Embodiments of the present invention are directed in general to novel aluminate-blue phosphors. Specifically, embodiments of the present invention are directed to use of the novel aluminate-based blue phosphors in white light illumination systems, and in display applications such as back lighting in liquid crystal displays (LCD's) and plasma display panels (PDPs). Embodiments of the present invention are further directed toward aluminate-based phosphors having the general formula (M1−xEux)2−zMgzAlyO[2+(3/2)y], where M is a divalent alkaline earth metal other than magnesium (Mg) from group IIA of the periodic table, where 0.05<x<0.5; 3≦y≦12; and 0.8≦z≦1.2. In another embodiment, 0.2<x<0.5. The composition may contain a halogen, such as fluorine or chlorine. M may be either Ba (barium) or Sr (strontium); when M is Ba, the phosphor is a member of the present barium aluminate magnesium (BAM) series; when M is strontium, the phosphor is a member of the present strontium magnesium aluminate (SAM) series.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention are directed in general to novel aluminate-blue phosphors (herein referred to as blue phosphors). Specifically, embodiments of the present invention are directed to use of the novel aluminate-based blue phosphors in white light illumination systems, display applications as in back lighting in liquid crystal displays (LCD's), plasma display panels (PDP's), and cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, signal lights, and pointers.
2. State of the Art
It has been suggested that white light illumination sources based wholly or in part on the light emitting diode will likely replace the conventional, incandescent light bulb. Such devices are often referred to as "white LEDs," although this may be somewhat of a misnomer, as an LED is generally the component of the system that provides the energy to another component, a phosphor, which emits light of more-or-less one color; the light from several of these phosphors, possibly in addition to the light from the initial pumping LED are mixed to make the white light.
Nonetheless, white LED's are known in the art, and they are relatively recent innovations. It was not until LED's emitting in the blue/ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum were developed that it became possible to fabricate a white light illumination sources based on an LED. Economically, white LED's have the potential to replace incandescent light sources (light bulbs), particularly as production costs fall and the technology develops further. In particular, the potential of a white light LED is believed to be superior to that of an incandescent bulb in lifetime, robustness, and efficiency. For example, white light illumination sources based on LED's are expected to meet industry standards for operation lifetimes of 100,000 hours, and efficiencies of 80 to 90 percent. High brightness LED's have already made a substantial impact on such areas of society as traffic light signals, replacing incandescent bulbs, and so it is not surprising that they will soon provide generalized lighting requirements in homes and businesses, as well as other everyday applications.
In general, there have been three general approaches to making white LEDs. One is to combine the output from two or more LED semiconductor junctions, such as that emitted from a blue LED and a yellow LED, or more commonly from red, green, and blue (RGB) LEDs. No phosphors are used in this first approach. The second approach is called phosphor conversion, wherein light from a blue emitting LED semiconductor junction is combined with light obtained from a phosphor excited by the blue LED. In this second situation, some of the photons are down-converted by the phosphor to produce a broad emission centered on a yellow frequency; the yellow color then mixes with other blue photons from the blue emitting LED to create the white light. In a third approach, an LED that emits light in the substantially non-visible ultraviolet (UV) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is used to excite a blue phosphor and at least one other phosphor, which typically is or includes a yellow phosphor.
Phosphors are widely known, and may be found in such diverse applications as CRT displays, UV lamps, and flat panel displays. Phosphors function by absorbing energy of some form (which may be in the form of a beam of electrons or photons, or electrical current), and then emitting the energy as light in a longer wavelength region in a process known as luminescence. To achieve the required amount of luminescence (brightness) emitted from a white LED, a high intensity semiconductor junction is needed to sufficiently excite the phosphor such that it emits the desired color that will be mixed with other emitted colors to form a light beam that is preceived as white light by the human eye.
In many areas of technology, phosphors are zinc sulfides or yttrium oxides doped with transition metals such as Ag, Mn, Zn, or rare earth metals such as Ce, Eu, or Tb. The transition metals and/or rare earth element dopants in the crystal function as point defects, providing intermediate energy states in the material's bandgap for electrons to occupy as they transit to and from states in the valence band or conduction band. The mechanism for this type of luminescence is related to a temperature dependent fluctuation of the atoms in the crystal lattice, where oscillations of the lattice (phonons) cause displaced electron to escape from the potential traps created by the imperfections. As they relax to initial state energy states they may emit light in the process.
The blue phosphors that have been used in the past in conjunction with near-UV radiation sources have typically been divalent europium (Eu2+) activated barium magnesium aluminate (BAM) phosphors. These blue phosphors have been used in white light systems, as well as in other applications, such as plasma display panels (PDPs) as a blue emitting component.
An example of a BAM phosphor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,110,660, where a blend containing BaF2, LiF, Al(OH)3, and Eu2O3 was fired in a hydrogen atmosphere in the temperature range of 1400 to 1650° F. for a period of 3 to 6 hours. Another blue phosphor has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,457 to K. Takahashi. This particular phosphor is represented by the formula aMgO.bBaO.cAl2O3.dEuO, wherein a, b, c, and d are numbers which satisfy the condition a+b+c+d=10, and wherein 0<a≦2.00; 0.25≦b≦2.00; 6.0≦c≦8.5; 0.05≦d≦0.30.
Other blue phosphors which have been described in the art are exemplified by the lanthanum phosphate phosphors that use trivalent Tm as an activator, Li+ and an optional amount of an alkaline earth element as a coactivator, as disclosed by R. P. Rao in U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,225. Such exemplary blue phosphors may be represented by the formula (La1−x−zTmxLiyAEz)PO4, where 0.001≦x≦0.05; 0.01≦y≦0.05; and 0≦z≦0.05. more specifically, blue phosphors employing Tm3+ and Li+ doped lanthanum phosphate phosphors, particularly when produced by the sol-gel/xerogel and solid state methods are considered to be a part of the present invention.
Blue phosphors generally represented by the formula (BaxM1−x)1−0.25yMg1−yAl10+yO17+0.25y as a host material, with Eu as an activator, and wherein M represents Ca, Sr, or Ca and Sr has been described by K. Ono et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,576,157, where the stoichiometric amounts of the constituent elements were represented by the relations 0.5≦x≦1, and 0.05≦y≦0.15, and where the phosphor was excited by vacuum ultraviolet radiation.
Multiphase structured Eu2+ activated La, Mg aluminate phosphors have been prepared. U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,108 reveals that the starting materials La2O3, MgO, Al(OH)3, and Eu2O3 may be fired at about 1500 to 1650° C., for about 1 to 5 hours in a reducing atmosphere. Additional blue phosphors that may be used with the present green phosphors include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,959, where aluminate phosphors were taught comprising at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ba, Sr, and Ca; a Eu activator; Mg and/or Zn; and optionally Mn. This phosphor may be prepared by firing the respective oxides and/or hydroxides in a reducing atmosphere at a temperature of 1200 to 1700° C. over a period of 2 to 40 hours.
What is needed in the art is an improved blue phosphor that is capable of emitting light with a higher intensity than the currently available BAM materials. It would also be desirable to have improved blue phosphors wherein minor modifications may be made in the composition to effect changes in the emitted wavelength.


A method for making a semiconductor device is described. That method comprises converting a hydrophobic surface of a substrate into a hydrophilic surface, and forming a high-k gate dielectric layer on the hydrophilic surface.

MOS field-effect transistors with very thin silicon dioxide based gate dielectrics may experience unacceptable gate leakage currents. Forming the gate dielectric from certain high-k dielectric materials, instead of silicon dioxide, can reduce gate leakage. When forming such a dielectric on a hydrophobic surface, it may be necessary to form a buffer layer (e.g., a thin layer of silicon dioxide or silicon oxynitride) on that surface prior to forming the dielectric on the buffer layer. The presence of a buffer layer between the substrate and the high-k dielectric may contribute to the overall electrical thickness of the gate/gate dielectric stack. As device gate lengths shrink (e.g., to lengths that are significantly less than 45 nm), it may be desirable to decrease that electrical thickness—which may be done by eliminating such a buffer layer.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved process for making a semiconductor device that includes a high-k gate dielectric. There is a need for a process for forming such a device that does not include forming the high-k gate dielectric on a buffer layer that is formed on an underlying substrate. The method of the present invention provides such a process.

Method for making a semiconductor device having a high-k gate dielectric


A medical device for placement in an incision. The medical device includes a cannula member configured to be inserted into the incision. The medical device also includes a guide wire holding member having a base member connected to the cannula member. Wall members are connected to said base member and form an open channel along said cannula member. A guide wire or fixation pin can be inserted into the guide wire holding member. The guide wire holding member can be configured as an open c-shaped channel or a plurality of curled tabs to hold the guide wire. The various configurations of the guide wire holding member can be constructed without the use of tapered or flared pins in an injection molding manufacturing process.

With specific reference to FIG. 1, a conventional three-tube cannula is shown and generally indicated by reference numeral 10. The three-tube cannula 10 includes a larger tube 12 to which a pair of smaller tubes 14 are attached. An accessory end 16 is connected to the larger tube 12 and the pair of smaller tubes 14. Guide wires or fixation pins (not shown) can be inserted into a pair of openings 18 and threaded through the pair of smaller tubes 14, so that the three-tube cannula 10 can be supported on the guide wires or the fixation pins. The tip of the three-tube cannula 10 is generally indicated by reference number 20 and is configured to be inserted into a patient through an incision (not shown).
The three-tube cannula 10 is typically made in an injection molding machine (not shown). It will be appreciated that during the forming process the larger tube 12 and the pair of smaller tubes 14 may be formed over tapered pins (not shown but known to one skilled in the art) to ensure the length, diameter and wall thickness of each of the tubes 12, 14. Another consideration is the relative alignment of the larger tube 12 and the pair of smaller tubes 14. More specifically, the larger tube 12 is defined by a center line 22 and the pair of smaller tubes 14 is defined by associated center lines 24. It will be appreciated that as the length of the pins in a typical injection molding machine increase in length, the ability to produce the larger tube 12 in parallel alignment to the pair of smaller tubes 14 becomes more difficult and expensive.
As with any manufacturing process, exact parallel alignment is not always required or attainable. With that said, deviations from absolutely parallel may cause the wall thickness of either the larger tube 12 or the pair of smaller tubes 14 to be too thin when compared to the same cannula manufactured with correct alignment. If a wall thickness 26 is too thin, quality issues arise and the rejection rate from the injection molding machine may become unacceptably high. Moreover, a thickness at a junction indicated by reference numeral 28 between the larger tube 12 and the pair of smaller tubes 14 must not be too thin as the possibility exists of poking the guide wire through one of the smaller tubes 14 into the larger tube 12.
One technique in forming the pair of smaller tubes 14 and/or the primary tube 12 over the pins in the injection molding machine requires gradually flaring one end of the pins, to make it possible to remove the three-tube cannula 10 from the injection molding machine. Flaring is defined as a slight gradual increase of the diameter of a pin at one end when compared to the other end. Because the pins of the injection molding machine are flared or tapered, it necessarily means that one end of the smaller tubes 14 and/or the larger tube 12 will have a larger diameter when compared to an opposite end. This change in diameter necessarily means that the guide wires or fixation pins inserted into the smaller tubes 14 will not be constrained as well when compared to one of the smaller tubes 14 having a constant diameter throughout.
It is desirable to construct a three-tube cannula 10 without relying on pins when using an injection molding manufacturing process. It is also desirable to construct a three-tube cannula 10 that is easier to remove from the mold when compared to an injection molding design that relies on the pins. It is further desirable to construct a medical device that includes guide wire holding members that connect to a guide wire to provide sufficient stability during a medical procedure.

Method and apparatus for retaining a fixation pin to a cannula


The present application provides arabinans and mannose-capped arabinan compositions of formulas I-VIII, described herein, and methods of making the compositions.

Tuberculosis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide with more than 8 million new cases per year and approximately 2 million deaths (World Health Organization. Tuberculosis. Fact Sheet No 104, 2004). In addition, approximately 1.86 billion people, a third of the world's population, are infected (Dye et al. JAMA 1999; 282:677-86). Tuberculosis is also a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children with an estimated annual death of 400,000 children in the developing countries (Kochi A. Tubercle 1992; 72:1-6). Infection acquired during childhood can serve as a reservoir for future illness, resulting in active disease during adolescence and adulthood.
The treatment of tuberculosis is complex, requiring the use of multiple medications for prolonged periods of time, in order to avoid the development of resistance. However, the demands of such regimens often result in poor compliance, and this has led to the emergence of multiple drug resistant (MDR) strains.
The dissemination of MDR tuberculosis in the population has the potential for high morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, tuberculosis is one of the main causes of death in AIDS patients, and so the AIDS epidemic coupled with the advent of MDR tuberculosis, pose a formidable threat to overcrowded populations centered in prisons, homeless shelters and such at-risk communities. However, since tuberculosis is air-borne, no segment of the world's population can be thoroughly insulated from it.
Directly observed therapy programs, established to address many of the difficulties associated with the care of infection and disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, were shown to be effective in certain areas of the world (Zumla et al. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1999; 93:113-7). However, such programs are costly and logistically complex (Id.) and may not be feasible in many parts of the world, particularly for underserved populations. Bacille Camette-Guérin (BCG), the only available vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) (Guerin C. The history of BCG. In: Rosenthal SR ed. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1957:48-53), was shown to prevent disseminated disease in young children but has not been effective in preventing pulmonary TB (Colditz et al., JAMA 1994; 271:698-702), which is the main form of TB. Furthermore, BCG is losing its efficacy against MDR strains. Considering the overwhelming problem of TB, the difficulties associated with its treatment, and the new potentially harmful prospects, there is an urgent need to develop more effective strategies for the prevention of TB.

Synthesis of monovalent and polyvalent arabinans and mannose-capped arabinans of the protective cell-wall coat of mycobacterium tuberculosis

Natural Products & Glycotechnology Research Institute, Inc.


The present invention is directed to a lug cap or closure that is used in combination with a container for indicating that the container has been opened so as to indicate loss of seal or tampering. The lug cap includes an upper cap portion and a depending tamper or pilfer band, each having a series of circumferentially spaced lugs. The upper cap portion and the pilfer band are joined by a plurality of frangible bridges. The container finish includes combination camming/locking projections for locking the lugs into a locked position and for separating the pilfer band from the upper cap portion by a camming action when the container is opened. The lug cap may also include a secondary tamper indicating means such as a tamper indicating button in the top of the lug cap.

Caps or closures having tamper indicating devices for closing and sealing contents within containers are well known in the art. The tamper indicating devices are used to ensure consumer confidence and to deter tampering with the contents of a container.
Certain prior art caps or closures depend on a pop-out button in the center of the cap to show tampering or loss of seal. However, a consumer often has difficulty in determining whether this type of tamper indicating device has been triggered since the pop-out button can be difficult to see.
Other prior art containers incorporate the use of a closure having an upper cap portion with a depending separable pilfer band. In this type of construction, the features of the container finish for engaging the pilfer band are completely separate and distinct from those features of the finish (i.e., threads) for retaining the closure in place. This presents a disadvantage in that the pilfer band is not always severed by the rotation of the closure on the container.
The present invention is intended to overcome these disadvantages as well as to present several significant advantages.


A wheelchair luggage towing device to securely attach a luggage to the back of a wheelchair and pull the luggage along with the wheelchair. The device can be used with wheeled, as well as unwheeled luggage using a wheeled luggage carrier. The device comprises of a single or multiplicity of bars. A single bar is used with wheelchairs which have long vertical bars on their back. Two bars are used with wheelchairs which have a horizontal bar at their upper back. And three bars are used with wheelchairs which have two short vertical bars and no horizontal bar. In this case, a first bar is connected horizontally to the vertical bars of the wheelchair. A second bar is connected vertically to the first bar. And a third bar is connected horizontally to the lower end of the second bar. In all cases, the luggage is secured on the horizontal bar located close to the ground.

1. Field of Application
It is difficult for disabled persons to carry luggage along with their wheelchair while moving from place to place, be it in airport terminals, in and out of hospitals, nursing homes, etc. Travel is extremely difficult as usually an assistant is required to help move the luggage of the disabled traveller. The luggage of the disabled traveller is handled separately, the traveller cannot move the wheelchair and their luggage together, without the help of another person. This creates dependence on another individual in cases of travel or even simpler day-to-day activities such as going to the hospital, shopping, etc. and thus hinders the disabled individual from carrying out certain activities. Our invention takes out the dependence on another individual so that the disabled wheelchair user can gain a great deal of independence by moving their own luggage along with their wheelchair. This is most convenient at airports where the wheelchair user no longer needs to depend on airport staff to handle their luggage and they can be in charge of it themselves.
2. Description of the Related Art
Other inventions have put the luggage in a large carrier (U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,029), this makes it inconvenient and difficult to use for a disabled person as the carrier needs to be carried somehow itself before it can carry the luggage. Another invention has put the luggage on the side of the wheelchair (U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,819). This can result in difficulty during turning and throw off the balance of the wheelchair. Also the attachment is very complicated and difficult to use, as is the carrier mentioned before.


The invention relates to a multiple part recipe card kit and method of construction and use of duplicate recipe cards. The recipe card kit includes a plurality of superimposed, coextensive, carbonless recording sheets in combination with a plurality of water-resistent, transparent laminae corresponding to the number of the recording sheets. Each of the recording sheets has a face. The recording sheets have a common joined border and are separable from one another proximate the common joined border. The recording sheets contain pressure-sensitive image-transferring chemicals which allow the recording sheets to receive recorded information simultaneously upon each face when the information is inscribed on the face of the top sheet. Each of the laminae are of sufficient size to completely overlie the corresponding recording sheets. Each of the laminae has a first side. Each first side of the laminae has transparent pressure-sensitive adhesive applied to at least a portion thereof. A removable release liner is releasably adhered to each pressure-sensitive adhesive and coextensively covers each transparent lamina.

The present invention relates generally to new and improved recipe cards, and in particular to a multiple part recipe card kit. The invention also relates to a method of construction and use of duplicate recipe cards.
Numerous devices have heretofore been proposed for providing recipe cards and methods of use, and these have included U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,813, issued to Pudel on Jun. 5, 1990. However, each of the prior art devices and systems has been found wanting in one or more particulars. Recipe cards are generally constructed of relatively thin paper or cardboard material which is easily bent, disfigured and mutilated through repeated handling and use. As bending, disfigurement and mutilation occurs, the recipe cards become more difficult to read, use and store. Specifically, the relatively thin construction of the recipe cards and repeated handling of same results in recipe cards which do not readily stand on their edges when stacked or stored vertically one behind the other in a recipe box or the like. As a result, the recipe cards become increasingly difficult to store as their shapes deteriorate. Therefore, it is desirable to provide recipe cards which resist bending, mutilation and disfigurement and which are capable of standing on their edges when stacked vertically one behind the other for storage.
Prior art recipe cards also failed to provide sufficient means to prevent smearing, fading or other deterioration of the information printed thereon. Through repeated handling and use, the recipe cards generally absorbed liquid and other stains on their face which resulted in recipes which were increasingly difficult to read. Therefore, it is desirable to provide recipe cards which resist smearing, fading, staining and absorption of liquid and other materials and which are easily cleaned after use for storage.
It is also desirable to provide a fast, easy, efficient and accurate method of duplicating recipes cards for the purpose of exchanging the cards with friends, family and associates and for the purpose of maintaining an archive or back-up copies of the recipe cards.
The invention of this application represents a recent innovation in the art which overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing recipe cards which resist bending, mutilation and disfigurement, which resist smearing, fading, staining and absorption of liquid and other materials, and which are capable of standing on their edges when stacked vertically one behind the other for storage. The invention also provides a fast, easy, efficient and accurate method of construction and use of duplicate recipe cards.

Multiple part recipe card assembly and method of construction and use of duplicate laminated recipe cards


Systems and methods are disclosed for determining and generating horizontal synchronization signals for a laser printer having a multi-facet rotating mirror. Each horizontal synchronization signal is determined based on measurements of the facets. The measurements are reflective of the configuration of the mirror and may be acquired using one horizontal synchronization sensor. Respective pseudo horizontal synchronization signals may be generated for multiple emitters based on the measurements obtained with the single horizontal synchronization sensor.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to the field of laser printers, and more particularly to determining and generating a horizontal synchronization signal for a laser printer having a multi-facet rotating mirror.
2. Related Art
The printing process of a laser printer typically includes pressing or rolling a photoreceptor drum over a sheet of paper or other print media to transfer an image from the photoreceptor drum to the print media. In some laser printers the image is first transferred from the photoreceptor drum to a rotating belt, and then from the belt to the print media. In either case, an emitter emits successive laser beam signals to "write" successive lines of the image on the photoreceptor drum as it rotates.
In most laser printers, a system of lenses and mirrors direct the laser beam signals from the emitter to, and across, the photoreceptor drum. Each successive laser beam signal writes a line of static charge, corresponding to a line of the image, on the photoreceptor drum. The emitter emits each laser beam signal based on respective streams of image line data received from an image processor. Successive lines are written to the photoreceptor drum as it rotates and as the emitter receives a stream of image line data for each line. In a color printer, there may be several rotating drums, each receiving a respective laser beam signal from a respective emitter by way of the system of lenses and mirrors.
A color tandem laser printer has multiple (e.g., four) photoreceptor drums in line for transferring respective print colors to the print media, either directly or by way of belts. A color tandem laser printer may have one or more multi-facet, polygonal rotating mirror(s) for directing multiple laser beam signals, from multiple emitters (e.g., four), to the (respective) photoreceptor drums. Each emitter receives its own stream of image line data for turning its laser beam on and off as the laser beam sweeps across the respective photoreceptor drum. To print an image accurately, the beginning of each laser beam signal must be aligned with the beginning (i.e., edge) of a print line when the emitter is receiving the image line data. In this regard, the streams of image line data that are communicated to each emitter are initiated based on respective timing signals (sometimes referred to as "horizontal synchronization signals") received from respective horizontal synchronization signal ("horizontal sync") sensors that are provided for each photoreceptor drum.
In most cases, each horizontal sync sensor is mounted on a circuit board near the beginning edge of its respective photoreceptor drum. As the mirror rotates, the laser beam is reflected off of a facet of the rotating mirror and sweeps toward the horizontal sync sensor and the photoreceptor drum. The horizontal sync sensor provides a horizontal synchronization signal when it is struck by the laser beam. The horizontal synchronization signal indicates that the laser beam is a known distance from the write area of the photoreceptor drum. Image line data to the respective emitter is initiated a predetermined time interval (corresponding to the known distance) after the horizontal synchronization signal is triggered.
In a color tandem laser printer more than one facet of a mirror may be used to reflect/direct laser beams to respective (e.g., 4) photoreceptor drums. Because there may be variations between the relative positions, angles, and/or lengths of the mirror facets (i.e., an imperfect multi-facet mirror), respective horizontal sync sensors and supporting circuitry are provided for each photoreceptor drum so that each horizontal synchronization signal is provided at the right time for writing a line of the image to the correct location on the photoreceptor drum. An improved approach is desirable.

Apparatus and method to generate a horizontal synchronization signal for a printer


Methods and apparatuses that maintain birth time for a file system to optimize file update operations are described. The file system can include a plurality of snapshots or clones of data stored in one or more extents of blocks allocated in a storage device. Each extent may be associated with a time stamp according to the birth time. A request may be received from an executable using the file system to update data in a particular extent associated with a particular time stamp. In response, the current birth time in the file system and the particular time stamp may be compared to determine if the particular extent is not shared by more than one of the snapshots. If the particular time stamp is equal to the current birth time, the particular extent may be updated directly without performing an expensive operation to check whether a reference count of the particular extent is equal to one.

File systems are usually cloned (e.g. taking snapshots) to provide, for example, crash-recovery capabilities. A common technique employed to maintain clones or snapshots of a file system using B-Tree (Balanced Tree) structures may be based on copy-on-write operations without a need to duplicate file system data shared by multiple clones. A live file system may be called a Logical Volume. The collection of all clones of a live file system and the live file system itself may be called a Logical Volume Family. Depending on which clones are created on which clone or live file system, the clones and the live file system within the Logical Volume Family forms a tree structure, which may be called the LVF Clone Tree. The live file system is always on the leaf of the tree. If a clone is created on another clone, one of the clone is the leaf, while the other clone is not the leaf of the tree. Existing implementations of copy-on-write operations may require a costly lookup to identify reference counts for tree structures in a file system.
For example, a file system may use a reference count table to keep track of how many references there are to each tree node, e.g. representing a group of consecutive allocation blocks or extents, in tree structures of the file system. It is not uncommon for a block on disk to have hundreds of references. Typically, whether to perform copy-on-write operations for a tree node associated with blocks of data in a file system may depend on a reference count of the tree node, which may indicate how many references to the tree node currently existing in the file system.
However, B-Tree structures in a file system tend to have huge fan out. The number of links between the first and second levels in a B-Tree structure can be, for example, in the hundreds. Thus, a reference count table storing reference counts for such B-Tree structures can be too large to fit in memory. Accessing the reference count table can result in wasting system resources with frequent memory paging operations. Additionally, traversing such a large sized table to locate a reference count for a tree node may take significant amount of time to complete and have a negative impact on the performance of a file system.
Therefore, current implementations of file systems requiring reference count checking do not optimize copy-on-write strategies to share data among clones and/or live versions of the file systems.

Methods and apparatuses to optimize updates in a file system based on birth time


A system and method provides for the capture of body tissue samples such as lymph nodes. The system includes a bag formed of a flexible material having a first end opened for receiving the body tissue sample and a second end which is closed to the body tissue sample but which permits a vacuum to be pulled through the bag. The system further includes a vacuum tube in which the body tissue sample capture bag may be disposed and a vacuum source that pulls a vacuum through the body tissue sample capture bag for pulling the body tissue sample into the bag through the opened end of the bag.

The present invention is generally directed to a system and method for capturing body tissue samples. The present invention is more particularly directed t: such a system and method which finds particular application for the isolation, resection, and capture of lymph nodes or other tissue.
One important step in the treatment of pulmonary cancer is nodule resection for staging. Staging refers to the evaluation of organ compromise and cancer dissemination when a nodule is discovered and cancer is suspected. One important surgical step of staging is the sampling of bronchial lymph nodes.
One frequently employed procedure to sample lymph nodes in the thorax and bronchial system is mediastinoscopy. Through an incision made on the anterior portion of the neck, a tubular instrument called a mediastinoscope is inserted and placed anterior to the trachea. The mediastinoscope permits direct visualization of the lymph nodes located in the paratracheal and parabronchial areas. The size of the instrument is large enough to allow the insertion of grabbing tools to dissect regional lymph nodes during surgery. Once removed, the resected lymph nodes are sent to pathology for analysis. This procedure is routinely done before thoracic surgery is performed in most patients with thoracic tumors, in particular, suspected lung cancer.
Although bronchial lymph node visualization and resection through the mediastinoscope is commonly performed, the procedure is not without its problems. For example, the procedure is limited to the taking of one lymph node sample at a time. Since a plurality of lymph node samples are generally required to be resected for proper staging, the procedure can be relatively long. In addition, the instrumentation to grab and resection the lymph node samples is often the cause of problems. For example, surgeons generally utilize long instruments like ring forceps to suspend the target lymph node to be resected and removed. Such instruments can result in the potential squeezing and damage to lymph nodes that may contain cancer cells. Obviously, this is a condition to be avoided.
Hence, there is a need in the art for an improved system and method for the capturing of body tissue samples. More particularly, there is such a need for a system and method for capturing bronchial and thoracic lymph nodes suspected of being cancerous. The present invention addresses that need.

System and method for capturing body tissue samples


An improved roller shaft for a food peeling machine that allows for an improved method of changing abrasive sections that are on the shaft, the improved shaft having a first and second end with removable retaining elements and the method involving the use of a hydrostatic cylinder to place a new abrasive section on the roller shaft thus causing the most worn section to slide off the shaft.

The present invention relates to the shaft of a roller used in a food peeling device. More specifically and without limitation, this invention relates to a roller that can be accessed on both ends to facilitate the replacement process of an abrasive section on the roller shaft.
In the art of food peelers, a plurality of rollers are used within a peeling chamber to peel the skin off food items such as potatoes or pistachio nuts. Hundreds of potatoes are placed in a hopper having an auger that propels the potatoes into a peeling chamber. As the potatoes progress along the length of the rollers, the rollers, which have an abrasive material therein, skin the food product. Because of this method, the abrasive material used at the inlet end of the peeler wears out much faster than the abrasive material at the outlet end of the peeler. Consequently, to ensure that maximum use is garnered out of the abrasive material on the rollers, the abrasive material is split into several sections. Thus, when a section at the inlet end of the roller becomes worn, that section may be replaced by taking the roller shaft out of the peeling chamber and removing that section from the roller shaft.
Traditionally, roller shafts have been made with a single end that rotatably detaches from the shaft to allow access to the sections of abrasive material on the roller. When a section is worn and needs to be replaced, the end, as well as various sections of abrasive material need to be removed to gain access to the worn section.
The current method of changing the abrasive sections on a roller shaft requires a time consuming and labor intensive process. Because only one side of the roller end can be removed and likewise be removed from the roller shaft to gain access to the worn section, down time results. This down time can result in substantial lost profits. Consequently, there is a need in the art for an improved roller shaft that will allow for quick changing of abrasive material sections on the roller shaft. Additionally, there is a need for an improved method of replacing the abrasive material sections on a roller shaft that reduces down time during the replacement.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide for an improved roller shaft that allows for easy access to the abrasive material sections on the roller shaft.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved roller shaft that allows access to the abrasive material sections on both ends of the roller shaft.
Another object of the present invention is to use a hydraulic pump in order to replace the abrasive material section of a roller shaft assembly.
These and others objects, features, or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and claims.


An ink jet recording material is constituted by a support and a recording layer on the support, in which a plurality of recording layer may be provided. At least one recording layer contains colloidal particles and a water-soluble resin. In order to produce the ink jet recording material, a sticking or adhesive interlayer is provided on a support, and a recording layer including at least one layer is superposed on the interlayer. At least one of the at least one layer of the recording layer contains colloidal particles and a water-soluble resin, and the recording layer is coated and formed on a forming material. Then, the forming material is peeled from said recording layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording material and a process for producing the ink jet recording material and more particularly to an ink jet recording material having an gloss, a high excellent ink absorption and an excellent moisture and water resistibility.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an ink jet recording process, ink droplets which are injected through a nozzle at a high speed are attached to a recording material to effect recording. This type of recording is advantageous in that it can easily operate with a full color system and gives a low printing noise. The ink to be used in this recording process has a large content of a solvent. In order to obtain a high recording density, it is necessary to use a large amount of an ink. Further, since ink droplets are continuously injected, an ink droplet is injected before the preceding droplet is absorbed by the recording material, causing these ink droplets to be fused to each other to give fused ink dots. Accordingly, the ink jet recording material must have a high ink absorption volume as well as a high ink absorption rate.
Referring to the ink jet recording material of coated paper type, there is provided a porous pigment as a recording layer. In this arrangement, the color and sharpness governing the image quality are controlled to enhance the color reproducibility or image reproducibility. In order to cope with the rapid spread of ink jet printers, printed matters having a gloss as high as photograph are called for in uses such as publication and wrapping in the art of printing. In particular, in the case of color recording, from the standpoint of dot shape, dot sharpness, ink absorption, fixing rate and ink absorption volume, a film having a recording layer or a coated paper type of recording material is in great demand.
If the foregoing porous pigment is used, the pores formed by the pigment must be large because it is necessary that the ink be absorbed by the recording material. Accordingly, the pigment particles must be large. However, if the pigment particles are large, the desired surface smoothness of the recording layer cannot be obtained. Further, the light transmission is hindered, rendering the recording layer opaque. As a result, a high gloss cannot be obtained.
In general, in order to obtain an ink jet recording material having a high gloss, it is necessary that the transparency and smoothness of the recording layer be raised.
Referring to a support having a water-impermeable layer such as film and laminated paper, there is an attempt to obtain an ink jet recording material having a high gloss by the method described below or the like. For example, a system has been proposed in which a porous recording layer is formed on a transparent support such that an image formed on the recording layer can be observed from the support side (as disclosed in JP-A-61-197285 (The term "JP-A" as used herein means an "Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication (kokai)")). However, such a system is disadvantageous in that image processing must be effected such that mirror image is printed. Further, such a system is disadvantageous in that the support to be used is limited to a transparent material. Further, ink jet recording materials including a transparent and glossy support coated with a transparent resin which absorbs an ink upon dissolution and swelling are commercially available. However, these ink jet recording materials which absorb an ink by the dissolution and swelling of such a resin are disadvantageous in that it has a low ink drying rate and a high hydrophilicity and thus can be easily dissolved in water and exhibits a poor water resistance.
A recording material has recently been proposed comprising two or more layers wherein the upper layer is a gloss-developing layer. For example, in JP-A-7-101142, the preparation of an ink jet recording material having a high gloss is attempted by the lamination of a gloss-developing layer containing a pigment having an average particle diameter of not more than 300 nm dispersed therein as a main component. However, this proposal is disadvantageous in that the gloss-developing layer can easily sink in the recording layer. Thus, even if the surface of the recording material is smoothened by calendering, a highly smooth surface cannot be obtained due to the effect of roughness given by the pigment in the recording layer besides the surface roughness developed by coating. Further, an excellent gloss cannot be obtained. Further, in this application, in order to obtain a desired ink absorption rate, a high molecular latex is used as an adhesive (binder) to be incorporated in the gloss-developing layer. As a result, the coating layer is cracked, and the cracks thus obtained provides some ink absorption rate. However, the resulting ink dot has a notched circumference. Thus, the dot is far from circular. Further, dots are fused to each other, making it impossible to provide prints having a high fineness.
A process for the preparation of an ink jet recording material which comprises enhancement of surface smoothness, i.e., pressing the recording layer against a heated mirror-like roll while a gloss-developing layer containing a colloidal silica or colloidal silica composite incorporated therein as a main component is wet, and then drying the material is proposed (JP-A-7-117335). This process is known as a process for allowing a film-forming substance such as adhesive to trace the surface of the mirror-like drum in the cast coater as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,846.
The cast-coated paper obtained according to the foregoing process is disadvantageous in that the resulting coating layer loses porosity due to the presence of the film-forming substance and hence exhibits a reduced ink absorption during ink jet recording. In JP-A-7-117335, as the adhesive there is used a high molecular latex. In this arrangement, the coating layer undergoes drastic cracking on the order of micron meter to have ink absorption. However, since the gloss-developing layer can be cracked similarly to the above mentioned case, prints having a high fineness cannot be obtained. Further, since it is necessary that water vapor or the like pass through the coating layer and paper during drying, pinholes can be easily formed, making it impossible to obtain an ink jet recording material having excellent gloss, smoothness and luster as high as photograph.
Further, since the casted paper is inherently pressed against the cast drum during drying, the coated paper must have an air permeability (to allow the passage of water vapor during drying). In other words, a film-based (including laminated paper) cast-coated sheet is difficult to be prepared.
In addition, various methods have been attempted to obtain an ink jet recording material having a high gloss. Examples of these attempts include a process which comprises laminating the recorded surface after ink jet recording to attain a high gloss as disclosed in JP-A-61-230973, JP-A-61-230974, JP-A-61-230975, and JP-A-61-230976. However, lamination after printing has a problem of mechanical facility and high cost and thus cannot be normally applied.
Further, as disclosed in JP-A-63-151476, a process is proposed for obtaining an ink jet recording sheet having a desired surface which comprises applying a coating mainly composed of a pigment and a binder to a support to form a coating layer, semi-drying the coating layer, superposing a transferring sheet having a desired surface condition (including high surface smoothness) on the surface of the coating layer, drying the laminate, and then peeling the transferring sheet off the surface of the coating layer to obtain a characteristic surface condition (including high surface smoothness). However, in this transferring process, a film or a transferring sheet having a desired surface condition is pressed against a coating layer which is in semi-dried state. Thus, the control over the drying condition is extremely difficult. Further, when the transferring sheet is laminated on the coating layer, air bubbles or the like can be easily contained in the coating layer, making it impossible to obtain a high smoothness. In this process, lamination is effected during drying similarly to casting method. Thus, the support and/or transferring sheet must be permeable to air. However, pinholes can be easily formed in the coating layer similarly to casted paper. Accordingly, an ink jet recording material having a gloss and smoothness as high as photograph can hardly be obtained.
Referring to an ink jet recording material having a high gloss, a system is proposed in which an image formed on a porous recording layer formed on a transparent support is observed from the support side (JP-A-61-197285). However, such a system is disadvantageous in that image processing must be effected such that mirror image is printed. Further, such a system is disadvantageous in that the support to be used is limited to a transparent material.
On the other hand, in order to control the color and sharpness governing image quality in the coated paper type of recording material, a recording layer (consisting of a single layer or a plurality of layers) containing a porous pigment incorporated therein is provided in an attempt to enhance the color reproducibility or image reproducibility. For example, as disclosed in JP-A-63-13776 and JP-A-63-104878, an ink jet recording material is proposed having a recording layer containing primary or secondary porous particles as pigment particles and a binder incorporated therein.
Further, a process is proposed for providing an ink jet recording material having a higher image quality which comprises forming pores in the uppermost layer of the recording layer in such an arrangement that pore diameters have peaks in the range of from 0.2 to 10 .mu.m to raise the ink absorption rate, whereby an ink absorbed by the recording layer is taken in by voids having a pore diameter of not more than 0.05 .mu.m, for the purpose of enhancing the print quality, as disclosed in JP-B-63-22997 (The term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication"). It is necessary that the size of pigment particles themselves or secondary particles be raised to render the foregoing layer porous. However, if the size of pigment particles is increased, the surface of the recording layer cannot be provided with smoothness. Further, the light transmission is hindered, rendering the recording layer opaque. Thus, a color recording having a high gloss which is as beautiful as photograph cannot be obtained.
As ink jet recording materials having a pigment-containing layer there have been reported many ink jet recording papers having a recording layer formed by a pigment such as silica, alumina, pseudo-boehmite, calcium carbonate and kaolin and a water-soluble high molecular compound such as starch and polyvinyl alcohol cellulose derivative as an adhesive. Such a recording layer has an excellent water resistance but normally has no smoothness and gloss. For example, as disclosed in JP-B-61-60793 and JP-A-2-274587, a synthetic silica, a colloidal silica, and a water-soluble high molecular adhesive are used to form such a recording layer. However, in order to keep the desired ink absorption, the incorporation of a synthetic silica having a relatively large particle diameter is indispensable. A synthetic silica normally has a large particle diameter. Thus, the desired smoothness and gloss can hardly be obtained.
Further, in order to provide a recording layer on various substrates, EP-0648611A1 discloses an ink jet recording material obtained by a process which comprises forming a recording layer on a release material, forming an adhesive layer on the recording layer, laminating the obtained material on various substrates, and then peeling a release material off the laminate to obtain a laminate of recording layer, adhesive layer and substrate. In this case where an adhesive layer is provided on a recording layer, in the case where the recording layer contains a pigment and thus absorbs an ink by the porosity, when an adhesive layer is applied to the recording layer, the adhesive penetrates through the pores, causing the drastic reduction of ink absorption rate of the recording layer. Further, since the recording layer is porous, numeral air bubbles are formed in the adhesive layer, eliminating the smoothness of the recording layer and hence impairing the external appearance. If the recording layer is not porous, an ink is absorbed by the swelling of the recording layer. Thus, the ink absorption rate is reduced. Further, the surface smoothness is eliminated by swelling. Moreover, since the resulting coat layer has no water resistance, a satisfactory ink jet recording material cannot be obtained.

Ink jet recording material and producing process thereof


A debinding and sintering method is employed to produce consolidated net shape articles from metal powders including 17-4PH stainless steel alloy by metal injection molding using an agar based aqueous binder. The debinding and sintering step can be combined into one cycle to economically produce components for the consumer and aerospace industries.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Stainless steel alloys in the precipitation hardening (PH) class have found ubiquitous application in the aerospace and other high technology industries because of their wide range of mechanical properties. Yield strengths range from 75 to 205 ksi, ultimate strengths from 125 to 220 ksi and elongations from 1 to 25%. Common alloys include the martensitic 15-5PH, semi-austenitic 17-7PH, and austenitic A-286. The martensitic alloy, 17-4PH, has the nominal composition of 17Cr--4Ni--4Cu--2Si--Fe(balance) and has widespread application in aerospace applications.
Stainless steels are typically available in cast or wrought forms but are also available as a powder metallurgy (PM) product. Conventional PM processing of stainless steel includes press and sinter and metal-injection-molding (MIM). Press and sinter results in a compact of only 80 to 85% dense in the sintered condition and is limited to simple geometric shapes such as cylinders. Additional processing such as hot isostatic pressing (HIP) can bring densities to near 100% of theoretical density.
Metal-injection-molding is recognized as a premier forming method for complex shapes, affording significant advantages over other forming methods due to its capability of rapidly producing net shape, complex parts in high volume. Initially, MIM comprised the step of mixing metal powder with a dispersant and a thermoplastic organic binder of variable composition. The molten powder/binder mixture was heated during the injection molding process and injected into a relatively cold mold. After solidification, the part was ejected in a manner similar to injection-molded plastic parts. Subsequently, the binder was removed and the part was densified by a high temperature heat treatment. There were a number of critical stages in this process including the initial mixing of the powder and binder, the injection of the mixture into the mold, and the removal of the organic matrix material. One of the main disadvantages of the initial MIM process is the removal of the organic vehicle. Currently, with organic binder MIM processes the cross section limit of a part for fine particle sizes is typically less than 1/4 inch. If the cross section of the part exceeds that limit, the binder removal process will lead to defects, pinholes, cracks, blisters, etc. Binder removal takes place by slow heat treatments that can take up to several weeks. During debinding at elevated temperatures, the binder becomes a liquid, which can result in distortion of the green part due to capillary forces. Another disadvantage of the initial MIM process is the tendency for the relatively high molecular weight organic to decompose throughout the green body, causing internal or external defects. The use of solvent extraction, wherein a portion of the organic is removed using an organic or supercritical liquid, sometimes minimizes defect formation. Solvent extraction causes difficulties because the remainder still needs to be removed at elevated temperatures, resulting in the formation of porosity throughout the part which allows removal of the remaining organic material. During binder removal, part slumping can pose problems, especially for the larger particle sizes if the green density/strength is not high enough.
MIM offers certain advantages for high volume automation of net shape, complex parts. However, the limitation of part size and excessive binder removal times, along with a negative environmental impact resulting from removal of the organic binder material during the debinding process, have inhibited the expected growth of the use of this technique.
Some improvements, such as the use of water based binder systems, have been made to the initial MIM process. Hens et al. developed a water leachable binder system as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,537. The injection molding feedstock is made with a tailored particle size distribution (to control the rheology), a PVA based majority binder, and a coating on each of the binder particles. During molding, these coatings form necks which give the part rigidity. After injection molding, there is a water debind that lasts several hours. After the remaining binder is cross-linked by either UV or chemical methods, the part undergoes a thermal debind, which takes 8-12 hours for a part such as a golf club head. Other aqueous-based binders contain either polyethylene glycols, PVA copolymers, or COOH-containing polymers. BASF has developed a polyacetal-based system that is molded at moderately high temperatures, after which the binder is removed by a heat treatment with gaseous formic or nitric acid. The acid treatment keeps the debind temperature low to exclude the formation of a liquid phase and thus distortion of the green part due to viscous flow. The gaseous catalyst does not penetrate the polymer, and the decomposition takes place only at the interface of the gas and binder, thereby preventing the formation of internal defects. These improvements are limited by the requirement for separate binder removal furnaces and times, depending on the part size. There are environmental issues as well with removal of the large amount of wax/polymer in the form of fire hazards and volatile organic compound discharge.
An injection molding process using agar as an aqueous binder has been developed by Fanelli et al as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,237. This binder system applies to both ceramic and metal powders. It also includes the use of agarose or derivatives of polysaccharide aqueous gels. The advantage over state-of-the-art wax-based binder technology is the use of water as the fluid medium versus wax. In feedstocks prepared according to this technology, water serves the role of the fluid medium in the aqueous injection molding process, comprising roughly 50 volume % of the composition, and agar provides the "setting" function for the molded part. The agar sets up a gel network with open channels in the part, allowing easy removal of the water by evaporation. By contrast the Hens et al system requires a solvent debind to attain similar open channels in the part. The agar is eventually removed thermally; however, it comprises less than 5 volume fraction of the total formation, and debind times are rapid compared to wax/polymeric debind systems. This is an advantage over the Hens et al system.
This agar-based aqueous binder is especially applicable for the production of stainless steel components using MIM. Due to the easy removal of the aqueous-based binder and its relatively low level of carbon, as compared to wax or polymeric binder systems, sintering schedules can be developed which impart little or no additional carbon to stainless steel alloys such as 316L, 410L and 17-4PH. Excessive amounts of carbon, typically above about 0.07 wt % for 17-4PH, for example, seriously compromise the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of stainless steels. Moreover, the agar-based binder and its associated carbon are removed in a simple one-step, air debinding process consisting of relatively short debind times of approximately 1/2 to 2 hours. In contrast, wax or polymer based binders require several step debinding processes in which each debind step often takes many more hours. Accordingly, the short air debind times of the agar-based 17-4PH alloy are economically advantageous.

Process for debinding and sintering metal injection molded parts made with an aqueous binder


A dispersion optimized fiber having higher spot area comprising a center core region, a cladding region, a ring core region and an outer glass region is provided, wherein the cladding is provided onto the outer periphery of the center core, and the ring core is provided onto the outer periphery of the cladding, and the outer glass region surrounds the ring core region, and the center core and the ring core have refractive indices higher than the outer glass region and the cladding region has lower refractive index than the outer glass region, and the refractive indices are constrained by the equation n1>n3>n4>n2. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the cladding region is divided into two regions—inner cladding region and an outer cladding with the ring core disposed therebetween, wherein the inner cladding is provided onto the outer periphery of the center core, and the ring core is provided between the inner cladding and the outer cladding is provided onto the outer periphery of the ring core, and the outer glass region surrounds the outer cladding, and the refractive indices are constrained by the equation:n1>n3>n5>n2=n4.

Over the last decade, the optical fibers have been developed and installed as the backbone of interoffice networks for voice, video and data transmission. These are becoming important with growing and expanding telecommunication infrastructure. Their importance is further increasing because of their high bandwidth applicability. The higher bandwidth demand is further increasing exponentially with time because of rapid growth of information technology.
The network capacity optical communication in the world is exploding. The growing bandwidth demand can be met by use of the new generation of dense wavelength division multiplexer, hereinafter referred to as DWDM, approach with low dispersion single mode optical fibers in the 1530–1565 nm (C-band) and in the 1565–1625 nm (L-band) wavelength ranges. The requirements of the fiber have had to change to support these advances, especially the requirement for the higher spot area and the amount and uniformity (slope) of chromatic dispersion across these wavelengths. The DWDM approach enhances the effective data rate of an optical fiber link by increasing the number of wavelength channels within the wavelength band.
Conventionally, the multi-mode fiber at wavelength of 850 nm were used, which were replaced by single mode fibers with zero dispersion wavelength near 1310 nm. The single mode or monomode optical fibers have greater bandwidth than that of the multimode fibers.
Therefore, the research has been directed towards the development of the single mode fibers, as these fibers were observed to have lower attenuation between the wavelength range from 1300 nm to 1550 nm.
However, when single wavelength moved through 1550 nm window for lower attenuation, the single mode fibers were observed to have very high dispersion.
The major disadvantage of the known single mode fibers with high dispersion at 1550 nm was that, it obstructed higher bit rate is transmission. This disadvantage of single mode fibers has been overcome by the improved single mode fibers, known as dispersion shifted fibers, which have zero dispersion even when the wavelength shifted to 1550 nm.
The theoretical analysis reveals that a single mode fiber having Low dispersion and low dispersion slope with higher effective area is most desirable for high capacity DWDM, as referred hereinabove, transmission. However, the dispersion shifted fibers used for long distance systems in the prior art have higher dispersion which promotes poor DWDM performance. The dispersion flattened fiber which specify the dispersion magnitude less than 2 ps/nm.km between 1.3 to 1.6 μm have zero dispersion region within the DWDM window. This result is strong four wave mixing, which prevents good DWDM performance.
Ideally the dispersion of an optical fiber should have a constant value over the entire wavelength-operating region. However, the dispersion of fibers varies with the wavelength as the refractive index varies with the wavelength. Their dispersion slope S0 quantifies this variability. The smaller the slope the lesser the dispersion varies with the wavelength. Another advantage of the low dispersion and low dispersion slope fiber is that its small dispersion allows its minimum dispersion to be increased to better suppress the Four Wave Mixing non-linearity, while still keeping the fiber minimum dispersion small enough for the signals to travel to longer distances with minimum need for dispersion and dispersion slope compensation.
It has been observed that the bandwidth or the capacity of the Lightwave systems can be expanded in different ways. A) Increasing the number of wavelengths within the fiber (DWDM approach). B) Transmitting at a faster speed (Time division multiplexing) or C) By increasing number of fibers within the cable. Power requirements of the optical amplifier limits the more fiber counts within the cable.
This is the fact that systems push the performance to the limit. Hence, the roll of a fiber in the system becomes critical. As stated hereinabove, the fiber characteristic should remain under control, particularly the dispersion must be balanced between the requirement for compensation and the suppression of non-linear effects, the effective area must be larger to reduce the non-linear effects without affecting the fiber performance, the dispersion slope must be low enough to reduce the inter channel spacing i.e., for all channels to propagate with an extremely low errors in bit rate, etc.
The increasing complexity of the demands on the fiber makes the designer to think further to re-optimize the refractive index profile. This requires thinking to have more complex designs. However, the complex designs are very sensitive to the manufacturing processes The optical and material physics limits the combination of the above-said parameters, which can be achieved. The end product is the compromise, where each parameter is optimized to the best value, which can be achieved without adversely affecting performance of the critical attributes and system requirements. Insensitive system modeling is done with each varied parameters to understand its impact.
The parameters, like refractive index and radius of each part of the fibre, like centre core, cladding(s), ring core(s) and outer core, and the relationship between refractive index and radius of such parts of the fibre, and number of cores and claddings decide the characteristic properties of thus obtained fiber and the applications of thus obtained fiber.
Therefore, the fibers known in the art are distinguished by way of their characteristic properties, which in-turn are decided by various parameters as stated herein above. The fibers as known in the prior art either have low non-linearity but high bend loss or have low bend loss but less effective area or may have higher non-linearity and higher bend loss or may have non-uniform chromatic dispersion over the third and fourth window or high dispersion slope, that is the fibre will not have optimum characteristic properties and will sacrifice one of the property for achieving another property.
It has been observed that the dispersion and dispersion slope varies with the wavelength and refractive index varies with the wavelength.
Therefore, in view of variation of dispersion and dispersion slope with the wavelength and variation of refractive index with the wavelength constant efforts are being made to develop optical fibers which have optimum dispersion and dispersion slope and yet having higher spot area and such a refractive index profile and the configuration which is easy to be achieved and accordingly it is easy to fabricate the desired fiber which is suitable in as wider range of the wavelength as possible.
Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have made an attempt to develop the fiber, which will have optimum characteristic properties, that is which will not sacrifice one of the characteristic property to achieve another characteristic property.
Therefore, there is a need to develop a dispersion and effective area optimized fiber, particularly a single mode dispersion optimized fiber having as far as possible optimum low dispersion slope between 1530 to 1565 nm (C-band) and 1565 to 1625 nm (L-band) transmissions along with higher effective area. More particularly, the need is to develop a fiber which is suitable for transmission of higher bandwidth over longer distance with more uniform chromatic dispersion over the third and fourth window and yet has very high effective area and also to achieve low bending induced loss at 1550 nm and at the more critical 1625 nm wavelength.

Dispersion optimized fiber having higher spot area


To provide a mounting substrate that requires a reduced amount of solder and reduces a thermal effect of solder on the interior of an electronic component, and a microphone to be mounted on the substrate. A mounting substrate according to the present invention includes: a solder part formed on a part of an electrode formed on the mounting substrate; a resist film formed to prevent the solder of the solder part from flowing out of a predetermined range; and a gas-escape groove that is constituted by the absence of the electrode and the resist film and allows gas produced during soldering to escape.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a mounting substrate on which a component is mounted by soldering, and a microphone mounted thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows an exemplary configuration of a conventional microphone disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2003-153392 (Patent Reference 1). This microphone is an electret condenser microphone that comprises a capsule 1, and a diaphragm ring 3, a diaphragm 4, a spacer 5, a back electrode 6, a holder 7, a gate ring 8, a circuit board 10 and an electric circuit 9 mounted on the circuit board 10, which are stacked in the capsule 1 in this order from a sound aperture 2. An edge of the capsule 1 is caulked onto the circuit board 10, thereby fixing the incorporated components in the capsule 1. Conductor parts (not shown in FIG. 1) are formed on the outer surface of the circuit board 10, and a solder bump electrode 11 to constitute an output terminal and a solder bump electrode 12 to constitute a grounding terminal are formed.
FIG. 2 shows exemplary electrodes of a mounting substrate on which the microphone shown in FIG. 1 is to be mounted. As shown in FIG. 2, on a mounting substrate 13 on which the microphone is to be mounted, a circular solder part 14 corresponding to the solder bump electrode 11 of the microphone and a ring-shaped solder part 15 corresponding to the solder bump electrode 12 are formed.
When mounting the microphone on the mounting substrate 13, the solder bump electrodes 11 and 12 of the microphone are placed on the solder parts 14 and 15 of the mounting substrate 13, respectively. Then, the mounting substrate and the microphone are placed in a reflow oven to make the solder molten, thereby fusing the solder parts 14 and 15 with the solder bump electrodes 11 and 12, respectively.
Here, the solder bump electrodes 11 and 12 of the microphone are formed in the procedure shown in FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, and FIG. 3C. As shown in FIG. 3A, a circular conductor part 10a corresponding to the output terminal and a ring-shaped conductor part 10a corresponding to the grounding terminal are formed on the outer surface of the circuit board 10 of the microphone. As shown in FIG. 3B, a resist film 10b is formed on the conductor parts 10a excluding the areas on which the solder bump electrodes 11 and 12 are to be formed. As shown in FIG. 3C, the solder bump electrodes 11 and 12 are formed on the areas in which no resist film 10b is formed in such a manner that the solder bump electrodes 11 and 12 protrude beyond a caulked part 1a.
As described above, the reflow oven is used in the process of mounting the microphone on the mounting substrate and achieving soldering. According to the prior art, before soldering, the solder bump electrodes 11 and 12 protruding beyond the caulked part have to be formed on the microphone, and the solder parts 14 and 15 have to be formed on the mounting substrate 13. In this case, the solder has to be applied over a wide area, and an increased amount of solder is required to form such raised solder bumps. Thus, there is a problem that a large amount of solder is required to achieve adequate soldering.
In addition, in the reflow oven, the solder bump electrodes 11 and 12 and the solder parts 14 and 15 are made molten, and the solder flows over a wide area. Thus, the resist film 10b also comes into contact with the molten solder. In this way, a wide area of the circuit board 10 comes into contact with the molten solder, so that the heat is likely to be conducted to the interior of the microphone through the circuit board 10. The heat once conducted to the interior of the microphone causes a stress therein and adversely affects the same. For example, the sensitivity of the electret may be reduced.

Mounting substrate and microphone mounted thereon


The present invention is related to pharmaceutical dosage forms of ribavirin which are designed to increase patient compliance to a ribavirin therapy. Examples of such dosage forms include 400 mg to 600 mg tablets. These dosage forms are bioequivalent to multiple doses of tablets containing small amounts of ribavirin.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is generally directed to large dosage formulations of ribavirin.
2. Background of the Invention
Ribavirin (1-β-D-ribofuranosyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-carbamide) is a broad-spectrum antiviral nucleoside analog. It is available as a capsule and tablet in both the brand and generic form in 200 mg strength. The Food and Drug Administration has approved ribavirin in combination with interferon alfa-2a or interferon alfa-2b for the treatment of hepatitis-C. Over 170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with the hepatitis-C virus (HCV). Ribavirin is available as a 200 mg tablet by Roche Laboratories under the brand COPEGUS™ and as a 200 mg capsule by Schering-Plough under the brand REBETOL™.
The most common doses prescribed for patients are 800 mg, 1000 mg, and 1200 mg per day in divided doses for both the capsule and tablet dosage forms. These dosing regimens have the patient taking up to 6 capsules or tablets per day. Ribavirin is not often given by itself; it is generally a component of a multi-drug regimen ("drug cocktail"). Therefore patients taking ribavirin have to take a large number of drugs, not in the least of which is 4 to 6 capsules or tablets of ribavirin. Not surprisingly, lack of patient compliance is a significant issue.
HCV has about a 50 percent cure rate depending upon a patient's genotype. Everything must be done to ensure patient compliance to the therapy that lasts 6 to 12 months. If dosing is more convenient for the patient, then it follows that the patient will more likely comply with the dosing regimen for the duration of therapy, which has been proven to improve patient outcomes.
Therefore, there exists a long-felt need to make the dosing of ribavirin more convenient for the patient and increase patient compliance.
From a convenience standpoint, one logical approach to the formulator would be to formulate a modified or sustained release form of ribavirin, which would result in fewer capsules or tablets taken daily. However, in the case of ribavirin, such an approach would not be successful. The pharmacokinetics of ribavirin are controlled by the rate of elimination, not absorption. Therefore, modifying the rate of release or absorption of ribavirin would not likely affect the efficacy of ribavirin. In other words, sustained release formulations of ribavirin are likely not a solution in this instance.
The present inventors have concluded that in the case of ribavirin, the optimal dosage regimen is two times a day. The inventors then strove to formulate dosage forms with a twice-a-day dosing regimen which would increase patient compliance while maintaining bioactivity similar to lower (e.g., 200 mg) dose formulations.


Image processing equipment (10) having an image processor housing (20) and a transport roller assemblage (100) for transporting a web (116) of donor dye material (44) arranged in the housing. The transport roller assemblage (100) has at least one of either the first and second rollers (112, 114) comprising a composite mixture of polymer and inorganic particulate materials (172). Alternatively, a hard coating (182, 184) is applied on a polymeric roller comprising primarily hard inorganic particles.

Image processing equipment has utility in a wide range of industries. Color-proofing is the procedure used by the printing industry for creating representative images that replicate the appearance of printed images without the cost and time required to actually set up a high-speed, high-volume printing press to print an example of the images intended. One such color proofer is a lathe bed scanner that utilizes a thermal printer having half-tone capabilities. This printer is arranged to form an image on a thermal print medium in which a dye donor material transfers a dye to the thermal print medium upon a sufficient amount of thermal energy. This printer includes a plurality of diode lasers that can be individually modulated to supply energy to selected areas of the medium in accordance with an information signal. The print-head of the printer includes one end of a fiber optic array having a plurality of optical fibers coupled to the diode lasers. The thermal print medium and dye donor material are supported on a rotatable imaging drum, and the print-head with the fiber optic array is movable relative to the longitudinal axis of the drum. The dye is transferred to the thermal print medium as the radiation, transferred from the diode lasers to the dye donor material by the optical fibers, is converted to thermal energy in the dye donor material or media.
The generally abrasive dye donor media is stored in rolls and is transported in the form of a web to the print head via conventional web transport elements. Presently, four different rolls of dye donor media are used, and each roll includes a different dye donor material from among black, yellow, magenta and cyan. These rolls of dye donor media are ultimately cut into dye donor sheets and then transported to the vacuum imaging drum for forming the medium from which dyes imbedded therein are transported to the thermal print media resting thereon. In order to transport the dye donor media, the imaging processing equipment typically includes some sort of web or media transport means operably connected to each roll of dye donor material. Most existing media transport means includes a plurality of closely spaced transport rollers made generally of either steel or plastic. These roller materials, when exposed to corrosive environments existing in image processing equipment, are subject to wear and abrasion that affects the reliability of the imaging process.
One problem associated with current media transport means is that any of the rolls of generally abrasive dye donor media can potentially slip as it is being transferred to the imaging drum. This, of course, could cause misalignment and poor registrability of the image formed on the media and thus loss of expensive media material. Another problem associated with the present media transport means is that the rollers are generally not as durable with continuous exposure to a corrosive environment.
Therefore, a need persists for image processing equipment in which the generally abrasive dye donor media is conveyed during processing to the vacuum image drum by a wear and abrasive resistant means which is reliable, economical and easy to develop, to install and operate.


A thermoplastic synthetic resin, especially high-density polyethylene, has its diffusion coefficient especially for hydrocarbons, reduced by the addition of 2 to 8% by weight of an additive consisting essentially of at least one phenoxy resin, and at least one further component selected from the group which consists of at least one radical forming agent and at least one graft coploymerization catalyst, and optional quantities of an antioxidant selected from the group which consists of at least one phenolic antioxidant, at least one phosphitic antioxidant and mixtures thereof, at least one organosilane ester, at least one UV stabilizer, at least one antistatic composition, and polypropylene.

Thermoplastic synthetic resins have, among their attributes, a property when they come into contact with gases or liquids, especially aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons, that the gas or liquid can diffuse in or through the thermoplastic synthetic resin.
This property, referred to as permeation or penetration of the thermoplastic synthetic resin by the fluid medium can be pronounced and can affect thermoplastic synthetic resins used as containers for these fluids, used as enclosures from which these fluids are to be excluded, or used as conduits through which these fluids are to flow or through which fluids are to flow which are to be protected from the diffusing fluids.
The diffusion of gases or liquids through containers or conduit walls is, as a rule, highly undesirable, especially when the diffusing medium is toxic or noxious or may constitute a contaminant.
In order to minimize the leakage which can result from such diffusion, it is customary to make the walls formed from the thermoplastic synthetic resin sufficiently thick to minimize or exclude such diffusion. That, of course, is highly expensive. The diffusion coefficient, of course, is a measure of the rate at which the diffusing molecules, i.e. the molecules of the fluid medium, migrate through the wall in the direction of the concentration gradient. The diffusion coefficient is as a rule measured in m.sup.2 /s.
In order to minimize diffusion as described, it has already been proposed (see German patent 41 02 181) to incorporate an additive in the thermoplastic which will reduce the diffusion of hydrocarbons through the thermoplastic material. The additive itself is a thermoplastic and can comprise a thermoplastic carrier, polyvinylidenefluoride and aluminum stearate. The aluminum stearate serves as a binder between the polyvinylidene fluoride and the thermoplastic carrier material. When hydrocarbons penetrate the thermoplastic synthetic resin blended with this additive or reacted therewith, the presence of the aluminum stearate results in a liquid thickening or gelatinization of the hydrocarbons which significantly reduces the hydrocarbon diffusion.
The synthetic resin reacted with this additive, however, still has a relatively high diffusion coefficient and, over long stand times or periods of use of this thermoplastic synthetic resin as a hydrocarbon container, relatively high loss rates of the fluid medium stored in the container can be observed. This is highly problematical especially when toxic and noxious media are concerned. The synthetic resin containing the additive has been found to be only slightly resistant to UV light so that after prolonged exposure to sunlight, there can be some decomposition and structural change in the container. Furthermore, the antistatic properties of the thermoplastic synthetic resin provided with this additive leave much to be desired.

Method of producing thermoplastic synthetic resin compositions with reduced diffusion cofficients


A fuel injection valve for internal combustion engines that has a valve member which is guided axially displaceably in a guide bore of a valve body and which on an end toward the combustion chamber has a valve sealing face that cooperates with a valve seat face, formed on an end of the guide bore toward the combustion chamber, for controlling the communication between a high-pressure conduit in the valve body and at least one injection opening A diversion conduit in the valve member, by way of which diversion conduit the high-pressure conduit can be made to communicate with a relief chamber when the valve member has lifted from the valve seat face. Once the maximum opening stroke of the position of the valve member is reached, the diversion conduit is closed by a sealing face provided on the valve member, so that the entire supplied fuel quantity can attain injection.

The invention is based on a fuel injection valve for internal combustion engines. In one such fuel injection valve, known from German Offenlegungsschrift DE-OS 39 28 912, a valve member is guided axially displaceably in a guide bore of a valve body that protrudes by one end into the combustion chamber of the engine to be supplied. On its end toward the combustion chamber, the valve member has a valve sealing face, which cooperates with a valve seat formed on the end toward the combustion chamber of the guide bore. Adjoining the valve seat face in the direction remote from the combustion chamber is a fuel-carrying high-pressure conduit in the valve body, which is formed partly by an annular gap between the valve member shaft and the wall of the guide bore. Toward the combustion chamber, at least one injection opening adjoins the valve seat; the flow of fuel between the high-pressure conduit and the injection opening is opened up by the raising of the valve member from the valve seat.
For cooling the valve member, a diversion conduit is also provided in the valve member, by way of which the high-pressure conduit communicates continuously with a relief chamber when the valve member is lifted from the valve seat, and which is formed by a blind bore that begins toward the end of the valve member toward the combustion chamber and a transverse bore that intersects the blind bore. The transverse bore discharges into a diversion chamber formed between the valve member and the wall of the guide bore; this chamber is defined axially by an injection valve shim that rests on the valve body, and a through opening is provided in the shim in such a way that the diversion chamber communicates continuously with a relief chamber formed by the spring chamber of the injection valve.
This continuous communication, in the open position of the valve member, between the high-pressure conduit and the relief chamber has the disadvantage, however, that a relatively large amount of fuel flows out via the diversion conduit during the actual injection event and is thus unavailable for the fuel injection, which impairs the efficiency of the entire system. Moreover, because of the undefined amount of leakage at the diversion conduit, the quantity of fuel to be injected can be metered only very imprecisely, so that the known fuel injection valve does not meet the demands of modern internal combustion engines.

Fuel injection valve for internal combustion engines


A method includes determining a perforation tunnel geometry of a perforation tunnel in a solid sample, the perforation tunnel created by activating a shaped charge in proximity to the solid sample. The method also includes performing a first flow test on the solid sample and creating an analog aperture having an aperture geometry in a solid sample analog of the solid sample, wherein the aperture geometry and the perforation tunnel geometry satisfies a similarity threshold. The method also includes performing a second flow test on the solid sample analog and determining a shaped charge effect based on a comparison between a second flow test result and a first flow test result.

The disclosure generally relates to the field of material testing and more particularly to flow property measurements.
A shaped charge is an explosive device designed to perforate rock and produce tunnels having a specified geometry in rock. Once positioned and activated next to rock, the shaped charge explodes and liner inside of the shaped charge is propelled into the rock. In addition, the shaped charge explosion generates a set of fractures having a fracture pattern. The liner perforates the rock and generates one or more perforation tunnels. These perforation tunnels increase the conduit of flow between a wellbore and hydrocarbon sources that are in the rock or connected to the rock. The effect that the set of fractures has on the permeability depends in part on the fracture pattern.
A shaped charge design can be characterized by various parameters, such as charge geometry, liner type, liner geometry, etc. Changes in shaped charge design result in subsequent changes in tunnel geometry and fracture patterns. Because of the relationship between rock permeability, tunnel geometry, and fracture patterns, increasing the understanding of the relationship between shaped charges and their corresponding effects on material permeability allows increased production of hydrocarbons. Operational maneuvers such as free gun volume control and wellbore underbalancing also factor into the resulting permeability of the perforation tunnel.


A power divider for a Wilkinson power divider includes a dielectric layer arranged at a lower part of the Wilkinson power divider and composed of at least one composite material: and a first composite right/left handed (CRLH) transmission line connected in series between the transformer line and the first output line. Further, the power divider for the Wilkinson power divider includes a second CRLH transmission line connected in series between the transformer line and the second output line.

As smart terminals have been rapidly propagated, a great number of RF transceivers for transmitting/receiving signals to/from the smart terminals have been installed, and various methods for amplifying or dividing power in the RF transceivers have been developed.
However, to provide a configuration of a power divider, an additional band pass filter should be provided in order to improve stop band characteristics of a Wilkinson power divider, causing an increase in the volume or size of the power divider. Thus, miniaturization of the power divider is limited. Moreover, spurious harmonics generated based on a design frequency of a Wilkinson power divider may operate as noise in an adjacent channel.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


An energy management system includes a control and uplink module adapted to selectively monitor and control at least one energy consuming device, the control and uplink module in communication with an electronic storage device and adapted to transmit data to the electronic storage device, a sensor in communication with the control and uplink module, wherein the sensor is adapted to execute a pre-configured measurement and transmit a signal to the control and uplink module representative of the measurement, and an interface adapted for the entry of at least one operational parameter to the control and uplink module, at least one of the signal from the sensor and the operational parameter employed by the control and uplink module to facilitate an operation of the energy consuming device, the interface employing the data transmitted to the storage device to provide an analysis of an operation of the energy consuming device.

The environmental conditions of an enclosed area such as a residential home, an office, or an industrial use building are maintained by employing energy consuming devices such as a furnace, an air conditioning unit, a water heater, a lighting fixture, and the like. These devices consume energy such as electrical energy or heat energy from natural gas, for example, to produce a desired environmental condition within the enclosed area. The increasing cost of the energy required to power these devices has caused consumers to seek out devices that are more efficient and methods of operating the devices that result in an increased operational efficiency of the devices.
The marketplace currently includes numerous apparatuses adapted to facilitate the efficient operation of the energy consuming devices. Examples of such are programmable electronic thermostats, timers for lighting, and timers for water heaters. These apparatuses are typically stand alone items that work with a single energy consuming device. The apparatuses do not provide a systematic approach to monitoring and operating all the energy consuming devices typically employed to achieve the desired environmental conditions within the enclosed area.
The current apparatuses do not provide direct feedback to a user as to the energy savings resulting from the use of the apparatuses. Additionally, consumers often take other steps to reduce energy consumption such as adding insulation to the enclosed area, and selecting set points for the furnace and the air conditioner that should result in a reduced consumption of energy. The consumer does not have a reliable method to determine whether the apparatuses or the other steps have reduced the energy consumption. Typically the consumer has a final utility bill that allows for a comparison of the energy costs from before and after the apparatus was installed or the other energy reducing steps were completed. The cost of the consumed energy shown in the utility bill does not take into account factors such as outside temperature, rainfall, wind speeds, or hours of daylight, for example, to allow a consumer to determine whether the apparatus or the other steps taken have actually resulted in a reduction in energy consumption and/or an improved operational efficiency of the energy consuming devices.
It would be desirable to have an energy management system adapted to monitor, control, and provide analysis of the consumption of energy by energy consuming devices.


The present disclosure relates to an exponential model based uncooled infrared focal plane array readout circuit, including: a first microbolometer unit and a second microbolometer unit, for obtaining a detection signal and a reference signal; a conversion unit, connected with the first and second microbolometer units, and configured for converting the detection signal and reference signal to obtain a linear detection signal and linear reference signal; a subtraction unit, connected with the conversion unit, and configured for calculating a difference between the detection signal and the reference ratio signal to obtain a difference signal; and an integration unit, connected to the subtraction unit, and configured for integrating the difference signal to obtain an electrical signal for characterizing the infrared light signal of the to-be-detected object.

An uncooled infrared focal plane array detector has a wide range of applications in military, industrial, medical, scientific research and other fields, the most representative of which is a microbolometer; the microbolometer is a light-heat-electric type infrared detector; an array of the detector receives infrared radiation to cause a change in the temperature of the microbolometer, which leads to a change in the equivalent resistance of the microbolometer; a readout circuit of the infrared microbolometer is a special circuit for reading a change value of the equivalent resistance of the microbolometer and obtaining infrared radiation information of a corresponding target.
Objects of different temperatures emit infrared rays of different wavelengths, causing pixels on a focal plane array of the detector to exhibit different resistance values.
As a kind of thermal infrared detector, the microbolometer relates its detection result to a substrate temperature if no special compensation method is used. In practical use, it is hoped that the infrared detection result is only related to the temperature of the detection target, and has nothing to do with other factors.
Since the temperature is increased after the pixels receive infrared radiation, the change in the substrate temperature will cause a great non-uniformity in the focal plane array, which affects the reading result. Through continuous research, it is found that the key technologies for solving the non-uniformity of the uncooled infrared focal plane array detector are: on the one hand, the improvement of the process, on the other hand, the design of a readout circuit with a non-uniformity correction function, thereby realizing non-uniformity compensation through the circuit, and outputting a good quality image.
For a traditional structure realizing non-uniformity compensation through a circuit, since temperature rise caused by a target temperature is often a relatively small variable, an equivalent resistance of an exponential model based microbolometer is subjected to a first-order Taylor expansion, a first-order small quantity is retained, fit and approximated into a linearly changing resistance, and subsequent substrate temperature compensation is performed to eliminate the non-uniformity. However, the resistance model linearly changing with temperature can only meet the relationship that the equivalent resistance of the microbolometer changes with the temperature in a certain temperature range, and if it exceeds the certain temperature range, it will bring a large error.

Exponential model based uncooled infrared focal plane array readout circuit

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China