The invention relates to an arrangement and a method for the identification of parameters in a nonlinear model of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC 17) and the use of this information to reduce the nonlinear distortions of the ADC. A parameter estimator determines an AD parameter vector PAD which describes the nonlinearities of the ADC (17). According to the invention the ADC is excited by a perturbed input signal y′A generated by adder 77 which combines the analog input signal yA with perturbation signal s1 provided by generator. The nonlinear system identification uses intermodulation distortion generated in the digital ADC output signal y′D which are not found in the analog input signal yA. A nonlinear AD compensation element compensates based on parameter vector PAD the nonlinear distortion generated by the ADC and generates the linearized output signal yD. Digital control information PP,1 are used to generate the perturbation signal s1 in generator and to remove the perturbation signal the compensation element. The linearized ADC (is the basis for linearizing digital-analog-converters (DAC), amplifiers and other hardware components.

ADC and DAC are well known. ADC and DAC are converters having a nonlinear transfer characteristic that produce harmonics, intermodulation and other nonlinear distortion components in the output signal. This nonlinear distortion can be compensated by a pre-processing of the digital input signal xD supplied to the DAC or by a post-processing of the digital output signal yD generated by the ADC.
K. Hariharan compensated static errors of an ADC by using a simple polynomial approach and an optimal estimation of parameters in the publication "A Method for ADC Error Testing and its Compensation in Ratiometric Measurements", Measurement Science Review, Volume 10, no. 2, 2010.
J. Eklund corrected also static errors in the output signal of an ADC in U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,467 by comparing a measured histogram with an expected histogram. H. Hekstra used an iterative method in U.S. Pat. No. 8,410,960 to reduce the spectral flatness in the corrected output signal of the ADC. L. Pellon described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,781 a dynamic error calibration, which requires a high-quality generator. A. Bugeja revealed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,319 a compensation technique that captures exclusively static nonlinearities in the transfer function between an instantaneous analog input value Vin and an digital output value Vout. A. Glibbery describes a method for detecting static bit errors of an ADC in U.S. Pat. No. 7,129,879.
D. Hummel developed a dynamic compensation method in "Performance Improvement of All-digital Wide Bandwidth Receiver by Linearization of ADC and DAC", Measurement 31 (2002), 35-45 Elsevier, to improve the spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR), that describes the difference in dB between the amplitude of a sine-wave test signal and the largest amplitude nonlinear distortion components in the analog output signal. This approach is limited to distortions, which are generated by the slew rate in the sample and hold circuitry of the ADC.
Y. Yang, identified in "Linearization of ADC via Digital Post Processing', in proceeding of ISCAS May 15-19, Rio de Janeiro, 2011, pp. 989-992, the n-dimensional transfer function of a Volterra model by using a Vandermonde matrix and the frequency-selection method of S. Boyd, et. all. in "Measuring Volterra Kernels," IEEE Trans. Circuits systems, vol. 30 No. 8, pp. 571-577, August 1983.
K. Shi used a Volterra approach for modeling of nonlinear transfer behavior of AD converter in "Blind Volterra system Linearization with Applications to Post Compensation of ADC Nonlinearities" in 2012 IEEE, ICASSP, S. 3581-3584. This procedure requires that the signal is band-limited, and there is a free spectral range for the analysis of the distortion generated by the ADC.

Converter arrangement and method for converting an analogue input signal into a digital output signal


For a device for cutting plants with a cutting line (36, 38) which rotates around an axis of rotation and is wound on a reel (13), wherein a slide (16) releasably locks the reel (13) by means of a cam (26) with respect to elements which rotatingly take it along, wherein the length of the free end (37, 39) of the cutting line (36, 38) can be adjusted by unlocking the reel (13), wherein the slide (16) is displaced out of its locked position into its unlocked position by means of centrifugal force in the course of the shortening of the cutting line (36, 38), the cutting line adjustment is simplified and functionally improved in that the slide (16) is maintained in its locked position only by means of the force equilibrium of the mass support forces between its cam (26) and a detent (28) on the reel side, out of which it is displaceable by centrifugal force into its unlocked position, so that the reel (13) can rotate in respect to the cup (12), wherein the cam (26) is returned into the locked position by the mass support force on a guide surface (62) on the reel side and wherein the detent surface (250) of the detent (280) has an increasingly flattened contour with increasing distance from the reel center (12, 112).

The invention relates to a device for cutting plants.
A device for cutting plants in accordance with EP 351 989 is already known, wherein after a stop the adjustment of the line length of the cutting line is controlled during the restart by means of a slide which can be displaced by centrifugal force and has cams. When the device or the motor is stopped, the cam or the slide is returned into the unlocked initial position by spring means. When being restarted, the reel, which is taken along inside the rotating cup, can turn in relation to it sufficiently far so that a detent on the reel comes to rest against the cam and terminates the rotation by this.
The known device operates dependably, but consists of comparatively many individual parts and, in case of wear on the cutting line or loss of the cutting line, requires the stopping and restarting of the device for adjusting the cutting line. Automatic adjustment of the lost length of line is impossible during operation.
A corresponding device for cutting plants is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,666. Here a slide which can be displaced transversely to the axis of rotation and has a cam, releases detents on the reel or stops them. The line adjustment is controlled with this during the cutting of plants. The centrifugal force-controlled slide is maintained in its locked original position by a spring, wherein the line adjustment only operates if the cutting line operates, i.e. cuts plants. The line adjustment does not function if the line rotates in the air without hitting material to be cut. If in the course of wearing the free end of the line falls below a defined critical length, i.e. when the line cannot reach any more material to be cut, the automatic line adjustment does not function. The device must be shut off so that the line adjustment can be performed manually.
A further device for cutting plants is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,796, wherein two spring-supported cams, which can be displaced by centrifugal force, unlock or lock at least one detent on the reel. This results in an rpm-dependent automatic adjustment of the cutting line. Because of the springs, this device is constructed comparatively elaborately. The springs must be calibrated exactly and the actual mass must exactly correspond to the calculated mass of each cam support. Even small spring force deviations and mass differences can change the control characteristic of the line adjustment in such a way that it does not respond inside the predetermined rpm range. In addition, such mass-spring systems are extremely trouble-prone. Even small amounts of dust, moisture or heat can lead to the failure or too early triggering of the line adjustment device. Therefore these springs need to be cleaned and adjusted often.
Further than that, the spring characteristic of the springs changes as a function of the rpm because of the centrifugal forces acting on the springs. The springs can furthermore interferingly act on the centrifugal force displacement because of their own mass.


The present invention publicly discloses a synthetic method and intermediates of rosuvastatin calcium and synthetic methods of the intermediates. The synthetic method uses 4-4′-fluorophenyl-6-isopropyl-2-(N-methyl-N-methylsulfonylamino)pyridine-5-formaldehyde as the raw material, includes 4-4′-fluorophenyl-6-isopropyl-2-(N-methyl-N-methylsulfonylamino)pyridine-5-acrylonitrile (intermediate I) from a nitrilized reaction, and 4-4′-fluorophenyl-6-isopropyl-2-(N-methyl-N-methylsulfonylamino)pyridine-5-acraldehyde (intermediate II) from an aldehydized reaction of the intermediate I, and further goes through such unit processes as side-chain extension, ketone-group reduction, ethyl-group hydrolysis and neutralization reaction or decomposition reaction to obtain rosuvastatin calcium. The nitrilized reagent can be phosphate diethylacetonitrile, acetonitrile, etc.; the aldehyde reductant can be diisobutyl aluminum hydride, red aluminum, etc.; and the ketone-group reductant can be diethylmethoxyborane, NaBH4, KBH4, etc.

Rosuvastatin calcium is a clinical antihyperlipidemic drug, with a chemical name being (+)-(3R,5S)-7-[4-(4-fluorophenyl)-6-isopropyl-2-(N-methyl-N-methylsulfonylamino)pyrimidine-5-yl]-3,5-Dihydroxy-6(E)-calcium heptenoate (2:1), and a chemical structural formula as below:

Three preparation methods were reported in the literature as follows:
3. Publicly disclosed in CN1340052A
where P1 and P2 are protecting groups of hydroxy, and P3 is a tert-butyl group.
At the presence of a strong base, let an oxidized diphenyl[4-(4-fluorophenyl)-6-isopropyl-2-[methyl(methylsulfonylamino)amino]pyrimidine-5-ylmethyl]phosphine react with 2-[(4R,6S)-6-formyl group-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxa-4-yl]tert-butyl acetate, then disconnect the protecting group of dihydroxy in the product, alkalinely hydrolyze the tert-butyl ester group, and finally produce rosuvastatin calcium as a calcium salt.
In the first route, it takes a long reaction time to synthesize a phosphine (A), with a low yield and at the same time a usage of highly toxic and severely pollutive PBr3. There are many synthetic methods of its side chain (B) (U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,313, EP0319847, U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,722, U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,009, U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,633, U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,527, EP0104750, and WO0307733), but most of them have such problems as a long synthetic route (7-9 steps), most of intermediates being viscous, multiple steps of high vacuum (around 0.1 mmHg) distillation and silica gel column purification, a usage of hypertoxic potassium cyanide or sodium cyanide, a poor purity of products, unsteadiness, and difficulty in production industrialization.
4.
TBDMS is a protecting group of tert-butyl dimethyl silane.
The second route is difficult in synthesizing the side chain (D) (JP5-32680 and J. Org. Chem., 1994, 59 (25). 7849-7854), with a long route, intermediates of each step being mostly viscous, difficulty in separation and purification (need to go through multiple steps of silica gel column purification), a poor purity of products, and unsteadiness. The yield of connection of the side chain (D) to the main ring (C) is low, with a poor purity of products.
3. Publicly disclosed in WO2004/052867

In the third route, there is no synthetic method of the side chain (E), the yield of connection of the side chain to the main ring (C) is low, and multiple steps of silica gel column purification are required, with no physical constants for each intermediate, no detection methods for product purity or reaction progress, only testing results for small quantities, and no amplified data.

Synthetic method and intermediates of Rosuvastatin calcium and preparation methods of intermediates

Anhui Qingyun Pharmaceuticals & Chemical Co., Ltd.


Social interaction-based policies are provided to a digital content owner and are applied to uploaded content matching digital content owned by the digital content owner. Social interaction-based policies enable the content owner to obtain various benefits to the content owned by the content owner within a video hosting site and outside the video hosting site. The benefits include using content owner's successful digital content to drive traffic or subscriptions to content owner's social interaction platforms and increase engagement with viewers of the digital content within and outside the video hosting site. The social interaction-based policies also enable content uploaders of digital content matching content owned by others to participate in sharing revenue generated from their uploaded videos subject to social interaction-based policies applied to the uploaded videos.

The development of digital media content sharing and Internet social networking has enabled many features to enhance the user experience. However, the proliferation of digital media hosting sites that allow users to upload digital content (e.g., music content and video content) for mass viewing has highlighted a number of challenges including identification of user-generated digital content in which other entities have rights, and mechanisms that facilitate the ability of those entities to control and to generate revenue from the user-generated digital content.
A single work (e.g., a sound track or movie) may have multiple rights holders (e.g., the author, publisher, content distributor) and various entities may hold other rights with regard to the content. Currently existing digital content sharing solutions provide rights holders with limited options for specifying how to handle user-generated content matching content owned by the rights holders. For example, a rights holder may allow the content or ask hosting sites to take down the content or show pre-roll advertisement prior to the playing of the content.

Applying social interaction-based policies to digital media content


Disclosed herein are terpolymers of styrene, acrylonitrile and dimethyl styrene phosphonate and blends thereof with poly(styrene acrylonitrile) polymers and polymers and copolymers of methylmethacrylate.

The present invention relates to terpolymers of a vinyl aromatic monomer such as styrene, .alpha.-methylstyrene, chlorostyrene and the like; an unsaturated nitrile monomer such as acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile and the like and a dialkylvinyl aromatic phosphonate and to miscible blends thereof with certain polymers such as poly(styrene acrylonitrile) polymers (SAN) and polymers and copolymers of methylmethacrylate.


The present invention provides methods for moving a tooth to a desired position within a patient's mouth using orthodontics including perforating tissue in the oral cavity sufficient to induce an inflammatory response. The perforations may be made in any area of the maxilla or mandible, and any number of perforations may be made that are preferably 0.5 to 1.5 mm diameter, and preferably 1 to 3 mm deep. The invention also provides a device that may be used in conjunction with slow-speed rotary instruments or with manual drivers for providing the perforations. The device has a drill that makes the perforations and a stop that prevents the drill from penetrating the jaw bone beyond a predetermined depth. The invention also provides a kit that supplies the professional with the necessary components in a sealed container to carry out the osteoperforations. The kit may include hand held and rotatory perforating devices, anesthetic, and a soft tissue punch.

It was estimated that in 2007, more than 75% of U.S. population was over 18. Today, increasing numbers of adults are seeking orthodontic treatment to enhance the social and psychological status of their life. Treatment of these patients is complicated by the fact that the correction of their malocclusion orthodontically is limited to the dento-alveolar element, since any opportunity for control over their growth and development has passed. While simple cases can be treated by orthodontics treatment alone, the severity of malocclusion in many adults is beyond orthodontics treatment, and can only be addressed through combination with orthognatic surgery. Unfortunately, orthognatic surgery by itself is very expensive, and due to extensive bone cuts in upper and lower jaws can be accompanied by many complications. Therefore at present, there is no other treatment modality for these groups of patients.
It is certainly common for a patient to need an alignment of one or more teeth and, through typically, one method of carrying out such alignment or movement of a tooth is through the use of braces that are installed to the teeth and which include wires and other tension devices, such as rubber bands and coils, to exert a continual tension on the tooth to move the tooth or teeth in to the desired position. One of the problems, however is that the use of braces to move the teeth can take a long period of time, some times 3-4 years, and the patient must continue to wear those braces throughout these long periods. The wearing of braces is sometime difficult for patients, particular adults, who do not like the appearance of the braces and do not like the discomfort. In addition it has been shown that having braces for long time can increase the risk of root resorption and loss of alveolar bone.
One of the reasons for the lengthy period of time is that the tooth needs to move within the jaw bone, which includes the alveolar bone, that contains the tooth sockets, and the cortical plate encasing the dento-alveolar component. In effect, the tooth cannot move until the alveolar bone has been remodeled and that simply takes considerable time. It would therefore be advantageous to have a means to hasten the movement of a tooth or teeth so that the time period to move the tooth or teeth to a desired location is shortened.
Orthodontic cases are generally divided into two categories according to the direction the tooth movements are made, either expansion where crowded and crooked teeth are moved toward the periphery of the outline of the jawbone or retraction where one or more teeth are removed to create more room in the jaw. To align the teeth, one or more teeth may be moved in the direction of spaces created. Conventional orthodontics is performed by moving the root of a tooth through its surrounding bone in the jaw. The bone of the jaw has a hard outer shell, called the cortical plate or cortical bone, and a softer interior called the medullary bone.
The medullary bone has a good blood supply and is highly populated with pluripotential cells that can convert to osteoclasts that resorb old bone and osteoblasts that make new bone. Therefore, the medullary bone responds relatively dramatically and timely to physical insult including the forces used to move teeth. To move a tooth orthodontically, the root of the tooth must be moved through the bone surrounding the tooth, the alveolar bone consisting of the medullary bone and surrounding cortical plates that comprise the upper and lower jaws. The alveolar bone remodels around a tooth being moved in response to pressure and tension around the roots of teeth. In the course of such bone remodeling, bone resorption occurs on the pressure side of the root surface in the direction in which the tooth is moving. Bone deposition or new bone formation occurs on the tension side of the root surface in the direction away from which the tooth is being moved.
The root of a typical tooth is usually so large in diameter that it occupies most of the space between the lingual cortical plate on the inside of the jaw and the facial cortical plate on the outside of the jaw. As a result, much of the root of a tooth is covered with hard cortical plate and with very little soft medullary bone.
A major drawback to conventional orthodontics is the long treatment time during which braces must be worn. Corticotomy has been used for several decades to attempt to shorten orthodontic treatment times. The term refers to a bony cut or perforation that extends through the entire thickness of the cortical plate of the alveolus and into the underlying medullary bone or, if no medullary bone is present under the cortical plate, it refers to a bony cut or perforation that extends through most of the thickness of the cortical plate, but not its entire thickness.
Fischer et al., Angle Orthod 2007; 77:417-420 propose that instead of orthognatic surgery, small cuts be made in the alveolar bone around the teeth, a process that is known as corticotomy. It would be desirable if this highly invasive corticotomy procedure can be simplified even further and replaced with minimal, shallow, small perforations in alveolar bone without need for soft tissue flaps (as required with corticotomies).
Corticotomy has been used in difficult adult cases as an alternative to conventional orthodontic treatment or orthognathic surgery. It has been claimed that by combining a corticotomy procedure with orthodontics, it is possible to complete treatment in a shorter period of time due to the ability to move teeth more rapidly. The mechanism of this action is not clear. Several authors have described rapid tooth movement observed in conjunction with corticotomy as movement by "bony block." Based on this concept, a fissure is made through the cortical plate that surrounds a tooth, so that this tooth will now be in a block of bone connected to surrounding bone only through the medullary bone. The tooth is the "handle" by which this block of bone can be moved. Others have related the effect of corticotomy-facilitated orthodontics to the repair mechanism that is observed following injury of bone. After bone injury, accelerated bone turnover and decreases in regional bone density have been described.
Scott, U.S. Pat. No. 7,329,122 and Scott, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0102415 teach using flapless corticotomy using long needles. This procedure requires fabrication of a guide to determine the best places for application of cortical perforations. Scott proposes using needles to produce deep and narrow perforations that may be damaging to tooth roots and surrounding tissues. To compensate for this side effect, Scott designed a complex template as a guide for safe application of multiple cortical plate perforations. This technology makes the application of these procedures very difficult and unpractical.
Wilcko et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,916 teaches extensive cortical plate perforations requiring full thickness mucoperiosteal flap and bone grafting. These procedures are rather excessive to accelerate tooth movement. In addition they are extremely uncomfortable, time consuming, and expensive, involving different specialists. They also pose a significant risk for infection, rejection of bone graft, gingival recession, and bone loss. Some references describing this and similar procedures include for example, Yen S et al., J Oral Maxillofac Surg 61:1346-1350; 2003; Iino S et al., Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 131: 448.e1-448.e8; 2007; Liou et al., Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 117:391-8; 2000; Hwang et al., Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 120:209-16; 2001; Germec D et al., Angle Orthodontist 76:882-890; 2006; Wilcko et al., World J Orthod. 4:197-205; 2003; Wilcko et al., Int J Perio & Rest Dent. 21: 9-19; 2001; and Fischer, Angle Orthodontist. 77-3; 2007.
Orthodontic forces induce an aseptic inflammatory response. During early stages of tooth movement, there is an increase in vascular permeability and cellular infiltration of leukocytes (Krishnan, et al., Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop, (2006a) 129:469.e1-469.e32; Meikle, Eur J Orthod (2006) 28:221-240). Migrated immune cells along with native cells such as fibroblasts and osteoblasts produce inflammatory cytokines which include lymphocyte- and monocyte-derived factors, colony-stimulating factors, growth factors, and chemotactic factors (Krishnan et. al., J Dent Res (2009) 88(7):597-608; Ren, et al., Eur J Oral Sci (2008) 116(2):89-97). High concentrations of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), interferon-γ (IFNγ,) and osteoclast differentiation factor have been found in the gingival crevicular fluid surrounding moving teeth (Alhashimi et al., J Interferon Cytokine Res (2000) 20(1):7-12; Garlet et al., Eur J Oral Sci (2007) 115(5):355-62; Ren et al., J Periodontol (2007) 78(3):453-8).
The role of cytokines during tooth movement is not very clear. It has been suggested that cytokines and other inflammatory markers such as prostaglandin E2 (Saito et al., Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop (1991) 99(3):226-40) may activate bone remodeling characterized by bone resorption in the compression region and bone deposition in the tension region of the periodontal ligament (PDL) (Davidovitch et al., Dent Clin North Am (1988) 32(3):411-35; Garlet et al., Eur J Oral Sci (2007) 115(5):355-62). This is in agreement with previous studies that demonstrated that bone injury which causes cytokine release, leads to an accelerated bone turnover and a decrease in regional bone density (Frost, Henry Ford Hosp Med J (1983) 31(1):3-9; Frost, Part II. Clin Orthop Relat Res (1989a) 248:294-309; Frost, Part I. Clin Orthop Relat Res (1989b) 248: 283-93; Shih, et al., Bone (1985) 6(5):377-9; Yaffe et al., J Periodontol (1994) 65(1):79-83). One possible mechanism through which inflammatory cytokines may affect bone remodeling is through recruitment of osteoclast precursors from the circulation, their maturation and activation. Many cytokines that promote osteoclast formation and activation, such as IL-1, IL-6, and TNFα (Glantschnig et al. Cell Death Differ (2003) 10(10):1165-77; Seidenberg, et al., Pharmacol Res (2004) 50(2):151-6; Yao et al., J Biol Chem (2008) 283(15):9917-24), have also been found in crevicular fluid during orthodontic tooth movement (Basaran et al., Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2006; 130:E1-6; Uematsu et al., J Dent Res. 1996; 75:562-567).
The effect of cytokine expression on bone remodeling is important since the rate of tooth movement correlates with the efficiency of bone remodeling in the alveolar process. Studies of knockout mice deficient for TNFα receptors (Yoshimatsu et al., EJ Bone Miner Metab (2006) 24(1):20-7) showed a slower rate of tooth movement in response to orthodontic forces. Also previous reports showed that anti-inflammatory medication can decrease the rate of tooth movement (Arias, et al., Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop (2006) 130(3):364-70).
It would be advantageous to provide methods and devices for assisting tooth movement that provide fewer number and lesser depth of perforations. Likewise, it would be advantageous to provide devices and kits that facilitate performing effective perforations so as to assist tooth movement without the disadvantages of conventional needles.


Semiconductor die units for forming BOC BGA packages, methods of encapsulating a semiconductor die unit, a mold for use in the method, and resulting encapsulated packages are provided. In particular, the invention provides a semiconductor die unit comprising an integrated circuit die with a plurality of bond pads in an I-shaped layout and an overlying support substrate having an I-shaped wire bond slot.

Integrated circuit (IC) chips are enclosed in plastic packages that provide protecting against damage and environmental contaminants, and enable electrical of the chip to other circuits on a printed circuit board. Packaging IC chips has involved the placement of a chip on a flexible board where following adhesion of the chip to the board and wire bonding to connect the leads from the chip to the terminals on the board, an encapsulant is flowed over the chip and board to form a sealed package.
Plastic encapsulation of semiconductor devices by transfer molding is a conventionally used technique. Typically, a pre-encapsulated die unit is placed in a mold having top and bottom cavity molding plates. The lower molding plate has a constricted channel or mold gate along one side of the plate, and the encapsulation material, typically a thermoplastic or thermosetting material, enters through the mold gate and flows under and then over the IC chip to cover the electrical leads. The mold gate limits the flow rate and injection velocity of a molding compound into the cavity. The encapsulation material is then cured to harden it. In devices having a ball grid array (BGA) on one side of the substrate, the molding process is conducted so that the ball grid array connections are not covered by the molding compound during the encapsulation process.
The assembly process flows of standard BOC BGA packaging techniques are set-up for conventional IC chips having a bond pad layout arranged in a column down the center of the chip. Such packaging techniques cannot accommodate the assembly of die packages that do not utilize a standard wire bond slot and bond pad layout.
Currently, a semiconductor chip having a non-standard bond pad layout is packaged in a chip-on-board (COB) ball grid array (BGA) package. A disadvantage in using a COB BGA packaging technique is the use of long wires for connecting the bond pads in the center of the die to contacts on the underlying substrate, which are prone to damage. Another drawback is the resulting larger package size, which is needed to allow sufficient space for the wire bond connections.
In view of these and other deficiencies in conventional methods for fabricating BGA packages, improvements in fabrication methods for BOC BGA packages are needed.

BOC BGA package for die with I-shaped bond pad layout


Methods and apparatus for measuring an optical azimuth angle φO of a substrate relative to a plane of detection in scatterometry tools are disclosed. A grating target on a stage of a scatterometry tool may be illuminated and positions of the resulting diffraction orders may be observed. The optical azimuth angle may be determined from the positions of the diffraction orders. Alternatively, polarization-dependent signals of radiation scattered from a line grating may be measured for equal and opposite polarization angles +A and −A. A combination signal may be computed from the polarization-dependent signals obtained at +A and −A and a property of the combination signal may be calculated for several mechanical Azimuth angles φM. A relationship between the optical azimuth angle φO and the mechanical azimuth angle φM may be determined from a behavior of the property as a function of mechanical azimuth angle φM.

For a number of industrial applications, it is useful to determine the surface metrology of samples such as thickness of thin films, their refractive indices and the profile parameters of surface features such as grating on semiconductor wafers. A number of metrology tools are now available for performing optical measurements on semiconductors. Such tools can include scatterometers, such as spectroscopic reflectometers, angle-resolved reflectometers, and angle-resolved ellipsometers, and spectroscopic ellipsometers. Such scatterometry techniques have been extensively used in semiconductor metrology, e.g., for measuring film thickness.
In doing scatterometry it is common to look at light reflected from a periodic line or three dimensional structures. A theoretical spectrum for scattered light may be calculated based on a theoretical model based on assumptions about the geometry and material nature of the structure and knowledge of physics and optics. This theoretical spectrum may be compared against a measured spectrum obtained through scatterometry measurements. Through an iterative regression, the theoretical spectrum may be varied by varying the assumptions about the geometry and material nature of the structure until the theoretical spectrum matches the measured spectrum. In an alternative implementation, the measured spectrum may be compared to a pre-computed set of theoretical spectra. The theoretical spectrum that most closely matches the measured spectrum may be reported, or it may be used as the initial theoretical spectrum to start interactive regression. Another implementation, interpolation between the pre-calculated theoretical spectra may be used to determine an interpolated theoretical spectrum that most closely matches the measured spectrum. The shape model that corresponds to the theoretical spectrum that most closely matches the measured spectrum is then said to be the shape model that most closely represents the actual shape of the structure that produced the measured spectrum. However, in order to properly model the theoretical spectrum, it is important to have an accurate model of the optical system used to obtain the measurements. The properties include the azimuth angle φ, which may be the angle of the plane of incidence of the probe beam with respect to some reference direction in the plane of the sample, such as the direction of the lines of a grating target. Alternatively, the azimuth angle φ may be the angle of the plane of detection of the scattered radiation with respect to the reference direction in the plane of the sample. The azimuth angle φ has most often employed is 90 degrees. However this angle is not perfectly controlled and is not measured. If the theoretical angle of the plane of incidence does not match the actual angle of the plane of incidence, the theoretical spectrum will not match the measured spectrum, resulting in an error in the reported shape.
Scatterometry is often used for inspection and metrology in semiconductor processing. Most materials used in semiconductor processes, e.g., silicon, silicon dioxide ("oxide"), silicon nitride ("nitride"), poly-silicon ("poly"), photoresist are optically isotropic. An optically isotropic material is one for which the optical properties (e.g., refractive index) are not dependent on the direction of propagation of light through the material. Because of this, no particular attempt was made to determine the orientation of the plane of incidence of the incident beam relative to the sample (the so-called optical azimuth angle φO) during scatterometry associated with semiconductor metrology.
A few studies have been done concerning the azimuth angles in spectroscopic ellipsometer applications. Most of these studies were related to measurement of anisotropic (birefringent) materials. For instance, in "Measurements of Linear Diattenuation and Linear Retardance Spectra with a Rotating Sample Spectropolarimieter" Appl. Opt. 32(19) 3513-3519 (1993) and "Applications of the Normal-Incidence Dielectric Tensor in Anisotropic Materials" App. Phys. Lett. 67(5), pp 596-598 (1995) an optically anisotropic sample was placed on a rotating stage to enable measuring optical properties of the sample. Y. Cui and R. M. A. Azzam, "Applications of the normal-incidence rotating-sample ellipsometer to high- and low-spatial-frequency gratings," Appl. Opt. 35, 2235-(1996) further described a normal incidence rotating sample ellipsometer for measuring gratings. U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,614 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,882,413 disclosed methods and systems for critical dimension (CD) measurements using rotating sample (rotating stage) spectroscopic ellipsometry. In all of the above-described references, the azimuth angles of the sample were assumed to be known. However, in practice, this is generally not the case.
Previous methods of measuring azimuth angle include imaging the position of scattered radiation into an imaging detector. Examples include acquiring multiple images of the scattered beam from a rough surface at a series of focus steps, using a pattern recognition camera to acquire multiple images of a diffracted beam from a grating at a series of grating stage azimuth angles (different wavelengths at different diffraction angles and image positions). For example, a wafer may be mechanically aligned with respect to optics using a mechanical feature on a chuck or holder/prealigner that is based on images of a target on the wafer. Several images may be taken to determine how much the wafer has rotated relative to some mechanical reference. With a rotating chuck, one can rotate the chuck to align the wafer using an image alignment system. Unfortunately, an image alignment system does not measure the optical azimuth angle φO between the plane of incidence or plane of detection and the x-y stage axes or any feature on the wafer. Such a system probably gets the optical azimuth angle correct to within 1 or 2 degrees and is repeatably to within plus or minus 0.1 to 0.5 degree. Image alignment measurement repeatability, by contrast may be of order 0.001 degree. For scatterometry measurements on isotropic samples this may be sufficient, and is certainly an improvement over relying on the pre-aligner wafer load angle.
Such azimuth measurement techniques may suffer from certain disadvantages. For example, imaging a beam scattered from a rough surface while scanning focus of an oblique incident beam may result in other changes to the path of incident beam. The image of a diffracted beam may be influenced by aberrations of the imaging system that may be difficult to separate from the effects of the grating azimuth or asymmetry. Another disadvantage of the previous azimuth measurement systems is that they cover only the incident beam and cannot take into account the optics on the detection side. This can be especially important since the detection aperture may not be perfectly centered on the incident beam or scattered beam.
It is within this context that embodiments of the present invention arise.


An environmental monitoring and controlling system for a ventilated cage and rack system that monitors and measures air flow in the rack at either the rack or cage level. At the rack level, two pressure sensors are provided in a supply air system to accurately monitor the air flow rate into the rack. In addition, two pressure sensors may be provided in an exhaust air system to accurately monitor the air flow rate out of the rack. At the cage level, a cage may be equipped with a highly accurate pressure sensor, including a Venturi tube and thermistor, the monitor the air flow rate in a cage located at any cage position in the rack.

It is well-known in the art to house laboratory animals, such as mice and rats, in cages. It is also well-known in the art to house the cages on racks. These cages are typically ventilated and, when placed in a rack, environmentally controlled (e.g., air-flow and air-exchange rate) by a fan system of the rack. In general, the rack fan system provides air under pressure to each of the cages within the rack, and exhausts air from the cages and the rack, as is known in the art.
While prior art ventilated cage and rack systems have been satisfactory, the air within the cage must be changed, or refreshed, on a periodic basis to prevent ammonia build-up, humidity build-up, carbon monoxide build-up, or the build-up of other potentially harmful gases, which may have an adverse effect on the animal within the cage. Changes in temperature in the cage and rack system must also be monitored and controlled to protect the animals housed in the cages. Although the prior art ventilated cage and rack systems did put the cages under positive pressure to create air flow through the cage, those systems do not have the capability to monitor and maintain the desired air flow within the cage and rack or to otherwise monitor and control the environment in the cage and rack. Typically, the supply air system is set for a predetermined air flow rate into the rack, and the exhaust air system is set at a maximum air flow rate. Such a configuration does not adjust air flow into and out of the system as the input and exhaust filters clog, which always occurs. Thus, current rack and cage ventilation systems cannot provide rack and/or cage-level control of the environment in the rack and/or cages. There thus exists a need in the art for a system for monitoring and controlling the air flow within the rack and to the cage at both the rack level and cage level.

Air flow sensing and control for animal confinement system


Described herein are techniques, devices, and systems for handling Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages with malformed header fields. A communication device that receives a SIP message from an additional communication device may identify one or more identified header fields of a plurality of first header fields in a message header of the SIP message that correspond to (e.g., match) one or more second header fields in a list of second header fields accessible to the communication device. If the communication device determines that the one or more identified header fields are not malformed, the communication device may process the SIP message without regard to remaining header fields in the message header. If, however, the communication device determines that at least one identified header field of the one or more identified header fields is malformed, the communication device may reject the SIP message.

The Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) core is an architectural framework defined by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) for delivering Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia to user equipment (UE). Both UEs and the nodes of the IMS core are configured to use a signaling protocol called Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to establish, modify, and terminate multimedia sessions. A SIP message includes a Request/Status line, a message header and a message body. The message header is structured as a sequence of header fields to convey information about the SIP message.
Existing IMS nodes are configured to validate every header field in the message header of an incoming SIP message to determine whether each header field is malformed (e.g., by determining whether the syntax of the header field is valid or invalid, as defined by the relevant standard). If any header field in the message header is malformed, the SIP stack on the IMS node is configured to reject the SIP message (e.g., by generating a 4xx error code). It has been observed that some handsets generate malformed header fields in SIP messages after the handsets have been upgraded to a new version of an operating system (OS), which is causing sessions (e.g., call sessions) involving such handsets to fail. However, many of these call failures are unnecessary due to the fact that sessions can still be established even when certain header fields are malformed. A call failure can be detrimental in an emergency scenario, such as when a user is trying to connect to a 911 operator but the user's emergency call is dropped due to a malformed header field in a SIP message.

Handling SIP messages with malformed header fields


A method of joining a plurality of members to be joined together, by piling the plurality of members on one another and joining together the members with one another at end portions of superposed parts of the members, wherein the superposed parts of the members are held by restraining the superposed parts from both sides thereof, while a pressing tool, which is harder than the members, is pressed to end faces of the superposed parts and the pressing tool is rotated and/or moved relative to the superposed parts, so that the end faces of the superposed parts are rubbed to cause a friction heating which leads to cause a plastic flow, whereby the plurality of the members are joined together at the end portions of the superposed parts thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a useful method of joining together end portions of superposed members. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of joining together superposed members, in which a plurality of members to be joined together are piled on one another and the members are joined together with one another at the end portions thereof.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There have been methods of joining together a plurality of members to be joined together with one another, at the end portions thereof, as forms of joining together superposed parts of the plurality of members, and these methods are known as butt-joint, edge-welding, and so on.
There is generally considered adopting a fusion welding, in which an arc or a laser is used, in order to join together the end portions of the superposed parts. However, in this case, there is an inherent problem of causing a joint defect caused by a void etc., in addition to an adverse influence to the other sections of the members caused by the welding. Moreover, if a thickness of the superposed parts of the members to be joined together isn't thick enough, there is caused a problem of burn-through. Therefore, it has been difficult to obtain an advantageous and sound joint structure.
Unlike a method of joining which involves a generation of a large amount of heat (energy) such as the above-mentioned fusion welding, there is also known a friction stir welding, in which a friction heating is generated between two members to be joined together. In the method of the friction stir welding: the members to be joined together are held in abutting contact with end faces of each other; a rotary tool is pressed to the abutting end faces of the members while the rotary tool is rotated relative to the members; and the members are subjected to a pressure weld making use of the friction heating generated at the interface between the members and the rotary tool. Accordingly, the rotary tool needs to be rotated while the members to be joined together are held in butting contact with each other, and therefore, it is impossible to join together the above-mentioned superposed parts of the plurality of members at the end portions thereof Moreover, when this method of fusion welding is applied, it is difficult to avoid generating largely curled burrs, so that a shape or an appearance of the joint portion is unsatisfactory.
The present invention has been made in the light of the situations described above. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a novel method that enables to effectively join together end portions of superposed parts of members to be joined together, without adopting a fusion welding method. It is also an object of the invention to provide a method that enables to easily and stably join together the end portions of the superposed parts of the members, even if the superposed parts are thin.
The object indicated above may be achieved according to a principle of the present invention, which provides a method of joining a plurality of members to be joined together, by piling the plurality of members on one another and joining together the members with one another at end portions of superposed parts of the members, characterized in that the superposed parts of the members are held by restraining the superposed parts from both sides thereof, while a pressing tool, which is harder than the members, is pressed to end faces, which are some sections of the end portions, of the superposed parts and the pressing tool is rotated and/or moved relative to the superposed parts, so that the end faces of the superposed parts are rubbed to cause a friction heating which leads to a plastic flow, whereby the plurality of the members are joined together at the end portions of the superposed parts thereof.
In the method of joining together the end portions of the superposed members according to the present invention, the superposed parts of the members are held by restraining the superposed parts from both sides thereof, while a pressing tool, which is harder than the members, is pressed to the end faces of the superposed parts and the pressing tool is rotated and/or moved relative to the superposed parts, so that the end faces of the superposed parts are rubbed to cause a friction heating which results in softening the end portions which leads to a plastic flow, whereby the plurality of the members are effectively joined together under solid phase at the end portions of the superposed parts thereof According to the present method, problems resulting from the fusion welding are wholly solved, and an effective joining at the intended end portions or end surface layer is realized.
In addition, in the method according to the present invention, there is only required an operation of relatively rotating/moving the pressing tool, while the pressing tool is pressed to the end faces of the superposed parts. Accordingly, there can be simplified a structure of a joining device, without requiring expensive welding devices or auxiliary machines etc., and there can also be simplified joining operations. Accordingly, in addition to the simplification of the joining operation, there can be advantageously distributed to reduce a cost of the welding.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects and other objects recognized by overall the description of this specification and the attached drawings, the present invention is preferably practiced in at least the following features. The present invention may also be embodied by suitably combining the undermentioned features. It is to be understood that the embodiments and the technical features of the present invention are not limited to the followings, but may be recognized based on the overall description of this specification and the inventions disclosed in the attached drawings.

Method of joining together end portions of superposed members


A portable handheld device for collecting and displaying golf round data. The data collected for each stroke includes the location, time and club used and the resulting ball position achieved. Locations on the golf course are determined by radiolocation. Data transfers between the handheld device and external storage are by direct connection or cellular telephone or some other wireless link. Before each drive or approach shot, player performance and course distance information are used to help the player choose the correct club. Putt break prediction is provided before putting strokes. Information that a stroke has been taken and which club was used can be entered manually by the player or sensed automatically from telemetry equipped golf clubs. Golf round data collected is used to produce play souvenirs, records and analyses. Any selected stroke in a round can also be replayed on a graphical display of the handheld device.

Golfers playing a game of golf try to maintain a consistent swing and adjust the distance the ball travels by choosing the correct club. They desire to choose the correct club to advance the ball toward the cup on a particular green without overshooting the green or putting the ball into a hazard area such as water, trees or a sand bunker. In order to accomplish this they need to know their present distance from the green and the expected result of applying their personal playing skill to each of the clubs they carry. They typically use their estimate of distances and recollection of past performance to choose a club which they think will safely advance the ball. Players often want to choose a club which limits the distance the ball will travel to keep it on the near side of a course hazard. Distances are not easy to estimate accurately and players sometimes choose a club which drives the ball too far and puts it beyond the target green or into a course hazard.
Accuracy is also not easy to estimate from memory. Players sometimes attempt to advance the ball to a position between course hazards when in reality their skill level makes a successful outcome unlikely. An important function of professional golf caddies is to offer players distance and game strategy advice to aid these distance and accuracy decisions. Players also desire to play continuously without being delayed by unusual slow players ahead of them on the course.
A previous golf round data system in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,077 teaches a system which efficiently gives course distance information, collects shot accuracy and distance data with each of the player's clubs, paces play to discourage slow play, and displays performance data after the round is completed. It depends upon the player's memory of his past performance and skill to choose the correct club while playing. The previous golf round data system also needs some local external computer capability to load in course data before play, receive and process round data after play, and produce skill and performance information for the player. The golf round data system in 5,740,077 uses a special purpose unit which has no other function. It also requires the player to press a button to indicate that each stroke has been taken and data should be recorded. This earlier system does not let the player specify the intended direction of the next stroke.
A golf computer device in U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,485 teaches displaying the layout of the hole being played on a handheld graphical display but limits the displays to a series of predetermined scenes centered on the hole's fairway as play progresses.

Golf round data system with cellular telephone and player help features


An optical disc apparatus includes an objective lens that converges a light beam emitted from a light source and irradiates an optical disc having recording marks formed in a uniform recording layer with it, a detection signal generation section that receives a return light beam from the recording mark and generates a detection signal, a servo control signal generation section that generates a servo control signal representing relative displacement between the recording mark and a focus of the light beam from the detection signal and a servo signal correction section that generates a correction servo control signal by connecting peaks or neighborhoods of the peaks of servo control signals, the peaks being produced according to the recording marks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc apparatus and a correction servo control signal generation method that can be suitably applied to optical disc apparatus designed to reproduce information from an optical disc having a uniform recording layer where recording marks are formed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical discs of the known types such as compact discs (CD), digital versatile discs (DVD) and Blu-ray discs (registered trademark, to be referred to as BD hereinafter) have become very popular. Optical disc apparatus for playing such optical discs are designed to irradiate a desired track to be irradiated with a light beam of the signal recording layer with the light beam and read reflected light coming from the optical disc.
As a light beam is applied onto the signal recording layer of an optical disc by means of such a known type optical disc apparatus, the light beam is reflected by the signal recording layer so that the optical disc apparatus can receive reflected light with not less than a predetermined level of intensity at all times. Therefore, known type optical disc apparatus are designed to perform servo control of generating various error signals (e.g., focus error signal and tracking error signal) that represent the quantity of displacement of the light beam from the desired track according to the received reflected light so as to irradiate a desired position with a light beam.
Additionally, known type optical disc apparatus are designed to record information on an optical disc by applying a light beam onto the signal recording layer of the optical disc so as to modify the local reflectance of the signal recording layer.
It is known that the size of the beam spot that is formed when the light beam emitted from an optical disc apparatus is converged by an objective lens is defined by λ/NA (λ: wavelength of light beam, NA: numerical aperture) and the resolution is proportional to this value. For example, in the case of a BD system, data of about 25 GB can be recorded per layer of an optical disc with a diameter of 120 mm.
Various pieces of information that can be recorded on optical discs include contents such as music contents and video contents and data including those to be used for computers. Particularly, the quantity of information to be recorded on an optical disc has increased due to the availability of high definition images and high sound quality pieces of music and an increased number of contents are required to be recorded on a single optical disc. Thus, there is a demand for optical discs having a larger capacity.
Under these circumstances, techniques have been proposed for simplifying the operation required to record information on and increasing the capacity of an optical disc by recording a standing wave in a uniform recording layer as recording mark typically by means of hologram (refer to, e.g., Jpn. Pat. Appln. Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-071433).
An optical disc apparatus realized by utilizing the technique of the above Patent Document applies a light beam onto an irradiation line that connects the centers of recording marks of an optical disc and receives reflected light coming from the optical disc. Then, the optical disc apparatus detects the presence or absence of a recording mark with the reflected light to reproduce information.

Optical disc apparatus and correction servo control signal generation method


Systems, methods, and computer storage media are described herein for optimizing adaptive bitrate streaming for content (e.g., streams of live events). Bitrate selections may be made based at least in part on the current state of the playback. When the playback is in a transient state (e.g., when the user has recently played or navigated within the content), bitrate selections may be determined utilizing a virtual buffer that simulates a playback buffer. The virtual buffer may be initialized with a predetermined fullness value. As content fragments are received and queued on the playback buffer, the fullness values for the virtual buffer and the playback buffer may be adjusted differently. When the fullness of the playback buffer exceeds the virtual buffer, subsequent bitrate selections may be determined utilizing the playback buffer. The virtual buffer may be utilized to simulate a steady state playback buffer while the playback buffer populates.

It has become commonplace for users to stream content online. Instead of downloading an entire video before enabling playback, streaming allows a user to begin playback within seconds. As the content is presented for playback at the user device, additional content fragments are requested from the content source. Adaptive bitrate streaming is a technique that detects the user's bandwidth and CPU capacity in real time and adjusts the quality of those content fragments accordingly. The content being streamed may be encoded in a variety of bitrates and a particular bitrate may be selected based at least in part on a playback buffer's size and the current network behavior. However, existing adaptive bitrate (ABR) algorithms face significant challenges in estimating future network behavior and/or buffer size. ABR algorithms attempt to maximize the video quality (e.g., by picking the highest bitrate available) while minimizing the amount of buffering events that occur if the playback buffer is empty. Selecting the optimized bitrate in light of current network bandwidth and buffer size becomes even more challenging when the content is a live video and the buffer is relatively small, perhaps storing only a limited amount of the content (e.g., the next ten seconds of video, etc.). Current ABR algorithms are not optimized for small buffers and playback of live events. Embodiments described herein address these issues individually and collectively.

Techniques for short buffer adaptive bitrate streaming


A method and apparatus is described where the coordinates of the main objects of a video studio set are placed in a computer and special markings are projected or screened on the floor or on the studio walls in real time. This enables an actor to easily find his way around the set, and to focus his gaze on the virtual objects appearing in or disappearing from the studio. The present invention gives the actor the timings for various events taking place in the studio. The special markings are completely invisible to the camera and to the home viewers because they are only active during virtual blanks of the camera such as the vertical blanking interval or the horizontal blanking interval in an NTSC, PAL, SECAM or other video signal format.

Chroma-keying and virtual set technology enable the actor in the studio to appear as if he is in a more complex environment. Using this technology, scenes comprised of a number of sources, such as live video and computer graphics can be created and combined together.
In many television programs which are broadcast from television studios, live video is combined with backgrounds which were prepared in advance. This technology is called "chroma-key". The backgrounds used in this technology can be still photographs, videotape or any other picture.
The actor (the newscaster, weather forecaster, etc.) stands in front of a plain blue screen in the studio. The television camera shoots both the actor (live video) and the blue screen. The resulting picture is then transferred to a chroma-keyer, for processing. At the same time, a background picture from a different source (such as another camera, pre-taped video or computer graphics) is transferred to the chroma-keyer.
Both pictures, the live and the background picture, are combined in the chroma-keyer and broadcast as one picture which shows the live video on the background. For example, the final result can be a weather-forecaster standing in front of a weather map which cannot be seen at all in the physical studio.
The chroma-keyer can differentiate between the live video and the blue background, according to the pixels. Wherever a pixel from the live video is identified, it is transferred to the combined broadcast picture. Wherever a pixel from the blue screen is identified, the appropriate pixel from the background is placed into the broadcast picture. In this way, a new picture is created and broadcast, using the background which was chosen.
In the above technology, the actor finds himself in a virtual space, which he does not actually see during shooting of the scene. The actor must therefore imagine the set and practice long hours in order to point in the right direction or avoid walking into virtual walls, people and other objects which are part of the set.
There are two ways currently used to help the actor find his way around within the set. Because neither of the solutions is perfect, the two are usually combined together:
1. Marking the places of objects and of the actor himself on the floor with masking tape. This solution is problematic in scenes which are comprised of a number of sets and for scenes in which the integrated object is in movement. PA1 2. A monitor which displays the integrated picture for the actor. This solution causes the actor to focus his gaze on places which are not necessarily part of the scene. For example, the weather forecaster may need to point to a map on the wall in back of him, but in order to see the feedback on the monitor regarding the location of his finger, he is required to look straight ahead. PA1 1. A flash of light which is synchronized with the cameras. PA1 2. Sounds to signify events.
There are also a number of techniques which enable the actor to find his place so that he can react in time to various events:


An electrostatic discharge protection device, including a silicon-control-rectifier, in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process is disclosed. in one embodiment of the present invention, the protection device includes a semiconductor substrate having a first conductivity type. A well region formed with a second conductivity type in the semiconductor substrate. A first region formed in the well region. A second region formed having a portion in the weil region and another portion outside the well region, but still within the semiconductor substrate. Moreover, a third region formed within the well region and in between the first; region and the second region. A fourth region formed within the semiconductor substrate and outside the well region. A fifth region formed within the semiconductor substrate and in between the second region and the fourth region. Furthermore, the second region and the fifth region form the n+-p+ junction of a zener diode and the breakdown voltage of the zener diode is controlled by adjusting the ion dosage in the second region.

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/396,165, filed Sep. 14, 1999 now abandoned.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection, and more particularly, to a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) silicon-control-rectifier (SCR) structure suitable for protecting an internal circuit from ESD.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Progress in semiconductor technology has decreased the dimensions of many semiconductor devices. As very large scale integration (VLSI) circuit geometry continues to shrink, the corresponding gate oxide thickness has also continued to decrease. This decrease in thickness, relative to breakdown voltage, has resulted in an increased susceptibility to damage from the application of excessive voltages. For example, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) event is capable of developing such an excess voltage. During an ESD event, charge is transferred between one or more pins of the device and another conducting object in a time period that is typically less than one microsecond. This charge transfer can develop voltages that are large enough to break down insulating films (e.g., gate oxides) on the device, or can dissipate sufficient energy to cause electrothermal failures in the device. Such failures include contact spiking, silicon melting, or metal interconnect melting.
Accordingly, ESD protection and its impact on the reliability of IC products in submicron CMOS technologies has become a primary concern. The resulting protection circuits may typically be connected to all Input/Output (I/O) pads of an integrated circuit (IC) to safely dissipate the energy associated with ESD events without causing any damage to the circuitry internal to the device. Protection circuits have also been connected to power supply pads, or between power supply buses to prevent such damage to internal circuits.
An ESD protection circuit that includes a silicon-control-rectifier (SCR) is considered to have very good electrostatic discharge performance. Since the SCR ESD protection circuit has a low snap-back holding voltage of about 1–5 volts and a low effective resistance of about 1–3 Ohms, it provides a very good discharge condition for the electrostatic current. However, there is one inherent constraining design factor for the SCR used in ESD protection circuits for sub-micron semiconductor devices. The trigger voltage for SCRs in sub-micron CMOS devices is in the range of 30 to 50 Volts. The typical thickness of gate oxide layers in CMOS fabrication processes employing a resolution of 0.6–0.8 microns is about 150–200 angstroms. Considering a dielectric breakdown strength of 10 MV/cm for typical SiO.sub.2.material, the gate oxide layers in these sub-micron CMOS devices would be destroyed by a voltage of about 15–20 volts. Therefore, SCRs with a trigger voltage in the range of 30–50 volts must be fitted with other protection components so that they can provide protection for gate oxide layers in sub-micron CMOS IC devices.
Efforts have been made to lower the trigger voltage of SCRs in the ESD protection circuits for the sub-micron CMOS device. The trigger voltage should be reduced to below the dielectric breakdown voltage of the gate oxide layers of the CMOS device, so that the ESD protection circuits can provide protection for the CMOS device before being damaged themselves. Several ways to lower the trigger voltage of SCRs have already been proposed.
In one common approach, A. Chatterjee and T. Polgreen proposed a low-voltage trigger SCR (LVTSCR) configuration in "A LOW-VOLTAGE TRIGGERING SCR FOR ON-CHIP ESD PROTECTION AT OUTPUT AND INPUT PADS," IEEE Electron Device Letters, 12 (1), 1991, pp.21–22. In their disclosure, Chatterjee and Polgreen employed a short-channel NMOS transistor coupled to an SCR to form the low-voltage trigger SCR having a trigger voltage that is about equal to the breakdown voltage of the short-channel NMOS transistor.
Referring to FIG. 1A, a LVTSCR is placed in between an Input/Output pad 10 and an internal circuit 11 to be protected. The internal circuit 11 is tied to the Input/Output pad 10 via a conducting line 12. An SCR device serves as the main component in a protection circuit. In the drawing, the SCR device consists essentially of a PNP bipolar junction transistor T.sub.1 and an NPN bipolar junction transistor T.sub.2. The collector of the PNP transistor T.sub.1 is connected together with the base of the NPN transistor T.sub.2, forming a cathode gate identified by the node 13. The cathode gate 13 is coupled to the emitter of the NPN transistor T.sub.2, via a spreading resistor R.sub.p, constituting a cathode 14 which is connected to a Vss terminal of the CMOS IC device. The base of the PNP transistor T.sub.1 is connected together with the collector of NPN transistor T.sub.2 to form an anode gate identified by the node 15. The anode gate 15 is coupled to the emitter of the PNP transistor T.sub.1, via a spreading resistor R.sub.n, constituting an anode 16 which is connected to the conducting line 12. To achieve a reduction of the SCR trigger voltage from about 30–50 volts to a level less than the NMOS breakdown voltage of less than 15 volts, an NMOS-like structure N.sub.1 is incorporated in the SCR device as a trigger.
FIG. 1B shows a cross sectional view of a LVTSCR integrated circuit device 20 fabricated from a semiconductor substrate 21 of a first conductivity type, such as P-type conductivity, with various diffusions and circuits components formed thereon to provide protection against ESD damage due to excessive stresses. Accordingly, a thin-oxide NMOS field-effect transistor (MOSFET), is shown in the LVTSCR integrated circuit device 20 in the form of an N-channel device, composed of N+ regions, 22 and 23, having a gate electrode 24 with a thin oxide 25 therebetween. The outer N+ region 22 is coupled to an adjacent out P+ conductivity region 26 by a contact or bus 27 which is connected to a negative voltage source VSS or ground. The Vss source is also coupled to the gate electrode 24 to keep the LVTSCR OFF during normal operation. To complete the LVTSCR, an N-well 28 is provided in substrate 21 that substantially overlaps N+ region 23 and extends laterally beyond a second N+ region 29 which is coupled to an adjacent inner P+ conductivity region 30 by a contact or bus 31 connected to a Pad/Internal Circuit.
There exists a danger, since the N-well is lightly doped, that the SCR turn-on voltage may still be so high that the gate oxide of NMOS devices may become damaged. Thus, the LVTSCR device turn-on voltage is dependent on the NMOS breakdown voltage. It is therefore desirable to be able to reduce the trigger voltage required to turn ON a protective SCR as much as possible. Moreover, ESD protection by using the LVTSCR device is easily to be restricted in CMOS process, that is because the channel length of the additional NMOS device needs to be smaller than the output NMOS of the SCR for making sure the additional NMOS device breakdown before the NMOS device in CMOS output.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an enhanced ESD protection performance apparatus for protecting VLSI circuits and particularly CMOS devices by reducing the trigger voltage required to turn ON a protective SCR.

CMOS silicon-control-rectifier (SCR) structure for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection


A method of forming a bismuth-containing material layer on a substrate, comprising bubbler delivery or liquid delivery vaporization of a bismuth amide source reagent to form a bismuth-containing source vapor, and deposition on the substrate of bismuth from the bismuth-containing source vapor, to form the bismuth-containing material layer on the substrate. The bismuth amide source reagent may include a bismuth amide compound of the formula BiL.sup.1.sub.x L.sup.2.sub.y (NR.sup.1 R.sub.2).sub.z wherein: z is an integer of from 1 to 3; x+y+z=3; each of L.sup.1 and L.sup.2 is independently selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.1 14 C.sub.4 alkoxide, .beta.-diketonate, cyclic amido, cyclic tris-alkoxoamine, and C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl; and each of R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 is independently selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.8 alkoxy, C.sub.6 -C.sub.8 cycloalkyl, C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 carboxyl, and --SiR.sup.3.sub.3 wherein each R.sup.3 is independently selected from H and C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl. Bismuth-containing films of the invention may be utilized in the construction of spatial light modulator devices, as buffer layers for the fabrication of ferroelectric material devices, and in dielectric, ferroelectric and superconductor thin film applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bismuth precursor source compounds and compositions, and to a process for vapor phase deposition of bismuth-containing films on substrates utilizing such compounds and compositions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bismuth-containing materials are useful for a number of applications, including, but not limited to, dielectric/ferroelectric SrBi.sub.2 Ta.sub.2 O.sub.9 (SBT), high temperature superconducting bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide (BSCCO) materials, and dielectric bismuth oxide films. Incorporation of bismuth into thin films for these and other applications has been problematic using conventional CVD precursors such as Bi(OEt).sub.3, BiPh.sub.3, Bi(thd).sub.3, etc. due to low volatility or limited thermal stability.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for precursor compositions for deposition of bismuth to form bismuth-containing films and material layers.
Concerning known bismuth organometallic compounds, Clegg, et al., Inorg. Chem. 1991, 30, 4680-4682, discloses bismuth amides including Bi(NMe.sub.2).sub.3 and Bi(NPh.sub.2).sub.3 as bismuth amide compositions whose structure has been characterized by the authors. This article also states that apart from its potential usefulness as a precursor to bismuth chemistry in general, the dimethylamide bismuth compound disclosed in the article is extremely volatile and thus potentially valuable for chemical vapor deposition work. Other amides which have been reported include: Bi(NR.sub.2).sub.3 wherein R.dbd.Me, Et, n--Pr; Bi(N(SiMe.sub.3).sub.2).sub.3 ; Bi(N(Me)SiMe.sub.3).sub.3 ; Bi(Me).sub.2 (N(Me)SiMe.sub.3); BiCl.sub.2 (NEt.sub.2); BiBr.sub.2 (NMe.sub.2); BiI(NHR).sub.2 wherein R.dbd.n--Pr, n--Bu; and BiMe.sub.x (N(Me)SiMe.sub.3).sub.y wherein x=1, y=2 or x=2, y=1.
Among the various bismuth-containing films, bismuth-silicon-oxide films are potentially usefully employed for a variety of microelectronic and optoelectronic applications. Such bismuth-silicon compositions include sillenite, Bi.sub.12 SiO.sub.20, or BSO, a photorefractive material that is capable of high spatial resolution along with high speed switching and low switching energies.
BSO films find potential application as spatial light modulators (SLMs). SLMs are devices capable of modifying the amplitude, frequency, phase or polarization of an optical field. One or more of these properties is modulated when an intrinsic property of the SLM (e.g., refractive index, dielectric constant, absorbance, etc.) is altered by an externally applied electrical or optical signal. The ability of SLMs to modulate a two-dimensional optical wavefront can result in enormous signal processing enhancement and flexibility as compared with one-dimensional electronic modulation (see, for example, Neff, J. A., et al., "Two-Dimensional Spatial Light Modulators: A Tutorial," Proc. IEEE, 1990, 78, 826).
The central and varied roles of SLMs makes them pivotal for the development of future optical processing systems, and the use of SLMs in applications such as neural networks, sensors, flat panel displays, high speed interconnections and memory technologies. In fact, applications of one- and two-dimensional SLMs could encompass nearly every optical signal processing/computer architecture conceived.
Most commercial SLMs are based on liquid-crystal technology; while inexpensive, these devices have low contrast ratios, are relatively slow, and are subject to light scatter and non-uniformity.
In the fabrication of SLM devices using BSO, as well as other applications involving bismuth-containing thin films, the art continues to seek additional bismuth precursor compounds and compositions useful in the formation of such films.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved compositions and methods for forming Bi-containing films on substrates.
It is another object of the present invention to provide improved bismuth precursors and method for making bismuth-containing SLM structures and devices.
It is a further object of the invention to provide precursors and method for forming bismuth oxide films on substrates.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide precursors and method for forming sillenite films on substrates.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more fully apparent from the ensuing disclosure and appended claims.

Method of forming bismuth-containing films by using bismuth amide compounds


The invention relates to a method of determining a permeation property of hollow-fibre membranes wherein the permeation property of the hollow-fibre membrane is determined on a hollow-fibre membrane bundle which has been introduced into a housing and has terminally open hollow-fibre membranes at a first end of the hollow-fibre membrane bundle and terminally closed hollow-fibre membranes at a second end of the hollow-fibre membrane bundle. The invention more particularly relates to a method of determining the clearance, more particularly the diffusive clearance of hollow-fibre membranes.

Hollow-fibre membranes are widely used in the purification of liquids. More particularly, hollow-fibre membranes are employed in biomedical engineering for water treatment and blood cleansing, particularly in the dialysis of renally insufficient patients. Hollow-fibre membranes of this type are assembled as hollow-fibre membrane bundles into filter modules. Such filter modules for blood cleansing have come to be formed on a mass production scale.
The construction of hollow-fibre membrane filter modules and the production of hollow-fibre membranes for dialysis are known in the prior art (Uhlenbusch-Körwer, Bonnie-Schorn, Grassmann, Vienken, "Understanding Membranes and Dialysers" Publisher: Pabst Science Publishers, 2004).
Hollow-fibre membranes used for blood cleansing frequently consist of polysulphone (PSU) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and are generally produced in a dry-wet spinning process. In processes of this type, a spinning solution containing the polymers PSU and PVP and a solvent is extruded through an annular die to spin a hollow filament. The spun filament is initially led perpendicularly through an air gap. Concurrently with the extrusion of the spun filament, a coagulation medium is extruded into the lumen of the spun filament so that a coagulation process ensues inside the spun filament. Coagulation is accompanied by phase inversion to form sol and gel phases within the spun filament. After passing through the air gap, the spun filament is introduced into a coagulation bath where the coagulation of the spun filament is completed to form the solid structure of a hollow-fibre membrane. The hollow-fibre membrane obtained then passes through a plurality of rinse baths and drying zones. The hollow-fibre membranes obtained differ in pore structure according to pre-set spinning conditions. The term "PSU" herein is to be understood as a generic term for any polymers with sulphone groups, including for example polyether sulphone and polyphenyl sulphone and copolymers comprising same.
In general, a multiplicity of hollow-fibre membranes are extruded simultaneously and concurrently in a production plant so that the hollow-fibre membrane fibres obtained after passing through the production plant are combinable into a filament sheet or fibre bundle and are taken up by a reel.
The process for producing hollow-fibre membranes is a continuous process run as a three-shift operation in the production sites. There is accordingly a constant need to monitor the quality of the fibres obtained in order to avoid faulty production to any significant extent. Tests are therefore carried out on a continuous basis to check whether the properties of the hollow-fibre membrane obtained are on spec and the production process is proceeding in accordance with the pre-set conditions.
Depending on process conditions, different hollow-fibre membranes having different permeation properties are obtainable, examples being high flux or low flux hollow-fibre membranes. Corresponding hollow-fibre membranes differ in their separation characteristics and thereby are useful for different methods of therapy, for example in the dialysis of renally insufficient patients. To quantify the permeation properties of hollow-fibre membranes it was hitherto necessary first to assemble the hollow-fibre membrane bundles obtained into filter modules before the separation properties of the membrane could be ascertained in a test method, for example as described in DIN/EN/ISO 8637:2014.
To construct filter modules, the hollow-fibre membrane bundles have to be impressed into a filter housing and terminally potted. The potting compounds for the hollow-fibre membrane bundle at the fibre ends are curable resins, in particular polyurethane. Potting and curing are time-consuming operations. Filter module construction and the subsequent analyses on the filters in the plant labs may take several hours. All the while hollow-fibre membranes continue to be produced. In the extreme case, the analytical results some hours later will show that the hollow-fibre membrane obtained is no longer on spec, so the manufacturing output of several hours has to be discarded.
When, by contrast, the analytical results show that the hollow-fibre membranes obtained do meet the specifications, the corresponding output in terms of manufactured hollow-fibre membranes may be further processed into the corresponding filter modules.
As mentioned above, hollow-fibre membrane filter modules of this type are used for the haemodialysis of renally insufficient patients. The haemodialysis of renally insufficient patients is based on the principle of the transmembrane type of mass transfer. In haemodialysis, blood flows along the hollow interior of the hollow-fibre membranes, also called lumens, while an appropriate type of dialysis liquid flows on the outside surface. The liquids flow in opposite directions, giving rise to a countercurrent type of filtration.
Depending on the filtration conditions in blood treatment of renally insufficient patients, undesirable metabolites such as, for example, urea, creatinine, β2-microglobulin, interleukin-6, phosphate are removed from the blood by permeating through the membrane wall and being taken up by the dialysis liquid. Similarly, dissolved constituents of the dialysis liquid may also permeate through the membrane wall onto the blood side. The dialysis liquid is provided as an aqueous physiological solution containing electrolytes (e.g. Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl−), glucose and a buffer (e.g. NaHCO3).
The transmembrane type of mass transfer in the above-outlined scheme of haemodialysis or blood cleansing may in principle take place in two ways, by convective transfer or diffusive transfer.
In convective transfer, liquid, and substances present therein, permeates through the membrane along a transmembrane pressure gradient. In diffusive transfer, substances permeate through the membrane by virtue of the dissolved substances' intrinsic molecular motion and a concentration gradient across the membrane wall.
Depending on the type of the hollow-fibre membrane and/or the pore size of the hollow-fibre membrane and the established rate of flow for blood and dialysate, the filtration process may proceed in one way or the other. When, for example, the blood treatment in a haemofiltration or haemodiafiltration process utilizes hollow-fibre membranes having relatively large pores and/or high flowrates for the two streams of liquid—blood and dialysate—part of the filtration will proceed convectively.
When, by contrast, the blood treatment takes the form of a simple dialysis, membranes having smaller pores are used and the mass transfer is diffusive. Under these conditions it is particularly low molecular weight substances which permeate, examples being urea, electrolytes, creatinine and phosphate.
Yet the removal of harmful types of plasma proteins from the blood of renally insufficient patients is only achievable in therapeutic processes where a convective type of mass transfer is made possible. Plasma proteins of this type occur in the so-called middle-molecular range. Familiar proteins in the middle-molecular range are β-2 microglobulin or interleukin-6.
The degree to which the harmful metabolites are removed by hollow-fibre membranes in blood cleansing is referred to as clearance. Procedures for determining the clearance of hollow-fibre membranes are known in the prior art. The DIN/EN/ISO 8637:2014 standard for instance describes a standardized method of quantifying clearance.
In the manufacture of hollow-fibre membranes it is the specification, more particularly the specification regarding clearance, yet more particularly the specification of the diffusive clearance of a hollow-fibre membrane which is important in order to be able to monitor the manufacturing process.
The prior art discloses a method of determining a permeation-related property of hollow-fibre membranes which is described in WO 2013/034611. WO 2013/034611 A1 at page 18 describes a method of determining the hydraulic permeability on a hollow-fibre membrane bundle.

Method for determining a permeation property of hollow fibre membranes


A technique for modifying communication operational parameters using fast, low complexity, accurately calculated SNR values. Techniques may improve upon prior art by calculating SNR values in a more color noise insensitive manner in the frequency domain. An agent may be implemented to calculate SNR values and either store or use the SNR values to modify operational parameters in communicative system.

Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is one of the key statistics in determining operational parameters between devices communicating with one another. Accurate SNR measurements are crucial for determining ultimate data transmission parameters, especially in IEEE 802.16 standard based wireless product development. IEEE 802.16 corresponds to IEEE Std. 802.16-2004 "IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks Part 16: Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems" and IEEE Std. 802.16e-2005 "IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks Part 16: Air Interface for Fixed and Mobile Broadband Wireless Access Systems." Fast SNR measurements and calculations are key to improving the speed of the data transmission.
It has been challenging to engineer an accurate and low complexity SNR algorithm. SNR calculations have typically been conducted in the time domain using time expensive square root functions. To determine SNR values, typically a signal is received in a device. Such signal may be represented as: rk, where k=1-255. The SNR value typically is calculated as:
  SNR  =                  X                                  E        -                            X                                                    where,
      X    =          2                                                        ∑                      k            =            0                    127                                                                                r            k                                          r                          k              +              128                        •                                ,
  E  =                    ∑                  k          =          0                255                                                              r          k                                  r          k          •                                        =                  ∑                  k          =          0                255                                                          r            k                                    2            and |X| is the absolute value of complex data X and calculated as |X|=√{square root over ((real(X))2+(imag(X))2)}{square root over ((real(X))2+(imag(X))2)}. This square root operation is a very time costly operation.
Thus, in order to improve data transmission in wireless devices there exists a need for more efficient, accurate, and noise insensitive techniques to determine SNR value for signals received in wireless communication devices.

Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) determination in the frequency domain


A system and method for controlling a temperature indicator stick includes a housing having an interior configured to receive the temperature indicator stick configured to indicate a predetermined temperature through a physical change or a chemical when exposed to the predetermined temperature. A gear is supported by the housing that extends from beyond an exterior of the housing into the interior of the housing to engage the temperature indicator stick. Accordingly, rotation of the gear from the exterior causes a retraction or advancement of the temperature indicator stick to and from the interior of the housing.

The present invention relates generally to temperature indicators and, more particularly, to a system and method for controlling temperature indicator sticks by allowing an individual to extend and retract a temperature indicator stick quickly and easily.
Various temperature detection monitors are used in the welding, metal fabrication, and heat treatment industries to measure temperatures of materials. Determining surface temperatures is important during welding and metal fabrication processes, such as pre-heat and post-weld heat treatment. Temperature monitoring is also important for determining operating temperatures of various mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic systems and components.
Temperature indicating sticks are commonly used to measure temperature. The sticks are often enclosed within a protective housing that includes an adjustable holder for positioning the temperature indicator stick relative to the housing. These adjustable holders use gravity and a fixable collet to adjust and fix the position of the temperature indicator stick with respect to the housing. These holder systems are somewhat limited in their ability to accurately control the position of the temperature indicator stick with respect to the housing or to fix the temperature indicator stick in a desired position. For example, an operator is typically required to use one hand to hold the housing and/or temperature indicator stick and the other hand to manipulate the collet. Hence, both of the operator's hands must be dedicated to adjusting the temperature indicator stick. In the case of the welding, metal fabrication, and heat treatment industries, this often means that the operator must remove heat-resistant gloves to manipulate the temperature indicator stick.
Additionally, when the temperature indictor stick is applied to the workpiece, the pressure exerted on the stick during marking often causes the stick to retract into the housing. In this case, the operator must again dedicate both hands to repositioning the temperature indicator stick before continuing to mark the object.
Accordingly, some operators are inclined to remove the temperature indicator stick from the housing. However, without a housing and holder, the relatively fragile or brittle temperature indicator stick can be easily broken. Furthermore, the housings typically include labeling that identifies the particular temperature rating of the temperature indicator stick. In this case, when the temperature indicator stick is removed from the housing, it may become indistinguishable from other temperature indicator sticks, even though the sticks are designed to indicate different temperatures.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a system and method for quickly and easily controlling the position of a temperature indicator stick with respect to an associated housing.

System and method for controlling temperature indicators