A laser is irradiated on the surface of a semiconductor wafer while a stage mounted on the semiconductor wafer is moved, and scattering lights emitted from the surface of the semiconductor wafer is received by the receiving device, and an intensity distribution of the scattering lights is measured. The intensity distribution is processed by the controller so as to obtain a defect density of the semiconductor wafer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for measuring a density of defects existing in a semiconductor wafer and an apparatus and a method for measuring an inherent scattering intensity of defects existing in a semiconductor wafer, especially relates to an apparatus and a method which are effective to accurately evaluate crystal defects existing in a semiconductor wafer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known the technique in which crystal defects (hereinafter referred to as "defects") existing in a semiconductor wafer is measured by using a laser. In this technique, the defects existing in the semiconductor wafer is measured by performing a series of the following steps.
(1) Irradiating a laser on the surface of a semiconductor wafer, and receiving a scattered light which is scattered by the defects existing in the semiconductor wafer. PA1 (2) Transferring the scattered light received in step1 to the frequency of the defects. PA1 (3) Deciding a detecting possibility depth of the defects by utilizing a attenuation characteristics of the laser. PA1 (4) Calculating a detecting possibility volume of the defects by using the detecting possibility depth deciding in step 3 and the area of irradiating the laser. PA1 (5) Deriving a density of the defects by using the detecting possibility volume calculated in step 4 and the frequency of the defects deriving in step 2.
However, There is a case that the density of the defects obtained by performing the above steps can deviate from the actual density of the defects because the detecting possibility depth is decided as a fixed value. This depends on distributing the defects having various inherent scattering intensitys in the semiconductor wafer. For example, a large defect has an inherent scattering intensity which is larger than that of a small defect, and can be detected in a deeper depth.
Therefore, when a large defect exists in a depth which is deeper than the detecting possibility depth decided previously, the signal obtained from the defect is included in the information of the density. And then the density of the defects which is finally obtained becomes larger than the actual density.
On the other hand, if the detecting possibility depth is greatly set in consideration of the existence of an extra signal like the above-mentioned, the density of the defects which is finally obtained becomes smaller than the actual density because a small defect cannot be detected even if existing in the set depth.
Thus, it is difficult to decide the detecting possibility depth in the above conventional technology, and it is necessary to improve the conventional technology in order to accurately evaluate the defects.

Apparatus and a method for measuring a density of defects existing in a semiconductor wafer and an apparatus and a method for measuring an inherent scattering intensity of defects existing in a semiconductor wafer


In one example arrangement, an immersive projection system includes an enclosure, and a number of projectors suspended outside and near the upper portion of the enclosure. The projectors project portions of a scene through openings in the enclosure and onto an inside surface of the enclosure. In some embodiments, light emanating from the projectors reflects from one or more mirrors before being cast onto the enclosure wall. The projectors and one or more mirrors may be mounted to a mounting frame that maintains the projectors and one or more mirrors in fixed spatial relationship, and the mounting frame may be mounted on a movable gantry for lifting the mounting frame to the upper portion of the enclosure. The enclosure may be a collapsible dome.

Immersive viewing environments are useful in a variety of applications, including entertainment, gaming, military and civilian training, or other kinds of training. In an immersive viewing system, a user may be surrounded or substantially surrounded by a projection screen that displays a representation of an environment, and the user has the impression of being immersed in the environment. In some systems, the scene may be an immersive motion picture. Some systems are interactive, so that the user can navigate through the environment, with the scene automatically updating to reflect simulated motion through the displayed environment.
Prior immersive viewing systems have disadvantages. For example, systems may require a large number of projectors to cover the entire projection screen. In some systems, the environment representation is formed by a number of projectors, each displaying part of the scene on the viewing screen. In such systems, the user can only move in a very limited part of the enclosed area without casting shadows on the viewing screen. Prior systems are also difficult and time consuming to set up.


A machine for placement on the fingertips of players of stringed instruments with which the strings will picked or plucked. Designed as a set, the two picks do not collide as the musician moves his or her fingers to pick the stringed instrument, The abrasion of the interior of the picks, prevents pick slippage, even when worn comfortably loose, The forefinger pick is designed with a unique diagonal wrap that may be adjusted to fit a range of finger sizes, The middle finger pick is designed with wings that provide a gap which allows the adjacent pick to touch the skin of the middle finger instead of allowing metal to touch metal, The forefinger wrap is placed to avoid the metal of the middle finger pick and instead touch the skin of the middle finger, and The shank (the tip portion) may be adjusted or bent to the conformation desired by any given musician.

This invention relates generally to the field of finger picks and more specifically to a machine for placement on the fingertips of players of stringed instruments with which the strings will be picked or plucked.
Ever since the invention of stringed instruments, musicians have striven for the optimum method of plucking or strumming the strings of their chosen instrument. In the earliest of times, strings could be plucked or strummed with the fingernails of the musician because all strings were made from animal sinew or gut. With the onset of steel strings, it was learned that the fingernails of most musicians who chose to pick finger style would not stand up to the harshness of steel strings. In time, some inventor devised a metal device that was installed on the fingertip and supplanted the fingernail as the chosen method of plucking or strumming finger style.
However, from that time forward, myriad problems have plagued the users of the accessory. Early fingerpicks were comprised of two wraparound wings that were designed to be installed around the fingernail area of the finger. This design, currently still in use and sometimes referred to as the "National" design, usually manufactured from metal or plastic, requires that the picks be squeezed on tightly in order to keep the pick from dislodging and flying off the finger. The tightly installed picks often results in no small amount of pain after only a few minutes of use. Secondarily, because the pick is squeezed onto the fingertip, the rear portion of the pick wrap usually rests against the cuticle of the fingernail. During the picking process, the pressure on the pick face causes the rear of the pick wrap to dig into the cuticle. This very often results in painful hangnails, which have been and still are a constant problem. A less painful but nevertheless a very annoying problem is that of pick collisions during musical performances. This results in a clicking noise that very often disrupts and interferes with recording sessions. These pick collisions also diminish many musician's ability to finesse a musical piece.
Over the years, many designs have been offered as a replacement for that early pick. There have been fingerpicks with double wrap wings and numerous other wrap designs, none of which have completely overcome the problem of pick collisions during musical performances or the problem of hangnails and the pain associated with tightly installed fingerpicks.
The Alaska pick was designed as an attempt to more closely replicate the fingernail. This device was designed to slip over the top portion of the finger and embodies a slot into which the fingernail goes. This is to supposedly counter the torque imposed when the string is plucked. While many of this pick design has been sold to date, they are nevertheless not widely used.
The National design has also been manufactured from plastic. This, however, enjoys limited appeal as the memory in plastic prevents the user from permanently forming the pick to an ideal shape to fit his or her finger. Plastic may be reshaped by heating in hot water, but the process is much more burdensome than reshaping metal picks.
Various fingerpick designs have been manufactured from numerous materials, none of which until now, have truly overcome the challenges associated with the use of fingerpicks.
A musician who is able to pick with fingernails enjoys the ultimate in musical "touch." The tip of the finger as well as the fingernail is able to touch the strings, providing the musician with the ability to add finesse and dynamics to his or her music, a luxury that has been unattainable with fingerpicks. Additionally, while playing with fingernails, the skin of the fingers may touch each other while playing. This adds additional awareness of exactly what the fingers are doing during the process of picking.
The National pick design is designed to be worn around the fingernail region of each finger. This usually results in the picks colliding during play. This not only diminishes the musician's touch, but also results in a clicking sound that is often heard during recording sessions.
The National fingerpick design is inherently unstable when in use. Many musicians are forced to continuously push the picks back onto the fingertip during use, despite the fact that they are installed tightly. Very often, when the tip of the pick catches a string on the top side of the tip of the fingerpick, the pick will fly off, resulting in the ruination of the musical piece.
Until now, no fingerpick designs have been invented with two different shapes, designed specifically to overcome the challenges associated with the national, or old style fingerpicks. The most a musician could have hoped for was purchasing picks of different sizes to accommodate fingers of different sizes, but which were and are the same shape. The device described herein was designed as a set. In that configuration, this device overcomes the four (4) major problems associated with most other fingerpicks.
Some prior patents:
401,476Apr. 16, 1889Barnes413,579Oct. 22, 1889Stewart1,296,284Mar. 4, 1919Gilman3,739,681Jun. 19, 1973Dunlop

Machine with which stringed instruments will be picked or plucked


A child seat anchor assembly includes a fixed portion, wherein the fixed portion is secured to a motor vehicle structural member or a child seat structural member; a latchable portion for releasable engagement with a child seat or a motor vehicle; an energy absorbing mechanism disposed between and in operative communication with the fixed portion and the latchable portion, wherein the energy absorbing mechanism comprises an active material; and a controller in operative communication with the active material, wherein the controller is operable to selectively apply an activation signal to the active material and effect a change in an attribute of the active material, wherein the change in the attribute results in force and acceleration adjusting energy absorption.

The present disclosure generally relates to child seat anchor assemblies, and more particularly to child seat anchor assemblies including tunable force, energy absorbing mechanisms.
Child safety seats have traditionally been secured to motor vehicle passenger seats using an existing seat belt. These seat belts, which are anchored to a fixed structural member of the vehicle at each end, are typically threaded through apertures or slots in the child safety seat before being fastened. This process can be somewhat laborious.
More recently, vehicles are being manufactured with features that improve the ease of securing a child seat to the rear seats of the vehicle. For example, vehicles may include fixed rigid anchors to which restraints that are included on a child seat may be engaged. A child safety seat can be engaged with two lower anchors and an upper anchor. The lower anchors are frequently located in the vehicle seat bight or crack or in an opening in a seat cushion; while the upper anchor is generally located behind the vehicle seat, usually on a rearward shelf or on the floor of a cargo area for those motor vehicles not including a rearward shelf, such as utility vehicles, vans, minivans, station wagons, convertibles, aircraft, buses, trucks, and the like. The anchors are generally metallic and have a U- or C-shaped configuration functioning as a receiving portion for the child seat restraints.
Some child safety seats will be equipped with two lower restraints and most forward-facing child seats will include a top restraint. The restraints may be flexible (e.g., a strap or tether with a hook on the end) or rigid (e.g., an inflexible, firm bar with a latch on the end). The occupant of the child seat is secured to the child seat by a seat belt or other securing harness provided by the child seat.
In the event of a rapid deceleration of the vehicle, such as in an impact event, the child seat and occupant tend to continue moving forward, owing to their inertia, until acted on by tension forces in the child seat restraints. Since the anchors to which the child seat restraints are engaged are rigid mechanical devices, the child seat and occupant, from that point on, tend to experience the same deceleration pulse as the vehicle.
To minimize the effects of the force felt and deceleration experienced by the occupant of the child seat, some child seats are equipped with a force limiting energy absorbing mechanism, such as a tear seam in a tether or strap. Alternatively, some anchors are provided with a force limiting energy absorbing mechanism such as a portion that deforms above a selected stress threshold. These types of energy absorbing mechanisms are irreversible for single use. Once they have been triggered, they must be replaced. More importantly, these energy absorbing mechanisms tend to be operable only at a fixed or non-tunable level of force.
Thus, despite their suitability for their intended purposes, there nonetheless remains a need in the art for improved devices for minimizing the mass dependent deceleration levels experienced by a child seat occupant. It would be particularly advantageous if the response of these devices were tunable, especially in light of the fact that there is great variability in child seat occupant masses and in rates of deceleration. It would also be advantageous if these devices were reversible (i.e., they could be triggered more than once without necessitating complete replacement).

Child seat anchor assembly and methods of use


A charge storage device having a capacitance that is variable by alteration of the relative permittivity of the dielectric positioned between conductive electrodes within the device. The device consists of two conductive plates sandwiching a conductive grid, typically embedded within a dielectric material. Charging the grid with a negative or positive potential changes the value of the dielectric constant (the relative permittivity) and thereby changes the capacitance of the device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic components suitable for receiving and retaining an electrical charge. The present invention relates more specifically to a charge storage device having a capacitance that is variable by alteration of the relative permittivity of the dielectric positioned between conductive electrodes within the device.
Applicant's novel device consists of two conductive plates sandwiching a conductive grid, typically embedded within a dielectric material. Charging the grid with a negative or positive potential changes the value of the dielectric constant (the relative permittivity of the dielectric) and thereby changes the capacitance of the device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Capacitors in general are important electrical/electronic components that are used in a variety of devices from basic power supply circuit boards to more complex computer systems. Capacitors are generally fabricated or constructed in two main forms, fixed and variable. A fixed capacitor has a preset capacitance that is established during the manufacture of the device through the selection of the dielectric material and the conductive plates that enclose the dielectric material. Variable, or trimmed capacitors, do not have set capacitance values fixed during their manufacture. Instead, variable capacitors are designed to allow a range of capacitance values by adjusting some feature of the capacitor to alter its capacitance value. Adjustment of a capacitor through its range of capacitance values may, for example, allow the fine tuning of an electronic circuit and various operational features of the circuit. Variable capacitors are therefore often utilized in electromagnetic wave transmitter and receiver circuitry to vary the frequency response for such transmitters and receivers.
Variable capacitors themselves come in a number of different structural and functional configurations. One of the most common methods of varying the capacitance is to interleave several movable plate electrodes among a number of fixed plate electrodes. Adjusting the position of the variable electrodes, relative to the fixed electrodes, increases or decreases the capacitance as the area between the electrodes changes. One problem with this type of variable capacitor is simply the number of electrodes that are required to implement the method of varying the capacitance. Multiple fixed and variable electrodes are required, and these electrodes themselves require a housing large enough to accommodate both them and their relative motion. In many instances, the size and geometry of such devices become unsuitable for small scale electronic applications. In addition, if the fixed and variable electrodes are not carefully structured and positioned, the capacitor may be easily damaged such that the geometry of the electrode plates changes in an undesired manner resulting in an inappropriate change in the capacitance.
In general, the capacitance value of a capacitor depends upon three factors. These include the distance between the electrode plates of the capacitor and the area (a two dimensional value) between the two electrodes or plates. A third factor not normally considered when constructing a variable capacitor is the relative permittivity of the dielectric material utilized. Most existing variable capacitors adjust either the distance between the two plates, and/or the area between the plates in order to adjust the capacitance value. In either case, mechanical motion is required in order to make these adjustments. It would be desirable if the capacitance value of a capacitor could be varied without the need for the mechanical motion of any of the components associated with the construction of the capacitor. Towards this end, the third factor involved in the capacitance value, the relative permittivity, may be examined as a basis for changing the capacitance value without requiring mechanical motion of the components.
The relative permittivity is, as mentioned above, also known as the dielectric constant, and is a relative measured value that depends on the material chosen for the dielectric. It is expressed as the ratio of a material's absolute permittivity to the absolute permittivity of a vacuum (see Equation 1 below).
In the field of electronics, capacitors are most often considered discrete electronic components that store electrical energy in the form of a static charge. A basic capacitor consists of two metal plates that are separated by a dielectric (insulator). One of the electrical properties of the dielectric insulator material is the ability to store a static electric charge. Capacitors are normally classified by the type of dielectric used in their construction (mica, ceramic, Mylar®, air, electrolytic, etc.) Each of the difference types of capacitors has a range of capacitance values that is generally determined by the geometry of the plates and the dielectric.
Once again to summarize, the capacitance value of a capacitor is the result of three variables:
A. the surface area of the two plates;
B. the distance between the two plates; and
C. the dielectric constant of the dielectric.
Capacitance values are measured in farads. Most fixed (non-variable) capacitors have a capacitance value between 1000 microfarads and 1 picofarad. There are, as mentioned above, a variety of variable capacitors known in the art. Existing variable capacitors operate on one of two principles, both of which require some form of mechanical movement. First, some variable capacitors change their capacitance value by changing their plate area. Second, some variable capacitors change their capacitance value by changing the distance between their plates.
Varactor or tuning diodes are also sometimes used as capacitors. A varactor or tuning diode is typically a semiconductor device that changes its capacitance by changing the width of its depletion region. Varactor diodes are typically limited to the picofarad range.
As mentioned above, capacitors are one of the most frequently used components in electronic circuits. One of the most common uses for variable capacitors is in tuning circuits. For example, the frequency tuner knob on a typical radio receiver is connected to a variable capacitor such that turning the knob changes the capacitance value of the capacitor, which changes the frequency of the radio signal that the radio receives. A variety of other uses of variable capacitors may be found in the literature that involve altering the characteristics of an RC circuit (a fundamental circuit component) by varying the capacitance value at some point in the circuit.
The voltage variable capacitor proposed herein is a modified form of existing capacitors. FIG. 1 shows in general how a conductive grid may be placed within a dielectric and connected to its own terminal. Charging the conductive grid with a negative potential causes the dielectric constant of the capacitor to decrease in value thereby reducing the capacitor's value. Placing a positive potential on the grid causes the dielectric constant to increase, thereby raising the capacitor's value.
The dielectric constant (or relative permittivity, εr) is a relative measure. It is expressed as the ratio of a material's absolute permittivity (ε) to the absolute permittivity of a vacuum (εo):εr=ε/εo  EQUATION 1
Total capacitance expressed in terms of the physical parameters of the capacitor may be expressed by the following equation:
                    C        =                              A                                                                                ɛ                r                                                          (                                  8.85                  ×                                      10                    12                                                                          F                    /                    m                                                  )                                              d                                    EQUATION                                                  2
As discussed above, existing variable capacitors vary the area (A) or the distance between the plates (d) in order to change the capacitance value (C). Both require a change in the physical parameters of the capacitor. In the present invention the relative permittivity (εr) is changed with a static charge on the conductive grid which changes the overall capacitance value without the requirement of any mechanical change in the capacitor. This is the principle by which the present invention operates. It can be seen therefore, from Equation 2, that an increase in the relative permittivity results in an increase in the capacitance value while a decrease in the relative permittivity results in a decrease in the capacitance value. It is known that altering the electromagnetic field within or surrounding a dielectric material will alter the relative permittivity of the dielectric. It is upon this principle that the present invention is based. As a practical matter, there are no limitations as to the size or geometry of the capacitor of the present invention or the type of dielectric material used.
Thus, the present invention provides a first plate capable of storing a charge therein in electrical contact with a first terminal of a source of power distribution. A second plate is spaced apart from the first plate and is in electrical contact with a second terminal of the source of power distribution. A dielectric material occupies the space between the plates as does the grid. The grid is attached to a means of charging, including variably charging the grid.
The grid of the present invention is typically comprised of a conductive material. The dielectric of the present invention is typically an insulator. Direct voltage or alternating voltage may be used as a means for charging the grid. The direct current may be variable. An exemplary method of using the capacitor of the present invention would be to vary the charge on the grid to achieve desired and selected electrical characteristics in a circuit. This may be done by varying the voltage, for example, to the grid and/or using a resistance in series with a power source and the grid.


A liquid phase epitaxy method for forming thin crystalline layers of device quality silicon having less than 5X10.sup.16 Cu atoms/cc impurity, comprising: preparing a saturated liquid solution melt of Si in Cu at about 16% to about 90% wt. Si at a temperature range of about 800.degree. C. to about 1400.degree. C. in an inert gas; immersing a substrate in the saturated solution melt; supersaturating the solution by lowering the temperature of the saturated solution melt and holding the substrate immersed in the solution melt for a period of time sufficient to cause growing Si to precipitate out of the solution to form a crystalline layer of Si on the substrate; and withdrawing the substrate from the solution.

1. Field Of The Invention
The invention relates generally to a method for forming thin liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) crystalline layers of silicon having less than 5X10.sup.16 Cu atoms/cc impurity by providing a saturated solution of Si in Cu at about 18%.-40% by weight Si at temperatures ranging between about 800.degree. C. about 1150.degree. C.; immersing a silicon substrate in the saturated solution; lowering the temperature of the saturated solution and holding the immersed substrate in the solution for a period sufficient to cause Si to precipitate out of the solution to form a crystalline layer of Si on the substrate; and withdrawing the substrate from the solution.
Growing ingots, wafering, and thin-polishing is not cost effective in providing thin silicon layers and the wafers are fragile to handle. Ribbons of silicon are difficult to grow in such thin geometries and the ribbons are also fragile. On the other hand, growing thin layers on a substrate from the Si melt requires high temperatures and hence high energy input. Furthermore, due to the surface tension of Si, thin flat layers can only be grown on substrates which the silicon wets well, such as graphite; however, this can introduce impurity problems. Moreover, the substrates must be able to withstand a temperature of 1430.degree. C. and small Si grain sizes generally result.
Epitaxial growth of Si on a substrate from a gas phase by chemical vapor deposition is uneconomical because of slow growth rates and plasma vacuum, and sputtering deposition techniques generally result in too small grain sizes.
Therefore, liquid phase epitaxial growth of Si would appear more suitable, if solvent impurities can be adequately avoided.
The method of the present invention entails utilizing LPE by using an improved solvent of Cu in a manner to produce thin crystalline layers of device quality silicon faster, at lower process temperatures, and with improved control of dopant content.
2. The Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,623 discloses a crystal substrate of <111> silicon doped by exposure to a liquid metal solvent, wherein the substrate is carried in a cavity in a refractory boat, and the solvent is carried in a perforation of a cover for the boat; said boat being heated to a certain temperature in a non-oxidizing atmosphere and moved to place the substrate cavity under the cover perforation so that the solvent and substrate come into contact.
A process for growing thin epitaxial layers of Group III-V semiconductor materials is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,514. The process prepares a saturated solution of the semiconductor materials in a metal melt by keeping an under-saturated solution in contact with the crystalline semiconductor material at a predetermined temperature, supercooling the saturated solution and bringing the supercooled solution into contact with a substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,372 describes a process for producing silicon of high purity by dissolving silicon in a metal and crystallizing the silicon therefrom. The silicon is dissolved at a temperature in the range of about 700.degree.-1200.degree. C. in a metallic melt used in an amount sufficient for dissolution of the silicon and suitable for crystallization of the silicon upon cooling, wherein the metal melt is of a melt-forming metal and alloys of these metals; including in the melt a dope for the silicon semiconductor; slowly reducing the temperature of the melt including the silicon and dope in order to effect crystallization of the silicon and dope and solidification of the melt; and separating the crystallized dope-containing silicon by dissolving the non-silicon ingredients of the solidified melt in an acid, the melt-forming metal of the metallic melt-silicon solution being present as the principal component of the solution based on the metal-forming metal and silicon content of the solution.
A method of purifying silicon is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,585 which comprises: providing a molten body of a silicon material in a solvent metal of copper; extracting heat from the body to provide a solid phase containing silicon in crystal form and to concentrate impurities in a molten phase; removing a substantial part of the molten phase from the solid phase containing the silicon crystals; subjecting the solid phase to a melting action to melt at least a fraction of the solid phase for purposes of removing a substantial amount of copper-silicon combination adhering to the crystals; and separating at least a fraction of the melted material from the crystals of silicon.
In prior art processes for forming crystalline silicon, there is the requirement of holding the Si melt at relatively high temperatures and this occasions high-power requirements and the higher costs associated therewith. Moreover, in prior art processes for forming crystalline silicon that involve silicon solvents of Ga or In, these processes have suffered from a lack of control over the levels of particular dopant that is desired to be incorporated in the crystalline silicon product.
Liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) is also sometimes called high-temperature solution growth or metal solution growth (if the solvent is a metal), and it has been used since the 1960's in the semiconductor industry for group III-V growth (GaAs, GaP, etc.). Thin layer silicon epitaxy has also been heavily investigated using the solvents of group III's (Al, Ga, In); group V's (Sb, Bi); group IV (Sn); and the metals Au, Cd, Pb, and Ag.
However, a problem with group III and V solvents is that they are also electrical dopants for silicon, and usually lead to difficulties with dopant control. Many metals degrade the minority charge carrier lifetime of the silicon, which is detrimental for most applications. These problems arise because there is some solubility of the solvent element in the grown silicon layer, and this varies with the particular solvent.
A problem with some solvents is that they do not dissolve much silicon and this can lead to excessively slow growth rates.
In the early 1980's, Olson, Carleton, and Tejedor showed the advantageous property of solid Cu-Si alloys to preferentially retain impurities, and used them as source material for bulk polycrystalline Si formation via chemical vapor deposition and electrodeposition of silicon. They were able to refine silicon by both electrodeposition (J. M. Olson and K. L. Carleton, J. ElectroChem. So. 128 No. 12 (1981) 2699) and by chemical vapor deposition (P. Tejedor and J. M. Olson, J. of Crystal Growth 89 (1988) 220). They were also able to achieve bulk silicon with typically less than 5 ppm impurity compared to their silicon starting material which contained about 1% impurity.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,585,Cu solvent was used to advantage in a liquid phase purification process for bulk silicon.
Therefore, a need exists to provide a method for producing thin crystalline layers of device quality silicon faster, at lower process temperatures, and with improved control of the dopant content.

Crystallization from high temperature solutions of Si in copper


Providing a coding scheme for wireless communication downlink reference signals is described herein. By way of example, a dedicated reference signal is mapped to resources of a wireless channel as a function of an identifier (ID) of a cell in which the reference signal is transmitted. The function can be similar to mapping functions employed for common reference signals, or can be distinct from such functions. As one example of the latter, a dedicated reference signal mapping function can be shifted in time or frequency with respect to the common reference signal mapping function. By employing a mapping function based on cell ID, noise caused by concurrent transmission of reference signals can be mitigated in a manner readily determined by terminals in a wireless network.

I. Field
The following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to coding and decoding dedicated reference signals for improved wireless communications.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content and services such as, e.g., voice content, data content, video content, packet data services, broadcast services, messaging services, multimedia services, and so on. Typical wireless communication systems can be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems can include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, and the like.
Generally, wireless multiple-access communication systems can simultaneously support communication for multiple mobile devices. Each mobile device can communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from base stations to mobile devices, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from mobile devices to base stations. Further, communications between mobile devices and base stations can be established via a single-in-single-out (SISO) system, a multiple-in-single-out (MISO) system, or a multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) system.
To facilitate wireless communications, a wireless base station can transmit a reference signal to terminals operating within a wireless communication system. The reference signal comprises coding sequences employed to randomize transmitted symbols, reducing noise and interference among concurrent transmissions in the wireless communication system. Furthermore, terminals can employ these reference signal sequences to decode the transmitted symbols. Thus, upon first entering the wireless system, a terminal will typically analyze received wireless signals to obtain reference signals that contain the coding/decoding information.
In modern wireless communication systems, a base station may transmit general reference signals for use by most or all terminals served by the base station, as well as dedicated reference signals for particular communication content, particular wireless services, or even specific sets of terminals or individual terminals. Additionally, where the base station has multiple antennas (e.g., a MIMO system or directional beamforming system), each antenna can employ a set of reference signals to serve a set of terminals. Thus, a single wireless service area can have concurrent transmission of many reference signals, from one or more sources.
To mitigate noise and interference between reference signals, coding sequences can be used to allocate reference signal symbols to distinct resources of a wireless channel. However, as a number of reference signals in a cell increases, a sufficient number of conventional codes may not exist to distinguish each reference. Additionally, mobile terminals operating in a system may require reference signal codes to be pre-programmed in software or firmware on the device. Accordingly, addition of new coding schemes in a system can prove restrictive for legacy terminals. Thus, it would be desirable for a reference signal coding scheme that mitigates at least the foregoing shortcomings.

Transmission and reception of dedicated reference signals


A method for producing a thin panel liquid crystal display system (20) for producing images comprising providing a mother glass (32) having at least two active glass substrates (34) therein, adhering the mother glass (32) to a handle substrate (38) to provide strength and rigidity to the mother glass (32), printing said active glass substrates (34) with grid lines, cutting the mother glass (32) between the active glass substrates (34), separating the active glass substrates (34) from one another, placing two active glass substrates (34) in parallel with one another, disbursing a plurality of glass beads on one of the active glass substrates (34), injecting liquid crystal display material between the active glass substrates (34), sealing the active glass substrates (34) together, and separating each of the active glass substrates (34) from the handle substrate (38).

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with portable computer monitors, as an example.
Heretofore, in the field, there has been an increased demand for portable computer systems such as laptop, notebook, and recently, sub-notebook computers. The portable computers have dramatically increased the mobility of computing power for the computer user. Since the first portable computer, manufacturers have increased computer mobility by decreasing the size, weight, and power demands of portable computers while increasing the battery life for portable computers.
The monitors presently used for portable computer applications contribute greatly to the overall size and weight of the portable computer. Whether the monitor is monochrome display, dual-scan color display, or active matrix color display, the monitor must be of a sufficient size to provide the user with readable images. In addition, monitors place a great burden on available power resources.
Typically, portable computer monitors utilize a liquid crystal display system. The liquid crystal display systems typically includes a top glass panel and a bottom glass panel, having thin film transistors and liquid crystal material therebetween. The system drivers are generally integrated into a circuit board which surrounds the top glass panel and the bottom glass panel. These systems also utilize a backlight system that typically includes a diffuser for passing light evenly to the liquid crystal display, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) for producing light, a reflector for directing light toward the diffuser, and a light pipe located between the diffuser and the reflector to spread light to the entire surface of the diffuser.
The use of conventional liquid crystal display systems in the monitors of portable computer, however, creates a limiting factor in the continuing effort to reduce the size and weight of portable computers. In conventional liquid crystal display systems, the combination of the top glass panel and the bottom glass panel accounts for up to forty percent of the weight of the liquid crystal display system and also accounts for up to thirty percent of the thickness of the liquid crystal display system. Technological limitation presently prevent the manufacturing of liquid crystal display glass panels which have a thickness of less than 0.7 millimeters. Glass panels which are thinner than 0.7 millimeters are typically unable to withstand the stresses associated with the manufacturing process. Additionally, even as technological advances are made to reduce the size of other components of portable computers, the monitor must remain necessarily large in order to provide the user with readable text, graphics and video images of a sufficient size to minimize user eye strain.

Thin panel liquid crystal display system


A plant for producing hydrogen peroxide by autooxidation of an anthraquinone derivative, including a catalytic hydrogenation vessel (1) supplied with hydrogen; an oxidizing vessel (2) supplied with an oxygen-containing fluid, particularly air; an extractor (3) supplied with water; and elements (7,16,19) for successively feeding a working solution containing at least one anthraquinone derivative dissolved in at least one organic solvent through the hydrogenation vessel (1), the oxidizing vessel (2) and the extractor (3), then recirculating it to the hydrogenation vessel (1). Elements (9,26) are provided for diverting at least part of the working solution from the extractor (3) to the oxidizing vessel (2) so that it bypasses the hydrogenation vessel (1). The plant is useful for producing hydrogen peroxide in situ in a paper pulp bleaching plant.

A plant as described above is conventionally used for the production of commercial solutions of hydrogen peroxide. An example of such a plant is presented in the work by Kirk Othmer, "Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology", 3rd edition, volume 17.
For economic reasons (cf. Process Economic Report No. 68B, Hydrogen Peroxide, March 1992, chapter VI, SRI international) which are essentially linked with the costs of transportation and storage, these solutions must have a hydrogen peroxide concentration that is as high as possible, that is a concentration higher than 35%, more generally a concentration of 60% or 70% by weight.
To prepare these concentrated commercial hydrogen peroxide solutions, the process is run so as to recover at the outlet of the extractor a solution which has a hydrogen peroxide concentration that is as high as possible, while remaining outside the region of explosiveness of the mixtures of working solutions/aqueous solutions of hydrogen peroxide. In this respect, Patent Application FR-A-2,228,717 points out that the hydrogen peroxide concentration of said aqueous solution leaving the extractor must not be higher than 600 g/l, that is 50% by weight of hydrogen peroxide. A hydrogen peroxide concentration higher than this value is described as being capable of producing explosive reactions.
To obtain highly concentrated aqueous solutions of hydrogen peroxide, the operating parameters of the above-mentioned autooxidation plant are adapted so as to permit the use of a working solution which has, throughout the plant, a hydrogen peroxide equivalent which is as high as possible, for example a hydrogen peroxide equivalent higher than 11 g/l, or even higher. Thus, Patent Application FR-A-2,086,166 recommends the use of a working solution capable of producing, after oxidation, a quantity of the order of 16 g of hydrogen peroxide per liter of working solution. The hydrogen peroxide equivalent is thus at least 16 g/l at the entry of the oxidizer. However, conventional plants using a high hydrogen peroxide equivalent present numerous disadvantages. Thus, they generally require the use of high oxidation temperatures. These temperatures become necessary to prevent the crystallization of the working solution which has a high hydrogen peroxide equivalent. In this respect reference may be made to "Techniques de l'Ingenieur", chapter "Peroxyde d'hydrogene", J. 6020, which mentions that the oxidation temperatures must be between 60 and 80.degree. C.
Another disadvantage encountered in these plants is that the working solution decomposes rapidly.
In addition, these traditional plants are very sensitive to the presence of water, even in a small quantity, which can be introduced accidentally either into the oxidizer or into the conduits linking the oxidizer and the extractor. In this region the water reacts with the oxidized working solution, which can give rise to explosive reactions.
In addition, in order to reduce the risk of explosion in the oxidizer, it is necessary to employ "dumped" random packings (for example Raschig rings). These packings have good characteristics insofar as the gas-liquid contacts are concerned, but they are costly to use and take up a lot of room in the oxidizer. Furthermore, these packings have a tendency to retain solid impurities. Thus, when being started up again, the plant is exposed to a high risk of a relatively large quantity of impurities, especially metallic ones, suddenly entering the extractor, and this is dangerous in this part of the plant.
The objective of the present invention is to circumvent the abovementioned disadvantages.
More particularly, the objective of the invention is to provide a plant for the production of hydrogen peroxide using the autooxidation technique, which is particularly well suited from the viewpoint of capital cost, operating costs and safety in the actual industrial conditions. In particular, the objective of the invention is to provide a plant that enables hydrogen peroxide to be produced directly on the site where it is used by certain plants, such as plants for the manufacture of paper pulp.

Plant for the production of hydrogen peroxide


An Electrospray ionization ion source is disclosed comprising a capillary tube surrounded by a gas nebulizer tube. One or more wires are provided within the capillary tube. An analyte solution is supplied to the capillary tube and a nebulizing gas is supplied to the gas nebuliser tube.

The present invention relates to an ion source, preferably an Electrospray ionisation ion source, a mass spectrometer, a method of ionising a sample and a method of mass spectrometry.
Electrospray Ionisation ("ESI") has established itself as the most widely used ionisation technique for Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry ("LC/MS") systems. Electrospray ionisation involves passing a liquid down an open tubular capillary which is maintained at a relatively high voltage with respect to an ion sampling orifice of an adjacent mass spectrometer. In the case of high liquid flow rates (e.g. 5-1000 μl/min) it is common to use a combination of a concentric flow of a high velocity nebulisation gas and a heated desolvation gas in order to aid the desolvation process.
Charged droplets are formed by the combined action of electrostatic and electrohydrodynamic forces at the capillary tip. The droplets then undergo desolvation until a point is reached where the increasing repulsive forces within the droplet exceed the surface tension. At this point of instability, termed the Rayleigh limit, the droplets undergo a fission process which results in the production of a number of smaller charged droplets commonly referred to as progeny droplets. The desolvation and, fission process can then proceed further so that second generation charged droplets are produced which are even smaller. A point is then reached where ions are released into the gas phase according to an ion evaporation or charge residue model.
Most theories concerning the mechanism of Electrospray ionisation predict that relatively high efficiency Electrospray ionisation can be achieved from highly charged small droplets having a high surface charge density. Gas phase ions are obtained from first or early generation progeny droplets that require only mild desolvation.
Nanospray ionisation, which is conducted at flow rates of 10-100 nl/min, is an example of a high efficiency Electrospray process wherein sub-micron, highly charged, first generation droplets are generated without the need for concentric nebulisation or desolvation gases. Nanospray ionisation from early generation droplets is also less susceptible to matrix suppression effects wherein co-eluting sample matrix components become concentrated during desolvation and compete with the analyte ions for the available charge.
Conversely, conventional Electrospray ionisation at relatively high flow rates (e.g. 100-1000 μl/min) is relatively inefficient since relatively large (>10 μm) droplets are created having a relatively low surface charge density. Relatively high desolvation temperatures are required in order to yield ions from later generation droplets and the process is more susceptible to matrix suppression effects.
Commercially available Electrospray ionisation ion sources for mass spectrometers are designed such that the internal diameter of the open tubular liquid capillary is increased as the desired flow rate is increased. The internal diameter of a capillary for nanovial Electrospray ionisation is typically 1 μm whereas the internal diameter of a capillary for conventional high flow rate Electrospray ionisation may be typically about 130 μm. Experimental techniques have confirmed that the average droplet diameters for nanospray are typically sub-micron whereas for high flow rate Electrospray ionisation the average droplet diameter is between 10-20 μm. If an attempt is made to use a narrow bore capillary at high flow rates then a number of practical problems are encountered. Narrow bore capillaries at high flow rates require greater pressure in order to maintain the required flow rate and are more prone to blockages. Narrow bore capillaries also suffer from poor reproducibility due to the difficulty in producing consistent spraying conditions.
The advent of a new generation of liquid chromatography (LC) columns, such as Ultra Pressure LC (UPLC) and monolithic LC columns, has facilitated high chromatographic efficiency for short retention times with the use of high mobile phase flow rates (500-3000 μl/min). These technologies have reversed the previous trend of reducing both the LC column dimension and the flow rate. As a result, there exists a need for a high efficiency Electrospray ionisation ion source which exhibits reduced matrix suppression effects and which is capable of operating at relatively high flow rates.
It is therefore desired to provide an improved ion source.


A method can include, in an integrated circuit device: at a unidirectional command-address (CA) bus having no more than four parallel inputs, receiving a sequence of no less than three command value portions; latching each command value portion in synchronism with rising edges of a timing clock; determining an input command from the sequence of no less than three command value portions; executing the input command in the integrated circuit device; and on a bi-directional data bus having no more than six data input/outputs (IOs), outputting and inputting sequences of data values in synchronism with rising and falling edges of the timing clock. Corresponding devices and systems are also disclosed.

Memory devices remain critical components in most electronic systems. In terms of system performance, memory device data rates can be a limiting factor. In terms of system power consumption, any reduction in memory device power consumption is desirable. At the same time, for many systems, such as automobiles for example, it is desirable to keep system bus sizes to a minimum. Thus, low pin count memory devices enjoy wide use in such systems.
FIGS. 32A and 32B are diagrams showing conventional memory device types and performance. FIG. 32A shows an example of a memory device 3201A compatible with HyperBus™ specification promulgated by Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, an Infineon Technologies Company. Memory device 3201A can provide a high performance solution. In some configurations, a memory device 3201A can operate at a clock speed of around 200 MHz, providing data on both rising and falling edges of the clock signal (i.e., double data rate, DDR). Device 3201A can include low voltage CMOS (LVCMOS) signaling. A memory device 3201A can be a nonvolatile memory device (e.g., NOR flash memory) or a volatile memory (e.g., hidden refresh DRAM).
FIG. 32B shows a memory device 3201B compatible with the low power DDR 4 (LPDDR4) standard JESD209-4D, promulgated by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC). A memory device 3201B is a synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) that can provide high performance while employing a relatively high pin count. Memory device 3201B can have a differential clock input (CK_1/CK_c) and differential data strobes (DS_t/DS_c). While FIG. 32B shows a device with a x8 data input/output (IO), other LPDDR4 SDRAM can have larger IOs (i.e., x16). A memory device 3201B can operate at clock speeds starting at around 800 MHz, and utilize low voltage swing termination logic (LVSTL) signaling.
FIG. 32C is a timing diagram showing command processing operations of a conventional LPDDR4 device, such as that shown in FIG. 32B. In response to an active (high) chip select (CS) signal, a device can latch a first six-bit portion of a command on a rising edge of a clock signal (CK), and then latch a second six-bit portion of the command on the next rising edge of the clock signal (with CS being inactive).
While providing desirable high speed signaling, the large pin counts of conventional approaches can make them unsuitable for low pin count applications. In addition, the volatile storage of LPPDR4 SDRAM can make them unsuitable for many applications, such as the storage of firmware in a system.

Memory devices with low pin count interfaces, and corresponding methods and systems


Embodiments include a signal generator circuit for generating a time-varying signal, comprising capacitive element; FET to supply to or from the capacitive element a current matched to the FET drain current; a bias voltage generator to provide a bias voltage to the FET gate, wherein: the capacitances per unit area of the capacitive element and the FET gate are matched; the bias voltage is substantially equal to a sum of a first voltage substantially proportional to a reference voltage and a second voltage substantially proportional to temperature; the FET source-gate voltage substantially equal to the sum of the bias voltage and the gate threshold voltage, the bias voltage and a further voltage approximately equal to the gate threshold voltage summed to determine the FET source-gate voltage, the circuit to control a time period of the time-varying signal dependent on the current supply.

Integrated Circuits (IC) frequently require an on-chip ramp or clock generator. It is desirable for the clock or ramp signal to be independent of process variations, supply voltage and temperature.
Many ICs use a relaxation oscillator for generation of a ramp or clock. Usually the timing elements used by this circuit are a resistor and capacitor. Each of these components varies by +/−20%, to at least some extent due to process corner. This results in the on-chip clock varying by +/−28%. To reduce the spread in clock variation with process corner it is desirable to compensate for process variations.
The use of trimming to reduce variation in the frequency of a clock may add to the cost of ICs that require an on-chip ramp or clock generator.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,286 (Philips Electronics North America Corporation, Jul. 18, 2000) describes an integrated reference circuit having controlled temperature dependence. Specifically, the patent describes that mobility in an FET is used as a time standard to develop a reference component which may be fully integrated and which is temperature stable to an arbitrary desired accuracy. The large temperature dependence of mobility is compensated by applying a gate bias voltage having a predetermined variation in value with respect to temperature. In one embodiment the bias voltage of the FET is given a temperature dependence which results in the drain current of the FET being substantially constant with respect to temperature. This current is then used to charge or discharge a capacitor, yielding an R-C product which may be implemented in integrated form. A plurality of PTAT current sources are combined, and FET threshold bias compensation is provided by a bias source that is separate from the temperature dependent current sources.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,265 (Dallas Semiconductor Corporation, Jun. 27, 1989) describes that a temperature and processing compensated time delay circuit of the type which can be fabricated in a monolithic integrated circuit utilizes a field effect transistor (FET) connected to the terminals of a charged capacitor. A bias voltage connected to the gate of the FET varies with temperature in a manner to compensate for the changes in current which flows from the capacitor through the FET due to changes in temperature. The bias voltage also varies from one integrated circuit to another in a manner to compensate for variations in FET threshold voltage caused by variations in the processing of the integrated circuits.
The negative temperature co-efficient in the bias voltage is provided by three summed BJT base-emitter voltages in combination with a scaled and temperature invariant bandgap voltage. Hence, it cannot be arbitrarily scaled. Furthermore, the FET threshold compensation is provided by a second FET that does not have its source at the same potential as that of the first FET. Hence, threshold voltage cancellation is not perfect. Furthermore, a timing capacitor is connected across the drain-source terminals of the FET.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,270 (Exar Corporation, Dec. 5, 2000) relates to a programmable oscillator, and describes that an oscillator circuit generates an output frequency that is substantially independent of power supply and temperature variations. The oscillator circuit can be implemented using conventional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology. A FET is used in linear mode.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,496,056 (Agere Systems Inc, Dec. 17, 2002) relates to process tolerant integrated chip design. It describes that an operating parameter of an integrated circuit is made substantially insensitive to process variations by configuring the circuit such that an environmental parameter, e.g., supply voltage to a portion of the circuit, is made a function of one or more process parameters, e.g., conduction threshold voltages and mobilities in that portion of the circuit. In an arrangement, the circuit operating parameter is an oscillation period of a ring oscillator. A voltage regulator generates a reference voltage which is determined at least in part based on known process parameter variations in the ring oscillator. The ring oscillator utilizes the reference voltage generated by the voltage regulator as its supply voltage.
US patent application 2006/0226922 A1 (Texas Instruments Inc, published Oct. 12, 2006) relates to a process, supply, and temperature insensitive integrated time reference circuit. Specifically, it describes that a relaxation oscillator includes a reference voltage circuit configured to maintain a reference voltage in proportion to actual circuit resistance values. A charging current is proportional to 1/R.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,311 (SGS-Thomson Microelectronics SA, Dec. 3, 1991) relates to an integrated circuit with adjustable oscillator with frequency independent of the supply voltage. Specifically, it describes that, to enable the making, in an integrated circuit, of an internal clock, the frequency of which is adjustable and does not depend on the general supply voltage Vcc of the circuit, a relaxation oscillator is used. The relaxation oscillator is built in the following way: weighted individual current sources may be selectively connected in parallel under the control of a register containing frequency adjusting data. These sources charge and discharge a capacitor. A threshold comparator determines a high threshold Vh and a low threshold Vb to trigger respectively the discharging and the charging of the capacitor. The difference Vh-Vb is made proportional to the currents of the elementary sources. A discrete charging capacitor is used.
Paper "A 7-MHz process, temperature and supply compensated clock oscillator in 0.25 μm CMOS" (Sundaresan, K.; Brouse, K. C.; U-Yen, K.; Ayazi, F.; Allen, P. E., ISCAS 03: Proceedings of the 2003 International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2003; Volume 1, May 25-28, 2003, Page(s): I-693-I-696) relates to the design and characterization of a process, temperature and supply compensation technique for a clock generator based on a three-stage differential ring oscillator. The variation of the frequency of the oscillator with temperature and process is discussed and an adaptive biasing scheme incorporating a unique combination of a process corner sensing scheme and a temperature compensating network is considered. Specifically, the paper describes that a biasing circuit changes the control voltage of the differential ring oscillator to maintain a constant frequency. The technique includes a process corner sensing scheme.
In the field of signal generation, it is desirable to provide cost-effective generation of a clock or ramp signal that is independent of process variations, supply voltage and temperature. Moreover, there is a need to provide apparatuses and methods for improved signal generation, and apparatuses and methods for improved trimming of the temperature coefficient of a signal.


A solid fuel burner and its combustion method suited for encouraging fuel ignition and avoiding slugging caused by combustion ash, wherein a gas of low oxygen concentration (exhaust combustion gas) is used as a carrier gas of such a low grade solid fuel as brown coal.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid fuel burner for burning a solid fuel fed by gas flow, particularly to a solid fuel burner, a solid fuel burner combustion method, a combustion apparatus (combustion apparatus) equipped with solid fuel burners and an operation method of the combustion apparatus, suitable for suspended combustion of such fuels as wood, peat and coal, containing much water and volatile matter by pulverizing and feeding them by gas.
2. Description of Prior Art
Since fuel such as wood, peat and coal having a low coalification rank, represented by brown coal and lignite, contains much volatile matter, in the atmosphere of air, such a fuel tends to undergo spontaneous ignition in the process of storage, pulverization and feed, and is not easy to handle, as compared to the bituminous coal. To prevent spontaneous ignition, when such a fuel is pulverized and burnt, the gas mixture of air and exhaust combustion gas with oxygen concentration reduced may be used as a gas for carrying the fuel. The exhaust combustion gas serves to reduce the oxygen concentration around the fuel and to control the oxidation reaction (combustion) of the fuel, thereby avoiding spontaneous ignition. Further, the exhaust combustion gas also serves to remove water content in the fuel by the potential heat.
However, when the fuel carried by the carrier gas is jetted from the solid fuel burner, the oxidation reaction of this fuel is restricted by the oxygen concentration around the fuel, and the combustion speed is low as compared to the cases where the fuel is carried by air. Normally, after having mixed with the air jetted from the air nozzle, the fuel is subjected to active oxidation reaction. Therefore, combustion speed is determined by the speed of mixing with air. Thus, fuel switching time is longer than that when the fuel is carried by air. This will lead to increase in the amount of the unburnt fuel at the outlet of the combustion apparatus, i.e. the furnace
Further, flame temperature is low since combustion is slow. This makes it difficult to utilize the reduction reaction of the nitrogen oxides (NOx) into nitrogen, which becomes active in a reducing atmosphere of high temperature (about 1000° C. or higher). The NOx at the outlet of the furnace tends to be greater in amount than when the fuel is carried by air.
One of the ways to expedite the ignition of the fuel carried by the carrier gas is to increase the oxygen concentration of the fuel carrier gas in the vicinity of the fuel nozzle outlet. For example, proposed is a structure for installation of an additional air nozzle outside the fuel nozzle or at the center of the nozzle. The additional air nozzle promotes mixing of the fuel with air at the fuel nozzle outlet.
If the air from the additional air nozzle is jetted in the form of fuel jet, viz., in parallel to the fuel and its carrier gas as in the case of the aforementioned prior art examples, mixing between the fuel jet and additional air will be slow because there is a small difference in flow velocity between the fuel jet and the air jet from the additional air nozzle.
Normally, the distance from the additional air nozzle outlet to the fuel nozzle outlet is 1 meter or less. Since the velocity of the fuel jet is about 12 meters per second or higher, time of mixing between the fuel particle and additional air in the fuel nozzle is as short as about 0.1 second or less. If the additional air is jetted in parallel to the fuel particle, mixing will be insufficient.
In the meantime, when the additional air nozzle is arranged upstream of the fuel nozzle in order to prolong the time of mixing between the fuel particle and additional air in the fuel nozzle, so-called a back fire may occur, wherein the fuel is fired inside the fuel nozzle if the oxygen concentration is increased. Thus, the distance from the additional air nozzle outlet to the fuel nozzle outlet cannot be increased.
To solve such problems, the present inventors have proposed a structure wherein an additional air nozzle is arranged in the fuel nozzle, and air is jetted from the additional air nozzle in the direction almost perpendicular to the fuel jet running through the fuel nozzle. In another structure proposed by the same present inventors, an additional air nozzle and a separator that separates the flow path are arranged in the fuel nozzle, and the outlet of the additional air nozzle overlaps with the separator, when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the burner shaft. (See Patent Document 1, for example).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Application Patent Laid-open Publications No. 2003-240227 (JP 2003-240227 A) (FIGS. 1 through 4 on pp. 7 through 9.)

Solid fuel burner, solid fuel burner combustion method, combustion apparatus and combustion apparatus operation method

Abstract: Means for Solving the Subject

Abstract: An additional air nozzle 12 for jetting additional air having a velocity component in the circumferential direction of a fuel nozzle 11 is provided in the fuel nozzle 11, thereby encouraging mixing between the fuel and air in the fuel nozzle 11. Further, the amount of air supplied from the additional air nozzle 12 is adjusted in response to the difference in combustion loads. Under light load, the amount of air supplied from the additional air nozzle 12 is increased so as to increase the oxygen concentration of the circulating flow 19 formed downstream of the outside of the outlet of the fuel nozzle 11, whereby stable combustion is ensured. Under heavy load, by contrast, the amount of air supplied from the additional air nozzle 12 is decreased, and a flame is formed away from the fuel nozzle 11 in such a way that burner structures and furnace wall will be less subjected to radiant heat.


The present invention is a process for the preparation of hydrolyzable .beta.-cyanoalkylsilanes. More particularly this invention is a process for the catalytic addition of silicon hydrides to .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated olefinic nitriles to form .beta.-cyanoalkylsilanes. The present process employs a novel catalyst comprising an aminoorganosilane and a copper source. The catalyst may be provided to the process on a solid support.

The present invention is a process for the preparation of hydrolyzable beta-cyanoalkylsilanes. More particularly, this invention is a process for the catalytic addition of silicon hydrides to .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated olefinic nitriles to form .beta.-cyanoalkylsilanes. The present process employs a novel catalyst comprising an aminoorganosilane and a copper source. The catalyst may be provided to the process on a solid support.
Hydrolyzable .beta.-cyanoalkylsilanes prepared by the present process are useful for the production of polyorganosiloxanes containing the .beta.-cyanoalkyl substituent. The silicon-bonded .beta.-cyanoalkyl radical is extremely resistant to hydrolysis and cleavage under hot, humid conditions. Therefore, the .beta.-cyanoalkylsilanes find particular use in the preparation of polyorganosiloxanes which must be subjected to hot, humid conditions. The presence of the silicon-bonded .beta.-cyanoalkyl radical substituted on polyorganosiloxanes also tends to stabilize the polyorganosiloxanes against swelling induced by liquid hydrocarbons.
Bluestein, U.S. Pat. No. 2,971,970, issued Feb. 14, 1961, describes a process for preparing cyanoalkylsilanes which comprises reacting a hydrolyzable silicon hydride with an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated olefinic nitrile in the presence of a diamine, a tertiary amine and a cuprous compound selected from the class consisting of cuprous oxide and cuprous halides.
Bluestein, U.S. Pat. No. 2,971,972, issued Feb. 14, 1961, describes a process for adding phenyldichlorosilane to acrylonitrile in the presence of a catalyst composition consisting essentially of a trialkylamine and a cuprous compound selected from the group consisting of cuprous halides and cuprous oxide.
Svoboda et al., Collection Czechoslov. Chem. Commun. 38:3834-3836, 1973, describe binary systems of a copper compound (Cu.sub.2 O, CuCl, or Cu(acac).sub.2) and an isocyanide (tert-butyl or cyclohexyl isocyanide) as effective catalysts for hydrosilation of acrylonitrile by trichlorosilane and methyldichlorosilane.
Rajkumar et al., Organometallics 8:550-552, 1989, describes a two-component catalyst, consisting of cuprous oxide and tetramethylethylenediamine, that promotes .beta.-hydrosilylation of acrylonitrile.

Process for preparation of .beta.-cyanoalkylsilanes


A plasma physical vapor deposition (PVD) reactor configured for self sustained sputtering in which no sputtering working gas is required but the sputtered ions are sufficient to sustain the sputtering from the target. According to the invention, the power applied to the sputtering target is monitored to determine if sustained self-sputtering is being maintained. If the electrical parameters or other parameters in the chamber indicate that the self-sustained plasma has collapsed, a reinitialization procedure is begun including: admitting a working gas such as argon into the chamber; again exciting the plasma; and then effectively eliminating the working gas.

The increased complexity and density of semiconductor integrated circuits has motivated great advances in the fabrication techniques used to produce them. One of the several important processes involved in fabricating integrated circuits involves the deposition of electrically conducting metal layers. Most typically, the metal deposition is performed by physical vapor deposition (PVD), also known by the more conventional term of sputtering. At the present time, the most common interconnect metal is aluminum, perhaps alloyed with up to a few percent with copper, magnesium, or silicon
A conventional PVD reactor 10 is illustrated schematically in cross section in FIG. 1, and the illustration is based upon the Endura PVD Reactor available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. The reactor 10 includes a vacuum chamber 12 sealed to a PVD target 14 composed of the material to be sputter deposited on a wafer 16 held on a heater pedestal 18. A shield 20 held within the chamber protects the chamber wall 12 from the sputtered material and provides the anode grounding plane. A selectable DC power supply 22 biases the target 0 negatively to about -600 VDC with respect to the shield 20. Conventionally, the pedestal 18 and hence the wafer 16 is left electrically floating.
A gas source 24 of sputtering working gas, typically chemically inactive argon, supplies the working gas to the chamber through a mass flow controller 26. A vacuum system 28 maintains the chamber at a low pressure. Although the base pressure can be held to about 10.sup.7 Torr or even lower, the pressure of the working gas is kept between about 1 and 1000 mTorr.
A computer-based controller 30 controls the reactor including the DC power supply 22 and the mass flow controller 26.
When the argon is admitted into the chamber, the DC voltage between the target 14 and the shield 20 ignites the argon into a plasma, and the resultant positively charged argon ions are attracted to the negatively charged target 14. The ions strike the target 14 at a substantial energy and cause target atoms or atomic clusters to be sputtered from the target 14. Some of the target particles strike the wafer 16 and are thereby deposited on it, thereby forming a film of the target material.
To provide efficient sputtering, a magnetron 32 is positioned in back of the target 14. It has opposed magnets 34, 36 creating a magnetic field within the chamber in the neighborhood of the magnets 34, 36. The magnetic field traps electrons, and to maintain charge neutrality the ion density also increases to form a high-density plasma region 38 within the chamber adjacent to the magnetron 32.
Another area of recent development in PVD reactors involves the use of a high-density plasma (HDP), often achieved by RF inductive coils placed around the cylindrical walls 12 of the chamber. The inductively coupled RF power creates an intense plasma. One advantage of HDP sputtering is the increased density of argon ions increases the sputtering rate. Another and perhaps more important advantage is that the intense plasma causes a substantial fraction of the sputtered particles to be ionized. Such ionized sputtered particles may be controllably accelerated across the plasma sheath adjacent to the wafer. The resultant forward peak in the velocity distribution, unlike the more normal nearly isotropic distribution for neutral sputtered particles, is effective in causing the sputtering to fill contact and via holes that are narrow and deep, that is, have a high aspect ratio.
For a number of reasons, mostly related to the decreasing dimensions of metal interconnects in advanced integrated circuits, many now believe that aluminum interconnects should be replaced by interconnects of other materials, one of the most prominent being copper. Copper can be easily sputtered in the PVD reactor of FIG. 1 by using a target 14 composed of copper.
It has been recognized that many of the advantages of HDP-PVD can be attained in copper sputtering with the more conventional PVD reactor of FIG. 1 using sustained self-sputtering, as has been explained for example by Fu et al. in U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/854,008, filed May 7, 1997, incorporated herein by reference. A reactor 50 illustrated in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 includes the reactor described by Fu et al. as well as features of the invention.
The reactor 50 of Fu et al. differs from the conventional PVD reactor 10 of FIG. 1 in a number of features, even aside from the target 14 being composed of copper so as to accomplish copper sputtering. A high-field magnetron 52 is composed of a button magnet 54 surrounded by an oppositely polarized ring magnet 54. Unillustrated mechanisms scan the magnetron 52 circumferential and radially about the chamber axis 58 so as to increase the uniformity of sputter deposition and to reduce wastage of the target.
The magnetron 52 is designed to produce a very high magnetic field in the high-density plasma region 38 so as to produce a plasma region 38 of even higher density. The plasma density is so high that no argon working gas is required to sustain the plasma, but the copper ion density in the high-density plasma region 38 is sufficiently high for the copper ions to themselves resputter the target 14. It should be mentioned that conventionally a plasma can be induced and sustained in the parallel-plate configuration of either FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 only if the gas pressure is maintained above a minimum value in the milliTorr range. For sustained self-sputtering, once the plasma has been ignited, the controller 30 can turn off the argon supply valve 26, and the chamber pressure is reduced to an extremely low residual value, 10.sup.-8 Torr vs. 10.sup.-3 Torr and above in conventional sputtering.
Sustained self-sputtering offers a number of advantages. The possibility of argon being included in the sputter deposited material is eliminated. The high ionization fraction of the sputtered copper particles allows directional control of the copper being sputter deposited, thereby allowing better hole filling. For example, a grid anode 60 may be placed between the target 14 and the wafer 16 to act as the grounding plane for the sputter plasma. Since the grid anode 60 is in planar opposition to the target 14, the electrostatic attraction is nearly perpendicular to the wafer 16 rather than curved to the conventional grounding plane of the cylindrical shield 20. A DC power supply 62 controls the voltage of the grid 62 to a small positive value with respect to the pedestal 18. An additional variable power supply 66 biases the pedestal 18 independently of the grounded shield 20 and thus controls the velocity of the copper ions incident on the wafer 16. The power supply 66 for the pedestal 18 may be an RF power supply to control the plasma sheath voltage with a DC self-bias or may be a DC power supply or ground to provide direct DC control relative to the grid 60 or may be combination of RF and DC supplies.
As alluded to above and described in more detail by Fu et al., sustained self-sputtering requires an ignition sequence. The controller 30 opens the mass flow controller 26 between the argon source 24 and the vacuum chamber to build up sufficient argon pressure in the chamber to ignite a conventional plasma. Once the plasma has been ignited, the controller 30 turns off the mass flow controller 26 to stop the flow of argon into the chamber. However, as described above, the plasma discharge sustains itself after the interruption of argon because of the very high copper plasma density in the region region 38 adjacent to the high-field magnetron 52.
In commercial operation of this type of equipment, reliability is a major concern. Semiconductor fabrication equipment is costly, and downtime must be minimized. The processing is being performed upon partially processed wafers in which substantial amounts of processing time and costs have been invested. Abnormalities in the equipment need to be immediately detected and if possible immediately corrected.
The electrical power supplied to a reactor is not completely reliable. Commercially supplied power is subject to major and minor excursions, an example of which would be lightning striking outside power lines. Power conditioning equipment is usually used to suppress the excursions, but it does not provide complete protection. The large amounts of power being used in sputtering makes it difficult to buffer longer events.
Other types of temporary malfunctions can occur. The biased target may occasionally electrically arc to the grounded chamber or shield. Although the discharge may be relatively short, it presents a low impedance path and carries a large amount of current sufficient to debias the target and extinguish the plasma.
For most type of equipment, an arc or a power glitch may cause temporary malfunctions, but once the excursions have disappeared the equipment immediately restarts. Sustained self-sputtering however presents added difficulties. The time constants involved in these plasma processes are very short, and the operating margins for sustained self-sputtering are small. A relatively small or short power glitch may be enough to extinguish the sustained self-sputtering. Once it has been stopped, return of normal electrical power conditions will not be sufficient to reignite the plasma. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a procedure that detects interruptions to sustained self-sputtering and preferably automatically restarts the sustained self-sputtering.


A lamp holder includes a main body, a switch device and a mounting bracket. The main body has an axial end for connecting a light emitting element and another axial end having an electrically conductive module, and the switch device is installed in the main body, and the switch device and the electrically conductive module jointly control the light emitting element to be turned on or off. The rotary handle of the switch device is installed at an axial end of the main body and protruded out from the main body, and the mounting bracket encloses the rotary handle and locks with the main body. Therefore, the lamp holder can be installed onto a decorative shelter conveniently, and the rotary handle can be turned without limitation, and the lamp holder has a good appearance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lamp holder, and more particularly to the lamp holder having a conveniently installed decorative shelter, and a rotary handle rotatable without limitation and providing a better aesthetic look.
2. Description of the Related Art
With reference to FIG. 1 for a conventional lamp holder 1, the lamp holder comprises a cylindrical casing 11, an insulated casing 12, an insulated holder body 13 and a switch device 14. The cylindrical casing 11 is electrically conductive and provided for screwing and connecting a light emitting element (such as a light bulb, not shown in the figure), and a first electrode of the light emitting element is coupled to a positive electrode of a power supply (such as utility power) installed in the insulated holder body 13 to achieve an electric connection for a close or open circuit, and a second electrode of the light emitting element is in contact with the cylindrical casing 11 to achieve an electric connection of a negative electrode of the power supply. The insulated holder body 13 is installed at the top of the cylindrical casing 11, and the insulated casing 12 is covered onto the cylindrical casing 11 and the exterior of the insulated holder body 13. The switch device 14 is installed in the insulated holder body 13, and a rotatable knob 142 is installed transversally from a rotary shaft 141. During installation, two bare ends of a power cable 15 are plugged into the top of the insulated holder body 13 for connecting a positive electrode of a power supply (such as utility power) to the switch device 14, and connecting a negative electrode of the power supply to the cylindrical casing 11, so that a user may turn the knob 142 to operate the connection with the positive electrode of the switch device 14 for switching between CLOSE and OPEN statuses, so as to control the light emitting element to be turned on and off respectively.
The use of the conventional lamp holder 1 is very convenient, but the knob 142 is protruded transversally from the lateral side of the insulated holder body 13 and its existence occupies some of the operating space, so that if it is necessary to cover the lamp holder for a better decorative effect, the existence of the knob 142 definitely affects the smooth operation and requires further spatial design. If the knob 142 is installed at the rear of the shelter (such as a decorative plate), the knob 142 will be attached closely to the shelter, and the operation of turning the knob 142 becomes very inconvenient. If the knob 142 is installed at the front of the shelter (such as a decorative plate), the aesthetic look of the lamp holder is affected adversely in addition to the inconvenient operation of the knob 142.
To overcome the aforementioned problems of the knob 142 of the lamp holder 1 being installed transversally on the lateral side of the lamp holder 1 and the decorative shelter affecting the smooth operation, the present invention provides a feasible design of a innovative lamp holder, so that manufacturers can install the lamp holder at any decorative shelter position, and provide diversified applications of the lamp holder.


A method for characterizing noise in a quantum system, the quantum system including a plurality of qubits and a plurality of entangling gates native to the quantum system, includes generating a random quantum circuit on a quantum processor, the random quantum circuit comprising the plurality of entangling gates native to the quantum system. The method includes running a simulation of the random quantum circuit on a classical computer a plurality of times to obtain ideal outcomes, and running the random quantum circuit on the quantum processor a plurality of times to obtain experimental outcomes. The method includes grouping the experimental outcomes based on probabilities of the ideal outcomes to obtain a first distribution, and grouping the experimental outcomes based on probabilities of the experimental outcomes to obtain a second distribution. The method includes characterizing noise in the quantum system based on the first distribution and the second distribution.

The currently claimed embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for noise classification, and more specifically, to the use of random quantum circuits for noise classification.
Physical systems for quantum information processing undergo typically noise processes that may affect their output in an undesired manner. These noise processes have a variety of origins but can be roughly classified into two families: incoherent and coherent noise. Incoherent noise tends to arise from stochastic and Markovian processes—processes for which the probability of reaching any future state depends only on the present state. Incoherent noise is irreversible and memoryless. Coherent noise, on the other hand, can be corrected and typically arises from imperfect realization of the unitary operations required for quantum information processing. Coherent noise is repeatable and can be thought of as over- or under-rotations, originating from miscalibrations or cross-talk.
Distinguishing between these two types of noise can be critical for some quantum computing tasks. In the past some methods have been developed that can classify noise but they invariably lack scalability beyond just a few qubits. Scalable methods for characterizing quantum systems do not discriminate amongst noise types, and therefore cannot be used to identify and mitigate coherent noise sources.

Noise classification through the output of random quantum circuits

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A walk-behind floor scraper machine for removing floor covering from a floor surface is disclosed. In one aspect, the machine includes a base frame, an electric motor secured to the base frame, and a scraper assembly movably secured to the base frame and driven by the electric motor. The machine also includes a rear wheel arrangement including a pair of wheels having a rotational axis. In one aspect, the machine includes a hydraulic circuit with a hydraulic pump driven by the electric motor and a hydraulic motor powered by the hydraulic pump. The hydraulic motor has a drive axle coupled to the wheels, wherein the drive axle is coaxially aligned with the rotational axis. In one aspect, the machine can include a hydraulic tank-frame integral to the chassis of the machine that simultaneously stores hydraulic fluid and structurally supports the hydraulic motor.

Walk-behind floor scraper machines are known. Many prior art walk-behind floor scraper machines include drive systems that are either electric or hydraulic. In typical hydraulically driven machines, a hydraulic motor is coupled to a drive wheel axle via pulleys, sprockets, gears, chains and/or belts which results in significant drivetrain losses. Some typical hydraulic driven machines also include a hydraulic fluid tank that must be removed from the machine in order to service certain components of the machine, such as the hydraulic pump, hydraulic lines and fittings, the tank suction strainer, and the electrical controls and connections to the electric motor.
Improvements in machines for stripping of floor coverings from floor surfaces are desirable.


The female terminal with guiding piece according to the present invention comprises a tubular body and a connecting part. Two vertical walls of the body are provided respectively with spring pieces cut and raised therefrom and formed to have an end on the rear side in the depth direction serving as a fixed end and an end on the front side serving as a free end and the free end coming closer to the vertical wall opposing to said vertical wall. The two vertical walls are provided respectively with guiding pieces at the front ends in the depth direction thereof, said guiding pieces being provided by plate pieces bent inward from the vertical walls into the body to cover spaces between the front ends in the depth direction of said vertical walls and the top ends of the spring pieces.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention belongs to a technical field of female terminals that comprise a tubular body and a connecting part integrally provided on the body to connect electric wire.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Publication (Unexamined) No. HEISEI 11-345645 discloses a female terminal of this kind. In the terminal of this publication, a terminal-receiving cutout is opened in a mating end wall provided at the front end of a contact part, contact preload ledges are provided by plate pieces bent inward from the terminal-receiving cutout, and a pair of contact arms are provided inside the contact part. Forming of the contact part from a blank is done by bending and raising the contact arms from a bottom wall, bending top walls with respect to side walls, bending the side walls with respect to the bottom wall, bending and raising the contact preload ledges from the mating end wall, bending the mating end wall with respect to the bottom wall, and bending mating end side walls with respect to the fitting-end wall. On the other hand, Japanese Utility Model Publication (Unexamined) No. HEISEI 6-73878 discloses a socket connector that comprises a socket contact having a contact part for contacting a pin contact and a socket insulator for holding the socket contact and is characterized in that an outlet part of a pin contact insertion hole provided in the socket insulator is extended to protrude toward the contact part of the socket contact.


The present invention relates to an arrangement in an oil filter with integral oil cooler with a filter material (7) in the form of a tubular casing, which is enclosed in a housing (1). The latter is defined by a cylindrical wall (4) and two ends (5, 6), one (5) of which can be opened for changing the filter material (7). Two essentially concentric annular circulation chambers (8, 9) are arranged in front of the cylindrical wall. Of these the one that connects with the inside of the housing (12) is intended to accommodate the flow of oil and the other which has an inlet opening (10) and an outlet opening (11) is intended to accommodate the flow of coolant. The coolant circulation chamber (8), which is the outer of the two circulation chambers, is divided by a partition wall (25) into two essentially equal sub-chambers (8a, 8b) into each of which an opening (10, 11) respectively opens. In the partition wall (25) there is a passage (19a) connecting the sub-chambers (3a, 3b), the passage being situated equidistant from the mouths (10, 11) of the inlet and outlet openings in the sub-chambers (8a, 8b), in order to obtain a symmetrical flow of coolant in the circulation chamber (8).

The present invention relates to arrangements for oil filters with integral cooling.
Modern vehicle engines are invariably provided with oil filters for the purpose of removing particles from the oil, which form in the engine, in order to protect the bearings and other moving parts of the engine from wear.
High-performance engines also have special oil coolers in order to prevent excessively high oil temperatures, since the oil is thereby at risk of rapidly breaking down and exposure to coking with ensuing deterioration of the lubrication characteristics, which in turn results in increased engine wear and shorter engine life.
The integration of an oil filter with an oil cooler has already been proposed, for example by U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,980.

Arrangement in an oil filter with integral oil cooler