A single photon avalanche diode for use in a CMOS integrated circuit includes a deep n-well region formed above a p-type substrate and an n-well region formed above and in contact with the deep n-well region. A cathode contact is connected to the n-well region via a heavily doped n-type implant. A lightly doped region forms a guard ring around the n-well and deep n-well regions. A p-well region is adjacent to the lightly doped region. An anode contact is connected to the p-well region via a heavily doped p-type implant. The junction between the bottom of the deep n-well region and the substrate forms a multiplication region when an appropriate bias voltage is applied between the anode and cathode and the guard ring breakdown voltage is controlled with appropriate control of the lateral doping concentration gradient such that the breakdown voltage is higher than that of the multiplication region.

Photodiodes convert light into electrical signals, and form the basis of a wide range of imaging and detection devices. Common configurations of photodiodes include PIN photodiodes, operated in photovoltaic or photoconductive mode, and single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs), typically operated in Geiger mode. Photodiodes can be realised using a number of different technologies, but it is particularly convenient and economical to form photodiodes using the CMOS fabrication process that has evolved as the production method of choice for integrated circuits of almost all types.
Some examples of a PIN photodiode formed in a CMOS fabrication process are given in Ciftcioglu et al, "Integrated Silicon PIN Photodiodes Using Deep N-Well in a Standard 0.18-μm CMOS Technology," Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 27, No. 15, 1 Aug. 2009.
FIG. 1 is a schematic of a known lateral PIN photodiode, corresponding to the device shown in FIG. 1(c) of the Ciftcioglu et al document. During an epi-CMOS fabrication process, a lightly doped p-type epi-layer 102 is grown on a more heavily doped P-type substrate 100. Two n-wells (containing n-type doping) 104, 106 are formed in the epi-layer 102, and cathodes 108, 110 and an anode 112 are deposited on the surface, with highly doped n-type and p-type regions beneath the contacts. During operation, photons striking the region between the n-wells 104, 106 and the anode create charge carriers, either causing current to flow or voltage to build up between the contacts depending on the mode of operation.
(Within this document, terms such as 'above', 'on', 'below', 'top', 'bottom', 'horizontally' and 'vertically' should be construed with reference to the integrated circuit cross-sections illustrated in the attached figures. In particular, a horizontal direction runs parallel to the substrate, and a vertical direction runs perpendicularly in and out of the substrate, with 'down' running deeper into the substrate, and 'up' leading to the surface, or 'top' of the device. Accordingly, epitaxial growth and component formation during the fabrication process will proceeds in an 'upwards' direction to the 'top' of the device.)
FIG. 2 is a schematic of another known lateral PIN photodiode, corresponding to the device shown in FIG. 1(d) of the Ciftcioglu et al document. Again a lightly doped p-type epi-layer 202 overlies a more heavily doped p-substrate 200. In this device, a 'deep n-well' 204 is formed in the epi-layer 202. A p-well 206 is formed above the deep n-well 204 and the n-wells 208, 210 and cathodes 212, 214 and anode 216 are formed as before.
The deep n-well feature is a standard part of the CMOS fabrication toolkit available to circuit designers, and is conventionally used to allow transistor isolation to be improved and to reduce substrate noise coupling in mixed-signal and RF circuits. Deep n-wells are formed using ion implantation to form an n-type region deep in the substrate or epi-layer. The deepest part of a deep n-well may for example be in the region of 2 μm below the surface of the wafer. In the device of FIG. 2, the deep n-well allows for a reduction in size of the depletion region at the top of the deep n-well, allowing increased bandwidth with a reduction in bias voltage.
Considering now a single photon avalanche diode, SPAD (which is operated in a different mode to PIN photodiodes), one requirement for a SPAD to effectively operate above breakdown is that there should be no high field localisation around the edge of the detector active area. This criterion can be met by using a 'guard ring', which can be fabricated by a variety of methods. A common feature of such methods is a structure that successfully raises the breakdown voltage of the periphery of the active region of the detector above the breakdown voltage of the planar, or light sensitive, region.
FIG. 3 is a schematic of a known SPAD, described for example in Rochas et al, "Single photon detector fabricated in a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor high-voltage technology," Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 74, No. 7, 2003. In FIG. 3, a deep n-well 302 is formed in a substrate 300, and heavily doped n-type and p-type doped regions are created to form a dual p+/deep n-well/p-substrate junction. A p-well guard ring 304 is also formed, and a metal ring 306 is located above the p+ anode with a central gap of approximately 7 μm. The upper p+/deep n-well junction provides the multiplication region where Geiger breakdown occurs. However, one problem with the device shown in FIG. 3 is that very high doping concentrations on both sides of the active junction lead to a high electric field, which results in excessive noise due to band-to-band tunnelling.
Other guard ring constructions have been demonstrated to work with SPADs, such as Shallow Trench Isolation (STI). On example of a STI guard ring is given in WO 2008/011617, for example. STI works as a guard ring because its permittivity is lower than silicon, allowing it to dissipate high electric fields successfully. However, traps at the STI/silicon interface mean that such devices have high parasitic count rates.
A problem suffered by known CMOS SPADs is that their peak detection efficiency is at blue light wavelengths, because the active region of the devices is relatively shallow (with respect to the surface). Electromagnetic energy has different characteristic absorption depths in silicon depending on its wavelength. High frequency, high energy, short wavelength blue light is absorbed close to the surface, while long wavelength red and near infra-red (NIR) is absorbed deeper. Statistically it is more probable that a red photon will generate an electron deeper in the silicon than a blue photon.
Red and NIR response is a particularly important feature for SPADs because of two main application areas: range detection and lifetime analysis. NIR frequencies of 850 nm and 940 nm are commonly used in ranging systems because many LEDs are available at 850 nm, and 940 nm corresponds to a window in solar output leading to increased signal-to-noise ratio operating outdoors. Moreover, SPADs have been used in biological experiments for lifetime estimation. Since blue corresponds to high energy photons, it has the disadvantage of phototoxicity for the cells which are to be observed. Moreover, near-infra red will penetrate further into tissue with potential applications in diffuse optical tomography (DOT). A third important application is the use of SPADs in communications where near-infra red is commonly employed because it is efficiently transmitted within optical fibres.
The present invention seeks to address these and other problems in the prior art.

Single photon avalanche diode for CMOS circuits

STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) Limited

The University Court of the University of Edinburgh


A method for cephalometric evaluation includes steps of generating radiographic, X-ray or other image of a patient's individual orthodontic structure, positioning this image in alignment with a graphical depiction of a norm value orthodontic structure, and comparing the individual's structure to the norm value structure to analyze development and to determine a course of orthodontic or other treatment.

This present invention relates to an improved method for cephalometric evaluation and more particularly to a method of analysis through comparison of depictions of structures in orthodontic patients to a normal value orthodontic and/or cranial structure for like patients of similar age or development.
The standard method for cephalometric evaluation of orthodontic patients is to take a radiograph (X-ray) and to plot specific points of interest. By plotting lines, angles and linear measurements, the practitioner is able to evaluate growth and development of an individual patient's orthodontic structures. These lines, angles and linear measurements are compared to other average or "norm" values of lines, angles and linear measurements as a base standard. The practitioner is required to carefully and, as accurately as possible, to plot out each point line and angle and measure each of these individually. Almost all methods of cephalometric analysis use the same specific points of interest for measurement. The practitioner focuses on points which yield the most helpful and consistent results for determining relative growth and development in orthodontic structures.
The measurements obtained from cephalometric analysis allow the practitioner to compare individual patients to average or norm patients of similar ages and ethnic backgrounds. One function of cephalometric analysis is to allow the practitioner to compare dental relations of a patient to individuals who exhibit normative occlusion. Another function is to compare skeletal relations of a patient's skeletal anteroposterior components to skeletal norms of similar individuals. The measurements also enable the practitioner to relate soft tissue outlines of a patient's face to ethnically similar individuals with normative occlusion. All of these functions enable the practitioner to establish the direction of growth and development in an individual's orthodontic structures. Once the direction of growth and development is established the practitioner can determine whether any orthodontic procedures are necessary to obtain a "normal" relationship. In addition, the measurements are helpful in determining whether an individual patient is at risk for certain types of temporomandibular joint (TMJ)dysfunction and if the patient already has TMJ dysfunction, the measurements help determine the desired steps for treatment.
Although the standard method of cephalometric analysis yields the desired results, there are several disadvantages which practitioners have struggled with for years. Manually plotting the specific points of interest and measuring the resulting lines and angles is extremely tedious and time consuming. The ability to obtain optimal precision is limited by the potential for human error in obtaining the measurements. The standard method is also subject to obvious radiographic distortion in areas where two overlapping structures are superimposed.
Various other features of the present invention will become obvious to one skilled in the art upon reading the disclosure set forth herein.

Method of cephalometric evaluation of dental radiographs


A thin film transistor (TFT) including a gate, a semiconductor layer, a source and a drain is provided. The gate has a control part, a connection part and a capacitance compensation part. The connection part is disposed between the control part and the capacitance compensation part for joining the two parts together. The semiconductor layer is disposed over the gate, the source and the drain are disposed on the semiconductor layer. An end of the drain overlaps the control part of the gate with a first region for composing a first parasitic capacitance; while another end of the drain overlaps the capacitance compensation part of the gate with a second region for composing a second parasitic capacitance. In a TFT array with the TFT, the sum of the first parasitic capacitance and the second parasitic capacitance is a constant.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film transistor (TFT), and particularly to a thin film transistor (TFT), a thin film transistor array (TFT array) and a repairing method thereof capable of enhancing even brightness of a LCD panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
The rapid development in the multimedia industry is largely attributed to the progress in the semiconductor devices or display apparatuses. In terms of displays, the TFT liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs), with such advantages as high display quality, high space utilization, low power consumption and no radiation, have played a major role in the mainstream display market.
A TFT-LCD mainly includes a TFT array, a color filter and a liquid crystal layer. FIG. 1 is a top view of a conventional thin film transistor array (TFT array). Referring to FIG. 1, a TFT array 100 mainly includes a plurality of pixel structures 110 arranged to form an array. Wherein, each pixel structure 110 includes a scan line 112, a data line 114, a TFT 116 and a pixel electrode 116 corresponding to the TFT 116.
The TFT 116 is used as a switch device of the pixel structure 110, the scan line 112 and the data line 114 are used to provide the corresponding pixel structure 110 with appropriate operation voltage for driving the corresponding pixel structure 110 to display an image.
FIG. 2 is a schematic equivalent circuit drawing of a single pixel in a conventional TFT LCD. Referring to FIG. 2, in a single pixel, normally a TFT 116, a liquid crystal capacitor CLC and a storage capacitor Cst are included.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the liquid crystal capacitor CLC is formed by coupling the pixel electrode 118 on the TFT array 100 and a common electrode on the color filter (not shown). The storage capacitor Cst disposed on the TFT array 100 is connected to the liquid crystal capacitor CLC in parallel. In addition, the gate G, the source S and the drain D of the TFT 116 are coupled to the scan line 112, the data line 114 and the pixel electrode 118 forming the liquid crystal capacitor CLC, respectively. Since the gate G and the drain D of the TFT 116 are partially overlapped, the overlapping region produces a gate-drain parasitic capacitor Cgd.
Referring FIGS. 1 and 2 again, note that between the voltage applied on the liquid crystal capacitor CLC, i.e. the voltage applied on the pixel electrode 118 and the common electrode, and the optical transmittance of liquid crystal molecules, there is a specific relationship. Therefore, once the voltage applied on the liquid crystal capacitor CLC is controlled according to predetermined displayed frame, the desired frames are able to be produced. Wherein, as the TFT 116 is off, the voltage applied on the liquid crystal capacitor CLC theoretically keeps unchanged, i.e. in a holding state. However, due to the presence of the gate-drain parasitic capacitor Cgd, the voltage kept by the liquid crystal capacitor CLC varies slightly with the changed signals on the data line 114, called a coupling effect. Therefore, the voltage kept by the liquid crystal capacitor CLC is eventually apart from the preset value. Such a voltage variation is called feed-through voltage ΔVp and is expressed as follows:ΔVp=(Cgd/(Cgd+Cst+CLC))·ΔVg  (1)
Wherein ΔVg indicates an amplitude of a pulse voltage applied on the scan line 112.
Among current exposure processes for fabricating the thin film transistor array disposed on a substrate, mostly use a stepper to form shots in the panel. In other words, the TFT array's pattern is composed of the shots formed by the stepper. Wherein, a displacement error during movements of the stepper would cause nonconformity among the pattern positions in each shot region. In particular, if the overlapping areas between the gate G and the drain A of the TFT 116 corresponding to each shot region are different, the resulted gate-drain parasitic capacitances Cgd corresponding to each shot region are also different, which makes inconsistent feed-through voltage ΔVp in each shot region and produces uneven on the display.

Thin film transistor, thin film transistor array and repairing method thereof


Mounting a solar panel system includes installing a skirt to a roof in a predetermined position, the predetermined position guiding an alignment for additional components installed in the solar panel system; integrating a solar panel with a flange of the skirt, wherein the skirt supports a portion of the solar panel; determining if a width of the solar panel system will be increased; installing an additional skirt to which an additional solar panel is attached in response to determining that the width of the solar panel system will be increased; determining if a length of the solar panel system will be increased; and integrating an additional solar panel with a flange of a previously installed solar panel via a mount interface in response to determining that the length of the solar panel system will be increased.

The "background" description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present invention.
Solar panels may absorb sunlight as a source of energy to generate electricity and/or heat. With a push toward more environmentally friendly options, the demand for installing solar panels into residential areas is increasing. Particularly with residential areas, cost may be a concern when contemplating installing a solar panel system.

Systems and methods for mounting solar panels


A polycarbonate composition comprising a polycarbonate, a substituted aryl phosphite and a substituted triazine is extruded as a cap layer with sudstantially no fuming or plate out and is additionally useful in profile or molded products.

Polycarbonate resins are characterized by their transparency, mechanical strength and dimensional stability. These properties make polycarbonate an ideal choice for the preparation of sheets to be used in glazing and other outdoor applications. However, stabilizers and screening agents are required to lengthen the useful life of these sheets. These additives, while effective for the intended purpose cause other problems. Stain resistant panels made from polycarbonate have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,666, EP 338355, EP 320632 and EP 247480. Other related patents include Canadian Patent 1,208,873 which disclosed a polycarbonate-based panel made resistant to UV radiation. Accordingly, a panel is structured to include a core layer of polycarbonate to which there is adhesively bonded an intermediate UV absorption layer and a cover layer. The purpose of the cover layer is to prevent vaporization of the UV absorber from the intermediate layer. The intermediate, UV-absorption layer may be prepared from polycarbonate and contains derivatives of benzotriazole as UV absorbers. Also noted is German Patent Application 1,670,951 which disclosed polycarbonate molded articles, including ribbons which are rendered resistant to UV radiation by incorporating the bis-benzotriazole compound of the present invention therewith. A method for coating a polycarbonate sheet with a protective layer was disclosed in UK Patent Application 2,028,228. A layer preferably of polymethacrylate and advantageously containing a UV absorber is said to be applied to the sheet by co-extrusion. U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,889 discloses UV stabilized polycarbonate moldings the surfaces of which have been treated with a solution containing a benzotriazole. German DE-OS 3,617,978 discloses co-extruded sheets based on a polycarbonate resin which sheets are covered by a UV absorbing layer made from a branched polycarbonate resin containing the bis-benzotriazole of the present invention. Also relevant is European patent application 110,221 which disclosed a panel consisting of a core layer of polycarbonate containing not more than 0.5 wt. percent of a UV absorber and having on at least one side a coating layer which has been co-extruded with the core and which contains at least 3 percent of a UV absorber. As noted in this prior art, firming of volatile additives and plate out during the extrusion process is a problem which needs to be overcome to provide an extruded sheet without surface imperfections in an environmentally sound process where there is reduced worker exposure to undesirable fumes.

Low plate out polycarbonate compositions


A monolithic flip chip microwave integrated circuit module formed using titanium coated copper circuitry and a processing method. A dam is formed on a substrate by forming a thin protective layer such as titanium or other metal on a copper layer formed on a surface of the substrate to which a monolithic microwave integrated circuit is to be attached. The protective layer is oxidized upon exposure to air. Vias or openings are then formed in the oxidized protective layer. Solder is disposed in the openings in the oxidized protective layer, and is confined to the openings while solder is reflowed to attach the integrated circuit to the substrate. The oxidized protective layer serves a dual function that provides both a solder dam and a protective coating for the underlying copper circuitry. Copper surfaces not covered by the oxidized protective layer may be environmentally protected by depositing a thin layer containing electroless plated nickel and electroless plated gold.

The present invention relates generally to monolithic microwave integrated circuits, and more particularly, to a monolithic microwave integrated circuit module fabricated using tin based (Pb/Sn) solder technology and a method of fabricating same.
Flip chip monolithic microwave integrated circuit with plated silver thermal bumps are attached to microwave module substrates with gold based metallization using solder reflow techniques. Dielectric solder dams are provided on the metal patterns of the substrate to confine the spread of solder during the reflow process. Lead/indium solder is used to avoid the potential reliability hazard associated with gold/tin intermetallics.
The prior art is incompatible with tin based (Pb/Sn) solder techniques, and thus indium solder technology has been used for MMIC flip chip attachment. There is no commercial technique to plate indium solder, a process critical to millimeter-wave flip chip assemblies. Also, the use of gold based circuitry on an insulating substrate is more costly than the use of copper based circuitry. Pattern definition of dielectric (glass) solder dams also poses a lower limit on usable bump dimensions. Bump size reduction is critical to flip chip MMIC die size and module cost reduction.
Gold based circuitry is commonly used in both monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) and hybrid microwave assemblies because of the corrosion resistance property of gold. The same metal scheme is frequently used in traditional flip chip MMICs and flip chip microwave assemblies. Gold is also compatible with gold bond wires for off-chip electrical interconnections.
Indium based solder (i.e. 50/50 Pb/In) is used in place of more common tin based solder for these microwave assemblies because of reliability concerns of gold-tin compounds with high gold content. In particular, the gold-tin compound can become brittle, which is a potential cause of solder joint failure. In addition, dielectric (i.e. glass, polyimide, etc.) solder dams are needed to prevent solder from spreading on the surface of the microwave integrated circuit substrate during solder reflow. Therefore, lead indium (Pb/In) solder, which is more compatible with gold based metallization, is generally used for flip chip MMIC attachment.
Development of lower cost, higher frequency (millimeter wave), high power MMIC flip chip attachment techniques requires the use of chips with plated solder caps. Lack of Pb/In solder plating technology hinders the advancement of flip chip monolithic microwave integrated circuits, the most promising microwave module manufacturing technology of the future.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide for an improved monolithic microwave integrated circuit module fabricated using tin based (Pb/Sn) solder technology and a method of fabricating same.

Flip chip microwave module and fabrication method


Disclosed is a flat type vibration motor, in which a shaft is supported between a housing and a bracket. A rotor includes an upper board, A and B phase winding coils, an eccentric weight and a rectifier. The rectifier has a plurality of segments electrically connected to first and second ends of the A and B phase winding coils. A stator includes a lower board, a magnet and a pair of brush fingers electrically connected to a power supply and in contact with the segments. A pattern coil on the upper board electrically connects between a segment connected to a first end of the A phase winding coil and another segment connected to a second end of the B phase winding coil to generate electromagnetic force for rotating the rotor from an electrically disconnected section to an electrically connected section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flat type vibration motor, more particularly, which is so structured to prevent any stoppage in the initialization or operation thereof to realize efficient and stable initialization and operation. The present invention also relates to a flat type vibration motor capable of incorporating a single winding coil therein to simplify an assembly process thereby saving labor cost and material cost as well as simplify an assembly structure thereby saving manufacturing cost.
2. Description of the Related Art
Communication instruments generally use bells and vibrators to inform users of call incoming. In a vibration mode, a small-sized vibration motor is typically operated to transfer driving force to a housing of a communication instrument thereby vibrating the whole communication equipment.
A vibration motor applied to the communication instrument such as a mobile phone is classified into a flat type (or a coin type) vibration motor and a cylinder type (or a bar type) vibration motor.
The flat type vibration motor facilitates the miniaturization of mobile phone parts because it can be fabricated in a relatively thin and simple structure for generating vibration, for example, in which a weight is placed inside the motor to be rotated along with a rotor. Owing to these advantages, the coverage of the flat type vibration motor is gradually increasing.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a general flat type vibration motor. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional flat type motor 1 generally includes a rotor member or a rotor assembly (hereinafter will be referred to as "rotor") 10, a stationary member or stator assembly (hereinafter will be referred to as "stator") 20 and a housing 30 containing both the rotor 10 and the stator 20.
The rotor 10 is of an eccentric rotational structure which is rotatably assembled within the housing 30, and has coils 12 and 14 of wires wound around cores by a number of times, respectively, on a top board 11 without a pattern circuit and a weight 13 eccentrically arranged adjacent to the winding coils 12 and 14. The winding coils 12 and 14 and the weight 13 are molded within an insulation material 16, which is insert molded to protect the winding coils 12 and 14 and the weight 13 from the external environment.
The rotor 10 also has a rectifier 15 on the underside of the top board 11, in which the rectifier 15 is radially divided into a plurality of segments 15a to 15d at a predetermined gap and has a contact face exposed downward. Some of the segments 15a to 15d of the rectifier 15 perform elastic contact with the upper ends of the positive and negative brush fingers 25a and 25b of a brush 25 arranged in a stator 20.
The stator 20 is of a fixed structure arranged on a bracket 35 which is assembled to the housing 30 to close the opened bottom of the housing 30. In the stator 20, a rim-shaped magnet 22 of N and S poles radially alternating with each other is arranged on a bottom board 21 placed on the bracket 35, and a power supply 23 for electrically connecting the brush 25 with lead wires 24a and 24b for supplying external voltage includes positive and negative terminals 23a and 23b that are arranged on an upper face portion of the bottom board 21.
The brush 25 is divided into the positive and negative brush fingers 25a and 25b, which are electrically connected to the positive terminal 23a and the negative terminal 23b of the power supply 23, respectively, so as to be supplied with positive and negative voltages of different polarity, respectively.
Next, a shaft 31 erected from the top center of the bracket 35 is inserted into the rotor 10, and rotatably assembled to the rotor 10 via a bearing member 32 that is integral to the rotor 10. The shaft 31 is supported by upper and lower ends to the underside of the housing 30 and the top of the bracket 35, respectively.
In the operation of the vibration motor 1 of the above structure, an input voltage from the power supply 23 of the stator 20 is supplied to the rectifier 15 via the brush 25. More specifically, the voltage is alternatingly supplied to the winding coils 12 and 14 through the selective contact between the brush 25 divided into the positive and negative brush fingers and the rectifier 15 divided into plural parts corresponding to the brush 25.
The interaction between the winding coils 12 and 14 and the magnet 22 drives the rotor 10 to rotate about the shaft 31 in a predetermined direction. At this time, the rotor 10 eccentrically rotates about the shaft 31 generating lateral pressure, which in turn is transmitted in the form of vibration to the housing 30 and the bracket 35 that support the shaft 31 at the top and bottom so that a user can feel call incoming.
According to a conventional method for powering the winding coils 12 and 14 through the contact between the brush fingers 25a and 25b of the brush 25 and the segments 15a to 15d of the rectifier 15 to operate the motor as above, it is required to align the positive and negative brush fingers 25a and 25b steadily and correctly with segments 15a and 15c connected to both ends of the winding coil 12 and the segments 15b and 15d connected to both ends of the winding coil 14, respectively, according to an electrical angle θ determined by the number of the segments 15a to 15d.
However, in the initialization or operation of the vibration motor of the above structure, if any one (for example 25b) of the positive and negative brush fingers 25a and 25b is offset from the preset electrical angle θ to contact any adjacent segment 15b or 15d as shown in dotted lines instead of contacting the segment 15c, thereby opening the electric circuit for electrically connecting the winding coils 12 and 14. Then, a dead point as an electrically disconnected section for temporarily interrupting power supply takes place to bring a temporary or complete stoppage to the initialization or operation of the motor, thereby producing a fatal problem of disabling the motor.
Such stoppage may be induced from defective assembly processes or design errors hindering the rectifier 15 and the brush 25 from being precisely assembled so that the segments 15a to 15d fail to steadily perform uniform contact with the brush fingers 25a and 25b at a predetermined electrical angle of 90 or 180°. Otherwise, the stoppage may take place in case that the brush 25 is deformed under the impact while passing through respective gaps defined by the segments 15a to 15d so as to change the contact position with respect to the rectifier 15.
As a consequence, there is proposed a conventional scheme as shown in FIG. 3 in order to prevent the stoppage of the motor originated from the dead point, by which the winding coils 12 are provided with double coils 12a, 12b, 14a and 14b, respectively, and the series-connected coils 12a and 12b are wired with the series-connected coils 14a and 14b to have a neutral point N at a common connection point thereof to provide an electric circuit capable of maintaining electric connection without a dead point even though the positive and negative brush fingers 25a and 25b are offset from the preset electrical angle θ.
However, according the conventional scheme of forming the neutral point N through the double winding of the winding coils 12 and 14, respectively, to prevent the dead point, because the winding coils 12 and 14 are double-wound with a winder (not shown), and then the double coils 12a, 12b, 14a and 14b of the winding coils 12 and 14 are necessarily arranged by a worker, the winding and arranging operations become very troublesome to degrade workability as well as increase coil consumption thereby to raise manufacturing cost.


An apparatus for peak detection includes a peak identification unit configured to determine an identifier of a peak location; a first differential filter configured to provide coefficients for a first polynomial; a fractional locater configured to determine a fractional location of a peak based on the coefficients for the first polynomial and the identifier of the peak location; and a first fractional interpolator to determine a first peak amplitude based on the fractional location of the peak and the coefficients for the first polynomial.

In some implementations of crest factor reduction (CFR), peak magnitude in a signal may be determined. Such may be accomplished by oversampling the signal, identifying signal magnitudes that are larger than two neighboring magnitudes, and then testing to determine if any of the signal magnitudes exceeds a predetermined threshold. If the oversampling rate of the signal is low, then the peak magnitude may not be accurate and may deviate significantly from the true peak value. As the oversampling rate decreases, there is a corresponding decrease in the accuracy in the estimate of the peak magnitude. This reduction in the accuracy of the peak magnitude estimate directly affects the quality of the CRF method. In some cases, the location of the detected peak and the complex signal value at the detected peak are required for peak cancellation crest factor reduction (PCCFR). Thus, accurate peak detection is important for PCCFR and CFR.
One method for implementing CFR is the cancellation pulse method. Although this method is effective, it suffers from the issue that some peaks may be missed and/or created during execution of the cancellation pulse method. In particular, in the cancellation pulse method, some peaks may be missed due to a lack resources for pulse cancelation. Additionally, new peaks may be undesirably created when cancellation pulses overlap and add constructively. In some cases, pulse cancellation may be repeated in the cancellation pulse method some number of times to address these undesirable peaks. However, each processing stage is comparatively expensive and adds significantly to the latency in the system that implements the CFR. This, in turn, negatively affects an efficiency and capacity of a base station that implements the CFR.
Peak detection may also be used in other areas, such as image processing, and automatic gain control. Also, other types of detectors, such as root mean square detector, log detector, etc., may benefit from the use of peak detection.


This invention relates to a hydrostatic bearing having a journal 3 annularly circumscribed by a bearing 2 wherein a high pressure fluid is forced between the bearing and the journal axially. The high pressure fluid flowing axially along the journal in the bearing keeps the journal centered. A roughened or diamond knurled 11 inside surface interrupts the circumferential and axial flow of the fluid for improved rotor stability and less leakage. Other features include a tapered inner bore 9 to increase the bearing stiffness and a sharp edged inlet for greater control of the bearing stiffness and damping. The axially fed hydrostatic bearing combines the seal function and the bearing function for annular fluid flows along a journal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hydrostatic bearings for rotating journals, and is particularly concerned with journals used in high pressure turbopumps.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hydrostatic bearings are employed in turbomachinery to provide rotor support and damping by maintaining a thin film of fluid under pressure in the space between the journal and the bearing member to avoid physical contact between these solid parts during operation.
Many designs of hydrostatic bearings exist, most of which use radially fed fluids to the center of the bearing and employ seals in the bearing sump area to maintain the fluid under pressure between the journal and the bearing member. The bearing may come in contact with the journal particularly during start up and shut down of the turbomachine. The resultant rubbing wears the contacting surfaces resulting in an ever increasing gap, which decreases the performance of the hydrostatic bearing.


A printer 1 has a movable member 27 that can move following change in the tension on recording paper 3 between a roll paper compartment 7 and a conveyance mechanism 12 on the paper conveyance path 8. When recording paper 3 of which the end is glued to the core 2a of a paper roll 2 runs out, the tension on the recording paper 3 rises and the movable member 27 goes to a tension-side error determination range E1 in its range of allowable movement E0. When the movable member 27 is in the tension-side error determination range E1, the time the movable member 27 remains in the tension-side error determination range E1 is counted, and if this measured time exceeds an error determination time, an error detection unit 38 detects an error. No-paper errors can therefore be detected without using a dedicated sensor.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a media conveyance control method that can suppress variation in the tension on the medium when conveying a continuous medium delivered and conveyed from a roll, and to a printer.
2. Related Art
A printer that prints on continuous recording paper delivered from a paper roll according to the related art is described in JP-A-H08-133540, for example. The printer described in JP-A-H08-133540 has a conveyance mechanism that conveys recording paper through a conveyance path past a print position, and a media supply motor for rotating the paper roll. JP-A-H08-133540 also describes forming a loop in the recording paper between the conveyance mechanism and the paper roll, and having a loop sensor that detects whether or not the loop is appropriately formed. When conveyance of the recording paper starts, the media supply motor is driven to rotate the paper roll so that the loop is desirably formed, and thereby reduces the load on the conveyance mechanism.
If the tension on the recording paper varies due to change in the diameter of the paper roll, for example, slipping may occur between the conveyance mechanism and the recording paper, and the conveyance speed of the recording paper may change. Because variation in the conveyance speed can lead to a drop in print quality, suppressing variation in the tension on the recording paper while the recording paper is being conveyed in the printer is desirable.
To suppress variation in the tension on the recording paper while the recording paper is being conveyed, a movable member that can move following variation in the tension on the recording paper between the paper roll and the conveyance mechanism may be provided, and delivery and take-up of the recording paper from the paper roll may conceivably be controlled to keep the movable member positioned at a target position set in the range of movement of the movable member. This can be achieved by, for example, regularly determining the deviation in the position of the movable member from the target position while conveying the recording paper, and using feedback control of the media supply motor to rotate the paper roll to minimize the acquired deviation as it is detected.
When such a configuration is used, however, the power supply to the media supply motor increases when a no-paper error or other error occurs while conveying the recording paper, possibly causing the media supply motor to overheat. For example, when printing with recording paper that has the trailing end glued to the core of the paper roll, and the end of the recording paper is reached, the recording paper will be pulled by the conveyance mechanism in the conveyance direction D while the trailing end of the paper is pulled in the opposite direction as the conveyance direction D by the core of the paper roll, and the recording paper will become locked and not conveyed. When this happens, the movable member remains stuck at the end of its range of movement on the side where the tension on the recording paper increases, and the media supply motor is therefore driven to rotate the paper roll in the direction delivering the recording paper in order to return the movable member to the target position. Because the deviation in the position of the movable member does not decrease in this event, even more power is supplied to the media supply motor as time passes, and the media supply motor may overheat.
When printing with recording paper that does not have the trailing end glued to the core of the paper roll and the recording paper ends, the recording paper will unravel from the core near the trailing end of the paper, and the force pulling the recording paper in the opposite direction as the conveyance direction D will disappear. In this event, the movable member becomes stuck at the end of its range of movement on the side where the tension on the recording paper is low, and the media supply motor is driven to rotate the paper roll in the direction that takes up the recording paper in order to return the movable member to the target position. Because the deviation in the position of the movable member does not decrease in this event, even more power is supplied to the media supply motor as time passes, and the media supply motor may overheat.
Furthermore, if the recording paper jams while the recording paper is being conveyed and the portion of the recording paper that jammed pushes the movable member to the end of its range of movement, the deviation in the position of the movable member does not decrease, even more power is supplied to the media supply motor as time passes, and the media supply motor may overheat. The recording paper will also continue being delivered from the paper roll in this event because driving the media supply motor continues.
Driving the media supply motor under conditions that can lead to overheating can conceivably be avoided by providing the printer with dedicated sensors for detecting conveyance errors when the recording paper ends or a paper jam occurs, for example. However, providing such sensors increases the manufacturing cost accordingly.

Media conveyance control method and printer


A plasma producing device is furnished with a half height waveguide that transmits microwave energy through a window into an evacuated chamber, adjustable spacers controlling the distance between an opening of the waveguide and the window, and/or a return piece adjacent a permanent magnet producing the required magnetic field, preferably including sidewalls encompassing the permanent magnet. The improvements promote plasma uniformity at the workpiece by allowing smaller magnets to be employed, reducing stray magnetic fields outside the resonance zone, and facilitating transition of the microwaves from a rectangular transmission mode to a circular transmission mode outside the chamber. Facilitating transistion in this manner improves tuning or impedance matching.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to plasma devices and in particular to plasma devices used for etching a substrate or depositing material on a substrate. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to improvements reducing size and cost of a plasma producing device used in conjunction with a substrate while improving the uniformity of the plasma produced at the substrate workpiece.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plasma producing devices are commonly used in plasma assisted processing to etch geometries associated with device formation into a substrate or to deposit layers of material on the substrate. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,196,670 and 4,483,737, which are incorporated herein by reference.
One class of plasma producing devices, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,670, employs a magnetic field in conjunction with microwave energy. In these devices, plasma is produced from a working gas as a result of the interaction of a magnetic field with an electric field. A microwave waveguide is used to inject microwaves, which have an associated electric field, into an evacuable chamber containing the working gas. The microwaves propagate into the chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the substrate or workpiece. The electric field associated with the microwaves is perpendicular to the direction of propagation, radially outward from a line following the direction of propagation of the microwaves.
A magnetic field is provided, causing plasma electrons to rotate around the direction of propagation at right angles with the magnetic field. At the plane of resonance, the point at which the electric field and the rotation of plasma electrons are in phase, the microwave electric field constantly accelerates the rotating plasma electrons. The energy of this acceleration dissociates molecules of the working gas into atoms and removes electrons from the atoms, creating ions and additional electrons. The ions then diffuse and impinge upon the surface of the workpiece.
The requisite magnetic field may be provided by a single permanent magnet situated above the outlet of the microwave waveguide into the chamber. An adjusting element may be provided between the magnet and the waveguide to vary the spatial relationship between the magnet and the waveguide opening, thus altering the location of the plane of resonance or "resonance zone" within the chamber.
While use of a permanent magnet situated over the waveguide opening to the chamber has advantages over other plasma producing methods, a permanent magnet of the size required to provide the requisite magnetic field may be very expensive. Furthermore, no ability exists to shape, direct, or otherwise control the magnetic field produced by the permanent magnet, or to minimize stray magnetic fields around the magnet. Control over both the direction of the magnetic field produced by the permanent magnet and stray magnetic fields would be advantageous to improve plasma uniformity at the workpiece. Prior art attempts to obtain plasma uniformity have focused on achieving a uniform magnetic field, which requires very large and bulky magnets. It would be advantageous to minimize the magnetic field near the workpiece, resulting in an inherently uniform plasma.
Another drawback of the prior art use of permanent magnets in plasma producing devices relates to the microwave waveguide. Use of a standard waveguide constrains placement of the permanent magnet with respect to the chamber. As the magnet face is moved further from the chamber, larger, more expensive magnets are required to produce the requisite magnetic field. It would be advantageous, therefore, to be able to reduce the distance between the face of the permanent magnet and the chamber.
Additionally, the prior art teaches placement of the waveguide directly on a window in the evacuable chamber. Microwaves are thus transmitted directly from the waveguide into the chamber through the window, and transition from the rectangular transmission mode to the circular transmission mode inside the chamber. Thus, it would be advantageous to control placement of the waveguide opening relative to the chamber window to facilitate plasma uniformity and tuning.


An exchange-coupled film includes a ferromagnetic layer and an antiferromagnetic layer disposed on each other, the magnetization direction of the ferromagnetic layer being pinned in one direction by an exchange coupling magnetic field generated at the interface between the ferromagnetic layer and the antiferromagnetic layer, wherein the antiferromagnetic layer is composed of IrzMn100-z (wherein 2 atomic percent≦z≦80 atomic percent), the ferromagnetic layer has a two-layer structure including a CoyFe100-y layer having a face-centered cubic structure (wherein 80 atomic percent≦y≦100 atomic percent), the CoyFe100-y layer being in contact with the antiferromagnetic layer, and an FexCo100-x layer (wherein x≧30 atomic percent), the FexCo100-x layer being disposed on the CoyFe100-y layer, and the thickness of the FexCo100-x layer is 30% to 90% of the total thickness of the ferromagnetic layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exchange-coupled film utilizing exchange coupling between an antiferromagnetic layer and a ferromagnetic layer, and a magnetic sensing element including the exchange-coupled film.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a magnetic sensing element (spin-valve thin-film element) having a conventional structure. The magnetic sensing element includes a multilayer film M exhibiting a magnetoresistance effect, and hard bias layers 109 and electrode layers 110 disposed at both sides of the multilayer film M. The multilayer film M includes a seed layer 103, an antiferromagnetic layer 104, a pinned magnetic layer 105, a nonmagnetic layer 106, a free magnetic layer 107, and a protective layer 108 disposed in that order from the bottom. The magnetization of the pinned magnetic layer 105 is pinned in the height direction (in the Y direction in the drawing) by an exchange coupling magnetic field generated at the interface between the antiferromagnetic layer 104 and the pinned magnetic layer 105. In general, the antiferromagnetic layer 104 is composed of PtMn or IrMn, and the pinned magnetic layer 105 is composed of CoFe. The hard bias layers 109 are in contact with both sides in the track width direction (in the X direction in the drawing) of the multilayer film M and apply a longitudinal bias magnetic field to the free magnetic layer 107 so that the magnetization of the free magnetic layer 107 is aligned in the track width direction. The electrode layers 110 are conductors that supply a sensing current to the multilayer film M. The sensing current from one of the electrode layers 110 mainly flows through three layers, i.e., the pinned magnetic layer 105, the nonmagnetic layer 106, and the free magnetic layer 107. The magnetic sensing element having such a conventional structure is disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-237716, p. 7, FIG. 10), Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-148132, p. 8, FIG. 10), or Patent Document 3 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-208120, p. 11).
Patent Documents 1 to 3 each describe a magnetic sensing element in which an antiferromagnetic layer composed of IrMn and a pinned magnetic layer (ferromagnetic layer) composed of CoFe are disposed on each other. However, with respect to the composition ratio of CoFe, only Co90Fe10 is described. When a pinned magnetic layer composed of Co90Fe10 and an antiferromagnetic layer composed of PtMn are disposed on each other, the exchange coupling magnetic field produced at the interface between the pinned magnetic layer and the antiferromagnetic layer is sufficiently strong, and the magnetization of the pinned magnetic layer can be strongly pinned. However, when such a pinned magnetic layer and an antiferromagnetic layer composed of IrMn are disposed on each other, the exchange coupling magnetic field produced at the interface between the pinned magnetic field and the antiferromagnetic layer is weak, and there may be a possibility that the magnetization direction of the pinned magnetic layer is reversed during the fabrication process of the magnetic sensing element. In particular, in a top spin-valve magnetic sensing element in which an antiferromagnetic layer is disposed on a pinned magnetic layer, there is a high probability of magnetization reversal of the pinned magnetic layer.

Exchange-coupled film including pinned magnetic layer composed of a plurality of cobalt-iron alloys having different compositions disposed on antiferromagnetic layer, and magnetic sensing element


A computer system having a memory card for storing data that is capable of being removed and reinserted and also having the capability of safeguarding the data stored thereon. A passward is stored on the memory card. The memory card is set in a secure mode to prevent unauthorized access to the data stored on the memory card. Once the memory card is set in secure mode, it remains in secure mode, even when removed from the computer system and subsequently inserted back into that or another computer system. Access to the data is permitted when the memory card is set in secure mode only if a valid password is provided to the memory card.

Today, computer systems come in a host of different forms. They can range from the highly centralized, expensive, and powerful mainframes to versatile mid-range minicomputers and workstations, to the ubiquitous desktop and laptop personal computers. These various, separate computer systems can also be coupled together to form a computer network, thereby allowing end users to share files, application software, and peripheral hardware.
Attendant with most computer systems are data storage devices onto which digital data from the computer system is stored. In this manner, computer programs, textual information, graphics, and numerical data can be stored on a permanent basis for subsequent retrieval. There exists many different options for storing digital data. Some popular methods include optical and magneto-optical disk drives, tape drivers, and magnetic storage systems such as floppy disk drives.
Typically, these storage systems are fixedly attached within the computer system. This means that the computer system would have to be disassembled before the storage system could be physically removed. Hence, the data stored on these storage systems are physically tied to the host computer system and/or computer network. Hence, a person could not simply pick up and walk away with the storage unit containing the data. In many instances, the owner of the stored information is not only concerned about physically losing the data but is also concerned with keeping the stored information confidential. For example, the stored information might contain sensitive sales reports, marketing strategies, blueprints, manufacturing processes, customer lists, trade secrets, etc.
In order to safeguard the stored information, various schemes have been implemented to prevent unauthorized reading, copying, and erasing of the data by others. For example, one such security measure might require the input of a user identification number before that person is allowed to log onto the computer system. In addition, the user might be required to supply a secret password. Other security measures include encrypting the data, wherein the encrypted data is meaningless to unauthorized users. Only authorized users are provided with a means for deciphering the encrypted data. In short, when the storage mechanism containing valuable data is structurally integrated as part of the computer system, the computer's security protection prevents unauthorized access and tampering of the data.
Rapid advances in optical and magnetic recording technology have lead to smaller disk drives while storage capacity has increased. Furthermore, progress in the semiconductor field has led to the development of "flash" electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (flash EEPROM). The flash EEPROM is a non-volatile semiconductor memory in which digital data can readily be stored.
In order to take advantage of recent advances made in the storage technology, a group of computer and electronics manufacturers have formed the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) to define a set of standards for promoting interchangeability of data storage (i.e., memory cards) and peripheral expansion (i.e., I/O cards) among a variety of computer and other electronic products. The PCMCIA standard achieves interchangeability by defining a common set of physical dimensions, electrical interface, and data formats for the memory and I/O cards. The physical dimensions specify outer boundaries, mechanical tolerances, and connectors for the cards. The electrical interface section provides detailed pinout and signal definitions. The data format specifies the organization of the data on a card. The PCMCIA standard facilitates the introduction of small, portable, and lightweight memory cards based on either hard disk drive or flash EEPROM technology. These memory cards can readily be removed from its host computer system and later inserted back into the host system or some other PCMCIA compatible computer system.
This feature grants a user great flexibility and freedom in transporting the stored data. For example, a user can be writing a program, generating a report, updating a database, or otherwise working on a computer network at the workplace. The user can store the computer programs, database, etc. on the memory card. The memory card can be easily removed from the host computer system and placed in a shirt pocket, briefcase, or purse. This memory card can then subsequently be inserted into a laptop or notebook computer, thereby allowing the user to continue working on his other project. Later, the memory card can be removed and inserted in yet another PCMCIA compatible computer system (perhaps at home). Thus, users are free to travel and to take along their data with them in the form of memory cards so that the stored data can be accessed, updated, or edited on mobile computer systems or on computer systems other than their own.
However, along with the convenience associated with memory cards comes a problem in that memory cards can be misplaced, lost, or stolen. Whoever acquired the memory card could easily plug the memory card into a computer system and would have complete access and control over the data stored thereon. With a small, removable data storage mechanism, the user's host computer system can no longer safeguard the stored data.
Thus, what is needed is an apparatus and method for safeguarding data stored on a memory card from unauthorized access. It would be preferable for the safeguarding mechanism to impose a minimal burden on the user.

Apparatus and method for providing data security in a computer system having removable memory


A method of controlling an electronic device including a touch sensitive display the method including displaying a plurality of graphical items on the touch sensitive display where each graphical item has an identity; detecting a coupling, formed by a user, of at least two graphical items, the coupling including, a trace on the touch sensitive display between the at least two graphical items; and, performing an action dependent upon the identity of the coupled graphical items.

Traditionally a user of an electronic device, such as a mobile telephone, can use a key pad to control the device. This can often be an inconvenient and inefficient method of operating an electronic device. The options available to a user are often arranged in a hierarchical menu structure and it may take several key presses before the user is able to select or enable their chosen function.
Many electronic devices now comprise touch sensitive displays. It would be beneficial if such displays could be used to provide an improved user interface to a user which allows a user to quickly and easily access and enable the functions available.

Method, device computer program and graphical user interface for user input of an electronic device


A device for securing a pinch roller support arm to a chassis of a magnetic tape apparatus. In the device, the chassis includes a round hole which is formed such that it extends through the chassis, and a securing part is outsert molded in the chassis in such a manner that the securing part extends through the round hole. After the pinch roller support arm is fitted with a support shaft provided on and projected from the chassis and a projection provided on the pinch roller support arm is fitted into a fitting hole formed in the chassis, by rotating the securing part around the round hole, the securing part is engaged with the projection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for securing a part to a chassis and, in particular, to a device for securing a pinch roller support arm to a chassis of a magnetic tape apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Here, description will be given below of an example of a conventional magnetic tape apparatus with reference to FIG. 6. In particular, in FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 designates a tape cassette which includes a supply reel 1a and a take-up reel 1b; 2, movable tape guide posts which are used to draw out a magnetic tape T from the tape cassette 1 and wind it onto a head cylinder 3; 4, a full erase head; 5, an audio erase head; 6, an audio/control head; 7, fixed tape guide posts; 8, a back tension post; 9, a capstan; and 10, a pinch roller support mechanism which includes a support arm 12 pivotally and rotatably supported on a support shaft 11, while a pinch roller 13 is pivotally mounted on one end portion of the support arm 12 and a cam pin 14 provided on the other end portion of the support arm 12 is fitted into a cam groove 15a formed in a rotary cam 15. Further, reference numeral 16 designates positioning projections which are respectively provided in a tape cassette placement position on a chassis 17.
In the above-mentioned conventional structure, to record and reproduce, the tape cassette 1 is fitted with the positioning projections 16 to thereby fix the tape cassette 1 at the tape cassette placement position on the chassis 17; after then, the magnetic tape T is drawn out from the tape cassette 1 and wound around the head cylinder 3 using the movable tape guide posts 2 and, at the same time, by rotating the rotary cam 15 by a given angle, the support arm 12 is rotated, so that the pinch roller 13 is pressed against the capstan 9 through the magnetic tape T, and by driving to rotate the capstan 9, the magnetic tape T is caused to run.
The support arm 12, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, includes a main arm portion 12a which is formed in a substantial U shape by sheet metal bending working, and an auxiliary arm portion 12b assembled in the main arm portion 12a. The pinch roller 13 is pivotally and rotatably mounted on the leading end portion of the main arm portion 12a, the cam pin 14 is projectingly provided on the leading end portion of the auxiliary arm portion 12b, through-holes 18 and 19 respectively formed in the main arm portion 12a and auxiliary arm portion 12b concentrically therewith are rotatably fitted with the support shaft 11, and the both end portions of a spring 20, which is assembled in the auxiliary arm portion 12b and is fitted with the outside of the support shaft 11, are respectively engaged with the main arm portion 12a and auxiliary arm portion 12b, so that the pinch roller 13 can be energized toward the capstan 9.
Conventionally, the support shaft 11 is secured to the chassis 17 by a nut 21 which can be threadedly engaged with the lower end portion of the support shaft 11, while a removal preventive washer 22 is fitted into a groove 11a which is formed in the upper end portion of the support shaft 11.
In the above-mentioned conventional structure, in order to prevent the support arm 12 from being removed from the support shaft 11, the removal preventive washer 22 is fitted into the groove 11a formed in the upper end portion of the support shaft 11. However, with use of this structure, the number of parts increases by an amount corresponding to the use of the removal preventive washer 22. Also, as described above, the groove 11a is formed in the support shaft 11 and the removal preventive washer 22 is fitted into the groove 11a to thereby secure the support arm 12 to the chassis 17. However, this securing operation takes time and labor, resulting in the increased production cost.


Sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters and articles made therefrom, and processes for producing the sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters and articles are provided. Articles that can be made from the sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters include films, coatings and laminates. Some of the compositions and articles are biocompostable. The films can further be used to form shaped articles such as sheets, food packaging such as sandwich wraps, thermoformed containers, and coatings for, for example, films and other substrates. The sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters are derived from copolyesters produced from aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters formed from an aromatic dicarboxylic acid component, an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid component, a first glycol component consisting of 1,4-butanediol, a second glycol component, and optionally, a polyfunctional branching agent.

The inadequate treatment of municipal solid waste that is being put in landfills and the increasing addition of nondegradable materials, including plastics, to municipal solid waste streams are combining to drastically reduce the number of landfills available and to increase the costs of municipal solid waste disposal. While recycling of reusable components of the waste stream is desirable in many instances, the costs of recycling and the infrastructure required to recycle materials is sometimes prohibitive. In addition, there are some products that do not easily fit into the framework of recycling. The composting of non-recyclable solid waste is a recognized and growing method to reduce solid waste volume for landfilling and/or making a useful product from the waste to improve the fertility of fields and gardens. One of the limitations to marketing such compost is the visible contamination by undegraded plastic, such as film or fiber fragments.
It is desired to provide components that are useful in disposable products and are degraded into less contaminating forms under the conditions typically existing in waste composting processes. These conditions can include temperatures up to about 70 degrees C., averaging in the 55–60 degrees C. range, humid conditions as high as 100 percent relative humidity, and exposure times ranging from weeks to months. It is further desirable to provide disposable components that will not only degrade aerobically/anaerobically in composting, but will continue to degrade in the soil or landfill. In the presence of water, it is desirable that the components further break down into low molecular weight fragments, which can be ultimately biodegraded by microorganisms into biogas, biomass, and liquid leachate, as occurs with naturally occurring organic materials such as wood.
Articles for which biodegradable materials are desirable include films and sheets. Biodegradable films are well known and are described, for example, by Wielicki, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,225, which discloses the use of barrier films comprising plasticized, regenerated cellulose films. Comerford, et. al., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,347, disclose biodegradable films comprising a non-biodegradable matrix, such as poly(vinyl alcohol), and about 40 to 60 weight percent of a biodegradable material, such as starch.
Polyesters are known for use in biodegradable articles. The biodegradable polyesters can be described as belonging to three general classes: aliphatic polyesters, aliphatic-aromatic polyesters and sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic polyesters.
Sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic polyesters are polyesters derived from a mixture of aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and aromatic dicarboxylic acids and, in addition, have incorporated therein a sulfonated monomer, such as a salt of 5-sulfoisophthalic acid. Heilberger, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,563,942, discloses aqueous dispersions of solvent soluble linear sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters having incorporated therein from 0.1 to 10 mole percent of a sulfonated aromatic monomer. Popp, et. al., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,634,541, disclose fiber-forming sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters that include 0.1 to 10 mole percent of xylylene sulfonated salt monomers. Kibler, et. al., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,993, disclose linear, water-dissipatable sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters that include 2 to 12.5 mole percent of a sulfonated monomer.
Gallagher, et. al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,308, discloses compostable sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters and films made therefrom. However, the disclosed compositions have an undesirably low biodegradation rate. Warzelhan, et. al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,004, U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,042, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,034, disclose certain sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyester compositions and their use for substrate coatings, films, and foams. The relatively high level of aliphatic dicarboxylic acid incorporated in the exemplified composition results in a crystalline melting point of 92° C. Thus, some known sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyester materials do not have the desired balance of properties, including a relatively high crystalline melting point and a relatively high level of crystallinity and crystallization rate, for some end uses of polyesters, particularly in films. As disclosed in WO 02/16468 A1, blends have been used in order to provide optimized film physical properties. As one skilled in the art would appreciate, the use of polymeric blends necessarily complicates the processes used to produce films, coatings, and laminates.
A higher level of crystallinity and crystallization rate than possessed by known sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters would allow simplified production processes, such as a reduction of film sticking during the formation of polymeric films and faster mold cycle times in the production of molded shaped articles. Such compositions that are biodegradable are also desired.

Sulfonated aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters and shaped articles produced therefrom


An optical fiber connection arrangement includes an alignment sleeve for coaxially aligning optical fibers mounted in ferrules. A gap between the ends of the optical fibers allows some light to escape. A sensor responds to the leaked light, and the resulting signal is processed to determine whether light signal is present or absent.

Many communication systems rely on optical fibers for carrying signals, because of the very high bandwidth of optical fibers. In complex systems, it may be desirable to be able to route signals on a particular optical fiber to a given one of a plurality of sources or sinks of optical signals. This could be the case, for example, in a shipboard environment in which communications are accomplished by means of such optical fibers, and the optical fibers themselves, and the sources and sinks of information, are subject to damage due to collision or hostile action. In such an event, it is desirable to be able to disconnect an optical fiber from a failed unit and to reconnect it to an operable unit of the same (or possibly of a different) type.
FIG. 1 represents a prior-art arrangement 10 for routing optical communications fibers among a plurality of sources and sinks of information. In FIG. 1, a first source, sink, or source/sink of optical signals is represented as a box or block 12, and a second source, sink, or source/sink of such signals is represented as a box 14. Similarly, boxes 16 and 18 represent sources/sinks of a particular type of optical communications signals. As illustrated in FIG. 1, an optical fiber 12o carries signals produced by block 12 to a through connector in the form of a bulkhead junction or bulkhead connector 20a of a patch panel 20, and thence through another optical fiber 14o to optical signal source/sink 14. Similarly, optical signals produced by source 18 are carried by an optical fiber 18o to a bulkhead junction or bulkhead connector 20b, and thence by way of an optical fiber 16o to source/sink block 16. Other optical fibers, illustrated together as a bundle 22, extend from various junction connectors, such as exemplary junction connectors 20c, 20d, 20f, and 20g, through a bulkhead holder or wall 24 aperture 26, where they connect to various sources and sinks of optical signal (not illustrated). Junction connectors 20c, 20d, 20f, and 20g connect to various optical fibers 28c, 28d, 28f, and 28g, illustrated together as a bundle 28, which leave the region to connect to various sources and sinks of optical signals.
It will be clear by considering FIG. 1 that the various equipments 12, 14, 16, and 18, as well as the remote equipments, can be connected together in various ways to either bypass damaged or defective equipment, or to apply signals to various different types of processing as may be required or desired, simply by disconnecting a fiber from a junction or patch terminal of patch panel 20, and reconnecting it by way of another junction or patch terminal which communicates with the desired functional block. This ready reconfiguration may be valuable in various contexts.
A disadvantage of the patch-panel routing suggested by FIG. 1 is that troubleshooting is somewhat difficult, in that a problem is usually manifested as a failure of a system including at least a source of optical signals and a sink of optical signals, joined by at least two separate optical fibers and a junction connector. When a failure of such a system is suspected, it is initially not known whether the problem lies in the source, the sink, or the interconnecting optical fibers. The troubleshooting of such arrangements may be done in a multitude of ways. One possible way to troubleshoot a failed system is to divide it into two parts, by disconnecting one of the optical fibers at the bulkhead connector of the junction panel. For example, if the putatively failed system includes source or source/sink 12 and sink or source/sink 14 of FIG. 1, some information could be gleaned by separating optical fiber 14o from bulkhead connector 20a, and placing a light-responsive meter on bulkhead connector 20a. If source 12 is operating, and produces enough light to be displayed on an optical power meter, one may make an initial assumption that source 12 and optical fiber 12o are functional, and the system problem lies elsewhere. If the operating mode of source 12 is not readily controllable, and no light is perceived at bulkhead connector 20a, it may be necessary to disconnect optical fiber 12o from optical source 12, and to substitute a known test light source. With a test light source at the remote end of optical fiber 12o, and an optically responsive meter attached to bulkhead connector 20a, the state of optical fiber 12o can be established without question. Testing of optical fiber path 14o may involve disconnecting optical fiber 14o from bulkhead connector 20a, and applying a light source to the remote side (not visible in FIG. 1) of bulkhead connector 20a, and disconnecting the connection of optical fiber 14o from equipment 14, and placing an optically responsive meter at the near end of fiber 14o.
While the described testing is tedious but reasonably efficient, the difficulties become greater when the equipments to which the optical fibers are connected lie at remote locations relative to the patch panel 20 of FIG. 1. This would be the case if equipments connected and interacting through optical fiber bundle 22, one or more of bulkhead connectors 20c, 20d, 20e, and or 20f, and optical fiber bundle 28, were to cease to function correctly. In that case, testing would require traveling to at least one of the remote locations to break a connection, and another trip to reestablish the connection. In addition, either the connections and tests would have to be performed seriatim by one person, or the connection/disconnection would have to be coordinated by some form of communications other than the optical fiber in question. In complex systems with hundreds of optical fibers, the testing may result in long down times.
Prior methods for addressing the problems of testing of complex communication systems take forms such as repeater junction boxes, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,510, issued Jun. 5, 2001 in the name of Rauch, and automatic analysis systems such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,856 issued Jun. 6, 1989 in the name of Glista, Jr. In general, the repeater or junction boxes have relatively limited bandwidth, and are complex and expensive, and the automatic analysis arrangements are complex and expensive. The automatic analysis system uses a bypass fiber, and its manufacturing is complex. Another arrangement is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,481, issued Aug. 11, 1998 in the name of Leali, which samples the signals at a location using a splitter/bypass, and processes them to produce an indication of the presence or absence of signals, which is complex.
Improved or alternative arrangements optical fiber status indicators or sensors are desired.

Optical fiber coupling and inline fault monitor device and method


A permeameter for in-situ measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity is presented. The permeameter includes a chamber fixedly installed into streambed sediment such that the inside of the chamber is filled with a medium, sediment at water-sediment interface. First and second hydraulic head-measuring lines are respectively connected to upper and lower portions of an outer circumferential surface of the chamber, these are designed for measuring a hydraulic head difference of the inside of the chamber. A flexible tube is interconnected the chamber with the storage pipe. A storage pipe is designed to regulate a hydraulic head difference from the chamber and to measure a quantity and a flow rate of water introduced from the chamber under the streambed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a permeameter for in-situ measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity of streambed sediments. The head difference between head within the chamber and head at the inlet of the pipe acts as the driving force to flow water from the chamber to the pipe. This head difference can be induced by adjusting the depth of the inlet in the pipe below stream stage. Water in a saturated zone around the chamber flows upwards through the sediments inside the chamber without electric power.
Upward flowing of water within the chamber causes a hydraulic head difference between the upper side and lower side of the chamber. In situ saturated hydraulic conductivity of the streambed sediment can be determined by measuring this hydraulic head difference in the chamber and an amount of water passing through the inside of the chamber.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, it is recognized that surface water and groundwater are resources that are interconnected and interact with each other so that physical and chemical changes in one affect physical and chemical composition/state of the other. Surface water-ground water interaction is an essential factor to be evaluated for purposes such as water budget analysis, understanding of passing routes of nutrients, contaminants, and investigation of groundwater flowing system, etc.
The interaction between the surface water and groundwater means discharge of groundwater from aquifer toward surface water, or recharge of the surface water into the aquifer. In order to evaluate the interaction between surface water and groundwater quantitatively, measurements for the hydraulic conductivity of streambed sediment, a hydraulic gradient between surface water and groundwater, and direct or indirect measurement of an amount of exchange between surface water and groundwater are needed. The hydraulic conductivity, i.e. a target object to be measured, is a value for a physical property that, like electric conductivity or thermal conductivity, is a measure of how well an aquifer substance allows water to pass therethrough. The hydraulic conductivity has a functional relationship with a porous medium and a fluid passing through the porous medium. The hydraulic conductivity of the porous medium is obtained using Darcy's law. Darcy's law is a constitutive equation that is formulated based on experimental researches on the flow of water through beds of sand, wherein groundwater flows from upper side toward lower side of a hydraulic head through the porous medium, and the flow rate of the groundwater is proportional to the hydraulic conductivity and hydraulic gradient. Hydraulic head is a specific measurement of liquid pressure above a geodetic datum. Hydraulic head of groundwater is expressed by the sum of an elevation head, a pressure head, and a velocity head. However, the velocity head may be ignored because generally the flow of groundwater is very slow. In an experimental apparatus (FIG. 1) for explaining Darcy's law, it can be seen that a flowing direction of groundwater is determined by a difference (ΔH) in hydraulic heads of left and right water tanks, which are connected to a sand tank, irrespective of a position of the sand tank. In FIG. 1, when a datum level where z=0 is set, a hydraulic head H1 of an A-sided water tank that amounts to the sum of an elevation head Z1 and a pressure head P1 is higher than a hydraulic head of a B-sided water tank (H2=Z2+P2), so that it is shown that the flowing direction of groundwater is oriented from the A-sided tank of higher head toward the B-sided tank of lower head. Here, an amount Q of water passing through the sand tank is proportional to a difference in hydraulic heads (ΔH=H2−H1), a cross-section area A of the sand tank, and the time t elapsed, and is inversely proportional to a length L of the sand tank (Equation 1)
                    Q        ≈                              -                                          (                                                      H                    2                                    -                                      H                    1                                                  )                            L                                          At                                    Equation                                                  1
If a proportional factor K is introduced, the Equation 1 can be expressed as following Equation 2.
                    Q        =                              -            K                                                        (                                                H                  2                                -                                  H                  1                                            )                        L                              At                                    Equation                                                  2
The constant of proportionality K is called the hydraulic conductivity that depends both on characteristics of a fluid passing through a porous medium and porous medium itself.
Here, (H2−H1)/L is a hydraulic gradient.
The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring hydraulic conductivity of sediment in a saturated zone of a water-sediment interface by measuring a quantity Q of groundwater passing through a chamber, which is inserted into sediment under a water-sediment interface, and a hydraulic gradient between two points within the chamber. Here, the saturated zone means a section where pores of porous medium are filled with groundwater, whereas the unsaturated zone means an air-permeable section that is ventilated above the surface of groundwater.
Generally, the saturated hydraulic conductivity of sediment under a water-sediment interface may be measured by a physical method and an estimating method using e.g. a tracer, modeling, or the like. The physical method is performed using a standpipe opening at both sides, which is inserted into sediment under the water-sediment interface, and includes a method using a constant head or falling head, a coupled method using a seepage flux and a hydraulic gradient between surface water and groundwater, a slug test, a grain size analysis and the like. It is evaluated that the physical method is a more economical than the estimating method like a tracer test or modeling. However, it has been reported that methods using the standpipe and seepage meter have problems of reduced reliability in terms of measuring results, the slug test has problems in that only horizontal hydraulic conductivity can be obtained, and the grain size analysis method has problems of using empirical formulae (Landon et al., 2001). Particularly, in the case of the standpipe method that directly measures the hydraulic conductivity of the streambed sediment in the field, water is introduced into the top of the standpipe, which is inserted into the streambed sediment that is a target object to be measured for hydraulic conductivity, so as to cause water to flow downwards through sediments within the pipe, thereby measuring the hydraulic conductivity in a manner of using a constant head or a falling head.
However, an apparatus and method of in-situ measuring of saturated hydraulic conductivity which causes water to flow upwards through sediment within chamber or pipe with or without power are not yet provided.

Permeameter for in-situ measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity

KOREA INSTITUTE OF GEOSCIENCE AND MINERAL RESOURCES


A reconfigurable bin system for dispensing units, the system having a platform bin and a base member with load cells configured to support the platform bin. The platform bin itself comprises a platform plate, an optional front gate, a rear wall, and a plurality of side walls extending from the front of the platform plate to the rear wall so as to form an open-top bin. The platform plate includes a front flange disposed below the upper surface to define a trough extending across the front of the platform plate. Each of the plurality of side walls includes a rear tab received within a slot in the rear wall and a depending front tab received within the trough. A cap member may be removably secured over the trough to capture the depending front tabs within the trough, thereby securing the plurality of side walls in place.

Industrial supply dispensing units often include a plurality of internal compartments accessed via doors or drawers, such as dispensing units with multi-tiered, locker-like or cabinet-of-drawers-like configurations. A user may access an internal compartment in order to manually remove a stocked item such as a tool, a part, a consumable, etc., with the removal of that item being detected and tracked for internal auditing purposes or as part of a supplier-managed, on-site stocking service. Removal of the item may be detected by one or more types of sensors including, in the present application, a load cell or scale-like platform measuring device. Tracking of removals and subsequent replenishment may be performed by the controller of the dispensing unit itself or by electronic communications with a remote server and database.
When used for dispensing discrete items, the load cell or scale-like platform measuring device does not need to measure the precise weight of the stocked items, nor any precise difference in measured weight attributable to the removal of an item, but does need to accurately 'count' the stocked items by estimating the number of items from a measured property such as strain or rough weight. Gross errors in the measured property can cause a miscount or misestimation of the number of items present, the number of items removed, the number of items remaining, etc., and will tend to create discrepancies in the tracking of removed and replenished stock. For example, an item may partially rest or wedge against a side wall of the internal compartment, and the measured property (typically strain of a load cell) may be altered by friction or mechanical interference between the two that resists free movement of the platform. Thus, it may be useful to provide a bin, supported by or integrated with the platform, to keep stocked items within the confines of the platform. In addition, customers following lean manufacturing methodologies such as 5S (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain) may prefer that the items within a bin be orderly and organized rather than merely piled within. Thus, it may be useful to provide a means for flexibly organizing items within the confines of the platform and bin.
Existing dispensing units generally use platform measuring devices supporting discrete bins, which may themselves shift and partially rest or wedge against a side wall of an internal compartment, or platforms having affixed or integral bins, where changes in the dispensed stock (particularly the size, height, width, or depth of an item) require removal of at least the platform portion of the device in order to alter the bin dimensions and configuration. However, applicants have developed a load cell bin system which may be altered without removal of either the platform or the overall platform measuring device from the dispensing unit, thus simplifying the process of changing bin dimensions and configurations when making changes to the dispensed stock.


A pivotable grab handle device is movable between a stowed position, which is positioned within a mating cavity formed in the main tailgate structure, and a deployed position that projects upwardly above the top surface of a lowered main tailgate structure. The grab handle device is mounted on a retainer bracket that is affixed to a pivot bracket mounted to the top surface of the lowered main tailgate structure. When pivotally raised into the deployed position, the grab handle allows a person using a supplemental tailgate assembly configured into a step function extending below the plane of the lowered main tailgate structure to be stabilized while climbing onto the cross member of the supplemental tailgate assembly and onto the top surface of the lowered main tailgate structure.

Conventionally, pickup trucks include a tailgate at the back of a bed that closes off a cargo box. Often times, the truck bed is not long enough to hold the cargo, so truck bed extenders have been developed. The truck bed extenders work in conjunction with the open tailgate in order to provide additional length to the bed. Some of the bed extenders mount to the outside of the tailgate or to the box itself, which may be convenient for deployment, but they tend to interfere with cargo space in the box since the bed extender, when not in use, protrudes into the box. Moreover, it is typical for the vehicle operator to employ the extender only occasionally, so it is generally undesirable to have the extender exposed at all times, which detracts from the attractiveness of the vehicle.
Additionally, it is sometimes desirable to have an extender that can provide other functions in addition to a bed extender, such as a box extender function—an upwardly extending structure from the rearmost edge of an open tailgate that mimics the function of a closed tailgate. Such arrangements are particularly useful for carrying a load that is longer than the bed, but needs rearward support, such as provided by a closed tailgate, in order to prevent the load from falling rearwardly off the pick-up truck. Again, though, typical box extenders that provide adequate functionality are externally mounted and not only detract from the vehicle appearance when not in use but also require changes to the box for mounting such extenders. Also, most of these types of extenders are very cumbersome to deploy and later stow away, thus being undesirable for the operator to use. Such functions may be provided with simple ergonomic operation of the assembly, while still allowing for an attractive appearance for the vehicle when the extender is stowed during periods of non-use. Thus, while the exterior mounted extenders may be able to perform multiple functions, they still suffer from the drawbacks of an unattractive appearance and taking up room in the bed even when not in use.
Positioning the extended supplemental tailgate structure generally perpendicularly to the plane of the main tailgate structure, while the main tailgate structure is moved to an open position such that the plane of the tailgate structure is substantially parallel to the bed of the pickup truck, places the extended supplemental tailgate structure in an orientation that is substantially parallel to the main tailgate structure when the main tailgate structure is in a normal closed position. In such an extended position, the supplemental tailgate can provide a restriction to the rearward movement of objects located on the bed of the pickup truck. Furthermore, such an extended position of the supplemental tailgate can provide support for objects placed on top of the supplemental tailgate.
Positioning the extended supplemental tailgate structure such that the supplemental tailgate structure hangs below the plane of the main tailgate structure permits the cross member of the supplemental tailgate to be utilized as a step. In fact, U.S. Pat. No. 6,918,624, granted on Jul. 19, 2005, from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/969,413, filed on Oct. 20, 2004, teaches that the cross member of the supplemental tailgate assembly can incorporate a flip-out step that enlarges the surface of the underside of the cross member of the supplemental tailgate structure to enhance the use thereof as a step. Such utilization of the supplemental tailgate assembly assists the operator in gaining physical access to the cargo area of the pick-up truck, which is particularly helpful whenever the bed of the pick-up truck to positioned substantially above the ground surface.
In some instances, it would be helpful for the person utilizing the step function of the supplemental tailgate assembly to have an extraneous structure to grasp for purposes of stability while climbing onto the step and then unto the top surface of the opened tailgate. Alternatively, it would also be helpful in some circumstances for the person utilizing the step function of the supplemental tailgate to have some extraneous structure for stability purposes while descending from the main tailgate structure via the supplemental tailgate assembly onto the ground.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a stabilizing support structure positioned for utilization while the supplemental tailgate assembly is positioned as a step, while being positionable in a storage configuration that would not interfere with the conventional operation of the cargo bed, or the operation of the supplemental tailgate assembly in functions other than as a step.

Grab handle for use with supplemental tailgate on pick-up trucks


A complementary semiconductor device incorporating semiconductor composed of diamond. Substantially, diamond is insulative. When both III group elementary atoms and V group elementary atoms are doped into diamond, the doped regions respectively turn into p-type and n-type semiconductors. The embodiment discretely dopes both III group elementary atoms and V group elementary atoms into a layer of diamond thin film to eventually form a complementary semiconductor device. The embodiment forms wiring system inside of the diamond thin film by selectively doping either III group elementary atoms or V group elementary atoms therein without forming wiring system only on the inter-layer insulation film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a complementary semiconductor device using diamond thin film and to a method of manufacturing this device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, complementary semiconductor is made of silicon. Recently, there has been further progress in the integrated density of elements of modern a complementary semiconductor devices, and in addition, extremely fine elements have been very densely integrated in a chip in a rapidly growing number.
Any densely integrated conventional complementary semiconductor device involves a variety of critical problems including the following: The finer the size of the integrated elements, the faster the operating speed of these elements, thus raising frequency. In particular, when high frequency is generated, the device, i.e., the chip itself generates much thermal energy. Power dissipation P is expressed by an equation shown below. EQU P=C.V.sup.2.n.f (1)
where C designates capacitance per element, V the operating voltage, n the number of integrated elements, and f designates operating frequency.
Assume that the size of the integrated elements are vertically and horizontally reduced to one-half the original size without varying the operating voltage V. The capacitance C per element can simply be reduced to one-half, whereas the number of the integrated elements is quadrupled, and the frequency f rises at least more than double. Based on the above equation (1), the power dissipation P grows at least four times.
Incidentally, silicon has about 1.1 eV of the band gap. In order to normally operate a silicon semiconductor device, there is the critical power dissipation of the silicon chip in a package, which is about 85.degree. C. based on conversion into temperature. Even when operating such a package provided with a radiating fan, any conventional silicon semiconductor chip in the package can no longer sustain normal operation at about 100.degree. C. through 120.degree. C. based on the conversion into temperature.
In consequence, based on the physical property inherent to silicon, a critical number of integrated elements is determined for any conventional device using silicon semiconductor.
Likewise, based on the specific dielectric constant inherent to silicon, critical operating speed is determined for any conventional device using a silicon semiconductor.
Since silicon has about 11.7 of permittivity constant, parasitic capacitance such as junction capacitance easily grows.

Complementary semiconductor device using diamond thin film and the method of manufacturing this device