A method for manufacturing a field effect transistor includes a first step for etching 70%xcx9c90% of the thickness of an insulating film (SiO2 or Si3N4) formed covering a gate electrode formed on a silicon semiconductor substrate; and a second step for etching a remaining insulating film to remove an unnecessary portion, other than sidewall spacers, of the remaining insulating film. The two etching steps are respectively for the purpose of vertical processing of the sidewall spacers formed on each side of the gate electrode and securing a high etch selectivity ratio of the insulating film to the silicon substrate.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device having sidewall spacers made of an insulating material, which are used at sidewalls of a gate electrode.
With the advancement in performance of semiconductor devices centered on system LSIs and logic LSIs in recent years, there has evolved a technology of forming a field effect transistor (FET) on a semiconductor substrate of SOI (Silicon on Insulator) structure instead of the conventional bulk Si substrate. This is a method for forming an FET on a thin silicon substrate called the SOI layer on an insulating layer (SiO2) formed on a silicon substrate, for example. This method is superior in that junction capacitors are smaller than in the conventional method using a bulk substrate, so that the transistor operation can be made faster and transistors can be isolated more easily. Above all, a fully depleted-mode FET formed on the above-mentioned SOI layer, having a smaller parasite capacitor and a smaller sub-threshold swing (current Id rises at steep gradient) than in the bulk Si substrate, is drawing attention as a device with low power consumption. Further, because the width of a channel depletion layer is decided by the thickness of the SOI layer, this fully depleted-mode FET is effective in uppressing the short channel effect.
To realize a fully-depleted-mode operation of an SOI device having those merits, it is necessary to make the SOI layer thinner as miniaturization of devices progresses. As shown in IEICE (Institute of Electronics, Information and communication Engineers) papers, C-11 vol. J81-C-11, No. 3, pp. 313-319 (1998), as the gate length was scaled down to 0.35 xcexcm, 0.25 xcexcm and 0.18 xcexcm, the thickness of SOI layers is reduced to about 60 nm, 50 nm and 40 nm. In SOI devices of a generation with a gate length of 0.1 xcexcm it is believed that the thickness of the SOI layer is required to be less than 20 nm, and a progressive thinning is expected to continue.
As the parasitic resistances of the source and drain diffused layers in the SOI layer increase due to a progressive thinning of the SOI layer, the current drive capability of the transistor notably decreases. To preclude this problem, attempts have been made to decrease the resistances of the source and drain regions generally by a method of forming silicide, such as TiSix or CoSix, on the diffused layers. Regarding a method of using CoSix, for example, there has been a report, in which in order for a CoSi2 phase with the lowest resistance, out of three reaction products of Co2Si, CoSi and CoSi2, to be formed selectively at desired parts on both sides of a gate electrode on the SOI layer, a CoSi2 silicide can be formed stably by depositing Co with an optimum thickness on the SOI layer by sputtering, and then performing a thermal reaction process (RTA) in two stages consisting of a first RTA process (550xc2x0 C. for 30 seconds) and a second RTA (700xc2x0 C. for 60 seconds), for example (IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. 15, No. 9 (1994)).
However, miniaturization has come to be restricted by the fact that as the SOI layer is made thinner, a not enough amount of Si is left, which is to be consumed by reaction with Co. Moreover, the SOI layer is reduced in thickness as it goes through various processes until suicide is formed, and as devices are reduced in size and the SOI layer becomes thinner, the effects of the above-mentioned problems has come to be not negligible.
The progressive thinning of the SOI layer during the production process makes it difficult to form a suicide layer in a stable manner, and sometimes gives rises to defects consisting of voids. After an interlayer insulating film has been deposited, in a process of forming a contact hole through the interlayer insulating film, if a contact hole opens to that portion of the suicide layer which has the voids mentioned above, because, in this case, the contact hole is virtually continuous through the voids of the interlayer insulating film to a BOX (Buried Oxide) layer as an insulating layer under the SOI layer, a conducting metal that fills up the contact hole often penetrates the BOX layer, resulting in a considerable decrease in yield in the fabrication of devices. Therefore, it is an extremely important in the development of miniaturized SOI devices to minimize shaving of the SOI layer. In this specification, that yield which is affected by penetration of the BOX layer is called xe2x80x9cBOX-related yield.xe2x80x9d
One reason for a decrease in the thickness of the SOI layer, which has serious adverse effects, is shaving that occurs in etching sidewall spacers used for the single-drain or the LLD transistor structure, above all else. There has been demand for a technology for forming sidewall spacers with high insulating film/silicon selectivity by such a method as to reduce shaving almost to zero in the production of semiconductor devices.
The present invention has been made with the above problem in the conventional production method of a field effect transistor in mind and has as a first object to provide newfangled and improved production method and etching method of a field effect transistor, which are capable of forming sidewall spacers for the gate electrode of an SOI device under an etching condition of extremely high etch selectivity compared with prior art and minimizing an amount of shaving of the SOI layer.
A second object of the present invention is to provide newfangled and improved production method and etching method of a field effect transistor, which are capable of forming sidewall spacers for the gate electrode of an SOI device under an etching condition of extremely high etch selectivity compared with prior art and minimizing an amount of shaving of the SOI layer, to thereby achieve a stable high current drive capability of the transistor.
A third object of the present invention is to provide newfangled and improved production method and etching method of a field effect transistor, which are capable of forming sidewall spacers for the gate electrode of a SOI device under an etching condition of extremely high etch selectivity compared with prior art and minimizing an amount of shaving of the SOI layer, to thereby realize a high yield.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a newfangled and improved manufacturing method of a semiconductor device having a gate on a semiconductor substrate, which is capable of suitably forming sidewall spacers for the gate.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device that comprises forming a ate electrode on a semiconductor substrate including silicon; forming an insulating film on the semiconductor substrate and the gate electrode; performing a first etching process to remove the insulating film in an amount corresponding to 70%xcx9c90% of the thickness of the insulating film by anisotropic etching to the insulating film; and performing a second etching process to etch the remaining portion of the insulating film under a condition of higher insulating film/silicon selectivity than insulating film/silicon selectivity in the anisotropic etching.
In the foregoing, a preferable mode is one wherein the insulating film is a silicon oxide film.
Also, a preferable mode is one wherein the second etching step is carried out under a condition of silicon oxide/silicon etch selectivity of not less than 500.
Further, a preferable mode is one where the first etching step is carried out using a mixed gas of C4F8 and Ar as a process gas under a condition of a ratio of Ar gas flow rate to a total gas flow rate is not less than 90%.
Further, a preferable mode is one wherein the first etching step is carried out using a mixed gas including O2 as a process gas.
Additionally, a preferable mode is one wherein the above-mentioned mixed gas including O2 is one of a mixed gas of C4F8, O2 and Ar, a mixed gas of CHF3, O2 and Ar, a mixed gas of CHF3, CF4, O2 and Ar, and a mixed gas of CF4, O2 and Ar.
Further, a preferable mode is one wherein the first etching step and the second etching step are carried out in the same etching equipment.
Further, a preferable mode is one wherein the second etching step is carried out using a mixed gas of CHF3 and CO, keeping a total gas flow rate of not less than 300 sccm, and maintaining a total gas pressure at not less than 60 mTorr.
Further, a preferable mode is one wherein the insulating film is a silicon nitride.
Also, a preferable mode is one wherein the second etching step is carried out under a condition of silicon nitride/silicon etch selectivity of not less than 500.
Further, a preferable mode is one wherein the second etching step is carried out using a mixed gas of CHF3, CH2F2, and CO, keeping a pressure of not less than 20 mTorr and not more than 30 mTorr and under a condition of a mixing ratio of CH2F2 to a mixed gas of CHF3 and CH2F2, is not less than 30%.
Further, a preferable mode is one wherein the first etching step is carried out using a mixed gas including O2 as a process gas.
Further, a preferable mode is one wherein the semiconductor substrate is a semiconductor substrate having an insulating layer and a silicon layer formed on the insulating layer, and wherein the gate electrode is formed on the silicon layer.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device that comprises forming a gate electrode on a semiconductor substrate having a silicon layer on a surface thereof; forming an insulating film on the semiconductor substrate and the gate electrode; performing a first etching process to remove the insulating film in an amount corresponding to 70%xcx9c90% of the thickness of the insulating film by anisotropic etching to the insulating film; and performing a second etching process to etch the remaining portion of the insulating film to remove an unnecessary portion other than sidewall spacers covering both sides of the gate electrode under a condition of higher insulating film/silicon selectivity than insulating film/silicon selectivity in the anisotropic etching.

Method for manufacturing sidewall spacers of a semiconductor device with high etch selectivity and minimized shaving


An extensible resource resolution framework. Executing code that references a resource invokes an interface of an extensible resource resolution framework. Parameters may be provided on the invocation to specify information pertaining to the current execution context. One or more resource resolvers are selected, transparently to the invoking code, as appropriate to a given situation (comprising, for example, the execution context). Preferably, the resource resolvers are contributed as plug-ins to the resolution framework. Criteria may be specified for each resolver, indicating when that resolver should be selected. Priority order may be specified, per resolver, to control order of invocation when more than one resolver is selected.

The present invention relates generally to computer programming, and more particularly to resource resolution.
Many software tools which must locate resources (such as files) as part of their function have to implement a resource resolution strategy, whereby addressing information for the resource can be resolved to an actual physical storage location. Currently, each tool (including, when applicable, multiple tools that are provided within a single software product) must implement the strategy independently. This requires a considerable amount of duplicate effort by developers and a lot of effort to keep resolution strategies synchronized among different tools (which may be developed by different organizations).
As an example, software components often need to operate on collections of resources that are related by Uniform Resource Identifier ("URI") references. A web browser, for example, operates on a Hypertext Markup Language ("HTML") resource which can contain references to other HTML resources. The process of reading a URI reference and computing the actual location where the resource can be obtained is known generally as "URI resolution". In modern software applications, the process of resolving a URI reference has become more complex, with different software components utilizing specialized resolution strategies specific to their problem domain. When several software components need to work together, dealing with the multiple resolution strategies makes software development more difficult. Often, in order to resolve a URI, a software developer needs to be aware of multiple resolution strategies and understand when to invoke the appropriate one. Once the appropriate strategy is determined, the task of invoking this strategy may be non-trivial. There are often significant differences between the way each resolver strategy is implemented, and the developer is therefore forced to become familiar with domain-specific peculiarities.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Extensible resource resolution framework

International Business Machines Corporation


A method and apparatus to modify the surface structure of a silicon substrate or deposited silicon layer in a controllable manner using gas only in an atmospheric environment, suitable for making photovoltaic (PV) wafer based devices. The method and apparatus comprising the steps of disposing the substrate or deposited layer on a moveable carrier; pre-heating the substrate or deposited layer; and moving the substrate or deposited layer for etching through an atmospheric reactor; under an etchant delivering module inside the reactor and applying at least one etchant in gas form at a controlled flow rate and angle to the substrate or deposited layer in the reactor, wherein the at least one etchant gas is selected from the group comprising fluoride-containing gases and chlorine-based compounds. The technical problem that has been solved is the provision of a high throughput dry etching method at atmospheric pressure. This apparatus does not require plasma to aid the etching process using fluoride-containing gases and chlorine-based compounds and is performed at open atmospheric pressure. The use of elemental fluorine, which has a significantly lower bonding energy than any of the other etchants used to date, allows for the use of much lower power energy source to crack the elemental fluorine in to its etching radicals. The apparatus enables the delivery of a predetermined texture finish by controlling the flow rate of the gasses which are bombarded on the surface of the substrate.

Solar cells are photovoltaic (PV) semiconductor devices that convert sunlight into electricity. Photons from the sunlight knock electrons loose from their atoms, generating a current through the material. These photovoltaic semiconductors may be made from single crystal silicon (mono-crystalline), polycrystalline (multi-crystalline) silicon, amorphous silicon or other compound semiconductor materials. In simple terms an electrical P-N junction is created in PV material or substrate i.e. silicon wafer. This material is then connected to an electrical circuit by means of the positive and negative electrode. When exposed to sunlight a current is generated in the PV material due to a photoelectric effect.
There are various processing methods used to manufacture a PV solar cell, and several manufacturing process steps are required. Of particular interest for this invention are the etching steps, where a controlled amount of material has to be removed from the substrate and deposited layers; including wafer damage removal, cleaning, texturing, polishing, and by-product (PSG) removal.
Texturing of the substrate material; more particularly the control of this texturing is difficult to achieve. Different textures have been shown to have different enhancing properties for different solar cell substrates and designs. In most solar cell designs, when a light trapping pattern is textured onto the starting substrate on the sunny side of the wafer, an increase in cell efficiency is observed. Texturing the surface of the substrate will enlarge the surface area and lower the reflectivity of the base material therefore capturing more of the light that falls on the surface. However the texture needs to be carefully controlled and optimised so as integrate well with subsequent steps in the solar cell manufacturing process. The textures that are formed need to be easily doped and passivated and must not damage the carrier lifetimes of the base silicon substrate. These demands on the texture for PV solar cell manufacturing require a much higher level of control over the process than has been previously available. In the prior art, for example, the use of wet chemicals etching cannot deliver optimised textures for different cell designs as the etching mechanism is defined by the crystallographic structure of the substrate to be etched. Also, true single-sided etching of a substrate is not offered. As an alternative to wet chemical etching some methods have been proposed, including reactive ion etching and other plasma based silicon etching techniques well known to semiconductor device manufacturing. These plasma based techniques can have a detrimental effect on the carrier lifetimes of the base silicon and in some cases do not lead to a texture that can be easily passivated.
Wet Chemical Etching is the current state of the art for PV solar cell manufacturing. Currently these steps are carried out via a wet chemical process where the silicon substrates are dipped in a heated Acidic or Alkaline solution for a period of time to form uneven patterns on the surface of the substrate.
The problems associated with wet chemical etching for crystalline solar cells production are:                1. Very large amounts of water and other chemicals are consumed during these wet chemical etch steps.        2. Wet etch process is not adequate for thinner wafers (<160 μm).        3. Texturing by the traditional alkaline wet chemical etching of the cheaper multi-crystalline silicon solar cell does not give satisfactory antireflective properties. This is due to anisotropic nature of the multi-crystalline silicon substrate.        4. The process of record for multi-crystalline silicon solar cell manufacturing is to use an additional wet etch step using an acidic solution e.g. a mix of HF and HNO3. This "Isotexturing" results in lower reflection than the traditional anisotropic etching on multi-crystalline substrates. However, as outlined in point 1, it does not give the same results as traditional alkaline etching on mono-crystalline substrates. This leaves the overall cell conversion efficiencies of multi-crystalline silicon solar cells to lag behind the conversion efficiencies of the more expensive mono-crystalline silicon solar cells.        5. The wet etch equipment can be very large (in same case up to 17 m long) and has limited process throughput capability.        6. Wet etch efficiency is highly dependent the crystallographic structure of the wafer and requires different chemicals recipes for mono or multi-Si wafer.        7. Limited single sides of the wet process that does not provide for decoupled surface treatment.        8. Wet etch needs some defects in the wafer to work. It does not work from a smooth surface.
Dry etching plasma-less processes have been recently used for vacuum chamber cleaning application. For example, as described in US2008142046, molecular Fluorine (F2) was used for the cleaning of Silicon Nitride (SiNx) in a chemical vacuum deposition (CVD) chamber. Pre-diluted fluorine in an inert gas is delivered into the vacuum chamber and the fluorine is thermally dissociated by heating the chamber to a temperature between 230 to 565 deg C. The undesired silicon nitride is removed from the inner chamber's surfaces by chemical reaction. This vacuum chamber cleaning process is required in order to prevent cross-process contamination.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,356 (B2) describes a dry etching process that selectively etch Silicon on electronic devices, without etching Silicon oxide or silicon nitride. The specification is very much restricted to holding the substrate in the interior of a vacuum chamber and supplying the etch gas to the same chamber, at less than atmospheric pressure (260 millitorr (mT)).
Dry etching of PV solar cells has been under development for some time. There have been numerous publications using traditional vacuum based plasma etching techniques. The main problem with these methods is the PV material is damaged caused by the ions from the plasma during the etching process. Although some progress has been made in regard to this plasma damage issue, the commercialisation of such solutions is unlikely as the cost of the vacuum-based systems is prohibitive and the low throughput is not suitable for large-scale solar PV cell manufacturing.
There has also been work done regarding atmospheric plasma used to treat, clean and, in some cases, modify the surface of various substrates. In EP0690479 a method utilising an atmospheric plasma discharge to treat substrates at atmospheric pressure is described. Similarly, US2008/0000497 A1 describes a method of removing organic-containing layers using a plasma discharge.
In US 2008/0305643 an atmospheric plasma etching apparatus to remove the doped surface layers on the back faces of a crystalline solar wafer is described. Similarly, US 2010/0062608 describes an apparatus to selectively etch the phosphorus silicate glass (PSG) formed during the diffusion process using a plasma-based process. All of this state of the art is based on work utilising plasma discharge technology and using the plasma to generate the active species required to do the work on the substrates.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,947 discloses an apparatus for deposition of thin film amorphous Si PV films and surface treatment of PV substrates utilising a non-plasma technique. U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,947 makes reference to the use of F2 to affect a texture or "coarsening" on the surface to aid light absorption. It also describes an array of chambers that are connected but the process regions are separated by purge gas curtains. This apparatus utilises a Roll-to-Roll method that is limited for use with flexible substrates that can be conveyed and collected on rollers. The use of the purge curtains is limited to separating process reaction spaces within a larger enclosed system that house all process chambers along with the delivery and collection roller chambers. Even with the capability of moving the substrates freely between process chambers, there is no continuous production. When the process is complete both the deployment and collection rolls would need to be changed and the system opened in some way that is not described. The coarsening effected by the use of F2 is not claimed to be controlled or optimised in any way. The flow levels and pressure described indicate that this process takes place in a vacuum i.e. 30 SCCM at 1.5 torr. However, this method is not suitable for processing wafers.
There is therefore a need to provide a process and apparatus for dry etching/texturing of crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar cell wafers and control, which overcomes the above-mentioned problems.

Method and apparatus to control surface texture modification of silicon wafers for photovoltaic cell devices


An apparatus for sonoporation for transdermal delivery of a microparticles suspension containing microencapsulated drugs includes a container containing said microparticles suspension and an ultrasound horn having a tip submerged in said microparticles suspension containing microencapsulated drug or the like. The ultrasound radiation is applied to generate cavitation bubbles, thus causing pores to be formed in the skin of a patient. The ultrasound radiation intensity and distance from the skin are also effective in generating ultrasonic jets driving the microparticles through the formed pores into the skin. The ultrasound radiation is desirably applied at a frequency other than a resonant frequency of the microparticles to avoid rupturing them.

Intradermal delivery of drugs offers several advantages over conventional delivery methods including oral and injection methods. It delivers a predetermined drug dose to a localized area with a controlled steady rate and uniform distribution, is non-invasive, convenient and painless.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,447, commonly assigned and incorporated by reference herein, describes a method and apparatus for sonoporation of biological barriers such as Stratum Corneum (SC), most commonly referred to as the outermost layer of human skin. Sonoporation is the noninvasive transdermal delivery of pharmaceutical drug molecules through the SC and into the cardiovascular system a human body via ultrasound radiation. Significant improvement made to existing sonoporation and sonophoresis methods of transdermal drug delivery may be leveraged to increase market share. Drug encapsulation is a known practice in therapeutic application of the potent but very unstable drugs. Using sonoporation and sonophoresis in the area of delivery of encapsulated drugs would provide many additional pharmaceutical benefits compared to the benefits of a present ways of sonoporetic or sonophoresic drug delivery. Some of these benefits would include delivery of peptide-based drugs that range from bed-wetting to gastric bleeding to cancer and immune disorders such as HIV.

Intradermal incorporation of microparticles containing encapsulated drugs using low frequency ultrasound


Sensor systems for sucker rod pump systems and gear rod rotator systems may include one or more sensor modules comprising a sensor including at least one of a position sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, or a vibration sensor for detecting a characteristic related to at least one component of the sucker rod pump systems or the gear rod rotator system.

Upon completion of drilling an oil well, fluids from the oil well may be under sufficient innate or natural pressure to allow the oil well to produce on its own. Therefore, crude oil in such wells can rise to the well surface without any assistance. But, even though an oil well can initially produce on its own, natural pressure generally declines as the well ages. In many oil wells, therefore, fluids are artificially lifted to the surface with downhole or subsurface pumps. Sucker rod pump systems are commonly used systems to transport these fluids from downhole oil-bearing zones to the well surface to be collected, refined, and used for various applications.
Typical sucker rod pump systems have a plunger that reciprocates inside a barrel while attached at the end of a string of sucker rods. Reciprocation of the sucker rod string in deviated wells within the sucker rod pump system often leads to uneven frictional wear on the surface of sucker rod pump components such as the sucker rod, tubing, guide, and coupling. Uneven wear of the components leads to costly maintenance and repairs. To counteract this, rod rotators are used to at least partially homogenize frictional wear of the sucker rod pump system components by more evenly distributing frictional wear by slowly rotating the sucker rod or string of sucker rods within the tubing. However, even though rod rotators may prolong the life of sucker rod pump system components, contemporary rod rotators eventually fail to rotate in deviated wells that have high torsional drag due to the excessive contact of the rod string and the tubing and such failures lead to oil well production interruptions.

Gear rod rotator systems and related systems, sensors, and methods


A computer system includes a data storage device on a first data bus, a requesting device that initiates a delayed request on a second data bus, and a bridge device that delivers the delayed request to the first data bus and, after the requesting device regains control of the second data bus, begins providing data to the requesting device while the data storage device is providing the requested data to the bridge device.

The invention relates to data streaming in a computer system.
Computer systems generally include one or more Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) buses that provide a special communication protocol between peripheral components, such as video controllers and network interface cards, and the computer system's main memory. When system memory and the peripheral components (PCI devices) reside on different buses, a bridge is required to manage the flow of data transactions between the two buses. PCI bus architecture is defined by the PCI Local Bus Specification, Revision 2.1 ("PCI Spec 2.1"), published in June 1995, by the PCI Special Interest Group, Portland, Oreg., incorporated by reference. PCI-to-PCI bridge architecture is defined by the PCI-to-PCI Bridge Architecture Specification, Revision 1.0 ("PCI Bridge Spec 1.0"), published in April 1994, by the PCI Special Interests Group, incorporated by reference.
Under the PCI Spec 2.1 and PCI Bridge Spec 1.0 architectures, PCI bridges support two types of transactions: posted transactions (including all memory write cycles), which complete on the initiating bus before they complete on the target bus, and delayed transactions (including all memory read requests and all I/O and configuration read/write requests), which complete on the target bus before they complete on the initiating bus. A PCI device that initiates a delayed transaction must relinquish control of the local PCI bus and wait for the target device to return the requested data (in the case of a delayed read request) or a completion message (in the case of a delayed write request). Once the requested information has arrived, the requesting device must wait until it again receives control of the PCI bus in the normal course of operations before it can retrieve the information from the PCI bridge.

Providing data from a bridge to a requesting device while the bridge is receiving the data


An intermediate duct (108) is connected between first and second positive displacement machines (104, 106). An inlet duct (107) is connected to the first positive displacement machine (104). An outlet duct (109) is connected to the second positive displacement machine (106). A heater (102) raises the temperature and pressure of a gaseous working fluid in the intermediate duct (108). There is a kinematic connection (111) between the first and second positive displacement machines (104, 106) and the arrangement is such that, in operation, the first positive displacement machine (104) causes the working fluid to flow through the intermediate duct (108) to the second positive displacement machine (106), the heated working fluid drives the second positive displacement machine (106), and the second positive displacement machine (106) drives the first positive displacement machine (104) via the kinematic connection (111). The positive displacement machines include at least one orbiting piston. The heater (102) is preferably constituted by a condenser in a heat pump circuit (101-103).

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an engine, in particular an engine using the Stirling cycle.
2. Background Art
Many different designs of Sterling engine have been devised since the first Sterling engine was invented in 1816. It would be desirable to provide an engine which can make use of ambient heat or waste heat efficiently.


A method for processing input from a keyboard of a hand-held computing device includes receiving a plurality of key input events and, from the plurality of key input events, determining whether there is a double selection event corresponding to a specified key from the keyboard. Further, the method includes, when it is determined that there is the double selection event corresponding to the specified key, determining a key selection offset between a first and second key selection action of the double selection. The method also includes deciding whether the key selection offset is substantially equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and, when it is decided that the key selection offset is substantially equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, using at least a first key as key input of the double selection event. The first key and the specified key are different.

The present invention generally relates to hand-held computing device technologies and, more particularly, to the methods and systems for input control and management.
Smart phones and other hand-held computing devices integrate many functions into a single device. For example, a modern hand-held computing device often provides two-way, full text messaging to its user and permits the user to initiate messages and to respond to messages in a timely fashion and with text entirely created by the user. In order to keep the form factor of the hand-held computing device small enough to be worn on the body of the user, such as with a belt clip or in a pocket, the input device (e.g., a keyboard) of the hand-held computing device is generally configured to be small, to have a minimal number of keys, and to be optimized for using a minimal number of key strokes.
Further, the hand-held computing device also permits a user to enter a variety of types of data into the hand-held computing device, such as an address book, a calendar, a task list, an email message or a similar text file that requires user-generated or input data. Thus, although the keyboard only has a minimal number of keys, the keyboard needs to be configured with the keys representing the alphabet generally placed in the same order as they would appear on a standard keyboard, such as the QWERTY keyboard.
These competing requirements may cause inconveniences or difficulties for the user to input data into the hand-held computing device. The disclosed methods and systems are directed to solve the problems set forth above and other problems.

Keyboard input control method and system


An optical space transmission apparatus which performs a first communication, in which a light beam propagating through a space is used, with a remote apparatus includes a communication section and an identification section. Here, the communication section performs a second communication, which is different from the first communication, with a plurality of remote apparatuses and the identification section identifies the remote apparatus, which performs the first communication, from among the plurality of remote apparatuses by performing the second communication.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical space transmission apparatus which communicates from a communication apparatus installed at one point with communication apparatuses installed at a plurality of points using an optical signal which propagates through the air.
2. Description of the Related Art
Using FIG. 6, an overview of a conventional optical space communication system will be explained. Here, FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the conventional optical space communication system (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-224112 (European Patent No. 1054520B1: European equivalent to the Japanese Patent)) and as shown in this schematic view, the optical space communication system is constructed by an optical space transmission apparatus 60 and remote apparatuses 61a to 61c.
An optical signal radiated from a light source 62 of the optical space transmission apparatus 60 is changed to a substantially parallel light beam 64 which is spread a little when passing through an optical system 63, this light beam 64 is reflected on a movable mirror 65 and transmitted to the respective remote apparatuses 61a to 61c.
Furthermore, the movable mirror 65 is driven according to a preset sequence and angle, and when a transmission to the remote apparatus 61a is completed, then the movable mirror 65 directs the light beam to the remote apparatus 61b, and when a transmission to the remote apparatus 61b is completed, then the movable mirror 65 directs the light beam to the remote apparatus 61c and transmits the light beam to the remote apparatus 61c. In this way, by scanning the remote apparatuses sequentially and performing communications, communications are established between a communication apparatus installed at one point and communication apparatuses installed at a plurality of points.
This scanning is performed at a high speed and the users of the respective remote apparatuses need not be aware of a waiting time when receiving signals. Moreover, an optical signal is free of restrictions on the frequency band as in the case of radio waves, and can thereby transmit information at a high speed and communicate a sufficient volume of information even through intermittent transmissions using sequential scanning.
Moreover, in the above described Japanese Patent, it is proposed that a center apparatus scans respective remote apparatuses using a mirror, is provided with a light source and an optical detector to perform bidirectional communications with the remote apparatuses.
Furthermore, for reasons of safety of eyes, to prevent degradation of the communication quality of optical radio waves generated due to attenuation of light beams caused by weather conditions such as rain and snow under conditions in which the output levels of light beams are limited, it is necessary to narrow the diameters of light beams and correctly direct the light beams to the remote apparatuses. As a method of realizing this, in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-224112, it is proposed about a function in which five photodiodes are arrayed and the directions of light beams based on the outputs of the respective photodiodes are corrected.
Moreover, a method of calculating the directions of the remote apparatuses by projecting the light beams sent from the remote apparatuses onto an optical position detection element is also widely known as a method of correcting the directions of light beams.
However, for the method of changing the angle of the mirror according to a preset sequence and angle and sequentially scanning all the remote apparatuses, communication channels are also established with remote apparatuses not requiring communications. For this reason, when many remote apparatuses are scanned, the mirror is also driven to irradiate light beams to remote apparatuses not requiring communications, wasting the time to decide that communications are not necessary, unable to allocate sufficient communication times to remote apparatuses requiring communications. Furthermore, the method of using an array of five photodiodes to correctly direct light beams to remote apparatuses and finding exact directions of the remote apparatuses based on the outputs of the respective photodiodes and the optical position detection elements, etc., is adopted, but when the power of a remote apparatus is OFF, the center apparatus cannot identify the remote apparatus and wastes time until the center apparatus searches the remote apparatus and decides consequently that a communication therewith is not possible, unable to realize efficient optical space communications between one point and multi points.
Moreover, even when the power of the remote apparatus is ON, a processing time for correctly directing light beams to remote apparatuses not requiring communications is wasted, unable to realize efficient optical space communications between one point and multi points.

Optical space transmission apparatus and optical space communication system


A mounting plate for locating under a superconducting magnet structure, between the superconducting magnet structure and a supporting surface of a mobile carrier, is controllable between two different states. In a first state, the mount provides rigid attachment and precise location of the superconducting magnet structure onto the supporting surface of the mobile carrier. In a second state, the mount provides vibration isolation between the superconducting magnet and the mobile carrier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to superconducting magnets which are transported and operated within a mobile carrier, such as a road trailer, railway carriage, or shipping container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Superconducting magnets, particularly superconducting magnets used as part of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging system need to be held stably within their carrier, so that the magnet system is immobile during use as part of an imaging system.
An example of such arrangements is the mobile MRI system, which may travel up to 500,000 miles (800,000 km) during its working life. The superconducting magnets of such systems are transported "at field", that is to say, having electric current flowing in the superconducting magnet and generating a magnetic field. The typical use for such a system is to provide an imaging facility in a town which does not otherwise have such a facility, for a few days, and then to move on to another town, following a circuit. Another example of a relevant system is the transportable MRI system, which may typically travel up to 50,000 miles (80,000 km) during its working life. These magnets are not transported "at field". The current flowing in the magnet is removed prior to transport, and no magnetic field is generated while the magnet is being moved.
In each case, the mobile carrier contains a significant quantity of shielding, typically iron or steel sheets lining the mobile carrier to limit the strength of magnetic field which escapes through the carrier into the surrounding environment. Many countries have strict limits on the permissible strength of such "stray field".
To perform an imaging function, the superconducting magnet must generate a strong magnetic field of high homogeneity within an imaging region. The magnet must not move during the imaging procedure. In the context of the above-described superconducting magnets within mobile carriers, this means that the magnet must be rigidly affixed to the mobile carrier when in use for imaging, and must be precisely located in its designed position, to ensure that the shielding performs its function of limiting stray field but does not degrade the homogeneity of the magnetic field in the imaging region. If the magnet were to be positioned even 1 mm away from its design position, the shielding would distort the magnetic field and degrade the images produced. The surest way to achieve these aims of rigid fixing and repeatable positioning is of course to attach the magnet firmly, rigidly and permanently to the mobile carrier. However, this is found unacceptable because the relatively fragile nature of the supporting structure of a typical superconducting magnet needs to be protected from shock loads experienced by the mobile carrier during transport. This may be addressed by providing vibration isolating mounts for the superconducting magnet structure, to prevent the superconducting magnet structure from experiencing the full shock loads. An alternative is to make the supporting structure much stronger to withstand the shock loads, which will in turn lead to greater heat influx to the superconducting magnet, greater costs of cooling equipment or cooling cryogen materials.
UK patent GB2456795 describes a magnetically actuated motion limiter for limiting the motion of a cryogen vessel within an outer vacuum chamber.

Vibration isolation for superconducting magnets


A device for detecting, monitoring and/or controlling racing vehicles on a preferably multi-lane racetrack, having at least one sensor unit which is arranged countersunk under the surface of a carriageway. The at least one sensor unit is mounted on a guide element which can be inserted into a receptacle space under the carriageway in the transverse direction with respect to the carriageway, from the lateral edge of the carriageway. In this context, cables, lines or the like can be pre-assembled in a complete state with the at least one sensor unit and can be inserted under the carriageway from the side together with the guide element, with the result that there is no need for any separate laying of cables or even for a cable connection once the sensor is in position.

The present invention relates to a device for detecting, monitoring and/or controlling racing vehicles on a preferably multi-lane racetrack, having at least one sensor unit, which is arranged countersunk under the surface of a carriageway.
Such controlling and monitoring devices are used in particular on model racetracks, in particular those known as slot-car tracks, but may in principle also be used on real racetracks and the racing vehicles driving on them. Of course, various types of vehicle come into consideration here as racing vehicles, such as for example cars or motorcycles, but in principle other things that race, such as for example horses, sulkies or watercraft such as speedboats, may also be equipped with corresponding devices, so that the term racing vehicle should be understood in a broad sense in the context of the present application.
Racing on racetracks is usually monitored with the aid of technical means of detection and controlled by corresponding control modules, such as for example detection of the number of laps completed and/or lap time or the identification of a respective vehicle or a driver assigned to this vehicle. Apart from the monitoring measures already long known per se, such as light barriers for detecting the speed, camera monitoring for detecting the finish or the like, it has recently also already been proposed to monitor or control vehicles and the drivers controlling them as well as the position of the vehicle on the racetrack and the time or distance driven by electronic data transmission from the vehicle. For example, the documents WO 2006/042235 A2 and US 2006/0183405 A1 propose fitting on the racing vehicles so-called RFID elements, i.e. identification modules operating by radio data communication, and to store in these RFID elements a vehicle identification, a driver identification and possibly further vehicle and driver data as well as race data, which is then read by suitable RFID readers located at the racetrack, for example in such a way that each time the finishing line is passed the RFID element of a vehicle is read and the lap counter is correspondingly incremented and stored together with the vehicle and driver identifications.
In addition to the mentioned RFID readers, the cited document WO 2006/042235 A2 here proposes integrating conductor loops or light projectors into the racetrack, in order to detect vehicles driving over them.
However, such sensor systems countersunk under the surface of a carriageway cannot be integrated all that easily in the carriageway, in particular in the case of slot-car racetracks. In particular, maintenance or adjustment work that becomes necessary can only be performed with difficulty. If a sensor has to be removed, not only is removal laborious, but the exact positioning during installation that is necessary for satisfactory functioning of the sensor system is difficult to set. On the other hand, specifically in the case of slot-car tracks it must be taken into consideration that, depending on the base of the track and on how the carriageway is secured, vibrations may be introduced into the sensor system to a greater or lesser extent when it is driven over by the racing vehicles, which may adversely affect its measuring accuracy, but also its service life.

Device for detecting, monitoring and/or controlling racing vehicles

Amusys Amusement Systems Electronics GmbH


Processes are provided for the synthesis of diarylthiohydantoin and diarylhydantoin compounds. Medicinal products containing the same find particular use in treating prostate cancer, including castration-resistant prostate cancer and/or hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in the United States, other than skin cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 186,000 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed, and approximately 29,000 men died of prostate cancer in the United States alone during 2008. Prostate cancer is thus the second-leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States, after lung cancer.
Metastatic prostate cancer is cancer that has spread beyond the prostate and surrounding tissues into distant organs and tissues. The majority of men who die from prostate cancer die from the consequences of metastatic disease. According to the National Cancer Institute, the median survival of patients with prostate cancer that has metastasized to distant organs is usually one to three years, and most such patients will die of prostate cancer. Metastatic prostate cancer is generally divided into two states: the hormone-sensitive state and the castration-resistant state (also referred to as the hormone-refractory state).
Testosterone and other male sex hormones, known collectively as androgens, can fuel the growth of prostate cancer cells. Androgens exert their effects on prostate cancer cells by binding to and activating the androgen receptor, which is expressed in prostate cancer cells. When they first metastasize to distant sites, most prostate cancers depend on androgens for growth. These prostate cancers are known as "hormone-sensitive" cancers. Accordingly, the leading therapies currently used for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer are focused on diminishing, or antagonizing, the effects of androgens on prostate cancer cells. One approach utilizes so-called "anti-androgens," which are molecules that block the interaction of androgens with the androgen receptor. Another approach is to reduce the amount of androgens produced in the body, primarily in the testes. This can be achieved surgically by removal of both testicles (orchiectomy) or through use of drugs known as luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, or LHRH, agonist drugs, which lower the native production of testosterone in the testicles (sometimes called "chemical castration").
Most metastatic prostate cancer initially is hormone-sensitive and thus responds to hormonal therapies. However, according to a study published in the Oct. 7, 2004 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, virtually all hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer undergoes changes that convert it to the castration-resistant state in a median of 18-24 months after initiation of hormonal therapy [Debes, J. et al. "Mechanisms of Androgen-Refractory Prostate Cancer." New. England. J. Med. (2004), 351:1488-1490]. One of the important mechanisms by which prostate cancer cells switch from the hormone-sensitive to the castration-resistant state appears to be through overexpression of the androgen receptor. In experiments comparing gene expression in hormone sensitive and castration-resistant prostate cancer cells, an increase in androgen receptor expression was the only gene change consistently associated with castration-resistant disease [Chen, C. et al. "Molecular determinants of resistance to antiandrogen therapy." Nat. Med. (2004), 10(1):33-39]. Once in this state, prostate cancers generally continue to grow in an androgen-dependent manner despite the reduction of testosterone production to very low (i.e., post-castration) levels. Prostate cancer in this state is known as "castration-resistant" prostate cancer, or CRPC. The switch from the hormone-sensitive to the castration-resistant state following initiation of hormonal therapy is generally determined based on either rising levels of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, or documented disease progression as evidenced by imaging tests or clinical symptoms. Metastatic prostate cancer that has become castration-resistant is extremely aggressive; these patients have a median survival of only 10 to 16 months.
A primary reason that CRPC is so deadly is that it is difficult to treat. Because therapies currently used for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer operate by reducing the ability of androgens to fuel the growth of prostate cancer cells, they generally are effective only on prostate cancers that remain hormone-sensitive by depending on androgens for growth. CRPC no longer responds to hormonal therapies that are effective in the hormone-sensitive state. To further complicate the situation, due to biological changes in prostate cancer that has entered the castration resistant state, drugs that initially block the androgen receptor and inhibit growth of hormone sensitive prostate cancer may have precisely the opposite effect and start to fuel the growth of CRPC. For example, Casodex® (bicalutamide), sold by AstraZeneca PLC, directly blocks the interaction of androgens with the androgen receptor and is the largest selling of the anti-androgen therapies. However, in an in vitro model of castration-resistant prostate cancer in which prostate cancer cell lines were genetically engineered to overexpress the androgen receptor (thus converting them from the hormone-sensitive to the castration-resistant state), Casodex® failed effectively to inhibit the androgen receptor in these cells, and in some cases it became a stimulant of the androgen receptor. These findings, which are consistent with the published human clinical experience with Casodex in CRPC, render Casodex® an ineffective therapy for the castration-resistant state of metastatic prostate cancer.
Compounds that bind the androgen receptor, the same target bound by Casodex® and other marketed drugs for metastatic prostate cancer, have been developed for use in the castration-resistant state of metastatic prostate cancer. These compounds bind the androgen receptor in a manner that renders them effective in treating cancers that have become refractory to currently used drugs. For example, certain compounds disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2007/0004753, 2007/0254933 (republished as 2008/0139634), and 2009/0111864 are novel small-molecule androgen receptor antagonists that inhibit androgen receptor function by blocking nuclear translocation of the androgen receptor and DNA binding.
The synthetic route to compounds of the invention, as described in the aforementioned U.S. patent application Publications, comprises the coupling of an isothiocyanate with an isobutyronitrile. The main drawbacks of the process as previously described include only a 25% yield of desired product being achieved in the final step, resulting in a 15% overall yield from commercially available starting materials. Moreover, each intermediate compound requires laborious column chromatography for purification, resulting in extended overall production time which is industrially disadvantageous. In comparison, the present invention described herein comprises a 50% overall yield, and any required purification is achieved by simple precipitation or crystallization means. Further, the present invention avoids the use of the extremely toxic reagent acetone cyanohydrin. As a result, the process according to the present invention is a safer process in which the amount of solvent is lowered, minimizing waste and environmental impact, the cycle time is reduced, and the throughput and overall yield of the process is increased.

Processes for the synthesis of diarylthiohydantoin and diarylhydantoin compounds


There is provided an image receiving sheet which comprises: a substrate sheet, a reflection layer disposed on at least one surface side of the substrate sheet so as to be laid on at least one area thereof, and a receptor layer disposed on at least one surface side of the substrate sheet, wherein the reflection layer has at least one area provided with a convexo-concave pattern, the area provided with the convexo-concave pattern of the reflection layer being extended within an area provided with the receptor layer. The reflection layer is disposed, as required, either on the same surface side of the substrate sheet as the receptor layer is disposed so as to be interposed between the substrate sheet and the receptor layer or on the opposite side of a transparent substrate sheet to the surface provided with the receptor layer. The convexo-concave pattern may comprise an interference fringe, and may be divided into plural areas. The divided convexo-concave pattern may be composed of a single or plural kinds of pattern. The receptor layer is disposed on only one surface side of the substrate sheet, and the adhesive layer and the release sheet are disposed in this order on the other surface side, as required.

The present invention relates to an image-receiving sheet. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image-receiving sheet which can form a high-quality image and which provides optical information by reflected light.
Heretofore, a printer based on such method as a sublimation type thermal transfer method, a heat fusion type transfer method, or an ink-jet method is used for the output print of a computer or a word processor. In addition, because of the recent progress of an image forming system represented by photographic technology and computer graphics, there has been a growing demand for hard copies of color images.
The image formation according to the above-mentioned methods is performed by using a sheet provided with a receptor layer designed to carry a sublimation dye, a heat fusible ink, an ink, or the like. Usually, this image-receiving sheet is a white sheet or a transparent sheet. On some occasions, after image formation, the image-receiving sheet is provided with a hologram by transfer, lamination or the like for such purpose as prevention of counterfeiting, prevention of alteration, or for addition of a special effect to the image.
However, the formation of the hologram on the receptor layer after image formation thereon has been associated with the following problems. That is, it is necessary to use a special printer which is provided with both an image forming step and a hologram forming step. Alternatively, it is necessary to use a special device for the hologram formation separately from a printer for the image formation. Because of this, the image formation becomes less easy and an increase in cost is unavoidable. Further, the hologram formation by, for example, use of a thin film of metallic vapor deposition must be avoided because the film hides the image already formed in the receptor layer, and therefore a significant restriction has been imposed on the hologram formation.
Meanwhile, the use of an ordinary printing method makes it possible to print an image on a sheet on which a hologram or a thin film of metallic vapor deposition is provided in advance. This case, however, presents a problem that it is difficult to individually deal with private or specific information unlike the case of the aforementioned thermal transfer method or inkjet method.
The object of the present invention is to provide an image-receiving sheet which can produce a high-quality image based on private or specific information and which provides optical information by reflected light.
The image-receiving sheet of the present invention comprises a substrate sheet, a reflection layer disposed on at least one surface side of the substrate sheet so as to be laid on at least one area thereof, and a receptor layer disposed on at least one surface side of the substrate, wherein said reflection layer has at least one area provided with a convexo-concave pattern, the area provided with the convexo-concave pattern of the reflection layer being extended within an area provided with the receptor layer.
Since the image-receiving sheet of the present invention makes it possible to form an image in the receptor layer by a thermal transfer method, an ink-jet method, or the like, it is possible to form a high-quality image based on private information. According to the image-receiving sheet of the present invention, the light reflected by the convexo-concave pattern of the reflection layer can be recognized through the receptor layer. Because of this, a special effect can be imparted to the image formed in the receptor layer. Since these effects can be obtained by use of an image forming printer which is based on a thermal transfer method, an ink-jet method, or the like and which is not provided with the hologram forming step, the image formation is easy and cost does not increase. Further, the image is not hidden even if a light-screening film, such as a thin film of metallic vapor deposition, is used in the refection layer, and therefore no restriction is imposed on the hologram.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the reflection layer and the receptor layer are disposed on the same surface side of the substrate sheet, and the reflection layer is interposed between the substrate sheet and the receptor layer.
According to this embodiment, since the substrate sheet is not interposed between receptor layer and the reflection layer, a material which is not transparent can be used as the substrate sheet, and therefore the latitude for selection of the substrate sheet can be widened.
Alternatively, the reflection layer and the receptor layer may be disposed on opposite surface sides of the substrate sheet respectively, provided, however, that the substrate sheet is composed of a transparent material.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the convexo-concave pattern comprises an interference fringe of a hologram.
According to this embodiment, since the convexo-concave pattern comprises an interference fringe of a hologram and therefore the optical information by reflected light can be superposed on the image information of the receptor layer, a visual effect, a counterfeit preventing effect, and an alteration preventing effect can be obtained.
The convexo-concave pattern may be divided into plural areas. In this case, the convexo-concave patterns in plural areas may be composed of a single kind, or they may be composed of plural kinds.
According to an embodiment of the image-receiving sheet of the present invention, the receptor layer is disposed on only one surface side of the substrate sheet, and an adhesive layer and a release sheet are disposed in this order on the other surface side of the substrate sheet.
According to this embodiment, since the adhesive layer and a release sheet are disposed on one surface side of the substrate sheet to thereby produce a labeling form, private information provided with a special image effect can be easily affixed to various members.


An objective lens for use in probe-forming particle-optical columns such as focused ion beam equipment, scanning electron microscopes, and helium microscopes is described. It comprises two interleaved (quadrupole/octopole) lenses and two or three ancillary octopole lenses, and is capable of simultaneous compensation of spherical (Cs) and chromatic (Cc) aberrations of the objective lens alone or of the complete particle-optical column. Additional apparatus comprising a gridded aperture and position-sensitive detector is specified, together with a method to measure and minimize all of the five independent third-order aberration coefficients of the objective lens.

As shown in FIG. 1, focused ion beam systems typically contain a needle type source 1, a condenser lens 2, a mid-column deflector system 3, and an objective lens system 4. The condenser lens system typically contains electrodes 8, 9, 10 forming individual lenses 5, 6 located inside a vacuum chamber 7. The objective lens forms a finely focused beam into a spot 12. Electron microscopes have achieved atomic scale resolution, but instruments based on ion beams have not been able to achieve such small focii. The typical helium microscope consists of a needle-type ion source and round electrostatic lenses. These lenses suffer from the defect of chromatic aberration, which causes enlargement of the focal spot as the lens aperture is opened. At the aperture size where the brightness limit (for 0.5 pA current) and spherical aberration each contribute 0.1 nm of aberration, chromatic aberration dominates with a contribution of 1.0 nm [R. Hill, F. H. M. Faridur Rahman, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. A645 (2011) 96: FIG. 1]. Chromatic aberration also dominates the aberration of typical focused ion beam systems based on electrostatic objective lenses, causing the current available in a focal spot of fixed size to fall as the cube of the ion energy.
Fortunately if round lenses are not used, an achromatic system can be configured sing an objective lens consisting of a pair 14, 16 of interleaved quadrupole lenses of the Kelman-Yavor type. These lenses have 8 poles, with alternating electric and magnetic poles, and if the magnetic poles are electrically isolated [Martin and Goloskie, Applied Physics Letters 40 (1982) 191], they can be excited with voltages that create cos(t) [dipole}, cos(2t) [quadrupole}, cos(3t) [hexapole} or cos(4t) [octopole} potentials. The magnetic poles produce a magnetic force field (q v×B) which is collinear with the electric force field (qE) at each point inside the lens, oppositely directed to the electric force, and twice its magnitude. Under these conditions the variation of the focal length with ion energy is zero, and chromatic aberration of the lens is eliminated. Two such interleaved lenses adjusted so that their principal sections are in the same plane constitute an objective lens focusing in both x and y principal sections. When two such lenses 14, 16 are combined with an electrostatic condensing lens 2 to form a particle-optical column, the quadrupoles may also be operated at different electric to magnetic ratios which cancel the chromatic aberration of the whole column rather than only the lenses [Martin PCT/US94/13358].
As pointed out by Crewe [Crewe, Eggenberger, Welter & Wall, J. Appl. Phys 38 (1967) 4257], the unequal magnifications of a doublet in its two principal sections do not matter for a scanning microscope, where the squareness of the image is determined by the scanning system rather than the probe-forming objective lens. This is particularly true for the atom-emitter source used in helium microscopes, where the geometrical image of the source is likely to be smaller than the aberrations caused by the objective lens.
Both round lenses and quadrupole lenses suffer from aperture aberrations. In a round lens the diameter of the focal spot increases with the cube of the aperture radius, rather than with the linear increase characteristic of chromatic aberration, and has a single "spherical" aberration coefficient Cs. A perfectly symmetrical quadrupole lens has three intrinsic coefficients A, C, E of the formx3=Aa3+3Cab2,  (1)y3=3Ca2b+Eb2  (2)where (x3,y3) is the aberration at the image, and (a,b) are the paraxial angles of convergence of rays to the image (in effect a measure of the diameter of the beam in the lens aperture).
The usefulness of all types of lenses is limited by the mechanical tolerances with which they can be manufactured. These tolerances produce parasitic aberrations which add to the intrinsic aberrations at the focus. Round lenses are finished with lapping compound and measured on air-bearing rotary tables [Orloff, Utlaut, and Swanson, isbn 0-306-47350-x (Kluwer, 2003, p. 163]. Even then they require stigmation, which involves adding dipole and quadrupole potentials to the mid-column deflectors 11,13 located between the ion source and the objective lens (ibid., p 161). In quadrupole lenses the tolerance on placement of the individual poles corresponds to the ellipticity of round lenses. For a single quadrupole lens, an estimate of the 3rd-order parasitic aberration coefficient G produced when the four poles deviate by amounts P from the average radius R isG=4P(T/R)3,  (3)where T is the throw distance to one of its astigmatic line images. The aberration itself may be estimated asx3=Gb3=4P(T/R)3(dR/T)3=4P(dR/R)3  (4)where b=dR/T is the semi-angle of convergence of the beam at its focus, when the beam occupies a fraction dR/R of the lens radius. For a typical tolerance P=1 micron and dR/R=0.1, the parasitic aberration is thus 1 nanometer. Apparently the lens must be stopped down to limit parasitic aberrations, and the benefits of chromatic correction are therefore limited.
The 8 poles of an interleaved lens can be used to eliminate this problem by introducing compensation of its 3rd order parasitic aberrations. The combined effect of 8 deviations is to produce an octopole potential which may be at an arbitrary rotational angle around the lens axis, rather than being aligned with the principal sections of the quadrupole lens. The misalignment can be described as a sum of a "normal octopole" of unknown magnitude with radial form cos(4t) and its maxima lying in the principal sections of the quadrupole lens, and a second "skew octopole" of unknown magnitude with radial form sin(4t) and a rotation by 22.5 degrees with respect to the normal one. For the quadrupole doublet, there are thus four unknown octopole strengths (Uoc Uos) and (Doc, Dos) where U and D represent the upstream and downstream lenses and c,s the cosine and sine terms.
By computing the deflections caused by these fields it can be shown [Martin and Goloskie, Nuclear Instruments and Methods B104 (1995) 59-63] that the quadrupole doublet has five third-order coefficients A thru E with the formx3=Aa3+3Ba2b+3Cab2+Db3=(1.0a3−0.3a2b+2.4ab2+21.8b3)v4  (5)y3=Ba3+3Ca2b+3Dab2+Eb3=(−0.3a3+2.4a2b+21.8ab2−238b3)v4  (6)where A, C, E result from the normal octopole and B, C from the skew one. The numerical values listed above are relative strengths for four equal parasites in a lens of typical dimensions. These relative values are computable functions of the unknown strengths, for example<x/ab2>=3C=−3(Uoc/(p2q2)−Doc)v4  (7)<y/b3>=E=−(Uoc/q4−Doc)v4  (8)where v is the final object distance from the downstream lens and p,q are the run-out (p>1) and run-in (q<1) ratios of rays in the x and y sections. These relations show that D and E are the dominant coefficients, and that the upstream lens with octopole strengths (Uoc, Uos) is the major source of aberrations.
As was written in 1970, "One of the main mechanical problems of quadrupole systems arises from the large number of pole pieces or electrodes that must be aligned; it is clear that if all the octopole effects could be obtained by exciting the electrostatic lenses asymmentrically . . . this problem would be greatly simplified" [Hawkes, Quadrupoles in Electron Lens Design, (Academic Press, NY 1970): p. 353]. It is an object of the present invention to show how regular symmetric (rather than asymmetric) excitations can be applied to eliminate parasitic aberrations, and thereby obtain improved resolution from quadrupole lenses.

Particle-beam column corrected for both chromatic and spherical aberration


A telescope for geodetic instruments, comprises an objective and device for generating separate beam paths for target seeking or image detection and for distance measurement. In the beam path for target seeking, a CCD camera with CCD matrix or a position-dependent photoelectric receiver arrangement (quadrant photoreceiver) is provided in a first image plane of the objective. A receiver for distance measurement is located in a second image plane of the objective. An evaluating device is connected with the CCD camera or receiver arrangement for signal evaluation and/or image evaluation. A device for generating a third, wide-angle, beam path are provided in the telescope. A supplementary objective cooperating with the objective is advantageously provided for generating the wide-angle beam path.

a) Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a telescope for geodetic instruments, particularly for video tachymeters or video theodolites, with beam paths used for different purposes.
b) Description of the Related Art
Conventional telescopes of geodetic instruments usually have an objective, a focusing lens which is generally constructed in such a way that a short overall length of the telescope is achieved. These telescopes further comprise a reticle plate and an eyepiece for visual observation of the object. As a rule, these telescopes have a fixed focal length and magnification which are designed in accordance with the requirements of the instrument.
Modem electro-optic tachymeters have, in addition, separate beam paths for distance measurement function and target seeking function, as they are called, these separate beam paths being coupled out of the visible telescope beam path and coupled in in the transmitter. With respect to sensitive target seeking, imaging is generally carried out on the CCD matrix or on the CCD chip of a CCD camera or on a quadrant diode with which a corresponding image evaluation and/or signal evaluation is then carried out.
In order to make possible different image fields, DE-GM 90 07 731 discloses a wide-angle camera and a telecamera placed on a tachymeter telescope, so that the tachymeter can be controlled remotely from an operator device by means of a joystick.
In an arrangement according to EP 0 281 518, the imaging of a reference mark is carried out in the form of a diaphragm outside the visible field of view on the camera to ensure correlation with the sighting axes. For this purpose, the camera is arranged on the telescope, wherein the image is reflected in the camera through a prism and supplementary optics.
A further development of this arrangement is described by Gruhn and Kahmen in a publication for the conference on xe2x80x9cOptical 3-D Measurement Techniques, IIIxe2x80x9d, Vienna, 2 to Oct. 4, 1995, page 256. The CCD camera arranged on the telescope has a second beam path with supplementary wide-angle optics which are separated from the actual telescope optics.
Recording the visual image of the terrain with a CCD camera and displaying it on a screen without using an eyepiece for the sighting and measuring functions presents the following disadvantages:
Because of its necessary large focal length, the telescope of the device has a limited and narrow telescope viewing field which is unsuitable for locating a target in the terrain or makes this considerably more difficult.
In this case, registering a large image section from the terrain is possible only by means of stringing together a plurality of individual images in a time-consuming manner.
Also, an electronic zoom function of the CCD camera would not bring about a substantial improvement.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the invention to provide a telescope for a geodetic instrument which overcomes these disadvantages and substantially simplifies the construction of a tachymeter by providing a plurality of beam paths.
In accordance with the invention, a telescope for geodetic instrument, comprises an objective and means for generating separate beam paths for target seeking or image detection and for distance measurement. In the beam path for target seeking, a CCD camera with CCD matrix or a position-dependent photoelectric receiver arrangement (quadrant photoreceiver) is provided in a first image plane of the objective. A receiver for distance measurement is located in a second image plane of the objective. The telescope further comprises an evaluating device which is connected with the CCD camera or receiver arrangement for signal evaluation and/or image evaluation. Means are also provided in the telescope for generating a wide-angle beam path.
Accordingly, it is advantageous for purposes of a simple construction when a supplementary objective cooperating with the objective is provided for generating the wide-angle beam path. A suitable individual lens can also be connected with the objective as supplementary objective.
It is advantageous when means for imaging the wide-angle beam path and the beam path for target seeking are provided in a common focal plane or image plane. A CCD matrix of a CCD camera and/or a photoelectric receiver arrangement are/is located in this common image plane.
To enable simple switching between the wide-angle beam path and the beam path for target seeking, it is advantageous when a switchable diaphragm is arranged in front of this common image plane. This switchable diaphragm causes an alternating stopping down of these beam paths by displacement in a plane parallel to the common image plane.
Accordingly, it is also advantageous when an optical element which acts as a selective mirror and reflects a portion of the light passing the objective is arranged between the objective and the second image plane of the objective to generate the beam path for target seeking.
A simple construction is provided in that an element which deflects the wide-angle beam path and, after reflection at the selective mirror, the beam path for target seeking relative to the first image plane is arranged between the objective and the selective mirror.
Further, it is advantageous when the CCD matrix and/or the receiver arrangement are/is arranged so as to be adjustable in the direction of the optical axis of the wide-angle beam path or the beam path for target seeking for purposes of carrying out focusing.
The invention will be described more fully in the following with reference to an embodiment example.

Telescope for geodetic instruments, particularly for video tachymeters


Providing a speculative search result for a search query prior to completion of the search query. In response to receiving a search query from a client node, a speculative search result is provided to the client node for the search query prior to receiving an indication from the client node that said search query is completely formed. The speculative search result may be displayed on the same web page on the client node as the search query, while the search query is being entered by the user. As the user further enters the search query, a new speculative search result may be provided to the user.

A search engine is a computer program that helps a user to locate information. Using a search engine, a user can enter one or more search query terms and obtain a list of resources that contain or are associated with subject matter that matches those search query terms. While search engines may be applied in a variety of contexts, search engines are especially useful for locating resources that are accessible through the Internet. Resources that may be located through a search engine include, for example, files whose content is composed in a page description language such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). Such files are typically called pages. One can use a search engine to generate a list of Universal Resource Locators (URLs) and/or HTML links to files, or pages, that are likely to be of interest.
The search engine typically has an interface allowing users to specify search criteria and an interface displaying the search results. Typically, the search engine orders the search results prior to presenting the search results interface to the user. The order usually takes the form of a "ranking," where the document with the highest ranking is the document considered most likely to satisfy the interest reflected in the search criteria specified by the user. The user is sent one (or more) search results pages based on the ranking. However, the user must still spend considerable time and effort processing the search results to determine whether the search query produced adequate search results. If the user is not satisfied with the results, the user forms a new search query and repeats the process.
Thus, the search process is often an iterative task in which the user forms a search query, determines whether the voluminous search results are adequate, and then re-formulates the search query, if needed. Therefore, the user experience with search engines is often frustrating and time consuming.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Speculative search result based on a not-yet-submitted search query


An electronic instrument including: an upstream port UPPT provided on a side surface SF1 of the electronic instrument; a downstream port DWPT provided on a side surface SF2 which is a surface of the electronic instrument and opposite to the side surface SF1; and a data transfer control device which is connected to the upstream port UPPT and the downstream port DWPT and controls data transfer through the upstream port UPPT and data transfer through the downstream port DWPT.

The present invention relates to an electronic instrument.
In recent years, a portable music player with a built-in hard disk has become popular. In the portable music player, music data compressed according to MP3, ATRAC, or the like is downloaded from a personal computer (PC) and stored in the hard disk of the portable music player. The user enjoys music by reproducing the stored music data.
However, the hard disk (storage) in which the music data is stored cannot be easily removed from the portable music player. Therefore, it is difficult to exchange the music data between friends, whereby convenience to the user is reduced.
In recent years, a high-speed serial interface such as USB 2.0 has attracted attention. As the technology of realizing such a high-speed serial interface, various related-art technologies have been proposed (e.g. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-343864).
In the USB standard, a downstream port of a host, such as a PC, is connected with an upstream port of a device (peripheral), such as a portable electronic instrument, through a USB cable, so that data is transferred between the host and the device. Therefore, a device-side electronic instrument is generally provided with only the upstream port. If the electronic instrument is provided with only the upstream port, data cannot be transferred by causing the electronic instrument as the device to operate as the host.

Electronic instrument for concurrently uploading and downloading data


In order to prevent a looseness of bolts after main clamping, a nut runner of the present invention comprises a torque sensor for detecting a clamping torque T of a clamping unit, and a torque comparison means for comparing the clamping torque T with a clamping completion torque ST. The nut runner further includes a torque control means which gradually reduces a rotational torque of the motor until a resilience such as a torsion accumulated in the clamping unit is entirely nullified when the clamping torque T reaches the clamping completion torque ST. This ensures an effective cancellation of an inverse torque arising from the resilience and acting in the direction loosening the bolt, thus preventing the bolt from loosening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nut runner and clamping method provided with a means for preventing a bolt or the like from loosening immediately after the clamping thereof.
2. Description of the Related Arts
For the execution of clamping a bolt by the use of a nut runner, the bolt is usually screwed with a threaded hole and subjected to a rotation of the motor until a clamping torque T of the bolt reaches a predetermined seating torque TH as shown by a characteristic curve representing the relationship between the clamping torque T and time t in FIG. 2. Under this preliminary clamping, the motor is once deactivated and then reactivated to clamp the bolt until the clamping torque T reaches the predetermined clamping completion torque ST. When the clamping torque T is above the clamping completion torque, the motor comes to a stop to terminate the clamping operation.
At the time of clamping the bolt, a clamping unit of the nut runner, generally interposed between the bolt and the motor, is liable to undergo an accumulation of resilience such as torsion arising from clamping.
In the conventional manner of clamping the bolt, with the resilience being accumulated in the clamping unit, the motor comes to a stop to free the rotation of a rotor of the motor, and hence the rotor is backed in the direction opposite to the direction clamping the bolt by the resilience. As a result, an inverse torque or a counter torque is generated in the motor as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 2. The inverse torque is exerted in the direction loosening the bolt, which results in a looseness of the which has been once clamped by a predetermined torque.
A nut runner provided with a mechanism for canceling the inverse torque is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. Hei 2-110436. This nut runner is designed to temporarily stop the motor when the clamping torque reaches the clamping completion torque ST, and then reactivate it immediately after the interruption for a forward rotation for a short period of time in such a manner that the inverse torque can be canceled by the forward torque.
According to the conventional measures described above, however, a predetermined constant forward torque is applied only for a short period of time, and hence it is difficult to effectively cancel inverse torques which are different in magnitude. More specifically, if the inverse torque is larger than the forward torque, a torque corresponding to a difference therebetween is exerted in the direction loosening the bolt. On the contrary, if the forward torque is larger than the inverse torque, the excessive forward torque again brings about an accumulation of the resilience such as torsion in the clamping unit of the nut runner, which disadvantageously leads to a regeneration of the inverse torque at the stopping of the motor.

Nut runner for clamping bolts with predetermined torque and bolt clamping method


A polarized bistable electromagnetic relay arrangement comprising at least two monostable instantaneous electromagnetic relay devices with a L-shaped yoke, a permanent magnet disposed between both relay devices so that one magnetic pole be magnetically connected by polar masses to both yokes of the relay devices and polar masses magnetically connect the other pole of the magnet to both blades whereas the magnetic circuits of both relay devices are designed so that the magnetic flux produced by one energized coil passes in series through both blades while superposing themselves to the magnetic flux produced by the permanent magnet.

Bistable relay arrangements of this type are already known from the French patent N.degree. 1,527,178. In this known arrangement, the yoke, the core and the armature of each relay device form a magnetic circuit which is independent of that of the other device. The interaction means are of complex structural mechanical nature and comprise a fork fastened onto the yokes made as one single piece and onto which is pivotally connected a ring bow urged towards the coils by resilient and flexible rods hooked thereto. The ring bow is positioned to bear upon two cams mounted straddlewise onto the upper edge of two armature blades with one cam exhibiting a shape permitting an unhooking from the ring bow whereas the other one carries a tooth likely to be caused to hook itself thereonto.
It is obvious that this complex mechanical structure which interconnects both monostable relay devices in order that the arrangement may operate as a bistable relay results in considerable inconveniences such as those of a high cost price and of reduced reliability and operating speed.

Bistable electromagnetic relay arrangement


A high-temperature sulfidation-corrosion resistant nickel-base alloy includes 12.about.15 weight % of cobalt, 18.about.21 weight % of chromium, 3.5.about.5 weight % of molybdenum, 0.02.about.0.1 weight % of carbon, at most 2.75 weight % of titanium, and at least 1.6 weight % of aluminum. The remainder is essentially of nickel except for impurities. The high-temperature sulfidation-corrosion resistant nickel-base alloy has sufficient high-temperature strength and is highly resistant to a high-temperature sulfidation corrosion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high-temperature sulfidation-corrosion resistant nickel-base alloy for use as, for example, a material for a gas expander turbine which facilitates utilization of recovered energy from exhaust gas discharged from a fluidized-bed catalytic cracking apparatus of a petroleum refining plant.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heat-resistant nickel-base alloys which have been used as a material for a turbine rotor which is exposed to high temperatures have a high resistance against oxidation and creep as well as a high temperature strength.
Many heat-resistant nickel-base alloys contain small amounts of titanium (Ti) and aluminum (Al) to precipitate a gamma prime (.gamma.') phase of Ni.sub.3 (Ti,Al) for achieving good high-temperature strengths. Usually, those heat-resistant nickel-base alloys contain less than 1.6 weight % of aluminum and more than 2.5 weight % of titanium. As the total amount of added titanium and aluminum in a heat-resistant nickel-base alloy increases, the forgeability of the alloy decreases. If it is necessary that the total amount of titanium and aluminum exceeds 6 weight %, then the alloy will more often be formed as castings than forgings.
High-temperature mechanical devices such as turbines, boilers, etc. that find use in combustion gas atmospheres are known to be subject to a process of "hot corrosion" in which a molten salt containing sodium (Na), sulfate (SO.sub.4), vanadium (V), and/or chlorine (Cl) play a certain role. It has also been reported that nickel-base alloys suffer a catastrophic sulfidation corrosion at a temperature of or higher than 700.degree. C. due to a direct reaction between gases and metals without mediation of a molten salt. The catastrophic sulfidation corrosion is believed to occur to nickel-base alloys due to, among other causes, the formation of a eutectic of Ni--Ni.sub.3 S.sub.2 which has a low melting point of 645.degree. C.
There have recently been developed energy recovery systems for recovering the energy of exhaust gases which are discharged from fluidized-bed catalytic cracking apparatus in order to save energy in petroleum refining plants. As a material for manufacturing turbine blades of the gas expander for use in such an energy recovery system, "Waspaloy (trade name)" was experimentally employed which is a typical heat-resistant nickel-base alloy. However, a sulfidation corrosion has been found at proximal ends of the turbine blades which were used in a temperature range lower than usual temperatures for causing a sulfidation corrosion resulting in an undue reduction in the service life of the turbine blades. An inspection of a cross section of the corroded region has indicated that, as shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, the corroded region has developed an upper layer including nickel sulfide and a lower layer including chromium sulfide, and the sulfidation has been in progress deeply along alloy grain boundaries. However, the inspection of the corroded region has not revealed any products including Na, Cl, SO.sub.4, and/or V which would otherwise give a sign of the formation of a molten salt.
FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings is a microscopic structural representation showing, in cross section, results of a high-temperature sulfidation-corrosion test conducted on a conventional nickel-base alloy in a sulfidizing gas atmosphere for the purpose of finding causes of the sulfidation corrosion. The high-temperature sulfidation-corrosion test was carried out under a sulfur partial pressure (PS.sub.2) of 10.sup.-8.6 atm. at a temperature of 600.degree. C. for 96 hours. In the high-temperature sulfidation-corrosion test, the nickel-base alloy suffered a sulfidation corrosion as shown in FIG. 2, which was a reproduction of the corroded region shown in FIG. 1. It was confirmed as a result of the high-temperature sulfidation-corrosion test that a grain boundary sulfidation corrosion is caused by a direct reaction between the metals and the gases without the formation of a molten salt containing Na, Cl, SO.sub.4, and/or V. There have been almost no reports on the occurrence of a grain boundary sulfidation corrosion on nickel-base alloys in a sulfidizing gas atmosphere at a temperature of or lower than 645.degree. C. Consequently, any behaviors and mechanisms of such a grain boundary sulfidation corrosion have not been clarified in the art so far.

High-temperature sulfidation-corrosion resistant nickel-base alloy


An information processing device manages the protection state of original data by long-term signature data in storage-target data obtained by combining the long-term signature data and the original data. Management information having a management-target value for each management item obtained from the storage-target data recorded therein is acquired. A management-target value of a predetermined management item is acquired from the acquired management information. The acquired management-target value is compared with a value acquired from the storage-target data or a value acquired from the outside to determine the state of management. A result corresponding to the determined state of management is outputted.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an information processing device and an information processing program, and for example, to a technique for processing long-term signature data.
2. Background Art
In order to certify unfalsification (authenticity) of electronic data, an electronic signature is widely used in which electronic data is encrypted with a secret key to perform the electronic signature, and then electronic data is decrypted with a public key corresponding to the secret key to verify the electronic signature.
Electronic data is decrypted with the public key, and thus it can be confirmed that electronic data is encrypted with the secret key corresponding to the public key. However, since a signatory has the secret key, it can be certified that electronic data is generated by the signatory. For example, the secret key functions as a seal, and the public key functions as a certificate of the seal.
The public key is distributed by a public key certificate which is issued by a certificate authority, and when the public key is distributed, the authenticity of the public key can be confirmed by the certificate.
Meanwhile, the electronic signature has an expiration date which is set so as to cope with a compromise or the like of an encryption algorithm used in the signature or the like.
Even before the expiration date, the electronic signature may be expired according to signatory's convenience or all certificates following a root certificate may be expired if the secret key is omitted.
Accordingly, in order to cope with the above-described problem, as in PTL 1, an electronic signature format (hereinafter, referred to as long-term signature format) for perpetuating the validity of an electronic signature is specified.
In the long-term signature format, an archive time stamp (ATS) which is a time stamp having an expiration date longer than an electronic signature is applied to electronic data to be stored and the electronic signature, thereby securing the legitimacy of the electronic data even after the expiration date of the electronic signature has elapsed.
Before the expiration date of the archive time stamp elapses, a second-generation archive time stamp having an expiration date longer than the archive time stamp is applied to extend the expiration date. Hereinafter, the expiration date is extended to the third-generation, the fourth-generation, . . . , making it possible to verify unfalsification of electronic data over a long period of time.
In this way, in regard to long-term signature data, before the expiration date of a final archive time stamp is off, the next-generation archive time stamp is applied to extend the expiration date.
Meanwhile, in general, since the expiration date of the archive time stamp is long to be 10 years, even if long-term signature data or original data is destructed, or the validity of the archive time stamp is lost, there is a possibility that destruction or expiration is noticed after 10 years.
For this reason, it is necessary to perform expiration date extension processing at an appropriate timing while constantly confirming that the long-term signature data is valid.
In regard to the verification, it is necessary to confirm non-destruction of data or the validity of the final archive time stamp.
However, if the verification is done for all pieces of stored long-term signature data, there is a problem in that a lot of cost and time is required for computation processing.
For example, in confirming the validity of the final archive time stamp, verification of a hash value of a time stamp, verification of a signature, verification of expiration information, verification of an authentication path, and verification of an expiration date are required.

Information processing device and information processing program