The present invention provides pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine-4-yl amines pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyrimidin-4-yl amines that modulate the activity of Janus kinases and are useful in the treatment of diseases related to activity of Janus kinases including, for example, immune-related diseases and cancer.

The immune system responds to injury and threats from pathogens. Cytokines are low-molecular weight polypeptides or glycoproteins that stimulate biological responses in virtually all cell types. For example, cytokines regulate many of the pathways involved in the host inflammatory response to sepsis. Cytokines influence cell differentiation, proliferation and activation, and they can modulate both proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses to allow the host to react appropriately to pathogens.
Binding of a cytokine to its cell surface receptor initiates intracellular signaling cascades that transduce the extracellular signal to the nucleus, ultimately leading to changes in gene expression. The pathway involving the Janus kinase family of protein tyrosine kinases (JAKs) and Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription (STATs) is engaged in the signaling of a wide range of cytokines. Generally, cytokine receptors do not have intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity, and thus require receptor-associated kinases to propagate a phosphorylation cascade. JAKs fulfill this function. Cytokines bind to their receptors, causing receptor dimerization, and this enables JAKs to phosphorylate each other as well as specific tyrosine motifs within the cytokine receptors. STATs that recognize these phosphotyrosine motifs are recruited to the receptor, and are then themselves activated by a JAK-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation event. Upon activation, STATs dissociate from the receptors, dimerize, and translocate to the nucleus to bind to specific DNA sites and alter transcription (Scott, M. J., C. J. Godshall, et al. (2002). "Jaks, STATs, Cytokines, and Sepsis." Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 9 (6): 1153-9).
The JAK family plays a role in the cytokine-dependent regulation of proliferation and function of cells involved in immune response. Currently, there are four known mammalian JAK family members: JAK1 (also known as Janus kinase-1), JAK2 (also known as Janus kinase-2), JAK3 (also known as Janus kinase, leukocyte; JAKL; L-JAK and Janus kinase-3) and TYK2 (also known as protein-tyrosine kinase 2). The JAK proteins range in size from 120 to 140 kDa and comprise seven conserved JAK homology (JH) domains; one of these is a functional catalytic kinase domain, and another is a pseudokinase domain potentially serving a regulatory function and/or serving as a docking site for STATs (Scott, Godshall et al. 2002, supra).
While JAK1, JAK2 and TYK2 are ubiquitously expressed, JAK3 is reported to be preferentially expressed in natural killer (NK) cells and not resting T cells, suggesting a role in lymphoid activation (Kawamura, M., D. W. McVicar, et al. (1994). "Molecular cloning of L-JAK, a Janus family protein-tyrosine kinase expressed in natural killer cells and activated leukocytes." Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 91(14): 6374-8).
Not only do the cytokine-stimulated immune and inflammatory responses contribute to normal host defense, they also play roles in the pathogenesis of diseases: pathologies such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) arise from hypoactivity and suppression of the immune system, and a hyperactive or inappropriate immune/inflammatory response contributes to the pathology of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, asthma and systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as illnesses such as scleroderma and osteoarthritis (Ortmann, R. A., T. Cheng, et al. (2000). "Janus kinases and signal transducers and activators of transcription: their roles in cytokine signaling, development and immunoregulation." Arthritis Res 2(1): 16-32). Furthermore, syndromes with a mixed presentation of autoimmune and immunodeficiency disease are quite common (Candotti, F., L. Notarangelo, et al. (2002). "Molecular aspects of primary immunodeficiencies: lessons from cytokine and other signaling pathways." J Clin Invest 109(10): 1261-9). Thus, therapeutic agents are typically aimed at augmentation or suppression of the immune and inflammatory pathways, accordingly.
Deficiencies in expression of JAK family members are associated with disease states. Jak1−/− mice are runted at birth, fail to nurse, and die perinatally (Rodig, S. J., M. A. Meraz, et al. (1998). "Disruption of the Jak1 gene demonstrates obligatory and nonredundant roles of the Jaks in cytokine-induced biologic responses." Cell 93(3): 373-83). Jak2−/− mouse embryos are anemic and die around day 12.5 postcoitum due to the absence of definitive erythropoiesis. JAK2-deficient fibroblasts do not respond to IFNgamma, although responses to IFNalpha/beta and IL-6 are unaffected. JAK2 functions in signal transduction of a specific group of cytokine receptors required in definitive erythropoiesis (Neubauer, H., A. Cumano, et al. (1998). Cell 93(3): 397-409; Parganas, E., D. Wang, et al. (1998). Cell 93(3): 385-95.). JAK3 appears to play a role in normal development and function of B and T lymphocytes. Mutations of JAK3 are reported to be responsible for autosomal recessive severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) in humans (Candotti, F., S. A. Oakes, et al. (1997). "Structural and functional basis for JAK3-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency." Blood 90(10): 3996-4003).
The JAK/STAT pathway, and in particular all four members of the JAK family, are believed to play a role in the pathogenesis of the asthmatic response. The inappropriate immune responses that characterize asthma are orchestrated by a subset of CD4+ T helper cells termed T helper 2 (Th2) cells. Signaling through the cytokine receptor IL-4 stimulates JAK1 and JAK3 to activate STAT6, and signaling through IL-12 stimulates activation of JAK2 and TYK2, and subsequent phosphorylation of STAT4. STAT4 and STAT6 control multiple aspects of CD4+ T helper cell differentiation (Pernis, A. B. and P. B. Rothman (2002). "JAK-STAT signaling in asthma." J Clin Invest 109(10): 1279-83). Furthermore, TYK2-deficient mice were found to have enhanced Th2 cell-mediated allergic airway inflammation (Seto, Y., H. Nakajima, et al. (2003). "Enhanced Th2 cell-mediated allergic inflammation in Tyk2-deficient mice." J Immunol 170(2): 1077-83).
The JAK/STAT pathway, and in particular, JAK3, also plays a role in cancers of the immune system. In adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), human CD4+ T cells acquire a transformed phenotype, an event that correlates with acquisition of constitutive phosphorylation of JAKs and STATs. Furthermore, an association between JAK3 and STAT-1, STAT-3, and STAT-5 activation and cell-cycle progression was demonstrated by both propidium iodide staining and bromodeoxyuridine incorporation in cells of four ATLL patients tested. These results imply that JAK/STAT activation is associated with replication of leukemic cells and that therapeutic approaches aimed at JAK/STAT inhibition may be considered to halt neoplastic growth (Takemoto, S., J. C. Mulloy, et al. (1997). "Proliferation of adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma cells is associated with the constitutive activation of JAK/STAT proteins." Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94(25): 13897-902).
Blocking signal transduction at the level of the JAK kinases holds promise for developing treatments for human cancers. Cytokines of the interleukin 6 (IL-6) family, which activate the signal transducer gp130, are major survival and growth factors for human multiple myeloma (MM) cells. The signal transduction of gp130 is believed to involve JAK1, JAK2 and Tyk2 and the downstream effectors STAT3 and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. In IL-6-dependent MM cell lines treated with the JAK2 inhibitor tyrphostin AG490, JAK2 kinase activity and ERK2 and STAT3 phosphorylation were inhibited. Furthermore, cell proliferation was suppressed and apoptosis was induced (De Vos, J., M. Jourdan, et al. (2000). "JAK2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor tyrphostin AG490 downregulates the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathways and induces apoptosis in myeloma cells." Br J Haematol 109(4): 823-8). However, in some cases, AG490 can induce dormancy of tumor cells and actually then protect them from death.
Pharmacological targeting of Janus kinase 3 (JAK3) has been employed successfully to control allograft rejection and graft versus host disease (GVHD). In addition to its involvement in signaling of cytokine receptors, JAK3 is also engaged in the CD40 signaling pathway of peripheral blood monocytes. During CD40-induced maturation of myeloid dendritic cells (DCs), JAK3 activity is induced, and increases in costimulatory molecule expression, IL-12 production, and potent allogeneic stimulatory capacity are observed. A rationally designed JAK3 inhibitor WHI-P-154 prevented these effects arresting the DCs at an immature level, suggesting that immunosuppressive therapies targeting the tyrosine kinase JAK3 may also affect the function of myeloid cells (Saemann, M. D., C. Diakos, et al. (2003). "Prevention of CD40-triggered dendritic cell maturation and induction of T-cell hyporeactivity by targeting of Janus kinase 3." Am J Transplant 3(11): 1341-9). In the mouse model system, JAK3 was also shown to be an important molecular target for treatment of autoimmune insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes mellitus. The rationally designed JAK3 inhibitor JANEX-1 exhibited potent immunomodulatory activity and delayed the onset of diabetes in the NOD mouse model of autoimmune type 1 diabetes (Cetkovic-Cvrlje, M., A. L. Dragt, et al. (2003). "Targeting JAK3 with JANEX-1 for prevention of autoimmune type 1 diabetes in NOD mice." Clin Immunol 106(3): 213-25).
It has been suggested that inhibition of JAK2 tyrosine kinase can be beneficial for patients with myeloproliferative disorder. (Levin, et al., Cancer Cell, vol. 7, 2005: 387-397) Myeloproliferative disorder (MPD) includes polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), myeloid metaplasia with myelofibrosis (MMM), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) and systemic mast cell disease (SMCD). Although the myeloproliferative disorder (such as PV, ET and MMM) are thought to be caused by acquired somatic mutation in hematopoietic progenitors, the genetic basis for these diseases has not been known. However, it has been reported that hematopoietic cells from a majority of patients with PV and a significant number of patients with ET and MMM possess a recurrent somatic activing mutation in the JAK2 tyrosine kinase. It has also been reported that inhibition of the JAK2V617F kinase with a small molecule inhibitor leads to inhibition of proliferation of hematopoietic cells, suggesting that the JAK2 tyrosine kinase is a potential target for pharmacologic inhibition in patients with PV, ET and MMM.
Inhibition of the Jak kinases is also envisioned to have therapeutic benefits in patients suffering from skin immune disorders such as psoriasis, and skin sensitization. In psoriasis vulgaris, the most common form of psoriasis, it has been generally accepted that activated T lymphocytes are important for the maintenance of the disease and its associated psoriatic plaques (Gottlieb, A. B., et al, Nat Rev Drug Disc., 4:19-34). Psoriatic plaques contain a significant immune infiltrate, including leukocytes and monocytes, as well as multiple epidermal layers with increased keratinocyte proliferation. While the initial activation of immune cells in psoriasis occurs by an ill defined mechanism, the maintenance is believed to be dependent on a number of inflammatory cytokines, in addition to various chemokines and growth factors (JCI, 113:1664-1675). Many of these, including interleukins -2, -4, -6, -7, -12, -15, -18, and -23 as well as GM-CSF and IFNg, signal through the Janus (Jak) kinases (Adv Pharmacol. 2000; 47:113-74). As such, blocking signal transduction at the level of Jak kinases may result in therapeutic benefits in patients suffering from psoriasis or other immune disorders of the skin.
It has been known that certain therapeutics can cause immune reactions such as skin rash or diarrhea in some patients. For instance, administration of some of the new targeted anti-cancer agents such as Iressa, Erbitux, and Tarceva has induced acneiform rash with some patients. Another example is that some therapeutics used topically induce skin irritation, skin rash, contact dermatitis or allergic contact sensitization. For some patients, these immune reactions may be bothersome, but for others, the immune reactions such as rash or diarrhea may result in inability to continue the treatment. Although the driving force behind these immune reactions has not been elucidated completely at the present time, these immune reactions are certainly linked to immune infiltrate. In light of JAK/STAT pathway, it has also been envisioned that inhibition of the Jak kinases, such as topical or systemic administration of a Jak inhibitor, may prevent or ameliorate the side effects of immune reactions (skin irritation, skin rash, contact dermatitis, allergic contact sensitization, or diarrhea) caused by some other therapeutics. The Jak inhibitor can be administered before, during or after the treatment of the other therapeutics to prevent or lessen the side effects.
Inhibitors of Janus kinases or related kinases are widely sought and several publications report effective classes of compounds. For example, certain inhibitors are reported in US 2004/0198737; WO 2004/099204; WO 2004/099205; and WO 01/42246.
Thus, new or improved agents which inhibit Janus kinases are continually needed that act as immunosuppressive agents for organ transplants, as well as agents for the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases (e.g., multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, type I diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, autoimmune thyroid disorders, Alzheimer's disease), diseases involving a hyperactive inflammatory response (e.g., eczema), allergies, cancer (e.g., prostate, leukemia, multiple myeloma), and some immune reactions (e.g., skin rash or contact dermatitis or diarrhea) caused by other therapeutics. The compounds, compositions and methods described herein are directed toward these and other ends.

Pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridin-4-yl-amines and pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyrimidin-5-yl-amines as Janus kinase inhibitors


In one embodiment, a gateway for a constant delay network identifies a baseband clock that is synchronized by exchanging synchronization messages over a packet switched network. The gateway then generates a strobe by manipulating the identified baseband clock using a custom multiplier that is selected according to transmission variables. The gateway then signals a front end component to process fixed length packets for transfer to a back end component according to the generated strobe, which can reduce or eliminate buffering by the back end component and can improve cable modem operation.

Cable operators have widely deployed high-speed data services on cable television systems. These data services allow subscriber-side devices, such as personal computers, to communicate over a cable network. A Modular Cable Modem Termination System (M-CMTS) connects the cable network to a data network, such as the Internet. A downstream Edge Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (EQAM) located in the cable network receives data transferred from the M-CMTS over a packet switched portion of the network (which can be characterized as having variable transmission delays), performs modulation and other processing, and then transfers the modulated data over a Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC) portion of the cable network, which is specified as a constant transmission delay portion.
Because the variable EQAM receive data rate can sometimes exceed a rate that some or all of the EQAM components are processing packets, multiple components of the EQAM are equipped with relatively large buffers to queue up data to be output. Equipping each of these components with relatively large buffers prevents the further reduction in cost to manufacture the EQAM. Also, processing the buffered data can produce delays that can be sufficient to disrupt operation of the cable modems. The disclosure that follows solves this and other problems.

Timed packet processing to regulate data transfer between components of a gateway for a constant delay network


A new cultivar of Cordyline plant named ‘Falcon’ that is characterized by red-brown leaves and a compact habit.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Cordyline baueri and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Falcon'. The new cultivar was discovered by the inventor in a seed bed of Cordyline baueri in a cultivated area of Whenuapai, New Zealand in 1999. The exact parents are unknown. 'Falcon' was selected as a single plant.
The new Cordyline plant 'Falcon' is distinct and unique due to its red-brown leaves and compact habit.
The new cultivar was first asexually propagated by tissue culture in Hastings, New Zealand in 2000. Since that time, under careful observation, the unique characteristics of the new cultivar have been uniform, stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.


Display devices and composites for making display devices are disclosed. Some embodiments include a display device having an inorganic electroluminescent layer, an active matrix layer; an inorganic polarizing layer, a liquid crystal layer, and a color filtering layer. Some embodiments include a composite having an inorganic polarizing layer and inorganic electroluminescent layer. Methods of making and using the display device and composite are also disclosed.

Liquid crystal displays can include a liquid crystal cell, conductive electrodes and polarizing layers. The conductive electrodes can include a thin film transistor layer (or TFT layer) to provide an active matrix display. A backlight can provide lighting for the liquid crystal panel to selectively transmit. The backlight can be, for example, an organic electroluminescent device.
Liquid crystal displays can be prepared by forming an organic electroluminescent device on a lower glass substrate and the TFT layer on an upper glass substrate. The separate substrates can be combined with the other components to form the liquid crystal display. As another example, the organic electroluminescent display is formed on the outer side of a glass substrate of a liquid crystal display after a TFT layer has been formed.

Display devices including inorganic components and methods of making and using the same


A recording apparatus includes a recording head that performs recording on a recording medium, a medium support member that is disposed at a position where the medium support member can face the recording head and supports the recording medium, and a reinforcing member that is attached below the medium support member and has a greater rigidity than the medium support member. The medium support member includes a rigidity reduction unit that reduces the rigidity of the medium support member in a direction intersecting a transport direction of the recording medium.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium.
In the present application, types of the recording apparatus include a serial printer that performs recording while a recording head moves in a predetermined direction; a line printer in which a recording head does not move; and a copy machine, a facsimile, and the like that have functions of the above printers.
2. Related Art
A recording apparatus that includes a medium support unit and a base body unit is widely used in the related art (JP-A-2012-25082). The medium support unit supports a recording medium in an area where recording is performed by a recording head. The base body unit supports both end portions of the medium support unit in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium.
The medium support unit (hereinafter, referred to as "platen") is attached to the base body unit (hereinafter, referred to as "base") by a vis in the recording apparatus disclosed in JP-A-2012-25082. The recording apparatus is configured to be capable of changing the deflection of a surface of the platen where the recording medium is supported depending on the fastening state of the vis.
The height of a bearing surface on which the vis abuts in the platen is formed differently in the rotation direction of the vis in the recording apparatus. That is, the bearing surface is configured of an abutment surface on which the vis abuts and a non-abutment surface. A force that presses down the platen occurs in the abutment surface, and a repulsive force from the platen occurs in the non-abutment surface when the vis is fastened on the platen. The forces that occur in the abutment surface and the non-abutment surface negate each other. Accordingly, deflection that occurs on the support surface of the platen can be controlled. Therefore, deflection of the platen can reside within an allowable range by adjusting the fastening state of the vis.
Here, it is necessary to check how the platen is deflected when the abutment surface and the non-abutment surface are formed in the recording apparatus. In addition, the fastening state (fastening force and the like) of the vis with respect to the platen is necessary to be managed. Furthermore, the material of the platen may be changed because of measures for recording quality on the recording medium.
The platen may be deformed more than expected depending on the material of the platen when the material of the platen is changed. Accordingly, in the recording apparatus disclosed in JP-A-2012-25082, even adjusting the fastening state of the vis may not be able to resolve deformation of the platen when the platen is deformed more than expected. As a consequence, a gap between the platen and the recording head may not be uniform in the direction intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium. Therefore, recording quality on the recording medium may be degraded, and failure may occur in transporting the recording medium.
Another recording apparatus used in the related art has a configuration in which a platen is configured as a roller-shaped member, and a sheet guide auxiliary plate configured of one plate-shaped member is configured so as to abut on the platen (refer to JP-A-2010-195540). A recording medium is transported along a transport path between the platen and the sheet guide auxiliary plate in the recording apparatus disclosed in JP-A-2010-195540. The sheet guide auxiliary plate presses the recording medium against the platen to help the roller-shaped platen transport the recording medium when the recording medium is transported between the platen and the sheet guide auxiliary plate.
Furthermore, a plurality of slits are formed along the axis direction of the roller-shaped platen in the sheet guide auxiliary plate. The slits divide the upper end of the sheet guide auxiliary plate into a plurality of guide pieces. According to this configuration, a guide piece in contact with the recording medium and a guide piece at a position away from the transport position of the recording medium each independently abut on the platen when the recording medium is transported by the platen. As a consequence, inclination of the entire sheet guide auxiliary plate caused by the thickness of the recording medium can be resolved since the guide piece in contact with the recording medium is independently operated. Therefore, recording is stably performed since the inclination of the sheet guide auxiliary plate can be controlled by the slits without being affected by the thickness or the size of the recording medium.
However, when the roller-shaped platen is bent in a direction intersecting the axis line direction of the platen and is deformed, the sheet guide auxiliary plate is bent along the axis line direction along with the deformation of the platen. Therefore, deformation of the platen cannot be reduced. As a consequence, deformation of the platen may cause failure to occur in transporting the recording medium.


Apparatus for remotely sensing changes in the spatial temperature profile of a column of atmospheric air includes (a) collecting means for receiving the thermal radiation from a column of atmospheric air, and for directing it to intensity sensing means; (b) sensing means with a rotatably mounted interference bandpass filter together with means for rotating the filter for sequentially tuning to and sensing the intensity in said column of atmospheric air of at least two spectral regions in the 4.17 to 4.2 .mu.m region of the CO.sub.2 spectral emission band; and (c) means for detecting temporal changes in the relative intensity of the spectral regions.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,447 to Barrett discloses and claims apparatus for detecting air turbulence (windshear as well as clear air turbulence) in navigable airspace by remotely sensing changes in the spatial temperature profile in the air column ahead of an aircraft by repeatedly sensing the intensity of the thermal radiation from the column of atmospheric air in at least two spectral peaks in the 4.17 .mu.m to 4.2 .mu.m region of the CO.sub.2 spectral emission band, and comparing the relative intensity of the spectral peaks over time. The apparatus utilizes a tunable Fabry-Perot etalon in combination with a bandpass filter for selecting the spectral emission bands. Tunable Fabry-Perot etalons are relatively expensive, delicate components. The present invention provides simplified apparatus which avoids the need for the Fabry-Perot etalon, by substituting a rotatably mounted bandpass filter for the etalon/filter combination of the prior art. The filter has a broader transmission region than the Fabry-Perot etalon. Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the relative intensity of such broader spectral regions (which may contain one or more spectral peaks) within the 4.17 .mu.m to 4.2 .mu.m region of the CO.sub.2 spectral emission band is compared.


A confocal microscope comprises a light source unit having at least two light sources which generate lights having different wavelengths, an objective lens which condenses light from the light source unit on a sample, a light scanning unit which scans the light form the light source unit on the sample two-dimensionally, and a photonic crystal fiber which is disposed between the light source unit and the light scanning unit, and which propagates the light led from the light source unit to the light scanning unit side, wherein the photonic crystal fiber has a plurality of air holes arranged at a clad provided at a periphery of a core.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a confocal microscope which two-dimensionally scans a light from a point light source with respect to a sample, and which detects a light from the sample.
2. Description of the Background Art
The confocal microscope condenses a light from a point light source on a sample by an objective lens, two-dimensionally scans the condensed light point optically by using a scanner, and obtains two-dimensional information by detecting the light (in particular, fluorescence) from the sample by a photo detector via the objective lens.
In such a confocal microscope, the sample which has been labeled by a fluorescent dye or a fluorescent protein is excited by an excitation wavelength corresponding to the label.
Therefore, when a laser light source is used as a point light source, it is necessary to prepare a laser light source for each excitation wavelength region. Thereafter, laser beams from a plurality of laser light sources are led into a scanning optical system, and are respectively condensed on a sample by an objective lens via a collimator lens for each excitation wavelength region.
In this case, a focal position on the sample is adjusted by each collimator lens. Further, a light deflecting element for synthesizing these laser beams by using a dichroic mirror, etc., and the like are provided at the scanning optical system in order to lead a laser beam, for each excitation wavelength region, which has been emitted from each collimator lens.
In Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-231222, laser beams from a plurality of laser light sources are mixed so as to be incident upon one optical fiber, and an outgoing beam from the optical fiber is condensed on a sample by an objective lens via a collimator lens.
In this case, a single-mode fiber by which light propagation is carried out due to a light being confined in a core by utilizing a slight refractive index difference between a core and a clad is used as an optical fiber.
In Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-127424, there is disclosed a method for optically propagating lights of LEDs having different luminous colors by utilizing a single-mode fiber.


The present disclosure relates to an absorber column apparatus for removing a selected component of a gas. The apparatus may have a first zone, a second zone and a third zone, wherein the first and third zones form a first domain through which a first fluid laden with a select gaseous component to be removed therefrom flows along concurrently with a second fluid. The second fluid at least substantially removes the select gaseous component from the first fluid to create a third fluid. The first fluid leaves the absorber column as a fourth fluid with the select gaseous component at least substantially removed therefrom. The second zone forms an active packing zone including a structure which forms an independent second domain in thermal communication with the first domain. The second receives a quantity of the third fluid and channels it through the second zone to help cool at least one of the first and second fluids.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Most commercial and proposed CO2 capture systems use chemical solvents in a gas-liquid exchange column to separate CO2 from a mixed gas stream. One challenge with these systems is that the absorption of CO2 into the solvent is strongly exothermic, which increases the temperature of the solvent as it passes through the column. The capacity of the solvent to absorb CO2, in turn, decreases at higher temperatures, which reduces the efficiency of the system.
One solution to this challenge is intercooling, a widely used technology (see, e.g., Wang et al., "Post-combustion CO2 capture with chemical absorption: a state-of-the-art review," Chemical engineering research and design 89.9 (2011): 1609-162 2011). In traditional 'in-and-out' intercooling, the solvent is withdrawn part way up the column, cooled using an external unit, and then reinjected back into the absorption column. Intercooling reduces the magnitude of the temperature bulge, increasing the thermodynamic driving force for gas absorption and reducing the column height required for a given degree of separation. Various patents for intercooling technologies were described by Le Moullec et al., "Process modifications for solvent-based post-combustion CO2 capture" International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 31 (2014): 96-112. (2014). While the cooling load for intercooling is usually supplied externally, at least one approach has proposed supplying this cooling load in a traditional in-out intercooler by heating the cool rich stream (see, e.g., Geleff et al., "Method for recovery of carbon dioxide from a gaseous source," Union Engineering," WO2004/073838 (2004)).
Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) geometries produced via additive manufacturing techniques have been investigated in membrane reactor systems (see, e.g., Femmer et al., "Estimation of the structure dependent performance of 3-D rapid prototyped membranes," Chemical Engineering Journal 273 (2015): 438-4452015) and heat exchanger designs (see, e.g., Chandrasekaran, "3D Printed Heat Exchangers An Experimental Study," Mechanical Engineering (2018). The assignee of the present disclosure previously submitted a patent for TPMS heat exchangers, which is the subject of US 2020/0215480, published Jul. 9, 2020, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure. The intensified heat exchange and geometric nature (two separate but intertwined volume domains) of TPMS structures allows a new kind of intercooling: in-line intercooling. With in-line intercooling, the flows through the gas-liquid exchange column remain continuous, but a secondary cooling fluid is flowed through an internal, separate set of channels in a portion of the column. TPMS geometries are not strictly required for in-line intercooling, but are advantageous compared to other known designs, such as the heat exchange packing designed by Miramontes et al., "Additively Manufactured Packed Bed Device For Process Intensification Of CO2 Absorption And Other Chemical Processes," Chemical Engineering Journal 388 (2020) 124092.

System and method for integrated absorber intercooling via rich solvent stream using 3D-printed active packings

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC


The doll has the peculiarity that the movement towards the right or towards the left of one of its arms carries with it the same movement of the head and also of the eyes. Likewise, the movement upwards or downwards of the arm carries with it the movement upwards and downwards of the head. Both movements can be made in combination, whereby any object (dummy, feeding bottle or similar) held in the hand of the driven arm, is carried towards the upper-front part, in such a way that if it is a feeding bottle this one is applied to the mouth of the doll and a miction of the doll is produced. Such movements are achieved as a consequence that the driven arm and the head are assembled on the body of the doll, through both ball joints, through a series of levers, axles and forks as so as to allow of transmission of the movements of a main lever associated to the ball joint of the arm, up to the ball joint itself of the head. FIG. 1.

The invention relates to a doll provided with movement of an arm and head, which has been designed and made based on the independent movements, but with marked rhythm, of one of the arms and the doll head, this doll simulates natural movements such as putting the dummy into its mouth, making sound with the rattle, putting the feeding bottle into its mouth and drinking its content, in which case the doll simultaneously performs the urinating physiological function. Furthermore these movements are complemented with its eyes lateral movements.
Numerous types of dolls are known that perform different movements, starting up with walking to moving all the other members, including the head, and even to perform simultaneous jumping movements, etc.
In all the cases, the doll in question has a high cost, due to the fact that in order to produce the different movements highly complex mechanisms are required, both from the structural point of view as well as from the functional one.
It is also unknown the existence of dolls that perform simultaneous movements of an arm and the head, and that those movements are with marked rhythm in the same way as it is really in human bodies in order to perform the above mentioned functions.
More precisely the doll which is proposed has the peculiarity that one of its arms, precisely the left one, is assembled on the body of the doll through a ball joint which makes possible to perform both to the right as well as to the left movements, and both ascending as well as descending movement, of the -arm itself. Those movements are independent, although the user can perform the movements simultaneously.
The movements in question are achieved based on an articulated lever in the inside of the ball joint, which lever swivels towards the front and backwards driving a set of levers, axles and components, as well as a gear, in order to transmit the produced movement to the doll up to the head of the doll itself, being such head also assembled by means of a ball joint that can swivel, depending on the movement produced on the arm, towards the left side or towards the right side, or also upward or downward movements. Simultaneously to the movements of the doll's arm towards the right side or towards the left side, the movements of the eyes are also produced towards the right or towards the left, since the assembling means of such eyes are linked to a flexible axle which is driven with the means that produce the head movements.
Finally, it deals with a doll that when moving an arm in ascending/descending direction, it moves simultaneously the head upward or downward, respectively, and vice versa. Likewise, when moving the referred arm towards the right or towards the left, the head will be simultaneously moved towards the right or towards the left, and vice versa. In this movement, the eyes are moved in the same way, that is, towards the same side as the head.
The configuration and assembling of the arm which when moving are such, that having an accessory in its hands, for example, a feeding bottle, when rising the arm and turning the head, will place the feeding bottle in an opening located in the mouth, in such a way that if the user presses the feeding bottle the water or liquid contained in the feeding bottle passes into the doll, and through a flexible duct foreseen to this effect, reaches the urinary apparatus of the doll and the direct exit of the water or liquid is produced, in an action which simulates a real miction.
Likewise, the doll can hold with the hand of its movable arm, any other type of accessory, such as a dummy that will place near its mouth; being able also to hold a rattle and by means of movements of the arm the rattle will accompany those movements producing the corresponding sound.
In order to complete the description that is going to be carried out below and with the purpose of helping to a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a detailed description is going to be carried out based on a set of drawings which are accompanying this specification, forming an integral part thereof, and wherein by way of illustration and not by way of limitation the following has been represented:

Doll provided with movement of an arm and head


One exemplary embodiment of an electrochromic device comprises a tantalum-nitride ion-blocking layer formed between a transparent conductive layer and an electrochromic layer. Another exemplary embodiment of an electrochromic device comprises a tantalum-nitride ion-blocking layer formed between a transparent conductive layer and a counter electrode. Yet another exemplary embodiment of an electrochromic device comprises a type-2 ion-blocking layer formed on a transparent conductive layer as an ion diffusion barrier overlayer. Still another exemplary embodiment of an electrochromic device comprises a transparent conductive layer formed from tantalum nitride.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to electrochromic (EC) devices. More particularly, the subject matter disclosed herein relates to maintaining the stability of a conductive layer of an electrochromic (EC) device by placing next to the transparent conductor layer an ion barrier layer comprising good electron conducting properties.
The field of electrochromics is extensive and has been developing over the last forty years. For window glazings, electrochromic coatings serve to control the amount of light and heat passing through the glazing by user-controlled applied electrical potentials across the optical stack of the coating. Not only can electrochromic coatings for window glazing reduce the amount of room heating or air conditioning, but it can also be used for privacy. By switching from a clear state having an optical transmission of about 60-80%, to a darkened state having an optical transmission of between 0.1-10%, control of both privacy and energy flow into a room through a window can be achieved. Similarly, a transparent-to-reflective EC device has recently been developed that accomplishes similar heat and/or air conditioning savings. Because the amount of glass used for various types of windows, such as skylights, aircraft windows, residential and commercial building windows, automobile windows, is on the order of one-billion square meters per year, the amount of energy savings is substantial. See, for example, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, (1994) 307-321.
During the time period that the field of electrochromics has been developing, various constructs have been proposed for electrochromic devices, including solution-phase electrochromic devices, solid-state electrochromic devices, gasochromic devices, and photochromic devices. A typical electrochromic cell generally comprises the following construction: Substrate/transparent conductive layer/counter electrode/ion conductor layer/electrochromic layer/transparent conductive layer.
Electrochromic devices require at least one transparent electrical conductor that, for example, can be composed of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), 80-90% indium oxide with a minor amount of ITO, or fluorine-doped tin oxide (SnO2:F, also abbreviated as FTO), or aluminum doped ZnO (ZnO:Al), sometimes abbreviated as AZO. Recently, in 2006, amorphous zinc indium tin oxide (ZITO) has been disclosed. The transparent conductor is located next to either the cathodic electrochromic layer or next to the anodic counter electrode of an electrochromic device. In order for an electrochromic device to operate efficiently, the transparent conductor layer must maintain its integrity in terms of transparency and conductivity.
Various types of transparent conducting thin films have been employed, such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), which is the most commonly used material, although thin metal layers, and fluorine and antimony doped tin oxide, aluminum and fluorine doped aluminum oxide have been used. In any event, conductivities of less than 20Ω/□ are needed in order to produce a uniform voltage across the face of the conductive layers. Conductivities of even lower than 20Ω/□ are needed for large panes of glass measuring 3-4 feet across.
Depending on the thickness and deposition process when ITO is used, ITO can have a resistance as low as 10Ω/□ and an overall transmission of 90% in the visible-wavelength range. To achieve 90% transmission in the visible-wavelength range, however, the resistance must be >100Ω/□. Typically, ITO has a resistivity of between about 1×10−3 to about 5.0×10−4 Ω-cm. See, for example, S. A Bashar, "Study of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) for Novel Optoelectronic Devices" Ph.D. Ph.D thesis, www.betelco.com/sb/phd/index.html, 1998, which is incorporated by reference herein.
In comparison to ITO, ZITO has an average transmission greater than 85% across the visible-wavelength range. A maximum conductivity of 6×102 S cm−1 is obtained for Zn/In/Sn atomic ratio 0.4/0.4/0.2 in the film. See, for example, K. J. Saji et al., "Optical and electrical properties of co-sputtered amorphous transparent conducting zinc indium tin oxide thin films," Thin Solid Films, Volume 516, Issue 18, Pages 6002-6007 (2008).
The conductivity of ITO has been studied extensively and it is believed that the conductivity is due to oxygen vacancies and to the +4 oxidation state of tin providing electrons to the conduction band. The ITO stoichiometry is complex and it is believed to be a mixture of Sn+2, Sn+4 and In+3 bonded to oxygen atoms. If a reducing agent is present, more Sn+2 can be formed, which has shown to reduce the level of conductivity. As ions (Li+, H+ or Na+) are shuttled back and forth, ions may migrate into the transparent conductive layer causing loss of electron conductance in the cell itself as these ions become trapped with the ITO structure, possibly at grain boundaries or at oxygen vacancies. So loss of conductivity in the transparent conductive layer can arise from loss of ions from the EC device (becoming fixed in the ITO layer) or due to formation of Sn+2 and/or metallic particles of Sn or In.
During the manufacture of the cathodic EC layer, lithium is added by co-sputtering to insert lithium into the structure. Metallic lithium is a strong reducing agent and if it comes in contact with the ITO, reduction of the ITO can occur (formation of Sn+2 or metallic Sn or In atoms within the matrix). This results in loss of conductivity and formation of darker ITO (loss of transparency).
In a typical absorptive solid-state electrochromic device, there are five components in the optical stack, a transparent conducting layer, an electrochromic layer (cathode), an ion storage layer, a counter electrode layer (anode) and finally another transparent conductor layer. Cathodic materials, called the "Electrochromic Electrodes," for all solid-state devices include tungsten oxide, WO3 (most common), vanadium oxide (V2O5), molybdenum oxide (MO3), niobium oxide (Nb2O3) and iridium oxide (IrO2). Anodic materials, called the "Counter Electrodes," include nickel oxide (NiO), nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2, and tungsten-doped NiO. The ion layer is formed from materials that exhibit a poor electron conductor, but a good ion conductor. Examples of such materials include SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, and Ta2O5.
If a voltage of between 1-3 V is applied between the first and second transparent conducting layers, the following reactions take place: At the anode, the following reaction takes place:
Metal Oxide or Polymer or Organic Molecule (Colored)+xM++xe−Metal Oxide or Polymer or Organic Molecule (Transparent), in which M is H+, Li+ or Na+, e is an electron, and x is an integer.
At the cathode, the following reaction takes place:
Metal Oxide or Polymer or Organic Molecule (Transparent)+xM++xe−Metal Oxide or Polymer or Organic Molecule (Colored), in which M is H+, Li+ or Na+, e is an electron, and x is an integer.
In contrast to an absorptive solid-state electrochromic cell described above, reflective devices have an electrochromic layer that change from a transparent state to a reflective state. Two types of reflective electrochromic devices have been developed: (1) devices that use reflective metals as the active electrochromic layer that, when exposed to molecular hydrogen, become transparent as metal hydrides, and (2) devices that use reflective materials as the active electrochromic layer based on antimony or bismuth that, upon insertion of lithium ions, becomes transparent by an application of a current in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
For the first type of reflective electrochromic devices, a similar reaction takes place electrochemically when the ion layer is an alkali solution layer and a voltage is applied across the cell. In this instance, the alkali water is converted to hydrogen when the voltage is about −1 V below the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) potential. By convention, this is set at 0 V for the pressure of hydrogen at 1 atmosphere and the solution is a hydrogen acid in which the mean ionic activity is 1.0 (i.e., 2H++2e−=H2 Half cell potential is zero).
The conversion of alkali water to hydrogen is shown in the equation below:4H2O+4e−=2H2+4OH−−1.6V4OH−=2H2O+O2+4e−+0.80V2H2O=2H2 (at cathode)+O2 (at anode)−0.8V.
Placing +1.0 V across the cell will force the reaction to proceed and form hydrogen gas as a positive emf drives the reaction. Reducing the voltage to −0.6 V on the cathode (−0.2 V relative to standard hydrogen electrode) allows the reaction to reverse itself and the hydrogen is removed from the metal hydride to from a reflective metallic layer.
For the first type of reflective electrochromic devices, U.S. Pat. No. 6,647,166 B2 to Richardson discloses details of the construction of metal-to-metal hydride EC devices, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,042,615 B2 to Richardson, the disclosure of which is also incorporated by reference herein, discloses the concept of electrochromic devices comprising a reflective to transparent EC layer of Sb, Bi, and like materials, such as Mg, Mg—Ti, Mg—Ni, Sb—Cu, Sb—Al, as well as metal chalcogenides, such as TiS2, NbSe and tellurides, such NbTe2.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,594 to Hass et al. discloses use of ion blocking, optically transparent, electronically conductive layers situated between the transparent conductor layer, i.e., ITO layer, and/or between the counter electrode and the other transparent conductive layer, i.e., the other ITO layer. Hass et al. discloses that layers of ZnO, CdO or SiC are used for blocking block ion transport, i.e., lithium ions from entering the ITO matrix.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,869 to Goldner et al., however, disclose that although ZnO, CdO and SiC are generally satisfactory at blocking the migration of lithium ions, these materials are not sufficiently electrically conductive, thereby resulting in electrochromic windows with very poor transmissity switching behavior, very slow switching and/r relatively high voltages needed for switching. Accordingly, Goldner et al. uses two other materials, n- and p-type lithiated silicon carbide, although n-type silicon carbide was the material preferred by Goldner et al. Forming n-type silicon carbide requires the simultaneous deposition of Li2CO3 and silicon carbide (SiC). Goldner et al. accomplished this by using pellets of Li2CO3 distributed over a target of SiC or by having separate targets of SiC and Li2CO3 oriented toward the substrate each with their independently controlled RF power supply.

Electrical characteristics of electrochromic devices


Embodiments generally describe systems, devices, and methods for focusing and calibrating beam profilers. A test object is provided that may include an internal housing rotatable within an external housing. The internal housing may house a light source, a collimator, a filter, and/or a diffuser. A plate may be mounted to the internal housing and may include a plurality of markings. In some embodiments, to focus a beam profiler, the test object may be positioned adjacent the converter plate of a beam profiler. Marker images may be captured and a focus quality may be assessed therefrom. A position of the converter, objective, and/or camera of the beam profiler may be adjusted based on the focus quality. To calibrate, images of the markings in several rotational positions may be captured and used for calibration. The markings may be rotated to several positions by rotating the internal housing relative to the external housing.

The present invention generally relates to beam profiler systems and more particularly to systems and methods for focusing and geometrically calibrating a beam profiler.
A UV light beam profiler is a metrological imaging tool for determination of geometrical parameters of a beam profile, such as, size, position, uniformity, shape, and others. It may be used in military, medical, and commercial applications where precise control of UV light beam parameters is desired. Like other metrological devices, the beam profiler should be calibrated every time after assembly, repair (e.g., component replacement or the like), alignment, realignment, and for verification sake. This calibration requirement may be costly, time intensive, or not readily possible if the beam profiler cannot be easily removed from the field or an integrated system. Additionally, for some beam profilers to work properly, the beam profiler should be focused properly.

Systems, devices, and methods for calibration of beam profilers


A method for parking a vehicle in a parking spot comprises scanning objects to determine if a feasible parking space is available, the neighboring objects including at least one object either in front of or behind the vehicle and at least one object alongside the vehicle; determine whether there is a sufficient slot length in which to park the vehicle and to determine a height of the object alongside which the vehicle is to be parked in order to park the vehicle at a lateral distance from the object alongside the vehicle dependent upon the particular height of such object relative to a height of a bottom of a door; and parking the vehicle in the space wherein the vehicle is parked at the lateral distance from the object vehicle based upon the detected height of such object relative to the height of the bottom of the door.

This invention relates in general to vehicle park assist systems and in particular to an improved park assist system and method for parking of such a vehicle.
Vehicle park assist systems are used to identify a feasible parking space, e.g., a parallel parking space or a garage parking space, and then take over the steering of the vehicle to maneuver the vehicle into the identified space hands free. During operation, the driver still shifts the transmission and operates the gas and brake pedals. Thus, while the steering is done automatically, the driver is still responsible for safe parking of the vehicle.
One known vehicle park assist system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,526,368 to Endo et al. and includes an electronic control unit (ECU) for parking assistance, a back camera connected to the ECU, a touch display connected to the ECU, and an electric power assisted steering (EPS) apparatus connected to the ECU. In operation, the back camera takes an image of an area extending on a rear side of the vehicle and supplies the image information around the rear of the vehicle to the parking assistance ECU. The parking assistance ECU displays a real picture taken by the back camera to the touch display when a shift position of the vehicle is at a reverse position. The touch display is provided with a touch operation part of a pressure sensitive type or a temperature sensitive type which enables operation by the vehicle driver to set a target parking position on the display by displacing the picture of the vehicle taken by the back camera into a parking space frame on the touch display. In the Endo et al. system, after the target parking position is set by the driver via manual manipulation of the vehicle into a parking space frame on the touch display, the parking assistance ECU performs an automatic steering of the EPS along a calculated path to the target parking position.
Known park assist systems for vehicles are configured to assume that the vehicle is parking against a wall at all times. This is done in order to allow sufficient room for the associated vehicle door to be opened to allow either a passenger(s) from within enough room to open the associated door(s) to exit the vehicle and/or a passenger(s) from outside the vehicle enough room to open the associated door(s) to enter into the vehicle. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a park assist system and method for parking a vehicle which could recognize and distinguish between parking adjacent a wall or other high height object, a curb or other low height object, or any other associated objects in order to optimize the desired end parking position of the vehicle while still allowing sufficient space for the door to be opened for passenger exit and entry.

Vehicle park assist system and method for parking a vehicle using such system


Disclosed herein is an improved architecture for regular expression pattern matching. Improvements to pattern matching deterministic finite automatons (DFAs) that are described by the inventors include a pipelining strategy that pushes state-dependent feedback to a final pipeline stage to thereby enhance parallelism and throughput, augmented state transitions that track whether a transition is indicative of a pattern match occurring thereby reducing the number of necessary states for the DFA, augmented state transition that track whether a transition is indicative of a restart to the matching process, compression of the DFA's transition table, alphabet encoding for input symbols to equivalence class identifiers, the use of an indirection table to allow for optimized transition table memory, and enhanced scalability to facilitate the ability of the improved DFA to process multiple input symbols per cycle.

Advances in network and storage-subsystem design continue to push the rate at which data streams must be processed between and within computer systems. Meanwhile, the content of such data streams is subjected to ever increasing scrutiny, as components at all levels mine the streams for patterns that can trigger time sensitive action. Patterns can include not only constant strings (e.g., "dog" and "cat") but also specifications that denote credit card numbers, currency values, or telephone numbers to name a few. A widely-used pattern specification language is the regular expression language. Regular expressions and their implementation via deterministic finite automatons (DFAs) is a well-developed field. See Hopcroft and Ullman, Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation, Addison Wesley, 1979, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. A DFA is a logical representation that defines the operation of a state machine, as explained below. However, the inventors herein believe that a need in the art exists for improving the use of regular expressions in connection with high performance pattern matching.
For some applications, such as packet header filtering, the location of a given pattern may be anchored, wherein anchoring describes a situation where a match occurs only if the pattern begins or ends at a set of prescribed locations within the data stream. More commonly, in many applications, a pattern can begin or end anywhere within the data stream (e.g., unstructured data streams, packet payloads, etc.). Some applications require a concurrent imposition of thousands of patterns at every byte of a data stream. Examples of such applications include but are not limited to:                network intrusion detection/prevention systems (which typically operate using a rule base of nearly 10,000 patterns (see Roesch, M., "Snort—lightweight intrusion detection for networks", LISA '99: 13th Systems Administration Conference, pp. 229-238, 1999, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference));        email monitoring systems which scan outgoing email for inappropriate or illegal content;        spam filters which impose user-specific patterns to filter incoming email;        virus scanners which filters for signatures of programs known to be harmful; and        copyright enforcement programs which scan media files or socket streams for pirated content.In applications such as these, the set of patterns sought within the data streams can change daily.
Today's conventional high-end workstations cannot keep pace with pattern matching applications given the speed of data streams originating from high speed networks and storage subsystems. To address this performance gap, the inventors herein turn to architectural innovation in the formulation and realization of DFAs in pipelined architectures (e.g., hardware logic, networked processors, or other pipelined processing systems).
A regular expression r denotes a regular language L(r), where a language is a (possibly infinite) set of (finite) strings. Each string is comprised of symbols drawn from an alphabet Σ. The syntax of a regular expression is defined inductively, with the following basic expressions:                any symbol α∈Σ denotes {α};        the symbol λ denotes the singleton set containing an empty (zero-width) string; and        the symbol φ denotes the empty set.
Each of the foregoing is a regular language. Regular expressions of greater complexity can be constructed using the union, concatenation, and Kleene-closure operators, as is well-known in the art. Symbol-range specifiers and clause repetition factors are typically offered for syntactic convenience. While any of the well-known regular expression notations and extensions are suitable for use in the practice of the present invention, the description herein and the preferred embodiment of the present invention supports the perl notation and extensions for regular expressions due to perl's popularity.
As noted above, regular expressions find practical use in a plethora of searching applications including but not limited to file searching and network intrusion detection systems. Most text editors and search utilities specify search targets using some form of regular expression syntax. As an illustrative example, using perl syntax, the pattern shown in FIG. 1 is intended to match strings that denote US currency values:                a backslash "\" precedes any special symbol that is to be taken literally;        the low- and high-value of a character range is specified using a dash "-";        the "+" sign indicates that the preceding expression can be repeated one or more times;        a single number in braces indicates that the preceding expression can be repeated exactly the designated number of times; and        a pair of numbers in braces indicates a range of repetitions for the preceding expression.Thus, strings that match the above expression begin with the symbol "$", followed by some positive number of decimal digits; that string may optionally be followed by a decimal point "." and exactly two more decimal digits. In practice, a pattern for such matches may also specify that the match be surrounded by some delimiter (such as white space) so that the string "$347.12" yields one match instead of four matches (i.e., "$3", "$34", "$347", "$347.12").
Applications that use regular expressions to specify patterns of interest typically operate as follows: Given a regular expression r and a target string t (typically the contents of some input stream such as a file), find all substrings of t in L(r). The substrings are typically reported by their position within t. Thus, unless otherwise stated, it is generally intended that the pattern r is applied at every position in the target and that all matches are reported.
The simplest and most practical mechanism for recognizing patterns specified using regular expressions is the DFA, which is formally described as the 5-tuple:(Q, Σ, qo, δ, A)where:                Q is a finite set of states        Σ is an alphabet of input symbols.        q0∈ Q is the DFA's initial state        δ is a transition function: Q×ΣHQ        A⊂Q is a set of accepting states
A DFA operates as follows. It begins in state qo. If the DFA is in state q, then the next input symbol a causes a transition determined by δ(q, a). If the DFA effects a transition to a state q ∈ A, then the string processed up to that point is accepted and is in the language recognized by the DFA. As an illustrative example, the regular expression of FIG. 1 can be translated into the canonical DFA shown in FIG. 2 using a sequence of well-known steps, including a step that makes the starting position for a match arbitrary (unanchored) (see the Hopcroft and Ullman reference cited above). For convenience, the DFA of FIG. 2 uses the term "[0-9]" to denote the set {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} and uses the symbol "˜" to denote all symbols of Σ not in the set {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, $, .}.
The construction of a DFA typically involves an intermediate step in which a nondeterministic finite automaton (NFA) is constructed. An NFA differs from a DFA in that whereas a DFA is a finite state machine that allows at most one transition for each input symbol and state, an NFA is a finite state machine that allows for more than one transition for each input symbol and state. Also, every regular language has a canonical DFA that is obtained by minimizing the number of states needed to recognize that language. Unless specified otherwise herein, it should be assumed that all automata are in canonical (deterministic) form.
However, for the purpose of pattern matching, the inventors herein believe that the DFA shown in FIG. 2 is deficient in the following respects:                Symbols not in the alphabet of the regular expression will cause the DFA to block. For pattern-matching, such symbols should be ignored by a DFA so that it can continue to search for matches. This deficiency can be overcome by completing the DFA as follows:                    The alphabet is widened to include any symbol that might occur in the target string. In this description, it is assumed that Σ is the ASCII character set comprising 256 symbols.            The DFA is augmented with a new state U:Q←Q∪{U}            The transition function δ is completed by defining δ (q, a)=U for all q∈Q, a ∈Σ for which δ was previously undefined.                        A match will be found only if it originates at the first character of the target string. Pattern-matching applications are concerned with finding all occurrences of the denoted pattern at any position in the target. This deficiency can be overcome by allowing the DFA to restart at every position. Formally, a λ transition is inserted from every q∈Q to qo.The result of the above augmentation is an NFA that can be transformed into a canonical DFA through known techniques to obtain the DFA. FIG. 3 provides an illustrative example of such a canonical DFA.
A DFA is typically implemented interpretively by realizing its transitions δ as a table: each row corresponds to a state of the DFA and each column corresponds to an input symbol. The transition table for the DFA of FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. 4. If the alphabet Σ for the DFA is the ASCII character set (as is often the case in many applications), then the transition table of FIG. 4 would have 256 columns. Each entry in the transition table of FIG. 4 comprises a next state identifier. The transition table of FIG. 4 works thusly: if the DFA's current state is B and the next input symbol is 2, then the transition table calls for a transition to state D as "D" is the next state identifier that is indexed by current state B and input symbol 2. In the description herein, states are labeled by letters to avoid confusion with symbol encodings. However, it is worth noting that in practice, states are typically represented by an integer index in the transition table.
The inventors herein believe that the pattern matching techniques for implementing DFAs in a pipelined architecture can be greatly improved via the novel pattern matching architecture disclosed herein. According to one aspect of the present invention, a pipelining strategy is disclosed that defers all state-dependent (iterative, feedback dependent) operations to the final stage of the pipeline. Preferably, transition table lookups operate to retrieve all transition table entries that correspond to the input symbol(s) being processed by the DFA. Retrievals of transition entries from a transition table memory will not be based on the current state of the DFA. Instead, retrievals from the transition table memory will operate to retrieve a set of stored transition entries based on data corresponding to the input symbol(s) being processed.
In a preferred embodiment where alphabet encoding is used to map the input symbols of the input data stream to equivalence class identifiers (ECIs), these transition table entries are indirectly indexed to one or more input symbols by data corresponding to ECIs. This improvement allows for the performance of single-cycle state transition decisions, enables the use of more complex compression and encoding techniques, and increases the throughput and scalability of the architecture.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the transitions of the transition table preferably include a match flag that indicates whether a match of an input symbol string to the pattern has occurred upon receipt of the input symbol(s) that caused the transition. Similarly, the transitions of the transition table preferably include a match restart flag that indicates whether the matching process has restarted upon receipt of the input symbol(s) that caused the transition. The presence of a match flag in each transition allows for the number of states in the DFA to be reduced relative to traditional DFAs because the accepting states can be eliminated and rolled into the match flags of the transitions. The presence of a match restart flag allows the DFA to identify the substring of the input stream that matches an unanchored pattern. Together, the presence of these flags in the transitions contribute to another aspect of the present invention—wherein the preferred DFA is configured with an ability to scale upward in the number of bytes processed per cycle. State transitions can be triggered by a sequence of m input symbols, wherein m is greater than or equal to 1 (rather than being limited to processing only a single input symbol per clock cycle). Because of the manner by which the transitions include match flags and match restart flags, as disclosed herein, the DFA will still be able to detect when and where matches occur in the input stream as a result of the leading or an intermediate input symbol of the sequence of m input symbols that are processed together by the DFA as a group.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, incremental scaling, compression and character-encoding techniques are used to substantially reduce the resources required to realize a high throughput DFA. For example, run-length coding can be used to reduce the amount of memory consumed by (i.e., compress) the DFA's transition table. Furthermore, the state selection logic can then operate on the run-length coded transitions to determine the next state for the DFA. Masking can be used in the state selection logic to remove from consideration portions of the transition table memory words that do not contain transitions that correspond to the ECI of the input symbol(s) being processed.
Also, according to yet another aspect of the present invention, a layer of indirection can be used to map ECIs to transitions in the transition table memory. This layer of indirection allows for the use of various optimization techniques that are effective to optimize the run-length coding process for the transition entries in the transition table memory and optimize the process of effectively packing the run-length coded transition entries into words of the transition table memory such that the number of necessary accesses to transition table memory can be minimized. With the use of indirection, the indirection entries in the indirection table memory can be populated to configure the mappings of ECIs to transition entries in the transition table memory such that those mappings take into consideration any optimization processes that were performed on the transition entries in the transition table memory.
Furthermore, according to another aspect of the present invention, disclosed herein is an optimization algorithm for ordering the DFA states in the transition table, thereby improving the DFA's memory requirements by increasing the efficiency of the run-length coded transitions.
Further still, disclosed herein is an optimization algorithm for efficiently packing the transition table entries into memory words such that the number of transition table entries sharing a common corresponding input symbol (or derivative thereof such as ECI) that span multiple memory words is minimized. This memory packing process operates to improve the DFA's throughput because the efficient packing of memory can reduce the number of memory accesses that are needed when processing one or more input symbols.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the patterns applied during a search can be changed dynamically without altering the logic of the pipeline architecture itself. A regular expression compiler need only populate the transition table memory, indirection table, ECI mapping tables, and related registers to reprogram the pattern matching pipeline to a new regular expression.
Based on the improvements to DFA design presented herein, the inventors herein believe that the throughput and density achieved by the preferred embodiment of the present invention greatly exceed other known pattern matching solutions.
These and other inventive features of the present invention are described hereinafter and will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon a review of the following specification and figures.

Method and device for high performance regular expression pattern matching


The technology described herein generally relates to systems for extracting polynucleotides from multiple samples, particularly from biological samples, and additionally to systems that subsequently amplify and detect the extracted polynucleotides. The technology more particularly relates to microfluidic systems that carry out PCR on multiple samples of nucleotides of interest within microfluidic channels, and detect those nucleotides. The technology still more particularly relates to automated devices for carrying out pipetting operations, particularly on samples in parallel, consistent with sample preparation and delivery of PCR-ready nucleotide extracts to a cartridge wherein PCR is run.

The medical diagnostics industry is a critical element of today's healthcare infrastructure. At present, however, diagnostic analyses no matter how routine have become a bottleneck in patient care. There are several reasons for this. First, many diagnostic analyses can only be done with highly specialist equipment that is both expensive and only operable by trained clinicians. Such equipment is found in only a few locations—often just one in any given urban area. This means that most hospitals are required to send out samples for analyses to these locations, thereby incurring shipping costs and transportation delays, and possibly even sample loss or mishandling. Second, the equipment in question is typically not available 'on-demand' but instead runs in batches, thereby delaying the processing time for many samples because they must wait for a machine to fill up before they can be run.
Understanding that sample flow breaks down into several key steps, it would be desirable to consider ways to automate as many of these as possible. For example, a biological sample, once extracted from a patient, must be put in a form suitable for a processing regime that typically involves using PCR to amplify a vector of interest. Once amplified, the presence of a nucleotide of interest from the sample needs to be determined unambiguously. Preparing samples for PCR is currently a time-consuming and labor intensive step, though not one requiring specialist skills, and could usefully be automated. By contrast, steps such as PCR and nucleotide detection have customarily only been within the compass of specially trained individuals having access to specialist equipment.
Sample preparation is labor intensive in part because of the number of reagents required, and the need for multiple liquid transfer (e.g., pipetting) operations. Thus, there is a need for an automated pipetting apparatus, particularly one that can operate on multiple samples in parallel.
The discussion of the background herein is included to explain the context of the inventions described herein. This is not to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published, known, or part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of any of the claims.
Throughout the description and claims of the specification the word "comprise" and variations thereof, such as "comprising" and "comprises", is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

Automated pipetting apparatus having a combined liquid pump and pipette head system


In a dual-frequency CW radar apparatus, first/second beat signals that include reflection components of radar waves conforming to transmission signals of first/second frequencies are generated for each antenna element and the generated signals are Fourier transformed. A power spectrum average of the beat signals is used as a basis for the detection of a peak frequency fp corresponding to the frequency of the reflection components. A second eigenvalue λ2 of a correlation matrix: Ry=(½)·[y1,y2][y1,y2]H is calculated, the matrix being based on first received vector y1/second received vector y2 having elements that are Fourier transformed values of the peak frequency fp. Based on the magnitude of the eigenvalue λ2, whether or not the reflection components corresponding to the peak frequency fp are synthetic components of the reflected waves from a plurality of targets is decided.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a radar apparatus.
Background Art
Conventionally, as an example of a radar apparatus, a dual-frequency CW (continuous wave) radar apparatus is known. In the dual-frequency CW radar apparatus, two radar waves having different frequencies are emitted. Then, based on the received signals of the reflected waves, the distance to the target that has reflected the radar waves, and the speed and the azimuth of the target are detected.
Patent Literature 1 JP-A-2010-060459
According to this radar apparatus, when a plurality of targets having the same speed are present in the forward direction, the Doppler frequencies of the reflected waves that are generated by these targets may coincide with one another. This leads to the appearance of synthetic components of the reflected waves from the plurality of targets in the received signals (multipath interference conditions). Under these conditions, distances or azimuths are erroneously detected.
In light of such a problem, JP-A-2010-060459 proposes performing judgement for a plurality of times as to whether or not the signal intensity is different between receiver antennas. According to the proposal, if no judgement is made that the signal intensities are different, it is judged that multipath interference is not present. Otherwise, it is judged that multipath interference is present.
In spite of the presence of synthetic components, the signal intensity between the receiver antennas could happen to be the same. According to PTL 1, the judgement as to whether the signal intensity is different is ensured to be performed for a plurality of times at intervals to enhance the accuracy of judgement on the multipath interference conditions.
Synthetic components are generated in received signals only during a very short time. Therefore, according to the patent literature mentioned above, the judgement performed a plurality of times has a limitation in enhancing the accuracy of judgement on the multipath interference conditions. Further, since a judgement has to be made a plurality of times, it takes time before the multipath interference conditions are detected.


A battery module is provided. The battery module includes a battery body having a plurality of unit cells arranged in series and having a respective barrier disposed between adjacent unit cells. End plates are disposed on opposite outermost sides of the battery body. A fixing unit fixes together the end plates and the battery body by enclosing an outer circumference of an assembly of the end plates and the battery body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery module, and in particular, to a battery module having an improved unit battery assembly coupling structure to minimize volume.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rechargeable battery module typically includes rechargeable batteries (also known as unit cells) connected in series.
The unit cells each include an electrode assembly having positive and negative electrodes and a separator interposed between the positive and negative electrodes, a case for receiving the electrode assembly, a cap assembly for sealing the case, and positive and negative terminals electrically connected to the positive and negative electrodes, respectively.
The unit cells are typically of a cylindrical or prismatic shape. If the unit cell is a prismatic type, the positive and negative terminals protrude out of the cap assembly so that they are exposed to the outside of the unit cell.
In the battery module having the prismatic type unit cells, the unit cells are arranged so as to alternate positive and negative terminals of one unit cell with the positive and negative terminals of an adjacent unit cell. The positive and negative terminals are connected to each other by an electric conductor. The electric conductor is typically fixed on the positive and negative terminals by nuts screw-coupled to the positive and negative terminals.
The battery module is formed by several to tens of unit cells stacked together and electrically connected to each other. In order to fix the stacked unit cells, end plates are disposed on both outermost unit cells among the stacked unit cells. The end plates are typically connected to each other by connecting rods and nuts so as to fix the stacked unit cells by applying pressing force to the stacked unit cells.
However, with the conventional battery module, it is time-consuming to connect the connecting rods to the end plates.
Furthermore, since the connecting rods and the nuts coupled to the connecting rods project to the outside of the stacked unit cells, the volume of the battery module increases. The increase in volume of the battery module, in turn, causes an increase of the volume of a device to which the battery module is typically installed. As such, device designs become limited.
Particularly, when the battery module is used as the power source for driving motors, such as those for hybrid electric vehicles, electric vehicles, electric scooters, electric bicycles, vacuum cleaners, or the like, there is a need to minimize the volume of the battery module considering the limited battery module installing space of the devices.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Battery module having an improved unit battery assembly coupling structure


The invention relates to the unexpected discovery that the removal of the sulfinate group from an organosulfinate compound can be improved in the presence of an effective amount of a Lewis acid. The invention includes a method of removing the sulfinic acid functional group from an organosulfinic acid compound, comprising reacting the organosulfinic acid compound with an effective amount of a Lewis acid.

The microbial and chemical desulfurization of fossil fuels has been an area of active investigation for over fifty years. The object of these investigations has been to develop chemical and biotechnology based methods for the pre-combustion removal of sulfur from fossil fuels, such as coal, crude oil and petroleum distillates. The driving forces for the development of desulfurization methods are the increasing levels of sulfur in fossil fuel and the increasingly stringent regulation of sulfur emissions. Monticello et al., "Practical Considerations in Biodesulfurization of Petroleum," IGT's 3d Intl. Symp. on Gas, Oil, Coal and Env. Biotech., (Dec. 3-5, 1990) New Orleans, La.
Many biocatalysts and processes have been developed to desulfurize fossil fuels, including those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,356,801, 5,358,870, 5,358,813, 5,198,341, 5,132,219, 5,344,778, 5,104,801 and 5,002,888, incorporated herein by reference. Economic analyses indicate that one limitation in the commercialization of the technology is improving the reaction rates and specific activities of the biocatalysts, such as the bacteria and enzymes that are involved in the desulfurization reactions. The reaction rates and specific activities (sulfur removed/hour/gram of biocatalyst) that have been reported in the literature are much lower than those necessary for optimal commercial technology.
Among the intermediates in the biodesulfurization of fossil fuels are organosulfinate compounds. Removal of the sulfinate group from such compounds can be accomplished enzymatically. However, known chemical, or nonenzymatic, methods for desulfurizing organosulfinates require extreme conditions, such as fused salt media and high reaction temperatures, and typically result in low yields of desulfurized products.
Therefore, there is a need for improved methods for desulfurizing organosulfinate compounds.


Methods and systems for correcting a frequency error in a digital portion of a radio broadcast signal are disclosed. The methods and systems include the steps of receiving a radio broadcast signal having an analog portion and a digital portion, separating the analog portion of the radio broadcast signal and the digital portion of the radio broadcast signal, determining a coarse frequency offset of the analog portion of the radio broadcast signal, generating an error signal for adjusting a frequency of the digital portion of the radio broadcast signal, wherein the error signal is based on the coarse frequency offset of the analog portion of the radio broadcast signal, and adjusting the frequency of the digital portion of the radio broadcast signal with the error signal that is based on the coarse frequency offset of the analog portion of the radio broadcast signal, such that a frequency error in the digital portion of the radio broadcast signal is reduced below a predetermined amount.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to radio broadcast receivers and, in particular, to methods and systems for frequency offset correction in a digital radio broadcast receiver.
2. Background Information
Digital radio broadcasting technology delivers digital audio and data services to mobile, portable, and fixed receivers. One type of digital radio broadcasting, referred to as in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcasting, uses terrestrial transmitters in the existing Medium Frequency (MF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio bands. HD Radio™ technology, developed by iBiquity Digital Corporation, is one example of an IBOC implementation for digital radio broadcasting and reception.
IBOC digital radio broadcasting signals can be transmitted in a hybrid format including an analog modulated carrier in combination with a plurality of digitally modulated carriers or in an all-digital format wherein the analog modulated carrier is not used. Using the hybrid mode, broadcasters may continue to transmit analog AM and FM simultaneously with higher-quality and more robust digital signals, allowing themselves and their listeners to convert from analog-to-digital radio while maintaining their current frequency allocations.
One feature of digital transmission systems is the inherent ability to simultaneously transmit both digitized audio and data. Thus the technology also allows for wireless data services from AM and FM radio stations. The broadcast signals can include metadata, such as the artist, song title, or station call letters. Special messages about events, traffic, and weather can also be included. For example, traffic information, weather forecasts, news, and sports scores can all be scrolled across a radio receiver's display while the user listens to a radio station.
IBOC technology can provide digital quality audio, superior to existing analog broadcasting formats. Because each IBOC signal is transmitted within the spectral mask of an existing AM or FM channel allocation, it requires no new spectral allocations. IBOC digital radio broadcasting promotes economy of spectrum while enabling broadcasters to supply digital quality audio to the present base of listeners.
Multicasting, the ability to deliver several audio programs or streams over one channel in the AM or FM spectrum, enables stations to broadcast multiple streams on separate supplemental or sub-channels of the main frequency. For example, multiple streams of data can include alternative music formats, local traffic, weather, news, and sports. The supplemental channels can be accessed in the same manner as the traditional station frequency using tuning or seeking functions. For example, if the analog modulated signal is centered at 94.1 MHz, the same broadcast in IBOC digital radio broadcasting can include supplemental channels 94.1-1, 94.1-2, and 94.1-3. Highly specialized programming on supplemental channels can be delivered to tightly targeted audiences, creating more opportunities for advertisers to integrate their brand with program content. As used herein, multicasting includes the transmission of one or more programs in a single digital radio broadcasting channel or on a single digital radio broadcasting signal. Multicast content over IBOC digital radio broadcasting transmissions can include a main program service (MPS), supplemental program services (SPS), program service data (PSD), and/or other broadcast data.
The National Radio Systems Committee, a standard-setting organization sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association, adopted an IBOC standard, designated NRSC-5A, in September 2005. NRSC-5A, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, sets forth the requirements for broadcasting digital audio and ancillary data over AM and FM broadcast channels. The standard and its reference documents contain detailed explanations of the RF/transmission subsystem and the transport and service multiplex subsystems. Copies of the standard can be obtained from the NRSC at http://www.nrscstandards.org/standards.asp. iBiquity's HD Radio technology is an implementation of the NRSC-5A IBOC standard. Further information regarding HD Radio technology can be found at www.hdradio.com and www.ibiquity.com.
Other types of digital radio broadcasting systems include satellite systems such as Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS, e.g., XM Radio™, Sirius®), Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS, e.g., WorldSpace®), and terrestrial systems such as Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), Eureka 147 (branded as DAB Digital Audio Broadcasting®), DAB Version 2, and FMeXtra®. As used herein, the phrase "digital radio broadcasting" encompasses digital audio and data broadcasting including in-band on-channel broadcasting, as well as other digital terrestrial broadcasting and satellite broadcasting.
In a system configured to broadcast hybrid format signals, i.e. signals including an analog modulated carrier in combination with a plurality of digitally modulated subcarriers, a transmitter typically translates a digital baseband frequency signal to a radio frequency (e.g., an FM carrier frequency in the range of 87.9 MHz to 107.9 MHz). A receiver then receives the radio frequency signal, translates the signal back to the baseband frequency, and demodulates the digital and analog portions of the baseband signal in separate pathways. However, there may be a frequency difference between the transmitter oscillator and the receiver oscillator that causes a frequency error, which can result in the baseband signal at the receiver being offset from DC. As a result, conventional radio receivers may include frequency offset and tracking modules that estimate and remove the initial frequency error and then track additional frequency errors as they occur in the digital signal pathway. However, the present inventors have observed that the initial frequency error may be larger than the receiver can estimate due to limitations of existing frequency offset estimation algorithms, thus increasing the requirement for frequency stability of the receiver oscillator. For example, conventional frequency offset algorithms are typically limited to an offset of +/−14 kHz while the input frequency offset can exceed these limits in some instances.
The inventors of the present disclosure have found that it may be desirable to estimate the initial frequency offset of the digital signal by determining and using the frequency offset of the analog signal. It should be noted that this novel approach is not typically available in pure digital radio receivers, which lack an analog signal from which to obtain a frequency offset.

Systems and methods for frequency offset correction in a digital radio broadcast receiver


A method and system for altering data contained in a structure without requiring a lock to the structure itself. The method and apparatus retrieve a pointer to the structure from a location responsible for maintaining a pointer to the structure. The structure has a reference count for indicating processes that are currently using the data residing within the structure itself. The reference count is then atomically incremented and a new structure is obtained. The data contained in the structure, to be altered, is then copied to the new structure. The new structure also has a reference count for indicating processes that are currently using the data residing in the new structure. The reference count of the new structure is then set to indicate that a single process is accessing the new structure. Thereafter, the pointer in the responsible location for the structure, to be altered, is atomically replaced with a pointer to the new structure. The reference count of the new structure is then set to indicate that the single process is no longer accessing the new structure.

1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention generally relates to data processing systems, and more specifically to method and apparatuses that allow data structures to be processed in parallel without locks.
2. History of Related Art
The evolution of the computer industry has been driven by the insatiable appetite of the consumer for ever increased speed and functionality. One species that the evolution has created is the multi-processor computer.
The multi-processor systems, in similarity to other computer systems, have many different areas that are ripe for improvement. One such area ripe for improvement evolves within the operating systems for such multi-processor environments (e.g. UNIX, AIX, etc.). More specifically, in such a multi-processor environment, locks are typically used for controlling access to data structures in order to maintain data integrity.
The methods currently used by the industry, however, use a system-wide lock in order to serialize access to the data contained in the structure. As a result of the system-wide lock, any data contained in the structure which requires alteration, also requires use of the system-wide lock. Unfortunately, in multi-processor environments these type of methods decrease the overall performance of the system.
It would, therefore, be a distinct advantage to have a method and apparatus in which data structures could be changed without using any locks. The present invention provides such a method and apparatus.

Method and apparatus for controlling access to data structures without the use of locks


A method of forming a shallow trench isolation region includes providing a semiconductor substrate comprising a top surface; forming an opening extending from the top surface into the semiconductor substrate; filling a precursor into the opening using spin-on; performing a steam cure to the precursor to generate a dielectric material; after the steam cure, performing a chemical mechanical polish (CMP) to the dielectric material; and after the CMP, performing a steam anneal to the dielectric material.

Modern integrated circuits are formed on the surfaces of semiconductor substrates, which are mostly silicon substrates. Semiconductor devices are isolated from each other by isolation structures formed at the surface of the respective semiconductor substrates. The isolation structures include field oxides and STI regions.
Field oxides are often formed using local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS). A typical formation process includes blanket forming a mask layer on a silicon substrate, and then patterning the mask layer to expose certain areas of the underlying silicon substrate. A thermal oxidation is then performed in an oxygen-containing environment to oxidize the exposed portions of the silicon substrate. The mask layer is then removed.
With the down-scaling of integrated circuits, STI regions are increasingly used as the isolation structures. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate intermediate stages in the formation of an STI region. First, an opening is formed in silicon substrate 10, for example, using etching. Oxide 12, preferably a silicon oxide, is filled into the opening, until the top surface of oxide 12 is higher than the top surface of silicon substrate 10. The opening has an aspect ratio, which equals to the ratio of depth D1 to width W1. The aspect ratio becomes increasingly greater when the integrated circuits are increasingly scaled down. For 40 nm technology and below, the aspect ratio will be greater, and sometimes far greater, than 7.0. For 32 nm technology, the aspect ratio may be greater than 10.
The increase in the aspect ratio causes problems. Referring to FIG. 1, in the filling of the opening, the high aspect ratio will adversely result in the formation of void 14, which is a result of the pre-mature sealing in the top region of the filling oxide 12. After a chemical mechanical polish (CMP) to remove excess oxide 12, STI region 16 is left in the opening, as is shown in FIG. 2. It is likely that void 14 is exposed after the CMP. In subsequent process steps, conductive materials such as polysilicon may be filled into the opening, causing the bridging, and even the shorting of integrated circuits in some circumstances.
Conventionally, oxide 12 is often formed using one of the two methods, high-density plasma (HDP) chemical vapor deposition and high aspect-ratio process (HARP). The HDP may fill gaps with aspect ratios less than about 6.0 without causing voids. The HARP may fill gaps with aspect ratios less than about 7.0 without causing voids. However, when the aspect ratios are close to 7.0, even if no voids are formed, the central portions of STI region 16 formed using the HARP are often weak. The weak portions may be damaged by the CMP processes or oxide wet dips, which in turn cause voids after the CMP or the oxide wet dips. When the aspect ratios further increase to greater than 7.0, voids start to appear even if the HARP is used. Accordingly, the existing gap-filling techniques can only fill gaps having aspect ratios less than 7.0 without causing voids. New gap-filling methods are thus needed.

STI film property using SOD post-treatment

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.