This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for at least partially isolating a zone of an industrial furnace. The apparatus includes a hanger block and a hanger clamp. The method includes removably mounting a hanger block with respect to a furnace structure. A hanger clamp is engaged with the hanger block. A curtain structure is mounted in the hanger block, and the hanger clamp is mounted to an adjustable support or mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to industrial furnaces and, more particularly to, an apparatus and a method for at least partially isolating zones of the industrial furnace.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Industrial furnaces are used in many applications such as, but not limited to, producing glass on a tin bath, heat treating, smelting and/or refining metals, calcining coke, incinerating waste and the like. Industrial furnaces are often constructed of refractory materials, such as taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,427,610 and 4,960,058, the entire teachings of which are incorporated by reference into this specification. The use of hanger brick for construction of a static wall or a roof structure is particularly effective in furnaces for making glass.
Often, industrial furnaces have multiple zones and thus require isolation between the zones. A stationary refractory wall can provide isolation but cannot meet the need, such as during furnace operation, to adjust the level of isolation between the zones. For example, moving a product between zones can be accomplished with an adjustable mechanism, apparatus and curtain structure.
The apparatus can be moveably mounted between structures of the industrial furnace, to isolate the zones. The conventional apparatus, in contact with the curtain structure, is raised or lowered by the adjustable mechanism. The apparatus is often constructed of stainless steel. High operating temperatures of the industrial furnace can warp the apparatus and prevent reliable adjustment of the isolation between the zones. Warping problems can result in a shutdown of the industrial furnace, to allow replacement or repair of the apparatus.

Apparatus and method for isolating zones of an industrial furnace


A method of manufacturing a display apparatus includes providing a display panel including two substrates facing each other and a display device disposed between the two substrates; providing a touch screen panel attached onto an outer side surface of one of the two substrates; attaching a multilayer protection film including a plurality of films having acid resistance onto the touch screen panel; etching the other of the two substrates; and removing the multilayer protection film. The protection films have penetration holes, each of the protection films having a different average area of the penetration holes in a plan view.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a method of manufacturing a display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display apparatus may include a display device, an upper substrate disposed on the display device, and a lower substrate facing the upper substrate while supporting the display device.
The display device emits an outputted image and is disposed between the upper and lower substrates. The display device, the upper substrate, and the lower substrate are called a display panel. The upper substrate is disposed on the display device and performs a function of protecting the display device. The upper substrate may include a touch screen panel. The lower substrate faces the upper substrate while supporting the display device.

Method of manufacturing display apparatus


A plasma impulse device/method has been developed to provide impulses that can be used for thrust. A field device produces electric and magnetic fields, which E×B drifts a charged portion in the ambient environment, resulting in thrust of the field device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, apparatus, and system for providing plasma impulses. More particularly it relates using plasma impulses to provide propulsion impulses.
2. Background Information
Atmospheric propulsion, where the ambient air is utilized as the propulsive medium, has many complications and desirable aspects. The aspects include near unlimited fuel (the ambient air is used) and few moving parts. The complications arise in deriving the conditions necessary for plasma motion before recombination, power consumption, and the field conditions necessary for sufficient thrust.
Using plasma instead of ambient air can provide plasma velocities in excess of what can be provided via chemical reactions. A rough estimate of the average temperature of a chemical reaction due to its temperature can be obtained by converting the temperature of the products into energy equivalents and solving for the velocity. The basic relationship between a Maxwellian plasma and temperature can be stated as:
                              E          ave                =                                            1              2                                                  mv              ave              2                                =                                                    n                d                            2                                    KT                                              (        1        )            The constant nd is the number of dimensions, for example a strong magnetic field may effectively constrain the particles to travel in one direction so that nd=1, or without a strong magnetic field the particle may be free to move in three dimensions so that nd=3; "K" is the Boltzman constant 1.38×10−23J/° K, and "T" is the temperature in degrees Kelvin. For simplicity's sake only, if the chemical product is hydrogen with a mass of a proton of 1.67×10−27 Kg at a temperature of 11600 K (Kelvin) the average one dimensional thermal velocity is:
                                                                        v                ave                            =                                                                                n                      d                                        m                                                      KT                                                                                =                                                                                1                                          1.67                      ×                                              10                                                  -                          27                                                                                (                                          1.38                      ×                                              10                                                  -                          23                                                                                )                                                                          (                                          11600                                                                                K                                        )                                                                                ≈                                                          9790                                                                                m                                                  /                                                s                                                                        (        2        )            Thus the velocity of a hydrogen chemical product at 11600K is roughly 9790 m/s. It should be noted that typical chemical reactions do not occur at such elevated temperatures, but plasma systems do.
In a plasma system, accelerated by the voltage difference of a simple 9 volt battery, the hydrogen plasma is accelerated by an Electric field across an equipotential difference of 9 volts and if one assumes that the hydrogen ion is singly ionized the acceleration of the ion can related to the potential difference as:
                    a        =                              F            m                    =                                    qE              m                        =                                          -                                  q                                                        (                                                                  ϕ                        2                                            -                                              ϕ                        1                                                              )                                                              md                                                          (        3        )            Where "a" is the acceleration; "F" is the force; "m" is the mass; "E" the electric field; "q" the charge (1.6×10−19 Coulomb); "d" the distance separating the 9 volt potential difference; and φ2 and φ1 are the potential differences at the end point (0 volt potential) and beginning point (9 volt potential) respectively. If the ion travels the complete distance between the potentials to acquire a 9 volt change the energy gained can be expressed as:
                                                                        Δ                                                                                ɛ                            =                                                                                ɛ                    2                                    -                                      ɛ                    1                                                  =                                  Fd                  =                                                            -                                              q                                                                          (                                                                                ϕ                              2                                                        -                                                          ϕ                              1                                                                                )                                                                                =                                                                                -                          1.6                                                ×                                                  10                                                      -                            19                                                                                (                                                      0                            -                            9                                                    )                                                                    =                                              9                                                                                eV                                                                                =                                                                            9                                                        (                                          1.6                      ×                                              10                                                  -                          19                                                                                J                                        )                                                  =                                  1.44                  ×                                      10                                          -                      18                                                                                J                                                                                (        4        )            Knowing the energy change and assuming an initial energy of 0, we can calculate the velocity of the hydrogen plasma as:
                    v        =                                                            2                                                                                Δ                                                                                ɛ                            m                                =                                                                      2                                                        (                                          1.44                      ×                                              10                                                  -                          18                                                                                J                                        )                                                                    1.67                  ×                                      10                                          -                      27                                                                                Kg                                                      =                          41527                                                                                m                                            /                                          s                                                          (        5        )
In the plasma example, a simple plasma potential difference of 9 volts can result in ion velocities roughly 4¼ times larger than a chemical combustion ion at 11600K. A 4¼ larger velocity represents an increase of 3¼ times the smaller velocity. This in turn represents roughly a 10½ increase in the energy.
When referring to plasma, what is meant is ionized atomic elements, molecules, or charged substances, to include fluids, solids, and gases. The common plasma instabilities are know to one of ordinary skill in the art of plasma physics.
Using plasma systems for propulsion in the ambient atmosphere presents several difficulties. Besides the difficulties of ionization, maintaining the ionized products long enough (recombination rate) to recognize the desired acceleration, applying sufficient electric and/or magnetic fields, acquiring a reasonable ion density, one has difficulties in using electric and magnetic fields to move the plasma without polarization fields developing.


A method of producing a fluorine-containing vinyl ether compound, which contains the step of: fluorinating a compound of formula (I-1) or (I-2):

Fluorine-containing vinyl ether compounds, in particular perfluorovinyl ether compounds, are industrially important monomers, because they can give resins that are excellent in physical and chemical properties, such as chemical resistance, heat resistance, low refractive index, and low intermolecular interaction, and also in heat processability, by copolymerization with tetrafluoroethylene.
A known method of synthesizing a perfluorovinyl ether compound is to thermally decompose a perfluoro(2-alkoxypropionic acid) derivative, obtained by reaction of a perfluorocarboxylic acid fluoride (perfluoro acyl fluoride) with hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) (formula 1) (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,291,843, 3,321,532, and 3,351,619).

However, it is difficult to produce the desired perfluoro(2-alkoxypropionic acid) derivative in good yield, because of side reactions, such as oligomerization, in the reaction of a perfluorocarboxylic acid fluoride and HFPO. Known means to overcome the problem include, for example, a method of dechlorinating a perfluorodichloroether obtained in reaction of a perfluoroalkyl hypofluoride with 1,2-dichlorodifluoroethylene (formula 2) (see, for example, European Patent Nos. 201,871 and 269,933); a method of chlorinating, fluorinating, and dechlorinating, in this order, a vinyl ether obtained in reaction of a perfluoroalkyl methoxide with tetrafluoroethylene (formula 3) (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,497, and Journal of Organic Chemistry, Vol. 59 (1994) 4332–4335).

However, it is not feasible industrially to use the method of formula 2, because the reaction of a perfluoroalkyl hypofluoride with 1,2-dichlorodifluoroethylene should be performed at an extremely low temperature. Further, the method of formula 3 has such problems that the reaction proceeds in multiple reaction steps; tetrafluoroethylene used in the reaction is a substance whose transport is prohibited and that should be produced at the same production site; and chlorine gas, which is difficult to handle, should be used. Further, in the methods of formula 1, 2 or 3, there is limitation on the structure of the perfluorovinyl ether possibly produced, because of restriction on the availability of fluorocompounds that are raw materials.
Disclosed as means to overcome these problems are a method of chlorinating, fluorinating, and dechlorinating a desired vinyl ether once prepared (formula 4) (see, for example, Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, 112 (2001) 109–116); and a method of fluorinating and thermally decomposing a desired 2-alkoxypropionic acid derivative once prepared (formulae 5 and 6) (e.g. Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, 112 (2001) 109–116, and International Patent Publication WO 02/20445 pamphlet); and, it became possible to synthesize perfluorovinyl ethers in various structures by these methods.

In the above formulae, X represents a halogen atom.
However, the method of formula 4 has the problem that it is not so easy to synthesize the vinyl ether. That is, a vinyl ether can be prepared, for example, by (1) reaction of an alcohol with acetylene, (2) thermal decomposition of an acetaldehyde dialkyl acetal, or (3) de-hydrohalogenation of a 2-halo-1-alkoxyethane; but, these methods also have problems, for example, that it is necessary to use acetylene, a hazardous explosive substance, in the method (1); a high temperature of 300° C. or higher is needed, and the yield is not always good, in the method (2); and, it is difficult to prepare a 2-halo-1-alkoxyethane in good yield, in the method (3). Further, the method of formula 4 also has problems; for example, that dichloroether after chlorination is unstable, and the fluorination yield is not always high. Further, the methods of formula 5 or 6 have a problem in requiring a multi-step process for preparation of a perhalovinyl ether from the starting material 2-halopropionic acid.
As shown in the following formula 7, JP-T-2003–508374 ("JP-T" means searched and published International patent application) describes a synthetic route for preparing an acyl fluoride having a vic-dichloro structure, for use as a precursor of perfluorovinyl ether, by preparing a 1,2-dichlorovinyl ether in reaction of trichloroethylene with an alcohol under a basic condition, and then fluorinating it. However, the synthetic route is not favorable as an industrial-scale method, because the starting material necessary in the synthetic route: trichloroethylene, is an environmental pollution substance designated as a Class-II specified chemical substance under the Law Concerning Examination and Regulation of Manufacture and Handling of Chemical Substances, and there is danger of explosion under the basic condition.

As described above, although there are currently many known methods of synthesizing perfluorovinyl ethers, they carry problems of their own, and there is a strong demand for development of a method to produce perfluorovinyl ether compounds applicable to synthesis of compounds in a variety of structures easily from readily available environment-friendly raw materials.
On the other hand, perfluoro(ω-vinyloxy-1-alkenes), such as perfluoro(4-vinyloxy-1-butene), are known to give amorphous perfluororesins by cyclization-polymerization by a radical initiator (e.g. Nippon Kagakukaishi JP by the Chemical Society of Japan, 2001, No. 12, 659–667). These perfluororesins, which have the characteristics of conventional tetrafluoroethylene-derived fluoropolymers, i.e. properties, such as high heat resistance, high chemical resistance, low refractive index, and low dielectric constant, as well as solubility in solvents and transparency in a wide wavelength range, including ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared ranges, are useful as high-performance optical materials for pellicle, optical fiber, antireflective film, and the like.
It is possible to synthesize perfluoro(ω-vinyloxy-1-alkenes) by combined use of fluorine-containing fundamental materials, for example, according to the synthetic route to perfluoro(4-vinyloxy-1-butene) (formula 8) described in JP-A-1-143843 ("JP-A" means unexamined published Japanese patent application), the synthetic route to perfluoro(4-vinyloxy-1-butene) (formula 9) described in JP-A-2-311436, or the synthetic route to perfluoro(4-vinyloxy-1-propene) (formula 10) described in JP-A-54-163507, as shown below. However, these methods also had the problems that the raw materials were expensive, the handling efficiency was poor, and the degree of freedom in designing a target molecule was quite low.

As means to solve the above-mentioned problems, JP-A-2001-240576 and JP-A-2005-68044 disclose the methods of using liquid-phase direct fluorination reactions of formula 11 or formula 12, respectively. It became possible to synthesize perfluoro(ω-vinyloxy-1-alkenes) having desirable skeleton by these methods. However, the method of formula 11 has a greater number of steps and is not an efficient and economical method. On the other hand, the method of formula 12 has drastically simplified steps, but it still demands use of a transport-prohibited substance: tetrafluoroethylene.
In the above formulae 1 to 7 and the following formulae 11 and 12, Rf represents a fluorine-containing alkyl group.

Method of producing a fluorine-containing vinyl ether compound

Abstract: wherein R is a straight-chain, branched-chain or cyclic alkyl group that may have a substituent and/or an unsaturated bond; X11 is a halogen atom other than a fluorine atom; X12, X13, and X14 each independently are a halogen atom; X21 is a halogen atom other than a fluorine atom; and X22 and X23 each independently are a halogen atom.


A semiconductor memory device having a memory cell array, an input buffer, an output buffer, and an input-output control circuit that receives a write control signal and controls the input and output buffers. The output buffer generates a commencement signal indicating commencement of output. A mask generating circuit generates a mask signal with delayed active-to-inactive transitions from the commencement signal. A masking circuit passes the write control signal to the input-output control circuit while the mask signal is inactive, and holds the write control signal in the write-disabling state while the mask signal is active. The mask signal prevents unintended writing of data in the memory cell array when the write control signal is contaminated by noise from the output buffer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to noise control in a semiconductor memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical semiconductor memory device such as the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) shown in FIG. 1 comprises a column address buffer 11 for storing a column address and a row address buffer 12 for storing a row address included in an address signal ADR. The row address buffer 12 is connected to a row decoder 13 that decodes the row address and supplies the decoded address to a word line driver 14, which drives corresponding word lines of a memory cell array 15 according to the decoded address data.
The column address buffer 11 is connected to a column decoder 16, which outputs decoded column address signals to a set of sense amplifiers 17. In a read operation, the sense amplifiers 17 amplify data read from the memory cell array 15 onto bit lines and output amplified data from the addressed column to an input-output (I/O) selector 18. In a write operation, the sense amplifiers 17 write data received from the input-output selector 18 into the memory cell array 15 at the addressed column. The input-output selector 18 is connected to an input buffer 19 and an output buffer 20 for external input and output of data DQ.
The DRAM comprises a timing generator circuit 21 for generating timing signals according to a row address strobe (RAS) signal and a column address strobe (CAS) signal, a refresh control circuit 22 for controlling refreshing of the memory cell array 15, an internal address counter 23, a first-stage circuit 30 for generating a write control signal (WE0) according to an initialize signal (INI) and a write enable signal (/WE), and an input-output control circuit 24 for generating an internal enable signal (RMB) according to the RAS and CAS signals, an output enable signal (OE), and the write control signal WE0 received from the first-stage circuit 30, and supplying the generated internal enable signal RMB to the input buffer 19 and output buffer 20.
During initialization, when the initialize signal INI is high, the first-stage circuit 30 drives the write control signal WE0 low, disabling write operations. During normal operations, when the initialize signal INI is low, the first-stage circuit 30 inverts the write enable signal /WE and passes the inverted signal as the write control signal WE0 to the input-output control circuit 24.
In a normal read operation, the RAS signal, CAS signal, and output enable signal OE are active (low), and the write enable signal /WE is inactive (high). The first-stage circuit 30 inverts the write enable signal /WE, driving the write control signal WE0 supplied to the input-output control circuit 24 low. As a result, the input-output control circuit 24 outputs an internal enable signal RMB enabling the output buffer 20. This allows data to be read from the memory region of the memory cell array 15 designated by the address signal ADR, and to be supplied to an external circuit through the sense amplifiers 17, the input-output selector 18, and the output buffer 20 as data DQ. When it begins supplying data DQ to the external circuit, the output buffer 20 outputs a commencement signal (not shown).
In a normal write operation, the RAS signal, CAS signal, and write enable signal /WE are active (low), and the output enable signal OE is inactive (high). The first-stage circuit 30 inverts the write enable signal /WE, driving the write control signal WE0 supplied to the input-output control circuit 24 high. As a result, the input-output control circuit 24 outputs an internal enable signal RMB enabling the input buffer 19. This allows data DQ received from the external circuit to be stored in a memory region of the memory cell array 15 designated by the address signal ADR.
During the read operation, the write enable signal /WE remains high, the inverted write control signal WE0 generated by the first-stage circuit 30 remains low, and the input-output control circuit 24 holds write operations disabled. As increasingly large-capacity semiconductor memory devices such as DRAMs have increasingly fine circuit lines, however, the large flow of current that occurs when the output buffer 20 outputs data DQ can cause considerable ground-bounce noise in the fine-line power wiring pattern. If the external write enable signal /WE is routed on a path substantially adjacent to the output buffer 20, the write enable signal /WE may be contaminated by noise, and the input-output control circuit 24 may misinterpret the logic level of the write control signal WE0. If the low level of the write control signal WE0 is misinterpreted as the high level, the input-output control circuit 24 will enable the input buffer 19, causing unintended writing of data in the memory cell array 15.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 06-21792 discloses a selector device with provisions to prevent unintended operations by preventing the generation of glitch noise at select signal transitions. The selector device includes a selector, controlled by a select signal, which selects either of two inputs (A or B), a noise mask generation circuit that delays input A, and a noise masking circuit that combines the output of the selector with the output of the noise mask generation circuit to generate an output signal free of glitch noise.

Semiconductor memory device with debounced write control signal


An explanation is given of, inter alia, a circuit arrangement containing a trench which penetrates through a charge-storing layer (18) and a doped semiconductor layer (14). The trench simultaneously fulfils a multiplicity of functions, namely an insulating function between adjacent components, the patterning of the charge-storing layer and also the subdivision of doping layers of the semiconductor layer (14).

The invention relates to a semiconductor circuit arrangement having a substrate, which carries in the order specified:
a doped semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type or conduction type,
an electrically insulating layer,
and an electrically conductive or an electrically insulating charge-storing layer, which is suitable for the storage of charges.
Moreover, the semiconductor circuit arrangement contains at least one trench which penetrates through the charge-storing layer and also extends into the doped semiconductor layer.
The substrate is for example a wafer made of a semiconductor material, e.g. made of silicon. The layer suitable for the storage of charges is also referred to as floating gate particularly in the case of circuit arrangements having memory cells.

Semiconductor circuit arrangement with trench isolation and fabrication method


A scheduling method is executed by a first apparatus among a plurality of apparatuses. The scheduling method includes assigning a process to at least one apparatus among the apparatuses based on a first table that includes each communication strength of the apparatuses; receiving an execution result of the process and a communication strength from the at least one apparatus; and creating the first table based on the received communication strength.

A technique called grid computing is conventionally known that includes sharing data among multiple terminal apparatuses capable of communication and executing a process using the data with the multiple terminal apparatuses. For example, the terminal apparatuses may be mobile telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and notebook personal computers (PCs).
In the grid computing, the process using shared data may be executed by multiple terminal apparatuses to distribute resulting load. For examples, refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 2009-140224, 2006-126894, 2006-79389, and H8-79269.
However, with the conventional technique, a problem arises in that the process may not be completed consequent to termination resulting from deterioration of the communication state of a terminal apparatus. For example, if the communication state deteriorates at a terminal apparatus executing a process, the process result obtained by the terminal apparatus cannot be synchronized with the other terminal apparatuses and therefore, the overall process cannot be completed.

Scheduling method and task processing method


An image processing device, having plural functions and executing at least any one of the plural functions based on a request from an application program, includes: a storage to store, from among plural setting information selectable to one of the plural functions, simultaneous use possible/impossible information being information concerning a combination of settings usable simultaneously or a combination of settings non-usable simultaneously; a selector to select any one of the plural setting information to at least any one of the plural functions based on the request from the application program; a discriminator to discriminate, by referring to the simultaneous use possible/impossible information, whether or not competitive setting information being the setting information non-usable simultaneously with the setting information selected by the selector exists; and a notification unit to notify the application program of information concerning the competitive setting information, when the discriminator discriminates that the competitive setting information exists.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to control of an image processing device which executes an image processing function to a request from an application.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a digital multifunction device based on a digital copying machine and having a scan function, a printer function and a network transmission/reception function has been in practical use, and an image processing device such as the digital multifunction device of this type has been increasingly sophisticated. More specifically, the image processing device may not only execute copying of a paper original but also store image data as a file in a database provided in a hard disk thereof. Moreover, a function of transmitting image data by various network protocols has been in practical use. More specifically, the image processing device may transmit the file stored in the database thereof by an E-mail onto a network.
In this connection, the above functions of the digital multifunction device are often combined with an information processing system of an existing customer so as to improve customer's business.
To cope wish such an environment, an environment that an individual application can be added to the digital multifunction device has been manufactured.
For example, an image database system is constructed by operating, on the multifunction device, an application which uses the image scan function and an image format conversion function of the digital multifunction device, and cooperating the multifunction device with the database on the information processing system.
On the other hand, it should be noted that various kinds of image processing devices exist in a customer's office, and functions and restrictions of the respective image processing devices are different from others.
For example, if the two image processing devices were manufactured by an identical manufacturer but types thereof are different from each other, usable functions for the respective image processing devices may be different, whereby there is a possibility that processing procedures of the respective image processing devices are restricted. In such a case, it is necessary to provide the plural applications with respect to each of plural kinds of image processes.
To cope with such a problem, a technique of abstracting the functions of the image processing device and absorbing differences due to kinds of devices from the application has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-222335.
By the above technique, it is possible to make software for providing a copy function applicable to any free combination of scanners and printers of different manufacturers. In other words, it is possible by virtualizing the differences in the devices to provide an environment in which application software can be easily developed.
On the other hand, since performance of a recent image processing device remarkably increases, the functions of the image processing device to be used by the application software increases. For example, a recent printer can normally execute a complicated book binding process, a process of merging plural pages into one page, and the like.
However, if kinds of functions increase like this, a restriction occurs on combinations of the functions. For example, a page serial copy function for dividing one-page original into plural outputs and a reduction layout function for merging an original of plural pages into a one-page output cannot be designated simultaneously.
Further, there is a fact that a certain kind of function cannot be used according to a condition of hardware. For example, when there is no staple in a stapler, it is necessary to preclude a user from executing a stapling process to output papers. That is, it is impossible by only virtualizing the differences in the devices to cope with such a device-dependent restriction.
Furthermore, it is difficult for a person who is an application software developer but is not an engineer of a device manufacturer to effectively and satisfactorily design actual application software.

Image processing device setting conflict determination


Techniques are described herein that are capable of automatically allocating clients for testing a software program. For instance, a number of the clients that are to be allocated for the testing may be determined based on a workload that is to be imposed by the clients during execution of the testing. For example, the number of the clients may be a minimum number of the clients that is capable of accommodating the workload. In accordance with this example, the minimum number of the clients may be allocated in a targeted environment so that the test may be performed on those clients. Additional clients may be allocated along with the minimum number of the clients in the targeted environment to accommodate excess workload.

Software programs traditionally are tested using a variety of tests before the software programs are sold to end users. The purpose of such tests usually is to simulate certain conditions to determine whether the software programs are capable of operating under those conditions. Each test typically is written as a stand-alone test having its own code, which is separate from the code of the other tests. In fact, different frameworks may be used for the different tests. A framework allows software having a generic functionality to be selectively changed by user code to provide application specific software. Writing and maintaining separate code and/or using different frameworks for the various tests may consume substantial time and/or resources.
Moreover, each test often specifies a predetermined fixed number of clients to be allocated for participation in the test. Restricting the number of clients in this manner hinders the use of the test for testing scenarios for which the test was not initially configured.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Automatically allocating clients for software program testing


A remote control system for one or more semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses is provided which is capable of displaying at a remote operation device the same screen as that in a host device and performing through the remote control device the same operations as those carried out by the host device. The remote operation device includes a LAN system having one or more semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses (D) and a host device (H) on the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus side, and a remote operation device (L) having a communication element (Com) accessible to the host device (H) on the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus side through a communication line. The host device (H) implements an IP routing function and a necessary protocol for achieving remote operations from the remote operation device (L), and also a communication element (Com) with a message incoming function of messages incoming from the communication line. The host device (H) performs user authentication when the remote operation device is connected to the host device, whereby it becomes possible for the remote operation device thus authenticated to display the same screen as that displayed on the host device (H) and remotely operate and control the host device (H).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a remote control system for one or more semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses, and more particularly, it relates to such a remote control system, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a remote operation device, in which a local area network system including one or more semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses and a supervisory device in the form of a host device can be accessed by the remote operation device with a communication means by way of communication lines so as to maintain the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses under remote control through the host device.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a known local area network (LAN) system in semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses.
In the past, in facilities such as factories for manufacturing semiconductors, a plurality (N) of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses D′1, D′2 . . . D′N are connected through serial cables 1 such as RS232C cables, etc., with a terminal server TS′ which is in turn connected through an Ethernet card to a host device H′ thereby to constitute a local area network (LAN), so that monitors, events, alarms, lot processing, etc., of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses are supervised and controlled.
The LAN system of such a configuration is a so-called closed network in which communications can be made only between the host device H′ and the terminal server TS′ in the same network or only between the respective semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses D′1, D′2, . . . , D′N.
Therefore, the host device H′ in such a known network is not provided with any drivers, software and the like necessary for performing the following basic functions for connection with terminals existing in remote places and host devices in other networks (hereinafter, referred to remote operation devices); (1) provision of a point-to-point protocol (PPP) and a user authentication function; (2) a serial communications function and an automatic call incoming function with respect to modems and terminal adapters; and (3) a routing function of routing an Internet protocol (IP) to different networks. In addition, the host device H′ or each of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses D′1, D′2, . . . , D′N is not provided with any communication means such as modems, terminal adapters, etc., and any equipment such as access servers, etc., necessary for remote control operation, as a consequence of which it is impossible for the host device or each semiconductor manufacturing apparatus to communicate with the remote terminals.
On the other hand, there is a demand for accessing a host device connected with semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses from a remote operation device to display the same screen as that of the host device for remote control operation.

Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, remote control system therefor, and remote operation device


In a recording medium which is circular and has first and second recording layers, the first and second recording layers each include one or more first tracks extending concentrically or spirally and one or more second tracks extending concentrically or spirally, each of the one or more first tracks and the one or more second tracks includes a plurality of first sectors and a plurality of second sectors, each of the plurality of first sectors includes first and second regions, each of the plurality of second sectors includes third and fourth regions, first and second grooves are formed in each of the second and fourth regions, the first and second grooves extending concentrically or spirally and oscillating sinusoidally, oscillation of the first groove has a first oscillation characteristic at a first prescribed position in the second region, oscillation of the second groove has a second oscillation characteristic at a second prescribed position in the fourth region, and the first and second oscillation characteristics are different from each other.

Recently, a variety of optical disks on/from which a large quantity of information can be recorded/reproduced have been developed. An example of large capacity optical disks is a double-sided optical disk in which two optical disk pieces are attached together and information can be recorded/reproduced on/from either side of the disk. However, in the field which frequently requires random access, for example, recording mediums for use with computers or game machines, there is a demand that the optical disk has a large recording capacity while any data in the disk can be accessed without turning the disk over.
Therefore, as an optical disk on which a large quantity of data can be recorded and in which random access can be performed, a multilayered optical disk in which there are two or more recording layers and information can be recorded/reproduced on/from one side of the disk has been suggested. FIG. 29 shows an example of such a disk.
FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view of an optical disk 2300 having two recording layers. In FIG. 29, reference numerals 2101 and 2102 respectively denote transparent first and second substrates of polycarbonate or the like, reference numeral 2103 denotes a first recording layer, reference numeral 2104 denotes a semitransparent reflection film which transmits or reflects a laser beam incident on the first substrate 2101, reference numeral 2105 denotes a second recording layer, reference numeral 2106 denotes a reflection film which reflects a laser beam 2301 incident on the first substrate 2101, and reference numeral 2107 denotes an adhesive for attaching the substrates 2101 and 2102 which has the property of transmitting light. This structure makes it possible to perform a recording/reproducing operation on either of the recording layers 2103 or 2105 with the laser beam 2301 incident on the disk from the side of the substrate 2101.
Next, FIG. 30 is referenced. FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating optical characteristics of the optical disk 2300 having the two recording layers 2103 and 2105 shown in FIG. 29. Here, a phase change material is considered to be used for the recording layers. A recording operation on the phase change material is performed by irradiating a disk being rotating with a light beam from a semiconductor laser so as to heat and resolve a recording layer of the disk. The temperature that the recording layer reaches and a process for cooling the recording layer vary depending on the strength of intensity of the light beam, thereby causing a phase change in the recording layer.
When the intensity of the light beam is strong, the recording layer is rapidly cooled from its high temperature state so as to be brought into an amorphous state, and when the intensity of the light beam is relatively weak, the recording layer is gradually cooled from a middle or high temperature state so as to be crystallized. Portions which are brought into the amorphous state are generally referred to as a mark, and crystallized portions between marks are generally referred to as a space. Binarized information is recorded on the mark and space. In the reproducing operation, the recording layer is irradiated with a weak light beam to such an extent as not to undergo a phase change and a difference in quantity of reflection light between the mark and space portions is detected so as to obtain a reproduced signal.
As shown in FIG. 30, the first recording layer 2103 is designed such that the occupancy of a transmission coefficient is high, i.e., a high transmission coefficient design, and the second recording layer 2105 is designed such that the occupancy of an absorption coefficient is high, i.e., a high absorption coefficient design. In this manner, generally in the dual-layer optical disk having two recording layers, the first and second recording layers 2103 and 2105 have different characteristics.
As described above, since the recording layer characteristics of the first and second recording layers 2103 and 2105 are different, optimal recording/reproducing conditions of the first and second recording layers are different. As an example, the reproducing condition of the second recording layer 2105 is described.
In general, in order to record/reproduce data, a recordable optical disk requires data management for each sector, regardless of a single-layer disk or a multilayered disk. Therefore, it often happens that guiding grooves for a tracking operation of a servo means are formed in a disk production process and along with this, address information of sectors is formed as pits. A sector structure of the second substrate 2102 of the dual-layer optical disk is illustrated in FIG. 31.
In FIG. 31, reference numeral 2102 denotes a second substrate, reference numeral 2302 denotes a groove track, reference numeral 2301 denotes a land track between grooves, reference numeral 2303 denotes an address region including concave and convex pits, reference numeral 2304 denotes a data region, and the address regions 2303 and the data regions 2304 are provided in both the land track 2301 and the groove track 2302.
Next, FIG. 32 is referenced. FIG. 32 provides more detailed illustration of the vicinity of the address region 2303 of the second substrate 2102. As illustrated in FIG. 32, the groove track 2302 sinusoidally oscillates at a constant frequency and the address regions 2303 are provided in both the land track 2301 and the groove track 2302. The address region 2303 is a region exclusively used for reproduction and is usually in a crystal state. This results from the fact that the optical characteristic of the recording layer is unstable immediately after the recording layer is formed, and therefore the address region 2303 and the data region 2304 are irradiated with a laser beam so as to be brought into a uniform crystal state.
In the case of reproducing data from the address region 2303 of such a dual-layer optical disk 2300, when the data is reproduced from the first recording layer 2013, as illustrated in FIG. 30, since the first recording layer 2013 has a reflection coefficient of 10% at the crystal state, up to 10% of the quantity of light returns to a photodetector. However, when the data is reproduced from the second recording layer 2015, the light is required to pass through the first recording layer 2013 having a transmission coefficient of 50% in both directions, and therefore, in fact, only 3.75% of the quantity of the light returns to the photodetector, although the reflection coefficient of the second recording layer 2105 is 15%, which is greater than that of the first recording layer. Accordingly, in order to reproduce data from the address region at an equivalent signal-to-noise ratio, irradiation power of a light beam in the case of reproducing data from the second recording layer 2105 is required to be set so as to be larger than that of the light beam in the case of reproducing data from the first recording layer 2103. However, in the case where the irradiation power capable of reproducing data from the second recording layer 2105 is preset, when a focusing operation of a servo means or a tracking operation of the servo means is erroneously performed on the first recording layer 2013, there is a risk that data recorded on the first recording layer 2013 might be erased due to the excessively large irradiation power.
On the contrary, in the case of setting the irradiation power sufficiently small as to reproduce data from the first recording layer 2013, when the address information cannot be reproduced, there is a risk in determining that the servo means is performing an operation on the second recording layer 2105 and immediately increasing the irradiation power. This is because there are some cases where the servo means is actually performing an operation on the first recording layer 2013, rather than the second recording layer 2105. Therefore, it is necessary to check on a number of things, such as optimization of the reproducing conditions, reproducing operations on a plurality of regions, etc., before increasing the irradiation power.
Further, it is not possible to securely discriminate between the first and second recording layers 2013 and 2015 by observing a focus error signal or a focus sum signal in which two elemental signals included in the focus error signal. As described above, when there is a difference between the first and second recording layers 2013 and 2015 with respect to the irradiation power used for a reproducing operation, it is necessary to discriminate between the first and second recording layers 2013 and 2015 more securely.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a recording medium in which a plurality of recording layers are securely identified in a short period of time.

Recording medium, method and apparatus for recording, and method and apparatus for reproducing

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A lithographic apparatus includes an illumination system configured to condition a radiation beam; a support configured to support a patterning device, the patterning device being capable of imparting the radiation beam with a pattern in its cross-section to form a patterned radiation beam; a substrate table configured to hold a substrate; a projection system configured to project the patterned radiation beam onto a target portion of the substrate; and a robot configured to transfer an exchangeable object to and from a support region, the robot including an arm and an end effector, the end effector including a first and second carrier configured to carry respective exchangeable objects, and the end effector being rotatably connected to the arm of the robot around a rotation axis which extends substantially parallel to the support region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lithographic apparatus and methods.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacturing of integrated circuits (ICs). In such a case, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. including part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Conventional lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at once, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through a radiation beam in a given direction (the "scanning"-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. It is also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device to the substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.
A conventional lithographic apparatus includes a support constructed to support the abovementioned patterning device. The support generally includes a number of retractable pins, so-called R-pins, configured to push the patterning device somewhat upwardly from the support or to lower it down into the support during exchange thereof. Sideways of the support, two manipulators are provided, each with an end effector having a carrier configured to transport respective patterning devices to and from the retractable pins. Thus, it is possible to extend the pins upwardly, pick up a patterning device from the pins with one of the manipulators, move it to another station, meanwhile place a patterning device on the still extended pins with the other manipulator, and retract the pins in order to lower the patterning device in the support. Such construction/configuration, with the retractable pins and the two manipulators, however, is rather complex and expensive.
Furthermore, a lithographic apparatus generally includes a support constructed to support the abovementioned patterning device, and two vertically moveable manipulators attached to a turret (rotating table). The turret with the manipulators is mounted above the support. Each manipulator includes an end effector connected thereto having a carrier configured to pick up a respective patterning device directly from the support or to place it thereon, when, depending on the position of the turret, the respective manipulator is positioned above the support. Thus, it is possible to pick up a patterning device from the support with one of the manipulators, rotate the turret, and place a patterning device in the support with the other manipulator. The turret, however, incorporates large required strokes and may need a four-axis manipulator in order to transport the patterning devices to and from the turret. Exchanging a patterning device with such a construction/configuration may be time consuming if the manipulator is required.

Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method


A system and method is provided for bit eye center retraining. In general, the system samples an incoming data stream to determine where transitions in the data stream occur, selectively compares the location of the transitions to the expected locations to produce difference values, and combines pairs of difference values to determine when the sample point of the data stream needs to be adjusted.

Communication systems are becoming increasingly important in all aspects of business and personal life. Modern communication systems transmit data at very high rates of speed. The data is typically transmitted as a series of bits represented by high or low voltage levels in a signal, commonly called a bit stream. In these systems the receiver must be able to accurately and reliably decode the bit stream to extract the transmitted data.
One difficulty in extracting transmitted data from a bit stream is determining where each bit resides in the stream. The location of each bit in the bit stream needs to be identified to determine where the receiver should sample the data stream to accurately extract the data. Otherwise the receiver could miss data bits, sample the same data bit twice, misinterpret a data bit, or otherwise corrupt the received data.
This task is made more difficult and critical by the presence of noise in the communication system which can distort the shape of the data stream. Furthermore, the bit stream can commonly include consecutive bits that are either all high or all low, with no transitions between consecutive bits. Even where transitions between bits exist it can be difficult to quickly and accurately determine where the center of each bit resides. The problem of locating bits in a bit stream is commonly referred to as training to find "eye center" of bits in a data stream.
This problem is particularly acute in burst mode communication devices, where individual clients are assigned specific time slices in which they broadcast short bursts of data. In these systems the receiver must be able to accurately determine the location of bits for each burst of data. Typically there are only a few bits of preamble available in each burst upon which this determination can be made, before actual data bits that must be sampled begin to arrive.
When the bit eye center has been located during the preamble there may still be a need to adjust the bit eye center during the remainder of the burst. Specifically, during the burst, the eye center of the data stream can drift from the original located position in the data stream. This can be caused by a variety of factors. For example, small differences in clock speed between the transmitter and the receiver can cause the eye center of bits in the burst to drift over time. When this drift is severe, the sampling point can move unacceptably close to the transitions, causing potential errors in the data sampling and recovery. To avoid these potential errors, it is desirable to adjust the location of the sampling to compensate for any drift that is occurring. This is generally referred to as retraining to find a new bit eye center or sample point. In many systems it is required to retrain to avoid unacceptable data losses that would otherwise occur.


Computer instructions, computing device and method for processing seismic data under-sampled in an angle domain, the seismic data corresponding to a reverse time migration, three-dimensional, angle domain common image gather (ADCIG). The method includes receiving the seismic data; calculating, based on the seismic data, shot and receiver wave-fields with an RTM wave propagation engine; applying a wave-fields decomposition algorithm to obtain a propagation direction for the shot and receiver wave-fields; forming the ADCIG by applying an image condition to the shot and receiver wave-fields; determining that specular energies of the ADCIG are under-sampled around a reflection angle; during the step of forming the ADCIG, extrapolating the specular energies to a neighborhood of the reflection angle; and generating an image of a subsurface that is being surveyed based on the extrapolated specular energies.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein generally relate to methods and systems for producing images of a subsurface and, more particularly, to mechanisms and techniques for reducing under-sampling associated noise for reverse time migration three-dimensional angle domain common image gathers.
2. Discussion of the Background
Marine seismic data acquisition and processing generate a profile (image) of the geophysical structure under the seafloor. While this profile does not provide an accurate location for the oil and gas, it suggests, to those trained in the field, the presence or absence of oil and/or gas. Thus, providing a high resolution image of the structures under the seafloor is an ongoing process.
During a seismic gathering process, as shown in FIG. 1, a vessel 10 tows an array of seismic receivers 12 provided on cables 14 that form streamers 16. The streamers may be disposed horizontally, i.e., lying at a constant depth z1 relative to a surface 18 of the ocean. The vessel 10 also tows a sound source assembly 20 that is configured to generate an acoustic wave 22a. The acoustic wave 22a propagates downwards toward the seafloor 24 and penetrates the seafloor until eventually a reflecting structure 26 (reflector R) reflects the acoustic wave. The reflected acoustic wave 22b propagates upwardly until is detected by receiver 12. The recorded data is then processed for producing an accurate image of the subsurface. The processing may include various phases, e.g., velocity model determination, pre-stack, migration, post-stack, etc., which are known in the art and thus, their description is omitted herein.
The availability of wide-azimuth (WAZ) data, together with reverse time migration (RTM), has increased the capability to image complex subsalt structures. The WAZ data provides better illumination of subsalt structures than the narrow azimuth (NAZ) data does. The abundant azimuthal information in WAZ data also produces better noise cancellation due to its higher folds (i.e., the number of recorded signals corresponding to a surveyed point in the subsurface).
For pre-stack depth migration, a common image gather (CIG) is the link to the velocity model building. The conventional CIGs are generated by Kirchhoff migration in the offset domain. Because the RTM provides better images than the Kirchhoff migrations when the structures are complicated (see Zhang, Y. and J. Sun, "Practical issues of reverse time migration: true-amplitude gathers, noise removal and harmonic-source encoding," First Break, 26, 19-25, 2009), it is necessary to generate CIGs from RTM to enhance the RTM usage of WAZ data process.
To retain the azimuthal information in WAZ data for tomography, the RTM CIGs have to be three dimensional (see Huang et al., "The application of RTM 3D gathers for wide azimuth data in Garden Banks, Gulf of Mexico," 80th Annual International Meeting, SEG Expanded Abstracts, 3298-3302, 2010). On the other hand, the usage of CIGs for reservoir attribute interpretation, such as amplitude versus angle/azimuth (AVA) analysis, requires amplitude fidelity.
Therefore, there is a need to incorporate the amplitude preserving algorithm in 3D angle-domain CIGs (ADCIGs). Based on the true-amplitude RTM theory, a method to generate 3D ADCIGs has been developed for a general anisotropic medium (see Xu et al., "3D common image gathers from reverse time Migration," 80th Annual International Meeting, SEG Expanded Abstracts, 3257-3262, 2010), and it has been applied to WAZ data processing (see Huang et al., 2010).
3D ADCIG with RTM is a superior choice for pre-stack imaging in complex geological areas (see Zhang et al., "Angle gathers from reverse time migration," The Leading Edge, 29, 1364-1371, 2010). The advantage of 3D ADCIGs is that they retain the localized subsurface information with respect to azimuth angles and reflection angles which can be used for velocity inversion, migration quality control, anisotropy model building and AVA analysis. For ADCIGs, the output traces from RTM are indexed by both the subsurface reflection angle θ and the azimuth angle α.
Therefore, the RTM 3D ADCIG migration is in fact a mapping process in five dimensions which maps the WAZ data from a 5D input space (xs, ys, xr, yr, t) to a 5D output space (x, y, z, θ, α), where xs and ys are the coordinates of the source, xr and yr are the coordinates of the receiver, x, y, and z are the coordinates of a migrated point.
However, this technique introduces various challenges to the geophysicists. First, it dramatically increases the numerical cost because of the five dimensional mapping process and the finite difference wave-field propagation. Second, the locations of the sources and receivers are coarsely sampled on the surface and reflections from very near offsets are usually not recorded in marine streamer acquisitions. Thus, this mapping process leads to severe sampling issues. Xu et al. discussed how to reduce the computational cost by introducing a windows anti-leakage Fourier Transform technique. However, more analysis is necessary for addressing the sampling issues.
For current WAZ data processing, six azimuth sectors are output (see Huang et al., 2010). Thus, the migration output is oversampled in the azimuth angle domain, which does not cause a problem when the velocity model provides flat CIGs. On the other hand, the reflection angle is usually sampled in 1° to 2° increments. Sampling can be an issue when generating 3D ADCIGs. As will be discussed later, the events in the shallow ADCIGs are poorly sampled on the near angles and are better sampled on the far angles. In the deep part, the ADCIGs are generally oversampled. Thus, the gathers look normal when the velocity model is close to the real one.
However, when the velocity is off too much from the real velocity and the migrated events show curvatures on the ADCIGs, the amplitudes on the far angles are much attenuated with big angle intervals. As a result, the automatic event picking process may fail to pick the far angle curvatures for a further velocity update. Thus, there is a need to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) in RTM 3D ADCIGs. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods that avoid the afore-described problems and drawbacks.

Device and method for extrapolating specular energy of reverse time migration three dimensional angle gathers


Provided is a device which can present three dimensional information by a simple structure and in which the information can be viewed with the naked eye. A plurality of rotary line-light-source units are arranged. The line-light-source units provide different pieces of image information in different directions, in order to produce a parallax between both eyes. A three-dimensional image control unit performs a control to provide thinned image information at corresponding positions to the plurality of line-light-source units and successively present the entire three-dimensional image information by scrolling. As a result, a viewer can recognize the three-dimensional image moved and presented by the scroll control.

In order to display a three-dimensional stereoscopic image, physiological stereoscopic elements by which a person senses the stereoscopic feeling and perspective are utilized. The physiological stereoscopic elements include: binocular parallax which is the difference between the images viewed by the left and right eyes, binocular convergence which is the rotation angle of eye balls serving as an intersecting point of visual lines, focal-point adjustment which is change in the thickness of a lens for adjusting the focal point, and kinematic parallax which is the difference between the images viewed by eyes because of movement. Among these physiological stereoscopic elements, binocular parallax is conventionally utilized in display of three-dimensional images. The basic principle of the three-dimensional image display utilizing the binocular parallax is the technique realized by reproducing the images viewed by the respective left and right eyes to show them as if the images are stereoscopic images. The binocular parallax is the phenomenon generated since the left and right eyes are distant from each other, wherein an object in front of the face is perceived when two types of images viewed from two different directions are transmitted to the brain even when the face is not moved. The three-dimensional image presenting technique utilizing the binocular parallax is the technique that presents mutually different images to the left and right eyes, respectively, and the techniques can be largely categorized into the methods utilizing glasses and the methods not requiring glasses. The methods utilizing glasses include the anaglyph method, the shutter glasses method, etc. The anaglyph method is the method in which: glasses which are red for the right eye and blue for the left eye are used; and, when one image printed the image for the right eye by red and printed the image for the left eye by blue is viewed by the glasses, the blue image is not viewed by the right eye but only the image of the right eye is viewed as a result, and the red image cannot be similarly viewed by the left eye, and the images having parallax between the both eyes are presented, thereby causing the images to be viewed as a three-dimensional image. The shutter glasses method is the method in which: a projector such as a liquid crystal shutter and shutters of glasses are synchronized, the left shutter is closed while the image of the right eye is projected, the left one is configured in the opposite manner, and the shutters are switched more than several tens of times per one second, thereby causing the images to be viewed as three-dimensional images by causing the viewer to feel as if he/she is viewing the images by both eyes by the afterimage effect. The methods not utilizing glasses include the parallax barrier method, the lenticular lens method, the holographic stereogram method, etc. The parallax barrier method is the method in which the images for the left and right eyes are displayed by utilizing shielding parts and openings through slits, which are narrow long transmission windows, thereby causing the images to be viewed as three-dimensional images. The lenticular lens method is the method in which the images of the left and right eyes are displayed by an assembly of extremely-narrow convex lenses called a lenticular lens instead of a slit, thereby causing the images to be viewed as three-dimensional images. The holographic stereogram method is the method in which: images of a stereoscopic object are taken with shifted hologram directions, a slit is placed in front of a display material to display a hologram, thereby generating left/right parallax by the principle similar to the parallax barrier method and presenting the stereoscopic feeling. In these three-dimensional image methods, the viewer has to wear a some sort of device, for example, has to wear glasses in the anaglyph method, and a some sort of special device has to be placed in the presenting device side, for example, the parallax barrier method not using glasses requires slit equipment, and the lenticular lens method requires a special lens. It is cumbersome for a viewer to use glasses or the like, and there is a defect that, for example, the faces of each other cannot be seen. Therefore, preferably, it is desired to view three-dimensional images by naked eyes; however, the methods not using glasses have a defect that the device configuration becomes complex. For example, in the light-ray reproducing method, the configuration for scanning a line light source is required. The light-ray reproducing method realizes parallax of light sources from slits by moving a one-dimensional light source. Therefore, three-dimensional image information is presented only within the range in which the light source can be moved. However, there is an example proposing a full-circle three-dimensional display in which a line light source is rotated (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). The full-circle three-dimensional display rotates a line light source to pre sent the entirety of a three-dimensional image, and the three-dimensional image can be viewed from an arbitrary position. However, the presentation range is limited to an inner region of the rotating line light source, and the scale of the device is increased, which is not necessarily a simple device. As a proposition for simplifying a three-dimensional image presentation device and reducing cost, there is proposed a method in which: a plurality of one-dimensional display elements are used to sequentially subject one-dimensional patterns corresponding to column components of a plurality of images of a three-dimensional object taken from a plurality of directions to time division and display, and the time-divided and displayed one-dimensional patterns are deflected in a plurality of directions corresponding to display patterns by an image deflecting device such as a mirror or an acousto-optic element to deflect them in a plurality of directions corresponding to the directions of the point of image pickup, thereby presenting images (for example, see Patent Document 2). On the other hand, as a method of displaying two-dimensional image information, there is proposed a method in which two-dimensional matrix information is displayed by thinned display units, and scroll control is carried out, thereby carrying out virtual display as if all matrices are displayed (for example, see Patent Document 2 to Patent Document 4). In this method, slit-shaped light sources are disposed with a certain interval, the display light sources corresponding to the pixels of all the matrices necessary for two-dimensional display are not required, and an image of a large screen can be presented by a small number of display elements. Therefore, this can be realized by a simple device. There is no three-dimensional information presentation device using such a method.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2006-189962    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. Hei7-120701    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. Hei8-179717    Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. Hei9-311659    Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. Hei10-333634    Non-Patent Document: "Cylindrical 3-D observable form All Direction" written by Tomohiro Endo, Yoshihiro Kajiki, Toshio Honda, and Makoto Sato Journal D-II of The Institute of Electronics, Information, and Communication Engineers Vol. J84-D-II No. 6, pp 1003-1011, (2001)

Three-dimensional information presentation device using slit viewing


A mobile device with color discrimination for producing one of a plurality of pre-determined physical actions when disposed on an action surface includes a body having a set of wheels and a third point of contact with the action surface; means for executing a physical action; a color detection module including a broad spectrum illumination source with a source lens, the illumination source for producing a spot of light on the action surface; a photodetector with a bandpass filter, the photodetector for receiving light reflected from the spot of light and passed through the bandpass filter; a second photodetector with a second bandpass filter, the second photodetector for receiving light reflected from the spot of light and passed through the second bandpass filter; an electronics module including comparator circuits in electronic communication with the photodetectors; and a microcircuit in electronic communication with the comparator circuits and with the means for executing a physical action.

Description of the Background Art
The present state of the art has seen the development of toy vehicles that can provide responses to operator direction or commands. U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,983 issued to Peters, for example, discloses a toy vehicle in which forward progress may be controlled by means of an onboard video camera. U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,148 issued to Konno discloses a toy vehicle in which change in vehicle direction is effected by means of an infrared signal transmitted to the toy vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,724 issued to McCaslin discloses a toy vehicle in which vehicle direction can be controlled by an external command, such as a voice command or a light from an external source. U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,575 issued to Rosenthal discloses a toy vehicle operated in response to a beam of colored control light from a handheld controller. U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,424 issued to Takahashi discloses a toy vehicle adapted to run on a track using a pattern detection unit to vary the speed and direction of the toy vehicle.
However, such toy vehicles are sensitive to signals of, at most, only a single color present on an action surface or sent by an operator. This design feature results in the toy vehicle having a limited number of responsive actions, such as merely following a predetermined track or path, or performing a single physical movement, for example. What is needed is a method and system for providing a greater number of predictable or random actions from a mobile toy, such as may be produced in response to the discrimination of a plurality of colors detected on a play surface.


A web is fed into a sheet severer prior to its entry into a subsequent processing stage. The sheets, which have been severed from the web are then cut into required product sections in a cross-cutter which is associated with this subsequent processing stage. In order to achieve an accurately registered severing process, using the sheet severer, it is triggered by a signal which represents the phase position of the cross-cutter. The sheet severer is thus phase-correlated in relation to the phase position of the cross-cutter.

DE 195 25 169 C2 discloses a severing device which is arranged in the path of the continuous web, and which severing device is arranged, in the path of the continuous web, upstream of the transverse cutting arrangement consisting of a blade cylinder and a cooperating cutting groove and folding blade cylinder. The transverse cutting device is assigned to the subsequent folding apparatus, and cuts the continuous web into product sections in the course of its operation.
A continuous web guidance device between a former and a folding apparatus and having a severing device is known from DE 101 59 937 A1. The severing device severs the continuous web in case of a stoppage of the folding system. The severing device has a blade element with an actuating assembly which is operated by a pressure medium. A clamping device is arranged upstream of the severing device.
DE 42 10 190 A1 discloses a severing device with a safety arrangement. A severed continuous web is moved out of the operating path of the continuous web in the course of being severed.
DE 102 22 586 A1 discloses an arrangement for treating a web of material. Respective web severing devices are provided on a web travel path both upstream and downstream of a material treatment station.
Two severing devices, which are arranged upstream of a folding unit, are disclosed in JP 04-175 165 A. The first severing device cuts through the running web, and a continuous web section, which was deflected by the first cut, is cut off by the second severing device while the machine is stopped.

Method and devices for severing sheets from and/or feeding a web into a subsequent processing stage


A random number generator according to one embodiment includes a write circuit, a read circuit, and a signal output circuit. The write circuit inverts magnetization of a magnetic layer of a magnetic tunnel junction element stochastically by supplying current to the magnetic layer. The read circuit reads the magnetization. The signal output circuit generates a random number on the basis of the magnetization read by the read circuit. The random number generator includes a sequence control circuit that controls the write circuit and the read circuit. The sequence control circuit regulates the write circuit to supply the current to the write circuit in a first period, and causes the read circuit to read the magnetization after the first period is finished and then a second period longer than the first period is elapsed.

Some methods for generating random numbers use mathematical algorithms.
The random numbers generated by the mathematical algorithms, however, are pseudo-random numbers that are generated based on deterministic calculation and therefore, these random numbers are not the random numbers that are true (called true random numbers) and have a certain periodicity. In addition, if the initial value is specified, the random numbers are perfectly reproduced; thus, these random numbers essentially have vulnerability. From this perspective, it is necessary to generate the true random numbers that do not have a certain periodicity or the like for practical use.


A classification apparatus for the semiconductor substrate is provided with a bow measuring section which accepts silicon substrates and measures respective bows thereof. The classification apparatus is also provided with a bow judging section which, based on one or more standard value(s) set in advance, checks a measurement result by the bow measuring section against the standard value(s). The bow judging section judges to which of ranges defined based on the standard value(s) of the bow the measurement result by the bow measuring section belongs. Further, the classification apparatus is provided with a sorting section which accepts the silicon substrate having been measured by the bow measuring section and sorts the accepted silicon substrates based on the judgment results by the bow judging section. In other words, silicon substrates are grouped according to the bows by the sorting section. Then, respective silicon substrates are discharged in a grouped state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a classification apparatus for a semiconductor substrate, a classification method of a semiconductor substrate, and a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device suitable for enhancing in-plane uniformity of dry etching.
2. Description of the Related Art
A silicon substrate is made by slicing a single crystal ingot formed by a Czochralski (CZ) method, for example. In the CZ method, oxygen leaking out from a crucible is inevitably mixed at a stage of growth of the crystal. Oxygen in silicon fixes dislocation and increases strength. Additionally, when manufacturing a semiconductor device with using this substrate, oxygen supersaturated at the time of heat treatment in process aggregates to generate precipitate. Oxygen precipitate has a function called gettering, in which oxygen captures a heavy metal atom which is mixed from the outside. As described above, in the silicon substrate made by the CZ method, oxygen which leads to improvement of a yield and characteristic of the device is included, and the method has been widely used since a long time ago.
However, in a crystal grown by the CZ method, there may exist a void defect being an aggregate of atomic vacancies in a crystal growth stage, and when the void defect appears on a surface of the silicon substrate, the void defect may be a crucial defect in an operation of a semiconductor device.
Thus, a method is developed for eliminating the void defect on the surface by means of carrying out annealing to the silicon substrate at a high temperature. In this method, it is utilized that a hole is diffused outward at the time of high-temperature annealing. A substrate made by this method is called an annealed substrate. The annealed substrate is being widely used as a substrate for an advanced device.
The substrates for the advanced device include a substrate called an epitaxial substrate, in addition to the annealed substrate. The epitaxial substrate is a substrate in which a silicon thin film is epitaxially grown on a silicon substrate made by the CZ method. Even if the void defect exists on a surface of the substrate made by the CZ method, a silicon atom at the time of epitaxial growth is filled in the void defect. Therefore, the void defect is eliminated also in the epitaxial substrate.
As described above, primarily three kinds of substrate exist as the silicon substrates.
Additionally, when manufacturing a semiconductor device by using such a silicon substrate, a semiconductor film, an insulating film and a conductive film are formed, and these films are processed. Processing methods of these films are classified primarily into dry etching and wet etching.
However, recently, variation increasingly occurs in etching speed even in the same substrate at the time of dry etching. In other words, though etching conditions such as a pressure in a chamber and an applied voltage are the same, there occurs variation in etching speed. Along with the variation of the etching speeds, variation occurs in line width of the formed pattern. As a consequence, variation occurs in characteristic among semiconductor devices manufactured from the same substrate. For example, threshold voltages of transistors may vary by variation of gate widths. However, a cause of the variation has not been revealed yet.
Related arts are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-156152, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-297957.

Classification apparatus for semiconductor substrate, classification method of semiconductor substrate, and manufacturing method of semiconductor device


An anti-clogging nozzle system for a continuous jet ink jet printer is disclosed. A printing nozzle has both an ink inlet and an ink outlet permitting constant ink flow behind the nozzle orifice during printing. A pressure sensor monitors the ink flow and signals clogs to an automatic unclogging system. The unclogging system includes a control circuit to initiate an unclogging operating cycle when necessary. One of two unclogging modes is employed, both of which require the control system to operate an unclogging valve to vary pressure in the ink return line.

This invention relates to continuous jet, ink jet printers typically used for industrial purposes to mark products with bar codes, date codes and other important information. Continuous jet ink jet printers are well known in this art and will not be described in detail in this specification. For background, the reader is referred to Diebold et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,222 hereby incorporated by reference. In brief, an ink jet printer of this type supplies ink to a nozzle which is typically stimulated by a piezoelectric device causing a stream of ink, emitted from an orifice formed in the nozzle to break-up into discrete droplets. At the point of break-up, a charge ring or similar device is provided to selectively charge drops which are desired to be deflected onto the substrate or product to be marked. Not all drops are so charged and the remaining drops pass to a gutter or recovery device which circulates the uncharged drops back to the ink supply system for reuse.
Clogging of continuous jet printers can be a problem, particularly when small orifices are utilized for high precision printing. In an effort to reduce clogs, nozzles are fabricated under clean room conditions in an attempt to ensure that particles and debris are not deposited in the nozzle or in the supply conduit which bring ink to the nozzle. In the ink supply system, filters are usually employed in an effort to catch impurities which may remain in the ink or which may form in the ink during operation of the system. Nevertheless, clogs do occur for various reasons. For example, the drop charging process can cause precipitation of ink dyes in the vicinity of the nozzle orifice. Over time, these deposits may clog the nozzle.
Efforts at unclogging nozzles are known in this art. In particular, nozzles having both an inlet and an outlet have been employed as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,297 to Lecheheb. In such device, ink is supplied to the nozzle through an inlet 4 while the outlet 5 is normally closed to form a disk-like reservoir of ink in conduits 10/11 facilitating transmission of stimulated energy thereto. In the event of a clog, printing is interrupted for purposes of unclogging the nozzle orifice 17. Orifice 17 is formed in a removable cap 3 which is secured to protrusion 20 by a bayonet mounting. Clogs are manually cleared by removing the cap and, if necessary, flushing ink using the outlet or bleed port 5. This is done by connecting the outlet of the dual-port nozzle to either vacuum or atmospheric pressure to alternately suck air in through the orifice or pass ink across the mouth of the orifice to remove any debris or clogging material. This operation in which printing must be interrupted for unclogging, is desirably accomplished within an optimally short period of time.
In a related art, namely ink jet array printing, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,873 to McCann et al. it is also known to use two ports. The flow across the array is necessary to create and maintain an ink reservoir for the array. In addition, it is known to alternate the urging of ink in the orifices from one side to the other, i.e., from the ink cavity to the exterior and then back (See McCann, Col. 6, lines 13-34). However, there is no teaching of how to sense the unclogging other than to initiate printing operation. This has not been used in the single continuous jet art because of increase in the drool problem and the greater supply required.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a cross flow nozzle and an improved anti-clogging system for a continuous jet, ink jet printer. More specifically, it is desired to provide an anti-clogging system which both lessens the possibility of clogging of the orifice and, when clogging occurs, to detect and clear the clog and return the printer to normal operation within an optimal period of time.
It is another object of the invention to provide a system of the type described which is highly reliable and capable of extended periods of operation without significant clogging or downtime resulting therefrom.
Another object of the invention is to provide an anti-clogging system for an ink jet printer which is capable of detecting a blockage in an ink jet printhead orifice to initiate unclogging thereof and then detecting removal of the blockage.
A further object of the invention is to provide ink jet nozzles of a type which are suitable for use with the anti-clogging system of the present invention. These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the remaining portion of this specification.

Cross flow nozzle system for an ink jet printer


A new class of polypeptides is disclosed, along with a method for identifying and producing such polypeptides, having the characteristic of being unique to diseased states, particularly tumors and blood-borne malignancies. These new polypeptides are active and will be useful for therapeutic purposes.

Human leukocyte interferon was first discovered and prepared in the form of very crude fractions by Isaacs and Lindenmann (1, 2). Efforts to purify and characterize the material have led to the preparation of relatively homogeneous leukocyte interferons derived from normal or leukemic (chronic myelogenous leukemia or "CML") donors leukocytes. These interferons are a family of proteins characterized by a potent ability to confer a virus-resistant state in their target cells. In addition, interferon can inhibit cell proliferation, modulate immune responses and alter expression of proteins. These properties have prompted the clinical use of leukocyte interferon as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of viral infections and malignancies.
With the advent of recombinant DNA technology, the controlled microbial production of an enormous variety of useful polypeptides has become possible. The workhorse of recombinant DNA technology is the plasmid, a non-chromosomal circle of double-stranded DNA found in bacteria and other microbes, oftentimes in multiple copies per cell. Included in the information encoded in the plasmid DNA is that required to reproduce the plasmid (i.e., an origin of replication) and ordinarily, one or more selection characteristics such as, in the case of bacteria, resistance to antibiotics which permit clones of the host cell containing the plasmid of interest to be recognized and preferentially grown in selective media. The utility of plasmids lies in the fact that they can be specifically cleaved by one or another restriction endonuclease or "restriction enzyme," each of which recognizes a specific site in the DNA. Heterologous genes or gene fragments may be inserted into the plasmid at the cleavage site. To construct vectors with specific sequences inserted, DNA recombination is performed outside the cell, but the resulting "recombinant" plasmid can be introduced into cells by a process known as transformation and large quantities of the heterologous gene-containing recombinant plasmid obtained by growing the transformant. Moreover, where a promoter which governs the transcription of the encoded DNA message, is properly placed upstream (5') of a coding sequence or a gene, the resulting expression vector can be used to produce the polypeptide sequence for which the inserted sequence or gene codes, a process referred to as expression.
Expression is initiated in a region known as the promoter which is recognized by and bound by RNA polymerase. In many cases promoter regions are overlapped by "control" regions such as the bacterial operators. Operators are DNA sequences which are recognized by so-called repressor proteins which serve to regulate the frequency of transcription initiation at a particular promoter. The polymerase travels along the DNA, transcribing the information contained in the coding strand from its 5' to 3' end into messenger RNA (mRNA) which is in turn translated into a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence for which the DNA codes. Each amino acid is encoded by a nucleotide triplet or "codon" within the coding sequence, i.e., that part which encodes the amino acid sequence of the expressed product. In bacteria (e.g. Escherichia coli) the mRNA contains a ribosome binding site, a translation initiation or "start" signal (ordinarily ATG in the DNA, which in the resulting mRNA becomes AUG), the nucleotide codons within the coding sequence itself, one or more stop codons, and an additional sequence of messenger RNA, the 3' untranslated region. Ribosomes bind to the binding site provided on the messenger RNA, in bacteria ordinarily as the mRNA is formed, and produce the encoded polypeptide, beginning at the translation start signal and ending at the stop signal. The desired product is produced if the sequences encoding the ribosome binding site are positioned properly with respect to the AUG initiator codon and if all remaining codons follow the initiator codon in phase. The resulting product may be obtained from the host cell and recovered by appropriate purification. In other systems, proteins may be secreted from the host cells. A wide variety of expression vectors and host systems exist so that RNA and proteins may be expressed in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells as well as in intact animals and plants.
During the past several decades a large number of human and animal interferons have been produced, identified, purified and cloned (see ref. 1-72). Several of the interferon preparations have been prepared for clinical trial in both crude form, for some of the original interferon preparations, as well as in purified form. Several individual recombinant interferon-.alpha. species have been cloned and expressed. The proteins have then been purified by various procedures and formulated for clinical use in a variety of formulations (73). Most of the interferons in clinical use that have been approved by various regulatory agencies throughout the world are mixtures or individual species of human .alpha. interferon (Hu-IFN-.alpha.). In some countries Hu-IFN-.beta. and .gamma. have also been approved for clinical trial and in some cases approved for therapeutic use (56,74). The major thesis underlying clinical use of these interferons was that they were natural molecules produced by normal individuals. Indeed, the specific thesis was that all the interferons prepared for clinical use, be they natural- or recombinant-generated products, represented interferons that were produced naturally by normal people. This is true for a large number of interferons as well as specific growth factors, lymphokines, cytokines, hormones, clotting factors and other proteins that have been produced (17, 21, 22, 25-27, 29-34, 39, 40, 45-51, 53-57, 62-64, 68-72).
Reports have suggested that Hu-IFN-.alpha.A (also designated Hu-IFN-.alpha.2a and by the trade name Roferon A) was not represented in interferons produced by a normal population of individuals (75-79). Believing that certain interferons (or, more generically, certain polypeptides) are uniquely found in diseased cells, the inventor of the present invention undertook to identify interferons which are so uniquely characterized. For convenience the inventor began by screening known interferons, in particular, the sources of the several variants of Hu-IFN-.alpha.2 that have been described. As discussed more fully below, it was found that the source of two of the variants of Hu-IFN-.alpha.2, Hu-IFN-.alpha.2a and Hu-IFN-.alpha.2c, are not present in normal individuals. Only Hu-IFN-.alpha.2b is found in normal individuals (79).

DNA encoding human interferon IFN -.alpha.001