A mass fusion splice tray assembly increases the capacity of a splice closure which has support members thereon for supporting the assembly. The assembly include a splice tray which latches to a support member and which has locating slots to contain two splice holder inserts. A cover member has latching legs which latch to wedge shaped latches on the splice tray. The cover member is adapted for pivotally mounting a discrete splice tray on the top surface thereof so that the total splice capacity of the splice tray assembly is increased.

Signal transmission through optical fibers has become, or is becoming, the dominant signal transmission mode. The bandwidth characteristics of optical fibers, as well as their relative immunity to certain types of interference and contaminants make them the desirable transmission medium in high capacity trunk lines as well as in lower capacity feeder and distribution lines.
No matter what the intended end use may be, individual optical fibers generally are combined in an optical fiber cable which contains a plurality of such fibers, each of which is protected by at least one layer of coating material. In one configuration, the fibers are assembled into groups which are held together by binder ribbons or tubes to form a cable core. This is generally enclosed in a metallic or plastic tube or jacket which, in the latter case, often contains a strength member. In another configuration, the fibers are arrayed in ribbon form and the core tube contains one or more stacked ribbons.
Regardless of the cable configuration, it is usually necessary that the lengths of fiber cable be spliced at their ends to the ends of other cables, which entails splicing each of the individual fibers in a cable to a corresponding individual fiber in the second cable. To this end, there is provided a splice closure which usually comprises a protective case which contains at least one splice tray which, in turn, has a plurality of splice holders mounted thereon, into which the encased individual fiber splices are inserted and held. The cables are entrant into the case and generally are clamped to each end thereof to reduce the effects of tensile forces on the cables and on the splices. Sufficient amounts of fiber slack must be provided for within the case, such as, for example, half a meter of fiber length so that the individual fibers can be pulled clear of the case to effect the splice. The slack also serves the important function of absorbing tensile forces, thereby isolating the splices from such forces. Because of the delicate and brittle nature of individual glass fibers, they cannot be crimped or bent too sharply, i.e., bent to too small a radius of curvature, which places restraints upon slack storage. Thus, there have been numerous arrangements in the prior art addressing the problem of fiber and slack storage, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,097,529 of Cobb, et al.; 4,679,896 of Krafcik, et al.; and 4,332,435 of Post.
Inasmuch as, at the splice point, the cable itself is opened up and the base fibers are exposed, the only protection afforded the fibers is provided by the closure, which can provide only one or two layers of protection from the outside environment, the requirements therefor being more stringent than for the cable, which normally provides several layers of protection. The closure must anchor the cables stored therein, and it must be capable of withstanding torsional and axial loads transmitted by the cable to the closure so that the splices are protected from these loads. The closure must also seal the inner and outer sheaths of the cables and maintain the seal integrity under extreme environmental conditions. In addition, the closure must provide adequate fiber storage for slack fiber without damaging the fibers and without increasing signal attenuation. The closure preferably should be capable of storing any type of splice, such as, for example, discrete mechanical, discrete fusion, mass fusion or mass mechanical, or other types while reducing forces that tend to damage the splices. Additionally, the closure should provide adequate grounding and anchoring for the metallic strength members of the cable. The closure should also be capable of accepting high fiber count cables as well as those of low fiber count.
Typically, prior art splice closures are somewhat complex, difficult to assemble, are necessarily bulky, and, in use, difficult to access. As a consequence, they are not economical when used for splicing relatively low count fiber cables, such as, for example, drop cables or CATV applications. Also, when used for low fiber count cables, the bulkiness of the closure makes it difficult to provide adequate storage room, without sacrificing accessibility. This problem of size has heretofore been addressed by simply using a large closure designed primarily for high capacity use, where feasible, or by designing special, smaller closures for low capacity use, which cannot carry or contain large numbers of fibers and splices.
In order to insure protection of the splices from moisture, it is current practice to form the closure out of two mating halves, with a grommet therebetween, and clamp them together. Cable entry is through openings in the grommet, which are usually supplied with inserts which seal the cable and in turn are sealed by the grommet. Such a grommet and insert arrangement is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,160 of Burek, et al.. In that arrangement, the grommet, which is of a resilient material suitable for moisture sealing, has, at each end thereof, first and second seal members having bores therein for receiving grommet inserts, which, in turn have bores therein for receiving the cable. The seal members are preferably split longitudinally so that the grommet inserts, with cables extending therethrough, can be inserted in the seal members and be tightly embraced thereby. When the two halves of the housing are clamped together, the cable is tightly embraced, as are the seal members, so that a watertight seal is achieved.
In usage, it has been found that such a sealing arrangement can be vulnerable to a bending or flexing of the cable adjacent the entrance to or exit from the closure, which can, in some instances break the integrity of the seal. There have been various arrangements in the prior art for correcting this effect, one such arrangement being shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,945 of Burek, et al. wherein the closure is encased in a protective shell which, after assembly, is filled with an encapsulant. Such an arrangement insures that the splice closure itself is virtually certain to be moisture proof. However, access to the splices is made more difficult by the presence of the encapsulant, which must be removed to permit such access. For high fiber count cables, limited access, while undesirable, does not necessarily pose too much of a problem. However, for low fiber count cables, where frequent access may often be required, such difficulty of access is undesirable.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/847,214 of Burek, et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, there is disclosed and claimed a splice closure assembly which incorporates a number of features aimed at overcoming the various short-comings of the prior art arrangements discussed in the foregoing. The basic design of that closure and the components thereof is such that the enclosure is substantially completely moisture proof without requiring an encapsulant or inner and outer closures, affords more than adequate space for storing fiber slack, protects the fiber splices themselves from tensile and other physical forces, is adaptable to different types of splice trays including mass splice trays, and affords a high degree of accessibility to the fiber splices. The splice closure of that application has a floored base portion and a cover portion which define an enclosure having a longitudinal axis and first and second ends. Mounted to the floor are first and second pedestals which hold splice holders or trays in an elevated position above the floor, thereby providing slack fiber storage space below the trays and above the floor.
The Burek el al. enclosure is designed to hold four discrete fiber splice trays or one mass fusion splice tray and one discrete splice tray attached to the top thereof. When only discrete fiber splice trays are used, the maximum fiber count is one hundred and forty-four (144) fiber splices, and when a mass splice tray and one discrete splice tray are used, the maximum count is three hundred and twenty-four (324) fused splices, or one hundred and eighty (180) mechanical splices. However, the present status of the art is such that fiber counts in cables are increasing at rates too fast for development of closures to accommodate them. Thus, four hundred and thirty-two (432) fibers in a cable are now being used on a regular basis and, where the Burek, et al. closure could handle eighty (80%) of all closure applications, that percentage has now decreased. Clearly increased capacity of the Burek, et al. closure is needed.


A method of fabricating a semiconductor device is provided. A gate structure is formed on a substrate and then a first spacer is formed at a sidewall of the gate structure. Next, recesses are respectively formed in the substrate at two sides of the first spacer. Thereafter, a buffer layer and a doped semiconductor compound layer are formed in each recess. An extra implantation region is respectively formed on the surfaces of each buffer layer and each doped semiconductor compound layer. Afterward, source/drain contact regions are formed in the substrate at two sides of the gate structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating an integrated circuit (IC), and more particularly to a method of fabricating a semiconductor device.
2. Description of Related Art
MOS transistors are basic structures widely used in various semiconductor devices such as memory devices, image sensors, or displays. A typical MOS transistor includes a silicon oxide dielectric layer, a gate conductive layer, and a heavily-doped source/drain contact regions. Along with the decrease of a line width, the size of the semiconductor device is reduced. A channel length of the typical MOS transistor is reduced as a gate width is reduced. Since a threshold voltage becomes smaller and a subthreshold current is increased, a short channel effect is induced. On the other hand, after the gate length is reduced, an electric field between a source and a drain is enhanced, which causes a hot carrier effect. Thus, a lot of carriers may be generated in the channel at a position near the drain region, thus resulting in an electrical breakdown effect. In order to prevent the breakdown phenomenon, it is necessary to maintain a proper channel length. As such, the formed MOS transistor is not applicable.
In order to solve the above problem, a lightly doped drain (LDD) structure is adopted. In the LDD structure, concentration of the source/drain region near the channel is reduced, i.e., an LDD region is formed, so as to alleviate the hot carrier effect resulting from the enhancement of the electric field between the source and the drain. However, since the dopant concentration of the LDD region is low, the resistance is relatively high, which results in a reduced device current and a slow operating speed of the device, and the power consumption is increased.
It is a method for improving the operating speed of the transistor that a mechanical-stress in the channel is controlled to change the mobility of electrons and holes in the channel. The conventional art has proposed a material, for example, SiGe epitaxy used as a major component of the source/drain contact region of the p-channel MOS (PMOS) transistor. Compared with material characteristics of silicon, the SiGe, when used as the major component of the source/drain contact region, exerts a compressive stress on the channel due to a larger atomic volume of Ge. Therefore, the SiGe when used as a major material of the source/drain contact region can enhance the mobility of holes, thus further improving the performance of the device.
For a PMOS transistor, the Boron implanted in the doped region is liable to diffuse outwards to channel, thus resulting in a short channel effect. In order to solve the problem of Boron diffusion, a method of adding an undoped SiGe buffer layer between the doped region and the substrate has been proposed. However, in non-doped SiGe, Boron may also easily diffuse to the channel region, so usually the undoped SiGe layer must be thick enough to achieve a sufficient barrier effect. However, the resistance of the undoped SiGe is high, so the thicker the undoped SiGe buffer layer is, the greater the effect on the resistance of the doped region is, and the weaker the performance of the device will be. On the other hand, a current leakage problem resulting from the substrate and the buffer layer interface deficiencies is in urgent need of being solved.

Method of fabricating semiconductor device


A connection device connects a radio network and a cabled network communicating respectively by way of messages encapsulated according to radio and cable protocols, and includes a storage module containing a routing table, and a processing module for managing exchanges of data as a function of the routing table. The processing module includes a management module capable on the one hand of disencapsulating a message received from the radio network, in order to extract routing information therefrom and then to compare this information with the routing table in order to choose at least one re-sending network for the message, and on the other hand of re-encapsulating the message in the radio network format or according to a mixed radio format, having radio and cable capsules, depending on whether the re-sending network chosen is the radio network or the cabled network, with a view to re-sending it in the chosen re-sending network segment.

The field of this invention relates to computer networks enabling exchanges of data and information between units or stations in different networks. Different networks here means either several (at least two) radio networks which can function using different channels and/or protocols, or a combination of at least one radio network and at least one cable network (electrical or optical fibre cables).
In the case of a combination of radio and cable networks, mobile stations coexist with fixed stations connected to the cable via connection devices (or bridges), a storage module which stores at least one routing table, and a processing (or switching) module which manages data exchanges according to the routing table.
It is well known that such connection devices (or bridges) are generally provided with network interfaces (one for each network segment), the different network interfaces being able to have parts which are possibly common. In this case, the processing (or switching) module manages the data exchanges at the network interfaces, according to the said routing table.
The invention concerns more particularly the connection devices (or bridges) between at least segments of a so-called xe2x80x9cmainxe2x80x9d network (in which one station has sent a-message intended for at least one other station in the same network) communicating by means of messages provided with a so-called main capsule complying with a protocol based on a first format and at least one segment of at least one xe2x80x9cancillaryxe2x80x9d network communicating by way of messages provided with an ancillary capsule complying with a protocol based on a second format.
In the following, xe2x80x9cencapsulated messagexe2x80x9d will mean a message consisting of data and a xe2x80x9ccapsulexe2x80x9d containing information peculiar to the format of the network concerned.
In addition, bridge means a device providing the transfer of a message from one network to one or more other networks. Such bridges can be simple repeaters when they are used only for relaying data frames (or packets). However, in certain cases, it may be a question of so-called xe2x80x9cintelligentxe2x80x9d bridges which can constitute what a person skilled in the art refers to as xe2x80x9cspanning treesxe2x80x9d. However, under certain operating conditions, such intelligent bridges can momentarily block the transmission of messages, preventing any connection between two subscribers on the same network. This is notably the case when a message is repeated on a (cabled) section, and an intelligent bridge deems that the source of the said message is a fixed station in the section and that it is consequently necessary to filter the messages (or block one transmission direction) for a certain period of time, which prevents access to the said source.
This drawback is particularly inconvenient when a-mobile station (in a radio network) is caused to change (cabled) section in order to communicate with the remainder of the data transmission installation to which it belongs.
This is because, in this type of installation, the mobile and connecting stations (or relays) generally comprise a memory in which there is stored a routing table which enables their processing module to determine the optimum path for reaching the station or stations to which the message which they have just received relates. However, in order to allow the updating of the routing tables, the mobile and connecting stations exchange so-called xe2x80x9cservicexe2x80x9d messages which indicate the movements of the different mobile stations, with respect to each other and relative to sections.
In addition, the bridges receive messages from the mobile stations, which they next transmit over the cable network without any real modification, because the bridges assimilate these mobile stations to fixed stations in the cable network. Consequently, as soon as a mobile station moves, this poses a real problem which may result either in a blockage of a section of network by a bridge; one or more mobile stations no longer being able to communicate with remote stations, or in the impossibility of determining the optimum path which will enable a mobile station to communicate with a remote station. This could occur with xe2x80x9cintelligentxe2x80x9d bridges.
The aim of the invention is therefore to procure a connection device which does not have the above-mentioned drawbacks.
To this end it proposes a connection device of the type described in the introduction, in which the processing module comprises a management module able on the one hand to disencapsulate a message received from the said main network (to withdraw its main capsule) so as to extract routing information therefrom, then to compare this information with the stored routing table in order to choose, from amongst the main and ancillary networks, at least one re-sending network segment for the disencapsulated message, and on the other hand to add to the said disencapsulated message, before it is re-sent, a main capsule or a mixed capsule, including a main capsule and an ancillary capsule, depending on whether the re-sending network chosen is the main network or an ancillary network, so as to re-send the thus re-encapsulated message in the segment of the chosen re-sending network.
Thus, by virtue of the connection device (or hybrid station) according to the invention, it is possible to transform several networks independent of each other into a super-network in which the messages can pass from a segment of a main network to another segment of this main network, via a segment of an ancillary network which in some way serves as a xe2x80x9cgatewayxe2x80x9d.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the management module is arranged to add, to the re-encapsulated message to be re-sent, a protocol designating the format of the main network segment from which this message came.
This makes it possible to keep a trace of the (main) network which is the origin of the message to be transmitted, and consequently to inform the routing tables of the hybrid stations (or connection device) about the stations which can be accessed by this network. This is particularly advantageous when, notably, main networks of the same types (or segments of a main network) are isolated from each other, because of their separation or else because of obstacles.
The connection device according to the invention is particularly adapted to the main and ancillary networks respectively of the radio network and cabled network types. The cabled network, allowing higher transmission speeds, can therefore be used as a short-cut. However, the device may also make it possible to connect together segments of radio networks which can function on respective channels which are different or substantially identical.
When the main and ancillary networks are two radio networks functioning on the same channel, but with different protocols, the architecture of their two network interfaces (on the assumption that the interconnection device has one for each network) may at least partially merge into a physical interface with the ether (communication medium).
Naturally, a connection device (or hybrid station) may allow the connection of more than two networks, for example three or four or even more, whether they are all of the radio type or of radio and cabled (mixed) types.
According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the format of a radio network can be chosen from at least the xe2x80x9cHIPERLANxe2x80x9d and IEEE 802.11 standards, and the format of a cabled network can be chosen from at least the IEEE 802.3, 802.5 and ANSI.FDDI standards.
The HIPERLAN format is notably described in the publications of the European Standardization Institute (ETSI) and more particularly in the technical standard ETS-300-652.
In the case of IEEE 802.11, the device can be situated at an interface with a distribution system (the terminology in the standard), in the access point and, where applicable, this distribution system can be supported by the same radio interface as the basic service sets BSS (using this same terminology), without necessarily sharing the same channels. Preferentially, and in order to simplify the physical xe2x80x9carchitecturexe2x80x9d of the stations and improve the connectivity of the network, the wireless distribution system can adopt the same channels as the basic services, or the same synchronized frequency jumping codes.
Advantageously, when a message received by a receiving device is to be relayed by at least one remote interconnection device, referred to as xe2x80x9cintermediatexe2x80x9d, the module managing the receiving device can place the address of the intermediate device in the capsule of the ancillary re-sending network which it has chosen. In addition, it is advantageous for the segments of the ancillary network to be arranged so as to allow the use of group addresses each designating a predetermined set of connection devices.
In this way, it is possible to differentiate, on an ancillary cabled network, the conventional fixed stations of the hybrid stations. This enables the messages which are circulating in the cable network and are intended for hybrid stations to be ignored by the conventional fixed stations. A group address serves to broadcast service messages or data intended for a subset of the connected stations, for example the hybrid stations, without affecting the other stations, such as for example the conventional fixed stations. For the exchange of data in point-to-point mode, the conventional individual addresses are used.
According to yet another characteristic, the management module is arranged so as to determine the format of the main network in a message provided with a mixed capsule, so that the routing information for this message is analysed only if this format is present. This can be effected by detecting the protocol code. This makes it possible for a distinction to be made between the messages coming from the fixed stations and having to be processed by higher protocol levels, and the messages coming from the hybrid stations and requiring routing processing by the receiving management module.
In the case of mixed networks (radio/cabled), it is particularly advantageous for the management module to be capable of extracting, from a service message issuing from the main network (radio), service information relating to routing table modifications, so as to update this routing table. This makes it possible to take account of modifications to the position of the mobile stations and therefore to re-calculate if necessary the preferential routings between the transmission relays.
However, it is also highly advantageous for the management module to be capable of processing service messages from the main network passing through ancillary network segments and notably cabled ones. In this case an xe2x80x9cancillaryxe2x80x9d service message will be formed from the service message of the main network and at least one ancillary capsule. In addition, some of the service messages may include a group address. Likewise, the management module can be arranged to process so-called xe2x80x9cbroadcastingxe2x80x9d messages intended for several destinations in the main network and passing over at least one of the ancillary networks using a group address.
Since a connection device can be the destination of a message, or else the sender of the message when it comprises a higher processing stage, it is under these circumstances particularly advantageous for the management module to be capable of transmitting, at such a higher processing stage, the data contained in a message which has arrived at its destination. The idea described here consists of using an ancillary network as an extension of a main network in order to transmit service messages over this ancillary network so that the connection stations can acquire an at least partial knowledge of the topology of the network.
Likewise, the management module must be able to add to a message created locally by a higher processing stage, a main capsule or a mixed capsule according to the re-sending network segment determined according to the destination address of the message and the routing table, with a view to sending the encapsulated message in the segment of the determined sending network.
Preferably, the management module is also capable of controlling the sending of service messages, not only at the local request of a higher state, but also as a transmission relay between remote connection devices, for the exchange of routing information enabling the routing tables of each one to be updated. Such service messages will preferably be intended for the exchange of routing information for updating routing tables for the connection devices.
In addition, the processing means are preferably capable of maintaining at least one list of stations in the network services which they receive, and able to transmit this list in the form of a service message, which enables them reciprocally to maintain a list of stations which receive them from the service messages which they receive.
The processing means are, also preferably, capable of maintaining a topological directory designating at least some of the stations with which they can communicate, directly or indirectly, and define the route or routes of this communication, which enables them to inform themselves, and to give information to the destinations, about the state of symmetry of the links between stations in the cabled network.
The invention also proposes a method of exchanging data, via the aforementioned connection device, between at least segments of a xe2x80x9cmainxe2x80x9d network communicating by means of messages provided with a main capsule complying with a protocol based on a first format and at least one segment of at least one xe2x80x9cancillaryxe2x80x9d network communicating by means of messages provided with an ancillary capsule complying with a protocol based on a second format, a method in which the following steps are provided:
withdrawing the main capsule of a message received by the connection device of the main network so as to extract routing information therefrom,
comparing the information extracted from the routing table stored in order to choose, from amongst the said main and ancillary networks, at least one re-sending network segment for the said disencapsulated message, and
adding a main capsule or a mixed capsule to a disencapsulated message, said mixed capsule including a main capsule and an ancillary capsule, depending on whether the chosen re-sending network is the main network or an ancillary network, so as to resend the re-encapsulated message in the chosen re-sending network segment.

Method and apparatus for connecting network segments

Inria Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique


High performance optical edge and laser-line filters and methods of making the same are disclosed. The optical edge filters have an edge steepness greater than about 0.8% as measured by dividing (a) the edge width from the 50% transmission wavelength to the optical density 6 (“OD6”) wavelength by (b) the 50% transmission wavelength. The optical edge filters also have an average transmission above about 95%. The laser-line filters have an extremely high transmission in the passband (greater than 90%), an extremely narrow transmission bandwidth, and achieve blocking with an optical density (OD) greater than 5 at wavelengths that differ from the laser wavelength by less than 1% of the laser wavelength. The methods for making such filters accurately determine when deposition of each layer of the filter should terminate.

A. Optical Edge Filters, Laser-Line Filters, and Their Use
Optical edge filters and laser-line filters are important components in systems for optical measurement and analysis including Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. Optical edge filters and/or laser-line filters are used in such systems to block unwanted light that would otherwise constitute or generate spurious optical signals and swamp the signals to be detected and analyzed.
Optical edge filters block unwanted light having wavelengths above or, alternatively, below a chosen "transition" wavelength λT while transmitting light on the unblocked side of λT. Edge filters which transmit optical wavelengths longer than λT are called long-wave-pass filters (LWP filters), and edge filters which transmit wavelengths shorter than λT are short-wave-pass or SWP filters.
Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1A and 1B schematically illustrate the spectral transmission of idealized long-wave-pass and short-wave-pass filters respectively. As can be seen from FIG. 1A, a LWP filter blocks light with wavelengths below λT and transmits light with wavelengths above λT. As shown in FIG. 1B, a SWP filter transmits light with wavelengths below λT and blocks light with wavelengths above λT. λT is the wavelength at which the filter "transitions" from blocking to transmission, or vice versa.
While an ideal edge filter has a precise transition wavelength λT represented by a vertical line at λT, real edge filters change from blocking to transmission over a small range of wavelengths and are more accurately represented by a non-vertical but steeply sloped line near λT. Similarly, while an ideal edge filter transmits all light in the transmission region (transmission T=1), real filters invariably block a small portion of the light to be transmitted (T<1). The steepness of the line and the proportion of the light transmitted are important parameters in many applications.
Turning now to FIGS. 1C and 1D, the spectral transmission of an ideal and a realistic laser-line filter ("LLF") are illustrated respectively. Because lasers emit a very small, but non-zero, bandwidth of light, an ideal LLF passes light at wavelengths within this bandwidth (λL to (λL+BW)) with no ripple and perfectly steep (vertical) passband edges, as shown in FIG. 1C. The ideal LLF blocks light at wavelengths longer than the passband (λ>(λL+BW)) and blocks light at wavelengths shorter than the passband (λ<λL). The realistic LLF does not have complete transmission within the passband (λL to (λL+BW)) and has non-vertical passband edges, thereby changing from blocking to transmission over a small range of wavelengths, as shown in FIG. 1D. Accordingly, the steepness of the edges, the transmission, bandwidth, and the proportion of the light transmitted are important parameters of LLFs in many applications.
Edge filters and LLFs are particularly useful in optical measurement and analysis systems that use laser light to excite a sample at one wavelength λL (or a small band of wavelengths) and measure or view an optical response of the excited sample at other wavelengths. The excitation light λL is delivered to the sample by an excitation light path, and the optical response of the sample is delivered to the eye or measuring instrument by a collection path. Edge filters and LLFs can be used to block spurious light from the excitation path. Edge filters can be used to block excitation light from entry into the collection path. The steeper the filter edge(s), the more effectively spurious signals are blocked. In the case of edge filters, the lower the transmission loss, the more light from the sample reaches the measuring instrument. In the case of LLFs, the lower the transmission loss, the more excitation light from the laser reaches the sample.
Raman spectroscopy is one such optical analysis system. It is based on the fact that when molecular material is irradiated with high intensity light of a given wavelength (or series of wavelengths) λL, a small portion of the incident light scattered by the material will be shifted in wavelength above and below λL. This Raman shifting is attributed to the interaction of the light with resonant molecular structures within the material, and the spectral distribution of the Raman-shifted light provides a spectral "fingerprint" characteristic of the composition of the material. As a practical example, a Raman probe can identify the contents of a bottle without opening the bottle.
FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram of a Raman probe 20. In essence, the probe 20 comprises an optical excitation path 22, and a collection path 23. These paths advantageously comprise optical fiber. FIG. 2 first will be described with the use of edge filters and then will be described with the use of a LLF.
In the case where edge filters are used, the Raman probe 20 may be configured to excite and collect the long wavelength portion of Raman-shifted light from a sample 21. In this case, edge filters 22A and 23A are disposed in the respective paths. In operation, excitation light λL from a laser 24 passes through the fiber path 22 and edge filter 22A to illuminate a portion of the sample 21 with high intensity light. Light scattered from the sample 21 passes through edge filter 23A and then through fiber collection path 23 to a spectral analyzer 25 where the "fingerprint" of the sample is determined.
Since a fiber path 22 through which the excitation signal passes is composed of molecular material, a small portion of the excitation light will be shifted in wavelength by the Raman effect in the fiber. This shifted light must be eliminated to prevent false readings. The removal can be accomplished by disposing a SWP edge filter 22A between the fiber 22 and sample 21. SWP edge filter 22A, having a transition wavelength just above the laser wavelength λL, blocks both long wavelength Raman scattering from the fiber and long wavelength noise from the laser.
However, in some cases, a filter 22A is not needed. For instance, if the excitation signal is direct laser radiation that does not pass through molecular material at any appreciable length, and contains no appreciable light at wavelengths other than the desired laser line itself, then the filter 22A is not necessary. An example would be direct laser radiation illuminating a sample 21 through a vacuum.
The light scattered from the sample 21 is a mixture of unshifted scattered excitation light λL (Rayleigh scattering) and Raman-shifted light at wavelengths longer and shorter than λL. The scattered excitation light would not only swamp the analyzer, it would also excite spurious Raman scattering in a collection fiber. Thus the unshifted excitation light should be removed from the collection path. This can be accomplished by disposing a long pass edge filter 23A between the sample 21 and the collection fiber 23, the long pass filter having a transition wavelength λT just below the excitation wavelength λ. This arrangement ensures that the light reaching the analyzer is predominantly the long wavelength Raman-shifted light from the sample. Analogous arrangements using edge filters can be used to analyze short wavelength Raman-shifted light.
FIG. 2 also may use a LLF to excite Raman-shifted light from the sample 21. In this case, a LLF 22A and a blocking edge or notch filter 23A are disposed in the respective paths. In operation, excitation light from a laser 24 passes through the fiber path 22 and the LLF 22A to illuminate a portion of the sample 21 with high intensity light of a wavelength (or series of wavelengths) λL. Light scattered from the sample 21 passes through the blocking edge or notch filter 23A to block λL and then through fiber collection path 23 to a spectral analyzer 25 where the "fingerprint" of the sample is determined.
As with the edge filter configuration, since the fiber 22 through which the excitation signal passes is composed of molecular material, a small portion of the excitation light will be shifted in wavelength by the Raman effect in the fiber. This shifted light is eliminated by LLF 22A. LLF 22A passes the laser wavelength and blocks both long and short wavelength Raman scattering from the fiber.
The unshifted scattered excitation light is removed from the collection path. The notch or edge filter removes the laser light of wavelength λL. This arrangement ensures that the light reaching the analyzer is predominantly Raman-shifted light from the sample.
Edge filters and LLFs are also useful in fluorescence spectroscopy. Here, laser excitation light is used to excite longer wavelength emission from fluorescent markers. The markers can be fluorescent atoms chemically bonded to a biological molecule to track the molecule in a body or cell. LLFs may be used, as in Raman spectroscopy, to reject spurious light from the excitation path. Notch filters may be used to reject excitation light from the collection path. Edge filters may be used to reject spurious light from the excitation path and to reject excitation light from the collection path.
In the case of edge filters, it should now be clear that the steeper the filter slope at the transition wavelength λT the greater the amount of spurious light that can be filtered out. In addition, the steeper the slope, the greater the amount of shifted light from the sample that will reach the analyzer. Similarly, higher levels of transmission of the shifted light through the filters provide more light for analysis. Higher edge filter blocking provides better rejection of the laser excitation light from the spectrum analyzer, thus decreasing the noise and improving both specificity and sensitivity of the measurement. Higher edge-filter transmission enables the maximum signal to reach the analyzer, further improving the signal-to-noise ratio and hence the measurement or image fidelity. A steeper filter edge also permits shifts to be resolved much closer to the excitation wavelength, thus increasing the amount of information from the measurement.
In the case of LLFs, the steeper the edges of the LLF at the laser wavelength λL, the greater the amount of spurious light that can be filtered out. Similarly, higher levels of transmission of the laser light through the LLF, the more light for excitation.
B. Edge Filter and LLF Structure and Conventional Fabrication
FIG. 3A is a simplified schematic illustration of an optical edge filter 30. The optical edge filter 30 comprises a transparent substrate 31 having a flat major surface 32 supporting many thin coatings 33A, 33B. The thickness of the coatings is exaggerated and the number is reduced for purposes of illustration. Coatings 33A and 33B are typically alternating and of different respective materials chosen to present markedly different indices of refraction (index contrast). The coating indices and thicknesses are chosen and dimensioned to filter impinging light by interference effects in a desired manner. Specifically, if a light beam 34 impinges on the filter, a first wavelength portion 34T of a beam is transmitted and a second wavelength portion 34R is reflected and thus rejected by the filter. What is transmitted and what is reflected depends on the precise thicknesses and indices of the thin coatings.
Two basic types of thin-film edge filters and thin-film laser-line filters exist: those based on "soft coatings" and those based on "hard coatings," both of which are typically manufactured by an evaporation technique (either thermal evaporation or electron-beam evaporation). Hard coating filters, however, may also be manufactured by non-evaporative techniques such as ion-beam sputtering.
Soft coatings imply literally what the name suggests—they are physically soft and can be readily scratched or damaged. They are fairly porous, which also means they tend to be hygroscopic (absorb water vapor) leading to dynamic changes in the film index and hence the resulting filter spectrum in correlation to local humidity. There are two main reasons soft coatings are used. First, an advantageous larger index contrast can be realized with soft coatings. (The index contrast is the relative difference between the index of refraction of the low-index material and that of the high-index material.) For example, many high-performance soft-coated filters are made using sodium aluminum fluoride ("cryolite"), with a chemical composition of Na3AlF6 and an index of about 1.35 for visible wavelengths, and zinc sulfide, with a chemical composition of ZnS and an index of about 2.35. The second reason for using these materials is that the evaporation process can be controlled well for these materials, largely because they have relatively low melting temperatures. Hence it is possible to maintain fairly accurate control over the layer thicknesses even for filter structures with many 10's of layers and perhaps even up to 100 layers. As described above, edge filter performance is measured by edge steepness, depth of blocking, and high transmission with low ripple. A larger index contrast and a larger number of layers both yield more steepness and more blocking. High transmission with low ripple is improved with more layers and higher layer thickness accuracy. For these reasons the highest performance conventional thin-film edge filters have been made with soft-coating technology.
Hard coatings are made with tougher materials (generally oxides), and result from "energetic" deposition processes, in which energy is explicitly supplied to the film itself during the deposition process. This is accomplished with a beam of ions impinging directly on the coating surface. The ion bombardment acts to "hammer" the atoms into place in a more dense, less porous film structure. Such processes are usually called ion-assisted deposition (IAD) processes. High-performance edge filters have been made with ion-assisted electron-beam evaporation. Typically the index contrast available with hard-coating (oxide) thin-film materials is not as high as that of the soft-coating materials, and consequently more layers must be deposited to achieve a comparable level of performance. This problem, coupled with the more difficult to control deposition rates and overall processes of high-melting-temperature oxides, leads to much more stringent requirements on the layer-thickness control techniques to achieve a reasonable level of layer thickness accuracy for good edge steepness and high, low-ripple transmission.
For the best filters, some kind of "optical monitoring" (direct measurement of filter transmission or reflection during deposition) is necessary to determine when to terminate the deposition of each layer. Optical monitoring can be performed on the actual filters of interest or on "witness pieces" often positioned in the center of the deposition chamber. There are three basic types of optical monitoring algorithms. The first is often called "drop-chip" monitoring, and is based on measuring the transmission (or reflection) vs. time through a new witness piece for each new layer. Since the theoretical transmission vs. time can be calculated accurately for each layer deposited on a blank piece of glass, then a good comparison between the measured and theory curves can be made independent of the history of the deposition (thickness errors in previous layers). This technique is accurate and useful for layers of arbitrary thickness, but it is cumbersome, especially for filters comprised of at least many 10's of layers.
The second type of monitoring is called "turning-point" monitoring, and is used for depositing layers that are precisely a quarter of a wavelength in thickness (or multiples thereof). The technique is based on the fact that the transmission vs. time reaches a turning point (or extremum) at each multiple of a quarter wave of thickness, so an algorithm is developed to cut layers precisely at the turning points. The elegant feature of this method is that there is inherent compensation for layer thickness errors from previous layers, so long as one adheres to the rule of cutting exactly at turning points. It thus works extremely well even for very thick coatings with even hundreds layers (it is the basis for manufacturing very high-performance filters for DWDM telecom applications, which can have as many as 200–400 quarter-wave layers).
The third type of monitoring is called "level monitoring," and is applicable for non-quarter-wave thick layers. Monitoring can be done through the actual filters or through witness piece(s). The concept is to cut layers at predetermined transmission levels, based on a calculated prediction of transmission vs. time for the entire structure. However, because small layer errors lead to large variations in the absolute transmission values, one must instead rely on cutting at the correct transmission level relative to the local maximum and minimum values. Hence the method works well only for non-quarter-wave thick layers that are more than a half-wave thick, so that there is both a maximum and a minimum transmission value in the transmission vs. time curve for that layer. Even in this case, this method does not contain inherent compensation for errors in the thickness of previously deposited layers, and thus is not as forgiving as the turning-point method. However, to obtain an edge filter with high transmission and low ripple requires primarily non-quarter-wave thick layers, and hence turning-point monitoring is not applicable for edge filters.
Turning now to FIG. 3B, a typical conventional laser-line filter 300 of the thin film type is illustrated. The filter 300 comprises a bandpass section 301 to define the passband and provide blocking in the immediate spectral vicinity of the passband. It further comprises a blocker section 302 to provide additional blocking at wavelengths further away from the passband.
The bandpass section 301 comprises a sequence of dielectric layers forming a sequence of Fabry-Perot cavities combined with appropriate "coupling layer" spacers between them. Each Fabry-Perot cavity comprises alternating layers of high index material 303 and low index material 304, where most layers have a thickness of one quarter wavelength at the passband center wavelength. In isolation, each quarter wave stack would provide high reflection blocking of a broad stopband about the center wavelength. However, when a pair of such quarter wave stacks are coupled to one another with an intervening half-wavelength cavity layer 305 of high or low index material, a Fabry-Perot cavity is formed, and a narrow, high-transmission passband is opened in the center of the stopband region. When multiple Fabry-Perot cavities are combined with appropriate "coupling layers" between them, the narrow passband region achieves a more rectangular passband shape, with steeper edges and a proportionally wider, flatter region of high transmission. While most laser-line filters are based on at least two Fabry-Perot cavities, it is not uncommon for laser-line filters to be comprised of three or more cavities. The stopband associated with a multi-cavity Fabry-Perot structure blocks light over only a limited region of wavelengths. For instance, for a structure based on SiO2 as the low-index material (n=1.5) and Nb2O5 as the high-index material (n=2.3), the stopband ranges from about λc/1.14 to λC/0.86, where λC is the center wavelength of the passband.
To provide additional blocking at wavelengths further away from the passband, prior-art thin-film filters rely on the addition of the blocker section 302 comprising a combination metal-dielectric blocking coating 306, or absorbing colored glass 307, or both. The metal-dielectric coating can be designed to have a passband centered on the narrow passband associated with the multi-cavity Fabry-Perot coating, but the metal-dielectric coating passband is generally very broad. Absorbing colored glass is used primarily to block short wavelengths. The major disadvantage of such additional coatings and colored glass is that they severely limit the transmission of light in the passband due to optical absorption losses in the metal layer(s) and/or the absorbing glass. Therefore, the passband transmission for such filters typically does not exceed about 70% and often is as low as 10% (for most filters the transmission is in the range 20–50%).
Holographic laser-line filters are comprised of a volume diffraction grating, a mount, and some kind of spatial filtering apparatus. It functions as follows: first, a collimated, linearly polarized laser beam is directed perpendicularly into the mount that holds the volume diffraction grating (which itself is comprised of the holographic material, often dichromated gelatin, sandwiched between pieces of glass to protect it from environmental and physical contact). The internal transmission grating diffracts the laser-line through 90 degrees so that the output beam is nominally perpendicular to the input laser beam and the exit face of the mount. The grating is spectrally selective so that only the light which is very close to the design wavelength of the filter is diffracted. The undiffracted light passes through the back face of the mount. Unwanted light with wavelengths near the laser-line is diffracted by the transmission grating but at different angles than the laser-line. This unwanted diffracted light is then removed by a spatial filter (slit or aperture) located beyond the exit face of the cube. The overall apparatus provides effective filtering, but is very inconvenient to use due to the redirection of the laser beam, the bulky nature of the setup, and the need to carefully align the spatial filter with the mounted diffraction grating. Furthermore, the requirement that the desired laser beam be linearly polarized in a particular orientation is severely limiting to the applicability of this filter.
Accordingly there is a need for an improved method of making optical edge filters and LLFs and for improved edge filters and LLFs having increased edge steepness and increased transmission.

Method of making high performance optical edge and laser-line filters and resulting products


When data (for example, an electronic mail) is input to a semi-fixed terminal connected to a network, the terminal creates a transmission message on the basis of information on the position of a corresponding mobile terminal stored in the semi-fixed terminal and sends this message to the network, which sends data at once to the mobile terminal through a predetermined gateway station and base station on the basis of the information on the position of the message.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to radio data communication systems which transmit data from a semi-fixed terminal to a mobile terminal.
2. Background Art
Recently, personal computers have remarkably spread and the functions of portable personal computers have improved. Articles usable instead of regular personal computers have been developed and are easily available commercially. The portable personal computers are small-sized and lightweight and are convenient to take outdoors to go out, for example, on a business trip, but its memory capacity and display screen are small, so that a large amount of data can not be stored and displayed. As a result, as the case may be, necessary data is required to be downloaded from a stand-alone personal computer in the office and to use it, as required.
Recently, electronic mail using a personal computer has been used successfully. Generally, even when the user of the electronic mail is away from his office, for example, on a business trip, he needs access to his electronic mail very frequently. In such a case, transfer of an electronic mail received by a stand-alone personal computer to his portable personal computer improves productivity. However, at present, there are no methods of transferring data such as an electronic mail automatically from the stand-alone personal computer to a portable personal computer.
As described above, in the conventional bidirectional radio data communication system, the portable personal computer is completely independent of the stand-alone personal computer. There are no functions of receiving data such as an electronic mail between the stand-alone type personal computer and a portable personal computer at a remote place, so that a complicated manipulation by the user is required each time the communication is required. Mistakes in the manipulation are likely to occur and the manipulation is time consuming.

Radio data communication system using a plurality of radio communication systems


An anti-wear FFC (flexible flat cable) according to the present invention is made up of a plurality of covered wires parallel to each other in side-by-side relationship. The anti-wear FFC is folded and forms a plurality of planes lengthwise. The anti-wear FFC includes a base plane and a wing plane connected to the base plane. The base plane and the wing plane forms an angle therebetween. The stress of the wind plane connected to the base plane prevents the FFC from protruding upwards under elasticity and further moves following a signal collecting unit smoothly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible flat cable, and more particularly, to an anti-wear flexible flat cable.
2. The Related Art
FFC (flexible flat cable) is widely deployed in many applications, such as MFP (multi-function periphery) or scanner. Conventionally, the FFC makes electric connection between a signal collecting unit and a signal processing unit of a MFP or a scanner.
Please refer to FIG. 1. A conventional FFC 200 has a rectangular shape and is made up of a plurality of covered wires parallel to each other in side-by-side relationship.
Now refer to FIG. 2. A conventional MFP or scanner generally includes a signal processing unit 50 and a signal collecting unit 40 covered by a glass 300. The FFC 200 at one end connects to a signal collecting unit 40 and at another end connects to a signal processing unit 50 for transmitting electrical signal therebetween. The signal processing unit 50 is fixed in the electronic device (a MFP or a scanner) while the signal collecting unit 40 moves under the glass 300 back and forwards for collecting signal. Accordingly, the FFC 200 connected to the signal collecting unit 40 moves back and forwards following the signal colleting unit 40. For the signal collecting unit 40 is positioned upon the signal processing unit 50, the FFC 200 connected to the signal collecting unit 40 and signal processing unit 50 is bent. Further more, the bent FFC 200 will protrude upwards under elasticity.
Nowadays, the design of MFP or scanner is shifted towards a trend of minimization, further resulting in a decreased space between the FFC 200 and the glass 300. As a result, the bent FFC 200 between the signal collecting unit 40 and signal processing unit 50 protrudes upwards under elasticity and reaches the glass 300. When the FFC 200 follows the signal collecting unit 40, the friction between the protruding part of the FFC 200 and the glass 300 involves damage to the FFC 200 and glass 300, further resulting in shortening the performance life of the FFC 200 and glass 300.


Herein disclosed are a liquid crystal display device and a data processing device, which can have their frame portions reduced in area to reduce the size and weight by extracting the terminals of video signals to only one side of a liquid crystal display panel and by arranging a video signal line driving circuit substrate to be connected with the terminals, only at one side of the display panel.  A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel, a light guide plate, a fluorescent tube, and a lamp reflector. First and second lamp cables of different length are connected to the fluorescent tube. One end of the fluorescent tube is inserted in a hole of a first rubber bush and a part of the one end of the fluorescent tube is connected to the first lamp cable in the hole of the first rubber bush and an other end of the fluorescent tube is inserted in a hole of a second rubber bush and a part of the other end of the fluorescent tube is connected to the second lamp cable in the hole of the second rubber bush.

1. Field of Industrial Application
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device comprising a back light including a liquid crystal display panel having a liquid crystal sealed between two superposed insulating substrates, a light guide plate arranged below the liquid crystal display panel, and a fluorescent tube arranged in the vicinity of the side of the light guide plate, and, more particularly, to a data processing device having said liquid crystal display device assembled as a display unit.
2. Prior Art
In a liquid crystal display device of active matrix type, nonlinear devices (e.g., switching devices) are disposed in a manner to correspond to a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in matrix, respectively. The liquid crystal in each pixel is always drive, in principle, (at a duty ratio of 1.0). In comparison with the so-called "simple matrix type" which employs a time division driving system, therefore, the active system has been contrast and has become an indispensable technique particularly in a color liquid crystal display device. A typical example of the switching devices is a thin film transistor (TFT).
The liquid crystal display device is constructed to comprise: a liquid crystal display panel (or liquid crystal display element) prepared by superposing two transparent glass substrates at a predetermined gap such that their surfaces each having display pixel electrodes of a transparent conductive film and an orientation film laminated thereon are opposed to each other, by adhering the two substrates to each other by a seal member applied in a frame shape to the edge portion between the two substrates, by filling and sealing a liquid crystal from a liquid crystal sealing entrance formed in a portion of the seal member into the seal member between the two substrates, and by mounting or adhering a polarizing plate to the outer sides of the two substrates; a circuit substrate arranged outside of the outer peripheral portion of the liquid crystal display panel; as intermediate frame molded for holding the aforementioned individual members; a metallic shield casing formed with a liquid crystal display window for accommodating those individual members; and a back light arranged below the liquid crystal display panel for supplying a light to the liquid crystal display panel.
Here, the liquid crystal display device of active matrix type using the thin film transistors is known in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 309921/1988 or on pp. 193 to 210 of Nikkei Electronics entitled "Active Matrix Type Color Liquid Crystal Display of 12.5 Type Adopting Redundant Constructions" and issued on Dec. 15, 1986 NIKKEI McGRAW-HILL for example.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Liquid crystal display device having rubber bushes for receiving ends of a fluorescent tube and enabling connection of lamp cables thereat


The present invention is a green soda-lime-silica glass composition. The composition comprises 68 to 75% SiO2, 10 to 18% Na2O, 5 to 15% CaO, 0 to 10% MgO, 0 to 5% Al2O3, and 0 to 5% K20, where CaO+MgO is 6 to 15% and Na2O+K20 is 10 to 20%, and colorants comprising: 0.3 to 0.8 wt. % total iron as Fe2O3 wherein the ratio of FeO/total Fe as Fe2O3 is 0.35 to 0.62; 0.05 to 0.5 wt. % manganese compound as MnO2; 0 to 0.1 wt. % titanium oxide as TiO2; and 0 to 1 wt. % cerium oxide as CeO2. The colored glass has the following spectral properties at 4.0 mm. thickness: 65 to 81% light transmittance using Illuminant A (LTA) and using Illuminant C has a dominant wavelength of 494 to 555 nanometers with an excitation purity of 2 to 9%.

It would be extremely advantageous to improve the infrared absorption of glass products while maintaining a high level of visible transmission and to also have a good absorption in the ultraviolet portion of the spectrum. Iron oxide exists in two chemical forms in the glass, an oxidized form which is yellow, Fe2O3, and a reduced form which is blue FeO. Advantageously, the oxidized form of iron oxide absorbs a portion of the ultraviolet light passing through the glass product and the reduced form of iron oxide absorbs a portion of the infrared light passing through the glass product. Under typical furnace firing conditions and batching conditions, when the total iron oxide in the glass product is within the range of about 0.3 to 1.2 wt. % as Fe2O3, the iron oxide equilibrium is such that the redox ratio of FeO/total Fe as Fe2O3 is about 0.23–0.26.
It is desirable to increase the proportion of reduced iron oxide (FeO) in the glass to improve its infrared absorption. In addition, by shifting the iron oxide away from the oxidized form (Fe2O3) the glass will change color from green to blue. It would be further desirable to shift the blue glass back to a green color and to simultaneously improve the ultra violet absorption as well as the infrared absorption.
One way commonly employed to shift the redox equilibrium of iron oxide in the glass, and hence its UV and IR properties, is by increasing the fuel to the furnace. Increasing the amount of fuel, however, has several undesirable consequences: the combustion heating of the furnace becomes inefficient and requires an air increase or the unburnt fuel will burn in the checker system of the furnace. Excess fuel can also reduce the glass to an amber color that sharply lowers the visible transmittance of the glass product.
An amber color arises when the iron reacts with sulfur that has been reduced to form iron sulfide. Amber colored glass containers are normally melted in like manner by using anthracite coal together with iron oxide and sulfate. The amber iron sulfide chromophore, once produced, significantly decreases the visible transmittance of the glass and the glass could not be used where a high transmittance is required.
Therefore, there is a need in the glass industry to produce amber free green glass that has high transmittance yet having an improved infrared light absorption and an ultra violet absorption.


A method for providing interne services for socialization purposes sends an identity data and a location data to a server. The method further converts the identity data and the location data into a profile status data. The method further retrieves a social organization and a character profile of the identity data and determines whether the character profile satisfies a predetermined condition. The identity data is given an authority for predetermined privileged operations or given a right of organization selection. In another embodiment, the identity data is belongs to a social organization having a territory. The method calculates a movement distance based on the location data and the territory, as well as a length of movement time based on the movement distance and a character profile of the identity data. The length of movement time is proportional to the movement distance but is inversely proportional to the character profile.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method for providing internet services for socialization purposes and, more particularly, to a method for providing internet services for a user to create and run his/her internet social organization for socialization purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the continuous development of communication networks (such as the cable network, the wireless network or the inhomogeneous network), users are able to access the internet via various communication devices (such as computers, smart phones, tablets, etc). The users are able to acquire the required services by searching data online, sending and receiving emails, developing personal social networks, playing online games, etc. Thus, the internet has played an important role in human socialization.
As an example of social networking platforms (such as Facebook), whenever the users travel to a specific place (a restaurant, sightseeing places, etc), they are able to record the place with related messages by using the "check-in" function of said platform. This allows the facebook friends of the users to know where the users have travelled to. However, such social networking platforms do not allow the users and their friends to create an internet social organization based on the places they have travelled to. As such, the social networking platforms do not allow users to have socialization activities based on any location of the world.
As another example of online games, a user and his/her online friends are able to log into a game server to respectively manipulate a virtual character in a game environment of a real-world or virtual-world landmark. These players are able to interact and cooperate with each other in terms of voice and text chats, adventuring, searching for treasures, fighting opponents, etc. during game play. Similar to the social networking platforms, the online games also do not allow users to have socialization activities based on any location of the world. In addition, the players are required to join a certain social organization (such as a game guild or team) before they are allowed to play the game. Since the players are not allowed to create their own social organizations and are not permitted to play the game in the environment of the real-world or virtual-world landmarks based on the created social organizations, users have encountered too many restrictions when playing online games. As such, the users will have less desire to play the games.
To sum up, it is necessary to provide a method for providing internet services for socialization purposes which allows the users to create their own internet social organizations based on a location of the world. The game is able to use any landmark in the world or any virtual landmark as a location to play the game. As such, different users are able to perform interactive operations in the location on the internet, enhancing the socialization skill of the users.

Method for providing internet services for socialization purposes


The invention is concerned with an additive for a non-aqueous electrolyte of a secondary battery having a high ability dissolving a support salt and a low viscosity and comprising a phosphazene derivative represented by the following formula (I):

At the present time, the majority of note-type personal computers, mobile telephones and the like are presently driven by a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery having a high voltage and a high energy density and showing an excellent self-discharge property. In this non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, carbon is frequently used as a material forming a negative electrode, and various organic solvents are used as an electrolyte for the purpose of reducing a risk when lithium is formed on a surface of the electrode and making a driving power high. Also, an alkali metal (particularly lithium metal or lithium alloy) or the like is used as a material for a negative electrode in a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery for a camera, so that an aprotic organic solvent, usually an ester based organic solvent or the like is used as an electrolyte.
These non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries are high in the performances, but have the following problems for the safety. Firstly, when the alkali metal (particularly lithium metal or lithium alloy) is used as the material for the negative electrode in the non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, since the alkali metal is very active for water, if the sealing of the battery is incomplete and water penetrates thereinto, there is a problem that a risk of generating hydrogen or firing is made high by reacting the material for the negative electrode with water. Also, since the lithium metal is low in the melting point (about 170° C.), there is a problem that if a large current violently flows in the short-circuiting or the like, the battery abnormally generates heat to cause an extremely risky state of fusing the battery or the like. Further, there is a problem that the electrolyte based on the organic solvent is vaporized and decomposed accompanied with the heat generation of the battery to generate a gas or the explosion and ignition of the battery are caused by the generated gas.
On the other hand, there are known a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries in which a specified phosphazene derivative is added to the electrolyte to largely reduce the risk such as the ignition of the electrolyte or the like (see JP-A-6-13108 and JP-A-2002-83628). In these batteries, a self-extinguishing property or a flame retardance is given to the non-aqueous electrolyte by a nitrogen gas or a gas of phosphoric acid ester derived from the phosphazene derivative, whereby the risk of the ignition or the like is reduced. Also, phosphorus constituting the phosphazene derivative has an action of suppressing the chain decomposition of a high molecular weight material constituting the battery, so that the risk of the ignition or the like is effectively reduced.
However, cyclic phosphazene derivatives disclosed in JP-A-6-13108 and JP-A-2002-83628 are poor in the ability dissolving a support salt, so that when a greater amount of the cyclic phosphazene derivative is added to the electrolyte and a lithium salt is used as a support salt, an electric conductivity of lithium ion in the electrolyte is lowered to lower the electric conductivity and hence the quick discharge characteristic and quick charge characteristic of the battery are poor. Recently, a quick start (quick discharge) characteristic or an energy recovery (quick charge) characteristic in the braking is demanded in actively examined non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries for electric cars, so that the battery having the cyclic phosphazene derivative added to the electrolyte has a problem as a battery for the electric car. Also, such a tendency becomes conspicuous at a temperature lower than room temperature, so that there is a problem in the quick discharge and quick charge characteristics under a lower temperature environment.
On the other hand, chain phosphazene derivatives disclosed in JP-A-6-13108 and JP-A-2002-83628 are sufficient in the ability dissolving the support salt, but are somewhat higher in the viscosity as compared with the cyclic phosphazene derivative, so that when such a chain phosphazene derivative is added to the electrolyte, there is a tendency of lowering the electric conductivity of the battery. The lowering of the electric conductivity results in the lowering of the above quick discharge and quick charge characteristics, so that the battery having the chain phosphazene derivative added to the electrolyte has a problem in the quick discharge and quick charge characteristics.

Additive for non-aqueous electrolyte solution of secondary battery and non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery

Abstract: (wherein R1 is independently a halogen element or a monovalent substituent; and X is an organic group containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of carbon, silicon, nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen and sulfur) as well as a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery comprising an electrolyte containing this additive and having excellent high-rate characteristics.


Methods, systems, and devices for activity-based data protection in a memory device are described. In one example, a memory device may include a set memory sections each having memory cells configured to be selectively coupled with access lines of the respective memory section. A method of operating the memory device may include determining a quantity of access operations performed on a set of sections of a memory device, selecting at least one of the sections for a voltage adjustment operation, such as an equalization operation or a dissipation operation, based on the determined quantity of access operations, and performing the voltage adjustment operation on the selected section. Selecting one of the memory sections for a voltage adjustment operation may also be based on a timer. Equalizing a bias may include biasing a plate line, which may be coupled to a ferroelectric capacitor of a memory cell, to a ground voltage or some non-zero voltage. The voltage adjustment operation may include applying an equal voltage to opposite terminals of the memory cells, which may allow built-up charge, such as leakage charge accumulating from access operations of the selected memory section, to dissipate from the memory cells of the selected section.

The following relates generally to memory systems and more specifically to access schemes for activity-based data protection in a memory device.
Memory devices are widely used to store information in various electronic devices such as computers, wireless communication devices, cameras, digital displays, and the like. Information is stored by programming different states of a memory device. For example, binary memory devices have two logic states, often denoted by a logic "1" or a logic "0". In other memory devices, more than two logic states may be stored. To access the stored information, a component of the electronic device may read, or sense, the stored logic state in the memory device. To store information, a component of the electronic device may write, or program, the logic state in the memory device.
Various types of memory devices exist, including those that employ magnetic hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM, ReRAM), flash memory, phase change memory (PCM), and others. Memory devices may be volatile or non-volatile. Non-volatile memory, such as PCM and FeRAM, may maintain stored logic states for extended periods of time even in the absence of an external power source. Volatile memory devices, such as DRAM, may lose stored logic states over time unless they are periodically refreshed by a power source. In some cases, non-volatile memory may use similar device architectures as volatile memory but may have non-volatile properties by employing such physical phenomena as ferroelectric capacitance or different material phases.
Improving memory devices, may include increasing memory cell density, increasing read/write speeds, increasing reliability, increasing data retention, reducing power consumption, or reducing manufacturing costs, among other metrics. In some cases, access operations on selected memory cells of a section of a memory device may cause charge to accumulate on non-selected memory cells of the section of the memory device, which may contribute to a loss of data stored in the non-selected memory cells.

Method and apparatuses for performing a voltage adjustment operation on a section of memory cells based on a quantity of access operations


A personal authentication apparatus includes: an acquisition unit that acquires a measurement result including body weight and body impedance; a calculation unit configured to, based on the measurement result acquired by the acquisition unit and personal information, calculate a calculation value relating to body composition that is less susceptible to temporal variation than body water amount; a storage unit configured to store the body weight, the personal information, and the calculation value in association with measurement subject specification information that specifies the measurement subject; a comparison unit configured to compare the most recent calculation value and a new calculation value; and a measurement subject specification unit configured to, based on a difference between calculation values, specify which of the pieces of measurement subject specification information stored in the storage unit corresponds to the measurement result acquired by the acquisition unit.

Conventionally, in body weight/body composition meters, personal information such as the age, height, and sex of a measurement subject is used for calculating body composition. Accordingly, before body composition is measured, a personal specification number associated with personal information that corresponds to the current instance of measurement needs to be selected from among the registered personal specification numbers. However, due to the fact that a task of designating a personal specification number that corresponds to the measurement subject from among the registered personal specification numbers and a task of storing the personal specification number are performed during the body composition calculation process, it is necessary for the measurement subject to designate and remember the personal specification number. In view of this, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a body weight/body composition meter that includes a personal recognition function according to which the personal specification number corresponding to the measurement subject is automatically recognized from among registered personal specification numbers.

Personal authentication apparatus and body weight/body composition meter


A communications system includes a wireless access network that is coupled to a packet-based data network. Packet-based calls may be established between a mobile station coupled to the wireless access network and a network endpoint coupled to the data network. For efficient call setup and call release, call control signaling, such as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages and Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) messages, are carried in traffic channels over the wireless access network.

Mobile communications systems, such as cellular or personal communications services (PCS) systems, are made up of a plurality of cells. Each cell provides a radio communications center in which a mobile unit establishes a call with another mobile unit or wireline unit connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN). Each cell includes a radio base station, with each base station connected to a base station controller or mobile switching center that controls processing of calls between or among mobile units or mobile units and PSTN units.
Various wireless protocols exist for defining communications in a mobile network. One such protocol is a time-division multiple access (TDMA) protocol, such as the TIA/EIA-136 standard provided by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). With TIA/EIA-136 TDMA, each channel carries a frame that is divided into six time slots to support multiple (3 or 6) mobile units per channel. Other TDMA-based systems include Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications systems, which use a TDMA frame divided into eight time slots (or burst periods).
Traditional speech-oriented wireless systems, such as the TIA/EIA-136 and GSM TDMA systems, utilize circuit-switched connection paths in which a line is occupied for the duration of the connection between a mobile unit and the mobile switching center. Such a connection is optimum for communications that are relatively continuous, such as speech. However, data networks such as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and the Internet use packet-switched connections, in which communication between nodes on a communications link is by data packets. Each node occupies the communications link only for as long as the node needs to send or receive data packets. With the rapid increase in the number of cellular subscribers in conjunction with the rising popularity of communications over data networks such as intranets or the Internet, a packet-switched wireless data connection that provides convenient and efficient access to data networks, electronic mail, databases, and other types of data has become desirable.
Several packet-switched wireless connection protocols have been proposed to provide more efficient connections between a mobile unit and a data network. One such protocol is the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) protocol, which complements existing GSM systems. Another technology that builds upon GPRS is the Enhanced Data Rate for Global Evolution (EDGE) technology, which offers even higher data rates. The enhancement of GPRS by EDGE is referred to as Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS). Another variation of EGPRS is the EGPRS COMPACT technology.
The packet-switched wireless connection protocols provide efficient access to traditional data networks, such as the Internet, LANs, WANs, and the like. A growing use of such data networks is for voice and other forms of real-time or streaming communications (such as video, audio and video, and so forth). Various protocols have been defined to enable such real-time or streaming communications over the data networks, which are often packet-switched networks. A popular packet-switched network is the Internet Protocol (IP) network.
To establish calls over IP networks, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), H.323, or other types of messages can be used. Once a call is established, other communications protocols are used to provide for reliable real-time communications. Such other protocols include the Real-Time Protocol (RTP), Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP), and others. However, with the relatively large size of typical messages, such as SIP, RSVP, or H.323 messages, unacceptably large delays may be introduced when attempting to establish a packet-based call session over a wireless network.
As wireless networks continue to evolve, a need exists for improved methods and mechanisms to enable voice and other forms of real-time or streaming communications over packet-switched wireless networks.

Packet-based calls in a wireless network


A screen printing fixture holds a flexible circuit board having components attached to one side, to allow screening a pattern of solder paste onto the second side for subsequent attachment of components to that side. In an electronic package assembly a flexible circuit board with components is wound about a heat spreader assembly having a cavity so that at least one component on the flexible circuit board is positioned within the cavity and in thermal connection to the heat spreader.

All levels of packaging, (chip, electronic circuit assembly and systems) are becoming more miniaturized. A major technical challenge is thermal dissipation as power density increases. Typically, heat spreaders or heat sinks are bonded to microelectronic components and chips, individually. Occasionally, a common heat sink may be bonded to multiple chips on co-planer top surfaces. In many applications, space limitations and cost do not allow the use of heat sinks or co-planer electronic assemblies.
Flexible circuit boards offer advantages of light weight, thinness, three dimensional configuration, and flexibility. Space and height constraints for circuit packaging may dictate the use of flexible circuits over rigid laminates and very low profile chips and packages over high profile chip modules.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,781,596 discloses a single layer interconnection structure of metallic conductors on a polyimide film (e.g. KAPTON.TM. by E. I. DuPont De Nemours & Co.). U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,724 discloses metallic conductors sandwiched between polyimide film which project through the film.
Rigid-Flex circuit boards are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,297 to Haas and U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,742 to Lucas. In those patents single layer flex circuit boards are integrally connected between rigid circuit boards. In both patents multiple rigid circuit board layers are laminated to a flexible circuit board substrate and components are attached only onto the rigid circuit board sections.
Connecting components directly to one side of a single-layer flexible circuit board is described by McBride, "Multi-function Plug for IC Package", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 21, February 1979, pp. 3594-3595. I/O terminals on the bottom of a chip are soldered to pads on top of a thin polyimide flexible decal. Also, a depression in a heat sink cover is bonded onto the top of the chip. Connecting lower power chips to a bottom side of a multi-layer flexible circuit board and high power chips to the top side of the flexible circuit board in order to connect the high power chips to the module cap is suggested by McBride, "Multilayer Flexible Film Module", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 26, May 1984, p. 6637. In that article I/O pins connect the flexible film to a metalized ceramic substrate, and smaller pins interconnect the layers of the film. Schrottke, "Removal of Heat from Direct Chip Attach Circuitry", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 32, September 1989, pp. 346-348 describes a flexible circuit board with two rows of Direct Chip Attach (DCA) chips attached by controlled collapse chip connections (C4). The flexible circuit board is folded around a stiff heat spreader of copper-INVAR-copper (INVAR is a trademark of Creusot-Loire for a nickel-iron alloy) with the chips on the inside of the fold. The exposed surfaces of each row of chips are bonded with a thermally conductive adhesive to a respective major surface of the spreader.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,501 to Ocken, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,751 to Cottingham disclose bonding flexible circuit boards directly to one side of an aluminum plate. In Ocken, heat is conducted through the circuit board to a first heat sink plate then to a second heat sink plate bonded to the first plate. "Concept for Forming Multilayer Structures for Electronic Packaging" (Curtis), IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 30, August 1987, pp. 1353-1356 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,165 to Currier, disclose folding a flexible circuit board around a heat sink plate and bonding the board to both sides of the plate. In both citations, before bonding the board to the plate, components are connected to the side of the board which is not connected to the plate. "Integral Heatsink Printed Circuit Board" (Askalv), IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 25, December 1982 p. 3606, discloses a flexible circuit board adhesively bonded to a heat sink of steel or aluminum.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,430, discloses a portion of a flexible circuit board applied to a heat sink plate and provided with a cutout in which a hybrid circuit structure is cemented to the plate. The hybrid circuit structure is wirebonded to the flexible circuit board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,660 to Cottiat, FIG. 9, shows a circuit board interconnection system in which layers of a flexible circuit board are removed in part of a bend to expose a selected wiring layer for connection. The flexible circuit board is of copper clad polyimide.
All the above citations are hereby incorporated by reference.

International Business Machines Corporation


Patient weight measuring system includes a patient table and a control circuit. The patient table includes a tabletop that receives a patient thereon, an elevation mechanism, and a load sensor. The elevation mechanism adjusts a height of the tabletop relative to a floor. The elevation mechanism includes a support frame and an actuator. The support frame includes multiple pivotable frame members mechanically connected to the tabletop. The actuator is configured to exert an actuator force on at least one of the frame members to control the height of the tabletop. The load sensor is operably connected to the actuator and configured to measure the actuator force. The control circuit is communicatively connected to the load sensor, and is configured to calculate a weight of the patient disposed on the tabletop based on the actuator force measured by the load sensor.

Measuring and recording a patient's weight is a standard practice in medical facilities, such as clinics, hospitals, doctor's offices, physical therapy centers, and the like. The patient weight is typically acquired during a discrete weight-measuring task in which the patient is asked to stand on a scale and a medical worker records the measured weight in a file. The weight-measuring task may be performed prior to the patient being admitted to an examination room to consult with a doctor or other medical professional and/or to perform medical imaging, surgery, or another medical task. The discrete weight-measuring task is generally inefficient because it delays the impending examination of the patient and the examination of other patients scheduled to be examined after the patient. Furthermore, the weight-measuring task may be difficult and/or embarrassing for some patients. For example, disabled patients may have difficulty standing on a scale, and overweight patients may experience anxiety as the medical worker views and records the readout of the scale.

Patient table and patient weight measuring system


The present invention provides a light-emitting part and a light-emitting apparatus exhibiting high brightness per unit area, and simplified production methods therefor. The light-emitting unit comprises a single base substrate, and a plurality of light-emitting devices thereon. The light-emitting unit includes a serial connection body which connects at least a part of the light-emitting devices in series. The serial connection body comprises light-emitting devices which make a current path, a light-emitting device which does not make a current path, and a connection member which electrically connects an n-electrode and a p-electrode of the light-emitting devices.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-emitting part having light-emitting devices and a light-emitting apparatus, and production methods therefor.
Background Art
A process for producing a semiconductor light-emitting device may comprise growing semiconductor layers on a growth substrate, and dividing a growth substrate into a plurality of light-emitting devices.
For example, dividing into light-emitting devices having Group III nitride semiconductor may comprise steps of thinning a sapphire wafer by grinding, forming a modified portion inside the sapphire wafer by irradiating laser, and dividing the sapphire wafer into light-emitting devices. In this way, a lot of steps are required.
As shown in FIG. 1 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2012-195437, a plurality of light-emitting devices is generally connected in series in the light-emitting apparatus. Therefore, even one light-emitting device with poor electrical characteristics may prevent current from flowing to other light-emitting devices. To avoid this, after the divided light-emitting devices are usually inspected one by one, only the light-emitting devices that satisfied a predetermined standard are assembled to the light-emitting apparatus.
To assemble a plurality of light-emitting devices, a certain distance (space) needs to be provided between the light-emitting devices. Such distance between devices makes it difficult to dispose a plurality of light-emitting devices concentrated. As a distance between devices increases, brightness per unit area of the light-emitting apparatus is reduced. A distance between devices may obstruct downsizing of the light-emitting apparatus.
The number of steps is increased by the steps of isolating light emitting devices from each other and rearranging light-emitting devices. Thus, the cycle time is a little longer.

Light-emitting part and light-emitting apparatus, and production methods therefor