In one embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to a method of verifying a location of an organization. The method includes providing a user interface to a device of a representative of an organization, the user interface prompting the representative to provide organization data. The organization data includes organization name data indicative of an organization name, organization address data indicative of a location of the organization, photograph files for photographs of specific different portions of the location of the organization, and photograph location data indicative of where each of the photographs was taken. The method further includes receiving the organization data from the device, and verifying that the organization address data corresponds with the organization address data.

Internet search engines strive to provide users reliable information regarding businesses and other organizations, including reliable address information. To do so, search engines will often use web crawlers and data aggregators to determine organization information. But the results of such efforts are often unreliable, especially for small business that are more difficult to track. For example, if a restaurant leaves a location and is replaced by a new restaurant, current methods struggle to determine which restaurant name corresponds with the location. Further, some users will trick search engines into believing that a business exists at an address where it does not. For example, someone could create the impression that a locksmith runs a business out of a certain address, when in reality the person created the locksmith identity using a home address so that, when the person is contacted for locksmith services, the person can sell the lead to an actual locksmith. Such activity clogs the internet and search engines with unreliable information that wastes network resources and slows computer performance. What is needed is a more reliable and efficient manner of verifying organization locations.


An inductive touch screen is disclosed. Embodiments include a transparent substrate and a conductive layer. The conductive layer includes helical-shaped patterns, and inductive lines electrically connected with the patterns. The patterns form inductive electrodes and output inductive signals through the inductive lines, and the inductive lines include first and second inductive lines. The inductive electrodes includes rows of first sub-electrodes and rows of second sub-electrodes, where the first and second sub-electrodes are arranged alternately in a column direction. Each of the first inductive lines is electrically connected with a row of the first sub-electrodes, and each of the second inductive lines is electrically connected with the second sub-electrodes in a same column. The touch screen further includes a drive line on the substrate, and the drive line is electrically connected with the inductive electrodes to provide the touch screen with a drive signal.

At the present time, people are increasingly interested in a touch screen instead of a mouse or a keyword along with the development of touch technologies. The touch screen performs an operation by detecting the location of a touch by a user to thereby achieve human-machine interaction. Specifically the coordinates of a touch point and further the location of a touch are determined by detecting and comparing variations of signals in respective detection units in the touch screen. The existing touch screen technologies generally include resistive, capacitive, photosensitive and inductive technologies. Along with the development of these technologies, a touch screen is further integrated with a display device. Taking liquid crystal displays as an example, the liquid crystal displays integrated with touch screens are generally divided into in cell technologies and on cell technologies according to whether the touch screens are integrated inside or outside liquid crystal cells. An in cell technology indicates that a touch screen is integrated inside a liquid crystal cell, and an on cell technology indicates that a touch screen is integrated outside a liquid crystal cell. Particularly in a capacitive touch screen, an inductive line based on charge induction may have some influence upon orientation of liquid crystal molecules, and other electric signals in the liquid crystal display may also interfere with the inductive line so that induction sensitivity of the inductive line may be lowered and, the inductive line tends to fail to work and causes a considerable power consumption of the panel as well. In a resistive touch screen, the thickness of a liquid crystal cell tends to vary, thus resulting in a deteriorated display effect. A photosensitive touch screen poses a stringent requirement on brightness, thus easily resulting in a low touch precision and other problems. Therefore inductive touch screen technology has gradually become a research focus.
In the existing inductive touch screen, both touch electrodes in column and touch electrodes in row respectively share one inductive line as illustrated in FIG. 1. The inductive lines of the electrodes in one row and in one column are connected together, and crosstalk may occur with an inductive signal, thus making it difficult to detect a touch. In order to avoid such a problem of signal crosstalk between rows and columns, such a solution is proposed in the prior art as illustrated in FIG. 2 that an inductive line is arranged separately for each inductive electrode to transmit an inductive signal. However a pad for transmitting the inductive signal has to be arranged separately in a peripheral area of a panel in correspondence to each inductive line, and this requires a large area to be spared on the periphery of the panel for arranging these pads for transmitting inductive signals, and a large number of pads discourages the area of the panel from being utilized efficiently and also contradicts with the development trend of a panel with a narrow border.

Inductive touch screen and in cell inductive touch screen


A shaving device assembled with multiple blades having a generally planar portion and arcuate end portions in a generally parallel spaced relationship adapted for shaving curvilinear areas of a body.

Razors have been used for centuries to facilitate the grooming of a body as well as other uses. However, grooming of the human body has been the dominant commercial area for decades. Technologically, razor designs have thus advanced dramatically as demand has grown within the last century. Razors have progressed in design from a single, linear sharpened blade to specially mounted multiple, linear blade assemblies facilitating the shaving of the face and other generally planar areas of the human body. The advantages of multi-blade assemblies are well known. Typically, multi-blade razor structures include a plastic housing that supports the multiple linear blades in a staggered, generally parallel relationship, whereby the skin surface shaved by the passage of the first blade is additionally shaved by the passage of the second and/or multiple other blades resulting in a more efficient shaving process. One of the key aspects in multiple blade assemblies is the mounting configuration and the safety aspect for protecting the skin of the user from nicks, scrapes, and scratches by exposing only the portion of the linear blade necessary for grooming.
Other improvements in razor blade designs have included means for mounting single razor blades in a housing imparting a bending to the blade to thereby facilitate the presentation of an arcuate single blade within a safety blade housing for shaving sloped areas of the human body, such as under arm and groin regions which are typically non-planar in formation as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,982 to Ferruzza. The advantage of such an arcuate assembly is readily apparent by virtue of the fact that some areas of the human anatomy are not substantially planar and are often considered required grooming areas. These areas are typically sensitive to sharp razor blade exposure. Therefore, any improvement in razor designs that may eliminate the danger of cuts and/or nicks from the shaving procedure and/or improving the efficiency of the shaving procedure in such delicate areas of a body, would be a marked advantage. Further other improvements in razor design include safety razor blade units including a plurality of blades with parallel sharpened edges as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,777 to Gilder et al.


A new and distinct Haworthia cultivar named ‘SEASTAR’ is disclosed, characterized by medium sized, compact plants, with a more open center, and strong heat and drought resistance. Foliage is strong and consistently green with abundant white spots. The new variety is an Haworthia, typically produced as an ornamental plant.

The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program. The objectives of the planned breeding program were to develop new Haworthia varieties with interesting foliage for ornamental purposes. The breeding program was developed under the direction of the inventor, Christine Brandsma, in Moshi, Tanzania. The new variety originated from a cross pollination of the unpatented commercial variety Haworthia limifolia seed parent and the pollen parent, the unpatented commercial variety, Haworthia fasciata. 'Big Band' The crossing was made during January of 2009.
The new variety was selected by the inventor Christine Brandsma, in February of 2010 in a group of seedlings resulting from the crossing. The new cultivar was selected in a commercial greenhouse in Moshi, Tanzania.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar 'SEASTAR' was first performed at a commercial greenhouse in Tanzania by vegetative cuttings in March 2011. The additional generation produced vegetative cuttings have shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.


A method for drilling a wellbore includes operating at least one motor coupled within a drill string to turn a drill bit at an end thereof. An automatic drill string rotation controller causes rotation of the drill string in a first direction until a measured parameter related to torque on the drill string reaches a first selected value. The automatic drill string rotation controller causes rotation of the drill string in a second direction until the measured parameter related to torque is reduced to a second selected value. The drill string is axially advanced to cause the drill bit to extend the wellbore.

This disclosure relates generally to the field of wellbore drilling through subsurface formations. More specifically, the disclosure relates to methods for reducing undesirable modes of motion that induce undesirable vibration levels in a drill pipe "string" used to drill such wellbores.
Drilling wellbores through subsurface includes "rotary" drilling, in which a drilling rig or similar lifting device suspends a drill string which turns a drill bit located at one end of the drill string. Equipment on the rig and/or an hydraulically operated motor disposed in the drill string rotate the bit. The drilling rig includes lifting equipment which suspends the drill string so as to place a selected axial force (weight on bit—"WOB") on the drill bit as the bit is rotated. The combined axial force and bit rotation causes the bit to gouge, scrape and/or crush the rocks, thereby drilling a wellbore through the rocks. Typically a drilling rig includes liquid pumps for forcing a fluid called "drilling mud" through the interior of the drill string. The drilling mud is ultimately discharged through nozzles or water courses in the bit. The mud lifts drill cuttings from the wellbore and carries them to the earth's surface for disposition. Other types of drilling rigs may use compressed air as the fluid for lifting cuttings.
The forces acting on a typical drill string during drilling are very large. The amount of torque necessary to rotate the drill bit may range to several thousand foot pounds. The axial force may range into several tens of thousands of pounds. The length of the drill string, moreover, may be twenty thousand feet or more. Because the typical drill string is composed of threaded pipe segments having diameter on the order of only a few inches, the combination of length of the drill string and the magnitude of the axial and torsional forces acting on the drill string can cause certain movement modes of the drill string within the wellbore which can be destructive. For example, a well known form of destructive drill string movement is known as "stick-slip", in which the drill string becomes rotationally stopped along its length by friction and is caused to "wind up" by continued rotation from the surface. The friction may be overcome and torsional release of the drill string below the stick point may cause such rapid unwinding of the drill string below the stick point so as to do damage to drill string components. Stick slip may be particularly damaging when certain types of directional drilling devices, called "rotary steerable directional drilling systems" are used. Stick-slip may cause undesirable vibrations that in turn could reduce the life of the drill string components such as bits, motors, MWD equipment, LWD equipment and the BHA.
There is a need for methods to reduce destructive modes of motion of a drill string during drilling. There is also a need for methods to reduce fatigue and wear of drill string and wellbore components during drilling.

Method for reducing stick-slip during wellbore drilling


Blister pack for pharmaceuticals containing a base with a plurality of recesses which are surrounded by a shoulder. A lid foil is attached to the shoulders. Removable contents such as a tablet, capsules or ampoules reside in each of the recesses and may be removed therefrom by pressing the recess in question and penetrating the lid foil or by removing the lid foil over the recess. The blister pack features a movable lid or a clamping element which covers at least one recess, and the clamping element is arranged in such a manner that it can be slid over the lid foil, and the clamping element closes off again at least one recess where the lid foil has been penetrated or peeled back, or closed again at least one recess which on filling was left unfilled and without lid.

The present invention relates to blister packs for pharmaceuticals having a base with a plurality of recesses that are surrounded by a shoulder and a lid foil attached to the shoulder, where removable contents are accommodated in the recesses and may be removed therefrom by pressing on the recess in question making the contents penetrate the lid foil, or by removing the lid foil over the recess, and where the blister pack features a moveable lid that covers the recess, and the lid is arranged such that it can slide over the lid foil.
It is known to fill the bases of blister packs, in particular push-through packs, with contents, to cover the whole of base with a lid material, and to seal the lid material in place. The blister pack is characterized by way of a single or, in particular, by a plurality of single compartments that accommodate e.g. solid items, shaped solid preparations or pharmaceutical products such as tablets or dragees. If a single item e.g. a tablet is to be removed from a blister pack, the recess in the base is pressed in and the tablet is pushed through the lid material.
The present invention embraces various kinds of blister packs. This includes e.g. the so-called push-through packs. Push-through packs are e.g. such that the lid material is of aluminum foil or an aluminum foil laminate. Aluminum foil is a preferred material for the lids on blister packs as the thickness of the material employed requires relatively little force for it to rupture. Consequently, the energy for penetration is low and the aluminum exhibits essentially no elasticity. As a rule the base of the blister pack is made of plastic, for example plastics such as PVC, polyamides, polyolefins, polyesters and laminates or multi-layered materials containing at least one of these materials and, if desired, also containing an aluminum foil. Other blister packs feature a base which is covered by a lid foil. The lid foil may cover the whole of the base area and is usefully provided with a line of weakness in the region of each recess, or each recess may be covered with an individual lid segment. Within the line of weakness or on each lid segment may be a tab for gripping which enables the individual recess to be exposed by peeling back the lid segment. As a rule, the base and the lid are of the above mentioned materials, whereby plastic laminates may also be employed for the lid materials.
Such blister packs have found widespread use in the field of health care and for distribution of sweets such as pastilles and bonbons. Because of the possibility they offer to store sensitive contents carefully, and because of the ease with which the contents can be removed from them, such blister packs are now regarded as indispensable in daily life. With increasing endeavors being made to cut costs in health care, attempts are being made to keep the blister packs as small as possible and to limit the number of different formulations. This can mean that a pharmaceutical formulation is produced at only one concentration level and it may happen that not one whole tablet or dragee has to be taken but, e.g. according to the weight or stage of the illness of a patient, only a partial dose e.g. half of a tablet or a dragee has to be administered. It is also conceivable for one recess to accommodate two or more tablets, dragees, capsules, ampoules and the like and for only a fraction of the contents to be consumed at a given time. Returning e.g. the rest of a tablet divided into two parts to the recess is not straightforward in the case of the normal blister packs, and the recess can not be closed off again as the lid material over the recess has been torn, burst or peeled off.


A cooling structure for interface card for cooling the heating component on an interface card includes a heat sink, a metallic hood, and a water block, wherein the heat sink has a heat conducting seat and a plurality of cooling fins, while the heat conducting seat is attached to the heating component of the interface card. Furthermore, the metallic hood arranged on the heat sink is connected thereto. Finally, the water block is arranged on the metallic hood; thereby, the operational heat, generated from the heating element, is absorbed by the heat-conducting seat and is then conducted to the fins of the heat sink, so that the operational heat is distributed to the metallic hood by heat conducting process, making the operational heat that is generated by the heating component carried away through the heat exchanging function of the water block, and thus a desired cooling effectiveness is achieved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a cooling device, in particular, to a cooling structure arranged on an interface card.
2. Description of Prior Art
Nowadays, the development of modern personal computer is advancing with each passing day. Personal computer user not only asks for high processing speed, but also pays much attention to high stability. Since of the significant progress of IC technology, a chip originally containing only tens of transistors has developed into a chip currently containing over ten millions of transistors, following the breakthrough of the micro- and nano-technology. Although the progress on technology has the advantages to notably lower down the price of personal computer and, in large scale, enhance the function of electronic component, the cooling ability is, however, often frequently unable to keep up with the development of manufacturing process, due to the lack of package technique of electronic component.
On the other hand, the enhancement of processing speed of personal computer is often dependent upon the functional combination of interface cards to thereby develop the effectiveness thereof. Taking the graphic display card for example, in order to satisfy the requirement of consumer, manufacturers successively introduce innovative products with faster processing speed, so that the working time pulse of the chip on an innovative graphic display card is frequently over thousand millions hertz (Hz) while, under such high frequency working speed, all circuit dispositions are packaged within an IC chip with a size of only 1.2 cm2, which will occur overheating problem derived from the continuous collisions among electrons.
Therefore, if the high heat generated from the graphic display card can not be removed through the cooling structure designed effectively then, not only the consuming power will be increased, but also the electronic element will be damaged to therefore shrink the life thereof, seriously influencing the effectiveness, reliability and stability of a processor. Therefore, how to get rid of the heat arisen from the chip on the interface card so effectively to ensure a normal operation of personal computer has become a most noted problem for both the manufactures and the users of the interface card.
Currently, there are two kinds of methods commonly used for removing the heat generated from the interface cards in a personal computer; namely, one is air-cooling heat sink, and the other is water-cooling heat sink. In an air-cooling heat sink, fin and fan are two major constituting components. The heat sink, comprised of a plurality of fins made of metallic material, will significantly increase the cooling area to dissipate the heat accumulated therein, and large amount of heat is further carried away by the forced convection produced by fan, whereby an efficient cooling will be effected upon the chip of the interface card. Such heat sink is not only structured simply, but also able to fulfill a satisfactory effectiveness.
However, for such air-cooling heat sink, when each time one design has been created, most manufacturers have to make a prototype, and an efficiency test is then undergone accordingly. Therefore, the temperature reduced by such air-cooling heat sink is quite limited, because large amount of heat still can not be carried away quickly.
On the other hand, a water-cooling heat sink commonly takes a shell-tube heat exchanger as a mainly designing body. As shown in FIG. 1, a water block 10a carries away the heat generated in heat source by making heat exchange therewith, wherein water having high heat capacity is employed. However, if the water block 10a connected onto the interface card 20a is poorly design, it may incur a misgiving that an accident water leakage may damage the electronic component 201a disposed upon the interface card 20a. Since a container 12 has to be arranged in the mainframe for such heat sink for accommodating water, a pump 14a is further needed. The contour design of this container 12 also requires sufficient cooling ability, such that a material having high heat capacity is provided for this kind of heat dissipation. However, under a long time operation, which in turn creates high temperature circumstance, the cooling ability of this kind of heat sink will still be notably degraded, due to the continuous raise of water temperature.


The present invention relates generally to medical devices and methods generally aimed at spinal surgery. In particular, the disclosed system and associated methods relate to performing spinal fixation with the use of a deformity system.

The spine is formed of a column of vertebra that extends between the cranium and pelvis. The three major sections of the spine are known as the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions. There are 7 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, and 5 lumbar vertebrae, with each of the 24 vertebrae being separated from each other by an intervertebral disc. A series of about 9 fused vertebrae extend from the lumbar region of the spine and make up the sacral and coccygeal regions of the vertebral column.
The main functions of the spine are to provide skeletal support and protect the spinal cord. Even slight disruptions to either the intervertebral discs or vertebrae can result in serious discomfort due to compression of nerve fibers either within the spinal cord or extending from the spinal cord. If a disruption to the spine becomes severe enough, damage to a nerve or part of the spinal cord may occur and can result in partial to total loss of bodily functions (e.g. walking, talking, and breathing, etc. . . . ). Therefore, it is of great interest and concern to be able to both correct and prevent any ailments of the spine.
Fixation systems are often surgically implanted into a patient to aid in the stabilization of a damaged spine or to aid in the correction of other spinal geometric deformities. Spinal fixation systems are often constructed as framework stabilizing a particular section of the spine. Existing systems often use a combination of rods, plates, pedicle screws and bone hooks for fixing the framework to the affected vertebrae. The configuration required for each patient varies due to the patient's specific anatomical characteristics and ailments. As a result, there is a need for a modular spinal fixation system that allows for a large degree of custom configurations and that can assist the clinician in the corrective maneuvers often needed to rehabilitate severe deformities.

Systems and methods for correcting spinal deformities


An apparatus and method is provided for preparing a tight proximal contact between a tooth to be filled and an adjacent tooth. A tool head provides a first convex surface extending downwardly to a linear ridge. The head is divided into a pair of side-by-side fingers separated by a channel. The linear ridge defines the tip of each finger. The head is of a size to fit into a prepared cavity in a tooth. The head further provides a stepped surface, in opposition to the first convex surface, that extends downwardly to the linear ridge. Alternately, the head provides a second convex surface, in opposition to the first convex surface, that extends downwardly to the linear ridge. An elongated tool handle has a first and a second opposing bent ends. The first bent end has a 90.degree. bend, and the second bent end has a 45.degree. bend, such that the single tool may enable the formation of both distal and mesial contacts.

Normally, adjacent healthy teeth are in proximal contact with each other at a proximal contact point. However, if a tooth experiences decay or otherwise experiences damage, its contact point with the adjacent tooth may be lost. During restoration of the tooth, therefore, it is important for the dental practitioner to restore a proper contact point with the adjacent tooth. The recent increase in popularity of resin-based light-curable filling materials has resulted in new procedures, and new difficulties, in establishing proximal contact between adjacent teeth, and tooth restoration in general.
Several prior art devices and methods have been developed for facilitating the establishment of a proximal contact point between adjacent teeth. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,021, issued to Barrett on Aug. 26, 1986, teaches a device and method for proper relative positioning of adjacent teeth during a restoration procedure. A small rigid wedge with a shorter side and a longer side is first inserted with the shorter side against a prepared pulpal floor. A ledge of cured restorative material is formed about the pointed end of the wedge. Thereafter, the wedge is removed and reinserted with the longer side toward the pulpal floor. The longer side is sized such that a downward force on the wedge deforms a matrix band and causes proper spacing between the two adjacent teeth. Use of such a device, however, has significant drawbacks. First, the amount of separation between the teeth is dependent upon the size and shape of the wedge. As such, the dental practitioner must properly estimate which wedge size and shape to use prior to the step of building up a pivoting ledge on the pulpal floor. Such an estimation is difficult at best, especially when considering the necessarily small sizes of such wedges. Moreover, once restorative material has been built-up around this type of wedge, the wedge must be removed in order to complete the restoration process. However, removal of the wedge necessarily removes the artificial contact point that had been established between the wedge and the adjacent tooth. As such, the adjacent tooth tends to deform the matrix band back toward the tooth being restored, causing successive layers of restorative material to also assume a slightly less than optimal shape. As a result, not only is this type of device difficult to work with, but use of this type of device and method does not result in an optimal contact point between adjacent teeth.
Another prior art device and method for use are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,770, issued to Kurer on Feb. 23, 1988. A performed body is positioned in a tooth cavity and held in pressure contact with a matrix band against an adjacent tooth. The cavity is then filled with restorative material, which is then cured by light. Such a pre-formed body, however, must remain in the cavity as the tooth is completely restored. As such, a properly sized preformed body must be selected by the dental practitioner before completely restoring the tooth. Making such a selection properly can be difficult, especially when taking into consideration the necessarily small sizes of such pre-formed bodies. Moreover, such a preformed body must be shaped to engage a hand instrument that is used to apply pressure to the preformed body. However, such an engagement means experiences a high degree of force due to the leverage excerpted by the hand instrument against the adjacent tooth. Such engagement means, therefore, are inclined to break if excessive force is applied thereto. Such breakage frequently occurs well before sufficient force as been applied to the tooth and the adjacent tooth. Moreover, when such breakage occurs, considerable injury may result to the patient's month due to the hand instrument suddenly being released from the performed body. Further, the restoration resulting from use of such a device is heterogeneous, and is therefore more difficult to shape and polish in a consistent fashion. For example, while the restorative material may be shaped easily, the preformed body may not lend itself to shaping as easily. As such, devices and methods of this type are difficult to use.
Clearly, then, there is a need for a dental implement and method that will facilitate the establishment of tight proximal contacts between a tooth and an adjacent tooth easily, quickly, and safely. Such a needed device would facilitate the establishment of both distal and mesial contacts, and would not require the dental practitioner to select a small, correctly sized wedge or preformed body. Use of such a needed device would create a proper proximal contact point and maintain the same throughout the procedure. The resulting restoration would be of a homogeneous mixture of filler material, making the final shaping and polishing of the restoration easy and consistent. Moreover, such a needed device would be extremely easy to manufacture, use, and clean. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.

Tool and method for achieving consistent interproximal dental contacts


A floating-gate MOS transistor is implemented for use as a nonvolatile analog storage element of a synaptic cell used to implement an array of processing synaptic cells based on a four-quadrant analog multiplier requiring both X and Y differential inputs, where one Y input is UV programmable. These nonvolatile synaptic cells are disclosed fully connected in a 32.times.32 synaptic cell array using standard VLSI CMOS technology.

Analog hardware systems are emerging as an important class of computing devices for neural network implementations. However, one of the major needs currently facing neural network researchers remains the nonvolatile synaptic storage of analog synaptic weights. (J. Alspector, et al., "A Neuromorphic VLSI Learning System," Proceedings of the 1987 Stanford Conference, Advanced Research in VLSI, pp. 313-349, 1987.)
A nonvolatile synaptic cell can be made significantly more compact than other "volatile" synaptic cells, such as, for example, those based on a capacitor refresh scheme. (S. Eberhardt, T. Duong, A. Thakoor, "A VLSI Analog Synapse Building-Block Chip for Hardware Neural Network Implementations," Proceedings of the Third Annual Parallel Processing Symposium, Fullerton, CA, Mar. 29-31, 1989.) From a practical point of view, both the on-chip and off-chip download and interface circuitry should be considerably simplified.
The fully analog nature of simplified synaptic cell circuits should make them ideal for implementation of on-chip learning systems. Moreover, once learning has been achieved, there is a practical need for these neural network systems to be powered down without the loss of information content embedded in the synaptic weights. Consequently, there is a need for such simplified circuits for neural network architectures.
Various implementations of nonvolatile synaptic cells using "floating gate" technology have surfaced in the literature. (M. Holler, S. Tam, H. Castro and R. Benson, "An Electrically Trainable Artificial Neural Network (ETANN) with 10240 "Floating Gate" Synapses," preprint.) The underlying physical phenomenon for charge storage and removal relies on some form of tunneling-injection across an oxide barrier. Specialized processing techniques are required, and consequently, they are costly. Therefore they are traditionally reserved for industrial in-house research and development leading to commercial products. An example of this is Intel's ETANN chip. (Holler, et al., supra.)
The use of UV radiation for analog storage is extensively reviewed by D.A. Kerns, J.E. Tanner, M.A. Silvilotti and J. Luo, "CMOS UV-Writable No-Volatile Analog Storage," (to appear in the Proceedings of Advanced Research in VLSI: International Conference 1991, Santa Cruz, California), and it is shown that charge leakage from the floating-gate capacitance can for all practical purposes be considered to be negligible.

Nonvolatile programmable neural network synaptic array

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


An electronic component has a portion adjacent to a surface of a base to which elements are mounted is immersed into a liquid resin or semi-solid resin such that an element surface of the base to which the elements are mounted is not immersed and in which the resin is then hardened. This causes a gap to be disposed between the hardened resin and the element surface of the base, such that a cover supported by some of the elements is formed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cover of an electronic component and a method for producing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic component of interest for the present invention is a multi-layer substrate. In general, the multi-layer substrate includes a base, elements such as integrated circuits (ICs) or large scale integrated circuits (LSIs)) disposed on the base, and a cover formed of, for example, metal or resin. The base includes a lamination of a plurality of insulating layers having through holes and wiring circuits. The cover is arranged, for example, to protect the elements and to provide a flat adhesion surface required when mounting the cover to a mother board. However, when mounting the resin cover to the base whose surface to which the elements are mounted includes through holes, if the resin enters the openings of the through holes, conduction failure occurs.
To overcome this problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-168493 discloses a method for producing an electronic component in which a metallic plate is provided for each through hole so as to cover each through hole, and thus, prevent the resin from entering each through hole.
According to the aforementioned document, however, in order to cover the through holes, it is necessary to dispose metallic plates that are larger than the area of the openings of the through holes. Therefore, in a small electronic component, elements cannot be mounted with such a small pitch.
An increase in wiring density tends to increase the number of through holes formed in the base, and a reduction in the size of the component tends to reduce the area of the openings of the through holes. Therefore, when each of the through holes is covered with a very small metallic plate as in the aforementioned document, costs are considerably increased. In addition, when the very small metallic plates are disposed at predetermined locations, gaps may be formed between the metallic plates and the openings of the through holes. If these gaps are formed, resin is not prevented from entering the through holes, and as a result, quality control problems are not entirely eliminated when mass production is considered.

Electronic component and method for producing the same


This invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising plant deoxyribonucleoside kinase enzymes (dNK) capable of phosphorylating nucleoside analogs and to medical use of said dNKs. More specifically the invention relates to the medical use of deoxyribonucleoside kinase enzymes derived from (Arabidopsis thaliana), from loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), from tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum), from maize (Zea mays) or from rice (Oryza sativa). The invention also relates to methods of sensitizing cells to prodrugs, and to methods of inhibiting pathogenic agents in warm-blooded animals using said plant dNKs.

DNA is made of four deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, provided by the de novo and the salvage pathway. The key enzyme of the de novo pathway is ribonucleotide reductase, which catalyses the reduction of the 2′-OH group of the nucleoside diphosphates, and the key salvage enzymes are the deoxyribonucleoside kinases, which phosphorylate deoxyribonucleosides to the corresponding deoxyribonucleoside monophosphates.
Deoxyribonucleoside kinases from various organisms differ in their substrate specificity, regulation of gene expression and cellular localisation. In mammalian cells there are four enzymes with overlapping specificities, the thymidine kinases 1 (TK1) and 2 (TK2), deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) and deoxyguanosine kinase (dGK) phosphorylate purine and pyrimidine deoxyribonucleosides. TK1 and TK2 are pyrimidine specific and phosphorylate deoxyuridine (dUrd) and thymidine (dThd), and TK2 also phosphorylates deoxycytidine (dCyd). dCK phosphorylates dCyd, deoxyadenosine (dAdo) and deoxyguanosine (dGuo), but not dThd. dGK phosphorylates dGuo and dAdo. In mammals, TK1 is cytosolic, and TK2 and dGK are localised in the mitochondria, although recent reports indicate a cytoplasmic localisation of TK2 as well.
WO 01/88106 describes multi-substrate deoxyribonucleoside kinase variants derived from insects, in particular Drosophila melanogaster, and Bombyx mori, and amphibians Xenopus laevis.
A piece of genomic DNA from Arabidopsis thaliana has been annotated as putative deoxyguanosine kinase (dGK), suggesting that it converts only purine nucleosides, in GenBank™ (Accession No. AAG51141). However, up to this date no experimental work towards characterisation, properties, localisabon, use or biological function of plant kinases has yet been accomplished.

Plant deoxyribonucleoside kinase enzymes and their use

Abstract: In another aspect the invention relates to plant derived deoxyribonucleoside kinase enzymes provided in isolated form from loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), from tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum), from maize (Zea mays) or from rice (Oryza sativa). In further aspects the invention provides polynucleotides encoding the plant dNKs, vector constructs comprising the polynucleotide, packaging cell lines capable of producing said vector, and genetically modified isolated host cells transduced/transfected/-transformed with the vector.


A problem with a conventional waveguide type laser device is that in the case in which an isotropic laser medium is used for a core, linearly polarized light is not provided. A ridge waveguide laser device of the present disclosure includes: a substrate; a core joined to the substrate and having a laser medium, the core having a refractive index higher than that of the substrate; and a cladding joined to the core, constituting a ridge waveguide together with the core, and made from a birefringent material having ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices lower than the refractive index of the core, the ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices being different.

Ridge waveguide laser devices have a structure in which claddings having a refractive index lower than that of a laser medium are joined to upper and lower surfaces which are a pair of flat surfaces of a core made of a thin flat plate-like laser medium extending in a propagation direction (traveling direction) of signal light. In addition, a cladding or both a cladding and the core include a ridge structure.
The core of a ridge waveguide laser amplifier can operate as a waveguide, and furthermore it yields a large gain even in a case in which a laser medium having a small stimulated emission cross section is used because the mode field formed by the waveguide is small and the excitation density is high.
Therefore, high efficient amplification and oscillation of signal light can be implemented.
A conventional waveguide disclosed in Patent Literature indicated below includes a birefringent waveguide layer, cladding layers disposed on upper and lower surfaces of the waveguide layer, and optical loss means for attenuating incident light disposed on an outer surface of each of the cladding layers, wherein the cladding layers have a refractive index higher than the ordinary refractive index (or extraordinary refractive index) of the waveguide layer or lower than the extraordinary refractive index (or ordinary refractive index) of the waveguide layer. The conventional waveguide separates TE light and TM light incident upon the waveguide layer by guiding one of the TE light and the TM light, and leaking the other one of them and attenuating the other one by using the optical loss means. As a result, a very good extinction ratio as a polarizer can be implemented in a structure which is easily processed.


An information presentation device for presenting information to a user is described, which is arranged to receive information transmissions from a remote information source, and comprises: an information transmission receiver for receiving information transmissions, an information extractor for extracting presentation information to be presented, from an information transmission, an information presenter for presenting the extracted presentation information, wherein a monitor is arranged to monitor the operation of one or more of the information extractor and the information presenter, determine whether the operation of one or more of the information extractor and the information presenter fulfills one or more predetermined conditions, and generate an operation condition signal destined for the remote information source, said operation condition signal conveying an indication of the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of said one or more conditions.

The presentation of information received from a remote information source in an accordingly arranged device is a well-known technical concept, e.g. in television and radio. An information presentation device of this kind will typically contain an information transmission receiver for receiving information transmissions, an information extractor for extracting presentation information that is to be presented, from such a received information transmission, and finally an information presenter for presenting the extracted presentation information.
Depending on the specific method of transmission between the remote source and the presentation device, the transmission receiver will be appropriately arranged. For example, if the information transmission is sent via a radio link, then the information transmission receiver shall have an antenna and appropriate receiving hardware. Alternatively, if the information transmissions are sent over a wire-bound network, then the information transmission receiver shall be appropriately arranged to receive such signals, i.e. will be connected to the wire-bound network in suitable fashion.
Equally, the extracting of presentation information, which can e.g. be an audio signal, a video signal or any mixed form of multimedia signal, will be conducted in accordance with the specific transmissions scheme employed. For example, if the transmission signal is an analogue signal, then the information extractor will be arranged to process the analogue signal (e.g. a frequency modulated radio) in order to extract the presentation information (e.g. an audio signal). As another example, an information extractor can also be a digital player, such as a video reproduction device that is arranged to receive a digital stream (e.g. coded in MPEG 3 or 4) and arranged to output a suitable signal (e.g. an RGB signal) for an information presenter, such as a TV or computer screen.
Finally, similar to the information transmission receiver and the information extractor, the information presenter will also depend on the type of information being presented, e.g. can be an audio interface (such as a loudspeaker and underlying hardware) if an audio signal is to be presented, a video interface (such as a screen and its underlying hardware) if a video signal is to be presented, etc.
A multitude of different concepts is employed in connection with the above-described basic idea of conveying presentation information from a remote source to an appropriate presentation device. For example, there exists the concept of broadcasting, which means that a source simply sends out information transmissions to a certain area (where said area can be defined physically as a transmission range, or logically as a certain set of addresses reachable in a network using an addressing scheme), where it is up to prospective receivers to "tune-in" to such transmissions, or the concept of multicasting, where a source sends out transmissions to a restricted plurality of destinations, or the concept of unicasting, where a source sends out a transmission to one destination. Naturally, the implementation of such concepts depends on the transmission technology used between the source and the receiving presentation device.
In order to ensure that the transmission from a source to a receiver is conducted appropriately, a number of mechanisms are known, such as forward error correction (FEC), which means that the source tries to appropriately prepare the signal being sent to the receiver such that it may be correctly received, e.g. by appropriately adjusting that transmission power or by introducing redundancy, and backward error correction, which implies communication from the receiver to the sender regarding errors, the most prominent example of which is automatic retransmission request (ARQ), which means that the receiver makes a determination whether a signal has correctly been received, and if not, automatically requests the sender (or source) to retransmit.
Beyond the well known concept of ARQ, which is implemented at the transmission receipt level, and ensures that the signal directly received at the input is indeed identical to what the sender (source) transmitted, it is also known to perform a type of service quality monitoring in a system consisting of a source and a receiver, where subsequent processing of the received input signal is also taken into account. Namely, ITU-T recommendation H.323 (11/96) proposes a maintenance loop-back mechanism according to which a received media stream, after it has been decoded by a codec, is looped back into the sending terminal of the codec, in order to be sent back to the source entity, such that the source entity can perform quality control.
In recent years, the advent of digital packet-based communication networks, such as the Internet, has led to extensive efforts for implementing systems of conveying presentation information from a remote source to an information presentation device over such a network. For example, Internet radio and Internet TV are already in use. Especially in connection with Internet TV, there are ongoing activities for implementing more sophisticated concepts and features than simple broadcasting. For example, protection against copying or eavesdropping is an issue, as e.g. discussed in connection with the High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection system, information on which is available at www.digital-ct.com, ISBN 0 9675129-4-8. Another issue is that of performing accounting for content sent over the Internet. The article "Internet accounting", by Aiko Pras et al., in IEEE Communication Magazine, May 2001, pages 108-113 summarizes such efforts. In this article is e.g. discussed to provide a system referred to as "billing after acknowledgements", which means that a stream of information that is to be sent from a source to a paying receiver is divided into a plurality of "units", where a unit may be defined in terms of data amount or as a unit of time, and after the sending of a given unit, the subsequent units are only sent if an appropriate acknowledgement for billing is received from the receiver to the billed.
There is, therefore, a need for an improved system of conveying presentation information from a remote source to an information presentation device of the above-described kind.

Information presentation device and method


A communications system includes a first PTT network, and a second PTT network having a plurality of interoperability gateways. A method for efficiently selecting an interoperability gateway for PTT calls terminated at the second PTT network includes receiving a PTT call request from the first PTT network, the PTT call request identifying a target subscriber unit on the second PTT network and forwarding the PTT call request to a first interoperability gateway. Notification is received if the request has succeeded, and the notification includes an identification of the target and a second interoperability gateway. This information is stored in cache for directing subsequent PTT calls to the same target to the corresponding second interoperability gateway. In one embodiment, the first PTT network is an iDEN network and the second PTT network is a HPPTT network and the PTT call is a HPPTT call.

PTT services, also known as walkie-talkie or dispatch services, provide near-instant, half-duplex communication between a PTT caller and one or more target PTT users. PTT services are typically offered as a subscription service on a wireless communications system, which may also offer interconnect, short message service (SMS), packet data and other communications services to its subscribers. Each wireless communications system facilitates communications using one or more wireless technologies such as CDMA, global system for mobile communication (GSM) or time division multiple access (TDMA). Known PTT technologies include Nextel's Direct Connect®, Qualcomm's QChat and Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC).
A PTT call spanning more than one PTT network or technology may be connected through one or more gateways that translate between signaling and media protocols of the networks. For example, a High Performance PTT (HPPTT) CDMA network (e.g., QChat) includes a plurality of interoperability gateways adapted to receive PTT call requests from an external PTT network, such as an Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN network). A PTT call from a subscriber on an iDEN network to a target subscriber on a conventional HPPTT network may be forwarded to any interoperability gateway on the HPPTT network. The gateway forwards the call to a regional HPPTT Server which manages the PTT call within the HPPTT network.
The target subscriber, however, may be located in a remote region, resulting in inefficient PTT call handling between the HPPTT network and the external PTT network. For example, a PTT call intended for a HPPTT subscriber roaming in New York may be routed to a HPPTT network interoperability gateway in California, and the HPPTT Server in California will be responsible for establishing the PTT call with the HPPTT target roaming in New York, resulting in a cross country PTT call. There is a need for an efficient system and method for handling PTT calls from an external system where the PTT targets are located in a HPPTT network.

Efficient selection of interoperability gateway for CDMA terminated PTT calls


The invention provides a pole installation guide for the installation and removal of large poles, such as utility poles. The guide includes an elongate guide body with a curved surface adapted for receiving and slidingly engaging poles for insertion into a receiving hole. The guide body has an upper portion extending above the hole and a lower portion extending into the hole. Intermediate the upper and lower portions is located a ground plate, preferably equipped with spikes for engaging the ground surface, for supporting and retaining the guide body in place when the installation guide is in use.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a guide apparatus that may be use for installing generally cylindrical structures into a prepared hole in a substrate. More particularly, the invention guide is suitable for guiding a large pole, such as a utility pole, into a prepared hole in a ground surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
The efficient and safe installation or removal of large poles, such as utility poles, has long presented a challenge to those persons routinely engaged in this endeavor. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 608,193 which issued in 1898 disclosed a derrick for installing telegraph poles. The structure disclosed included a suitable mast adapted to be placed in the hole; an I-beam for guiding the lower end of the telegraph pole into the hole; and a derrick structure for raising or lowering the pole. The I-beam used to guide the lower or butt end of the pole into the receiving hole was equipped with a protruding V-shaped bar. Since telegraph poles were typically wooden, the butt end of the wooden pole would ride during installation against the V-shaped bar, causing a groove to form in the pole around the V-shaped bar. Thus, the V-shaped bar and cooperating groove in the pole would act to stabilize the telegraph pole while it was being inserted into the ground.
For elongate telegraph or utility poles, the possibility of swaying pole movement while suspended by a lifting mechanism during installation or removal was always present. There was, thus, a possible danger that sideways or swaying movement of the pole, while it was being lifted or failure of the wood surrounding the groove could dislodge the pole from the V-shaped bar. This would cause the pole to move away from the I-shaped guide beam. If the pole was partly in the hole, it would gouge into the side of the receiving hole. This would then necessitate the laborious process of removing the pole, emptying the hole of dislodged earth, repairing the hole, resetting the apparatus, and restarting the telegraph pole raising operation. Further, the use of the V-shaped groove forming bar as a guide for lowering telegraph poles would clearly not be suitable if the poles were fabricated from metal.
Subsequently, other approaches have typically used a flat board or plate as a guide for inserting poles into holes in the ground. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,138,842 discloses a pole-setting device which could be attached to the front end of a truck so that forward movement of the truck raised the pole. To guide the pole into the receiving hole, a flat board was placed in the hole so that the butt end of the pole slid against and down the length of the board when the pole was being inserted into the hole. A board used in a similar manner was shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,725,991. However, in practice, when wooden boards were used with modern large utility poles, the boards would often fracture or the pole slide from the flat surface of the board and gouge or damage the sidewall of the hole. This required removal of the pole, frequently by manual operation, thereby increasing the risk of injury to workers and causing costly time delays in pole erection.
There is thus a need for a pole installation guide that reduces the risk that the butt end of a pole would move or sway and gouge the sidewall of the hole, that would not tend to break under the weight of a large utility pole, and yet that would be sufficiently light in weight and simple to use, and inexpensive to fabricate.


An imaging apparatus is disclosed. The imaging apparatus includes: a housing forming an external armor; an imaging lens provided in the housing; a barrier adapted to be moved between a closing position at which it covers the imaging lens; and an opening position at which it causes the imaging lens, a barrier opening/closing member provided at the housing so as to be movable between a first position and a second position; and an interlock mechanism coupling the barrier and the barrier opening/closing member, causing the barrier to be located at the closing position at the first position of the barrier opening/closing member, and causing the barrier to be located at the opening position at the second position, the barrier being provided between the housing and the barrier opening/closing member and covered, at the opening position, with the barrier opening/closing member located at the second position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an imaging apparatus, such as a digital still camera and the like, there is an imaging apparatus which is provided with a barrier (a lens cover) opening and closing an imaging lens of the imaging apparatus, in order to protect the imaging lens.
As the concrete structure of such an imaging apparatus, there is provided a structure in which an imaging lens is provided at a front surface of a housing forming an external armor of the imaging apparatus, and a plate-shaped barrier is slidingly moved vertically along the front surface, whereby the barrier is movable between a closing position at which it covers the imaging lens, and an opening position at which it causes the imaging lens to be exposed (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-108338).

Imaging apparatus having a movable barrier and a movable barrier opening/closing member


A mobile telephone is configured to handle business relations and business activities. The telephone comprises means for receiving a command from a user via a user interface, means for acting on said command resulting in an activation of a functional unit comprising means for receiving user commands and data, means for manipulating said data, means for storing said data in any of a customer database, a resource booking database and a cash register database and means for presenting output data to the user.

Functions such as phone book, calendar, clock, calculator and reminder are commonly available in mobile phone terminals of today. Although being rudimental, they have until now provided users with administrative support when performing business in a small scale business operation.
An example of a mobile phone having such functionality is the Nokia 6250 GSM telephone, as described in it's user guide 9352583, issue 2.
However, there are a number of drawbacks related to mobile phones in the prior art when considering them as tools for handling business relations, resource bookings and cash register functions for a small business operation. Namely, it is often necessary to utilize other forms of tools together with the phone, such as a computer or note books. Needless to say, computers are expensive and note books are not very flexible.
Moreover, there is typically a lack of, co-operation and communication of information between different functions of the phone. Moreover, information input via the keyboard is usually cumbersome if not difficult.

Mobile phone business administration tool


The invention relates to a test method for nozzles composed of ceramic or ceramic-like materials, in which the following method steps are carried out: transfer of ultrasonic vibration to the nozzle by means of a sonotrode placed against the nozzle and thermographic evaluation of the heat evolved in a wall of the nozzle.

The German unexamined laid-open patent application DE 100 59 854 A1 discloses a thermographic test method in which a specimen surface is excited by the transfer of ultrasound thereto and then evaluated by means of a thermal imaging camera. When ultrasound is transferred to a defective component, the ultrasonic energy is preferentially converted to heat at the defective locations.
Finding cracks in ceramic nozzles has been found to be problematic in the prior art. Usually, an experienced quality assurance representative uses a small hammer to tap on ceramic nozzles, which always comprise at least one cavity. The sound resulting when the nozzles are tapped on then serves as an indication of cracks and/or defects that may exist in the nozzles. The examination of ceramic nozzles by means of automated, mechanical processes poses great problems, since nozzles composed of ceramic or ceramic-like materials are fragile under conditions of exposure to severe mechanical and/or thermal stresses.

Test method and testing device for nozzles and nozzle


When exposure light reaches a silicon oxide film, this light is multiply reflected in the silicon oxide film to spread or narrow a photoresist layer. A tungsten silicide film prevents the exposure light from reaching the silicon oxide film. This silicon oxide film is employed as a mask to selectively remove a polycrystalline silicon film and a tungsten silicide film by etching for forming a gate electrode, while the tungsten silicide film is simultaneously removed by this etching.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a field effect transistor, and more particularly, it relates to a method of manufacturing a field effect transistor which can improve dimensional accuracy of a gate electrode.
2. Description of the Background Art
A conventional method of manufacturing a MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) field effect transistor is now described. As shown in FIG. 25, a silicon oxide film 63, a polycrystalline silicon film 65, a tungsten silicide film 67, another silicon oxide film 69 and a photoresist layer 71 are successively formed on a silicon substrate 61. Then, a mask 73 is arranged above the photoresist layer 71 for forming a gate electrode.
As shown in FIG. 26, i rays (.lambda.=365 nm) are applied through the mask 73, which has a light intercepting portion 73a allowing no transmission of the i rays. Portions of the photoresist layer 71 irradiated with the i rays are exposed. Thus, the photoresist layer 71 is separated into exposed portions 71a and an unexposed portion 71b, as shown in FIG. 27.
The exposed portions 71a are removed from the photoresist layer 71, as shown in FIG. 28. Then the unexposed portion 71b of the photoresist layer 71 is employed as a mask to partially remove the silicon oxide film 69, the tungsten silicide film 67 and the polycrystalline silicon film 65 successively by etching, thereby forming a gate electrode 66, as shown in FIG. 29.
As shown in FIG. 30, the unexposed portion 71b is removed and the remaining portion of the silicon oxide film 69 is employed as a mask to implant ions into the silicon substrate 61, thereby forming source/drain regions 68a and 68b. Then a silicon oxide film 70 is formed on the silicon substrate 61, as shown in FIG. 31.
As shown in FIG. 32, the silicon oxide film 70 is etched back to form side wall insulating films 70a and 70b. The gate electrode 66 is insulated from other wires by the side wall insulating films 70a and 70b and the silicon oxide film 69. The steps of manufacturing a MOS field effect transistor are thus completed.
As shown in FIG. 32, the silicon oxide film 69 is so provided as to electrically insulate the gate electrode 66 from other wires. Since the silicon oxide film 69 is transparent to the i rays, the i rays are multiply reflected in the silicon oxide film 69 in exposure of the photoresist layer 71 to cause standing waves, which spread or narrow the unexposed photoresist portion 71b. Referring to FIG. 33, the unexposed photoresist portion 71b is spread in excess of desired dimensions by such standing waves caused in the silicon oxide film 69. Referring to FIG. 34, on the other hand, the unexposed photoresist portion 71b is narrowed as compared with the desired dimensions. Such spreading or narrowing of the unexposed photoresist portion 71b depends on the thickness of the silicon oxide film 69. In more concrete terms, the unexposed photoresist portion 71b is spread when the silicon oxide film 69 has a certain thickness value, while the former is narrowed when the latter has another thickness value. When such a photoresist portion is employed as a mask to form a gate electrode, it is impossible to attain desired dimensions of the gate electrode and hence desired characteristics cannot be attained in the as-obtained MOS field effect transistor.
If portions around such a photoresist layer is stepped, further, a portion of this photoresist layer to be left as a mask is disadvantageously separated by irregular reflection of the i rays, in addition to the aforementioned multiple reflection. This disadvantage is now described. As shown in FIG. 35, a silicon oxide film 79, a polycrystalline silicon film 81, a tungsten silicide film 83, a silicon oxide film 85 and a photoresist layer 87 are successively formed on a silicon substrate 75 which is provided with field oxide films 77. Then, a mask 89 is arranged above the photoresist film 87.
As shown in FIG. 36, i rays are applied to the photoresist layer 87 through the mask 89, to expose the photoresist layer 87. Boundaries between the field oxide films 77 and the silicon oxide film 79 are stepped. Therefore, those of the i rays which are applied to such stepped portions are transmitted through the photoresist layer 87 and the silicon oxide film 85 and irregularly reflected by the tungsten silicide film 83, which is an opaque film. Parts of the irregularly reflected i rays again pass through the silicon oxide film 85, to expose a lower portion of the photoresist layer 87 which is located under a light intercepting portion 89a. FIG. 37 illustrates this state. Referring to FIG. 37, an exposed portion 87a of the photoresist layer 87 is provided also under an unexposed portion 87b. When the exposed portion 87a of the photoresist layer 87 is removed, therefore, the unexposed portion 87b is also removed and hence no gate electrode can be formed through a photoresist mask.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 4-206817 (1992) discloses a technique which can prevent a photoresist portion from spreading, narrowing and separation. This technique is now described with reference to FIGS. 38 to 41.
As shown in FIG. 38, a gate oxide film 95, a polycrystalline silicon film 97, a liquid oxide film 99, a tungsten silicide film 101 and a photoresist layer 103 are successively formed on a substrate 91. Numeral 93 denotes field oxide films.
As shown in FIG. 39, the photoresist layer 103 is selectively exposed and developed. The tungsten silicide film 101, which is opaque, transmits no exposure light to the liquid oxide film 99. Thus, remaining portions of the photoresist layer 103 are neither spread nor narrowed by multiple reflection caused in the liquid oxide film 99. Further, the remaining portions of the photoresist layer 103 can be prevented from separation.
As shown in FIG. 40, the remaining portions of the photoresist layer 103 are employed as masks to selectively etch the layer formed by the tungsten silicide film 101, the liquid oxide film 99 and the polycrystalline silicon film 97.
As shown in FIG. 41, the remaining portions of the photoresist layer 103, the tungsten silicide film 101 and the liquid oxide film 99 are successively removed.
In order to reduce stepped portions, it is necessary to remove the tungsten silicide film 101. The stepped portions are reduced for the following reason: A semiconductor device has a multilayer structure. If films forming the semiconductor device are stepped, this may lead to disconnection of an interconnection film which is formed on the stepped portions, for example. In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying Open No. 4-206817, the tungsten silicide film 101 is removed after formation of a gate electrode, and hence the manufacturing steps are complicated.

Method of manufacturing field effect transistor


A motion vector detecting unit 12 detects a motion vector V1 of an input image X(n), and an interpolating vector generating unit 13 generates an interpolating vector V2 in accordance with the motion vector V1. In a two-dimensional display mode, the input image X(n) is output as an original image, and an image generating unit 16 generates an interpolated image X(n+0.5) in accordance with the interpolating vector V2. In a three-dimensional display mode, the input image X(n) is output as a left-eye image L(n), and the image generating unit 16 generates a right-eye image R(n+0.5) in accordance with a sum of the interpolating vector V2 and a parallax vector V3 input from the outside. The image generating unit is shared in a frame rate conversion process and a three-dimensional conversion process, and the right-eye image is generated at the same location as the interpolated image in time axis. In this way, image quality is increased when a moving image is displayed with a small amount of circuit.

Three-dimensional display (stereo display) to provide stereoscopic display using parallax between the two eyes has gained attention recently. A known image display apparatus has a three-dimensional function that converts a two-dimensional display image into a three-dimensional display image in order to provide a three dimensional display in accordance with the two-dimensional display image. As opposed to this apparatus, another known image display apparatus has a frame rate conversion function that converts a frame rate of an image in order to increase image quality when a moving image is displayed.
Typically, an image display apparatus providing the three-dimensional display has both the frame rate conversion function and a three-dimensional conversion function. FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a known image processing device included in the image display apparatus that provides the three-dimensional display. The image processing device 90 of FIG. 17 includes an input selection unit 91, a frame rate converting unit 92, a three-dimensional converting unit 93, and a time base converting unit 94. The frame rate of an input image of the image processing device 90 is 60 Hz, and the frame rate of an output image is 120 Hz.
In a two-dimensional display mode, the input selection unit 91 outputs the input signal to the frame rate converting unit 92. The frame rate converting unit 92 outputs the input signal without any change added thereon as an original signal. The frame rate converting unit 92 also performs a frame rate conversion process on the input image through motion compensation, and outputs a resulting interpolated image. In a three-dimensional display mode, the input selection unit 91 outputs the input signal to the three-dimensional converting unit 93. The three-dimensional converting unit 93 performs a three-dimensional conversion process on the input signal using a motion vector, and outputs resulting left-eye image and right-eye image. The time base converting unit 94 outputs the original image and the interpolated image, output from the frame rate converting unit 92, or outputs the left-eye image and the right-eye image, output from the three-dimensional converting unit 93, in synchronization with display timings thereof.
With reference to the present invention, Patent Literature 1 describes a video signal processing device that selectively perform a process of outputting a three-dimensional display image without any change added thereon, and a process of outputting a two-dimensional display image with a frame rate thereof converted. Patent Literature 2 describes a stereo video generation method configured to detect a motion vector of an image, configured to estimate depth information of the image using the detected motion vector, and configured to perform a three-dimensional conversion process in accordance with the estimated depth information.

Image processing device, image processing method, image display apparatus, and image display method


A method of fabricating a metal gate includes forming a gate insulating layer on a provided substrate, forming a PVD titanium nitride layer on the gate insulating layer, forming a CVD titanium nitride layer on the PVD titanium nitride layer, and forming a CVD tungsten layer on the CVD titanium nitride layer. The CVD tungsten layer, the CVD titanium nitride layer, and the PVD titanium nitride layer are later patterned to form the metal gate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fabricating method for a gate in a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor, and more particularly, to a fabricating method for a metal gate in a MOS transistor.
2. Description of Related Art
A MOS device includes stacked metal layers, oxide layers, and semiconductor layers wherein the metal layers mostly include aluminum, the oxide layers chiefly include silicon oxide, and the semiconductor layers mainly include silicon wafers. Because of the low melting point of aluminum, polysilicon, which is more similar to silicon, is used as a conducting material in a modern MOS device. As shown in FIG. 1, a polysilicon layer 102 working as a conducting layer has a contact with an oxide layer 104 over a silicon substrate 100, wherein the polysilicon layer 102 is further doped in order to increase its conductivity. A MOS device, as shown in FIG. 1, further includes source/drain regions 106 on either side of the polysilicon layer in the substrate 100.
As the design rule of a semiconductor device moves toward the sub-micron level, the thickness of the oxide layer under the gate of a MOS transistor is accordingly and necessarily reduced. In this case, the design of a conventional PMOS device no longer meets requirements, and is replaced by a PMOS design with a surface channel. The polysilicon gate in a MOS device having a PMOS with a surface channel is also changed from N-type used in a conventional design to a P-type, wherein the P-type polysilicon gate is normally formed by implanting boron ions into a polysilicon gate. Since the implanted boron ions tend to diffuse into the silicon substrate through the oxide layer located between the polysilicon gate and the substrate, and cause the instability of the threshold voltage of a MOS device, a metal gate is considered for use in a MOS device of a line width under 0.25 .mu.m.
Tungsten, which has a high melting point, is often used to form a metal gate. The gate can be formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD), wherein the CVD-tungsten is a preferred material for a metal gate. Because fluorine ions within the WF.sub.6 vapor used in the process forming a tungsten layer by CVD cause impurities in the gate oxide, a titanium nitride layer has to be formed on the gate oxide before performing CVD.
As shown in FIG. 2, a titanium nitride layer 204 is formed on gate oxide 202, which is formed on a substrate 200, through CVD. Then, a CVD-tungsten layer 206 is formed on the titanium nitride layer 204, wherein the tungsten layer 206 and the titanium nitride layer 204 are later patterned to form a metal gate. Referring to FIG. 3, similarly, a titanium nitride layer 304 is formed on gate oxide 302, which is formed on a substrate 300, through PVD. Then, a CVD-tungsten layer 306 is formed on the titanium nitride layer 304, wherein the tungsten layer 306 and the titanium nitride layer 304 are later patterned to form a metal gate.
In the foregoing even though a titanium nitride layer 204 formed by CVD is capable of preventing the diffusion of the fluorine ions, the impurities within the titanium nitride layer 204 still cause the the gate oxide 202 to contain impurities in the follow-up processes. On the other hand the titanium nitride layer 304 formed by PVD, a columnar crystal structure, which is capable of making excellent contact with the gate oxide 302, is still unable to prevent the fluorine ions from diffusing into the gate oxide 302.


An electrical device containing multiple light emitting diode (LED) dies each having respective first and second connectors suitable to receive current through the LED die. A common base layer of a first electrically conductive material has cavities into which at least one LED die is mounted with its second connector electrically connected by a conductive bonding material to the first conductive material of the base layer. One or more over-layer sections of a second electrically conductive material each are electrically connected by a bond to at least one of the first connector of an LED die. And an insulator electrically separates the first conductive material of the base layer from the second conductive material of over-layer sections.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to light emitting diode (LED) arrays and the assembly thereof, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to such created in a custom fashion using primarily mechanical processes.
2. Background Art
A light emitting diode (LED) is essentially a PN junction semiconductor diode that emits light when current is applied across positive and negative leads, terminals, or connectors. By definition, the LED is a solid-state device that passes current without a heated filament, and thus is inherently more reliable. The materials used in the manufacture of the LED determine the color of the light produced. A clear epoxy resin is commonly used to encapsulate the LED or an assembly of LEDs to protect the dies and the electrical interconnections to them, and to allow light to pass out of the assembly.
The LED is highly efficient (˜90% efficient) for the conversion of electrons into photons. For comparison, incandescent lighting is roughly only 10% efficient, with 90% of the provided energy being converted to heat, and fluorescent lighting is only approximately 50% efficient. Having such high efficiency, technologies based on the LED are viewed as promising to help meet our future energy reduction goals.
In the operation of a LED the luminous intensity is roughly proportional to the amount of current that is supplied, and the higher the current the greater will be the light intensity produced, subject to the design limits of the device and the materials used. The amount of light emitted from an LED is quantified by a single point, on-axis luminous intensity value (Iv) and LED intensity is specified in terms of millicandela (mcd). In contrast, the light produced by incandescent lamps is usually quantified with a value for mean spherical candlepower (MSCP). These values for LEDs and incandescent lamps are not comparable.
In general, individual LED chips or dies are designed to operate around 20 milliamps (mA). Care must be exercised, however, as the operating current often must be limited relative to the amount of heat in the application. For example, a multiple-chip-in-a-package LED device incorporating multiple wire bonds and junction points will obviously produce more heat and thus be more affected by thermal stress than will a single-chip-in-a-package LED device. Similarly, LEDs designed to operate at higher voltages are subject to greater heat. Important design objectives for LEDs therefore usually include providing for long-life operation at optimum design currents and providing adequate heat dissipation as a defense against thermal degradation.
Presently, solders and soldering processes are commonly used to make the interconnections between a LED device and its sources of power and ground. The use of solders and higher temperature soldering processes, however, are rife with problems. These materials and processes have always had certain disadvantages, and a number of new trends in the electronics industry as well as newly emerging applications for LEDs are revealing or exacerbating other disadvantages, especially for arrays and other assemblies containing many LEDs.
One set of such disadvantages relates to solder materials. Tin/lead type solders (e.g., Sn63/Pb37) have been widely used since the earliest days of the electronics industry. Unfortunately, both tin and especially lead have serious chemical disadvantages. For these two metals, mining the ores, refining those ores, working with the refined metals during manufacturing, being exposed to substances including these in manufactured products, and disposing of the products at the end of their life cycles are all potentially damaging to human and animal health and to the environment.
Recently human health and environmental concerns about tin/lead type solders have resulted in the Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (commonly referred to as the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive or RoHS) in the European Union. This directive restricts the use of six hazardous materials, including lead, in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. This directive is also closely linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) 2002/96/EC, which sets collection, recycling, and recovery targets for electrical goods. Together these directives are part of a growing world-wide legislative initiative to solve the problem of electronic device waste.
To some extent the electronics industry has always been searching for a practical substitute for tin/lead type solders, and legislative initiatives like those just noted are now motivating a number of changes. Today a common substitute for tin/lead type solders are SAC type solder varieties, which are alloys containing tin (Sn), silver (Ag), and copper (Cu). But this is merely a compromise. Mining, refining, working during manufacturing, exposure from manufactured products, and disposal are still all issues for tin, silver, and copper. Furthermore, SAC solder processes are prone to other problems, such as the formation of shorts (e.g., "tin whiskers") and opens if surfaces are not properly prepared. It follows that the undue use of some materials, like those in solders, are generally undesirable in electronic assemblies, including LED assemblies.
Another set of disadvantages in the solder-based assembly of electronic products is the high temperature processes that are inherently required. The use of heat on and around many electronic components has always been undesirable. As a general principle, the heating of electronic components increases their failure rate in later use and beyond a certain point outright destroys such components. Tin/lead solders melt at moderate temperatures relative to the thermal limits of traditional materials used in electronics manufacture, and their use has generally been tolerable for many components. This is not always the same for SAC type solders, which melt at much higher temperatures (e.g., ˜40° C. or hotter). When SAC type solders are used the likelihood of component damage is much higher, resulting in assemblies that fail during post-manufacturing testing as well as in-the-field failures. Additionally, generating and managing the heat during manufacturing have increased energy, safety, and other costs. It therefore follows that the undue use of heat-based manufacturing processes, like soldering, is also generally undesirable in electronic assemblies.
Increasingly yet another set of disadvantages in the solder-based assembly of electronic products is one related to the "adding" of materials. When a material, like solder, is added between two components to hold them together the additional material inherently has to occupy some space. Solders contain higher density metals, thus increasing the ultimate weight of electronic products. The use of liquid-state materials, like liquid stage solder during manufacturing, often requires designing in additional space around leads, terminals, and connection pads to account for the ability of the liquid to flow easily and to potentially short to other leads, terminals, pads, etc. Liquid solders have high surface tensions and effects from this also usually require major design consideration. These are all factors that can require consideration as designers increasingly strive to miniaturize electronic assemblies. Accordingly, it further follows that the undue use of any additional material in manufactured assemblies and in manufacturing processes, again like solder, is generally undesirable in the resulting electronic assemblies.
In addition to the noted disadvantages in the solder-based assembly of electronic products, generally, there can be additional problems in particular in the solder-based assembly of LEDs. For example, in an LED the soldering process can be difficult because the ideal substrates for thermal degradation protection are typically good thermal conductors, purposefully being used because they have a high thermal capacity that will help keep the LED assembly within in desired temperature range during operation. This creates a significant challenge for solder assembly of LED packages, however, because the package must be raised to an even more elevated temperature to create reliable solder joints and the necessary temperatures can then degrade or damage the encapsulant used in the manufacture of the LED package. Moreover, exposure to certain cleaning chemicals may attack the LED surface and cause discoloration.
FIGS. 1-2 will help to illustrate some of the above points, as well as help to introduce some additional points.
FIG. 1 (background art) is a cross-section side view of a typical LED package 10 which may be used in conventional LED assemblies. The LED package 10 includes a conventional LED die 12 that has a first connector 14, a second connector 16, a P-layer 18, a P-N junction 20, and an N-layer 22. The first connector 14 here is electrically connected to a first terminal 24 with a conductive lead 26 and the second connector 16 is directly electrically connected to a second terminal 28.
A body 30 is further provided that fills multiple roles. For example, the body 30 physically holds the other elements of the LED package 10 in fixed relationships. This serves to protect the internal elements of the LED package 10 (i.e., the LED die 12 and the conductive lead 26), to place and retain the externally communicating elements of the LED package 10 where needed, and generally to facilitate handling of the LED package 10 when mounting it into an electronic assembly or a larger LED assembly. The body 30 also serves to optically pass the light wavelengths that the LED die 12 emits. For this the body 30 particularly has a face 32 where light from the LED die 12 is primarily emitted from the LED package 10. The body 30 may also serve to conduct heat away from internal elements of the LED package 10. Historically this thermally conductive role has usually not been an important one, but that is now changing, especially for emerging high power LED applications. In view of all of these roles, the body 30 of the LED package 10 is typically of a single plastic material, with glass, quartz, or hybrids of materials sometimes also being used.
FIG. 2 (prior art) is a cross-section side view of a conventional LED assembly 50 that includes the LED package 10 of FIG. 1. The LED assembly 50 here is oriented as it is typically manufactured and as it is often used, that is, with the light emitting face 32 of the LED package 10 oriented upward.
In this orientation the LED assembly 50 is now discussed as generally being "built" from the bottom up. An electrically insulting substrate 52 is usually provided, if for no other reason than to physically support an anode trace 54 and a cathode trace 56 as shown. However, optional elements may also be provided in a sub-region 58 below the substrate 52. For example, if the substrate 52 is the top most non-conductive layer of a printed circuit board (PCB), other layers may also be present in this sub-region 58 (e.g., a ground plane or "reverse side" feature if the printed circuit board is double sided).
For some emerging applications a feature that may particularly be present in the sub-region 58 below the substrate 52 is a heat spreader. The substrate 52 will typically serve to some extent to transfer heat, but it may not be optimal for that. To clarify, the role of a heat sink (which many in the art are more familiar with) and that of a heat spreader are different. Although these elements operate similarly to some extent, a head sink is optimized to remove thermal energy from a particular location, typically a point or small location, whereas a head spreader is optimized to distribute and equalize thermal energy across an area or large location.
Continuing with FIG. 2, the anode trace 54 and the cathode trace 56 are located above the substrate 52. Again, the common PCB serves as a useful example here. In a PCB the substrate 52 is usually an electrical insulating material, the traces 54, 56 are copper foil, and the necessary pattern of the traces 54, 56 on the substrate 52 is achieved with silkscreen printing, photolithography, milling, or some other suitable process.
Of particular interest here is the next higher feature in the LED assembly 50, a set of solder pads 60. These electrically connect the anode trace 54 to the first terminal 24 and the cathode trace 56 to the second terminal 28 of the LED package 10. The solder pads 60 also physically connect the LED package 10 to the rest of the LED assembly 50, thus holding the LED package 10 in place.
The possible materials in the solder pads 60 have already been discussed elsewhere herein and are legend. It should further be observed here, however, that the solder pads 60 inherently add an additional level or displacement layer 62 to the overall LED assembly 50. In applications where the overall thickness of the LED assembly 50 is critical, this displacement layer 62 can be a concern and minimizing or eliminating it can then be an important goal.
FIG. 2 also stylistically shows thermal flow paths 64 out of the LED package 10 and into the LED assembly 50. As can be seen here, much of the thermal energy produced by the LED package 10 passes through the solder pads 60, with the majority of it flowing through the second terminal 28 and the cathode trace 56. In some applications this thermal flow can cause serious problems. For instance, if too much heat builds up in the LED package 10 it may be damaged internally. The solder pads 60 tend to be thermally conductive, but they nonetheless lengthen and complicate the primary paths that thermal energy must travel to exit the LED package 10. Furthermore, since the flow of thermal energy in the structures of the LED package 10 and in the overall LED assembly 50 are not instantaneous, localized heating can result (e.g., in the region at the second terminal 28 of the LED package 10 in FIG. 2). This can thermally stress the LED die 12, the LED package 10, and the LED assembly 50. In extreme situations this can cause separation of a solder pad 60 from the first terminal 24, the second terminal 28, or from a trace 54, 56 and such stress can even result in a fracture of the body 30 of the LED package 10.
In FIG. 2 the thermal flow paths 64 out the top and sides of the LED package 10 are minimal (as stylistically depicted with lesser weight arrows). There is little that can be done with respect to the top of the LED package 10, since the face 32 here needs to emit the light produced. But the sides of the LED package 10 would appear to be another matter. Unfortunately however, the solder pads 60 tend to interfere with what can be done here. Having the sides of the LED package 10 open (as shown in FIG. 2) is desirable when the LED package 10 is soldered into the LED assembly 50, especially in surface mount device (SMD) embodiments of the LED assembly 50 where surface tension effects of the liquid solder are relied on to help position the LED package 10. But after soldering, wick regions 66 in the solder pads 60 (also caused by surface tension effects when the solder is liquid) usually remain and can interfere with adding a thermal conductor to the sides of the LED package 10 once it is in the LED assembly 50.
In summary, the use of solder materials, the use of heat-based soldering manufacturing processes, the undue addition of solder material to manufactured assemblies and these and additional problems particular to the solder-based assembly of LEDs are all generally undesirable.