An apparatus for combining laser beams into a single high power output beam. The apparatus includes a self-imaging waveguide (SIWG) with parallel reflective elements that have a length that is an integer multiple of the self-imaging or Talbot length of the waveguide or an integer fraction of this self-imaging length. The apparatus also includes a system for controlling the phase of each of laser beams provided to an inlet of the waveguide. The phases are controlled, e.g., with phase shifters using active feedback or control signals from the inlet to the waveguide, such that a coherently combined beam is produced at the outlet of the waveguide; and this beam is typically a high power beam of 1 kW or higher. The phase shifters are often controlled to phase-lock the input beams and may be operated to steer or aim the output beam from the waveguide.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of lasers, and more specifically, the invention is related to methods and apparatus to combine multiple laser beams into a single high brightness beam.
2. Relevant Background
Directed energy weapons (DEW) based on delivery of laser energy to a target have been pursued for many years. Such laser beams must meet stringent criteria that include scalability to very high powers (e.g., powers of hundreds of kilowatts (kWs) to megawatts (MW) or more) in order to deliver sufficient cumulative energy on a target. DEW laser beams also require nearly diffraction limited beam quality to minimize the illuminated area at the target. Producing such beams from a single laser source is very difficult. The difficulties are due in part to the fluence (power or energy per unit area) often being high enough to destroy optics or optical components in the beam path. This is not surprising since a primary intent of DEW lasers is to produce destructive fluence (e.g., high power or energy per unit area). One clear objective for a designer of a DEW or other high energy laser is to generate high energy or destructive fluence at the target but not in the laser beam generator itself.
Another difficulty in creating beams of very high powers is that it is generally the case that beam quality degrades as laser power levels are increased. This degradation with increasing power is frequently a consequence of thermally induced distortions. Poor beam quality causes the laser area at the target to be larger than it would be for a perfect or non-distorted beam and consequently, in distorted or lower quality beams the fluence is reduced. As a result of these considerations, considerable effort has been directed to devising methods to combine the outputs from multiple lower power lasers into a single high power beam. In this description, the term "power" is typically used but may be thought of as meaning the more general phrase of "power or energy." In creating a high power laser, the quantity that frequently matters more is often energy delivered to a target area although in DEW applications it is also frequently the case that the energy must be delivered in a certain amount of time to maximize lethality. High energy delivery can be achieved through highly energetic short duration pulses or through lower peak power pulses of long duration that in some cases last several seconds or more.
One significant consideration in combining beams to produce high power or energy is scalability, e.g., many separate sources often must be combined. A number of beam combination methods have been disclosed that rely on polarization combining two beams (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,982,166 and 5,172,264 to Morrow), but such combination methods are of little use for DEW applications which typically involve the combination of many beams.
Additionally, several scalable beam combination methods have been devised that can be divided into two broad categories: those relying on phased array concepts and those relying on spectral beam combination. Other non-scalable techniques do exist (e.g., temporal stacking of multiple pulses as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,212 to Seppala and Haas), but these techniques require specific pulse formats and complex arrangements to implement. Phased array (PA) concepts rely on the creation of multiple laser beams whose phase can be controlled to a sufficiently high degree such that interferometric methods can then be utilized to combine the multiple beams into a single beam. Spectral beam combination techniques, on the other hand, use dispersive optical elements such as diffraction gratings to cause laser beams at different wavelengths to propagate in a single direction as one beam. Examples of spectral beam combination techniques have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,697,192 to Fan et al. for example.
While some argue that spectral beam combination is generally superior, this technique has not proven useful or superior in many applications. For example, certain high-power applications, such as long-range coherent laser radar (ladar) applications, require the radiation to be single frequency, which precludes use of spectrally diverse methods. Another problem in implementing these techniques is that spectral beam combination requires an optical element to be inserted into the multiple beams, which then becomes susceptible to damage. As noted above, DEW applications are aimed at generating sufficient optical power to destroy objects. Hence, the placement of objects in the beam path is a great concern. One reason this issue is frequently not addressed by developers of spectral beam combination systems is that laboratory demonstrations are generally aimed at demonstrating physics principles rather than operational high power laser systems and are carried out at comparatively low power levels. Specifically, current combination demonstrations are generally performed at total power levels measured in Watts or at most hundreds of Watts, which is at least 3-5 orders of magnitude lower than what is required for operational DEW and other high power beam systems.
The same scalability and damage issues also apply to existing phased array or PA concepts. One subset of PA concepts uses diffractive elements, in particular phase gratings, to combine multiple beams. The general idea is that a phase grating can be constructed such that a single incident beam is split into multiple diffractive orders. By using this arrangement, reverse multiple beams interfering in a phase grating can be combined into a single beam. An example of such a method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,649 to Swanson et al.
A second subset of PA concepts uses phase conjugation, e.g., conjugation based on stimulated Brillouin scattering or SBS, to phase lock multiple sources. Such concepts are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,385,228 to Dane and Hackel and 4,794,345 to Linford et al. However, as with spectral beam combiners and phase gratings, these approaches require insertion of optical elements into the beams, which is undesirable in DEW and other similar systems.
A third type of phased array is similar to phased arrays used in microwave radar as well as radio-telescopes. In these designs, multiple parallel beams are placed side by side to form a large area. Locking the phases of the individual beams to a common value ensures that the beam acts like a single beam with a larger area. A limitation of this approach is that of side lobes, which lead to energy deposition outside the intended target area. This represents an efficiency loss on the one hand and may also lead to collateral damage at unintended locations hit by the high power laser beam if this type of PA were used in a DEW system.
From the above discussion, it is clear that beam combination methods that do not require insertion of objects in the beam would be advantageous. The use of hollow waveguides to combine two beams has been demonstrated at low power by Jenkins and Devereux in U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,570, but the described method only discloses a method for combining Gaussian beams rather than a combination method for more general transverse intensity distributions. Gaussian profile beams are useful in many optical situations but are in other applications undesired because they have wide "tails" that prevent multiple beams from being positioned in proximity without interference. Truncation of laser beams produces intense, localized "hot spots" through diffraction, which are detrimental to safe scaling of the laser power to high levels. A further property of Gaussian beams is that they always remain Gaussian as they propagate through linear devices including mirrors, prisms, and lenses. More general beams, including super-Gaussian beams, do not behave in this manner, and consequently, a device that works with Gaussian beams often will not work in the same manner with a non-Gaussian beam. For example, the Fourier transform of a Gaussian beam is still Gaussian, whereas the Fourier transform of a higher order super-Gaussian beam is not super-Gaussian. Since imaging systems generally produce Fourier transformations (for example, the light distribution at the focal plane of a lens is the Fourier transform of the light distribution one focal length in front of the lens), it is not a priori a given that the appearance of a Gaussian beam profile is also an indication of a true imaging condition. Furthermore, a number of limitations arise from the waveguide geometry taught in the Jenkins patent that makes it difficult and cumbersome to apply for operational high power lasers. Another severe limitation of the Jenkins patent, as well as other existing waveguide configurations, is that they do not teach methods to carry out coherent combination of beams that are not a priori mutually coherent. Simply inputting multiple beams into a combiner without adequate phase control is not sufficient to ensure the emergence of a single coherent beam. Without phase control, the output will on average simply be the sum of intensities as if no coherent summation occurred. This is unacceptable in the construction of high power lasers of DEW and similar applications.
Waveguides are increasingly used in very low power telecommunications systems. In this area, several devices have been disclosed that perform certain beam splitting or beam combination functions but do not enable operation of a high power laser at high efficiency. Such devices include a hexagonal geometry device described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,228 which uses "kaleidoscope" effects to produce multiple beams and is aimed at wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and similar low power applications. A further example of an integrated optical device for WDM applications is disclosed by Tayag and Batchman in U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,288. Another tapered waveguide device is described by Bouda in U.S. Patent Application 2002/0114572 A1. This device uses non-adiabatically tapered waveguides to produce beam splitting functions with an integrated optical device. The non-adiabatic waveguide is essential to the described device in order to produce a uniform illumination of multiple subsequent waveguides, but such a waveguide may be highly detrimental to the beam combination devices developed for DEW or other high power beam systems. For example, Bouda illustrates coupling from one input beam to a multiplicity of output beams where the coupling loss is measured in several decibels (dB). One dB equals 21% loss and 2 dB equals approximately 37% loss. Such high losses may be acceptable for low power applications but are generally unacceptable for high power lasers. One reason is that electrical power to drive the laser is very limited and must be used efficiently. Another reason such losses are unacceptable relates to thermal management. A high power laser operating at 500 kW that loses 20% of the light before transmission would need to safely dispose of 100,000 W of laser power, which is a very significant power level.
Self-imaging in an optical tunnel is described by Bryngdahl in U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,029, but Bryngdahl does not describe requirements to use such devices for coherent beam combination. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,159 to Ulrich describes a number of self-imaging waveguide devices, but it does not teach a system that can be scaled to high power and that can coherently combine many beams into one higher power beam.

Method and apparatus to coherently combine high-power beams in self-imaging waveguides

Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies, Inc.


Therapeutic and prophylactic methods using Rh antibodies for delaying the progression of infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in a subject who is exposed to HIV, or infected by HIV.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a transmissible disease caused by a retrovirus. The retrovirus responsible for AIDS was first identified by Barre-Sinoussi, F., et al, Science 220, 868-871, 1983 and Gallo, R. C., et al., Science 224:500-503, 1984, and related retroviruses have been isolated from patients in different areas. The accepted terminology for these isolates is human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which has subtypes e.g. HIV type-1 and HIV type-2.
HIV produces a slow but usually progressive deterioration in the host immune system. Primary HIV infection represents the initial stage of AIDS when there is a burst of viral replication associated with dissemination in lymphoid tissue (Piatak et al, 1993, Science 1988, 239:586; Daar et al, 1991, N. Eng. J. Med. 1991, 324:961-964; and Fauci, 1993, Science 1993, 262:1011-1018). This acute HIV infection is largely an asymptomatic infection with a persisting generalized lymphadenopathy. A second stage in AIDS is a symptomatic HIV infection complicated by conditions attributable to compromised cellular immunity (e.g. thrush, listerosis, peripheral neuropathy). The third stage in AIDS is defined by laboratory criteria (reduced CD4+ cell numbers of percentage of total lymphocytes) and clinical criteria (characteristic opportunistic infections, neoplasms, central nervous systems disorders, and cachexia). Typically acute HIV infection lasts about 12 weeks; there is a period of clinical latency that lasts 5 to 10 years, and the patient survives about 2 years after a diagnosis of AIDS can be made. There is a progressive decrease in the number of CD4+ cells, as well as the destruction of CD4+ cells during these periods of the HIV infection (Hoxie, 1995, In Hoffman, R., et al., eds. Hematology. Basic Principles and Practice. Second Edition. New York. Churchill Livingstone, 1995:2011-2019).
The mechanisms by which HIV infection produces immunodeficiency is the subject of intensive investigations. It has been suggested that the decrease in CD4+ lymphocyte number and function involves direct effects of viral infection on mature and progenitor CD4 cells, as well as the destruction by cellular or humoral mechanisms of uninfected CD4 cells that display absorbed or processed viral antigens on their surface. Monocytes and macrophages which express the CD4 antigen are also targets for HIV infection. These cells of the reticuloendothelial system probably represent a major reservoir for virus production in vivo (Gendelman et al., 1989, AIDS 2:475; Embretson et al, 1993, Nature 362:359). Monocytes play a central role in the processing and presenting of antigens to T and B lymphocytes and they are able to migrate to the central nervous system. Therefore, infection of monocytes by HIV may play a role in the development of both immunologic and neurologic disease in infected individuals.
The use of intravenous immunoglobulin in the treatment of patients with HIV infections has been widely documented (See Schrappe-Bacher, M., Vox-Sang, 1990; Suppl 1:3-14; Wagner , N., et al. Arch. Dis. Child. 1992, Oct., 67(10): 1267-71; Brunkhorst, U. et al., Infection, 1990, 18(2):86-90; De Simone, C., et al, Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 1991 13(3) 447-58; Gungor, T. et al., Eur. J. Pediatr., 1993 152(8): 650-4; Mofenson, L. M. et al., J. Acquir. Immune Defic. Syndr. 1993, 6(10): 1103-13; Mofenson, L. M. and Moye, J, Pediatr. Res. 1993 33(I Suppl): S80-7; discussion S87-9; Ersoy et al., Turk. J. Pediatr. 1992 34(4): 203-9; Shearer, W. T. et al, Ann N.Y. cad. Sci. 1993, 693:35-51; and WO 89/01339 to Cummins et al.). Intravenous immunoglobulin administration has been reported to be beneficial in reducing the rate of secondary opportunistic bacterial or viral infections in HIV-positive adults and children. It has also been reported to temporarily increase and/or maintain CD4+T-lymphocyte profiles in HIV-infected patients. However, this activity has not been consistently observed.
The serologic and immunologic effects of intravenous immunoglobulin on T-cell count appear to be dependent upon both the severity of the HIV infection and the duration of the study. Previous studies on the effect of intravenous immunoglobulin activity on CD4+ cell count and clinical efficacy were conducted in patients with early HIV infection (entry cell counts of.gtoreq.200/mm.sup.3) using relatively short treatment periods (.ltoreq.16 months). In contrast, serologic effects diminish with advancement of HIV infection (e.g. in patients with AIDS-related complex), and intravenous immunoglobulin was demonstrated to be serologically and clinically ineffective at 24 months. Therefore, the serological effects of intravenous immunoglobulin cannot solely account for its clinical actions, and the long-term benefits of intravenous immunoglobulin in HIV infections remains to be established.
Immune thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP) is a common complication of HIV infection. It can occur at any stage of its natural history, both in patients diagnosed with AIDS, those with AIDS-related complex, and those with HIV infection but without AIDS symptoms. ITP secondary to HIV infection involves both reduced production of platelets and antibody-mediated destruction of platelets by the reticuloendothelial system.
Rh(D) immunoglobulin has been used to treat HIV-associated ITP in adults and children (Gringeri, A., et al., Br. J. Haematol. 1992 80(3): 337-40; Rossi, E., et al., Haematologica 1991 76(2): 141-9; Landonio, G., et al., AIDS 1990 4(1): 29-34; Brusamolino, E., et al., Haemotologica 1989 74(1): 51-6; Cattaneo, M., et al., Blood 1989 73(1): 357); and Bussel et al., Blood, 1991, 77:1884-1893). The majority of patients treated with Rh(D) immunoglobulin respond with increased platelet counts, but the platelet response is temporary and lasts about 3 weeks. Rh(D) immunoglobulin treatment has been ineffective in Rh negative patients, and in all patients that have received a splenectomy prior to therapy.
PCT/US94/08312 (published on Feb. 23,1995 as No. WO 95/05196) describes a method for slowing the progression of HIV infection in patients by providing individuals with Rh antibody-antigen complexes or Rh antibody-antigen-complement complexes to inhibit binding of HIV-antibody complexes to follicular dendritic cells in lymph node tissue. However, one would not expect that these complexes would have the reported inhibitory effect since antibody complexes administered extraneously are not able to enter the lymphatic compartment to elicit the effect.

Method of delaying the progression of an infection with the human immunodeficiency virus


A method for warning a back side of a vehicle provided with a rear bumper multi carrier may include determining a carrier position by determining it is in a stowed state or drawing out state of a rear bumper multi carrier when a signal Reverse (R) step of a shift lever is produced, controlling ON or OFF operation of a detector of a rear side obstacle according to the stowed state or drawing out state of the carrier, and producing a warning signal when the rear side obstacle is detected in the detector operation controlling step.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for warning a back side of a vehicle provided with a rear bumper multi carrier, and more particularly, a method for warning a back side of a vehicle provided with a rear bumper multi carrier through which the warning can be prevented, which is produced by misidentifying the carrier that is drawn rearward or a loaded cargo as an obstacle when a vehicle travels reversely after loading cargo on a multi carrier that is drawn rearward.
Description of Related Art
Recently, the number of people have increased who enjoy leisure time by using a bicycle for their health, hobby and solving stress where a vehicle for leisure such as a Recreational Vehicle (RV) and a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) on which the bicycle can be loaded has been widely used to carry the bicycle to a target place.
Generally, a carrier for loading a bicycle is provided on a vehicle for leisure on which a bicycle can be loaded, and the carrier is usually stowed to be kept in a vehicle body and drawn out from the vehicle body, if necessary, and then a bicycle is to be loaded thereon.
The carrier of a drawing type is usually installed on a rear bumper or a luggage room to be used so as to avoid surrounding vehicles or obstacles during a driving of a vehicle, and further a sensor of a carrier rear side is installed to prevent for the carrier to contact a rear side obstacle when the carrier is drawn out rearward.
Accordingly, in a case where a vehicle travels reversely while a carrier is drawn rearward and a bicycle or cargo is loaded on the carrier that is drawn rearward, a controller of a vehicle controls whether to produce a warning signal by receiving signal from the sensor for a back side of the carrier according to whether a rear side obstacle is existed.
However, in a case where a general vehicle travels reversely while a carrier is drawn rearward and a bicycle or cargo is loaded on the carrier that is drawn rearward, a camera of a vehicle rear side (generally disposed toward a tail gate) and a sensor of a bumper rear side are operated, and thus the camera of a vehicle rear side and the sensor of a bumper rear side misidentify the carrier that is drawn rearward or the cargo that is loaded on the carrier as an obstacle, thereby producing an unnecessary warning signal.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

Method for warning back side of vehicle provided with rear bumper multi carrier


A decoding method of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes based on partial average residual belief propagation includes the following steps: S1: calculating a size of a cluster π in a protograph based on a code length m and a code rate of a target codeword; S2: pre-computing an edge residual rci→vj corresponding to each edge from a variable node to a check node in a check matrix H; S3: calculating, based on π, a partial average residual (PAR) value corresponding to each cluster in the check matrix H; S4: sorting m/π clusters in descending order of corresponding PAR values, and updating an edge with a largest edge residual in each cluster; S5: updating edge information mci→vi from a check node ci to a variable node vj, and then updating a log-likelihood ratio (LLR) value L(vj) of the variable node vj; and S6: after the updating, making a decoding decision.

Decoding algorithms of LDPC codes are divided into hard decision decoding and soft decision decoding. The hard decision decoding algorithm has the advantages of low decoding complexity and easy hardware implementation, but its error correction performance is far inferior to the soft decision decoding algorithm. The soft decision decoding algorithm can be divided into three categories according to message update policies: parallel scheduling, serial scheduling, and dynamic scheduling. Different from parallel scheduling and serial scheduling that have a fixed update order, dynamic scheduling can dynamically select an appropriate update order based on a current decoding state. Therefore, compared with parallel scheduling and serial scheduling, dynamic scheduling has faster convergence speed and better error correction performance, and is quite suitable for ultra-reliable and low-latency decoding scenarios. A. I. Casado et al. proposed an edge residual—based dynamic scheduling decoding algorithm [A. I. V. Casado, M. Griot and R. D. Wesel. Informed Dynamic Scheduling for Belief-Propagation Decoding of LDPC Codes [C]. IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2007). Glasgow, UK. 932-937, June 2007.].
The dynamic scheduling decoding algorithm is a residual belief propagation (RBP) algorithm [A. I. V. Casado, M. Griot and R. D. Wesel. Informed Dynamic Scheduling for Belief-Propagation Decoding of LDPC Codes [C]. IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2007). Glasgow, UK. 932-937, June 2007.]. In the RBP algorithm, a message update order is dynamically selected based on check-to-variable (C2V) edge residuals of all edges. For an edge connecting a variable node vj and a check node ci, its edge residual rci→vj is calculated according to formula (1):rci→vj=∥mci→vjpre−mci→vj∥  (1)
In the formula, mci→vj is current C2V edge information from the check node ci to the variable node vj, and mci→vjpre is a pre-computed value of to-be-updated C2V edge information. It can be learned from the calculation formula of the edge residual that a value of the edge residual is always greater than 0. Therefore, an edge with an edge residual of 0 will not be selected. The edge residual is a quantity that describes a difference between a current edge information value and a to-be-updated edge information value. A greater edge residual means a greater difference between the current edge information value and the to-be-updated edge information value, a greater adjustment of an updated edge information value, and a more reliable message update.
Therefore, before each edge information update, the RBP algorithm firstly finds an edge with a largest edge residual from all edges, and then updates its edge information value. After the edge information with the largest edge residual is updated, the residual value is set to 0. Then a decoding decision is made. A message update calculation method of the dynamic scheduling decoding algorithm is consistent with those of the serial scheduling decoding algorithm and the parallel scheduling decoding algorithm.
FIG. 1 shows a message update process of the RBP algorithm. The specific decoding operations are as follows:
Step 1: Calculate edge residuals of all C2V edges in a Tanner graph, and find an edge with a largest edge residual. As shown in FIG. 1(a), assuming that an edge connecting a check node ci and a variable node vj has a largest edge residual, update C2V edge information mci→vj of the edge. After the update is completed, set an edge residual r(mci→vj) to 0.
Step 2: As shown in FIG. 1(b), make a decoding decision on the updated variable node vj, and if the decoding is successful or a maximum number of iterationsItermax, is reached, stop the decoding. Otherwise, update a V2C (variable-to-check) message mvj→ca from the variable node vj to a check node ca∈N(vj)\ci.
Step 3: As shown in FIG. 1(c), after the check node ca∈N(vj\ci obtains the updated information, pre-compute a C2V edge residual from a check node ca to a variable node vb∈N(ca)\vj. Repeat the above decoding process until the decoding is successful or the maximum number of iterations Itermax, is reached.
Although the conventional dynamic scheduling decoding algorithm is easy to understand, there are several problems.
1. The dynamic scheduling decoding algorithm performs a global search when an edge with a largest edge residual is selected for updating. As a result, some edges with larger residual values are always updated, while other edges with smaller residual values cannot be selected and updated in the case of global search. Therefore, greediness becomes more obvious as the number of iterations increases. In other words, some variable nodes occupy too many computing resources, such that decoding performance of the decoding algorithm cannot be further improved.
2. Because the LDPC codes have a ring structure of many edges, the dynamic scheduling decoding policy of selecting an update order based on a largest edge residual may cause some rings to fail to be decoded during the update process, thereby forming trap sets. Such trap sets may lead to error floors during the decoding process. Various existing decoding algorithms may generate error floors of different depths.

Decoding method of LDPC codes based on partial average residual belief propagation


A thin film transistor array panel includes an insulation substrate; a gate line and a first electrode on the insulation substrate; a gate insulating layer on the gate line and the first electrode; a data line on the gate insulating layer; a passivation layer on the gate insulating layer and the data line; and a second electrode on the passivation layer. Relative permittivity (ε) of the gate insulating layer is more than about 15, and a thickness of the gate insulating layer is about 2000 angstroms.

(a) Field
The invention relates to a thin film transistor array panel.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal displays ("LCDs") are one of the most widely used flat panel displays. The LCDs display images by applying voltages to field-generating electrodes to generate an electric field in an LC layer that determines orientations of LC molecules therein, to adjust polarization of incident light.
The LCD has a merit in that light weight and thin formation thereof are easily obtained. However, the LCD has a drawback in that lateral visibility thereof is lower than front visibility, such that LC arrangements and driving methods of various types have been developed to solve the drawback. To realize a relatively wide viewing angle, a LCD including a pixel electrode and a reference electrode on one substrate has been spotlighted.


An antiseptic composition suitable for use on skin and wounds comprising a source of an antimicrobial agent and an agent which disrupts biofilms. More, particularly the invention relates to a composition capable of providing effective antimicrobial activity while at the same time avoiding wound and skin irritation and retardation of wound healing.

Overuse of antibiotics and the associated increase in bacterial resistance is impacting the efficacy of antibiotics in the treatment of wound infection. Effective alternatives to antibiotics are thus desirable.
Topical antimicrobial materials, and preparations containing them, have long been recognized as playing an important part in minimizing the opportunity for skin and wound infections. Antiseptics are non-selective chemical agents that can be safe to use on living tissue. Molecular iodine, ionic silver and oxidizing agents, such as sodium hypochlorite and chlorine dioxide, have been recognized as antiseptic agents with effectiveness against a wide range of microorganisms. There are, however, several barriers to making an effective antimicrobial composition for application to wounds based on such agents. One problem is that these antiseptic agents tend to react with organic materials found in the wound other than the intended microbial targets. This means that to be effective, antiseptic agents need to be included in treatment compositions at high levels, which may cause undesirable side effects with prolonged use such as cell toxicity, hypersensitivity reactions, skin staining and systemic effects. Such side effects are further described in "In vitro cytotoxity of silver: implication for clinical wound care". Poon V K, Burd A. Burns. 2004 March; 30(2):140-7, "A review of iodine toxicity reports". Pennington J A. J Am Diet Assoc. 1990 November; 90(11):1571-81 and "Topical antimicrobial toxicity". Lineaweaver W, Howard R, Soucy D, McMorris S, Freeman J, Crain C, Robertson J, Rumley T. Arch Surg. 1985 March; 120(3):267-70.
Wounds are often colonized by a variety of microorganisms, some of which may cause infection. It is increasingly recognized that microbial populations living within a biofilm environment contribute to delayed healing and infection. Biofilms are comprised of exopolymeric substances that are produced by bacteria once the bacteria attach to a surface, and this helps to protect microorganisms from immune cells and antimicrobial agents. Since efficacy of antimicrobial agents (e.g., antibiotics and antiseptics) is compromised by the biofilm matrix, strategies to disrupt the biofilm and expose microorganisms within can be helpful in increasing the activity level of antimicrobial agents and thus reduce the concentration of such agents needed to make an effective composition.
Ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid (EDTA) added as the di-sodium or calcium di-sodium salts has been used to treat topical infections or to treat hard surfaces such as catheters. W003/047341 describes the use of EDTA, for example, as an additive for a toothpaste. EDTA is also used as a formulation agent to reduce the effects of water hardness and, generally, as a chelating agent.
EDTA has been described in combination with other antibiotic agents. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,488, EDTA is used in combination with an antimicrobial preservative in a solution for ophthalmic use. Formulations suitable for topical use on wounds have not been proposed.
There is, thus, a need for a composition which has the benefits of an antimicrobial agent but which reduces the potential of adverse reactions. Surprisingly, we have found that EDTA is capable of disrupting biofilms by chelating the metal ions, calcium and magnesium, that maintain the integrity of the biofilm matrix.


A closed-cavity liquid-crystal display is provided, which is a liquid-crystal display having a wide angle of view. The liquid-crystal display comprises: an insulator layer formed with a plurality of cavities extending completely through the insulating layer, in which liquid-crystal material is filled into the plurality of cavities; a first substrate, placed on one side of the insulator layer, in which a first electrode is formed on one side of the first substrate near the insulator layer; and a second substrate, placed on the other side of the insulator layer, in which a second electrode is formed on one side of the second substrate near the insulator layer, so that the first electrode and the second electrode are used to drive and vary the alignment of liquid-crystal molecules in the plurality of cavities. The inner circumference of the closed cavity is coated with a homeotropic alignment agent, so that the alignment of the liquid-crystal molecules is circularly symmetric, and the optical performance of the liquid-crystal display is independent of the azimuthal angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a liquid-crystal display. In particular, the invention relates to a liquid-crystal display with a wide viewing angle, and more particularly relates to a closed-cavity liquid-crystal display.
2. Description of Prior Art
Liquid-crystal displays (LCD) are widely used as the displays for portable computers and televisions since such displays are light, thin and energy-saving. At present, the most popular commercial LCDs are twist-nematic (hereinafter briefly referred to as TN) mode LCDs and super twist-nematic (STN) mode LCDs. The total twist angle of the molecules is normally 90 degrees for TN LCDs, and equal to or more than 180 degrees for STN LCDs. These types of LCDs are suitable for use as black/white gray scale displays. However, utilizing such LCDs as multiple gray-scale or full-color displays causes a severe problem of viewing angle dependency. That is because the optical paths for the incident light are different for different entrance angles, i.e., the reflective index of the liquid-crystal varies with the variation of entrance angle. Referring to FIG. 1a, which illustrates a cross section of a TN LCD, while a bias voltage is applied, the liquid-crystal molecules 5 incline at a tilt angle .phi.. The corresponding reflective index is n.sub.// or n.sub..perp. while the entrance angle is .theta. or -.theta.. The different reflective indices cause different optical paths; as a result, the optical transmittances are different. The contrast ratio is different for the same tilt angles (.+-..theta.). Furthermore, while watching the display panel along a tilt direction, the place that should be dark leaks light and hence the contrast ratio is degraded. Furthermore, the black and white of the intermediate gray scales are reversed. Thus, the picture can not be really reproduced. This problem becomes more severe while watching the display along its vertical direction. The total viewing angle of this case without gray scale reverse is merely about 40 degrees.
To solve the above problems, a display mode of divided domain or multi-domain of liquid-crystal molecules in one pixel is provided, which has been proven to have a viewing angle more than twice that of TN-LCD's. Referring to FIG. 1b, which illustrates the cross section of a multi-domain LCD which has two domains in one pixel, while a bias voltage exists, the tilt angles of the liquid-crystal molecules in the two domains are .phi. and -.phi., respectively. When the light is incident at a with a tilt angle .theta., the effective refractive index of the liquid-crystal is n.sub.//. When the light is incident at b with the tilt angle .theta., the effective refractive index of the liquid-crystal is n.sub..perp.. When the light is incident at a' with a tilt angle -.theta., the effective refractive index of the liquid-crystal is n.sub..perp.. When the light is incident at b' with the tilt angle -.theta., the effective refractive index of the liquid-crystal is n.sub.//. Therefore, the averaged intensity of the light incident with the angle .theta. is the same as that of the light incident with the angle -.theta.. That is, the contrast ratios are the same at both the tilt angle .theta. and the tilt angle -.theta.. Thus, the viewing angle is broadened. However, while fabricating such multi-domain liquid-crystal displays, a photolithography process has to be used to divide the multiple domains. Each domain needs to be treated by rubbing along a different direction. However, this rubbing process introduces impurities in the LCD cells and deteriorates the property of the LCD. The static electricity produced by rubbing the substrate tends to damage such devices as thin-film transistors, and thereby lower the yield.
Another known prior art is the axially symmetric aligned microcell (hereinafter referred to as ASM), which is disclosed in "Axially Symmetric Aligned Microcell (ASM) Mode: Electro-Optical Characteristics of New Display Mode with Excellent Wide Viewing Angle" by N. Yamada, Sokohzaki, F. Funada, K. Awane, in SID 95' Digest, p.575. The viewing angle without gray scale reverse is about .+-.60.degree. for an ASM liquid-crystal display. Refer to FIG. 1c, which illustrates the structure of an ASM liquid-crystal display. The fabrication of the ASM liquid-crystal display is accomplished by making the polymer 4 separate the liquid-crystal 3 into each pixel according to the phase separation of the polymer and the liquid-crystal. As shown in FIG. 1d, a set of polarizers whose transmitting axes are the X-axis and the Y-axis, respectively, are used to measure the contrast ratio at each viewing angle. As a result, the viewing angle .theta. is only 40.degree. when the azimuthal angle .phi. is 45.degree., 135.degree., 225.degree. or 315.degree.. Furthermore, it is difficult to fabricate an ASM liquid-crystal display since the upper electrode and the lower electrode thereof must be precisely aligned to make the liquid-crystal able to separate to each pixel.

Method of fabricating closed cavity liquid crystal display having a plurality of cavities extending completely through insulating layer


Our approach seeks to reduce the complexity of this type of calculation through approximation and pre-computation. It is designed to work efficiently with modern relational database constructs for content management. The approach is designed to enable the kinds of highly interactive data-driven visualizations that are the hallmark of third generation business intelligence.

Traditional Term Frequency Inverse Document Frequency approaches are computationally intensive methods for identifying significant terms and phrases that differentiate specific documents from the rest of the corpus.
In finding unique terms and phrases for a set of search results, all of the documents in the result set are summed to create a result set frequency, this set is then sorted, and the top N terms or phrases are selected as the signature terms.

International Business Machines Corporation


An input port electrostatic discharge protection circuit is disposed between the input port of an integrated circuit and an input point of an internal circuit of the integrated circuit. The input port electrostatic discharge protection circuit includes a resistor and a field device. The ends of the resistor are connected to the input port of the integrate circuit and the input point of the internal circuit, respectively, and the function of the resistor is to delay ESD pulses for preventing the input port of the internal circuit from a strike directly. The field device has double gates disposed on field oxides. The source and drain of the field device are coupled to the input port of the integrated circuit and a low-voltage source, respectively. The first gate is coupled to the drain of the field device while the second grate is coupled to the source of the field device. The field device mainly provides an ESD path. An additional metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) device without a lightly doped drain (LDD) structure can be positioned between the input point of the internal circuit and the low-voltage source to thereby speed-up triggering of the field device to an "on" state. Moreover, an additional field device with the same double gates as the above-referred field device can also be disposed between a high-voltage source of the integrated circuit and the input port of the integrated circuit to enhance ESD protection.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a protection circuit for an integrated circuit, and more particularly to an electrostatic discharge (hereafter, ESD) protection circuit disposed at an input pin of the integrated circuit to prevent the gate oxide of a metal-oxide-semiconductor (hereafter, MOS) device from breakdown caused by ESD stress.
2. Description of Related Art
A MOS device of an integrated circuit having four ends consists of a drain, a gate and a source formed within a body. Generally, the body is the substrate of the MOS device or the well region on the substrate. The drain and source, spaced a lateral distance from each other, are doped diffusion regions which are formed on the substrate or the well region of the substrate by diffusion or ion implantation. The gate, disposed between the source and drain on the substrate, is employed to control a channel between the source and drain. In general, the gate consists of a gate oxide and a gate conductor which are formed by a silicon oxide layer and a polysilicon layer, respectively. The MOS device is widely used as a controlled source and a controller switch with control signals inputted to the gate.
The gate of the MOS device is formed by an extremely thin silicon oxide layer of about several hundred .ANG. in thickness. Since the dielectric breakdown strength of the silicon oxide is about 12.times.10.sup.6 V/cm, a gate oxide layer formed by the silicon oxide can withstand a maximum voltage of several ten volts. For example, a gate oxide layer with 150 .ANG. in thickness can withstand a maximum voltage of 18 V. Accordingly, the breakdown strength of the gate oxide mentioned above is large enough to deal with typical input voltages during normal operation. However, a voltage in excess of the maximum voltage (breakdown voltage) may appear at the input pin of an MOS integrated circuit due to ESD stress. Many sources can cause electrostatic stress, including human contact with the integrated circuit, an interference from operation circumstances, etc. Moreover, because the dimensions of MOS devices continue to shrink, the opportunity for breakdown of the gate oxide layer of the MOS device increases.
Therefore, an ESD protection circuit, disposed between the input pin and the internal circuit of the MOS integrated circuit, is needed to protect the internal circuit from ESD damage caused by an outside sudden high voltage applied to the input pin. Basically, a conduction path to a ground or a power source between the input pin and the internal circuit is provided, so the gate of the MOS device can be protected from damage by means of the conduction path when the outside sudden high voltage is applied to the input pin. Currently, a field device known as a thick oxide device is widely employed to be disposed between an input port and a ground (or power source) The above-mentioned field device differs from general MOS devices in that the field device replaces the thin gate oxide with a field oxide. The field oxide having a thickness of about 0.4.about.1.0 .mu.m is formed by thermal oxidation and is mainly used to define and separate each active region. At present, there are two main field device applications:
The first application employs a field device having a metal gate to attain ESD protection. Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic depiction of an ESD protection circuit for a CMOS integrated circuit is shown. The ESD protection circuit includes a resistor 20, a MOS device 30, and a field device 10, disposed between an input port 2 of the integrated circuit and an input point 4 to which gates of a PMOS 6 and an NMOS 8 are connected. The field device 10 has a gate and a drain connected to each other and mainly provides an ESD path. Generally, the resistor 20 which is formed by an N-type diffusion region on a substrate can delay an ESD stress between the input port 2 and input point 4 to directly protect gates of the PMOS 6 and NMOS 8 from ESD damage. Then the field device 10 is used to attain ESD protection. The MOS device 30 provides a ground path before gates of the PMOS 6 and NMOS 8 and speeds up triggering of the field device 10 to an "on" state to form an ESD path. When an electrostatic current into input port 2 flows to ground through the conducted MOS device 30 from resistor 20, a potential difference will be created on both ends of the resistor 20 such that the gate voltage of the field device 10 can be increased to speed-up triggering of the field device 10 to an "on" state.
Referring to FIG. 2, a cross-sectional view of the field device structure of FIG. 1 is shown. The field device 10 is formed on a P-type substrate 100. An N.sup.+ diffusion region 102 serves as the drain region of the field device 10 which is connected to input port 2 by a metal layer 110. An N.sup.+ diffusion 104 serves as the source region of the field device 10 and is connected to a ground by a metal layer 112. Field oxides 106 are disposed between the drain diffusion region 102 and the source diffusion regions 104. Metal layer 110 over field oxides 106 forms the gate of the field device 10 with a dielectric layer 108 positioned therebetween for electrical insulation. Basically, the field device structure shown in FIG. 2 includes two parallel field devices. The greater the number of parallel field devices, the more effective the ESD protection.
The ESD protection circuit mentioned above has an obvious application drawback. When an ESD stress appears, the field device having a metal gate will induce a sub-critical current to speed-up triggering action of the parasitic bi-carrier transistor to an "on" state for electrostatic discharge. However, an electric field on the gate channel of the field device will limit the ESD induced current on the surface region of the gate channel. Thus, during operation, a hotspot will be produced on the edge of the drain region of the channel. That is, when the ESD induced current is large enough, the conduction structure of the material on which the hotspot is located will be destroyed due to increased temperature.
The second application employs a field device having no metal gate for attaining ESD protection. The circuit is shown in FIG. 3 wherein devices which are the same as those in FIG. 1 are marked with the same reference numerals. The field device 10 of FIG. 1 having a gate structure is replaced by a field device 40 without a gate structure in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 4, a cross-sectional view of the field device 40 of FIG. 3 having no gate structure is shown. Similarly, in FIG. 4 which are the same material layers as those in FIG. 2 are marked with the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 4, a metal layer 114 does not directly cover field oxide layers 106. Thus, in the ESD path from the metal layer 114 to metal layer 112, the ESD induced current can flow in any region of the substrate 100 between the drain diffusion region 102 and the source diffusion region 104 so that hotspots near the drain region of the channel can be prevented. However, the field device without a gate structure requires a higher voltage to trigger electrostatic discharge. This will result in non-uniform ESD protection.
In summary, the field device mentioned in the first application attains preferred ESD protection, but hotspots will be produced during electrostatic discharge. Although the field device mentioned in the second application can prevent such hotspots, this field device provides non-uniform ESD protection.

Input port electrostatic discharge protection circuit for an intergrated circuit

Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation


A variable fuel admission carburetor is provided including a piston and cylinder that are mated concentrically, and coexist in a carburetor chamber. The cylinder includes a longitudinal slot which allows varying amount of fuel into the carburetor. Through the relative longitudinal movement of the piston in the cylinder, the exposed length of the slot is varied, thereby varying the amount and rate that the fuel enters the chamber.

This invention relates to a carburetor and in particular mechanisms that control and vary the fuel supply to the carburetor. Traditional carburetor systems essentially draw fuel into the carburetor using the pressure differential created by the varying airflow through the system. This airflow is varied using a valve placed in the air stream. The faster the air, the more fuel is drawn into the system.
Some existing inventions include that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,571, to Bauder, for example. This reference describes a rotary valve piston movable in a valve cylinder and having a spiral groove for delivery of the fuel through a plurality of triangular ports. It appears that the cylinder of this reference includes one port being a feed port, one port being a discharge port and a return channel. The invention of the present invention, by contrast, comprises only one slot and grooved cylinder.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,782,692, to Hodinot, describes another fuel metering device for use in turbocharged machines, such as aircraft. The device of this patent includes a plurality of holes in an outer cylinder and a plurality of ports.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,802,300 to Dutt describes a stroke controlled valve as a fuel metering device. This device has a valve needle which may be actuated against the resistance of a spring. This device also has a high pressure area which is connected to an injection nozzle.
Another approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,622 to Hartnagel. This device describes a piston actuated by a solenoid coil and spring-loaded valves.
None of the above cited references put forth as simple and straightforward a method of varying fuel supply to a carburetor as the present invention.


Furo[3,4-b]pyran compounds similar in chemical structure to the natural product known as TAN-2483B and their use for treating cancer, osteoporosis, Type 2 diabetes, or immune diseases.

Chemical compounds that occur in nature have been an enormously valuable source of potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of many diseases. Following isolation from their source and purification, naturally occurring compounds may be used as active ingredients in pharmaceutical compositions. However, more commonly, derivatives or structural analogues of naturally occurring compounds become the active ingredients of pharmaceutical compositions. Although there are many instances of successful therapeutic treatments based on naturally occurring compounds, there remains a constant ongoing need for new and improved medicines. The search for natural products that may assist therefore continues.
Following the discovery of a class of compounds in which at least some members have potentially useful biological activity, there is usually a strong interest in the production of selected compounds from the class, initially for further development and ultimately for production on a large scale for marketing and sales. Production may be possible by simple isolation from a natural source, but typically this is not possible and synthetic or semi-synthetic processes are required to make sufficient quantities of the useful compounds.
One class of chemical compounds that has proven to be a rich source of compounds having biological activity is the furo[3,4-b]pyrans. Bioactive natural products incorporating the furo[3,4-b]pyran-5-one bicyclic system have been isolated from a variety of fungal sources. Fusidilactones A, B, D and E,1,2 massarilactones B and D,3-5 TAN-2483A and TAN-2483B,6 and waol A7-11 all contain this ring system. These fungal secondary metabolites display a variety of bioactivities, ranging from antibacterial to anti-tumour properties.
Syntheses of some members of the furo[3,4-b]pyran family of natural products, namely (−)-TAN-2483A, massarilactone B and waol A, are known.9-11 These natural products either incorporate a degree of unsaturation across the fused 4a-7a bond (e.g. massarilactone B and fusidilactone A) or possess a cis-relationship between H-2 and H-7a (e.g. (−)-TAN-2483A and waol A). In contrast to the other members of this family, (−)-TAN-2483B, isolated from a Japanese filamentous fungus,6 has a trans-relationship between H-2 and H-7a, and therefore presents different synthetic challenges.

(−)-TAN-2483A and (−)-TAN-2483B, isolated from fermentation of the filamentous fungus NR2329 (FERM BP-5905) in a culture medium, exhibit inhibition of c-Src (sarcoma) kinase and PTH-induced bone resorption. Therefore they have potential relevance to human pharmaceutics, including in cancer therapy and osteoporosis prevention or treatment. The synthesis of the furo[3,4-b]pyran core of (−)-TAN-2483B has been reported.12 The synthetic route is via a D-mannose-derived cyclopropane key intermediate. Employing this general synthetic methodology, the inventors have investigated the synthesis of analogues of (−)-TAN-2483B with the objective of then determining their biological activities in a range of assays and assessing their potential as pharmaceutical agents for treating certain diseases. The inventors have now found that analogues of (−)-TAN-2483B show inhibitory activity against a range of kinase enzymes and also inhibit the growth of certain cancer cell lines.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide novel compounds and their use for treating diseases, or to at least provide a useful alternative to existing pharmaceutical treatments.

Furo[3,4-b]pyran compounds and pharmaceutical uses


The present invention is to eliminate loosening of a transfer film on a rear end side of a card caused due to collision of a front end of the card against a conveying roller pair provided downstream of a transfer roller to prevent wrinkles from occurring in a transferred image. A rotation amount of a card conveying motor SMr and a wind amount of a transfer film 46 (conveying amount of the transfer film) are compared after a front end of a card K rushes into a conveying roller pair 37 during transfer processing for the card K to thereby detect a slip amount of the card K. A card conveying speed and a transfer film feed speed are controlled in accordance with the detected slip amount so as to eliminate loosening of the transfer film 46.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transfer device that transfers an image on a transfer film to a recording medium such as a card.
Description of the Related Art
Devices of this type are generally widely known as devices that form an image such as a face photo or text information on a medium such as a plastic card. Such devices have a configuration that forms an image directly on a recording medium or a configuration that forms an image once on a transfer film and then transfers the image on a recording medium.
There is known a card forming device that transfers a transfer protective film ribbon (film) to such a card. This device is of an indirect transfer type that uses a thermal head to form an image on a transfer film through an ink ribbon (primary transfer) and then uses a transfer roller to transfer the image formed on the transfer film to a recording medium such as a card (secondary transfer) (see, for example, Patent Document 1 [Jpn. Pat. Appln. Laid-Open Publication No. 2014-162072]). Further, there is also known a configuration of a laminator device that does not perform the primary transfer. This device transfers an image that has already been formed on a transfer film to a recording medium using a transfer roller.


An automatic performance apparatus reproduces, by a program process executed on a computer, automatic performance data comprising a series of performance data which is assigned to one channel of a plurality of channels and to which a channel number representative of the assigned channel is added. The automatic performance data contains identification data representative of a musical instrument or performance part to be performed by the performance data which is assigned to each channel. To the identification data, a channel number representative of the assigned channel is also added. Based on the identification data, musical instruments or performance parts to be performed by each of the performance data are identified. As a result, the present invention configured as above provides users with easy specification of musical instrument or performance part to be excluded from a performance or to be performed during the reproduction of performance data, enabling the reproduction and non-reproduction of each performance part to be precisely controlled.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic performance apparatus for reproducing automatic performance data comprising a series of performance data, an automatic performance program run on a computer in order to reproduce the automatic performance data, and a storage medium storing the automatic performance data.
2. Description of the Related Art
As described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H10-97250, an automatic performance apparatus has been well-known which reproduces automatic performance data comprising a series of performance data to which channel numbers each of which is assigned to one channel among a plurality of channels and represents the assigned channel are added. In the automatic performance apparatus, a specific channel or instrument (a tone color) is designated in order to block the reproduction of performance data on the designated channel or musical instrument. Alternatively, the designation is made in order to allow the reproduction of performance data on the designated channel or musical instrument, while blocking the reproduction of performance data on other channels or musical instruments.
However, the above conventional art poses an inconvenience to a user. Namely, the user is required to know all the performance parts or musical instruments assigned to the channels in order to make a designation. Furthermore, the conventional art is insufficient in that, in a case of one musical instrument being assigned to a plurality of channels such as a backing part and solo part, the designation is unable to be done because performance data to be blocked or to be performed solo cannot be identified.


A keypad assembly, which includes at least one key configured to be provided at an outer surface of a body of an electronic device, a substrate including at least one switch that closes when the at least one key is depressed, and a supporting plate configured to detachably attach to an inner surface of the body of the electronic device, the supporting plate fixing the at least one key and the substrate to the body of the electronic device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a key pad assembly and an electronic device having the same, and more particularly, to a key pad assembly which can be easily attached to and detached from a body of an electronic device.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally speaking, a mobile communication terminal is a portable communication device which performs wireless communication.
Recently, some conventional mobile communication terminals have been provided with variety of multimedia functions, such as a game function, a movie watching function, a music listening function, etc.
Some mobile communication terminals are provided with a music-on-demand (MOD) key, which when pressed, causes a mobile communication terminal to perform an MP3 function. The MOD key is formed in a keypad assembly which is mounted in the body of the mobile communication terminal.
A conventional keypad assembly is typically constructed according to one of the two following implementations.
In a first implementation, a key support structure is formed on a first body, and at least one key is mounted on a second body which engages with the first body, such that the key support structure supports the key. The existence of the key support structure requires that extra space be provided within the mobile communication terminal. Accordingly, when a key is pressed, there is an increased key motion and an increased noise.
In a second implementation, the keypad assembly is thermally adhered to a body of the mobile communication terminal. Although this implementation does not require as much space within the mobile communication terminal as the first implementation, and thus there is less key motion and noise, it is difficult to replace or repair keys if they become defective.

Key pad assembly and electronic device having the same


The present invention relates to a converter converting an input digital signal into an output digital signal. Said converter comprises in particular a set of shift registers able to contain samples of the input or output digital signal. It also comprises a calculation unit able to supply a shift signal (4) to said set of registers. Said calculation unit comprises a first storage unit (51) able to contain a value of a conversion ratio or of its inverse, so that the value stored is between 0 and 1. It also comprises a second storage unit (52) able to contain, at a cycle time i+1, i being an integer, a future signal (8) equal to a sum of a current signal (7) contained in the second unit at a cycle time i and of the content of the first storage unit. The shift signal then results from an exclusive OR function (54) between a most significant bit of the current signal (71) and a most significant bit of the future signal (81).

In many video systems, it is often necessary to effect a conversion of a digital signal from a first sampling frequency to a second sampling frequency, according to the image format required by the reception device. The conversion results in an enlargement or reduction of the original image corresponding to a up-sampling or a down-sampling of said image.
Such a conversion can be implemented by means of a finite impulse response filter FIR with a polyphase structure. Canadian patent number 2,144,111 describes a conversion method using such a filter. The term polyphase indicates a periodic representation of the phase differences between a sample of the input digital signal and a sample of the output digital signal. These phase differences are calculated according to the inverse of a zoom factor, the zoom factor representing the ratio between the number of samples of the output signal and the number of samples of the input signal. The polyphase filter functions in direct mode for an enlargement of the image, i.e. for a zoom factor greater than 1, and in transposed mode for a reduction of the image, i.e. for a zoom factor lower than 1.
A conventional polyphase filter comprises a convoluter able to supply an output digital signal sampled at a frequency f2 from an input digital signal sampled at a frequency f1 and a set of filtering coefficients. A memory associates with each possible phase difference a set of n filtering coefficients. The convoluter comprises shift registers for temporarily storing the samples of the input signal in the direct operating mode of the polyphase filter or the samples of the output signal in its transposed operating mode. Calculation means calculate on the one hand the phase difference and on the other hand the shift signal of the shift registers.
A polyphase filter of this type is specifically designed firstly for a predetermined number of n filtering coefficients per set and secondly for a direct or transposed operating mode. The shift signal is calculated by successive incrementation of the inverse of the zoom factor, this calculation being carried out by a calculation unit dedicated to a given polyphase filter. Consequently said calculation unit is designed specifically for this polyphase filter and cannot be used for another polyphase filter.


The sidewall of a tire is coated with an acrylic polymer, formed by application of an aqueous solution of the acrylic polymer and a volatile counter ion, which dries to form a non-tacky, glossy and water resistant film.

This invention relates to a tire having an acrylic polymer film coating, which is protective, durable and aesthetically pleasing, and a method for making the same. In particular, the outer surface of the sidewall (non-tread) portion of the tire is coated with an acrylic polymer film.
It is known to treat the sidewalls of tires with silicon oil (polydimethylsiloxanes), to improve the appearance of the tire. For example, the silicon oil gives a glossy appearance, temporarily providing a "like-new" look to the tire. While silicon oils are relatively inexpensive to use, they can attract dust and dirt to the tire surface and can be slung onto the painted surfaces of an automobile. When the silicon oil fully dries, the tires tend to lose their glossy appearance. Further, silicon oil may degrade over time and weaken the tire sidewall, where the oil has been applied.
In addition to treatments designed to provide the like-new look to tires, it has been disclosed to apply certain decorative elements to the sidewall of a tire. Bryant et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,420, provide paint compositions suitable for forming decals which can be applied to vehicle tire sidewalls. The compositions comprise a saturated elastomer having a glass transition temperature not higher than −40° C., a pigment in the range of 0.5 to 10 times the weight of elastomer, and a solvent.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,676, Cottin et al. disclose another example of decorative pigments applied to the sidewalls of tires. In the following order, an adhesive layer, a pigment layer and a transparent layer are applied to the tire. The polymers used in the adhesive and transparent layers may be homopolymers and copolymers having as base at least one monomer selected form the group consisting of acrylic, methacrylic and vinyl esters. The polymers are applied in the form of an aqueous emulsion.
Despite earlier efforts, there remains a need for an improved coating for the sidewalls of tires, which meets most, if not all of the following objectives. The coating should be easy to apply in a single step and bonded directly to the outer surface of the tire, without the need for an intermediate adhesive layer. The coating should be provided in the form of a low-viscosity, aqueous solution, which may be sprayed on as a fine mist, at relatively high solids concentration. The coating should be water-resistant, once it has dried on the surface of the tire. The coating should dry quickly to form a transparent, non-tacky and glossy surface, which is resilient to tire flexing and torque, and resistant to heat, without cracking or flaking.


A system for simultaneous long-distance vision of video pictures reproduced by a transmitting videorecorder and a receiving videorecorder, which comprises a transmitting subsystem (1) and a receiving subsystem (2), each arranged in different and mutually distant places; the transmitting subsystem (1) comprises a transmitting video recorder (TX), in which a video cassette is loaded which video cassette has on one of its two audio tracks a position code, a first electronic exchange (100) of a sequence of data (D) identifying position and state of the transmitting video recorder (TX), which first electronic exchange (100) is connected to a telephone line (LT) through a modem device (M1); the receiving subsystem (2) comprises a receiving video recorder (RX), in which a video cassette identical to the one loaded in the transmitting video recorder (TX) is loaded, having on one of its two audio tracks a position code which is identical to the one loaded on the transmitting video recorder (TX), a second electronic exchange (200) of control, reception, comparison and processing of the data sequence (D) identifying position and state of the transmitting video recorder (TX), coming from the first electronic exchange (100), with respect to the sequence of data (DR) identifying the position of the receiving video recorder (RX); the second electronic exchange (200) being connected to the receiving video recorder (RX) and also to a telephone line (LT) through a modem device (M2).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a system for simultaneous long-distance vision of video pictures reproduced by a transmitting videorecorder and a receiving videorecorder, in particular for example for the dubbing of a film made in two different cities.
2. Description of the Related Art
The transmission of pictures in real time is a problem that has always been solved using transmission via radio of the televisual signal either directly or by means of radio link or satellite, or a combination of these types of transmission.
Management, apparatus and personnel costs for these technical solutions make this service accessible only to large corporations, such as, in Italy the Rai (the National Radio and Television Network) or large private companies.
Recently the SIP (Italian public telephone service) has made available a teleconference service, which has a very high cost per minute and is therefore out of the reach of private operators needing image contemporaneity in two places which may be hundreds of kilometres away. Thus there is the lack of a system which permits contemporary vision of images in two distant places at a cost which is accessible, which would help to enhance development of new activities with regard to the service itself.

System for simultaneous long-distance vision of video pictures reproduced by a transmitting videorecorder and receiving videorecorder


The present invention relates to a method and system for manufacturing a wind turbine blade. The method comprising the steps of forming a cured blade element (102) of a first blade shell, forming a cured blade element (102) of a second blade shell, transferring the cured blade element (102) of the first blade shell to a first cradle (92), and transferring the cured blade element (102) of the second blade shell to a second cradle (94). Each cradle comprises a mould body (96, 98) having a moulding surface for abutting against a surface of the cured blade element to advantageously form a seal therebetween.

Wind turbine blades are typically manufactured using first and second blade shells, moulded in a pair of adjacent blade moulds. First, a blade gel coat or primer is typically applied to the blade mould. Subsequently, fibre reinforcement and/or fabrics are placed into the mould followed by resin infusion. A vacuum is typically used to draw epoxy resin material into a mould. Alternatively, prepreg technology can be used, in which a fibre or fabric pre-impregnated with resin forms a homogenous material which can be introduced into the mould.
Once the blade shells have sufficiently cured, the vacuum bags are removed and further operations can be performed on the hardened shells. For example, blade laminates and/or webs can be installed in the blade shells, various repair or patching operations may be carried out on the shells such as grinding of shell surfaces.
The shell halves are assembled by being glued or bolted together substantially along a chord plane of the blade. To this end, an adhesive glue is applied to the edges of the shells while in the moulds. The blade moulds are linked via a hinged turning mechanism, and a first of the blade moulds, containing a first of the blade shells, is accordingly turned relative to the second mould and shell, such that the first shell is positioned above the second shell. This allows for the blade shells to be closed together along the edge of the shells, to form a complete wind turbine blade having an upwind and a downwind side. To allow for secure bonding of the shells together, a suitable pressure is maintained along the exterior surfaces of the blade shells by the blade moulds, usually for approximately 3-4 hours.
Once the complete wind turbine blade is fully adhered, the first blade mould may be hinged back to an open state, allowing access to the contained wind turbine blade. The blade can then be de-moulded from the second blade mould, and supported using blade carts to perform additional production operations, e.g. grinding of the external blade surface, coating, etc.
High-quality blade moulds are one of the most expensive pieces of equipment in the blade manufacturing process, requiring extensive tooling and manufacture before use to ensure accurate reproduction of desired blade profiles, as well as to allow for the turning of the moulds to bond blade shell parts together. In addition, even a minor difference in blade characteristics such as length, camber, etc. will in general require a completely new blade mould for the manufacturing process.
Blade moulds in use in current processes can cost approximately €1-3 million to manufacture and, dependent on where the moulds are made, extensive transportation time may be a factor before a new mould can be used at a manufacturing plant. This introduces considerable expense and lead time in the implementation of a manufacturing process for a new wind turbine blade. Accordingly, one of the limitations to efficient implementation of wind turbine technology is the time required for the initial setup of a blade manufacturing system. A further limitation is the time taken for the manufacturing of individual blades within such a system.
International Patent Application WO 2013/113815 A1 discloses a blade manufacturing using a dedicated post-moulding station in the manufacturing process. A blade shell forming part of a wind turbine blade is initially moulded in a blade mould, the blade shell subsequently transferred to a post-moulding station which allows for various post-moulding operations to be carried out on the blade shell away from the mould, thereby increasing the productivity of the blade mould in the manufacturing process. The post-moulding station may be operable to perform the closing of first and second blade shells to form a wind turbine blade.
It has been found by the present inventors that such prior art systems and methods present certain limitations, in particular when using a two-step infusion process in which different blade elements, such as reinforced structures like spar caps or main laminates, are moulded and infused subsequent to a first moulding and infusion of another blade element. An example of such two-step moulding approach is found in WO 2015/114098 A1.
It is therefore a first object of the invention to provide a system and a method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade which overcomes these limitations.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to enable a flexible and effective moulding operation, which saves time and cost, and which results in improved stability of the resulting wind turbine blade.

System and method for manufacturing a reinforced wind turbine blade

LM WIND POWER INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY II APS


A humidity control system (10) is disclosed which includes a refrigerant circuit (60). The refrigerant circuit (60) includes first and second absorbent-supported heat exchangers (61, 62) and performs a refrigeration cycle by the circulation of refrigerant. In addition, in the refrigerant circuit (60), the circulation direction of refrigerant is reversible. The first and second heat exchangers (61, 62) are disposed in a casing (11). In the humidity control system (10), the distribution route of air is changed such that a first air stream is passed through either one of the first and second heat exchangers (61, 61) that is functioning as an evaporator while a second air stream is passed through the other heat exchanger that is functioning as a condenser. A compressor (63), an expansion mechanism (65), and a four-way valve (64) in the refrigerant circuit (60) are disposed together with the heat exchangers (61, 62) in the casing (11).

As disclosed in, for example, Patent Document I (see below), humidity control systems, for regulating the level of humidity in the air by the use of an adsorbent and by performing a refrigeration cycle, are well known in the conventional technology. Such a humidity control system is provided with two adsorption units. Each adsorption unit is made up of an adsorbent-filled mesh container and a refrigerant line which is passed completely through the mesh container. The refrigerant line of each adsorption unit is fluidly connected to a refrigerant circuit which performs a refrigeration cycle. In addition, the humidity control system is provided with dampers for effecting switching of the air which is delivered to each adsorption unit.
During the operation of the above-described humidity control system, the compressor of the refrigerant circuit operates and a refrigeration cycle is performed in which one of the two adsorption units becomes an evaporator while the other adsorption unit becomes a condenser. In addition, the direction in which the refrigerant is circulated in the refrigerant circuit is changed by controlling a four-way valve, whereby each adsorption unit alternately functions as an evaporator and as a condenser.
When the humidity control system is in a humidification mode of operation, supply air flowing from the outside to the inside of the room is directed to one adsorption unit which becomes a condenser. The supply air is humidified with moisture desorbed from the adsorbent. At that time, exhaust air flowing from the inside to the outside of the room is directed to the other adsorption unit which becomes an evaporator and the adsorbent recovers moisture present in the exhaust air. On the other hand, when the humidity control system is in a dehumidification mode of operation, supply air flowing from the outside to the inside of the room is directed to one adsorption unit which becomes an evaporator and the adsorbent adsorbs moisture present in the supply air. At that time, exhaust air flowing from the inside to the outside of the room is directed to the other adsorption unit which becomes a condenser. Moisture desorbed from the adsorbent is discharged together with the exhaust air to outside the room.
In addition, as a means capable of functioning in the same way as the aforesaid adsorption units, a heat exchange member, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document II (see below), has been known in the conventional technology. In this heat exchange member, plate-shaped fins are arranged around a copper pipe and adsorbent is supported on the surface of the copper pipe and on the surface of each fin. And the heat exchange member is configured such that the adsorbent is heated and cooled with fluid flowing through the copper pipe.
Additionally, as a humidity control system of the above-described type, there is proposed a humidity control system as shown in Patent Document III (see below). In this humidity control system, an air passageway for providing fluid communication between an outdoor space and an indoor space is formed in the casing and an adsorption element is disposed in the air passageway. Outdoor air (OA) is distributed through the adsorption element so that it adsorbs thereon moisture present in the outdoor air (OA). Then, the outdoor air (OA) is supplied, as dehumidified air (humidity controlled air (SA)), to the indoor space. In addition, it is arranged such that, for example, moisture adsorbed on the adsorption element is desorbed; the desorbed moisture is fed to outdoor air (OA); and the outdoor air (OA) is supplied, as humidified air (humidity controlled air (SA)) to the indoor space.    Patent Document I: JP H8-189667A    Patent Document II: JP H7-265649A    Patent Document III: JP H9-329371A


Disclosed is an impact detection system including: an optical fiber including a plurality of sensor sections to reflect light, a wavelength band of the reflected light vibrates depending on an elastic wave propagating through a subject to be inspected; a light source to input light into the optical fiber; optical filters each connected to an output terminal of the optical fiber; and an arithmetic processing unit to detect the impact from output values of sensor sections, wherein the wavelength bands of the sensor sections in the optical fiber are distributed such that the vibration bands caused by the impact to be detected do not overlap with each other, and a pass band of the optical filter corresponding to one of the sensor sections is distributed in the vibration band caused by the detection object, and is distributed in both sides of a center of the wavelength band of the one sensor section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an impact detection system using an optical fiber sensor.
2. Description of Related Art
In a field in which both the strength and the weight saving of a material of, for example, the airframe of an airplane are required, it is indispensable to widely apply a composite material such as a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) in order to meet the requirement of this kind.
As an apparatus for performing the detection of damage, a defect, and the like, of such a composite material, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-98921 describes a damage detecting apparatus using a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) optical fiber sensor. The thinning of the diameter of an optical fiber has advanced recently (for example, to be a diameter of 52 μm), and, if the optical fibers are embedded in a structure, the lowering of the strength of the structure is scarcely produced. Consequently, the optical fiber has the advantage that the degree of freedom of the installation thereof is high.
The invention described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-98921 detects the damage of a composite material on the basis of a change of the output of characteristic detecting means by vibrating the composite material with a piezo-element. The invention uses the following components for the detection of the damage: the piezo-element fixed to be disposed at a predetermined position of a composite material structure; a lead wire to transmit a signal to the piezo-element; the optical fiber sensor fixedly disposed so that the composite material constituting the composite material structure is put between the optical fiber sensor and the piezo-element, which sensor has a grating portion reflecting a light of a predetermined wavelength on a core portion; a light source performing the radiation of a light to a core portion; and the characteristic detecting means for detecting the characteristics of the reflected light from the grating portion. Moreover, a spectrum analyzer or the like to detect the frequency characteristic of the reflected light from the grating portion is used as the characteristic detecting means.
However, the invention described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-98921 cannot specify the existence, the position, and the magnitude of an impact having an arbitrary magnitude when an object structure receives the impact at an arbitrary position on the structure because the invention aims to detect a damage and the piezo-element is accordingly disposed at a predetermined position. Because the vibration of a reflected light from the optical fiber sensor (grating portion) changes according to the magnitude of the impact and the distance from the impact (vibration source), the system loading a known vibration on the object structure by the piezo-element to detect the damage on the basis of the propagation result of the vibration cannot grasp all the changes from a change of a reflected light vibrating large to a change of a reflected light vibrating small, and cannot specify the existence, the position, and the magnitude of an arbitrary impact with high accuracy.

Impact detection system using an optical fiber sensor


Methods and apparatuses for synchronizing the exchange of cryptography information between kernel drivers. A high level application in an electronic system passes a pointer to a base driver. The pointer is a unique identifier for cryptography information, such as a Security Association (SA), that the base driver uses to populate a cryptography information table for performing cryptography operations on secure traffic data packets. If the network interface device and/or its associated driver are reset, the pointer is used to repopulate the cryptography information table with specific cryptography information needed to perform cryptography operations on the data packets.

Data transferred over a network can be encrypted to protect its confidentiality and integrity. Because many different encryption methods are used, data packets contain an index into a table of structures containing cryptography (crypto) information necessary to indicate to the receiving system how to decrypt the data. The crypto information can be contained in a data structure called a security association (SA). Network interface devices in the transmitting and receiving systems perform crypto operations (e.g., encryption, decryption, authentication) on the data packets based on the crypto information in the SA.
A device driver directs how the network interface devices will perform crypto operations. The device driver stores in system memory a table of crypto information necessary for the network interface devices to perform crypto operations on data packets. The information may also be stored in tables on the devices. These tables can include, for example, unique identifiers for the cryptography data structures, cryptography keys, source addresses, destination addresses, network protocol types, and other information related to crypto operations.
One technique for populating a table of crypto information is for a high level application such as an operating system (OS) to control the process. With this technique, the high level application is responsible for maintaining consistency of the security state between the upper system layers (e.g., OS, high level applications) and the lower system layers (e.g., base drivers, hardware devices) that perform crypto operations. The high level application manages a unique handle that the driver creates for each data structure of crypto information which is passed to the intermediate security layer and/or base driver. All operations on data packets by the intermediate security layer driver and/or network interface device drivers and/or network interface devices references crypto information with the handle. If, for some reason, the network interface device and/or its associated driver is reset, the data in the crypto information tables is lost and the handles must be discarded. The high level application is then responsible for passing the crypto information to the base driver again so that it can repopulate the crypto information tables.
Some operating systems, for example, Windows® 2000 and Windows® XP, both available from Microsoft Corporation, guarantee that the crypto information tables are populated. Thus, if a network interface device and/or its associated device driver is reset, the operating system will pass the crypto information to the base drivers in order to allow the repopulation of the tables contained by the network interface device and/or its associated driver. One shortfall of such a technique is an inefficient use of resources because the entire table is repopulated, even though some of the information may not be used in the future. Another shortfall occurs with dynamic installation or removal of a network interface device; crypto information can be lost, or a device may be unable to acquire the proper security state. Another shortfall is that attempts to store crypto information in a network interface device and its associated driver during reset often fails, which requires repeated tries to store the information and/or failure to store the information.

Synchronizing the exchange of cryptography information between kernel drivers


Films of a multiplicity of adjacent polymeric, amphiphilic monolayers, said film having second order optical nonlinearity which increases with the number of active monolayers are provided, as well as novel polymers from which said films are prepared.

Second-order nonlinear optical phenomena include many important processes that are widely used today. For example, optical second-harmonic generation is used to convert a laser light of a certain frequency to a light of twice the original frequency (i.e., one half the original wavelength). The linear electro-optical effect, another important example, is commonly used to modulate the phase of a light wave with an electric field.
Second-order nonlinear optical processes can only occur within media that do not possess inversion symmetry, i.e., where at least one polar axis whose positive and negative directions are different can be identified. In a molecular medium, the magnitude of a certain second-order optical nonlinearity is determined by both the corresponding molecular nonlinear optical polarizability (also called "hyperpolarizability") and the degree of the polar molecular alignment. Whether a molecular crystal possesses inversion symmetry or not depends critically on details of the molecular structure. A minor modification of the molecular structure can significantly alter the crystal's symmetry, as well as the molecular alignment. It is therefore difficult to simultaneously optimize both the hyperpolarizabilities and the polar alignment of molecules in a crystal. Furthermore, molecular crystals of high optical quality are often difficult to grow. Therefore, alternative routes for preparing molecular media that exhibit useful second-order nonlinear optical properties are highly desirable.
Since the mid-1980's, The Langmuir-Blodgett method has been recognized as a potential route for fabricating organic thin films for second-order nonlinear optics. The Langmuir-Blodgett method, invented during the 1930's, can be used to deposit thin films of certain organic compounds onto various substrates with the film thickness controlled to within a monomolecular layer. Normally, the compounds must be insoluble in water, as well as amphiphilic--containing both a hydrophilic (water-loving) terminal group and a hydrophobic (water-loathing) group at the opposite end. Such a compound can form a monomolecular layer on the water surface with the hydrophilic group anchored to water and the hydrophobic group pointing away from it, thereby leading to a polar alignment of the molecules. Typical examples of such monolayer-forming compounds are the fatty acid series, CH.sub.3 (CH.sub.2).sub.n COOH (n.gtoreq.13), where the carboxylic acid group is hydrophilic and the alkyl chain is hydrophobic. For nonlinear optical applications, an amphiphilic compound must also exhibit a large hyperpolarizability--achievable by the inclusion of a nonlinear optically active group in the molecule. Updated examples of nonlinear optical amphiphiles are given in the review article by B. Tieke, Adv. Mater. 2 222-231, (1990).
The majority of the reported Langmuir-Blodgett materials for second-order nonlinear optics are monomeric compounds. Recently use of multiple monolayers of polymeric and monomeric compounds have been reported. A second harmonic generation active Langmuir-Blodgett film consisting of alternate monolayers of a vinyl-maleic anhydride copolymer and a monomeric merocyanine dye has been reported by R. H. Tredgold et al., Electron. Lett. 24 308-309 (1988). They found a sub-quadratic dependence of the second harmonic generation intensity on film thickness. B. L. Anderson et al., Synth. Met. 28 D683-688 (1989) reported a new Langmuir-Blodgett film structure with each repeating unit consisting of two monolayers of hemicyanine-dye-grafted polyethers and two monolayers of a fatty acid--i.e., an ABCC-structure. The interlacing layers of the monomeric fatty acid were needed to obtain the desirable quadratic dependence of the second harmonic generation signal on the number of the polymeric nonlinear optical monolayers--for up to ten ABCC units. In virtually all known examples of nonlinear optical Langmuir-Blodgett materials, the hydrophobic groups contain straight long chains of hydrocarbons.
For most compounds synthesized to date for fabricating nonlinear optical Langmuir-Blodgett films, there exist several problems that can severely limit their practical uses: (1) the polar molecular alignment tends to degrade with increasing number of monolayers in the Langmuir Blodgett film; (2) the polar alignment induced during the film formation is not stable; (3) the optical quality of the Langmuir-Blodgett film is poor. Optical second harmonic generation is commonly used to characterize second-order nonlinear optical Langmuir-Blodgett films. Ideally, if the degree of the polar molecular alignment is the same within each monolayer, and if the Langmuir-Blodgett thickness is much less than an optical wavelength, the net second harmonic generation intensity from the entire Langmuir-Blodgett film should increase quadratically with the total number of nonlinear optically active layers. [See, for example, O. A. Aktsipetrov et al., Sov. Phys. JETP 61 524-530 (1985)]. However, in most known cases the increase in the second harmonic generation signal with film thickness is less than quadratic, presumably due to deteriorations of the polar alignment both with increasing film thickness and with time.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a nonlinear optically active film in which the nonlinearity increases with the film thickness.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a nonlinear optically active film comprising monolayers made of entirely polymeric compounds.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide novel polymers useful in fabricating nonlinear optically active films of improved optical quality and stability.

Polymeric films for second order nonlinear optics