A coating containing seed oil comprising the following: a seed oil used as a film forming component for the coating with at least one film forming component for the coating; at least one component to provide opacity and solar reflectivity to the coating; at least one component to provide protection to the coating from ultra-violet degradation; at least one filler component to increase the viscosity of the coating; and at least one film component that provides elongation and flexibility to the coating.

Elastomeric (water based/acrylic polymer) coatings currently dominate the roof coating market. Oil based products have been almost completely replaced by water based products due to their volatile organic content (V.O.C.). Seed oils have historically not been deemed suitable for roof coatings because of their need for a carrier solvent that typically composes 40% to 60% of the formulation.
Current California law permits 2.3 pounds per gallon of V.O.C., or a limit of 18% V.O.C. There is not one oil based product in the United States or world that has the so-called EPA "Energy Star" approval. To receive EPA "Energy Star Approval," a roof coating must maintain a reflectance of over "65" after three years of outdoor weathering. The reflectivity requirement is based on the fact that a white (reflective) coating will reflect the heat produced by the sun and dramatically lower the amount of heat developed in a building. Less heat means lower air conditioning costs and a significant reduction in electrical usage which is generated by highly polluting coal fired plants.
The inability to meet the EPA and V.O.C. standards have been major obstacles to the use of previous seed oil based coatings. The use of flammable solvents, poor fire ratings, susceptibility to mold and fungal growth, formation of a skin in the container and the need for heavy metals to cure the coating have been major stumbling blocks.
There have been a number of prior art coatings disclosed in the patent literature. None have effectively used seed oils. U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,878, for example, discloses a high temperature emulsion composition comprising borax and a substantially water-insoluble polymer prepared by aqueous suspension polymerizing a blend of monomers, said blend comprising a plasticizing amount by weight of at least on plasticizing alkyl acrylate monomer, a hardening amount by weight of at least one hardening alkyl acrylate monomer and a crosslinking amount by weight of at least one multi-ethylenically unsaturated monomer, in an aqueous suspension comprising a water-soluble polymer component comprising at least one acrylic polymer having carboxylate functionality, its method of use and coated substrates made therewith. U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,850 is related to this patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,569,520 discloses a coating composition for substrates. The coating composition includes a silicate binder and a plurality of photocatalytic particles. The silicate binder functions as a bonding agent to establish the coating on the substrate. A plurality of photocatalyst particles are dispersed throughout the silicate binder. The particles are included in an amount the provides sufficient distribution of the particles in the resulting coating. The incorporation of the present invention onto substrates prevents algal growth on building materials utilizing the coating substrates.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,870 discloses a composite material made of a fibrous material and binders in the form of hydroxyfatty acids for the preparation of molded parts in the automobile field, in particular, for acoustic attenuation in the areas of the hood, bulkhead (on both sides), tunnel, door, roof, footwell, pumps, A to D pillars and air distribution duct, and a an optionally self-supporting base for interior trims, especially for instrument panel covers, tunnel linings, door trims, seat back linings, A to D pillar linings and spare wheel covers, and as parts with a double function, especially as roof liner, rear shelf, filling piece, trunk mat or undershield.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,459 discloses a method for improving the quality of a mastic coating system by using a latex barrier tiecoat which is composed of water-insoluble latex polymer and a multivalent metal ion. The tiecoat is applied to a substrate and then a mastic coating is applied to the tiecoat to yield a mastic coating system having excellent resistance to blistering when the mastic coating system is exposed to a long-term ponded water.
No prior art patents have disclosed or shown the successful use of organic seeds in roof coatings and the like. By developing a unique method to polymerize/cure seed oils and also through the use of new formulating techniques and additives, a series of coatings have been created that not only resolve the current problems with seed oil based coatings, but also offer significant performance, application and cost advantages over the currently used water based or two component systems.
It is therefore an object of the invention to produce agricultural oil based product that can achieve Energy Star Approval as a roof coating.
It is a further object of the invention to produce a mold resistant interior and exterior coating that passes ASTM 3273 without the use of additives that are poisonous or toxic and do not have a HMIS health rating higher than 1 and produce no off gassing or no smoke when tested under ASTM E 84.
It is another object of the present invention to produce a seed oil based "stucco jacket" as a replacement for "Dryvit" or Stucco that is biobased and highly resistant to water and which can be applied in one coat.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a metal coating that can prime and preserve metal using one coat and prevent rust bleed through.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a caulk that has over 200% elongation and can be used to bridge cracks of over ½ inch in width.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a coating for numerous substrates that will have over 800% elongation for Areas that will have excessive movement.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a penetrating stain that preserves wood.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a clear coat that preserves metal, wood, underlying paints and masonry.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an adhesive used to adhere metal to insulation, wood to wood, metal to metal or various roofing membranes to each other.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.

Seed oil based coatings and their applications


Novel bioabsorbable polymeric blends are disclosed. The blends have a first component that is a polylactide polymer or a copolymer of lactide and glycolide and a second component that is poly(p-dioxanone) polymer. The novel polymeric blends provide medical devices having dimensional stability. Also disclosed are novel bioabsorbable medical devices made from these novel polymer blends, as well as novel methods of manufacture.

Bioabsorbable polymers and medical devices made from such polymers are known in the art. Conventional bioabsorbable polymers include polylactic acid, poly(p-dioxanone), polyglycolic acid, copolymers of lactide, glycolide, p-dioxanone, trimethylene carbonate, ε-caprolactone, in various combinations, etc. The bioabsorbable polymers are designed to have a chemistry such that the polymers breakdown in vivo and are either metabolized or otherwise broken down, for example by hydrolysis, and excreted from the patient's body. The advantages of utilizing implantable medical devices made from bioabsorbable polymers are numerous and include, for example, eliminating the need for additional surgeries to remove an implant after it serves its function. Ideally when a "temporary presence" of the implant is desired, support can be provided until the tissue heals.
The bioabsorbable polymers used to manufacture medical devices have been on occasion polymeric blends of absorbable polymers and copolymers engineered to provide specific characteristics and properties to the manufactured medical device, including bioabsorption rates, breaking strength retention, and dimensional stability, etc.
There are many conventional processes used to manufacture medical devices from bioabsorbable polymers and polymer blends. The processes include injection molding, solvent casting, extrusion, machining, cutting and various combinations and equivalents. A particularly useful and common manufacturing method is thermal forming using conventional injection molding processes. It is known in this art that manufacturing processes such as thermal injection molding may result in molded parts that have inferior properties, especially, for example, unacceptable dimensional stability, mechanical properties, and retention of mechanical properties with time post-implantation. There are a number of reasons for diminished dimensional stability. They include the presence of residual stresses induced during the manufacturing process. Another reason is if at least one of the polymeric components possesses too low a glass transition temperature, especially if the polymeric component does not easily crystallize after molding.
Therefore, there is a need in this art for novel bioabsorbable polymer blends that can be used in thermal injection molding processes, and other conventional processes, to manufacture bioabsorbable medical devices having superior breaking strength retention, excellent bioabsorption, superior mechanical properties such as stiffness and strength, manufacturability, and superior dimensional stability.
It is known when using thermal injection molding processes that process conditions and design elements that reduce shear stress during cavity filling will typically help to reduce flow-induced residual stress. Likewise, those conditions that promote sufficient packing and uniform mold cooling will also typically tend to reduce thermally-induced residual stress. It is often very difficult, if not nearly impossible, to completely eliminate residual stress in injection molded parts. Approaches that have been employed include: (1) attempting to crystallize the part while still in the mold to increase the mechanical rigidity to resist distortion; and, (2) employing resins having a high glass transition temperature (Tg).
This later case describes the situation wherein chain mobility is only reached at much higher temperatures, thus protecting the part at the moderate temperatures that the part might be expected to endure during ethylene oxide (EO) sterilization, shipping, and storage. Materials possessing high glass transition temperatures may not necessarily possess other characteristics that are desirable such as absorbability. Residual stresses are believed to be the main cause of part shrinkage and warpage. Parts may warp or distort dimensionally upon ejection from the mold during the injection molding cycle, or upon exposure to elevated temperatures, encountered during normal storage or shipping of the product.
There have been attempts in the prior art to address the problem of lack of dimensional stability in medical devices thermally formed from melt blended bioabsorbable polymers. Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,741, discloses a melt blend of a lactide/glycolide copolymer and poly(p-dioxanone) used to make surgical clips and two-piece staples. The melt blends of Smith provide molded articles possessing dimensional stability; Smith requires that the amount of poly(p-dioxanone) in the blend is greater than 25 weight percent and teaches away from lower amounts. The polymer blends of Smith have disadvantages associated with their use to manufacture medical devices, including: limited stiffness or Young's modulus, shorter retention of mechanical properties upon implantation, greater sensitivity to moisture limiting the allowable open storage time during manufacture, and, although difficult to quantify, more difficult thermal processing.
As mentioned previously, residual stresses are believed to be the main cause of part shrinkage and warpage. It is known that flow-induced residual stresses may have an effect upon a thermally molded polymeric medical device. Unstressed, long-chain polymer molecules tend to conform to a random-coil state of equilibrium at temperatures higher than the melt temperature (i.e., in a molten state). During thermal processing (e.g. injection molding), the molecules orient in the direction of flow, as the polymer is sheared and elongated. Solidification usually occurs before the polymer molecules are fully relaxed to their state of equilibrium and some molecular orientation is then locked within the molded part. This type of frozen-in, stressed state is often referred to as flow-induced residual stress. Anisotropic, non-uniform shrinkage and mechanical properties in the directions parallel and perpendicular to the direction of flow are introduced because of the stretched molecular structure.
Cooling can also result in residual stresses. For example, variation in the cooling rate from the mold wall to its center can cause thermally-induced residual stress. Furthermore, asymmetrical thermally-induced residual stress can occur if the cooling rate of the two surfaces is unbalanced. Such unbalanced cooling will result in an asymmetric tension-compression pattern across the part, causing a bending moment that tends to cause part warpage. Consequently, parts with non-uniform thickness or poorly cooled areas are prone to unbalanced cooling, and thus to residual thermal stresses. For moderately complex parts, the thermally-induced residual stress distribution is further complicated by non-uniform wall thickness, mold cooling, and mold constraints.
It should be noted that a common, conventional method of sterilization is exposure to ethylene oxide gas in a sterilization process cycle. Absorbable polymeric devices are frequently sterilized by exposure to ethylene oxide (EO) gas. EO can act as a plasticizer of lactide-glycolide copolymers, and can lower the Tg slightly; this may result in 'shrinkage' and/or 'warpage' of an injection-molded part, especially when exposed to temperatures higher than the Tg. This adds additional processing and handling challenges when using lactide-glycolide polymeric materials for absorbable medical devices. It should be noted that the EO sterilization process not only exposes the part to EO gas, it also exposes the part to elevated temperatures. This usually requires treatment at slightly elevated temperatures. Because EO can act as a plasticizer of synthetic absorbable polyesters, the problems of shrinkage and warpage and general dimensional instability are often exacerbated.
There are a number of processing methods conventionally used to reduce or eliminate shear stresses during processing. Process conditions and design elements that reduce shear stress during cavity filling will help to reduce flow-induced residual stress. Polymeric parts are often heat treated (thermally annealed) to alter their performance characteristics. The reason for the heat treatment processing is to mature the morphological development, for example crystallization and/or stress relaxation. If done successfully, the resulting part may exhibit better dimensional stability and may exhibit better mechanical strength.
Injection molded parts ejected from the injection molding machine that are not already distorted, can be cooled/quenched to room temperature and may appear to be dimensionally sound. Stresses, however, are usually still present and can drive distortion any time the polymer chains are allowed to mobilize. As previously described, this can happen with an increase in temperature or exposure to a plasticizer such as EO gas. In order to overcome this potential driving force for dimensional distortion, a number of strategies have been taken; these include (thermal) annealing.
If the part can be dimensionally constrained, thermal annealing can be employed towards two goals: one is to attempt to reduce the amount of molecular orientation in the polymer chains, also known as stress reduction; and, another is to increase the crystallinity in the part to increase the mechanical rigidity to resist distortion.
With some polymers that readily crystallize, one might be able to crystallize the part while it is still in the mold, but this is an unusual situation. Here the mold cavity not only acts to define the shape of the part, it can act to restrain the shape of the part during the crystallization process. With more-difficult-to-crystallize polymers, the cycle time becomes prohibitively long, and the injection molding process becomes impractical. Thus, the part needs to be ejected from the mold before complete polymer morphology development takes place.
Injection molded parts prepared from semi-crystalline polymers can often be annealed by thermal treatment to increase crystallinity level and complete their polymer morphology development. Often the parts must be physically constrained to avoid the distortion one is attempting to avoid. Once crystallized, the part has increased mechanical rigidity to resist distortion if exposed to normally distorting conditions. Providing suitable physical constraint is often difficult, as it is often labor intensive and economically taxing.
Annealing the ejected part without need for physical constraint is preferred; however what often happens is that the part distorts during the annealing process rendering the part unacceptable for many needs.
It is known in the industry to anneal parts to reduce molded-in-stresses by thermal relaxation. The time and temperature required to relieve stress varies but must often be done below the Tg to avoid gross distortion. Even then the results can vary greatly. It is more difficult to reduce stress levels, without causing distortion, in higher molecular weight resins. It would be relatively easy to reduce molded-in-stresses by thermal relaxation in low molecular weight, high flow, polyesters, as compared to higher molecular weight polyesters.
Regarding the molecular weight of the polymer blend, higher molecular weight usually develops higher stress levels and requires longer times/higher temperatures for stress relaxation. Although this is the case, higher molecular weight is often needed to achieve high mechanical properties and biological performance. This situation often presents a problem for the device manufacturer.
In order to impart more crystallinity to increase mechanical rigidity to better resist distortion, or to reduce molecular orientation in order to lower the driving force for distortion, the parts would ideally be processed by thermal treatment (annealing) at a temperature which does not cause distortion. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the synthetic absorbable polyesters commonly employed, this treatment often needs to be above their glass transition temperature where distortion is nearly impossible to avoid.
Consider for example, polylactide homopolymeric or poly(lactide-co-glycolide) copolymeric devices. The stressed polymer chains of these injection-molded parts will tend to relax and return to their natural state ("random three-dimensional coils") when heated to or above their glass transition temperatures. This will be observed as warpage, shrinkage or general dimensional deformation. It is a general practice in the industry when producing molded polylactide-based parts, not to anneal them because of this potential deformation. These as-molded polylactide parts are of very low crystallinity, if not outright amorphous or non-crystalline, and will then tend to deform if exposed to temperatures at or above their respective glass transition temperatures. It would be advantageous to be able to anneal such parts to induce crystallinity so that they may develop the high rigidity to remain dimensionally stable under conditions normally encountered during EO sterilization, shipping, and storage.
There are medical applications that require the medical device to display sufficient column strength such as in the case of an implantable staple or a tack. Clearly, for a device having such a requirement with a smaller cross-sectional area, the polymer from which it was formed must be inherently stiff if the tack is to function properly for the intended application.
To achieve higher stiffness in a melt blend of a lactide/glycolide copolymer and poly(p-dioxanone), one needs to minimize the amount of poly(p-dioxanone). Contrary to what Smith teaches, it has been found that dimensional stability can be achieved in parts molded from a blend of a lactide-rich copolymer and poly(p-dioxanone), in which the levels of poly(p-dioxanone) are lower than 25 weight percent. The addition of the poly(p-dioxanone), even at these low levels, enhances the ability to achieve dimensional stability in the final part.
Even though such polymer blends are known, there is a continuing need in this art for novel absorbable polymeric materials that provide a medical device with improved characteristics including stiffness, retained strength in vivo (in situ), dimensional stability, absorbability in vivo, and manufacturability, along with a need for novel medical devices made from such polymeric materials, and novel methods of manufacturing medical devices from such polymeric materials.

Bioabsorbable polymeric compositions, processing methods, and medical devices therefrom


A conductive shield plane electrically isolating the photodiode regions from metal interconnect lines in an imager sensor device.

Previous generations of camera imager sensors have had few and easily resolvable problems with fixed pattern artifacts in the imager resulting from overlying metal layers of interconnect in the device. The previous camera imager sensors did not require lens compensation as the patterning of the metal interconnects was a regular pattern across the entire imager sensor array.
The current generation of an imager sensor, such as a Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) imager sensor, however presents challenges to correct fixed pattern artifacts. In general, a CMOS imager sensor circuit includes a focal plane array of CMOS imager sensor cells (or pixels), each one of the pixels includes a photo-conversion device, e.g., a photogate, photoconductor, or photodiode having an associated charge accumulation region within a substrate for accumulating photo-generated charge. Each pixel may include a transistor for transferring charge from the charge accumulation region to a diffusion node and a transistor for resetting the diffusion node to a predetermined charge level prior to charge transference. The pixel may also include a source follower transistor for receiving and amplifying charge from the diffusion node and an access transistor for controlling the readout of the pixel contents from the source follower transistor. In some arrangements, the transfer transistor is omitted and the charge accumulation region is coupled with the diffusion node.
In a CMOS imager sensor cell, the active elements of a pixel perform the necessary functions of: (1) photon to charge conversion; (2) accumulation of imager charge; (3) transfer of charge to the diffusion node accompanied by charge amplification (where a transfer transistor is used); (4) resetting the diffusion node to a known state before the transfer of charge to it; (5) selection of a pixel for readout; and (6) output and amplification of a reset signal and a signal representing pixel charge from the diffusion node. The charge at the floating diffusion node is typically converted to a pixel output voltage by the source follower output transistor.
Current generations of pixel arrays, such as current CMOS imager sensor arrays, utilize metal and micro lens shifting to boost the response to incident light for pixels located away from the center of the pixel array. This shifting is an increasing continuum from the center of the pixel array out to the sides. The shifting has proven to have positive effects of increasing pixel sensitivity to light as well as a reduction of pixel crosstalk, but at the expense of difficult fixed pattern artifacts. These fixed pattern artifacts are a result of electrical coupling from reset and charge transfer transistors to underlying conductive networks in the pixel, namely the photodiode (PD) and the floating diffusion (FD). One could attempt to shift the overlying metal interconnect lines and route them over non-critical areas outside the PD and FD, but due to the increasingly reducing of pixel sizes, such as 2.2 micron and smaller pixel, the non-critical areas are extremely limited.
"The electrical coupling from reset and charge transfer transistors to lower conductive networks (i.e., parasitic capacitance between overlying level metal and underlying level polysilicon and implant regions) is illustrated in FIG. 1, a simplified illustration of a top-down view depicting an imager sensor pixel segment of a CMOS imager sensor device 100. A typical arrangement of photodiode region 102 resides in silicon substrate 101 and overlying metal 1 line 103 and metal 2 lines 104 that are used to connect to transistor gates (not shown) that control and access the imager sensor pixel, the general layout and function of which are known to those skilled in the art."
FIG. 2 is a simplified cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 depicting parasitic capacitance that can be present between the overlying metal lines and the photodiode region 102 of the imager sensor pixel 100. As seen in FIG. 2, parasitic capacitance (C1) 205 develops between metal 1 line 103 and photodiode region 102, while parasitic capacitance (C2) 206 develops between metal 2 lines 104 and photodiode region 102. As discussed previously, the parasitic capacitance creates undesirable fixed pattern artifacts.
FIG. 3 is a simplified illustration of a top-down view depicting a backside illumination imager sensor pixel segment of a CMOS imager sensor device 300. A typical arrangement of photodiode region 302 resides in silicon substrate 301 and overlying metal 1 line 303 and metal 2 lines 304 that are used to connect to transistor gates (not shown) that control and access the imager sensor pixel, the general layout and function of which are know to those skilled in the art.
FIG. 4 is a simplified cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 depicting parasitic capacitance that can be present between the overlying metal lines and the backside illumination photodiode region 302 of the imager sensor pixel 300. As seen in FIG. 4, parasitic capacitance (C1) 305 develops between metal 1 line 303 and photodiode region 302, while parasitic capacitance (C2) 306 develops between metal 2 lines 304 and photodiode region 302. As discussed previously, the parasitic capacitance creates undesirable fixed pattern artifacts.
The parasitic capacitance that can form in an imager sensor device, including backside illuminated devices, namely between overlying metal and underlying implanted regions, namely the photodiode (PD) and the floating diffusion (FD), is an area that needs addressed in the CMOS imager sensor industry.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a means to electrically isolate overlying metals and their associated parasitic capacitance from underlying levels of polysilicon and conductively implanted regions for an imager sensor pixel array.

Capacitance noise shielding plane for imager sensor devices


The present invention is directed to monoclonal antibodies which specifically bind to a Limulus .alpha..sub.2 -macroglobulin. Preferred monoclonal antibodies inhibit the enzymatic activation of a Limulus amebocyte lysate to form a gel or to cleave a chromogenic substrate in the presence of an endotoxin but not in the presence of a glucan. The monoclonal antibodies can be used, inter alia, to purify a Limulus .alpha..sub.2 -macroglobulin, and the preferred antibodies can be used in a method for specifically detecting a glucan in a test sample using an amebocyte lysate.

Limulus amebocyte lysate undergoes clot (gel) formation along two enzymatic pathways. These enzymatic pathways comprise a series of serine proteases which are activated in the presence of either endotoxin or glucan. Limulus amebocyte lysate is widely used in assays, which take advantage of this activity, for detecting the presence of endotoxins, for example in water and in a variety of biological test samples.
Because the Limulus amebocyte lysate is much more sensitive to the presence of endotoxin than to glucan, however, the prior art has been unable to develop a successful glucan assay using Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL). The presence of just a small amount of endotoxin in a test sample results in a false positive result when attempting to detect glucan using LAL. Thus, there remains a need in the art for a method which can be used for specifically detecting glucan in a test sample.


A method of manufacturing an LCD on a substrate, the method comprising the steps of forming a thin film transistor on the substrate; forming an organic passivation layer over the thin film transistor; forming a patterned photoresist over the organic passivation layer; etching the organic passivation layer to form a contact hole over one of source and drain of the transistor; removing the photoresist; forming an SiO.sub.2 layer at a surface of the organic passivation layer by O.sub.2 ashing; and forming a pixel electrode contacting one of the source and drain of the transistor through the contact hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display (LCD), and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing an LCD having a thin film transistor (TFT) as a switching element.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In an LCD having TFTs as switching elements, the TFTs are integrated so as to drive and control each pixel. As shown in FIG. 1, in a conventional LCD having a TFT array, almost rectangular pixel electrodes 12 are arranged in rows and columns on a substrate 11. Gate lines 13 are formed along the rows and data lines 14 are formed along the columns.
FIG. 2A is a plan view showing a part of LCD elements in the LCD having a TFT array. As shown in FIG. 2A, a gate electrode 23 is formed on the substrate 11 and a plurality of data lines 14 perpendicularly crossing gate lines 13 are formed in parallel with each other. TFTs are formed near each crossing point of the gate line 13 and the data line 14.
FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line I--I in FIG. 2A. As shown in FIG. 2B, a gate electrode 23 made of Ta is formed on the substrate 11. A gate insulating layer 21 made of SiN.sub.x is formed on the whole surface of the substrate including the gate electrode 23, and a semiconductor layer 22 made of a-Si is formed on the gate insulating layer 21. An ohmic contact layer 33 made of n.sup.+ a-Si is formed on the semiconductor layer. Source and drain electrodes 24, 34 made of Mo are formed on the ohmic contact layer 33. Then, an organic layer 10 made of organic material is formed as a passivation layer.
The organic material has a smoother surface profile than inorganic materials. Therefore, when the organic material is deposited on the surface of the LCD, which has an uneven surface profile due to the multi-layered elements, the stepped surface can be flattened. Thus, defects such as non-uniform orientation condition or misalignment of liquid crystal molecules due to the stepped surface can be reduced. Also, a higher aperture ratio can be obtained by increasing the area of pixel electrodes.
Next, an inorganic insulating layer 15 made of SiO.sub.2 or SiN.sub.x is formed on the organic insulating layer 10. A contact hole is formed and finally, a pixel electrode 12 made of a transparent conductive material such as ITO is formed.
As described above, the passivation layer of the conventional LCD has a layered structure having organic and inorganic insulating layers 10, 15. The inorganic insulating layer 15 is formed over the organic passivation layer in order to assist the adhesion property of the ITO layer onto the passivation layer. This is because the organic passivation layer does not provide a good adhesion to the ITO layer.
There are two ways of forming the organic and inorganic insulating layers. One is to sequentially deposit the organic and inorganic insulating layers and pattern them simultaneously. The other is to deposit and pattern the organic insulating layer first and then form the inorganic insulating layer.
First, the former has the following problem. The process of patterning the organic and inorganic insulating layers includes utilizing an organic solution, such as a mixture of N-Methyl-Pyrolidone ("NMP"), alcohol, and amine, to remove the photoresist. Then the insulating layer may swell or expand because such an organic solution can penetrate through the interface between the organic passivation layer and the inorganic insulating layer.
Second, the latter also has a problem in that two patterning steps are needed for forming the insulating layer. In addition, the drain electrode may be disconnected because the difference in thermal expansion coefficients between the organic and inorganic insulating layers may produce cracks in the contact hole area.

Method for manufacturing liquid crystal display


An indexing system for a saw regrinding machine includes a rotary shaft on which a circular saw is mounted and an index stop assembly which stops rotation of the blade to position the teeth thereof for a regrinding operation. The stop includes an index finger interposed into the path of the blade by an air cylinder which is controlled by a timing cam. The air cylinder includes an output piston that pushes a counterweight causing it to rotate about a pin. A finger member is attached to the counterweight and at appropriate times rotates about the pin to intercept a particular saw tooth in a position to permit it to be sharpened by a grinding wheel.

Saw regrinding machines such as top and face grinders are used for sharpening the teeth of circular saw blades. Typically such machines rotate a saw blade in increments stopping each tooth of the blade at a position where a grinding wheel may grind the appropriate surface of the tooth. An automatic saw sharpener of this type requires very precise positioning for the grinding wheel to execute a grinding stroke. Typically there is an indexing mechanism which includes a finger interposed into the path of the blade to intercept each tooth at a particular location in space as the blade is rotated after each sharpening stroke. An example of a saw blade top and face grinder which includes an indexing apparatus of this type is shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,639 entitled SAW BLADE TOP AND FACE GRINDER issued Aug. 13, 1991.
The aforementioned patent, the text of which is incorporated herein by reference, illustrates a top and face grinding machine that includes an indexing apparatus which imposes a stop into the path of the teeth of the saw blade from a position which is laterally displaced from the plane of the saw blade. The saw blade is rotated incrementally in a clockwise direction to advance the next tooth to be ground, and then counterrotated in a counterclockwise direction to precisely position the tooth. It is during the counterclockwise rotation that the index finger is interposed into the path of the plane of the saw blade to intercept the particular tooth that is to be sharpened. Once the finger stops the counter-rotating saw blade at the correct position for sharpening, a side clamping mechanism is engaged which holds the saw blade in a stationary position for the grinding stroke. At this point the index finger is moved out of the way.
The indexing mechanism of the aforementioned '639 patent suffers, however, from several drawbacks. It is a relatively complicated mechanism, both in the manner of its operation, and in the expense associated with the number of parts that must be machined and assembled.
A desirable objective would be to provide an indexing stop that could be interposed into the plane of the blade from a lateral position, but without the attendant complexity and fabrication expense of the aforementioned system.
Another problem that is common to contemporary automatic saw regrinding machines is the necessity for coordinating the various mechanical operations that must take place to advance the saw blade and regrind each tooth in turn. Pneumatic systems in particular are problematical because typically such systems include a multiplicity of air cylinders, each having its own pneumatic source which must be controlled by multiple valving arrangements actuated at the appropriate times. Such systems are complex and are prone to numerous adjustment problems.

Indexing system for a saw regrinding machine


An exemplary digital picture frame includes a frame body, a supporting portion, a carrying portion, an image capturing unit and light sources. The frame body includes a rear surface. The supporting portion extends from the rear surface and is configured for supporting the digital picture frame on a supporting surface. The carrying portion is arranged at the rear surface. The carrying portion includes a mount for facing the supporting surface. The mount is configured for holding a printed picture thereon. The image capturing unit is arranged at the supporting portion and is configured for capturing an image of the printed picture. The light sources are arranged at the supporting portion and are configured for illuminating the printed picture.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to digital picture frames with light-shielding carrying portions.
2. Description of Related Art
Referring to FIG. 4, a commonly used digital picture frame 400 is shown. The digital picture frame 400 includes a body 410, an image capturing unit 420 mounted on a rear wall of the body 410, and a supporting portion 430. The supporting portion 430 includes two supporting arms 432 rotatably connected to the rear wall of the body 410, and a carrying plate 434 rotatably connected between the supporting arms 432. A printed picture can be placed on the carrying plate 434, facing the image capturing unit 420. The image capturing unit 420 is configured for capturing an image of the printed picture, which can be displayed on a display (not visible) of the digital picture frame.
However, when the image capturing unit 420 captures the image of the printed picture, the printed picture on the carrying plate 434 is exposed to ambient light, which may result in a deterioration of the imaging quality.
Therefore, there is a need for a digital picture frame in which the limitations described are eliminated or at least alleviated.

Digital picture frame with light-shielding carrying portion


A frame structure that displays media includes a support member, a frame housing and at least one interchangeable cartridge insert. The frame housing is supported by the support member and has at least one display opening for displaying the media. The frame housing also has at least one generic guide on the interior of the frame housing. The at least one interchangeable cartridge insert is adapted to fit in and be supported by the at least one generic guide of the frame housing of the frame structure. The interchangeable cartridge insert includes at least one rail member and a media support panel. The at least one rail member has rails that are adapted to engage with the at least one generic guide of the frame structure. The at least one rail member also has media supports for supporting the media support panel. The media support panel is selected from a plurality of different media display format structures and different thicknesses, such as Styrofoam, cardboard, paperboard, black board, white board, magnetic boards, an electric powered display media, a Styrofoam panel laminated with paper, and the like to display the media. In addition, the media supports of the at least one rail member are coupled to and support the media support panel in the frame structure. The interchangeable cartridge insert can further include at least one clip that is coupled to and supported by the at least one rail member to support additional media along with the media support panel. The support member is a base or a wall mount. The frame housing also includes a door that allows the interchangeable cartridge insert to inserted and removed from the frame housing of the frame structure.

1. Field of the Invention
This present invention relates to self standing displays and signs. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a standardized display system in which the display can be easily interchanged with numerous other forms of display media.
2. Related Art
Traditionally, frame structures mounted on a stand or mounted on a wall are used for the purpose of holding up poster boards and other signs, and are often used in place of easels during presentations or for presenting an unattended display. Many of these frame structures have the ability to have the display changed by removing old poster board and inserting a replacement poster board in its place through a slot in the frame structure. However, these frame structures are limited to their ability to only hold different posters.
Additionally, chalk boards, dry-erase boards, cork boards, billboards, electronic sign boards, etc. have been supported by frame structures. However, these frame structures do not have the ability to switch from one form of display media to another. Therefore, in classrooms, boardrooms, outside restaurants, hotel lobbies, convention halls and other meeting areas, there are a limited number of ways of presenting information, unless separate, different frame structures are used for each type of separate media. This is a particular problem when a space, such as a hotel ballroom, is used by a variety of different users who prefer different mediums to present information. For example, a seminar would possibly want to use a different display media versus a social event such as a wedding reception held in the same ballroom. Therefore, a hotel will often stock various display media or not have certain media available for their customers.


A circuit comprises a current source providing an input current, first and second transistors having common control terminals and forming a current mirror connected between first and second power supply potentials, with the first transistor having an input coupled to the current source, the current mirror generating a mirror current at an output of the second transistor, and an amplifier connected in a negative feedback loop around the first transistor, wherein the amplifier input is referenced to the first power supply potential, and the amplifier output is referenced to the second power supply potential. A method for improving power supply rejection ratio of a current mirror is also described.

This invention relates generally to electronic circuits and in particular to an electronic circuit configured as a current mirror, and is more particularly directed toward a current mirror having improved power supply rejection.
A current mirror is a current-controlled current source that ideally provides an output current that is constant for a given input current. Current mirror circuits are particularly useful in integrated circuit implementations of operational amplifiers, to establish the DC operating point (or bias condition) for the circuit. Using current mirrors, the output of a current source can be replicated where needed throughout a given circuit.
FIG. 1 depicts a simple current mirror, generally depicted by the numeral 100. Input current for the current mirror 100 is provided by a current source Iin 101, which has an output impedance represented by parallel resistor Ri 102. The connection 105 between the gate 103 and drain 104 of PMOS transistor MP1106 establishes the required gate-source voltage, Vgs, to carry the input current in transistor MP1106. MP2 replicates the input current 101 to the output Iout 108, since MP1 and MP2 have the same gate-source voltage Vgs. In an integrated circuit (IC) implementation, the ratio of Iout to Iin can be set by the ratio of the areas of MP2 to MP1.
If a disturbance voltage is added to the supply voltage VDD 109, an unwanted current will flow in the output Iout 108. Power supply rejection is the ability of the circuit 100 to minimize the unwanted current in the output Iout 108 in the presence of a disturbance on VDD 109.
A number of techniques have been proposed in an effort to improve the power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) of a current mirror. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,292, Schenck et al. propose operating the mirror transistors in their saturation region at an operating point that is close to the boundary between linearity and saturation. The point where Schenck et al. bias the transistors is optimized so that the current mirror occupies the minimum amount of headroom. This is at the expense of lower output impedance and PSRR. FIG. 2 of Schenck et al. shows that the output impedance degrades rapidly if VDS is slightly reduced. Random mismatches in device sizes may lead the circuit to operate in this undesired region. Essentially, Schenck et al. are biasing the circuit for minimum headroom at the expense of lower output impedance and PSRR and the risk of these parameters being degraded further. In addition, the technique described does not correct for unwanted current flowing in the output impedance of the input current source.
Tomasini et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,074, increase PSRR by cascoding the output transistor of the current mirror. However, it is known that cascoding results in higher operating voltage requirements for the current mirror, and may limit the range of circuits with which the current mirror can be employed without interposing level translation circuitry. Operating voltage margin is often expressed in terms of xe2x80x9cheadroom,xe2x80x9d which is the difference between the supply voltage and the required operating voltage.
Lambert, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,816, proposes to improve power supply rejection ratio by generating an error current that tracks power supply variations, then replicating the error current into a summing circuit that cancels out its effect. This method displays sensitivity to mismatch errors. Ierr is a small current, and it is sensitive to errors in current mirror 208 (FIG. 2 of Lambert) that subtracts it from the output. Mismatch error is caused by random area mismatches between two transistors that ideally should be the same size. Lambert does manage to correct for unwanted current that flows in the output impedance of Q203 due to VDD variations. In the circuit of FIG. 2, the input current can be a current source as shown, or a current sink connected to point 214. Another disadvantage of this circuit is that a correction current has to be subtracted from each replica of the input.
This disadvantage in particular is addressed in a modification of this technique set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,281, an op-amp loop to track the reference current in order to eliminate the need for error-subtraction at every current mirror output. However, this modified technique does not correct for unwanted current that flows in the output impedance of the input current source. This is because the circuit configuration requires that the input be a current source. The output impedance of the input current source is connected between VDD and a ground-referenced node, and hence will have an unwanted current flowing through it. This current is replicated to the output.
Because of the above-described shortcomings of prior art techniques, a need arises for a current mirror having improved power supply rejection that is relatively simple and economical in implementation, offers reduced sensitivity to mismatch errors, and minimizes supply voltage concerns related to headroom requirements.
These needs and others are satisfied by the present invention. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a circuit comprises a current source providing an input current, first and second transistors having common control terminals and forming a current mirror connected between first and second power supply potentials, with the first transistor having an input coupled to the current source, the current mirror generating a mirror current at an output of the second transistor, and an amplifier connected in a negative feedback loop around the first transistor, wherein the amplifier input is referenced to the first power supply potential, and the amplifier output is referenced to the second power supply potential. The first and second transistors may comprise MOS transistors, with the common control terminals of the first and second transistors comprising common source terminals and common gate terminals.
In one form of the invention, the input current source is connected in series with the first transistor drain terminal, defining an amplifier input node therebetween. The amplifier output is then coupled to the common gate terminals of the first and second transistors. The first supply potential may be ground potential, while the second supply potential may be a positive power supply voltage coupled to the common source terminals of the first and second transistors.
In another form of the invention, the amplifier comprises an input stage including third and fourth transistors configured as a parallel transistor pair connected in series with a fifth transistor configured as a current source, and an output stage comprising a sixth transistor coupled to the input stage and in series with a diode-connected output transistor. The third and fourth transistors may be MOS transistors. The amplifier input signal may be applied to the gate terminal of the third transistor.
In still another form of the invention, the third and fourth transistors have common source terminals each coupled to the first power supply potential, and common drain terminals each coupled to the fifth transistor configured as a current source. A bias potential may be applied to a gate terminal of the fifth transistor to establish fifth transistor operating current. The bias potential is derived from the second power supply potential such that variations in the second power supply potential appear in the bias potential.
In still a further form of the invention, a gate terminal of the fourth transistor is coupled to the common drain terminals of the third and fourth transistors, the gate terminal defining both an output of the first amplifier stage and an input of the second amplifier stage. The sixth transistor further includes a source terminal coupled to the first power supply potential and a drain terminal coupled to common drain and gate terminals of the seventh diode-connected transistor. The seventh diode-connected transistor includes a source terminal coupled to the second power supply potential, wherein the common drain and gate terminals are coupled to the common gate terminals shared by the first and second transistors of the current mirror.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the amplifier comprises a single stage differential amplifier including third and fourth transistors configured as a differential transistor pair and sharing common source terminals, a current source interposed between the common source terminals and the first power supply potential, a fifth diode-connected transistor coupled between a drain terminal of the third transistor and the second power supply potential, a sixth diode-connected transistor coupled between a drain terminal of the fourth transistor and the second power supply potential, the sixth transistor having gate and drain electrodes connected together and coupled to the common gate terminals of the first and second transistors.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a method is provided for improving power supply rejection ratio of a current mirror including first and second transistors having common control terminals and forming a current mirror connected between first and second power supply potentials, with the first transistor having an input coupled to an input current source, and the current mirror generating a mirror current at an output of the second transistor. The method comprises the steps of providing an amplifier in a negative feedback loop around the first transistor, configuring the amplifier such that the amplifier input is referenced to the first power supply potential, and configuring the amplifier such that the amplifier output is referenced to the second power supply potential. The negative feedback establishes a control voltage at one of the common control terminals to maintain substantial equality between the input current and the mirror current.
In accordance with yet a further aspect of the invention, a circuit comprises a current source providing an input current, first and second transconductors having common control terminals and forming a current mirror connected between first and second power supply potentials, with the first transconductor having an input coupled to the current source, the current mirror generating a mirror current at an output of the second transconductor, and an amplifier connected in a negative feedback loop around the first transconductor, wherein the amplifier input is referenced to the first power supply potential, and the amplifier output is referenced to the second power supply potential. The transconductors may comprise single transistors or cascoded transistors.
Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings.

Current mirror having improved power supply rejection


A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for self-diagnosing remote I/O enclosures with enhanced FRU callouts. when a failure is detected on a RIO drawer, a data processing system uses the bulk power controller to provide an alternate path, rather than using the existing RIO links, to access registers on the I/O drawers. The system logs onto the bulk power controller, which provides a communications path between the data processing system and the RIO drawer. The communications path allows the data processing system to read all of the registers on the I/O drawer. The register information in the I/O drawer is then analyzed to diagnose the I/O failure. Based on the register information, the data processing system identifies a field replacement unit to repair the I/O failure.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system, and in particular to a method, system, and computer product for handling errors in a data processing system. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method, system, and computer product for self-diagnosing remote input/output (I/O) enclosures with enhanced field replacement unit (FRU) callouts.
2. Description of Related Art
A multiprocessor data processing system is a data processing system that contains multiple central processing units. This type of system allows for logical partitioning in which a single multiprocessor data processing system may run as if the system were two or more independent systems. In such a system, each logical partition represents a division of resources in the system and operates as an independent logical system. Each of these partitions is logical because the division of resources may be physical or virtual. For example, a multiprocessor data processing system may be partitioned into multiple independent servers, in which each partition has its own processors, main storage, and input/output devices.
Many systems include multiple remote input/output (RIO) subsystems in which each subsystem includes a bridge or some other interface to connect the subsystem with other portions of the data processing system through a primary or main input/output hub. Each of these remote I/o subsystems is also referred to as a "RIO drawer". Each of these RIO drawers may include peripheral components, such as, for example, hard disk drives, tape drives, or graphics adapters.
RIO drawers are typically physically separated from the processors and memory components of the computer. The RIO drawers and their components are connected to the main computer using RIO network cables which allow the I/o devices contained within the RIO drawers to function with the remainder of the computer as if they were on the system bus.
A service processor or partition may be used to detect any failures that occur in the remote drawers during a diagnostic test. When an error is detected, a service call is made which indicates each field replacement unit (FRU) that must be replaced in order to clear the error. For systems that offer JTAG access to the RIO drawers, the FRU callout may be performed using the JTAG links. However, some systems, such as the IBM eServer pSeries Regatta 690 and the IBM eServer pSeries and iSeries Squadrons systems, products of International Business Machines Corporation in Armonk, N.Y., do not have JTAG access to the RIO drawers. In these systems, RIO links are used to connect the central electronics complex (CEC) to a host of I/O devices. These links provide communication paths from the processors in the CEC to the I/O drawers. However, there are some chip registers on the I/O drawers, such as debug and performance registers, that are not accessible using the RIO links. Thus, if an I/O error occurs in the RIO drawers in a system that does not have JTAG access, the system may not be able to read all of the required registers to make a complete diagnosis of the problem. Consequently, a complete FRU callout to correct errors on the RIO drawer may not be possible. In addition, a diagnosis of the I/O failure also may not be obtainable if the system is in a checkstop state and the RIO link is broken.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for diagnosing failures on RIO enclosures with greater granularity to provide complete FRU callouts.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for self-diagnosing remote I/O enclosures with enhanced FRU callouts


A device according to an embodiment may comprise a magneto-resistive structure comprising a magnetic free layer with a spontaneously generated in-plane closed flux magnetization pattern and a magnetic reference layer having a non-closed flux magnetization pattern.

In many technical applications, magnetic fields are used for different purposes. A magnetic field comprises a magnetic field strength and a direction. Depending on the application in mind, any or all of the previously-mentioned physical quantities may be used technically to monitor or detect an operational condition of a system or the like. For instance, based on a magnetic field strength of a modulated magnetic field it is possible to determine a speed or velocity of a component such as a wheel of a car. By determining an angle of a magnetic field with respect to a reference direction, it may be possible to determine an orientation of a component such as a steering wheel with respect to the reference direction or a direction depending in a predetermined way on the reference direction. Other examples of applications come from fields such as security- or safety-related applications. For instance, by monitoring a magnetic field strength, it may be possible to verify if a safety mechanism is correctly enabled.
To detect and monitor any of the magnetic field strength or a combination thereof, different sensor technologies may be used. Magneto-resistive structures represent a sensor technology which may be very flexibly used and implemented.

Magneto-resistive structured device having spontaneously generated in-plane closed flux magnetization pattern


Systems and methods are provided to solve these and other problems and disadvantages of the prior art. A list of work items is received. A work item can be anything that a user may work on such as an email, an incoming call in a contact center, a trouble ticket, and the like. A user is identified to work on the list of work items. A virtual setting is created based on the list of work items and the user. The virtual setting includes a virtual list of work items that represents the list of work items and a user avatar that represents the user. The user can select a work item from the virtual list of work items. The user is then presented with the work item. For example, if the work item is an email, the email will be presented. The user can then process the work item.

Today, there are systems that are designed to manage work items. For example, a contact center is designed to manage work items such voice calls, video calls, or multimedia calls that are placed into the contact center. Other types of systems that are designed to manage work items are applications, such as email systems or trouble ticket tracking systems. Each of these systems uses a traditional graphical user interface to allow the user to track individual work items.
The problem with these types of systems is that they are not always intuitive to the user. In addition, traditional systems fail incorporate the concepts of virtualization. What is needed is an easy to understand solution that incorporates the advantages of virtualization in managing work items.


Chemically stable granular insecticidal compositions of phosphoroamidothioates and phosphoroamidodithioates are provided. These compositions comprise at least 83 weight percent of ammonium sulfate effective for granulating the insecticidal components. Insecticidal methods employing these granules are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to granular compositions containing insecticidal phosphoroamidothioates as well as to methods for employing said compositions. In particular, the present invention is directed to chemically stable granules of insecticidal phosphoroamidothioates which granules contain a sufficient amount of ammonium sulfate so as to impart chemical stability to the phosphoroamidothioates as well as to methods for killing insects which utilize such compositions.
2. State of the Art
Insecticidal compositions in various forms are available for rather diverse methods of application. The method of preparation of the insecticidal composition is largely determined by the physical and chemical nature of the insecticide and the intended use and method of application of the insecticide to the area to be treated.
Certain phosphoroamidothioates and phosphoroamidodithioates are known in the art as having excellent insecticidal activity against a variety of insects and in a variety of environments. A particularly important commercial insecticide within these classes of compounds is the insecticide acephate (generic name) or Orthene.RTM. (tradename) which can be systemically taken up by a plant so that insects which feed and/or live on the plant are killed, in addition to those insects which directly ingest or are contacted by the insecticide. Acephate and related compounds are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,716,600, 3,845,172 and 3,914,417, which references disclose that in addition to their insecticidal properties, the compounds disclosed therein possess very low mammalian toxicity. Orthene.RTM. is commercially produced as a technical grade chemical of about 97 to 99.5% purity.
One method of formulating technical grade phosphoroamidothioates for commercial use is to mix the technical grade powder with an anti-caking agent, such as fumed silica, and a wetting agent. The wetting agent is utilized to wet the insecticide and the anti-caking agent is used to prevent agglomeration of the insecticide in its container. This formulation of insecticide can be applied to crops as a spray solution or as a dust.
Use of phosphoroamidothioates as powders allows for relatively high concentrations of insecticide to be applied to a treatment area, but the powder application suffers from various disadvantages. First, the finely divided particles of active spray may be carried by air currents into areas where harmful effects may occur. In addition, it is difficult to apply sprays or dusts to the soil surface or to lower areas of plants when dense foliage must be penetrated. Finally, powdered phosphoroamidothioates suffer from chemical stability problems due to hydrolytic and catalytic driven degradation which shortens the shelf life of the powdered insecticide.
While the use of granules or pellets would overcome some of the inherent difficulties involved in using sprays or dusts, granular formulations of insecticidal phosphoroamidothioates still suffer chemical stability problems which interfere with the commercial feasibility of such formulations.
In the present invention, it has been found that granules of insecticidal phosphoroamidothioates containing a sufficient amount of ammonium sulfate possess improved chemical stability as compared to similar granules containing less ammonium sulfate. Specifically, in the present invention, granules of insecticidal phosphoroamidothioates containing at least about 83 weight percent of ammonium sulfate possess improved chemical stability as compared to granules containing less than 83 weight percent ammonium sulfate.
While the use of ammonium sulfate with phosphoroamidothioates in pellets has been heretofore suggested, the use of at least 83 weight percent ammonium sulfate has not been suggested nor has it been suggested that the use of such amounts would impart improved chemical stability to granules containing insecticidal phosphoroamidothioates as compared to use of less than 83 weight percent.
Likewise, while U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,022, discloses granules containing a pesticide and from 30 to 90 parts by weight of crystalline salt, this reference fails to teach the use of ammonium sulfate or granules of ammonium sulfate in combination with insecticidal phosphoroamidothioates. Moreover, this reference fails to disclose that use of a sufficient amount of ammonium sulfate will impart chemical stability to the phosphoroamidothioates.

Chemically stable granules containing insecticidal phosphoroamidothioates


A novel human nucleic acid and polypeptide, termed PRSS11-L, are disclosed. PRSS11-L, which is observed in tissues throughout the body, can be used in methods of detection, gene therapy, and screening.

Two distinct members of the S2 serine protease subfamily have been previously identified in humans. One is protein L56/PRSS11 (Zumbrunn et al., (1996), FEBS Lett. 398:187–192; Genbank Protein ID: CAA69226). The other is protein Omi/HtrA2 (Faccio et al., (2000), J. Biol. Chem. 275:2581–2588, Genbank Protein ID: AAB94569). These proteases share homologues with a bacterial HtrA (high-temperature requirement A) endoprotease, which acts as a chaperone at low temperatures and as a proteolytic enzyme that removes denatured or damaged substrates at elevated temperatures. The two members of human S2 serine proteases share extensive homology at their carboxy termini.
Human S2 serine proteases are believed to play important roles in cellular physiology. PRSS11 is upregulated in osteoarthritic cartilage and secreted. It was suggested that PRSS11 regulates the availability of IGFs by cleaving IGF-binding proteins. HtrA2 is upregulated during stress and appears to localize in the endoplasmic reticulum. It was shown that HtrA2 regulates apoptosis by interacting with the X chromosome-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) (Suzuki et al., (2001), Mol cell 8:613–21).

Human PRSS11-Like S2 serine protease and uses thereof


There is provided a method of processing geological data during drilling of a borehole for improving accuracy of the geological data. The method includes a first step of determining from instrumentation (100) associated with a string (50) of drilling pipes a spatial trajectory of a borehole (20, 200) in a subterranean region. A second step of the method involves determining from the spatial trajectory one or more points (P1, P2, P3) with reference to the geological data whereat the trajectory changes direction in one or more layers of strata (F) of the subterranean region. A third step of the method involves subdividing an offset log generated by the instrumentation (100) in response to the one or more points (P1, P2, P3) to generate corresponding sections of offset log. A fourth step involves mutually comparing the subdivided sections of offset log to find a condition of best comparison therebetween and thereby generate one or more error terms (E). A fifth step involves, in response to the one or more error terms (E), updating the geological data to improve its accuracy. Beneficially, the method includes a sixth of repeating the second to fifth steps until the one or more error terms (E) are minimized. The method is relevant for a drilling rig (40) to enhance its drilling accuracy into the subterranean region.

Generation of accurate 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional geological maps is essential for contemporary oil exploration in order for personnel such as geologists to identify geological formations which are likely to yield quantities of oil and/or gas which are profitable to extract. Generation of such geological maps is implemented using seismic apparatus. Each seismic apparatus comprises one or more seismic transmitters and one or more seismic receivers; optionally, the one or more seismic transmitters are also operable to function as one or more seismic receivers. The one or more seismic transmitters are operable to generate seismic waves in a ground formation to be mapped. Reflections of the seismic waves at various rock interfaces present in the ground formation, caused by seismic wave propagation impedance mismatch thereat, are received at the one or more seismic receivers to generate received signals; the impedance mismatch results, for example, as a consequence to spatial variations in rock density at the interfaces. The signals are digitized to generate seismic data. Subsequently, the seismic data is then provided to computing hardware provided with appropriate data processing software to isolate from:    (a) amplitudes of seismic signals received at the one or more seismic receivers, and also    (b) time of reception of the seismic signals,seismic components from specific regions of the aforesaid interfaces and thereby determine spatial positions within the map of the regions of the interfaces. The data processing software executes a series of one or more matrix computations in order to derive the geological maps, the computations often requiring considerable computation effort.
It is found in practice that such seismically-derived geological maps are not always entirely accurate on account of noise, ambiguity of reflected seismic components, faults in rock layers affecting seismic wave propagation therethrough or reflection thereat which contribute to cause inaccuracies. However, in contemporary oil exploration, well boreholes often need to be drilled with considerable accuracy, especially when such well boreholes include a first upper portion which is substantially vertical and a lower portion which is at least in part substantially horizontal and required to follow a specific layer of geological strata in which oil deposits are to be found. For example, it is not contemporarily uncommon to aim to drill boreholes substantially horizontally along a layer of strata which has a vertical height of 5 meters at an end of well borehole having a length of 10 km.
Improvements in contemporary directional drilling have allowed drillers to drill a well borehole in almost any orientation. The drillers are then confronted with a problem of navigating their well boreholes during drilling. As elucidated in the foregoing, oil is typically located in relative thin stratigraphic zones which represent a significant technical challenge for the aforesaid drillers to target precisely. Optionally, a driller is desirous to tap into a stratigraphic zone of interest with a well borehole that traverses inside the zone for an extended distance. For example, if a target zone has a true horizontal orientation, then the well borehole, when it penetrates into the zone, extends horizontal to remain within the zone.
Prior art only provides less accurate techniques for maintaining a well borehole inside an aforementioned target zone. The target zone is typically thousands of meters below the Earth's surface or ocean seabed and is, in many situations, only 3 to 10 meters thick. Furthermore, stratigraphic zones are typically inclined or dipped relative to a horizontal plane. Thus, the target zone is a difficult target in which to maintain the well borehole during drilling operations. A well borehole drilled pursuant to prior art techniques is susceptible to quickly exiting the zone because:    (a) the well borehole has a direction is not parallel to that of the zone; and    (b) a spatial region occupied by the zone is not known with certainty in seismically-derived stratigraphic maps.
In a published U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,951 (Kyte & Meehan), drilling techniques are described which allow a well borehole to be drilled downwardly, horizontally and upwardly. There is also elucidated a method of navigating a borehole drillable by utilizing directional drilling techniques. When implementing the method, a direction in which a borehole is drilled is determined relative to a stratigraphic target zone. By so navigating the borehole, it is feasible for the borehole to enter the target zone and extend inside the target zone. In order to navigate the borehole, an offset log of the borehole is obtained during drilling. Correlation points along the borehole are selected, for example by manual intervention or inspection. At each correlation point, a true stratigraphic depth of the borehole is computed from the offset log. Thus, knowing the true stratigraphic depth of the borehole allows the location of the target zone relative to the borehole to be determined, wherein the direction that the next segment of the borehole during drilling of the borehole is determined. The aforesaid U.S. patent (Kyte & Meethan) is concerned with a 2-dimension trajectory of a subterranean borehole.
Expressed more generally, the published U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,851 defines a method of determining the location of a borehole relative to strata in the Earth, wherein the method comprises steps of:    (a) providing information from the borehole, for example an offset log, such that the information characterizes the strata; and    (b) providing characterizing information of the strata from an offset location;    (c) comparing the characterizing information from the borehole relative to the characterizing information from the offset location to determine the location of the selected points along the borehole relative to the strata.
The method described in published U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,951 enables the borehole to be drilled with greater accuracy in respect of stratigraphic information. However, if the stratigraphic information is not accurate, the borehole cannot be drilled to an accuracy greater than that of the stratigraphic information. Such inaccuracy represents a technical problem which the present invention seeks to technically address. A conventional approach to improving stratigraphic information is to undertake more extensive seismographic measurements, for example from more surface locations; however, such measurements are subject to fundamental limitations in that ill-defined boundaries are not rendered better spatially defined in a stratigraphic map simply by collecting more seismic measurements confirming that the boundaries are ill-defined.


A golf club head made of a metallic material includes a projection which is rearwardly projected away from a face portion of a main body while forming a cavity having the substantially same interior configuration as the exterior configuration of the projection. A face member molded of a synthetic resin and having a fully closed air chamber formed therein is securely fitted into the cavity using an adhesive. A ball hitting surface of the face member is flush with the surface of the face portion. A thickness of the face member between the ball hitting surface and the air chamber is larger than a thickness of the same on the back portion side about three times.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a golf club head made of a metallic material, and in particular, to a golf club head of the foregoing type durable against shock upon hitting a golf ball and capable of driving a golf ball further.
2. Description of the Related Art
So-called iron club head is generally made of a metallic material such as soft steel, stainless steel or the like so that hosel, sole and face portions thereof are integrated with each other.
As is well known, each of golf club heads of the foregoing type is made with a different configuration and a different weight corresponding to a given club head number. However, because of mass of metallic material, the golf club head lacks elasticity. Especially, when a face portion of the golf club head, i.e., a most important portion of the same for hitting a golf ball has few elasticity, it exhibits a small value of repulsive coefficient. In addition, with the iron club head, a golf player can not enjoy soft hit feeling attainable when he hits a golf ball with a wood club.
To assure that a golf player can enjoy soft hit feeling also with an iron club head, a proposal is already made with respect to a golf club head as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 35-31514 wherein a face plate molded of a synthetic resin is secured to a face portion of the golf club head by tightening screws.
As shown in FIG. 4, according to this prior invention, a face plate 9 molded of a synthetic resin and having a concave recess 7 formed on the rear surface side is detachably secured to a recessed part 5a of a face portion 3 of a main body 1 by tightening screws 11.
With this construction, since the face plate 9 has a reduced thickness in the hitting range attributable to the formation of the concave recess 7 on the rear surface side, and moreover, a gap 13 is formed between the concave recess 7 of the face plate 9 and a bottom surface 5a of the recessed part 5, it can be expected that a certain magnitude of repulsive force is generated by elastic deformation of the face plate 9.
It is certain that the repulsive force is generated to some extent with the face plate 9 having the concave recess 7 formed on the rear surface side in that way. However, there arises a problem that the strength of the face plate 9 is degraded due to reduction of the thickness of the face plate 9 in the hitting range. In addition, since the gap 13 is not formed in the hermetically closed state, the air remaining in the gap 13 does not exhibit a cushioning function for attenuating the stress appearing on the hitting surface of the face plate 9. Thus, there is a possibility that the face plate 7 is broken as the golf club head is repeatedly used for a long time.
Further, a proposal is made with respect to a wood club head as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication NO. 49-50063 although this is not concerned with the iron club head. As shown in FIG. 5, according to this prior invention, the wood club head is constructed such that a tip 17 made of cemented tungsten carbide or titanium carbide is fitted into the central part of a hitting range on a face plate 15 molded of a synthetic resin of which rear surface is recessed, and the face plate 15 is then fitted into a recessed part 23 of a face portion 21 of a main body 19.
With this construction, it can be expected that a certain magnitude of repulsive force is generated by the face plate 15 attributable to the formation of the recessed part 23 on the rear surface side. However, there is a possibility that the face plate 15 is broken due to repeated shock imparted thereto in the same manner as the iron golf club shown in FIG. 4 as the wood club head is repeatedly used for a long time.


The present invention relates to a reel-type slot machine having interactive spin action visual effects. The reel-type slot machine includes at least M reels, each reel having symbols associated with it; a video display for displaying a video image of a M N matrix of squares, each square associated with a symbol of a corresponding reel; and a spin actuator for initiating play and interactively producing spin action visual effects associated with the M×N matrix of squares by inputting a direction vector and speed, wherein the direction vector and speed respectively determine the direction and speed of the spin action visual effects. Preferably, the spin actuator is a trackball.

Gaming devices engage players in a game of chance. A player places a bet, e.g. by inserting money or some equivalent of value, and then actuates the gaming device thereby initiating the game of chance. The object of the game is to win money from the gaming device. One such popular gaming device is the slot machine.
A conventional electromechanical reel-spinning slot machine generally includes a plurality of mechanical rotatable reels controlled by a processor. Video slot machines operate the same way as conventional reel-spinning machines, but they use a video display with virtual reels rather than actual rotating reels.
With a reel-spinning slot machine, a player places a bet by inserting money or some equivalent of value, such as a bar-coded paper ticket, into a designated slot in the machine. Play is then initiated—usually by pulling a handle, pushing a button or pressing a key on a touchscreen. The reels spin and come to a stop. The slot machine displays the results of the spin. For each reel, the stop position, and the resulting symbol, is decided randomly and independently of the other reels by the random number generator program of the processor. A payoff is made to a player when a winning combination of symbols is displayed on the payline of the machine.
Slot machines come with varying numbers of reels and many have multiple pay lines. Most machines with multiple pay lines allow players to choose the number of lines to play. By placing the minimum bet, usually only the single line running straight across the reels, i.e. the main pay line, counts. If the player wagers more, he or she can play the additional horizontal lines above and below the main pay line or the diagonal lines running across the reels.
In order to stimulate player interest in such machines, additional features and novelties can be added to the basic slot machine. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,173 describes a supplemental payoff sequence during which the reel on which the wildcard symbol appears is caused to shake or jitter while coins fall into the trough as if money were being shaken off a tree. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,642 reel symbols are coloured by backlighting the symbols with coloured light bulbs or similar means. U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,433 describes a spinning reel slot machine with a video image superimposed upon the mechanical reels of the machine. U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,571 describes a mechanical slot machine with a touch screen overlay detecting touch on each reel to control the spin start/stop of each reel. It would therefore be desirable to enhance entertainment by providing features and visual effects that are out of the ordinary and interesting to players.

Gaming device with interactive spin action visual effects


Methods are described for screening a subject for risk of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Type 2A or for diagnosing Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease or a predisposition for developing Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease in a subject, by detecting the presence or absence of a mutation in the mitofusin gene in a biological sample collected from the subject. Methods are also described for detecting the presence of a genetic polymorphism associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Type 2A in a sample of patient nucleic acid, by amplifying a mitofusin gene sequence in the patient nucleic acid to produce an amplification product; and identifying the presence of a Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Type 2A associated polymorphism in the amplification product.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) neuropathy, also known as hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, is a heterogeneous group of inherited diseases of peripheral nerves. CMT is a common disorder affecting both children and adults. CMT causes significant neuromuscular impairment. It is estimated that 1/2500 persons have a form of CMT, making it one of the largest categories of genetic diseases.
CMT comprises a frequently occurring, genetically heterogeneous group of peripheral neuropathies, although the clinical picture is rather uniform. See, Vance et al., The many faces of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Arch Neurol 57, 638-640 (2000). Following electrophysiological criteria, CMT falls into two major forms, the demyelinating CMT type 1 with decreased nerve conduction velocities (NCV), and the axonal form, CMT type 2. In contrast to the well known molecular genetic defects causing the CMT1 phenotype, several genes underlying CMT2 have only recently been identified. So far, seven loci for autosomal dominant CMT2 have been assigned to chromosomes 1p35-36 (CMT2A), 3q13-22 (CMT2B), 12q23-24 (CMT2C), 7p14 (CMT2D), 8p21 (CMT2E), 7q11-21 (CMT2F), and 12q12-13.3 (CMT2G). See, e.g., Ben Othmane et al., Localization of a gene (CMT2A) for autosomal dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 to chromosome 1p and evidence of genetic heterogeneity. Genomics 17, 370-375 (1993); Kwon et al., Assignment of a second Charcot-Marie-Tooth type II locus to chromosome 3q. Am J Hum Genet 57, 853-858 (1995); Klein et al., The gene for HMSN2C maps to 12q23-24: a region of neuromuscular disorders. Neurology 60, 1151-1156 (2003); Ionasescu et al., Autosomal dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth axonal neuropathy mapped on chromosome 7p (CMT2D). Hum Mol Genet 5, 1373-1375 (1996); Mersiyanova et al., A new variant of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 is probably the result of a mutation in the neurofilament-light gene. Am J Hum Genet 67, 37-46 (2000); Ismailov et al., A new locus for autosomal dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 (CMT2F) maps to chromosome 7ql 1-q21. Eur J Hum Genet 9, 646-650 (2001).
Currently four genes, involved in CMT2A, CMT2B, CMT2D and CMT2E, have been identified. The neurofilament-light gene (NEFL) is responsible for CMT2E, and a large study revealed that NEFL mutations occur in only 2% of CMT patients. See, Jordanova et al., Mutations in the neurofilament light chain gene (NEFL) cause early onset severe Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Brain 126, 590-597 (2003). Two missense mutations in the RAS-related late-endosomal GTP-binding protein RAB7 have been shown to cause CMT2B in 3 extended families and 2 familial cases with different ethnic backgrounds. See, Verhoeven et al., Mutations in the small GTP-ase late endosomal protein RAB7 cause Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2B neuropathy. Am J Hum Genet 72, 722-727 (2003). Missense mutations in the gene coding for Glycyl tRNA synthetase (GARS) were reported to cause CMT2D and distal hereditary motor neuropathy type VII in different families. Antonellis et al., Glycyl tRNA Synthetase Mutations in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Type 2D and Distal Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type V. Am J Hum Genet 72, 1293-1299 (2003).
In a single Japanese family with a posterior probability supporting linkage to the CMT2A locus, a missense mutation in the KIF1B-β gene (c.293A>T; Gln98Leu) was found to co-segregate with the disease. Zhao et al., Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A caused by mutation in a microtubule motor KIF1Bb. Cell 105, 587-597 (2001). The Leu98 allele was not found in 95 healthy control individuals. In addition, the authors of this study demonstrated that Kif1B+/−mice developed a chronic peripheral neuropathy resembling the CMT phenotype in humans. Zhao et al. 2001. Yet, no further CMT2A families have been reported with a mutation in KIF1B-β. Therefore, it may be desirable to find a different method of diagnosing Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Methods of detecting Charcot-Marie Tooth disease type 2A


Methods, devices and computer programs for determining new transmit directions to use for beamformed transmissions in case the link quality of an existing direction falters. A transmitting communication device and a receiving communication device cooperate via a beam tracking procedure to determine a new suitable transmit direction to use for upcoming beamformed transmissions. Information relating to the beam tracking procedure is communicated over an existing link that enables communication between the transmitting and receiving communication devices. The receiving communication device provides the transmitting communication device with information about a beam scan performed in order to detect tracking beams transmitted by the transmitting communication device. This information allows the transmitting communication device to determine suitable transmit directions to use.

In future cellular 5G systems new spectrum at significantly higher carrier frequencies will be used. This introduces a number of problems. First of all, the reference dipole antenna area is reduced, which reduces range and coverage as compared to present cellular technology. Moreover, new radio frequency electromagnetic field requirements limits the transmit power to less than 13 dB above 6 GHz, which in turn reduces range and coverage as compared to present cellular systems. Another problem relates to the fact that for higher carrier frequencies certain radio propagation effects, in particular diffraction, i.e. shadowing, and obstacle penetration losses increases. These increased losses will in turn reduce the range and coverage as compared to present cellular systems.
The above challenges and others require a shift towards quite massive beamforming. This is the one foreseen solution that provide the antenna gain needed to reach a sufficient range and coverage. Beamforming is a technique to form the antenna gain of an antenna array by application of suitable phase shifts to each of the antenna elements of the array. In that way, constructive combination of the radio wave wave-fronts of each antenna elements tends to amplify the signal in selected directions. Similarly destructive combination tends to reduce the effective signal in other directions.
Beamforming can in general be performed on both analogue signals as well as digital signals. In case of analogue beamforming, the analogue transmit signal is sent to a set of antenna elements, one set for each Multiple Input Multiple Output layer, MIMO layer. The phase shift of each antenna in a set is then controlled in a way to create the radio beam.
The advantage of analogue beamforming is that a digital to analogue conversion does require a number of AD/DA converters that is equal to the number of spatial multiplexing layers. This number is likely to be much lower than the number of antenna elements, since the majority of the degrees of freedom are to be used for beamforming. The downside is a lack of flexibility in that all resource blocks, for example the case of OFDM type multiple access as in the LTE system, are subject to the same beamforming. This is only consistent with the scheduling of users in a single direction per beam, at each time instant and for all frequencies of the band.
In case of digital beamforming each antenna element is equipped with a separate AD/DA converter. This allows beamforming weights to be added in base band, rather than in the analogue domain. The advantage of this solution in turn is flexibility, since each user can be given a separate beamforming at the same time. It is therefore no longer necessary to limit the scheduling to users in a single direction. The drawback is instead that there is a need for a large number of AD/DA converters. This leads to extensive costs and to a large power consumption.
As stated above, a low cost analogue beamformer uses the same beam pattern for the whole radio frequency band, at a given point in time. Since the beamformed antenna gain is highly directional and since wireless devices such as User Equipments, UEs, are located in individual directions as counted from a base station, only one or a few UEs can be communicated with in a given point in time. This means that the antenna patterns need to be changed over time to direct the power to each UE in a cell.
Some further drawbacks with the known beamforming technology include the fact that in the case that a low power and low cost beamforming solutions are sought, then the flexibility with digital beamforming lost. The analogue beamforming on the other hand need to be able to handle multiple beams per users, to capture reflected energy at higher carrier frequencies. This furthermore requires complex recalculations of phase shifts and reduces the antenna gain in each direction. Alternatively, very large phase shifting tables are needed. There is also a need to continuously search for new beam directions and to initiate tracking of such beams. This is complicated by the directional properties of the 5G radio propagation, at high carrier frequencies.
The beamforming technology to be utilized also need to reflect the fact that the propagation in general becomes more beamlike when the carrier frequency increases. As a direct consequence of this, there is only a few directions available at a time for beamformed based communication between two static, i.e. non-moving, communication devices since the beam transmitting device only can reach the receiving device with a beam if the receiving device lies within cross-section area of the beam. This is further complicated by the fact that wireless devices may move within the cells. A relative movement between the communicating devices will render the initially available directions unusable. The initially available directions may also become unusable even for static communication devices, such as two radio base stations, if there are changes in the environment. A particular example may be that a house or some other construction is raised between the radio base station thereby blocking the initially available transmit direction. This particular drawback with beamformed transmissions needs to be addressed to obtain an efficient use of the high carrier frequencies utilized in, for example, 5G-network technology.
The proposed technology aims to at least partially overcome the mentioned drawbacks of the prior art solutions.
One suggestion for handling beamforming is provided by REF. [1]. REF. [1] discloses bidirectional iterative beam forming techniques. An apparatus such as a wireless device having an antenna control module is operative to initiate beam formation operations using an iterative training scheme to form a pair of communications channels for a wireless network.

Methods and devices for determining suitable transmit directions for beamformed transmission


In the physical design of an integrated circuit, comparing metal fill locations with an average least resistance path (LRP) for a cell and then filling the location with either power or ground tiles based on the comparison. For each metal layer, all of the metal fill locations are determined and nearby metal fills, i.e., those within a predetermined radius of a located metal fill are connected. A Design Rule Check (DRC) is performed to ensure that connected metal fills meet design specifications, for example, that connected metal fills are not too close to a signal line. The metal fill method improves the power integrity of the design.

The present invention relates generally to physical design and fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuits, and more particularly, to metal fill during IC layout and design.
Integrated circuit (IC) physical design has become increasingly complex as the number of devices on a chip increases and device size decreases. ICs also have an increasing number of layers, including metal layers for routing signals and dielectric layers separating the metal layers. Non-planarity can negatively affect device yields and the effect of non-planarity in one layer can be compounded across other layers. It is well known to use chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) for planarization of dielectric layers during fabrication. However, CMP is impacted by non-planarities in the metal layers. One way to address metal layer non-planarity is by "metal fill". In metal fill, open areas within each metal layer are filled with a metal pattern. However, it is known that rather than just performing indiscriminate metal filling to meet metal density requirements, metal fill can also be used to improve chip performance, such as by reducing cross coupling capacitance as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 8,753,900.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional IC design and fabrication process. At step 10, IC design is performed by an IC designer to meet the functional requirements of the chip specification and a design file or netlist is prepared. At step 12, place and route are performed using electronic design automation (EDA) tools, where the various circuit blocks (sometimes referred to as IPs) and their interconnections, as specified in the design file, are placed within the chip boundaries and signals interconnecting the blocks are routed, and then timing analysis is performed. Place and route and its sub-steps may be re-iterated until the design meets timing requirements. At step 14, metal filling is performed, which generally means that empty spaces within the metal layers are filled with metal in order to meet minimum metal density requirements and in addition, as noted above, to possibly improve cross coupling capacitance. The metal fill patterns are determined by algorithms within the EDA tools. After metal fill, a GDS (Graphic Design System) file is prepared (i.e., tape-out) and sent to a manufacturer so that the chip can be fabricated. An example of an EDA tool for conducting place and route, metal fill, and generating the GDS file is Cadence® Encounter®.
System on Chips (SoCs) often include various analog blocks, memories, multi-cores and multi-power domains, and require a sophisticated power grid to deliver the correct amount of power to the correct domains. All of these differing power requirements can cause the power grid to be discontinuous at many places during the design stage. The power required by a SoC is also effected by limited numbers of power and ground pins.
It would be advantageous if metal fill could be used to not only meet metal layer density requirements, but also to take into account and help meet circuit power requirements.

Integrated circuit with power network aware metal fill