of projection system, including refractive optics, reflective optics, and catadioptric systems, for example. The radiation system may also include components operating according to any of these design types for directing, shaping or controlling the projection beam of radiation, and such components may also be referred to below, collectively or singularly, as a "lens". Further, the lithographic apparatus may be of a type having two or more substrate tables (and/or two or more mask tables). In such "multiple stage" devices the additional tables may be used in parallel, or preparatory steps may be carried out on one or more tables while one or more other tables are being used for exposures. Twin stage lithographic apparatus are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,441 and WO 98/40791, incorporated herein by reference.
In a lithographic apparatus the size of features that can be imaged onto the wafer is limited by the wavelength of the projection radiation. To produce integrated circuits with a higher density of devices, and hence higher operating speeds, it is desirable to be able to image smaller features. While most current lithographic projection apparatus employ ultraviolet light generated by mercury lamps or excimer lasers, it has been proposed to use shorter wavelength radiation of around 13 nm. Such radiation is termed extreme ultraviolet, also referred to as XUV or EUV, radiation. The abbreviation 'XUV' generally refers to the wavelength range from several tenths of nm to several tens of nanometers, combining the soft x-ray and Vacuum, UV range, whereas the term 'EUV' is normally used in conjunction with lithography (EUVL) and refers to a radiation band from approximately 5 to 20 nm, i.e. part of the XUV range.
A radiation source for XUV radiation may be a discharge plasma radiation source, in which a plasma is generated by a discharge in a vapor between an anode an a cathode and in which a high temperature discharge plasma may be created by Ohmic (resistive) heating by a (pulsed) current flowing through the plasma. As used herein, "vapor" is intended broadly to include a gas, a suspension or a mixture. Further, compression of a plasma having some volume due to a magnetic field generated by a current flowing through the plasma may be used to create a high temperature, high density plasma on a discharge axis (dynamical pinch effect). Kinetic energy of the pinching plasma is directly transferred to the plasma temperature and hence to short-wavelength radiation. A dynamical pinch would allow for a discharge plasma having a considerably higher temperature and density on the discharge axis, offering an extremely large conversion efficiency of stored electrical energy into thermal plasma energy and thus into XUV radiation.
It has been proposed by R. Lebert, K. Bergmann, G. Schriever and W. Neff in a presentation entitled 'A gas discharge based radiation source for EUVL', Sematech Workshop Monterey (1999), to employ a hollow cathode for triggering plasma creation. A very effective way of self-initiation of a discharge may be obtained by a so-called transient hollow cathode discharge (THCD) in the hollow cathode. The radiation source as proposed by Lebert et al. is an axi-symmetric system with a specially configured cathode having a small aperture on-axis with a large cavity behind it forming a hollow cathode region. However, the hollow cathode generates the discharge breakdown and thus a plasma only on or in a small volume around the discharge axis, which does not allow making (full) use of the dynamical pinch effect referred to above. Further, the volume taken by a plasma around the discharge or central axis is generally badly controllable and its stagnation on the discharge axis after compression is therefore not sufficiently predictable to have an exactly timed pulse of generated XUV radiation.
Another drawback of a plasma discharge radiation source having the conventional central hollow cathode is that the plasma created may erode and change the form of the aperture of the hollow cathode, since it is present on the axis on which the high temperature plasma having a considerable density is created. The aperture will therefore be damaged by unavoidable axially oriented plasma jets, which limits the lifetime of the cathode and decreases the maintenance interval of the radiation source. Further, proper functioning of the hollow cathode for triggering the plasma is dependent on a predetermined relation between size of the aperture and depth of the cavity. Erosion of the aperture therefore undesirably influences the triggering instant of the plasma and the timing of the pulse of generated XUV radiation.

Radiation source, lithographic apparatus, device manufacturing method, and device manufactured thereby


This invention discloses a magnet for use as a printing plate or printing head that is used for aligning flakes or particles in a paint or ink. A composite sheet or block of magnetizable material is selectively magnetized so that a magnet is formed within the sheet or block that has a shape of a predetermined image, logo, or indica. Dies are used to magnetize the magnetizable material and preferably the does contact the material to be magnetized. A pre-magnetized sheet such as a refrigerator magnet may be re-magnetized differently so that a magnetic image is encoded therein for use as a printing plate. Preferably the printing plate is flexible so that it can be formed to a curved surface of a cylinder or drum for printing. Conveniently these flexible magnets can be changed for other designs and placed on the same drum for use in printing.

All of the patents and applications mentioned hereafter are incorporated by reference for all purposes.
Printing with ink or paint containing magnetic platelets dispersed in liquid ink or paint vehicle is known. In such applications the platelets are magnetically aligned by exposing the ink or paint upon a substrate to a magnetic field. Current examples of such prints are described by Raksha et al in U.S. patent applications 2006/0198998, 2006/0194040, 2006/0097515, 2005/0123755, and 2005/0106367.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,808,806, 6,759,097, 6,818,299 and 6,838,166 disclose magnetically alignable flakes and utilizing magnets for aligning flakes in printed images. More particularly U.S. Pat. No. 6,808,806 discloses the use of a flexible magnet having a cut out in a shape of a letter "F" and used for printing. In this embodiment the field emanating from the region surrounding the cut-out "F" was uniform and in a direction normal to the surface of the "F". Flakes that were over the cut-out portion having no field were substantially flat lying. Although this embodiment provides interesting images, this invention provides additional features, not achievable with a magnet having a uniform field.
Painting with magnetic powders was employed in some industries for finishes and decorative coatings. A method for producing a magnetically formed pattern on a product is the subject-matter of U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,877. The product is produced by forming a paint layer from a paint medium mixed with magnetic non-spherical particles, and applying a magnetic field in a shape corresponding to the desired pattern to be formed. The field emanates from magnets mounted underneath the wet painted substrate. After the field aligns the particles, they are cured within the paint vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,361 discloses patterned substrates useful in producing decorative cookware which are formed by coating of a substrate with a base consisting of a mixture of fluoropolymer and magnetic flakes and magnetically inducing an image in the polymer coating composition. The pattern is formed by applying magnetic force through the edges of a magnetizable die positioned under a coated base to induce an image effect.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,759,097 discloses methods and devices for producing images on coated surfaces. The methods comprise applying a layer of magnetizable pigment coating in liquid form on a substrate, applying a magnetic field to selected regions of the pigment coating to alter the orientation of selected magnetic particles or flakes, and solidifying the reoriented particles or flakes in a non-parallel position to the surface of the pigment coating to produce an image such as a three dimensional-like image on the surface of the coating.
The pigment coating can contain various interference or non-interference magnetic particles or flakes, such as magnetic color shifting pigments.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,676 claims a pigmented film comprising a film-like material containing magnetic orientable pigment that is oriented in the field.
EP 0 710 508 A1 discloses process for production of layer that exhibits three dimensional effects through alignment of magnetic platelets.
EP 1 493 590 A1 describes a device and a method for transferring a predetermined magnetic design onto document printed with magnetic optically variable ink. The device comprises a body of a composite permanent magnet material, having a surface engraved with the pattern corresponding to the pattern of desirable indicia. The magnetic material is magnetized in the direction perpendicular to the surface. Irregularities in the surface, made with an engraving, produce changes in the direction and strength of the resulting magnetic field. These changes cause different alignment of magnetic particles in different parts of the wet ink that make possible a formation of an image with a shape corresponding to the shape of engraving.
The inventors of this invention have found that printing in accordance with the teachings of EP 1 493 590 A1 has certain limitations. For example when using color-shifting inks, a very poor color-shifting effect resulted. A disappearance of the color-shifting properties of the printed layer occurs with the repositioning of magnetic pigment particles in the layer of a wet ink along lines of magnetic field in the direction substantially perpendicularly to the surface of the document.
Notwithstanding, a color-shifting affect has the best appearance (large color travel and high chroma value) when the particles are parallel or almost parallel to the surface of the substrate. Color-shifting properties by the images printed with the device described in EP 1 493 590 makes utilization of magnetic color-shifting inks for the printing of secure documents essentially useless.
It is an object of this invention to provide a magnet that is more simple to manufacture and offers a high degree in flexibility with regard to the field generated by the magnet.
The magnet does not require costly and difficult carving or removal of material so as to vary the field.
In image of object, logo or indicia is made within the magnetic material of a block or sheet so that the magnet will provide a field that corresponds the object, logo, or indicia when the field is used to align flakes in paint or ink.
The image within the magnetic material is not visible to the eye, but is coded into the magnetic material so as to generate a field that corresponds to the object logo or indicia that is used to "code" the magnetic material.
Advantageously, the object, logo or indicia encoded into the magnet cannot be seen, but is present and generates a magnetic field that aligns flakes placed on a substrate in the field to replicate the object, logo or indicia.
Advantageously a common "fridge" magnet can be encoded with magnetic information so as to change its field direction to form an image.
Advantageously this encoded magnet may be of flexible magnetic material and can be placed on a drum and used to "print" images within a wet inked or painted substrate by aligning particles in a manner that reflect the encoded magnetic information.
As will be described hereafter, prior art methods of applying a magnetic field to inks and or paints that have alignable flakes therein, includes the use of recessed or embossed magnetic regions. In contrast this invention utilizes a magnet having a flat surface wherein magnetic and non-magnetic, or differently magnetized regions are provided within a single monolithic magnet that cause alignment of flakes forming images in a liquid in having field alignable flakes. Advantageously having a flat die or magnetic printing head or plate that is magnetized within eliminates problems associated with making and using 3-D magnetic forms. The flat die can be brought into intimate contact with the substrate and even if pressure is applied the result will be substantially the same. This is not the case with 3-D embossed or engraved magnetic printing plates. As well, boundaries within the printed image can be made sharper with more ease then with embossed or recessed magnetic printing plates.

Magnetic plate for printing of optical effects


Methods of manufacturing printed wiring boards including electrically conductive constraining cores that involve a single lamination cycle are disclosed. One example of the method of the invention includes drilling a clearance pattern in an electrically conductive constraining core, arranging the electrically conductive constraining core in a stack up that includes B-stage (semi-cured) layers of dielectric material on either side of the constraining core and additional layers of material arranged to form the at least one functional layer, performing a lamination cycle on the stack up that causes the resin in the B-stage (semi-cured) layers of dielectric to reflow and fill the clearance pattern in the electrically conductive constraining core before curing and drilling plated through holes.

The present invention generally relates to the manufacture of printed wiring boards and more specifically to the filling of clearance patterns in conductive constraining core layers used in the construction of multilayer printed wiring board (PWB).
Computers and similar electronics products are pervasive in consumer, businesses, military, aerospace and governmental activities. The use of electronics in critical applications has created an increased demand for reliable electronics. Many applications specify electronics that will run longer with less down time than was expected in the past.
The increased emphasis on reliability amongst customers also extends to PWBs. PWBs can be used to establish electrical connections between devices. In some instances, the devices can be mounted on the printed wiring board. The manner in which the devices are mounted is typically dependent upon the packaging of the device. Applications for printed wiring boards can include challenges such as thermal management, expansion mismatch control, low stiffness or rigidity and higher weight. Materials that have been used in the past to address some of these issues include thick metal core, copper-Invar-copper (CIC), copper-Moly-copper (CMC). These metal core materials are electrically conductive and require special processing in order to be incorporated into printed wiring board structures. These special processes can include drilling clearance patterns, surface preparation, clearing pattern filling and additional lamination steps. Use of these materials and the associated additional processes are typically associated with a substantially lower manufacturing yield and additional labor cost. In addition, drilling small via holes or plated through holes (PTH) through thick metal cores can be problematic. An inability to drill small via holes through a material can limit the usefulness of the material in the construction of high density interconnects.
A variety of other materials can be used in place of the metal materials above to try and address reliability issues such as thermal management, expansion mismatch control, low stiffness or rigidity and higher weight. U.S. Pat. No. 6,869,664 to Vasoya et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/131,130 to Vasoya, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/376,806 to Vasoya and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/831,108 to Vasoya disclose techniques that can be used to manufacture printed wiring boards having a desired coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) using layers incorporating carbon materials such as woven carbon fiber. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 6,869,664 to Vasoya et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/131,130 to Vasoya, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/376,806 to Vasoya and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/831,108 to Vasoya is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Processes for manufacturing printed wiring boards


Provided are a method for manufacturing a transparent electrode pattern and a method for manufacturing an electro-optic device having the transparent electrode pattern. The method for manufacturing the transparent electrode pattern includes forming a transparent electrode on a light-transmissive substrate, patterning the transparent electrode by removing a portion of the transparent electrode, and forming an insulating protective layer in an edge region of the patterned transparent electrode through a printing process. In accordance with the method, the insulating protective layer is formed in the edge region of the patterned transparent electrode through the printing process so that an apparatus and method for manufacturing the insulating protective layer can be simplified, resulting in a decrease in manufacturing cost.

The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a transparent electrode pattern and a method for manufacturing an electro-optic device having the transparent electrode pattern, and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a transparent electrode pattern and a method for manufacturing an electro-optic device having the transparent electrode pattern, in which a transparent electrode is patterned on a light-transmissive substrate and an insulating protective layer covering an edge region of the patterned transparent electrode is formed through a screen printing process.
In general, electro-optic devices are devices of generating electricity using light, or emitting light using electricity. In electro-optic devices, a conductive electrode through which an electrical signal is transferred is necessarily formed. The conductive electrode may be formed of a light-transmissive material that does not block the propagation of light.
Therefore, an electrode of an electro-optic device is formed using a light-transmissive conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO) in recent years. In case where die electrode is formed of ITO, an ITO layer is deposited on a light-transmissive substrate through a sputtering process. Thereafter, an ITO electrode pattern is formed through a photolithography process. That is, a photoresist layer is applied on an entire surface of the ITO layer, and a photoresist mask pattern is then formed on the ITO layer through exposure and development. Subsequently, the exposed ITO layer is removed through an etching process using the photoresist mask pattern as an etch mask, and the remaining photoresist mask pattern is then removed to thereby form the ITO electrode pattern.
However, the above-described process of forming the ITO electrode pattern is complicated, and it should be necessary to perform the process of exposing and developing the photoresist layer and the etching process of removing the ITO layer, leading to an increase in manufacturing cost.
To overcome such a limitation, therefore, a technology of forming the ITO electrode pattern by irradiating a laser beam onto the ITO layer formed on a substrate has been recently proposed.
However, when a transparent electrode pattern is formed using the laser beam, it is disadvantageous in that an edge region of the transparent electrode pattern can not be uniformly removed. For this reason, the edge region of the transparent electrode pattern is protected by an insulating protective layer (i.e., protective layer) to prevent characteristics of an electro-optic device from being changed at the edge region of the transparent electrode.
To form the insulating protective layer in the edge region of the transparent electrode pattern, the insulating protective layer should be formed on an entire surface of the substrate through a deposition or coating process, and a portion of the deposited or coated insulating protective layer should be removed through a photolithography process. This necessitates an additional expensive manufacturing apparatus and a complex manufacturing process, causing the productivity of devices to be decreased and the manufacturing cost to be increased.

Method for manufacturing transparent electrode pattern and method for manufacturing electro-optic device having the transparent electrode pattern


A foam comprising a nanocomposite comprising a bulk linear semi-crystalline polyolefin containing no cross-links or branched polymers; an organoclay; and a polymeric compatibilizer for enhancing physical interactions between the bulk linear semi-crystalline polyolefin and the organoclay, wherein the linear semi-crystalline polyolefin combines with the organoclay to form the nanocomposite is provided. Novel nanocomposites and methods of producing the nanocomposites and foams, such as flexible foams, are also provided. The resulting products are useful in a variety of applications, including thermoplastic flexible foam seals, thermoplastic foamed panels in vehicles, and thin-walled blow molded bottles.

With advancements in microcellular foaming technology and a growing need for lightweight materials having a higher strength-to-weight ratio, various thermoplastic polymer foams have been produced with polystyrene, poly (lactic acid), poly (ethylene terephthalate) and polycarbonate. Amongst the various polymers, polystyrene continues to dominate the thermoplastic foam market today.
Although a linear polypropylene (PP) foam is able to withstand higher service temperatures, usage of this type of foam has been largely restricted by the relatively poor rheological properties of linear polypropylene. Attempts to improve these properties by cross-linking a portion of the linear polymer or by adding a long chained branched polymer have resulted in unwanted side effects, including a reduction in recyclability.

Nanocomposites and nanocomposite foams and methods and products related to same

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY


There is described a lens barrel including; a plurality of lens units; an actuator to move at least a lens unit included in the plurality of lens units; and a housing member. The actuator includes: a vibrating device constituted by two vibrating members, each of which includes piezoelectric elements aligned in a line, so that the two vibrating members intersect each other at a predetermined angle and vibrate in response to high-frequency electric signals; a driven member, coupled to the lens unit, to be moved by vibrations generated by the vibrating device; and a supporting member that is rotatably mounted on a shaft disposed opposite to the vibrating device in such a manner that the vibrating device press-contacts the driven member. The driven member is disposed at a side of the lens unit, while the vibrating device and the supporting member are disposed at a side of the housing member.

A driving device is well known in which the alternating current voltage is applied to a piezoelectric element so that a vibrating section is oscillated, and the vibrating section is repeatedly brought into contact with or separated from members to be shifted, whereby the members can be shifted by friction force. A lens barrel is also well known in which above driving device is used for shifting the lens units.
As a driving device, which uses the piezoelectric element to shift lens units along the optical axis, a lens driving device is disclosed in which a vibrator to create driving vibration along the optical axis is pressed by an elastic member against a guide shaft, which is a stationary part prolonging along the optical axis, and the vibrator is assembled in a lens supporting member (see Patent Document 1).
[Patent Document 1] Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication 8-179184
However, the lens driving device of Patent Document 1 features the vibrator in the lens supporting member, and the vibrator is pressed against a guide shaft, which guides the lens supporting member along the optical axis, via the elastic member. Accordingly, due to the reaction force of pressing force caused by the elastic member, the guide shaft is off-center in the hole of the lens supporting member. Consequently, friction increases between the hole of the lens supporting member and the engaging guide shaft, and off-center abrasion is created in the hole of the lens supporting member, which results in unstable movement, and further, the position of the lens units is shifted in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis by the off-center abrasion of the hole, resulting in deterioration of the desired lens characteristics.
Further, since the movement of the lens units by the vibrator is conducted due to the friction force, the friction force between the hole of the lens supporting member and the engaging guide shaft works in the direction to reduce the driving force of the vibrator, which results in the reduction of the driving efficiency of the vibrator, and further the change of the friction force between the hole and the guide shaft triggers unstable movement.
This problem happens by the reaction force of the elastic member, even when the stationary part is separated from the guide shaft, as a separated structure.