An exemplary method of lowering a pitch sensation as perceived by a cochlear implant patient includes 1) identifying a most apical electrode included in a plurality of electrodes disposed within a cochlea of the patient, 2) directing a cochlear implant communicatively coupled to the plurality of electrodes to apply one or more anodecathode biphasic stimulation pulses to the most apical electrode during a stimulation period, and 3) directing the cochlear implant to apply one or more cathode-anode biphasic stimulation pulses to one or more other electrodes included in the plurality of electrodes during the stimulation period. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

The sense of hearing in human beings involves the use of hair cells in the cochlea that convert or transduce audio signals into auditory nerve impulses. Hearing loss, which may be due to many different causes, is generally of two types: conductive and sensorineural. Conductive hearing loss occurs when the normal mechanical pathways for sound to reach the hair cells in the cochlea are impeded. These sound pathways may be impeded, for example, by damage to the auditory ossicles. Conductive hearing loss may often be helped by the use of conventional hearing aids that amplify sound so that audio signals reach the cochlea and the hair cells. Some types of conductive hearing loss may also be treated by surgical procedures.
Sensorineural hearing loss, on the other hand, is caused by the absence or destruction of the hair cells in the cochlea which are needed to transduce acoustic signals into auditory nerve impulses. People who suffer from sensorineural hearing loss may be unable to derive significant benefit from conventional hearing aid systems, no matter how loud the acoustic stimulus is. This is because the mechanism for transducing sound energy into auditory nerve impulses has been damaged. Thus, in the absence of properly functioning hair cells, auditory nerve impulses cannot be generated directly from sounds.
To overcome sensorineural hearing loss, numerous cochlear implant systems have been developed. Cochlear implant systems bypass the hair cells in the cochlea by presenting electrical stimulation directly to the auditory nerve fibers by way of one or more channels formed by an array of electrodes implanted in the cochlea. Direct stimulation of the auditory nerve fibers leads to the perception of sound in the brain and at least partial restoration of hearing function.
Unfortunately, conventional cochlear implant systems cannot present a full spectrum of audible sound to the patient. For example, there are often sounds that have pitches lower than those which can be conventionally generated by applying electrical stimulation to one or more electrodes disposed within the cochlea of a patient. This is especially the case when ossification, malformations within the cochlea, and/or other anatomical anomalies prevent full insertion and/or function of an electrode lead within the cochlea.

Methods and systems for lowering a pitch sensation as perceived by a cochlear implant patient


A method for manufacturing a piezoelectric film wafer includes a first processing step for carrying out an ion etching on a KNN piezoelectric film formed on a substrate by using a gas containing Ar, and a second processing step for carrying out a reactive ion etching by using a mixed etching gas containing a fluorine-based reactive gas and Ar after the first processing step.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a piezoelectric film wafer, a piezoelectric film element and a piezoelectric thin film device.
2. Related Art
A piezoelectric material is processed into various piezoelectric elements in accordance with different purposes, particularly, it has been widely used for functional electronic components such as an actuator for generating deformation by applying voltage or sensor for generating voltage from the deformation of elements in a reverse way, etc.
As the piezoelectric material used for an actuator or a sensor, a lead (Pb)-based dielectric material having large piezoelectric characteristics, especially, Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3-based perovskite-type ferroelectric called as "PZT", has been widely used, and the piezoelectric material is formed by sintering oxide which is generally formed of individual elements.
In recent years, it is desired to develop a lead-free (Pb-free) piezoelectric material from environmental consideration, and thus, potassium sodium niobate (general formula: (K1-xNax)NbO3 (0<x<1)), hereinafter referred to as "KNN", etc., has been developed. Since the KNN has piezoelectric characteristics comparable to PZT, it is expected as a potential candidate for a Pb-free piezoelectric material. Examples of a Pb-free piezoelectric film with this kind of piezoelectric material are proposed in the JP-A 2007-19302 and JP-A 2007-184513 for example.

Method for manufacturing a piezoelectric film wafer, piezoelectric film element, and piezoelectric film device


An internal passage of an article such as a gas turbine airfoil is coated with an aluminum-containing coating. To accomplish this coating process, a coating slurry of a mixture of a carrier component of water and a hectorite clay or a bentonite clay, together with a solids component of a source of aluminum, a halide activator, and an oxide dispersant, is prepared. The coating slurry is applied to the internal passage of the gas turbine airfoil and dried. The gas turbine airfoil and the applied coating slurry are heated to form an aluminum-containing coating bonded to the internal passage of the gas turbine airfoil. Excess coating material is removed from the article internal passage.

This invention relates to the application of an aluminum-containing coating on a surface, and in particular, to the application of such a coating from an aluminum-containing slurry onto the internal surfaces of a gas turbine airfoil.
In an aircraft gas turbine (jet) engine, air is drawn into the front of the engine, compressed by a shaft-mounted compressor, and mixed with fuel. The mixture is burned, and the hot exhaust gases are passed through a turbine mounted on the same shaft. The flow of combustion gas turns the turbine by impingement against an airfoil section of the turbine blades and vanes, which turns the shaft and provides power to the compressor and fan. In a more complex version of the gas turbine engine, the compressor and a high pressure turbine are mounted on one shaft, and the fan and low pressure turbine are mounted on a separate shaft. In any event, the hot exhaust gases flow from the back of the engine, driving it and the aircraft forwardly.
The hotter the combustion and exhaust gases, the more efficient is the operation of the jet engine. There is thus an incentive to raise the combustion and exhaust gas temperatures. The maximum temperature of the combustion gases is normally limited by the materials used to fabricate the turbine vanes and turbine blades of the turbine, upon which the hot combustion gases impinge. In current engines, the turbine vanes and blades are made of nickel-based superalloys, and can operate at temperatures of up to about 1900-2150xc2x0 F.
Many approaches have been used to increase the operating temperature limits of the airfoil portions of turbine blades and vanes to their current levels. For example, the composition and processing of the base materials themselves have been improved, and a variety of solidification techniques have been developed to take advantage of oriented grain structures and single-crystal structures.
Physical cooling techniques may also be used. In one technique, internal cooling passages are present in the interior of the turbine airfoil. Air is forced through the cooling passages and out openings at the external surface of the airfoil, removing heat from the interior of the airfoil and, in some cases, providing a boundary layer of cooler air at the surface of the airfoil.
The surfaces of the internal cooling passages may be protected with a diffusion aluminide coating, which oxidizes to an aluminum oxide protective scale that inhibits further oxidation of the internal surfaces. A number of techniques for applying the internal diffusion aluminide coating are known, including chemical vapor deposition, vapor-phase aluminiding, and above-the-pack techniques. These approaches have the drawback that they also coat other exposed surfaces. Surfaces which are not to be coated may sometimes be protected by masking, but masking may not be practical in many circumstances.
In another technique, a slurry coating containing a source of aluminum and other components is applied to the internal surface. The slurry coating is chemically reacted to deposit aluminum on the internal surface. Slurry coating has the advantage that the spatial extent of the aluminum-containing coating may be limited to specific areas such as the internal surfaces. However, existing slurry coating techniques have the drawback they may leave undesirable contamination on the blade in the form of decomposition by-products.
There is therefore a need for an improved approach to the depositing of aluminum-containing coatings on specific areas of surfaces, particularly the internal surfaces of articles such as gas turbine airfoils. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.
The present invention provides a slurry-based approach for coating surfaces of articles with an aluminum-containing coating. It is particularly well suited for coating the internal surfaces of articles, such as the internal surfaces of the passages within hollow airfoils of gas turbine blades and vanes. The present approach has the advantages of conventional slurry-coating processes. Additionally, the slurry is formulated to facilitate the removal of residual, excess coating material from the surfaces following the coating procedure.
A method of coating comprises the steps of providing an article having an article surface to be coated, and providing a coating slurry comprising a mixture of a carrier component comprising water and an inorganic gel former, a source of aluminum, optionally a halide activator, and an oxide dispersant. The inorganic gel former is preferably a swelling clay such as a montmorillonite clay, and most preferably a hectorite clay or a bentonite clay. The coating slurry is applied to the article surface and thereafter dried on the article surface to remove the water therefrom. The step of drying is preferably accomplished by heating the coating slurry on the article surface to a temperature of from about 180xc2x0 F. to about 950xc2x0 F., most preferably from about 180xc2x0 F. to about 250xc2x0 F., in air, for a time of from about 2 to about 48 hours. The method further includes heating the article surface with the dried coating slurry thereon to form an aluminum coating bonded to the article surface. The heating is preferably accomplished by heating to a temperature of from about 1700xc2x0 F. to about 2100xc2x0 F. for a time of from about 1 to about 16 hours, in an inert or reducing atmosphere. Optionally but desirably, the excess coating material is thereafter removed from the article surface.
The article is preferably an airfoil of a gas turbine blade or vane. In one case, the airfoil is hollow with internal passages therethrough. The step of applying is accomplished by injecting the coating slurry into and filling the internal passage of the article.
The source of aluminum is preferably aluminum, a chromium-aluminum alloy, a cobalt-aluminum alloy, a titanium-aluminum alloy, an iron-aluminum alloy, an aluminum-vanadium alloy, an aluminum-manganese alloy, or mixtures thereof. The halide activator, when used, is preferably AlF3, NH4F, AlCl3, NH4Cl, CrCl3, CrCl2, NaCl, FeCl2, FeCl3, CrF2, CrF3, or mixtures thereof. The oxide dispersant is preferably alumina, but other oxides such as yttria, zirconia, chromia, and hafnia, and mixtures thereof, may be used.
Preferably, the source of aluminum is from about 1 to about 50 percent by weight of the total weight of the source of aluminum, the halide activator, and the oxide dispersant; the halide activator is from about 0.5 to about 10 percent by weight of the total weight of the source of aluminum, the halide activator, and the oxide dispersant; and the oxide dispersant is from about 50 to about 99 percent by weight of the total weight of the source of aluminum, the halide activator, and the oxide dispersant. Most preferably, the source of aluminum is a cobalt-aluminum alloy having about 50 percent by weight cobalt, balance aluminum, present in an amount of from about 28 to about 35 weight percent of the total weight of the source of aluminum, the halide activator, and the oxide dispersant. Most preferably, the halide activator is AlF3, present in an amount of from about 4 to about 6 percent by weight of the total weight of the source of aluminum, the halide activator, and the oxide dispersant. The inorganic gel former is from about 1 to about 6 percent by weight of the total weight of the water and the inorganic gel former. The source of aluminum, the halide activator, and the oxide dispersant together constitute from about 30 to about 70 percent by weight of the mixture of the carrier component, the source of aluminum, the halide activator, and the oxide dispersant.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. The scope of the invention is not, however, limited to this preferred embodiment.

Process for applying an aluminum-containing coating using an inorganic slurry mix


A current driving circuit is connected to an LED terminal LEDi, and generates an intermittent driving current ILEDi that corresponds to a dimming pulse signal PWMi. An error amplifier generates a feedback voltage VFB that corresponds to the difference between a detection voltage VLEDi and a predetermined reference voltage VREF. A pulse modulator generates a pulse signal having a duty ratio that corresponds to the feedback voltage VFB. A fault detection comparator COMP_OPENi generates a fault detection signal OPEN_DET which is asserted when the detection voltage VLEDi is lower than a predetermined threshold voltage VOPEN—DET. A forced turn-off circuit instructs the current driving circuit to suspend the generation of the driving current ILEDi during a predetermined period after a switching power supply starts to operate. The fault detection circuit detects whether or not the fault detection signal OPEN_DETi has been asserted in a predetermined period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-emitting apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as a backlight of a liquid crystal panel or as an illumination device, a light-emitting apparatus is employed which uses a light-emitting element such as an LED (light-emitting diode) or the like. Related techniques are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2006-114324, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2008-300208, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2006-339298, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2008-064477, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2008-258428, and Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2007-158083. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an example configuration of a light-emitting apparatus investigated by the present inventor. It should be noted that the present applicant has recognized that the configuration and operation of a light-emitting apparatus 1003 described below is outside the scope of conventional techniques. The light-emitting apparatus 1003 includes multiple (n-channel) LED strings 6—l through 6—n, a switching power supply 1004, and a current driving circuit 1008.
Each LED string 6 includes multiple LEDs connected in series. The switching power supply 1004 is configured to step up an input voltage VIN, and to supply a driving voltage VOUT thus stepped up to an anode-side end of each of the multiple LED strings 6_1 through 6—n.
The current driving circuit 1008 is configured to adjust the luminance level of the LED strings 6 using a combination of an analog diming control method and a burst dimming control method (which will also be referred to as the "PWM dimming control method"). A current source CSi (1≦i≦n) is connected to a cathode-side end of the corresponding LED string 6—i, and is configured to supply a driving current ILED to the LED string 6—i according to the target luminance level. The dimming control method in which the luminance level is adjusted according to the magnitude of the driving current ILED is referred to as the "analog dimming control method".
A PWM controller 1009 is configured to generate dimming pulse signals PWM1 through PWMn having a duty ratio that corresponds to the target luminance level, so as to intermittently turn on the current sources CS1 through CSn with a duty ratio that corresponds to the dimming pulse signal PWM. With such an arrangement, the driving current ILED flows through the LED strings 6 only during the on-period (on time) TON. Such an arrangement controls the time average of the driving current ILED, thereby adjusting the luminance level.
The switching power supply 1004 includes an output circuit 1102 and a control IC 1100. The output circuit 1102 includes an inductor L1, a switching transistor M1, a rectifier diode D1, and an output capacitor C1. The control IC 1100 is configured to control the on/off duty ratio of the switching transistor M1 so as to adjust the driving voltage VOUT.
The control IC 1100 is configured to stabilize the driving voltage VOUT such that the voltage between both terminals of the current source CS, i.e., the voltage VLED (which will be referred to as the "detection voltage") that develops at a cathode-side end of the LED string 6, matches a predetermined reference voltage VREF.
An error amplifier 22 is configured to amplify the difference between the reference voltage VREF and the lowest from among the multiple channels of detection voltages VLED1 through VLEDn (which will simply be referred to as the "detection voltage VLED"), so as to generate a feedback voltage VFB. The error amplifier 22 includes a transconductance amplifier (gm amplifier) 21, a feedback switch SW1, a phase compensation resistor RFB, and a capacitor CFB. The feedback switch SW1 is turned on when the dimming pulse signal PWM indicates the turning-on time. The gm amplifier 21 is configured to generate a current that corresponds to the difference between the detection voltage VLED and the reference voltage VREF. The capacitor CFB is charged and discharged using the current thus generated, thereby generating the feedback voltage VFB at the feedback (FB) terminal.
A pulse modulator 20 is configured to generate a pulse signal SPWM having a duty ratio that corresponds to the feedback voltage VFB. A driver 28 is configured to drive a switching transistor M1 according to the pulse signal SPWM. In the burst dimming control operation, the driver 28 is configured to perform switching of the switching transistor M1 only during the on-period TON, and to suspend the switching of the switching transistor M1 during the off-period TOFF.


An object of the present invention is to provide a complex material in which an ion conduction film is curved and deformed when a potential difference is applied, which is operated at small electric power, has a large deformation amount, quick response performances, large degree of freedom in shape, and is easy in control of deformation, while having strength and durability necessary for practical use and being excellent in an economical aspect. A conductive cloth (preferably having stretchability), which is made conductive through plating of metal on a cloth or metal complex implantation, is joined as an electrode to both surfaces of the ion conduction film (the film in which an ion exchange film or ion liquid is immersed) made of a fluororesin and the like. When the potential difference is applied, the ion conduction film is deformed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a complex material formed by joining electrodes to both surfaces of an ion conduction film, and more particularly, to a complex material capable of causing curve and deformation thereof by using a potential difference. More specifically, the present invention relates to a complex material formed by joining conductive cloths as electrodes to both surfaces of an ion conduction film. The complex material of the present invention is superior in deformation force and quick response property, has a large degree of freedom for a shape, and has a high strength and durability necessary for practical use. In addition, the complex material of the present invention is excellent in an economic aspect.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technology of generating curve and deformation on an ion conduction film which involves providing electrodes on both surfaces of the ion conduction film and applying potential difference to the electrodes is already proposed. A complex material having the electrodes provided on both surfaces of the ion conduction film has a simple structure, so the miniaturization thereof can easily be made. Further, the complex material operates with small electric power, so the complex material can be used as an actuator element.
For example, JP 07-4075 B proposes a method in which films formed on both surfaces of the ion exchange film coated with noble metal by plating and the like are used as electrodes, and a weak voltage of several volts is applied to the electrodes to move electrolyte in the film, to thereby deform the film on the basis of a swelling difference between front and rear surfaces. Also, EAMEX Corporation proposes a complex material, in which gold as an electrode is chemically plated on an ion exchange resin, as an actuator element (refer to JP 2004-197215 A and JP 2005-187926 A).
However, in the conventional technology of forming the electrode metal films on both surfaces of the ion conduction film by using plating and the like, the metal films that are short of softness and flexibility are formed on both surfaces of the ion conduction film. Thus, there has been a drawback in that because the curve and deformation of the ion conduction film are liable to be suppressed, a sufficient deformation force and quick response property are difficult to obtain.
In other words, the complex material of the ion conduction film and the electrode metal film is thick. Thus, when a curve is to be generated on the complex material, a difference in length is generated between inner and outer surfaces of the curve. In short, the coated film on the inner surface is required to be contracted, or the coated film on the outer surface is required to be expanded. However, although the ion conduction film has stretchability, softness, and flexibility necessary for the deformation in a wet state, the metal film is poor in stretchability and the flexibility. Thus, when the complex material is deformed, there has been a case where the metal film acted as a resistance and weakened the deformation force, to delay a deformation speed.
In particular, as the metal film thickness of the electrode and the ion conduction film thickness increase, this tendency becomes prominent. Thus, it has been difficult to increase the deformation force by making the ion conduction film thick. As a result, there have been such problems that large deformation cannot be followed, the deformation force is weak, a reaction is slow, and the like.
Also, there have been problems with regard to practicability and durability. The conventional technology uses characteristics in which the ion conduction film is curved when a potential difference is applied to the electrode metal films provided on both surfaces of the ion conduction film, the ion conduction film returns to its original state when the application of a voltage is released, and the ion conduction film is curved in an opposite direction when an opposite potential is applied. By properly selecting and repeating those changes in states in accordance with an object, the object can be consequently attained.
However, the conventional technique has such a tendency that a metal thin film short of bending durability is fractured by the repetition of large deformation and bending. The metal film provided as the electrode is required to be formed as thin as possible so as not to suppress the curve and deformation of the ion conduction film. Thus, this tendency becomes more and more prominent.
Also, when the ion conduction film is made thick in order to increase the deformation force, a dimensional difference between the inner and outer surfaces becomes great when being curved. Thus, a force applied to the metal film as the electrode becomes stronger, and the curve and the deformation become more and more difficult to be generated, leading to the metal film being easily fractured. When the metal film of the electrode is made thicker in order to prevent the fracture, the curve and the deformation become difficult to be generated, which results in that the object cannot be attained.
Moreover, in a configuration in which the metal thin films as the electrodes are provided on both surfaces of the ion conduction film, it has been difficult to obtain the characteristics as the complex material necessary for practical use, such as tensile strength and abrasion strength sufficient for practical use. In short, it has been impossible to obtain performances sufficient for enduring stress applied to the complex material in practical use, such as tension, bending, shearing, and abrasion. In other words, for example, many metal films used for the conventional electrodes are poor in stretchability, and when the complex material is expanded by about 10%, the metal film is fractured to be useless as the electrode. In particular, this tendency is severe in the electrode metal film obtained by plating.
As described above, in the conventionally-proposed technique, materials and thicknesses and the like of the electrode and the ion conduction film are required to be limited in order to obtain a sufficient curve and deformation when a voltage is applied. Thus, it has been impossible to obtain a sufficient improvement of durability against stresses such as tension, bending, shearing, and abrasion.
Also, in order to obtain an intended curve and deformation, there has been a limit on a shape of the complex material. In a case of applying the potential difference to both surfaces of the ion conduction film and moving the electrolyte in the film to generate the swelling difference between both surfaces of the film, to thereby generate the curve, for example, when a deformation as shown in FIG. 2 is to be made, the complex material is required to be a rectangle, preferably a rectangle in which a difference between a long side and a short side is large. If a voltage is applied to both surfaces of a square, the deformation caused by the swelling is generated at four corners of the square, and the deformation shown in FIG. 2 cannot be expected. Also, the curve in the case of the rectangle is generated in the long side direction and is never generated in the short side direction. In this way, in the conventional technique, the shape of the complex material is limited, resulting in limiting usage and application. Thus, it has been difficult to devise such a method of increasing the width to increase the curving force.
Also, formation of the electrodes on both surfaces of the ion conduction film by plating and the like requires a number of steps and time. Thus, an improvement in terms of cost has also been an object to be achieved.


When the emergency stop button on the teaching pendant is pressed, the packet generating circuits 1 and 2 each prepare packet data relating to emergency stopping, and transmit this data to the robot control part by wireless communications via the transmission data switching circuit. Besides data indicating the need or lack of need for emergency stopping, a header or the like designating the packet receiving circuit to which the transmission is addressed is added to the packet data. The respective packet receiving circuits of the robot control part receive the respective sets of packet data in accordance with the designations of the headers. When the emergency stop button is pressed, emergency stop signals are output to a plurality of emergency stop control circuits from the respective packet receiving circuits immediately afterward, and a plurality of contacts connected in series are placed in a non-conductive state, so that the supply of motive force to the servo amplifiers is cut off, thus causing the robot to make an emergency stop.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a robot controller, and more particularly relates to a robot controller in which a portable instruction and operating part comprising emergency stop operating means that place the robot in an emergency-stop state and emergency stop release operating means that release this emergency-stop state is connected by wireless communications with an control part that controls the robot.
2. Description of the Related Art
The connection of a portable teaching operating part equipped with an emergency-stop button or the like as emergency stop operating means used to cause emergency stopping of a robot, and a control part used to control the robot, by means of wireless communications, so that the operator can cause emergency stopping of the robot by operating the emergency-stop button or the like installed in the portable teaching operating part, is a conventionally known technique, and is disclosed for example in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-73201 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H9-117888.
First, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-73201, a communications system is disclosed in which the exchange of data between a robot control part (first device) and a robot teaching box (second device) is accomplished by wireless communications or optical communications. In this communications system, the robot control part (first device) and the teaching box (second device) are respectively provided with a transmitting part and a receiving part. Furthermore, the system is constructed so that the receiving part and transmitting part of the teaching box (second device) respectively handle the reception of data from the robot control part (first device) and the transmission of specified data as a response to this received data under normal conditions, but so that this response is stopped under abnormal conditions.
In this technique, the robot control part can ascertain the occurrence of an abnormality by the fact that there is no response from the teaching box, and can cause emergency stopping of the robot. Furthermore, in cases where trouble occurs in the teaching box as well, a tentative failsafe function is ensured by the lack of a response.
Specifically, compared to a system in which a signal indicating an abnormality is transmitted to the robot control part from the teaching box in the case of an abnormality, the possibility of avoiding a state in which "the transmission of an indication of an abnormal state to the robot control part becomes impossible because of trouble in the teaching box" is increased, so that the function of preserving the safety of the operator is correspondingly heightened.
Next, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H9-117888, a remote operating system is disclosed in which communications are performed with the control part of a robot (movable part used for operation and object of control having driving means that drive this movable part) using a remote control transmitter which has a driving control switch and a control enabling switch operated by manual operation.
In this remote operating system, in a state in which the abovementioned control enabling switch has been operated, a base signal is continuously transmitted to the control part of the robot. On the other hand, when the abovementioned driving control switch is operated, a corresponding driving control signal is transmitted to the control part of the robot.
Furthermore, it is indicated that in the robot control part, the robot is controlled in accordance with the abovementioned driving control signal that is received only while the abovementioned base signal is being received at specified time intervals; when the abovementioned base signal is cut of, the robot is stopped regardless of whether a driving control signal is received or not. In this system as well, a failsafe function against trouble in the remote control transmitter is tentatively ensured by making the periodic reception of the base signal a condition for the driving of the robot.
However, in both of these conventional techniques, as was described above, only a single circuit for stopping the robot is provided. Accordingly, although consideration is given to safety in cases where wireless communications are cut off, no countermeasures are provided for cases in which it becomes impossible to stop the robot because of trouble in the circuit that stops the robot.


The present invention provides a method for detecting a moving object and apparatus for the same. The image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k)! outputted by subtracter 4 are alternatively contained in image buffers 21 and 22. In subtracter 24, the image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k-1)! of one timing beforehand is removed from the image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k)! of the present time point. In addition, the image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k-1)! of one timing beforehand and the image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k)! of the present time point are compared using comparator 25. In this case, if image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k)! and image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k-1)! differ, the image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k-1)! of one timing beforehand is supplied to subtracter 26. The initial moving object image is excluded by subtracter 26. Consequently, it is possible to precisely distinguish the shape, size, etc. of a moving object without traces (afterimage) of the moving object at the present time point remaining in the final image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k)! .sub.R. According to another method also proposed in the present invention, the image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k-1)! of the moving object are obtained by subtracting the image data D.sub.ij (k-1)! of one timing beforehand or the average image data M.sub.ij (k-1)! of one timing beforehand from the present image data D.sub.ij (k)!, and the image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k-2)! of the moving object are obtained by subtracting the image data D.sub.ij (k-2)! of two timings beforehand or the average image data M.sub.ij (k-2)! of two timings beforehand from the present image data D.sub.ij (k)!. The traces (afterimage) of a moving object is erased by obtaining theoretical product of the image data .DELTA..sub.ij (k-1)! and .DELTA..sub.ij (k-2)!.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for detecting a moving object from an image photographed by a video camera or the like, and apparatus for the same.
2. Relevant Art
In public places where a large and unspecified number of persons enter and leave (e.g., banks, stores, etc.) and/or where dangers are generated by unwanted intrusions (e.g., electric power plants, power transmission facilities, etc.), video cameras are currently installed at predetermined positions, and the generation of abnormal situations is checked by means of viewing the image taken from this video camera. However, with respect to this image viewing model, normally, a person (in charge) must continually watch the monitor screen, and thus this method is rather undesirable from the viewpoint of labor saving. In addition, another method for detecting the generation of abnormal situations can be considered in which the image taken from the video camera is recorded on videotape and viewed afterwards by the person-in-charge using high-speed play. In this case, it is possible to reduce the actual working time of the person in charge; however, this method poses disadvantages in that it is not possible for the person-in-charge to detect an abnormal situation immediately following the generation of this abnormal situation.
In consideration of the aforementioned, a method is proposed in which the image of a moving object, such as an unexpected intruder or the like, is automatically recognized from among the images taken by the video camera. Models of this nature include, for example, a method for detecting a moving object by means of obtaining the deviation whereby the difference between images of each frame is minimized; and a method for detecting a moving object by means of conducting a Fourier transformation of the image at each frame and then detecting the moving object from the ratio of the aforementioned Fourier transformation from the preceding and subsequent frames. However, in these methods, disadvantages exist in that due to the necessity of conducting complex computations at a high precision over an extremely short time period, a system for conducting high-speed processing is necessary, thereby leading to high costs. In addition, other disadvantages exist in that when viewing outdoor scenes in which the background presents a number of complex movements, e.g., the swaying of trees or the like, due to the existence of a large number of objects other than that intended for detection, it is extremely difficult to distinguish the object to be detected from the movements of the aforementioned.
With regard to these drawbacks, a moving object detecting apparatus for detecting the image of a moving object by means of image processing using a comparatively simple computation without performing high-speed processing, has been proposed. For example, the image processing apparatus disclosed in Otsuki, et al., (U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,547: May 1993) averages a plurality of past images to form a standard image, calculates the difference between the color data of each pixel of this standard image (hereinafter referred to as "dot data") and the dot data of the present image corresponding to this aforementioned dot data, and then finally detects this calculated difference as the image of a moving object.
According to this type of apparatus, the detected moving object is statistically recognized by means of forming the aforementioned standard image, and stochastic inference or judgment is then possible with respect to this statistical recognition. In addition, the objective detection of fuzziness is also possible. Furthermore, it is also possible to determine membership function from an objective standpoint, and minimize the influence of noise contained in the image at each instant. This type of apparatus can, moreover, be constructed at a comparatively low cost, and is superior in that precise detection of abnormal phenomena is possible.
However, according to the image processing apparatus disclosed in Otsuki, et al., (U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,547: May 1993), at the time of forming a standard image, in the case where a moving object appears over the majority of a plurality of past images to be averaged, a standard image containing the image of this moving object is inevitably formed. When attempting to detect only the moving object from the image of the present time point using this standard image, the image of only the moving object at the present time point, as well as the image of the moving object contained in the standard image, as an afterimage of the aforementioned moving object, are detected.
In addition, in the formation of the above standard image, when the number of samples of past images, from which an average is to be taken, is small, the aforementioned afterimage appearing in the detection result is particularly remarkable. For example, the appearance of an afterimage in the detection result is maximized in an apparatus for detecting an image of a moving object by means of comparing an image at a time point from a predetermined period of the past and an image at the present time point, without using the aforementioned standard image.
In this manner, when the aforementioned afterimage appears in the detection result, it becomes difficult to distinguish the actual size, shape, etc. of the original moving object to be detected. In addition, in cases where the afterimage is extremely remarkable, it becomes difficult to even specify the moving object itself.

Method and apparatus for moving object detection


An exhaust system includes an exhaust pipe attached to the engine. Attached to the exhaust pipe is a muffler which has an exhaust gas inlet, a plurality of expansion chambers through which exhaust gas flows, and at least one wall between adjacent expansion chambers. There is an opening or orifice in the wall between adjacent expansion chambers. A flap which covers the orifice or the opening in the wall between adjacent expansion chambers. The flap opens in response to a pressurized surge of exhaust gas entering into the expansion chamber. The muffler also has an exhaust gas outlet for allowing exhaust gas to pass from the second chamber of the muffler. The exhaust system typically has a plurality of chambers attached to one another such that the exhaust gas travels along a tortuous path between the exhaust gas inlet and the exhaust gas outlet. The flap is pivotally attached to the wall between adjacent expansion chambers. The flap is also positioned so that it closes due to gravitational forces. The wall between adjacent expansion chambers is positioned on a plane that cuts the plane in which the exhaust gas inlet is positioned.

Automobile engines have been produced with various numbers of cylinders over the years (from 2 to 16), but the most common engines in modem cars are in-line four-cylinder designs for smaller cars, and V-6 and V-8 designs for larger cars. All V-8 engines have an angle of 90 degrees between the two banks of four cylinders, whereas the V-6 engines have an angle of either 60 degrees or 90 degrees between the two banks of three cylinders. Smaller engines, in terms of both cylinder number and displacement, provide improved fuel economy, which is particularly important because of rigid federal corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. Neither four- nor six-cylinder engines operate as smoothly as a V-8 because of less effective dynamic balancing and greater torque fluctuations.
Nearly every internal combustion engine includes a muffler. A wide variety of muffler designs have been employed in the prior art. Internal combustion engines operating under full loads have quickly opening exhaust valves that release quick surges of exhaust gas under substantial residual pressure. For example, the pressure of an exhaust gas surge may be as high as 2.7 atmospheres. In an automobile engine, the engine releases large periodic amounts or surges of pressurized gas. It is common knowledge that, if not muffled, such sudden releases of pressurized gas produce considerable objectionable noises or compressional sound waves having various frequency components. In the case of a four cylinder, four-stroke cycle engine, the exhaust gas surges are produced once every revolution. Thus, in the example of a four cylinder, four-stroke cycle engine operating at 3000 R.P.M., or fifty revolutions per second, fifty exhaust gas surges are produced per second which has a high likelihood of causing objectional noises or compressional sound waves.
Exhaust systems have several purposes, one of which is to direct the output gases from the engine to a position near the periphery of the automobile. A muffler is used in the exhaust gas system to silence the objectional noises or compressional sound waves caused by the periodic gas surges output from the engine. In order to be efficient as sound silencers, exhaust mufflers must decrease the exhaust gas velocity and either absorb the sound waves or cancel them by interference with other waves form the same source. Mufflers should have volumes 6 to 8 times the piston displacement and may contain baffles with or without holes. Mufflers that cancel sound waves by interference usually break the waves into two parts which follow different paths and meet again, out of phase, before leaving the muffler.
Exhaust gas back pressure should be kept to a minimum since an increase of 1 lb/in.sup.2 (6.9 Kpa) in back pressure decreases the maximum power output about 2 percent, about 1 percent being due to more exhaust work and the balance of the effect of increased clearance gas pressure on volumetric efficiency.
In addition to objectionable noise, exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine generally includes a variety of constituents that are considered to be pollutants. Such exhaust gas constituents include unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide (CO). Engine exhaust systems typically include a catalytic converter for treating the exhaust gas by promoting more complete oxidation of the exhaust gas constituents, by changing unburned hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) and water, and changing carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2).
Mufflers today have a variety of problems. Among the problems are that the construction of a muffler using baffles or multiple gas paths is generally fairly expensive. An alternative that could be built for less money would be attractive.

Exhaust system apparatus and noise suppression method


Disclosed is delivering and closing out viewership priced spots in zoned cable delivery of linear TV, assembling past measured viewership data within a zone for a TV spot in a program, by aggregating records and augmenting aggregated logs with viewers' demographic data. This includes running an automated auction for advertising, at five minutes or less before airtime, announcing the spot, providing the past viewership data augmented with demographic data, with bids accepted for a rate, accepting and selecting a winning bid, provisioning an ad corresponding to the winning bid rate for an operator to deliver to the zone, after selecting the bid and before the airtime. After airing the ad, included is processing collected delivery logs within ten minutes of receipt, calculating current measured viewership during the spot, calculating an extended price, and reporting to a winning bidder the extended price, within six hours of airing the ad.

The subject matter discussed in this section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in this section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in this section or associated with the subject matter provided as background should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in this section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves can also correspond to implementations of the claimed technology.
Content distributors want to maximize the value of the ad inventory they sell. Retargeting, also referred to as remarketing, is an early example of addressable marketing in the digital space. With the help of addressable advertising, advertisers can move beyond large-scale traditional TV ad buys, to focus on relevance and impact.
SCTE-130 is a standard from the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) for a unified platform framework for addressable advertising. The SCTE-130 standard consists of a set of XML-based protocols which will work in traditional cable deployments such as setup boxes, for linear programming. SCTE-130 defines the framework for picking, on the fly, which ad, of which length, to splice into a TV show.
An opportunity arises to streamline use of the SCTE 130 framework for delivering and closing out viewership priced spots in zoned cable delivery of linear TV.

Programmatic ingestion and zoned cable delivery of linear TV in ad auction environments


A method and device are provided for reading data from a trace cache in a manner that reduces the time and power consumed by such an operation. A mini-tag is provided for comparing to a requested address to reduce the amount of data that must be read. Mini-tag read and compare operations may be performed in parallel to a full tag read operation, and a data read operation of only the data identified by a matching mini-tag may be performed in parallel to a full tag compare operation. A victim selection method for writing data into the trace cache is used to maintain the uniqueness of the mini-tags.

The present invention relates to a system and method for reducing time and power consumption required for reading data from a cache. Specifically, a comparison method using both mini-tags and full tags is provided for reading data from the cache, and a victim selection method is provided for writing data into the cache, in order to reduce the time and power consumption required for reading data from the cache.
In a computer system, a cache stores data in order to decrease data retrieval times for a processor. More particularly, a cache stores specific subsets of data in high-speed memory. When a processor requests a piece of data, the system checks the cache first to see if the data is stored within the cache. If it is available, the processor can retrieve the data much faster than if the data was stored in other computer readable media such as random access memory, a hard drive, CD ROM, or floppy disk.
One particular type of cache is referred to as a trace cache. A trace cache is responsible for building, caching, and delivering instruction traces to a processor. In one type of trace cache, instructions are stored as blocks of decoded micro-operations (xe2x80x9cmicro-opsxe2x80x9d). These blocks are known as xe2x80x9ctracesxe2x80x9d and are, in this example, the only units of instructions allowed to be accessed by a processor. Traces are distinguishable from one another only by identifying information found at the beginning of each trace known as a xe2x80x9ctrace head.xe2x80x9d Generally, traces may be terminated upon encountering an indirect branch or by reaching one of many preset threshold conditions, such as the number of conditional branches in the trace or the number of total micro-ops in the trace.
A cache may be organized into rows and columns. For example, a known type of trace cache has 256 rows and 16 columns. The 16 columns alternate between those containing data and those containing xe2x80x9ctagsxe2x80x9d identifying the data. Each tag may be, for example, 24 bits. In a prior trace cache addressing scheme, a processor uses a requested address to locate data in the trace cache. In this prior system, bits 3-10 of a 32 bit requested address are referred to as a xe2x80x9cset address,xe2x80x9d which is used to select one of the 256 rows of the trace cache. The remaining bits in this address serve as a requested tag for identifying the data entry sought by the processor.
A flow diagram for the prior technique is shown in FIG. 1. During a read operation using this prior technique, once a particular row in the cache has been selected (step 11), all of the tags in that row are read (step 12), and a tag comparison operation is performed (step 13) to determine whether there is a matching tag in the selected row. If it is determined that none of the tags matches (xe2x80x9chitsxe2x80x9d) the tag of the requested address in step 14, a write operation is performed in step 15. This write operation may include, for example, a pseudo-least recently used (xe2x80x9cpseudo-LRUxe2x80x9d) victim selection, as known in the art. If a tag hits in step 14, the data identified by the tag is read from the trace cache (step 16), is validated (step 17), and the process ends in step 18. Since this process requires that all the tags from the selected row be read from the trace cache and compared before any data is read, it is slow, and a faster process may be more desirable.
A flow diagram for a second prior technique is shown in FIG. 2. During a read operation using this second prior technique, once a particular row in the cache has been selected (step 20), all of the tags in that row, along with their associated data entries, are read in parallel (steps 21 and 22), and a tag comparison operation is performed (step 23). A tag comparison operation is performed (step 23) to determine whether there is a matching tag in the selected row. If it is determined that none of the tags xe2x80x9chitsxe2x80x9d the tag of the requested address in step 24, a write operation, including, e.g., a pseudo-LRU victim selection is performed in step 25. If a tag does hit in step 24, the data identified by the requested address and matching tag is multiplexed out of all the read entries from the selected row using, in this case, an 8-to-1 multiplexer. The data is validated in step 27 and the process terminates in step 28.
In this second prior technique, the reason that all of the data entries for an accessed row must be read from the cache is that the technique does not allow the processor to recognize beforehand which of the data entries is the desired one, so that a read of all of the data entries for that row becomes necessary. Two significant problems afflict this trace cache reading technique, both of which are due, in part, to the large size of each data entry. First, although this technique may be faster than the first technique (since the data is read from the trace cache in parallel to the reading of the tags, as opposed to the first technique where the data is not read until after a tag hit is found) it is still time consuming. Because each data entry in this example is 300 bits long, reading out every data entry for an accessed row (an operation which yields a total of 2,400 bits in this case) is very time consuming. As a corollary to this effect, the excessive amount of time reading out these data entry bits, and the storage (e.g., in a latch) of this high quantity of data, consumes power that could otherwise be applied to other important tasks.

Multi-tag system and method for cache read/write


An assembly apparatus for forming an interfay joint during manufacture of an aircraft (10). The assembly apparatus includes an assembly jig (40) to hold a first joint component (26), and an applicator (43) configured to apply an uncured layer of shim to the first joint component. The assembly jig locates, subsequent to the uncured layer of shim being applied, a second joint component (23) in an assembled joint position spaced from the first joint component. As such the uncured layer of shim is compressed between the first and second joint components. A method of forming an interfay joint during manufacture of an aircraft, an interfay joint for an aircraft, an aircraft aerodynamic surface, an aircraft, and a shim layer applicator.

During the manufacture of an aircraft it is necessary to accurately assemble multiple components with respect to each other. As such, components and the joints between components are provided to strict tolerances. This helps to minimise any gaps between jointed components. A joint between two structural components of an airframe of an aircraft is known as an interfay joint. One such joint is the interfay joint between rib feet on the ribs of a wing and a wing cover.
The wing of an aircraft typically includes upper and lower covers, forming the upper and lower skin of the wing, and front and rear spars extending between the upper and lower covers. A plurality of ribs are disposed between the upper and lower covers to provide structural support. Such ribs have a plurality of rib feet which abut against the respective covers and aid fixing of the covers.
During assembly of an aircraft wing, the lower cover is moved into an assembled position with the rib feet. It is conventional to ensure that the locating surface of each of the rib feet contacts the inner side of the lower cover. As such, the rib is manufactured to strict tolerances. Once the lower cover is moved into an assembly position with the rib, it is determined whether any gap exists between the locating surface of the rib foot, also known as the base of the rib foot, and the inner side of the cover. Typically, if it is determined that a gap does exist between a rib foot base and the inside of the cover, then a liquid shim, also known as uncured shim, is injected through a small pilot hole in the cover to fill the gap. This liquid shim is subsequently cured. The process of determining the presence of a gap and the subsequent filling of any determined gap is performed for each individual rib foot. As such, this operation is labour intensive and time consuming.
Should a minimal gap, for example, a gap of less than 0.3 mm, be determined, it is typical to pull the cover against the rib foot during fixing of the cover to each rib foot using known fixings.

Assembly apparatus for forming an interfay joint during manufacture of an aircraft


A space transfer vehicle has a plurality of thrusters for maneuvering in six degrees of freedom about three orthogonal vehicle axes. The space transfer vehicle includes four box-like thruster modules which each house an identically arranged plurality of thrusters. The thrusters are selectively energized in pairs to produce torque about the three orthogonal axes with a first magnitude for maneuvering the space transfer vehicle without a payload, and of a second magnitude for maneuvering the space transfer vehicle with a payload.

The present invention in general relates to a space transfer vehicle ("STV"), and more particularly, relates to a STV having a thruster configuration suitable for maneuvering the vehicle alone or in combination with a payload.
STVs are spacecraft that are launched into orbit in outer space for the purpose of servicing other spacecraft (hereinafter referred to as payloads). In other words, the STV functions as a space tug. The STV are designed to rendezvous, dock and maneuver with and without payloads. This necessitates the ability to execute six degrees of freedom (6 DOF) maneuvers within specific rotational and translational acceleration constraints. This maneuvering is accomplished by the reaction control system, using thruster rocket engines to provide the necessary force. The thruster rockets typically provide a fixed thrust that translates the STV and/or produces rotational torque, based on their size, orientation, and placement with respect to the center of gravity of the vehicle alone or in combination with a payload.
The STV includes a conventional guidance, navigation and control system which has specific operating limits of maximum and minimum translational and rotational acceleration. The lower limit on acceleration is typically 0.01 ft/s.sup.2 for translation and 0.01 deg./s.sup.2 for rotation, while the upper limits on acceleration are 1.0 ft/s.sup.2 for translation and 1.0 deg./s.sup.2 for acceleration. In order to guarantee stability of the STV, maneuvering must be accomplished within these constraints, both with and without a payload attached to the STV.
FIG. 1 is a prior art isometric sketch of the nominal thruster configuration for a STV which is currently the standard configuration in the industry.
In this configuration, six degree of freedom maneuvering of the STV without a payload is provided by incorporating thruster sets positioned at the ends of the vehicle in order to bracket the vehicle center of gravity. In this simplest scenario, translation is accomplished by firing balanced pairs of thrusters, that do not produce any torques or translation other than that desired. Rotation is provided by firing thrusters on opposite sides of the vehicle to provide a pure torque couple. Given the fixed geometry of the vehicle, the thruster size is varied to yield accelerations within the limits of the guidance, navigation and control system. As a practical matter, the minimum acceleration limit is experienced at the beginning of the mission when the STV is fully loaded with propellant. Conversely, the maximum acceleration is experienced when the STV is almost depleted of propellant. In the nominal configuration, a minimum of 24 thrusters is required for 6 DOF maneuvering.
In FIG. 1, as well as the other figures, bold faced arrows are used to represent the thrusters and show the direction of force produced by the thruster. A circle with a dot in its center indicates a thruster having a direction of force produced by the thruster directly out of the page. Thus, each such vector is aligned with an axis called the "thruster axis" or "reaction line of thrust".
In FIG. 1, the three visible faces of the isometric sketch are drawn to include the thruster axes for the prior art nominal configuration. Each of the three faces not visible includes thrusters mounted to produce thruster axes identical to its respective opposite face. Accordingly, a thruster is mounted in each corner of each face to generate a reaction line of thrust perpendicular to the face. Two additional thrusters are mounted in a canted position as shown on both the +Z and -Z faces.
The difficulty with known vehicles used to perform the functions is that the thrusters had no relevancy to the control system or the range of tasks to be carried out. If the thrusters are too big, they will rotate or accelerate the STV more quickly than the control system can accommodate. If a thruster size is chosen which is capable of maneuvering the vehicle by itself within the control system constraints, the thrusters turn out to be too small once a large payload is attached. This nominal thruster configuration of the prior art cannot easily or inexpensively be modified to overcome this inadequacy.
The solution often heretobefore incorporated was to incorporate an additional set of large thruster rockets, in addition to the small set. The smaller set would be used to maneuver the STV up to the docking position and would then be supplemented by the second, larger, set of thrusters to meet the needs of the system once it is docked with a payload. Not only are the thrusters themselves very expensive, but when a second set of thrusters is incorporated, the system becomes substantially more complex. Further, the overall weight and size of the STV is prohibitively increased.
When the STV docks with a payload, the control system must now deal with increased weight and a new center of gravity for the STV payload. For sufficiently large payloads, the new center of gravity of the STV and attached payload moves to a point outside the STV. Accordingly, the center of gravity is no longer enclosed by the reaction control system, and the thrusters produce undesired rotational torques when translation perpendicular to the payload is commanded. This will, in turn, necessitate the firing of rotational thrusters to counterbalance this torque. This effect, along with the increased weight and inertia of the combined vehicles, necessitates a larger thruster size to provide minimum control. However, as discussed above, a larger thruster size will violate the maximum acceleration constraints when the STV is without a payload, and will result in instability.
The result of this conflict is that the nominal space transfer vehicle configuration cannot satisfy the requirements for maneuvering both with and without a payload. Various solutions to this problem have been suggested heretobefore. For example, as discussed above, one solution is to complement the thrusters of the nominal configuration with additional thrusters of varying sizes, making the minimum number of thrusters required for 6 DOF maneuvering 48. A second solution is to attach an independent thruster module to the end of the payload opposite the STV. A third solution would be to replace the thrusters of the nominal configurations with throttleable thrusters.
None of these solutions is, however, without its problems. Incorporating additional thrusters or providing an independent thruster module would require the implementation of both complex and cost prohibitive modifications. Modifying the nominal configuration to include throttleable thrusters would currently increase the thruster cost by at least a magnitude of ten. Further, none of the solutions heretobefore suggested provide the flexibility to meet the control limits of the STV guidance, navigation and control system with and without a payload, incorporating a single thruster size throughout and utilizing a minimum number of thrusters.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide a thruster arrangement for a space transfer vehicle able to control the vehicle through six degree of freedom maneuvering with and without a payload, incorporating a single thruster size throughout and utilizing a minimum number of thrusters.
Generally, in one embodiment, the present invention provides a space transfer vehicle for producing torque about pitch and yaw axes with a first magnitude for maneuvering without a payload and a second magnitude for maneuvering with a payload. The STV has a longitudinal axis coincident with the roll axis, a front end and an aft end. The STV includes a plurality of substantially identical, non-throttleable thrusters, and control means, in the form of a conventional guidance, navigation and control system, for selectively energizing two thrusters simultaneously to produce a resultant torque. The vehicle arrangement includes a plurality of thruster pods equally spaced relative to each other about the roll axis. A plurality of thrusters is mounted in each of the plurality of thruster pods.
Additional objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A method for protecting the surface of a semiconductor material from damage and dopant passivation is described. A barrier layer of dense or reactive material is deposited on the semiconductor material shortly after growth in a growth reactor such as a MOCVD reactor, using the MOCVD source gasses. The barrier layer blocks the diffusion of hydrogen into the material. The reactor can then be cooled in a reactive or non-reactive gas ambience. The semiconductor material can then be removed from the reactor with little or no passivation of the dopant species. The barrier layer can be removed using a variety of etching processes, including wet chemical etching or can be left at the semiconductor material for surface protection. The barrier layer can also be a gettering layer that chemically binds hydrogen trapped in the semiconductor material and/or blocks hydrogen diffusion into the material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for achieving the desired electrical conductivity in doped semiconductor materials that are affected by dopant passivation. The invention specifically teaches methods of fabricating passivation-barrier layers to prevent or reduce doping species passivation during the semiconductor growth process, thus eliminating the need for in-situ or ex-situ annealing steps.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor materials are essential for producing light emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes (LDs) and other optoelectronic and electronic devices because the electrical and optical properties of the material can be controlled through composition and structural variation. To achieve this control, it is important to produce semiconductor material free of undesired impurities. Gallium nitride (GaN) is one of the most promising semiconductor materials for application to blue, violet and ultraviolet (UV) LEDs and LDs as well as other electronic devices.
During growth of GaN p-n junction diodes using Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD), it is difficult to grow a p-type material with good structural, optical, and electrical integrity. The p-type region of a GaN junction diode is commonly grown in a MOCVD reactor by adding magnesium (Mg) to achieve the desired conductivity. However, a common problem is electrical passivation of acceptors like Mg, zinc (Zn), carbon (C) and others by hydrogen atoms. The smaller hydrogen atoms diffuse into the GaN material, where they neutralize the Mg acceptors and the holes produced by the Mg. The passivation process leaves the Mg acceptors inactive, resulting in the material becoming insulating or weakly p-type in its as grown state. The passivation of the p-type region results in critical performance problems for the diode. Hydrogen passivation of acceptors and donors has been reported for a wide variety of semiconductors including silicon [S. J. Pearton et. al., Appl. Phys. A 43, 153 (1987)], gallium arsenide [N. M. Johnson et. al., Phys. Rev. B 33, 1102 (1986); W. C. Dautremont-Smith, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 104, 313 (1988)], indium phosphide [G. R. Antell et. al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 53, 758 (1988)], and cadmium telluride [L. Svob et. al., J. Cryst. Growth 86, 815 (1988)]. Passivation has been demonstrated both intentionally and unintentionally as a result of the epitaxial growth process.
The growth of GaN diodes represents one example where hydrogen passivation plays an important role. It has been shown that passivation of acceptors occurs after growth, during the reactor cooling stage. [G. R. Antell et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 73, 2953 (1998)]. Hydrogen is common in a MOCVD reactor during growth of the GaN material and subsequent reactor cooling, generally coming from two sources. Hydrogen is commonly used during growth as a carrier gas for the growth source gasses. In addition, ammonia (NH3) is used as a source gas for nitrogen (N) during growth of the GaN material and is also used to stabilize the GaN material during reactor cooling. Hydrogen is produced as a by-product of the ammonia decomposition during growth and cooling. In the conventional GaN growth process, there is sufficient hydrogen in the reactor to cause passivation of the p-type region during cooling.
Passivation of the p-type region could be avoided by removing the hydrogen source from the reactor prior to cool down. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,790, to Keller et. al. However, the GaN crystal is unstable at growth temperatures and the p-type GaN region is susceptible to decomposition which results in surface damage. The conventional method for avoiding this decomposition is to maintain the flow of NH3 during reactor cooling. However, the presence of NH3 during reactor cooling produces hydrogen and leads to passivation. As such, it was thought that the removal of all hydrogen sources was not practical and that passivation during reactor cooling could not be avoided.
As opposed to avoiding passivation, various methods were developed to reverse the passivation after material growth and reactor cooling. Much of the early studies of dopant passivation revealed the utility of thermal annealing for removal of the hydrogen and xe2x80x9cactivationxe2x80x9d of the dopants [G. R. Antell et. al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 53, 758 (1988); W. C. Dautremont-Smith, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 104, 313 (1988); T. Zundel and J. Weber, Phys. Rev. B 39, 13549 (1988); W. C. Dautremont-Smith et. al., J. Appl. Phys. 66, 1993 (1989)]. Once the phenomenon of hydrogen passivation was recognized, it became evident that the hydrogen could be diffused into and out of the semiconductor at elevated temperatures, resulting in passivation or activation of the dopants. Consequently, thermal annealing was utilized as a method for acceptor and donor activation in group IV, III-V, and II-VI semiconductor materials. Acceptor passivation in Gallium Nitride could also be reversed using Low-Energy Electron Beam Irradiation (LEEBI)[Amano et. al., Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 28, No. 12, pp. L2112-L2114 (December 1989)]. In LEEBI treatment, the passivated GaN material is irradiated with an electron beam to activate the acceptors. While these procedures effectively activate the passivated region, they are conducted ex situ, introducing another step in the fabrication process that increases cost and reduces yield. Damage can be caused from handling, and impurities can be introduced by atmospheric conditions. Both processes expose the GaN material to high temperature, which can also damage the material.
In addition, the annealing process occurs prior to p-contact metalization. In devices such as GaN LEDs and LDs, it is important to provide reproducible low-resistance contacts. Metal contacts to p-type GaN have been found to be highly sensitive to surface quality. [J. Kim et. al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 73, 2953 (1998)]. Thus, any damage to the p-type surface during annealing or handling will adversely impact the p-type metal contacts.
Another method for reducing passivation of acceptors during reactor cooling is capping the p-type material with a thin n-type layer. [S. Manigawa and M. Kondo, J. Electron. Mater. Vol.19 No.6, pp. 597-599 (1990)]. The solubility of hydrogen in the n-type material is low compared to the p-type material, so diffusion of hydrogen during reactor cooling is greatly reduced. However, this process does not completely eliminate the passivation of the p-type material and removal of the n-type material by etching is difficult and can damage the p-type surface.
The present invention provides a novel method of achieving the desired electrical conductivity in doped semiconductor materials that experience passivation of the doping species by hydrogen atoms. Passivation occurs by hydrogen being incorporated into the semiconductor material in association with doping species.
The invention specifically teaches methods of fabricating barrier layers to prevent or reduce the diffusion and incorporation of hydrogen into the semiconductor material, thus preventing or reducing dopant passivation. The barrier layers are fabricated in the same growth chamber that is used for the semiconductor material growth. Shortly after the growth of the material, while it is in the reactor and the reactor is at a temperature about equal to or lower than the growth temperature, the diffusion barrier layer is deposited on the material. The barrier layer is formed from dense, inert compounds that block the diffusion and incorporation of hydrogen into the material. Examples for barrier layers are Si, Ge, MgOx, MgNx, ZnO, SiNx, SiOx, alloys or layer sequences thereof.
The barrier layer can also be a hydrogen binding layer, also referred to as a hydrogen-gettering layer. The hydrogen-gettering layer chemically binds hydrogen trapped in the semiconductor or prevents hydrogen from reaching the semiconductor surface from the ambient gas phase, thus preventing hydrogen diffusion into the semiconductor. The composition of the gettering layer compounds can be adjusted during growth to contain an excess of the gettering component. The preferred gettering layer materials contain components that have a high binding energy to atomic hydrogen. The binding energy is also preferably higher than the binding energy between hydrogen and the acceptor or donor species. Thus, the layer can be effective in preventing the passivation of doping species by gettering the hydrogen. The layer can have multiple layers that can be a repeated sequence of multiple gettering materials.
After cool-down, any of the barrier layers may be removed by one of a variety of etching techniques for subsequent processing of the semiconductor material.
Eliminating passivation of the semiconductor material also can eliminate or reduce the need for additional processing steps such as thermal or electron beam annealing. The method also provides superior quality and yield in semiconductor materials, preserving the material in its pristine as grown state.
These and other further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fabrication of semiconductor materials and devices with controlled electrical conductivity


The present invention relates to a technique for efficient isolation of long nucleic acids and short nucleic acids from a sample containing long nucleic acids and short nucleic acids via safe and convenient operations. Specifically, long nucleic acids and short nucleic acids are isolated from a sample containing nucleic acids by mixing a chaotropic agent with the sample containing nucleic acids, allowing the mixed solution to pass at least twice through a first solid phase containing silica that has passage pores having predetermined pore sizes, allowing the mixed solution to pass at least twice through a second solid phase containing silica that has passage pores having pore sizes smaller than those of the first solid phase containing silica, and separately recovering nucleic acids that have bound to the first solid phase containing silica and those that have bound to the second solid phases containing silica.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for efficient isolation of long nucleic acids and short nucleic acids from a sample containing long nucleic acids and short nucleic acids via safe and convenient operations. In addition, the present invention can be utilized as a technique for isolation of genomic DNA and total RNA (e.g., messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, and transfer RNA) or of genomic DNA and plasmid DNA.
2. Background Art
Nucleic acids are related to genetic information in organisms, and exist in various forms such as genomic DNA, plasmid DNA, messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, and transfer RNA, which are functionally different from one another.
Based on analysis of these nucleic acids, very important molecular biological information can be obtained. Upon analysis of various types of nucleic acids, in general, it is preferable to carry out pretreatment comprising isolation of nucleic acids of interest from a biological sample containing different types of nucleic acids. For instance, upon messenger RNA analysis for the purpose of gene expression analysis, total RNA is isolated from genomic DNA, which can act as an inhibitor during messenger RNA analysis.
In general, phenol/chloroform extraction has been known as a method for total RNA isolation from genomic DNA in a biological sample (Analytical Biochemistry, 162, 156-159 (1989)). This method comprises: (1) dissolving a biological sample in a guanidine thiocyanate solution and adding an acidic buffer solution, a phenol solution, and a chloroform solution thereto in that order, followed by mixing; (2) separating the mixture into an aqueous phase containing RNA, and an interphase and an organic solvent phase containing insolubilized DNA and denatured proteins via centrifugation; (3) adding ethanol or isopropanol to the aqueous phase containing RNA; and (4) allowing insolubilized RNA to selectively precipitate via centrifugation. Compared with conventional ultracentrifugation methods, this method is more efficient in terms of RNA isolation; however, highly hazardous phenol and chloroform must be used in the method, which is problematic.
As examples of a method for nucleic acid isolation that requires no use of phenol, chloroform, or the like, and requires no operations such as ethanol precipitation or isopropanol precipitation, methods utilizing nucleic acid binding properties with reference to a solid phase containing silica in the presence of a chaotropic agent have been known (B. Vogelstein and D. Gillespie, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 76 (2), 615-619 (1979), R. Boom et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 28 (3), 495-503 (1990)). Also, methods for DNA and RNA isolation to which the latter method is applied have been reported (JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-340839 A, No. 2002-187897 A, No. 2000-505295 A, No. 2002-534080 A, and No. 2004-201607 A). However, such methods result in insufficient DNA and RNA isolation, so that isolated RNA contains a predetermined amount of DNA.

Methods for nucleic acid isolation and instruments for nucleic acid isolation


There is disclosed a capacitive sensor on a passivation layer of a semiconductor circuit such as an ASIC, and a method for manufacturing such sensor. The system and method may comprise: forming a bottom electrode layer and landing pad on a portion of the passivation layer located over active circuitry of the ASIC; forming a gas sensitive layer onto the bottom electrode layer and the landing pad; creating a via through the gas sensitive layer to expose a portion of the landing pad; forming a top electrode layer onto the gas sensitive layer, wherein the top electrode layer completely overlays a surface area of the bottom electrode layer, and wherein the forming process for the top electrode layer deposits a portion of the top electrode layer into the via hole, thereby forming an electrical connection between the top electrode layer and the landing pad.

Capacitive gas sensors are known in the art, a particular example being in the measurement of water vapor (relative humidity). There are a number of configurations associated with these sensors. One configuration uses interdigitated coplanar electrodes of opposite polarity covered by a gas sensitive material in which increasing gas concentration causes an increase in the dielectric constant of such material thereby increasing the dielectric coupling between planar electrodes and thereby increasing the effective capacitance between the electrodes. In the case of the interdigitated electrodes, both electrodes are underneath the top surface of the gas sensitive material, and the dielectric coupling between the planar electrodes occurs by field fringing effects.
Another configuration employs parallel plate-like electrodes with a layer of gas sensitive material between them such that changing gas concentration changes the dielectric constant of the gas sensitive material and changes the capacitance of the parallel plate capacitor. A parallel plate configuration described in FR2750494 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,026) has a top electrode comprised of a highly porous conducting polymer that allows the diffusion of the selected gas through the electrode and into the gas sensitive material. This top electrode material is processed so that it is tightly bonded to the gas sensitive material and is chemically inert and environmentally robust. FR2750494 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,026 are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
The capacitance of a capacitive gas sensor is a function of gas concentration, and the capacitance is measured by associated electronics capable of exciting the sensor electrically. The cost of manufacture of the capacitive gas sensors is associated with the physical size of the sensor and the associated electronics, hence it is desirable to provide capacitive gas sensors as small as possible while still achieving desired accuracy and signal to noise ratio. As the size of gas sensitive capacitors is reduced, the gas sensitive capacitors become increasingly susceptible to signal degradation associated with stray capacitances, including parasitic capacitances found in interconnections and in the associated electronics. One way to reduce the effects of parasitic capacitances when using smaller capacitors is to locate the associated electronics as physically close to the sensor as possible.
Along with reducing the size and therefore the cost of manufacture of the capacitive gas sensors, it is desirable to decrease the size and cost of the associated electronics. Reduced cost of manufacture of the associated electronics can be achieved through the use of application specific integrated circuits (ASICS) which provide all necessary functionality in a small low cost configuration.
There are commercial devices available in which interdigitated coplanar capacitor electrodes are disposed on top of a section of an ASIC and a gas sensitive material layer is disposed on top of the coplanar sensor electrodes to form a gas sensor. This configuration for ASICs with interdigitated capacitor electrodes has a disadvantage in that if the interdigitated capacitor electrodes are directly over active circuitry in the ASIC, coupling and interference is likely. This results in a need for a larger silicon area to accommodate the sensor electrodes so they are not over active circuitry. Notably, the interdigitated electrodes cannot be shielded from the circuitry-induced stray coupling signals by the addition of a conductive layer intermediate the electrodes and underneath because such a conductive layer would significantly increase the baseline capacitive coupling between the interdigitated sensing electrodes. Since the signal generated by changing gas concentrations in the gas sensitive layer is measured as a changing percentage of capacitance, increasing the baseline capacitance will lower the sensitivity of the device. Another drawback to ASICs with interdigitated electrodes is the undesirable sensitivity of the inter electrode capacitance to foreign material on the top of the gas sensitive material layer. For example, water droplets or small metal particles on the surface of the gas sensitive material layer can significantly alter the dielectric coupling between the electrodes by distorting fringing electric fields generated by the electrodes.
An alternative device has two separate chips: one chip has a gas sensing capacitor built atop an appropriate substrate and the second chip suitable circuitry. This two chip solution has the advantage of decoupling the production yields, the processes, and the substrate materials used to produce each part. However, these chips must be electrically interconnected using flip chip or wire bonding technology, both of which affect the behavior of the sensing capacitor. Further the cost of electrical and mechanical packaging is greater than the vertically integrated configuration.
Therefore, there is a need for a smaller and more effective capacitive gas sensor constructed directly on top of an appropriate semiconductor circuitry.

Capacitive sensor integrated onto semiconductor circuit


A propane powered piece of lawn equipment (10) comprising an engine (12) on the piece of lawn equipment (10). A facility (14) is carried on the piece of lawn equipment (10), for holding non-pollutant propane gas. A component (16) is for delivering the non-pollutant propane gas from the holding facility (14) to the engine (12), to operate the engine (12) and run the piece of lawn equipment (10) for a cleaner atmospheric environment.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates generally to gas operated machines and more specifically it relates to propane powered lawn equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous gas operated machines have been provided in prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,456 to Alvarez et al.; 4,327,553 to Rilett; 4,483,473 to Wagdy and 5,203,046 to Shaw all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
The Floor Scrubber and Buffer as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,456 shows a floor scrubber provided with a propane powered internal combustion engine which is mounted on a wheeled dolly and which is attached by its rotary output shaft to a circular cage provided with a plurality of rotary brushes on the underside thereof. More specifically the output shaft from the internal combustion engine is connected through a pulley arrangement to the various rotary brushes and accordingly the case and the brushes are driven in counter-rotation. Included in the structure of the dolly is a spring loaded, telescoping support for deploying a serrated clean-out bar which by angular alignment can be placed under the path of advance of the pads in the cage, thus providing a cleaning function therefor. The internal combustion engine, furthermore, is contained in a noise reducing housing which furthermore is provided with a fan for cooling.
The Gas Power Motors in U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,553 shows a gas powered motor having a reservoir for liquefied gas, a supply passage from the reservoir leading through one side of a heat exchanger to the motor and a container holding a buffer substance in heat conductive relationship with the reservoir. The buffer substance acts to supply heat to the liquefied gas while undergoing a chemical, physical crystallographic or other change of state to assist in maintaining the supply of gas to the motor from the reservoir. The motor exhaust leads to a vessel containing a condensing buffer substance which absorbs, persorbs or otherwise associates with the gas accompanied by a release of heat. The condensing buffer substance is in heat conductive relation with the other side of the heat exchanger in the gas supply to the motor to superheat the gas supplied. The condensing buffer substance is capable of releasing the gas when subjected to reduced pressure by a pump provided which may be the gas motor run in reverse to extract the gas from the vessel and return it to the reservoir. In another embodiment the condensing buffer substance comprises an isothermal heat sink provided, for example, by a concentrated salt solution.
The Portable Gas-Powered Fastener Driving Tool in U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,473 shows a portable gas-fired fastener driving tool in which the tool cannot be operated until the combustion chamber is closed and the combustion chamber cannot be reopened after ignition until the trigger is released. The operation of the trigger is permitted by the actuation of a bottom trip mechanism which controls the movement of a sleeve mechanism that regulates the opening and closing of the combustion chamber. During the driving action, the combustion gases above the piston are evacuated through valved openings in the cylinder adjacent the bottom thereof. The piston contacts a bumper at the bottom of its travel and the difference between the vacuum in the combustion chamber and atmospheric air acts to return the piston to its driving position.
The Floor Buffing Machine in U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,046 shows a floor buffing machine powered by a propane engine which has a frusto-conical shield and an integral inverted channel extending rearwardly from the shield to provide a mounting deck for the engine and propane fuel tank. A buffing pad is rotated by the engine through a drive train and is carried on an inclined spindle having a flexible connection with the spindle. The incline of the spindle and the flexible construction of the connection causes the rearwardly moving side of the buffing pad to propel the machine forwardly.


Bismuth salt and metal alkoxide are reacted with each other under an acidic condition, and a Bi12MO20 precursor solution (where M is at least one of Ge, Si and Ti) is obtained. The obtained Bi12MO20 precursor solution is concentrated to be formed into gel, and the gel Bi12MO20 precursor is fired to be formed into powder. The powder is mixed with a binder and coated on a support, and so on. In such a way, a photoconductive layer, which is formed of a bismuth oxide-series complex oxide with a high collection effect of charges generated and small electric noise, is manufactured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiation imaging panel suitable for application to a radiation imaging apparatus using an X-ray and the like, and specifically to a method for manufacturing a photoconductive layer constituting the radiation imaging panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, in medical X-ray imaging, an X-ray imaging panel has been known, which uses a photoconductive layer sensitive to an X-ray as a photosensitive member for the purpose of reducing a dose of radiation exposed to a subject, improving diagnostic performance, and so on, reads an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductive layer by the X-ray by means of light or a large number of electrodes, and records the image thus read. A method using the X-ray imaging panel is superior in that resolution thereof is higher than fluorography by a television camera tube, which is a well-known imaging method.
The above-described X-ray imaging panel is constituted to generate charges corresponding to X-ray energy by irradiating a charge generation layer provided therein with the X-ray, and to read the generated charges as electric signals. The above-described photoconductive layer acts as the charge generation layer. Heretofore, amorphous selenium has been used for the photoconductive layer. However, X-ray absorptivity of amorphous selenium is low in general. Accordingly, it is necessary that the thickness of the photoconductive layer be formed thick (for example, 500 μm or more).
However, when such film thickness is thickened, reading speed of the latent image decreases. In addition, high voltage is applied to the photoconductive layer at least during a period from a start of the reading to an end thereof after the latent image is formed. Accordingly, dark current increases, and charges caused by the dark current are added to the charges of the latent image, which thereby decrease a contrast in a low-dose range. These are regarded as problems. Moreover, the high voltage is applied to the photoconductive layer, and accordingly, device deterioration is prone to occur, durability thereof is prone to decrease, and electric noise is prone to occur. Furthermore, the photoconductive layer is usually formed by an evaporation method, and accordingly, it takes a considerable time to grow the photoconductive layer until the photoconductive layer reaches the thickness as described above, and management of such a growth process is also cumbersome. These factors eventually lead to an increase in manufacturing cost of the photoconductive layer, which bring about an increase in cost of the X-ray imaging panel.
Considering the problems as described above, materials for the photoconductive layer other than the selenium are being studied. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 11 (1999)-237478 and 2000-249769, as a material constituting the photoconductive layer, a bismuth oxide-series complex oxides represented by a composition formula BixMOy (where M is at least one of Ge, Si and Ti, x is the number satisfying a condition 10≦×≦14, and y represents the stoichiometric atomic number of oxygen according to M and x which are described above) is described. In accordance with the bismuth oxide-series complex oxides, it can be expected that charge conversion efficiency of the X-ray will be improved.
In general, with regard to Bi12MO20 synthesized by a solid phase method which fires Bi2O3 and MO3 at 800° C., there is a problem that a collection effect of the generated charges is poor because a particle diameter thereof becomes as large as a size in a micron order and a filling density of the formed photoconductive layer is low. Incidentally, in the above-described Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 11 (1999)-237478 and 2000-249769, the following is described as a method for forming the photoconductive layer. Specifically, sol or gel obtained by performing hydrolysis for alkoxides of the bismuth and the metal is subjected to a sintering treatment, and the sol or gel thus sintered is dispersed and coated, thereby forming the photoconductive layer (hereinafter, this method is referred to as a sol-gel method).
Moreover, in the above-described Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 11 (1999)-237478 and 2000-249769, the sol or gel obtained by performing the hydrolysis is subjected to the sintering treatment, and rapid crystal growth occurs owing to the sintering treatment. Accordingly, the size of generated particles becomes large, and therefore, the filling density of the photoconductive layer cannot be raised to a satisfactory level. Moreover, the above-described Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 11 (1999)-237478 and 2000-249769 only describe that the alkoxides of the bismuth and the metal are subjected to the hydrolysis, and specific liquid characteristics thereof and the like are unknown. In addition, if only the alkoxides are reacted with each other in a liquid phase, the alkoxides become amorphous particles without being crystallized. However, if the amorphous particles are left as they are, electron mobility thereof is low, and the amorphous particles have so many traps that electrons are captured thereby quickly, and accordingly, photoconductivity thereof is deteriorated.

Method for manufacturing photoconductive layer constituting radiation imaging panel