The present invention provides novel anti-CD71 monoclonal antibodies, in particular mouse-human chimeric anti-CD71 monoclonal antibodies, advantageously associated to effector cells for triggering ADCC mechanisms. Anti-CD71 antibodies, as well as pharmaceutical compositions containing them, are useful for inhibiting proliferation and/or killing malignant tumor cells, especially metastatic cutaneous and uveal melanoma cells.

Monoclonal antibodies can influence tumor cell survival by several mechanisms, acting directly on the tumor target cells and/or by activation of effector mechanisms mediated by soluble factors or cells. Originally, antibody was of murine origin and, when administered to humans, induced strong immune responses to the foreign mouse immunoglobulin. This limited their use. Genetic engineering has enabled the development of so-called humanized antibodies with increased therapeutic efficacy.
Chimeric antibodies are 65-90% human nucleotides sequences and consist of the murine variable regions, which bring about antigen recognition, fused to the constant or effector part of a human antibody. Humanized antibodies are about 95% human, and are made by grafting only the hyper-variable region, or complementarity-determining regions, of the murine antibody—which determines antibody specificity—onto a human antibody backbone. The developments of genetically engineered transgenic mice and advances in the generation of synthetic human antibody libraries have enabled the production of fully human antibodies on a commercial scale.
Chimeric, humanized, and fully human antibodies have less immunogenicity than early antibody constructs and allow repeated antibody administration, an improved capacity to recruit cytotoxic cells and complement, and an increased stability in the circulatory system. These improvements have contributed to the increased therapeutic efficiency of monoclonal antibodies.
Small antibody fragments have also been engineered to improve antibody penetration into bulky avascular tumors, especially solid tumors. A single-chain fixed-variable (Fv) region consists of only one heavy-chain variable domain and one light-chain variable domain, which are covalently linked by a short peptide linker. These fragments can be used to deliver radioisotopes or drugs to tumor sites. Antibodies have also been designed that have two different antigen-binding arms and hence have dual-binding specificity. An example is when one arm binds to the tumor cell and the other binds to the effector cell. Another example is when the arms bind not only to two different antigens on the tumor cell, but also to the effector cell by their Fc fragment. These constructs increase antibody-mediated tumor-cell killing through the recruitment of host immune-effector cells (T cells, natural-killer cells, and macrophages).
Many antigens that are recognized by monoclonal antibodies are expressed not only by malignant cells, but also by at least one subset of healthy adult cells. The best target antigen for a monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy would be one that is both stably and homogeneously expressed by all tumor cells, is not or hardly expressed by normal tissues, does not exist under a soluble form (to avoid rapid antibody clearance), and is easily accessible to the monoclonal antibody.
Unlabelled antibodies cause tumor cells to die or to stop their proliferation through a combination of different mechanisms: 1) recruitment and activation of effector cells by antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), by complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CD C), 2) blocking of receptor-ligand interactions and prevention of growth factor activity, 3) induction of apoptosis, and 4) secretion of cytokines.
Some antibodies do not induce cell death by themselves and instead are used to deliver radioisotopes, toxins, enzymes, or drugs to tumor sites. Specific targeting of cytotoxic agents to tumor cells has the potential to reach high concentrations at tumor sites, without the dose-limiting side-effects of systemic administration. In that context, antibodies that target antigens that are rapidly internalized offer another advantage.
Radioimmunoconjugates selectively deliver radiation to tumor sites. In terms of radionuclides, one may use, for instance, I131 or Y90, as well as new β (212 Pb, mixte βγ 177 Lu, 153 Sm, 186 Re, 67 Cu, 225 Ac . . . ) or α (213 Bi, 211 At . . . ) emitters, advantageously using improved chelation technologies such as MX-DTPA, CHX-A″ DPA, C-DOTA, PA-DOTA, DOTA-NCS (2-p-isothiocyanatobenzyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetracetic acid). The cytotoxicity depends on the pharmacokinetics of antibody localization and retention of the radionuclide. Healthy tissues, especially bone marrow, are also irradiated because of strong emission energies.
Alpha chains of plant and bacterial toxins (such as ricin, diphtheria toxin, or pseudomonas toxin) can be directly attached to monoclonal antibodies. After binding and internalization in the cell, these toxins disrupt protein synthesis at low concentrations. These toxins also commonly elicit strong immune responses in humans, which limits their repeated use.
Drugs such as doxorubicin and calicheamicin can be directly attached to monoclonal antibodies. Antibody-mediated delivery with calicheamicin allows clinical use of this highly potent agent, which would otherwise be too toxic for systemic administration on its own.
For reviews on these aspects, see M. Harris (2004), and Cancer Highlights (2004).
CD71 is a type II glycoprotein which exists as a homodimer of 180 kDa, linked by a disulfide bond in position Cys89. This glycoprotein is acylated at Cysteine 62 and phosphorylated at Serine 24 by protein kinase C. It contains an internalization signal constituted by a tetrapeptide YTRF (amino acids 20-23) (Collawn et al, 1993). Upon cleavage between Arg 100 and Leu 101 by a yet unknown protease, CD71 becomes soluble. O-glycosylation at Thr 104 reduces the sensitivity of CD71 to cleavage. Mammalian and chicken transferrin receptors have an RGD sequence, suggesting a possible evolutionary relationship with adhesion molecules. In terms of sequence homology, there is an homology with the C5a streptococcal peptidase sequence and with the PSA sequence (Prostate Specific Antigen, which is not prostate-specific but which exhibits a type II acid dipeptidase activity). A ligand of CD71 is the transferrin, protein responsible for iron transport. Recently, it has been shown that CD71 is also a receptor for IgA (Haddad et al, 2003).
Ferrotransferrin binds to CD71 under neutral pH and is internalized in the endosomal compartment where the pH is about 5. Iron is released and carried in the cytoplasm by an unknown mechanism. The apotransferrin remains bound to CD71 at pH5 and returns to the cell surface where the pH is about 7.4. Under neutral pH conditions, the apotransferrin has no longer affinity for CD71, allowing thus another cycle to begin. This feature of CD71 permits to use this surface molecule for internalizing a drug, a toxin or a radioelement coupled to an antibody (Lee et al, 2000) (Li et al, 2002) (Ng et al, 2002) (Shinohara et al, 2000). CD71 binds in cis, via a non-covalent binding, to the ζ chain of the TCR, where it may be involved in signal transduction. Moreover, CD71 monomers are supposed to form a complex with integrin CD29/CD49d (VLA4) via a disulfide bond.
CD71 plays an essential role in cell proliferation by controlling iron uptake which is essential in several metabolic pathways. This occurs via the binding and the endocytosis of transferrin. Expression of CD71 is post-transcriptionally regulated through RNA stability; it also depends on iron intracellular levels. The IRE-BP (iron-response element binding protein) exists under two different form, IRP-1 and IRP-2. IRP-1 is similar to the mitochondrial aconitase, whereas no aconitase activity has yet been described for IRP-2, which is however structurally homologous to aconitase. In case of iron deficiency, IRP-1 and IRP-2 stabilize the CD71 RNA by binding to specific sequences designated IREs (iron response elements located in the untranslated 3′ region of the RNA). When the level of iron is high, the IRE-BP affinity for IREs is low and the RNA is more sensitive to degradation. In addition, nitric oxide modifies CD71 expression by activating the binding of IRE-BP and by stabilizing the RNA.
CD71 is almost undetectable on leucocytes and resting cells. This expression is up-regulated by cell activation and proliferation. For these reasons, CD71 appears to be a target of choice for treating a number of tumors. Nevertheless, in the red blood cell line, red blood cell precursors and reticulocytes express CD71. This is also deduced from mice lacking the CD71 transferrin receptor, which have a severe phenotype affecting both erythropoiesis and neurologic development (Levy et al., 1999). This was also shown in human in a case of an acquired iron-deficiency anemia by Larrick J. W. and Hyman E. S., 1984. On the contrary, this showed that stem cells do not express CD71, confirming that an anti-CD71 antibody may be useful for anti-tumor therapy (Zech et al, 2003). Besides, CD71 is expressed on the cerebral endothelium and this enables drugs to go through the blood-brain barrier, especially for treating gliomas (Lee et al, 2001). Finally, this last property, if deleterious under given circumstances, can be inhibited upon simultaneous administration of chloroquine.
Metastatic melanoma is a tumor with very poor prognosis, whose incidence is increasing due to modern life style and to prolonged, repeated and unprotected exposure to the sun. At least about 6000 new cases are reported per year in France, with an incidence of 9/100,000 inhabitants in Paris and its region. One third of these cases occur when the subject is less than 40 years old. The prognosis is closely related to the depth of the initial tumor and it results in death in about 100% of the cases of metastatic melanoma. Since more than 20 years, various therapies, either conventional or more innovative, have been tested, but they neither modified the prognosis nor changed the fatal outcome of metastatic melanoma. Despite a better general knowledge, including the identification of tumor antigens and auto-reactive CTL, immunotherapy remains unsuccessful. Immunotherapy has associated in various ways tumor cell vaccination with tetramer-associated peptides, adjuvants, cytokines or dendritic cells, but has remain inoperative. This may be explained at least in part by a host immunodeficiency (Ugurel S, 2004). Monoclonal antibodies targeting antigens restricted to melanomas such as antigangliosides GD2, GD3, GM2, p97 melanotransferrin, p240 antigen of high molecular weight, have been used (Noronha E J, 1998). Clinical studies have shown that these antibodies can be administered with minimal toxicity. Nevertheless, to date, no antibody, even humanized, chimeric or human (Mills L, 2002), used alone or in combination with a toxin (Shinohara H, 2000), a chemotherapeutic agent, a growth factor such as GM-CFS, IL2 interleukin (Soiffer R J, 1997), TNF or interferon, has proven to be really successful.
More specifically, choroidal and cutaneous melanoma both came from neural crest. Very few people are affected by choroidal metastasis melanoma. These melanomas differ from each other in two points: dissemination mode and the affected organs by metastasis. Thus, choroidal metastasis melanoma dissemination is exclusively by haematogenous way. In more than 90% cases, the first metastasis site (often unique) is hepatic. Few patients will develop other tumor localizations and a majority of them will die in the nest 6 months after wide hepatic metastasis diagnosis. Cutaneous melanoma presents an evolutionary mode extremely variable and unpredictable because of dissemination is both haematogenous and lymphatic. There is a more specific tropism for the brain although the other organs can be touched. Diagnostic of these two melanomas is mostly made at a localized stage. The associated treatment is then local: it consists of a surgical act or a radiotherapy for the choroidal melanoma and surgical for the cutaneous melanoma.
As mentioned above, it is important to stress that except the surgery and the radiotherapy, conventional therapeutics applied as part of adjuvant treatments or for metastasis disease are very limited in term of efficiency. Moreover, these treatments, requiring prolonged hospitalizations, are painful, heavy and mostly expensive. It thus seems necessary to develop, beside conventional treatments, innovative approaches such as the immunotherapy. The therapeutics, beside local treatments (surgery, chemo- and radiotherapy), are inexistent for choroidal metastasis melanoma and very limited for the cutaneous metastatic melanoma. Therefore, new approaches must be developed to increase the survival of patients affected by metastatic melanoma.

Anti-CD71 monoclonal antibodies and uses thereof for treating malignant tumor cells

Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (Inserm)


An optical line terminal (OLT) configured to receive transmission requests from a plurality of both network elements (NE) and customer premises equipment (CPE), allocate a timeslot to each NE for transmission on an optical distribution network (ODN), and a timeslot to each CPE for transmission on an electrical distribution network (EDN), wherein each NE intermediates between the OLT and the CPEs. Included is a NE configured to transmit a timeslot to a CPE for transmission on an EDN allocated by an OLT, receive data frames from the CPE during the timeslot, and forward the data frames to the OLT without rescheduling. Also included is a method comprising sending a transmission request to an OLT, receiving a timeslot from the OLT for transmission on an EDN in response, transmitting data frames to a NE during the timeslot, wherein the NE forwards the data frames to the OLT without rescheduling.

A passive optical network (PON) is one system for providing network access over "the last mile." The PON is a point-to-multi-point (P2MP) network comprised of an optical line terminal (OLT) at the central office (CO), an optical distribution network (ODN), and a plurality of optical network units (ONUs) at the customer premises. Ethernet PON (EPON) is a PON standard developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and specified in IEEE 802.3ah, which is incorporated herein by reference as if reproduced in its entirety. In EPON, a single fiber can be used for both the upstream and the downstream transmission with different wavelengths. The OLT implements an EPON Media Access Control (MAC) layer for transmission of Ethernet Frames. The Multi-Point Control Protocol (MPCP) performs the bandwidth assignment, bandwidth polling, auto-discovery, and ranging. Ethernet frames are broadcast downstream based on the Logical Link Identifier (LLID) embedded in the preamble frame. Upstream bandwidth is assigned based on the exchange of Gate and Report messages between an OLT and an ONU.
Recently, hybrid access networks employing both EPON and other network types have attracted growing attention. For example, Ethernet over Coaxial (EoC) may be a generic name used to describe all technologies which can be used for transmission of Ethernet frames over a unified optical-coaxial network. The name comes from the fact that, except for Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS), all these technologies have in common that the Ethernet Frames are transmitted in the MAC layer. Different EoC technologies exist, including Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), G.hn (a common name for a home network technology family of standards developed under the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and promoted by the HomeGrid Forum), HomePNA Alliance (HPNA), and Home Plug Audio/Visual (A/V), and they have been adapted to run the outdoor coaxial access from an ONU to an EoC Head End with connected Customer Premises Equipment (CPEs) located in the subscriber homes.
There is a rising demand which requires the use of EPON as an access system to interconnect with multiple coaxial cables to terminate the Coaxial Network Units (CNUs) located in the subscriber's home with an Ethernet PON over Coaxial (EPoC) architecture.

Dynamic bandwidth assignment in hybrid access network with passive optical network and another medium


A system for mixing and dispensing oxygen sensitive hair dye consists of concentrates in a sealed air-tight system using preferably 3--8 dye concentrates in collapsible bags having an oxygen barrier. The dye concentrates, along with oxygen activating liquids, are sufficient to produce an infinite number of hair dye formulations, thereby avoiding buying and stocking many bottles of specific color dyes. For formulating the dye mixtures, exact charges, i.e., volumes measured to within 1 ml, are raised from the bags and discharged. Each bag is removably connected, in an air-tight seal, to a separate precision lift pump whose piston lift excursion may be selectively set to determine the volume of the dye charge.

At the present time the dye treatment of human hair occurs most often in a consumer's home, or at a hair salon.
For home hair dye treatment, the customer will select a dye from a wide assortment of colors. For example, one manufacturer may sell a line of home dye products in about fifty to one hundred colors. That range of colors often results in hair color that is unsatisfactory to the consumer, as she is not familiar with the dye color, based on her hair, required to obtain the final color she desires. A consumer may have a mental picture of a certain dark shade of blonde, but the final color of her hair may be lighter or darker or more or less yellow than the color she envisioned. A hair dye's effect on hair depends on many factors, including the color of the user's hair and dye fastness (ability to retain color).
The colors, to a non-professional, may appear almost the same. For example, Clairol's type X63 is medium reddish brown, X62 is medium brown and X64 is medium ash brown. L'Oreal's 24 is "cocoa medium brown", 26 is "Redwood-Auburne" and 30 is "Chestnut Reddish Brown".
The average consumer often does not have the training or experience to accurately predict the final color of her hair when she uses a home hair dye kit. In addition, due to the large number of color dyes, a store may not have an inventory of all colors. A store may stock almost a full range (about one hundred) of one company's colors; but have a more limited inventory of another company's colors. A store carrying just two lines may have over 200 different dyes; which poses problems in maintaining so many colors in stock.
Consequently, many consumers use the services of a professional hair colorist at a hair salon. A trained and experienced hair colorist has experience dyeing hundreds of heads of hair and can reasonably accurately predict the final color of a hair dye treatment. The consumer may select the color she desires from a color chart having a broad range of many colors.
Hair dye manufacturers presently make various lines of hair dye colors. A typical line may consist of over one hundred different bottles, with each bottle containing a different color hair dye. In some respects, such a system is expensive, cumbersome and wasteful. It requires that the salon maintain a large and complete inventory of bottles of dye. The cost of a complete inventory of one manufacturer's line is about fifteen thousand dollars. Generally, the dyes are subject to degradation by oxygen. So when a bottle is opened, partly used and saved, its contents may be degraded by oxygen in a few weeks. In addition, the hair colorist may lack the experience, with a particular type of hair, to properly select the hair dye color bottle, or bottles, to obtain the desired result.
To change hair color through use of oxidative dyes, it is known to use specific dye intermediates that are dissolved in an alkali media (pH 7.5-10.5) and carried by various types of gel and creme emulsions, or liquid solutions. These hair colorants are generally combined with a developer solution containing an oxidizer (usually hydrogen peroxide) at a pH of 2-4. Mixing ratios generally vary from 1:1 to 1:2 (ratio of tint to developer). The strength of the mixture depends upon the amount of natural pigmentation one desires to remove from the hair, i.e, "lightening strength". When mixed, the mixture maintains a pH similar to that of the tint or dye media. This higher. pH is required for the hydrogen peroxide to oxidize the dye intermediates, causing them to couple inside the hair structure and form colored molecules which, due to their molecular size, are trapped within the structure of the hair, thus the terminology "permanent haircolor". The oxidizer will also remove some of the natural pigmentation in the hair, causing a lightening or blonding effect. The extent of lightening is regulated by the pH and peroxide strength of the tint/developer mixture. Generally products containing weak alkalizers, i.e., aminomethylpropanol or bicarbonates, and having a pH of 7-9, will produce little or no noticeable lightening of the natural hair pigmentation. Such products are termed "no-lift" or "deposit only" haircolorants and they are generally used to blend gray hair or to enhance natural color. Products that contain stronger alkalizers, such as ammonia or ethanolamine and have a pH of 9.0 -10.5, will deposit color and lighten the natural pigmentation, allowing for the possibility of producing blonde shades. In order to achieve all of these desired effects, as mentioned previously, hair salons often purchase several haircolor lines with shade inventories frequently exceeding one hundred or more.
The paint industry faced a similar problem. It was common practice years ago for a paint manufacturer to produce a line of 6-10 paint colors. A consumer could only buy that limited number of colored paints. If he wanted a different color he had to mix in additional color pigment, or mix cans of color paint. That system required a large inventory of paints for the various colors, especially considering the different sizes (pints, quarts, gallons) and the different surfaces (flat, gloss, semi-gloss). Presently, one may select a desired paint color from a broad range of colors and that paint color is mixed at a store, generally by adding color to a neutral base.
That type of color mixing system has not been applied on a commercial scale either in stores selling home hair dye kits or in hair salons. One reason may be that presently available hair dyes are generally degraded by oxygen. The paint mixers used in stores are not suitable to dispense hair dyes as they permit oxygen to reach the product. Another reason is that the amount of hair dye that is used for each treatment is relatively small so that if color additives are to be mixed they must be added in exact amounts. The type of exact liquid measurement required is at the one-tenth of a milliliter (ml) level. Devices for measuring at that level of accuracy are found in chemical laboratories, not in hair salons.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,208,639 discloses a machine for metering and dispensing fluids, such as dyes, for dyeing or tinting women's hair. The fluid conducting portions not filled with fluid are filled with an inert gas above atmospheric pressure. In contrast, the present invention does not use insert gas. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,208,639 different predetermined colors and shades of dye solution may be blended by combining basic dye color solutions and one dilutent. The liquid reservoirs are rigid containers having a sealing puncturable cover material, such as foil.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,262 discloses a cosmetic dispensing system for mixing skin cosmetics, such as facial creams and makeup foundations. Liquid additives are stored in bottles and are pumped, by peristaltic pumps, to be mixed with a cosmetic cream base in a jar.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,117 shows a condiment dispenser for dispensing a group of condiments, such as mustard and ketchup, through a common nozzle. A propellant gas, such as carbon dioxide, drives a dual chamber fluid pump. The system is closed against oxygen contamination and the condiments are held in collapsible bags.

Method for mixing and dispensing oxygen degradable hair dye concentrates


Method of testing a fuel injection valve 1 for a diesel engine by supplying pressurized oil to the inlet side of the valve. According to the invention the oil pressure is gradually recorded, the pressure increase being interrupted at the moment when the opening pressure of the valve is exceeded, which is noted by a drop in the pressure on the inlet side. At the same time the opening pressure is recorded. As a result a more lenient test method is provided, which also can be used in connection with newly developed injection valves.

MAN B & W DIESEL A/S has recently developed a new type of fuel injection valves named "slide fuel valves" of the types K 90 MC-C and K 80 MC-C, etc, confer FIG. 2. Compared to conventional valves, confer FIG. 1, a void in the valve tip called the "sac volume" or clearance volume has been eliminated, thereby preventing an untimely injection of a small volume of fuel corresponding to the clearance volume (typically 1-2 cm3). This has resulted in a reduced sooting of the diesel engine, reduced smoke generation, lower NOx and VOC emissions and not least improved fuel efficiency.
The fuel injection valve should be checked on a regular basis inter alia to ensure that inter alia the opening pressure is correct. The opening pressure may for instance have changed due to slackness in a built-in spring in the valve. Furthermore the venting pressure is checked and a "carburetion test" may also be carried out. The conventional equipment for checking fuel valves, including the opening pressure, the venting pressure, and the carburetion test operates in the following manner. Compressed air (5-10 bar) is supplied to a pneumatic pump, which converts the air pressure to a hydraulic oil pressure of several hundred bar. All tests are performed by feeding pure test oil to the valve at specific pressures, whereby it is possible to test that the various parts of the valve function correctly. At the opening pressure test the pressure in the valve is gradually increased until a built-in slide body in the valve is activated and the valve is opened briefly, whereafter the pressure drops slightly and the slide body recloses until the pressure once again exceeds the opening pressure. In the carburetion test an internal oil pressure is generated in the pump, said pressure exceeding the opening pressure of the valve considerably. When the connection between the pump and the injection valve is established, usually by pulling a large lever, confer FIG. 7, the valve immediately begins to rattle until the connection between the injection valve and the pump is cut off. This conventional test equipment has, however, a disadvantageous influence on the functionality of the new valves. The new valves with a built-in slide body in the valve tip do not tolerate being subjected to the conventional carburetion test and they are subjected to unnecessary stress by being subjected to the normal opening test with several successive openings. The reason why the valves with slide bodies break when the carburetion test (and/or a too thorough execution of the opening pressure test) is performed is presumably that defects arise on the valves due to the differing physico-chemical properties of the test oil and of the normal diesel oil. In addition hereto, metals expand when heated. Other things being equal, the outer face of the valve tip is hotter than the metallic slide body situated inside the valve, which means that the friction resistance therebetween is higher during testing than during normal operation.

Method of testing a fuel injection valve for a diesel engine


A substrate liquid treatment apparatus comprises a chuck (13) that holds and rotates a wafer, a back surface purging nozzle (15) that discharges a purge gas toward the back surface of the wafer, and a periphery purging nozzle 16 that discharges the purge gas onto the back surface of the wafer. The back surface purging nozzle has a slit-like opening part extending from a central side to a peripheral side of the substrate in a plan view. Vertical distance between the slit-like opening part and the substrate held by the substrate holding unit increases as approaching an end of the opening part on the central side of the substrate. The periphery purging nozzle discharges the purge gas, toward a central part of the substrate, toward a region on the back surface of the substrate, which region is located radially outside an end of the slit-like opening part of the back surface purging nozzle and radially inside an peripheral edge of the substrate.

A photolithography process is conducted by using various types of liquid treatment units such as a coating unit for performing a film formation to a substrate by supplying a coating liquid to a surface of a substrate, a developing unit for performing a development treatment by supplying a developing solution to a surface of a substrate, and a cleaning unit for cleaning the front and back surfaces of a substrate before loading the substrate into an exposure apparatus. The liquid treatment processes performed by such treatment units include the back surface cleaning. The back surface cleaning is performed by discharging a cleaning liquid or pure water onto the substrate from a cleaning nozzle fixedly mounted to the treatment unit, while rotating the substrate with the substrate being held on a chuck by vacuum suctioning.
An example of the back surface cleaning will be explained below in connection with a cleaning unit shown in FIG. 10. The cleaning unit includes a cup 100 in which a wafer W is contained in a horizontal posture, a chuck 102 located at the center of the cup and driven for rotation by a motor M, cleaning nozzles 104a and 104b for discharging the cleaning liquid toward the back surface of the wafer W, and a supply nozzle 105 for supplying the cleaning liquid to the front surface of the wafer W. The back surface cleaning of the wafer W is carried out by supplying the cleaning liquid onto the back surface of the wafer W, when a treatment of the wafer W is being performed by supplying a treatment liquid to the front surface of the wafer W, or after completion the treatment. An example of the wafer back surface cleaning performed by using a similar configuration is described in JPH10-172944A (see FIG. 7 thereof, for example).
After such back surface cleaning, a considerable amount of cleaning liquid remains extensively adhering to the back surface of the substrate as a result of the discharging of the cleaning liquid onto the rotating substrate. Since the cleaning liquid adhering to the back surface of the substrate may cause adhesion of particles to the substrate and contamination of a transfer arm, the substrate should be dried before unloading the substrate from the cleaning unit. The drying of the substrate is performed by, for example, rotating the cleaned substrate at a high speed (e.g., 1500 rpm) and making the adhering cleaning liquid scatter around due to the centrifugal force (hereinafter referred to as "spin drying".
Problems with the conventional technology will be explained below by referring to FIGS. 1 and 2. With the progress of the miniaturization of the circuit patterns in recent years, the patterns are often formed up to a region close to the periphery of the wafer W (e.g., 1 mm inside the periphery) in order to obtain a greater number of devices from one substrate. FIG. 1 shows an example in which a coating film T has been formed on the surface of the wafer W, and a peripheral film removal in 1 mm width has been performed to the peripheral part S of the wafer W. The wafer W must have a notch part N. As shown in FIG. 2 magnifying a part X around the notch part N, the notch part N is a cutout having a length of 1 mm to 1.25 mm toward the inside of the wafer W and a width of 1 mm in the circumferential direction at the edge of the wafer W (upper edge of a bevel part B).
FIG. 2 shows the state of a region around the notch part N after performing the spin drying of the wafer W after the back surface cleaning. Part of the film within 1 mm from the edge of the wafer W has been removed by a previous liquid treatment. The left-hand side of the notch part N is in fine condition. The cross-hatched region C above the dotted line A on the right-hand side of the notch part N is defective. The cross-hatched region C is located in the device region of the wafer W and a defect existing in the device region can adversely affect the device patterns formed on the wafer W.
The cross-hatched region C corresponds to traces (water marks) of the cleaning liquid (adhering to the back surface of the wafer W in the wafer back surface cleaning) penetrating into the front surface of the wafer W via the notch part N in the spin drying. Such penetration of the cleaning liquid into the front surface occurs due to change in the behavior of the cleaning liquid caused by the notch part N when the cleaning liquid adhering to the back surface of the wafer W is thrown off by the centrifugal force. Specifically, the cleaning liquid is captured within the thickness of the wafer W in the V-shaped valley part of the notch N. The captured cleaning liquid swells up due to surface tension and part of the swollen cleaning liquid breaks away and penetrates into the front surface of the wafer W. The cleaning liquid penetrating into the front surface of the wafer W and forming a ball is immediately thrown off by the centrifugal force. Since the wafer W is rotating, such a ball-shaped cleaning liquid develops exclusively in a region ahead of the notch part N in regard to the wafer rotation direction, the defective cross-hatched region C develops in a style like the one shown in FIG. 2.
In order to suppress such defects specific to the cleaning liquid drying step, a drying step recipe for changing the revolution speed of the spin drying with time is set. For example, the majority of the cleaning liquid adhering to the back surface is removed first by rotating the wafer W at a low revolution speed around 400 rpm. Subsequently, the revolution speed is successively shifted to a middle revolution speed around 1000 rpm and a high revolution speed around 1500 rpm and the drying is gradually advanced in multiple stages. With this drying step recipe, the gathering and swelling of the cleaning liquid in the notch part N can be suppressed. However, setting the drying step recipe in multiple stages leads to extension of the processing time and that adversely affects the productivity.

Substrate liquid treatment apparatus and substrate liquid treatment method


An apparatus for determining the density of insulation in a cavity of a structure includes a sensor that is held in a substantially fixed position relative to the insulation for sensing the force of the insulation against the sensor. The force is used to determine the density of the insulation, which, in turn, is used to determine the thermal resistance or R-value of the insulation. The apparatus may include a fixture for supporting the sensor and holding the sensor in the substantially fixed position. A method for determining the density of loose-fill, blown-in-place insulation comprises the step of providing a structure with a cavity having a known depth. The cavity is filled with insulation. A sensor is held in a substantially fixed position relative to the insulation to measure force exerted on the sensor by the insulation. The measured force is used to determine the density of the insulation. The thermal resistance of the insulation is determined from the known cavity depth and insulation density.

In recent years, a greater emphasis has been placed on the use of insulation materials in dwellings or other structures to promote energy conservation and noise reduction. At the same time, innovative architectural designs have created a variety of shapes and sizes that do not always lend themselves to the use of a conventional fibrous batting, which is often available in rolls of uniform width. The conventional fibrous batting often fails to fully fill the space in which the batting is used. This has created a need for a technique for applying fibrous insulation that does not use uniform width batting.
This need has been fulfilled to a limited extent by developing various blown-in-place insulation techniques, wherein loose-fill fibrous insulation is blown into a cavity between the framing members of the wall, ceiling, or floor of a dwelling. The loose-fill insulation is capable of completely filling the cavity, regardless of its shape and size, thus effectively achieving a uniform volume of insulation for optimum energy conservation, as well as sound insulation purposes.
While blown-in-place insulation techniques have addressed insufficient fill problems inherent with insulation batting, one of the advantages of batting lost to blown-in-place insulation is the batting's ability to maintain insulation quality. This includes, of course, the density and thickness of the fibrous insulation, which is important to achieve a uniform thermal resistance. The thermal resistance of the insulation batting is often associated with a given "R-value". When insulation batting is purchased, for example, to place in a new dwelling, it is often purchased by specifying a desired R-value. If installed in accordance with minimal prescribed installing techniques, the purchaser, due to uniform dimensions of insulation batting, can be count on at the insulation value having a certain thermal resistance.
When a blown-in-place insulation technique is employed, the advantage of controlling R-value associated with batting is lost. As a consequence, it is often necessary to also employ a technique for determining the density of the blown-in-place insulation for assuring that the insulation has the desired R-value.
Various techniques have been employed for the determining density in blown-in-place fibrous insulations. In one technique, a known mass of loose-fill is blown into a cavity. The volume of the filled cavity is measured. The mass is divided by the cavity volume to get density. A problem with this technique is that it slows down the installation process of the insulation and therefore, is not used. Moreover, it is difficult to calculate the actual volume of insulation that is blown into the cavity because there are so many features (i.e., windows, doors, devices, etc.) in the area that take up volume.
In another known technique, a space is first filled with blown-in-place insulation. Then, a sample of insulation of a known volume is removed from a wall cavity and weighed. Since the volume of the sample is known, it is possible to determine the density (i.e., weight per volume) of the insulation in the cavity. The R-value of the insulation may then be determined in a known manner simply by knowing the thickness of the insulation in the cavity. In some instances, the quantity of insulation may be loose or compressed. As a consequence, error in determining the density of the insulation can be magnified if care is not taken to correctly remove the sample or average a number of samples. This is also a very time consuming technique and consequently is often not practiced by insulation installers.
In view of the above techniques, it is apparent that there exists a need in the art for an improved apparatus and method for installing insulation that is blown into open wall cavities to a prescribed density wherein the improved apparatus and method provide increased accuracy.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for determining density of insulation


A spectral line selector for a laser comprises a diffraction grating that images a waveguide exit plane back into the waveguide with an essentially exact reproduction of the waveguide output intensity and phase distribution and with a predetermined wavelength. The selector also comprises lenses disposed between the waveguide exit at a point between the exit opening and the grating, the lenses providing a magnification and a phase compensation to the beam passing therethrough such that the phase of the beam returned to the waveguide matches that of the exiting beam. Thus, coupling losses due to clipping of the returned beam at the entrance to the waveguide bore and coupling losses due to a mismatch of the returning field phase to that of the waveguide mode are made essentially zero.

This invention relates generally to lasers and, more particularly, to a high resolution spectral line selector for a waveguide laser that in operation introduces no coupling losses to a beam of laser radiation that exits a waveguide, propagates to a differaction grating, and is selectively reflected back into the waveguide.
A particular problem encountered in the design of lasers and, in particular, waveguide lasers is the energy loss associated with the coupling of the laser beam from an end of the laser waveguide to a mirror and back into the waveguide. This energy loss problem is also encountered when it is desired to select a particular spectral line for the laser radiation, as with a diffractive grating. Such energy losses are caused both by clipping of the optical field at the exit/entrance to the waveguide and by any mismatch between the amplitude and phase distribution of the returning field and that of the waveguide mode. If such a mismatch condition is present, the waveguide will act as a filter and attenuate the propagating field until the field matches the waveguide mode. This attenuation of the field results in an energy loss, which further results in a reduction in laser output power.
The amount of coupling loss as a function of mirror position for curved end mirrors with a waveguide laser having a circular bore was first characterized by R. L. Abrams in 1972 (IEEE J. Quant. Elect. OE-8, 838, Nov. 1972). Since 1972, square bore waveguide lasers have become more widely utilized but, in general, the design of the coupling optics has remained essentially the same.
FIG. 1 is adapted from the above mentioned journal article (p. 841) and shows the minimum possible coupling loss for an optimally curved single end mirror placed at a distance Z from the end of a circular bore waveguide. The parameter b is equal to 0.325 D.sup.2 /.lambda., where D is the diameter of the waveguide bore and .lambda. is the waveguide of the radiation that comprises the laser beam.
As an example, for a waveguide laser having a 2 mm diameter bore where .lambda.=10.6 .mu.m, b will equal 12.3 cm. It can be seen by reference to FIG. 1 that in order to achieve a coupling loss below 0.5% that the mirror must be closer than 0.37 mm or farther than 250 cm from the end of the bore. If 1.5% losses are acceptable, the mirror must be closer than 1.2 cm or farther than 120 cm or exactly at 12.3 cm. The additional 2% of round trip loss experienced by the laser beam (1.5% versus 0.5% at each end of the laser) may result in as much as a 40% reduction in a typical waveguide laser's output power. As may be appreciated, the physical construction of a particular waveguide laser or other factors, such as possible damage to the optics by the cavity plasma, may prohibit the placement of coupling optics at an optimal position, such as adjacent to the end of the bore. Thus, the coupling losses experienced by the laser may be prohibitively high. Also, waveguide lasers constructed with known coupling methods must rely entirely on waveguide losses to attain mode discrimination.
In addition to these coupling losses, for those lasers that employ a diffraction grating positioned relative to an exit of the waveguide in order to provide for spectral line selection, an additional energy loss due to the grating inefficiency is also experienced. Also, such laser/grating systems of the prior art provide only a slight alignment advantage for the desired spectral line, resulting in such systems often "hopping" to other spectral lines where the laser system may operate in other than the fundamental mode.


Numerous different types of waste compositions generally in an aqueous environment are bio-remediated under aerobic conditions utilizing highly diverse and multiple microorganisms within a reactor. The process is carried out with the microorganisms attached or bound by a variety of different surface characteristics to packing substrates, located within the reactor, having high surface areas and high porosity in the form of small micropores. Multiple different types of substrates are generally utilized that efficiently dissolve air into the water, as well as to maximize the concentration and diversity of types of microorganisms. Reactors are utilized that desirably have tubes therein containing the multiple types of packings and microorganisms and contain at least one perforated chimney through which air can flow and optimize dissolving oxygen into the aqueous environment of the various bio-remediation stages.

Heretofore, waste treatment systems were generally specialized with regard to the decontamination, immobilization, etc., of narrow or specific types of compounds, and generally were not efficient.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,355 relates to a method for field growing crops using solid and liquid waste and apparatus for practicing the method. The field to be used is provided in side-by-side spaced relation with row-like growing areas defined by paired laterally spaced perforated side walls extending the full length of the growing areas. The upper runs of the side walls of the respective growing areas mount in longitudinally spaced upstanding, spanning relation respective inverted, V-shaped, bracket members centrally depressed to provide longitudinally aligned U-shaped cradle seats supportingly receiving a continuous pipeline segment the opposite adjacent ends of which are cross-connected to form a continuous pipeline capped at one end and adapted at the opposite end for connection to a source of irrigating liquid which may be either hydrant water or the nutrient rich effluent of a sewage treatment plant. The pipeline at longitudinally spaced intervals along each growing area is fitted with downwardly directed mist nozzles arranged to spray the irrigating liquid downwardly between the paired side walls to provide a downward trickle flow of irrigating liquid successively through a longitudinally continuous topping layer of high nitrogenous humic acid forming material, a layer of top soil mixed with manure, a layer of mulch, a layer of bone meal, a layer of top soil, a further layer of mulch, a layer of inorganic alkaline potash, a further layer of top soil, a final layer of mulch into a layer of loose aggregate provided to support the roots of the growing food crop. The descending trickle flow by its leaching action enters the loose aggregate as a readily assimilable bacterial culture containing the complete plant nutrients including major and trace elements to seasonally feed the plants and produce a more perfect and prolific harvest.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,385 relates to a device suitable for seeding bacterial cultures to waste flowing through or which has accumulated in a collection system which comprises a porous outer covering member which forms an enclosed package with a source of bacterial cultures contained within said package, said cultures suitable for seeding a collection system as a waste stream flows through the porous covering member of said enclosed package causing the bacteria to be released into said waste stream.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,594 relates to a novel microorganisms separated from natural environments and purified and genetically modified, process for immobilizing these microorganisms by affixing then to substrates, the biocatalytic compositions formed by these microorganisms affixed to substrates, and the use of the biocatalytic compositions for the detoxification of toxin-polluted streams. The microorganisms are (1) Pseudomonas fluorescens (ATCC SD 904); (2) Pseudomonas fluorescens (ATCC SD 903); (3) Pseudomonas cepacia (ATCC SD 905); (4) Methylobacter rhodinum (ATCC 113-X); and (5) Methylobacter species (ATCC 16 138-X).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,066 relates to compositions characterized as porous solids on the surfaces of which thin films of chitinous material are dispersed, and to a process employing chitin per se, and preferably the chitin coated compositions, supra, as contact masses for the removal of metals contaminants, or halogenated organic compounds, from liquid streams contaminated or polluted with these materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,088 relates to a process for the separation and recovery from an ore of a metal, or metals, particularly strategic and precious metals, notably gold. A carbon-containing, gold-bearing ore, notably a carbonaceous or carbonaceous pyritic ore, is contacted and microbially pretreated and leached with a heterotrophic microorganism, or admixture of microorganisms, at heterotrophic conditions to cultivate and grow and said microorganism, or microorganisms, and reduce the carbon content of the ore by consumption of the carbon. The ore, as a result of the heterotrophic pretreatment is subsequently more advantageously colonized by an autotrophic microorganism, or microorganisms, at autotrophic conditions, or hydrometallurgically treated, or both, to facilitate, enhance and increase the amount of gold recovered vis-a-vis a process wherein the gold is recovered (1) by hydrometallurgical processing alone at otherwise similar conditions, or (2), in treating a pyritic ore, by the combination of the autotrophic/hydrometallurgical processing, at otherwise similar conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,848 relates to a continuous flow, immobilized cell reactor, and bioprocess, for the detoxification and degradation of volatile toxic organic compounds. The reactor is closed, and provided with biocatalysts constituted of specific adapted microbial strains immobilized and attached to an inert porous packing, or carrier. A contaminated groundwater, industrial or municipal waste, which is to be treated, is diluted sufficiently to achieve biologically acceptable toxicant concentrations, nutrients are added, and the pH and temperature are adjusted. The contaminated liquid is introduced as an influent to the closed reactor which is partitioned into two sections, or compartments. Air is sparged into the influent to the first compartment to mix with and oxygenate the influent with minimal stripping out of the toxic organic compounds. The second section, or compartment, is packed with the biocatalyst. The oxygenated liquid influent is passed through the second compartment substantially in plug flow, the biocatalyst biodegrading and chemically changing the toxic component, thereby detoxifying the influent. Non-toxic gases, and excess air from the first compartment, if any, are removed through a condenser located in the overhead of the reactor. Liquids are re-condensed back to the aqueous phase via the condenser.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,616 relates to a process for reducing the concentration of an organic and/or inorganic pollutant in a fluid stream which comprises passing the stream through a bioreacter containing a fixed biologically active biomass comprising an effective number of open or substantially open spaces and a plurality of biologically active bodies comprising a hydrophobic polyurethane substrate having an effective amount of one or more microorganism capable of metabolizing at least one of the said pollutant on, in or on and in said substrate in the absence or in the substantial absence of an absorbent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,598 relates to a microbubble generator is disclosed for optimizing the rate and amount of oxygen transfer to microbial inocula or biocatalysts in bioreactor systems. The microbubble generator and an associated immobilized cell reactor, are useful in the detoxification and cleanup of non-volatile polymeric and volatile organic-contaminated aqueous streams. In particular, they are useful in the continuous mineralization and biodegradation of toxic organic compounds, including volatile organic compounds, associated with industrial and municipal effluents, emissions, and ground water and other aqueous discharges. One embodiment of the invention includes a microbubble chamber packed with small inert particles through which a liquid effluent and oxygen or another gas are admitted under pressure, followed by a venturi chamber to further reduce the size of bubbles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,487 relates to the biochemical oxidation of two wastewater feeds, one containing at least ten times more ammonia nitrogen, and the other at least ten times more chlorinated hydrocarbons, than present in a conventional municipal wastewater stream were treated in an aerated packed bed bioreactor inoculated with microorganisms ("cells") especially cultured and acclimated to the task. Arbitrarily shaped pieces of numerous macroporous synthetic resinous materials (familiarly referred to as "porous plastics") supposedly provide not only a packing for the bioreactor, but also a peculiar catalytic function not normally associated with a bio-support.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,143 relates to a microbubble generator is disclosed for optimizing the rate and amount of oxygen transfer to microbial inocula or biocatalysts in bioreactor systems. The microbubble generator, and an associated immobilized cell reactor, are useful in the detoxification and cleanup of non-volatile polymeric and volatile organic-contaminated aqueous streams. In particular, they are useful in the continuous mineralization and biodegradation of toxic organic compounds, including volatile organic compounds, associated with industrial and municipal effluents, emissions, and ground water and other aqueous discharges. One embodiment of the invention includes a microbubble chamber packed with small inert particles through which a liquid effluent and oxygen or another gas are admitted under pressure, followed by a venturi chamber to further reduce the size of bubbles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,634 relates to porous bodies produced which are suitable for use as supports for catalysts, including living cells, such as bacteria and which are upset resistant to acids and bases. The bodies have a significantly large average pore diameter of about 0.5 to 100 microns, (i.e. 5,000 to 1,000,000 ANG.) and a total pore volume of about 0.1 to 1.5 cc/g with the large pores contributing a pore volume of from about 0.1 to 1.0 cc/g. The bodies are made by preparing a mixture of ultimate particles containing a zeolite and one or more optional ingredients such as inorganic binders, extrusion or forming aids, burnout agents, or a forming liquid, such as water.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,563,888 relates to a waste containing liquor that is biochemically treated by continuously recirculating it through a sand-gravel filter media which is submerged in the liquor while continuously withdrawing a small portion of said liquor. A pressurized column of oxygen-containing fluid entrains and lifts the liquid waste through an unobstructed tube and recirculates it downwardly through the filter media. During the lifting process oxygen from the fluid permeates the waste in order to ensure active aerobic metabolism. The treated effluent is directed to a storage area, or preferably it is conveyed to another tank for further treatment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,311 relates to a method for chemically modifying a reactant using microbes. The method includes providing a particulate material which includes a plastic carrier and microbes attached to the carrier. The particulate material is dispersed in a dispersing fluid and has a specific gravity less than that of the dispersing fluid. When the microbe is anaerobic the particulate material has an operating interfacial surface area of from about 2,000 to about 240,000 square meters per cubic meter of reactor volume. When the microbe is aerobic the particulate material has an operating interfacial surface area of from about 1,000 to about 30,000 square meters per cubic meter of reactor volume. The method further includes establishing a flow of the reactant through the particulate material effective to chemically modify the reactant.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,766 relates to a process for treating a body water to purify it. In this process, a portion of the water to be treated is continuously caused to flow at a rate of at least about 60 feet per minute and is continuously agitated, aerated, and fed into a biochamber within which are disposed at least five distinct strains of microorganisms. A screen is disposed in the biochamber below the microorganisms, and air is forced through such screen during the processing of the water.
The article Carbon and Nitrogen Removal by Biomass Immobilized in Ceramic Carriers by I. Wojnowski-Baryla, et al., relates to an experiment conducted in a bioreactor with biomass immobilization in ceramic carriers. The influence of hydraulic retention time (HRT), carrier structure and intrinsic circulation rate on carbon and nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater were investigated. Two types of ceramic carriers were used at HRT 70, 60, 40, 30 min for carrier I, and 70, 60, 30, 15 min for carrier II, and at the circulation rate of 60, 40, and 20 dm3 h−1. The highest nitrogen removal efficiency was achieved in carrier II at 30 min of reaction. The carbon removal efficiency was similar for both carriers. An increase in internal circulation rate from 20 to 60 dm3 h−1 enhanced nitrogen removal efficiency from 33.0 to 47.2% and decreased in the production of surplus sludge in carrier II.
The article The Biodegradation of Brewery Wastes in a Two-Stage Immobilized System by I. Wojnowski-Baryla, et al, relates to the investigation in a loop bioreactor, where biomass was immobilized in the ceramic carrier. The influence of the internal circulation rate on the biodegradation efficiency of brewery wastes by immobilized biomass and on production of surplus sludge was examined. The rates of the internal circulation were 12, 38, 50 dm3 h−1. The experiments were performed at constant loading rate of the carrier of 17.9 caused enhancement of the removal rate from 0.40 to 0.48 gCOD dm3 h−1 and limitation of surplus sludge productivity from 0.67 to 0.27 g g−1 COD removed. The biodegradation rate of brewery wastes in a two-stage immobilized system was determined. The hydraulic retention time in this two-stage immobilized system was 6 h, which was enough to get a COD below 150 mg dm−3 in the effluent.

Method and apparatus for the bio-remediation of aqueous waste compositions


Methods and systems for measuring the performance of a mobile application and its associated user page flows include a communication link configured to connect a plurality of mobile client devices to an application server running the mobile application. The system includes a first module configured to implement a plurality of mobile network protocols; a second module configured to implement a plurality of mobile carrier protocols; a third module configured to implement a plurality of mobile operating systems; and a processing module configured to download the application and user pages from the application server and measure performance on each of the plurality of mobile client devices using different combinations of the plurality of mobile network protocols, the plurality of mobile carrier protocols, and the plurality of mobile operating systems.

The unprecedented growth of mobile and social technologies has redefined the way people connect and communicate. On-line social networking sites such as Facebook™, Linkedin™, Pinterest™, Tumblr™, Google+™, Hootsuite™, and Twitter™ have forever changed the way people share information with each other. Smartphones, tablet computers, IPads, and other mobile devices are increasingly used by many consumers as their primary platform for communicating and managing their social, business, financial, and personal affairs. Salesforce1™, available at www.salesforce.com/salesforce1/, is a mobile application providing a sales, service, and marketing platform for facilitating social collaboration with colleagues, partners, products, employees, and customers.
At the same time, software development is evolving away from the client-server model toward network-based processing systems that provide access to data and services via the Internet or other networks. In contrast to traditional systems that host networked applications on dedicated server hardware, a "cloud" computing model allows applications to be provided over the network "as a service" supplied by an infrastructure provider. The infrastructure provider typically abstracts the underlying hardware and other resources used to deliver a customer-developed application so that the customer no longer needs to operate and support dedicated server hardware. The cloud computing model can often provide substantial cost savings to the customer over the life of the application because the customer no longer needs to provide dedicated network infrastructure, electrical and temperature controls, physical security and other logistics in support of dedicated server hardware.
Multi-tenant cloud-based architectures have been developed to improve collaboration, integration, and community-based cooperation between customer tenants without sacrificing data security. Generally speaking, multi-tenancy refers to a system where a single hardware and software platform simultaneously supports multiple user groups (also referred to as "organizations" or "tenants") from a common data storage element (also referred to as a "multi-tenant database"). The multi-tenant design provides a number of advantages over conventional server virtualization systems. First, the multi-tenant platform operator can often make improvements to the platform based upon collective information from the entire tenant community. Additionally, because all users in the multi-tenant environment execute applications within a common processing space, it is relatively easy to grant or deny access to specific sets of data for any user within the multi-tenant platform, thereby improving collaboration and integration between applications and the data managed by the various applications. The multi-tenant architecture therefore allows convenient and cost effective sharing of similar application features between multiple sets of users.
Presently known tools, such as Appurify™, facilitate functional and performance testing of mobile applications and websites. However, in terms of performance, such systems are typically limited to measuring the network latency component, and are not well suited to measure the contributions of client-side performance such as client-side compute and render. In addition, Apple provides iOS-based tools, and Google provides Android-based tools for debugging and measuring performance for mobile applications running on respective simulators/emulators. However, there currently are no tools for testing the end-to-end performance (e.g., measuring server, network and fine grained client-side metrics) or otherwise quantifying the breakdown of entire end-to-end experience associated with using mobile applications on mobile devices.
Systems and methods are thus needed which address these shortcomings.

Systems and methods for automated on-device performance testing of mobile applications


A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device includes a reference layer having a surface, a tunnel insulating layer formed over the surface of the reference layer, a free layer formed over the tunnel insulating layer, and a magnetic field providing layer formed over the free layer. A magnetization direction in each of the reference layer and the free layer is substantially perpendicular to the surface. The magnetic field providing layer is configured to provide a lateral magnetic field in the free layer, the lateral magnetic field being substantially parallel to the surface.

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) is a type of non-volatile random-access memory. An MRAM usually includes a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) structure including two magnetic layers separated by a thin tunnel insulating layer. The resistance of the MTJ structure depends on whether the magnetization directions in the two magnetic layers are the same or opposite to each other. Thus, the MTJ structure can switch between a low-resistance state and a high-resistance state depending on magnetization directions. The two different resistance states can be used to represent "0" and "1", respectively
MRAM has a performance similar to that of static random-access memory (SRAM), a density similar to that of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), but lower power consumption than DRAM. MRAM is faster and suffers no degradation over time in comparison to flash memory. Therefore, MRAM is considered a good candidate for replacing SRAM, DRAM, and flash memory.
An MRAM usually uses in-plane magnetic anisotropy (IMA) materials in the magnetic layers of the MTJ structure. In such an MTJ structure, the magnetization directions in the magnetic layers are parallel to a surface of the magnetic layers. When the device size is reduced, it may be difficult to achieve both a low write current and a thermal stability in an in-plane MTJ structure.

Magnetic tunnel junction device and method of making same

Industrial Technology Research Institute


The present invention relates to a head rest for a vehicle seat in a motor vehicle. The head rest consists of an attachment (8) arranged on top of the back rest of the vehicle seat, a protective cushion (4) and one or several supporting arms (5, 13) which protrude from the attachment and support the protective cushion (4). The supporting arms are at their one end (7) pivotably attached to the attachment about a lower pivoting shaft (9), and the attachment exhibits a locking mechanism which in its use position for the head rest holds the locking arms pivotable locked about the first pivot shaft relative to the attachment. A release mechanism can, when activated, release the locking mechanism for pivoting of the supporting arms together with the protective cushion about the pivot shaft. The protective cushion (4) is also pivotable attached to the supporting arms (5, 13) about an upper pivoting shaft (10) and a second locking mechanism in the use position holds the protective cushion pivotable locked about the upper pivoting shaft relative to the supporting arm. A further release mechanism can, when activated, release the protective cushion from its pivotably locked position for pivoting of the cushion relative to the supporting arms.

Head rests for vehicle seats in motor vehicles are primarily intended to protect those travelling in the vehicle, particularly when being hit from behind. Rear vehicle seats, but also front seats, are often foldable in order to make the cargo space of the vehicle flexible. In order to achieve this, the back rest is foldable towards the seat so that it will not come into conflict with surfaces in front or below in the vehicle, for example seats in front. It is previously known to adjust the neck rest to a position to a position which needs less space by means of a link system which, when folding the back rest pulls the head rest towards the upper edge of the back rest, see WO 94/01302. This solution, however, obtains a more limited decreasing of the space when folded. Also, for other purposes such as the view rearwards, there can be reasons for temporarily adjusting the head rest.


A programmable linear receiver which provides the requisite level of system performance at reduced power consumption. The receiver minimizes power consumption based on measurement of the non-linearity in the output signal from the receiver. The amount of non-linearity can be measured by the RSSI slope or energy-per-chip-to-noise-ratio (Ec/Io) measurement. The RSSI slope is the ratio of the change in the output signal plus intermodulation to the change in the input signal. The input signal level is periodically increased by a predetermined level and the output signal from the receiver is measured. The output signal comprises the desired signal and intermodulation products from non-linearity within the receiver. When the receiver is operating linearly, the output signal level increases dB per dB with the input signal level. However, as the receiver transitions into non-linear region, intermodulation products due to non-linearity increase faster than the desired signal. By detecting the RSSI slope, the amount of degradation due to non-linearity can be determined. This information is then used to adjust the IIP3 operating point of the amplifiers and mixer to provide the requisite level of performance while minimizing power consumption.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved programmable linear receiver.
II. Description of the Related Art
The design of a high performance receiver is made challenging by various design constraints. First, high performance is required for many applications. High performance can be described by the linearity of the active devices (e.g. amplifiers, mixers, etc.) and the noise figure of the receiver. Second, for some applications such as in a cellular communication system, power consumption is an important consideration because of the portable nature of the receiver. Generally, high performance and high efficiency are conflicting design considerations.
An active device has the following transfer function:
y(x)=a1xc2x7x+a2x2+a3x3+higher order terms,xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
where x is the input signal, y(x) is the output signal, and a1, a2, and a3 are coefficients which define the linearity of the active device. For simplicity, higher order terms (e.g. terms above third order) are ignored. For an ideal active device, the coefficients a2 and a3 are 0.0 and the output signal is simply the input signal scaled by a1. However, all active devices experience some amount of non-linearity which is quantified by the coefficients a2 and a3. Coefficient a2 defines the amount of, second order non-linearity and coefficient a3 defines the amount of third order non-linearity.
Most communication systems are narrow band systems which operate on an input RF signal having a predetermined bandwidth and center frequency. The input RF signal typically comprises other spurious signals located throughout the frequency spectrum. Non-linearity within the active devices causes intermodulation of spurious signals, resulting in products which may fall into the signal band.
The effect of second order non-linearity (e.g. those caused by the x2 term) can usually be reduced or eliminated by careful design methodology. Second order non-linearity produces products at the sum and difference frequencies. Typically, the spurious signals which can produce in-band second-order products are located far away from the signal band and can be easily filtered. However, third order non-linearity are more problematic. For third order non-linearity, spurious signals x=g1xc2x7cos(w1t)+g2cos(w2t) produce products at the frequencies (2w1-w2) and (2w2-w1). Thus, near band spurious signals (which are difficult to filter) can produce third order intermodulation products falling in-band, causing degradation in the received signal. To compound the problem, the amplitude of the third order products are scaled by g1xc2x7g22 and g12xc2x7g2. Thus, every doubling of the amplitude of the spurious signals produces an eight-fold increase in the amplitude of the third order products. Viewed another way, every 1 dB increase in the input RF signal results in 1 dB increase in the output RF signal but 3 dB increase in the third order products.
The linearity of a receiver (or the active device) can be characterized by the input-referred third-order intercept point (IIP3). Typically, the output RF signal and the third-order intermodulation products are plotted versus the input RF signal. As the input RF signal is increased, the IIP3 is a theoretical point where the desired output RF signal and the third-order products become equal in amplitude. The IIP3 is an extrapolated value since the active device goes into compression before the IIP3 point is reached.
For a receiver comprising multiple active devices connected in cascade, the IIP3 of the receiver from the first stage of active device to the nth stage can be calculated as follows:
IIP3n=xe2x88x9210xc2x7log10[10xe2x88x92IIP3nxe2x88x921/10+10(Avnxe2x88x92IIP3dn)/10],xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
where IIP3n is the input-referred third-order intercept point from the first stage of active device to the nth stage, IIP3nxe2x88x921 is the input-referred third-order intercept point from the first stage to the (nxe2x88x921)th stage, Avn is the gain of the nth stage, IIP3dn is the input-referred third-order intercept point of the nth stage, and all terms are given in decibel (dB). The calculation in equation (2) can be carried out in sequential order for subsequent stages within the receiver.
From equation (2), it can be observed that one way to improve the cascaded IIP3 of the receiver is to lower the gain before the first non-linear active device. However, each active device also generates thermal noise which degrades the signal quality. Since the noise level is maintained at a constant level, the degradation increases as the gain is lowered and the signal amplitude is decreased. The amount of degradation can be measured by the noise figure (NF) of the active device which is given as follows:
NFd=SNRinxe2x88x92SNRout,xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
where NFd is the noise figure of the active device, SNRin is the signal-to-noise ratio of the input RF signal into the active device, SNRout is signal-to-noise ratio of the output RF signal from the active device, and NFd, SNRin and SNRout are all given in decibel (dB). For a receiver comprising multiple active devices connected in cascade, the noise figure of the receiver from the first stage of active device to the nth stage can be calculated as follows:                                           NF            n                    =                      10            ·                                          log                10                                                          [                                                      10                                          (                                                                        NF                                                      n                            -                            1                                                                          /                        10                                            )                                                        +                                                                                10                                                  (                                                                                NF                              dn                                                        /                            10                                                    )                                                                    -                      1                                                              10                                              (                                                                              G                                                          n                              -                              1                                                                                /                          10                                                )                                                                                ]                                                    ,                            (        4        )
where NFn is the noise figure from the first stage to the nth stage, NFnxe2x88x921 is the noise figure of the first stage to the (nxe2x88x921)th stage, NFdn is the noise figure of the nth stage, and Gnxe2x88x921 is the accumulated gain of the first stage through the (nxe2x88x921)th stage in dB. As shown in equation (4), the gain of the active device can affect the noise figure of the subsequent stages. Similar to the IIP3 calculation in equation (2), the noise figure calculation in equation (4) can be carried out in sequential order for subsequent stages of the receiver.
Receivers are employed for many communication applications, such as cellular communication systems and high definition television (HDTV). Exemplary cellular communication systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communication systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) communication systems, and analog FM communication systems. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307, entitled xe2x80x9cSPREAD SPECTRUM MULTIPLE ACCESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING SATELLITE OR TERRESTRIAL REPEATERSxe2x80x9d, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,459, entitled xe2x80x9cSYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING WAVEFORMS IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEMxe2x80x9d, both assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein. An exemplary HDTV system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,104, U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,345, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,891, all three entitled xe2x80x9cADAPTIVE BLOCK SIZE IMAGE COMPRESSION METHOD AND SYSTEMxe2x80x9d, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,767, entitled xe2x80x9cINTERFRAME VIDEO ENCODING AND DECODING SYSTEMxe2x80x9d, all four patents are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein.
In cellular applications, it is common to have more than one communication system operating within the same geographic coverage area. Furthermore, these systems can operate at or near the same frequency band. When this occurs, the transmission from one system can cause degradation in the received signal of another system. CDMA is a spread spectrum communication system which spreads the transmit power to each user over the entire 1.2288 MHz signal bandwidth. The spectral response of an FM-based transmission can be more concentrated at the center frequency. Therefore, FM-based transmission can cause jammers to appear within the allocated CDMA band and very close to the received CDMA signal. Furthermore, the amplitude of the jammers can be many time greater than that of the CDMA signal. These jammers can cause third-order intermodulation products which can degrade the performance of the CDMA system.
Typically, to minimize degradation due to intermodulation products caused by jammers, the receiver is designed to have high IIP3. However, design of a high IIP3 receiver requires the active devices within the receiver to be biased with high DC current, thereby consuming large amounts of power. This design approach is especially undesirable for cellular application wherein the receiver is a portable unit and power is limited.
Several techniques have been deployed in the prior art to address the need for high IIP3. One such technique, which also attempts to minimize power consumption, is to implement the gain stage with a plurality of amplifiers connected in parallel and to selectively enable the amplifiers as higher IIP3 is needed. This technique is disclosed in detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/843,904, entitled xe2x80x9cDUAL MODE AMPLIFIER WITH HIGH EFFICIENCY AND HIGH LINEARITYxe2x80x9d, filed Apr. 17, 1997; assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein. Another technique is to measure the received RF signal power and adjust the gain of the amplifiers based on the amplitude of the RF signal power. This technique is disclosed in detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/723,491, entitled xe2x80x9cMETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INCREASING RECEIVER POWER IMMUNITY TO INTERFERENCExe2x80x9d, filed Sep. 30, 1996, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein. These techniques improve the IIP3 performance but have not effectively reduced power consumption nor minimized circuit complexity.
An exemplary block diagram of a receiver architecture of the prior art is shown in FIG. 1. Within receiver 1100, the transmitted RF signal is received by antenna 1112, routed through duplexer 1114, and provided to low noise amplifier (LNA) 1116. LNA 1116 amplifies the RF signal and provides the signal to bandpass filter 1118. Bandpass filter 1118 filters the signal to remove some of the spurious signals which can cause intermodulation products in the subsequent stages. The filtered signal is provided to mixer 1120 which downconverts the signal to an intermediate frequency (IF) with the sinusoidal from local oscillator 1122. The IF signal is provided to bandpass filter 1124 which filters spurious signals and downconversion products prior to the subsequent downconversion stage. The filtered IF signal is provided to automatic-gain-control (AGC) amplifier 1126 which amplifies the signal with a variable gain to provide an IF signal at the required amplitude. The gain is controlled by a control signal from AGC control circuit 1128. The IF signal is provided to demodulator 1130 which demodulates the signal in accordance with the modulation format used at the transmitter. For digital transmission such as binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quaternary phase shift keying (QPSK), offset quaternary phase shift keying (OQPSK), and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), a digital demodulator is used to provide the digitized baseband data. For FM transmission, an FM demodulator is used to provide the analog signal.
Receiver 1100 comprises the basic functionalities required by most receivers. However, the location of amplifiers 1116 and 1126, bandpass filters 1118 and 1124, and mixer 1120 can be rearranged to optimize the receiver performance for a particular application. In this receiver architecture, high IIP3 is provided for by biasing the active devices at high DC bias current and/or by controlling the gain of amplifier 1126.
This receiver architecture has several drawbacks. First, the active devices are typically biased to a high DC current to provide the highest required IIP3. This has the effect of operating receiver 1100 at the high IIP3 operating point at all times, even though high IIP3 is not required most of the time. Second, the high IIP3 can be improved by adjusting the gain of AGC amplifier 1126, as disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,204. However, lowering the gain of amplifier 1126 can degrade the noise figure of receiver 1100.
The present invention is a novel and improved programmable linear receiver which provides the requisite level of system performance with reduced power consumption. In the exemplary embodiment, the receiver comprises an attenuator, at least one stage of fixed gain amplifier, a mixer, and a demodulator. Each amplifier has a bypass signal path comprising a pad and a switch. In the exemplary embodiment, the amplifiers and the mixer comprise active devices whose IIP3 operating point can be individually adjusted with bias control signals. In the exemplary embodiment, the required AGC is provided by the attenuator, the amplifiers and the pads, and the demodulator.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a programmable linear receiver which minimizes power consumption based on the measured non-linearity in the output signal from the receiver. In the exemplary embodiment, the amount of non-linearity is measured by the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) slope method. The RSSI slope is the ratio of the change in the output signal plus intermodulation to the change in the input signal. In the exemplary. embodiment, the input signal level is periodically increased by a predetermined level and the output signal from the receiver is measured. The output signal comprises the desired signal and intermodulation products from non-linearity within the receiver. When the receiver is operating linearly, the output signal level increases dB for dB with the input signal level. However, as the receiver transitions into non-linear region, intermodulation products due to non-linearity increase faster than the desired signal. By detecting the RSSI slope, the amount of degradation due to non-linearity can be determined. This information is then used to adjust the IIP3 operating point of the amplifiers and mixer to provide the requisite level of performance while minimizing power consumption. The amount of non-linearity can also be estimated by other measurement techniques, such as energy-per-chip-to-noise-ratio (Ec/Io).
It is another object of the present invention to provide a programmable linear receiver which minimizes power consumption based on the operating mode of the receiver. Each operating mode of the receiver can operate on an input signal having unique characteristics (e.g. CDMA, FM) and each operating mode can have different performance requirements. In the exemplary embodiment, a controller within the receiver has knowledge of the operating mode and the associated settings of the components within the receiver to provide the required performance. For example, CDMA mode requires high IIP3 operating point and the active devices are biased accordingly when the receiver is operating in the CDMA mode. In contrast, FM mode has less stringent linearity requirements and can be biased to a lower IIP3 operating point while the receiver is operating in the FM mode.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a programmable linear receiver which minimizes power consumption based on the measured signal level at various stages within the receiver. Power detectors can be connected to the output of selected components to measure the power level of the signal. The power measurements are then used to adjust the IIP3 operating point of any component operating past a predetermined level of non-linearity.

Programmable linear receiver having a variable IIP3 point


This invention includes a system and a method for growing crystals including a batch auto-feeding mechanism. The proposed system and method provide a minimization of compositional segregation effect during crystal growth by controlling growth rate involving a high-temperature flow control system operable in an open and a closed loop crystal growth process. The ability to control the growth rate without corresponding loss of volatilize-able elements enables significantly improvement in compositional homogeneity and a consequent increase in crystal yield. This growth system and method can be operated in production scale, simultaneously for a plurality of growth crucibles to further the reduction of manufacturing costs, particularly for the crystal materials of binary or ternary systems with volatile components, such as Lead (Pb) and Indium (In).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method for ceramic crystallization and single crystal growth, particularly designed for the material systems with compositional segregation during solidification. More specifically, this invention relates to (i) crystal growth systems and methods derived in part from a vertical Bridgman approach for volatilizing ternary and binary solid solutions including lead-contained ternary or binary solid solutions, including but not limited for PMN-PT based crystals (lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate solid solutions); (ii) a batch auto-feeding system and mechanism with high temperature batch flow control operation and (iii) an automation control system for operably controlling a crystal growth processes. The proposed system and methods are This invented crystal growth method is particularly used for growing crystals of lead-contained binary and ternary solid solutions to minimize the compositional segregation effect.
2. Description of the Related Art
Acoustic transducers are the operational center of many medical, commercial, and military imaging systems. The most common types of transducers utilize lead zirconate titanate (PZT) based ceramics as a piezoelectric function. Piezoelectric ceramics convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and conversely electrical energy into mechanical energy. While conventional PZT materials remain the most common materials used in acoustic transduction devices, changing material requirements have fostered the need for new piezoelectric materials having improved dielectric, piezoelectric and mechanical properties.
Single crystals of solid solutions of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) and Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PZN) with PbTiO3 (PT) (PMN-PT and PZN-PT) have generally desirable ultrahigh piezoelectric properties, coupling constants (k33), and dielectric constants that are unachievable in conventional piezoelectric (PZT) ceramics.
At ambient temperatures, the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB), separating rhombohedral phase from tetragonal phase, exists in (1-x)PMN-xPT system at about x=0.34, and in (1-x)PZN-xPT system at about x=0.09. The crystals of compositions close to the MPB, the so-called relaxor-based single crystals, have shown greatly desired piezoelectric properties suitable for use in medical imaging devices. Unfortunately, the electromechanical properties of these types of single crystals are very sensitive to the orientation and chemical composition of the crystal (See for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,937 issued Oct. 10, 2002, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference), and have been very hard if not impossible to produce in commercial, reliable, and homogenous quantities.
In early 1980s, Kuwata et al. (J. Kumata, K. Uchino and S. Nomura, Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of 0.91Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.09PbTiO3, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 21, 1298-1302 (1982)) found very high piezoelectric coefficient, d33, of 1500 pC/N and electromechanical coupling factor, k33, of 0.92 in 0.91PZN-0.09PT single crystals along <001> direction.
Later, high properties were also observed in PMN-PT crystals by Shrout and his co-workers in 1990 (T. R. Shrout, Z. P. Chang, N. Kim and S. Markgraf, Dielectric behavior of single crystals near the (1-x) Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-xPbTiO3 Morphotropic Phase Boundary, Ferroelectrics Lett., 12, 63-69 (1990)).
High electromechanical coupling (k33)>90%, piezoelectric coefficient (d33)>2500 pC/N and large strain up to 1.7% were reproducibly observed in the later 1990's (S. E. Park and T. R. Shrout, Ultrahigh strain and piezoelectric behavior in relaxor based ferroelectric single crystals, J. Appl. Phys., 82, 1804-11 (1997)).
The super-high piezoelectric properties noted in this literature promised a new generation of acoustic transduction devices but unfortunately were highly difficult to manufacture using any known method.
The small single crystals of PMN-PT and PZN-PT discovered above were obtained by a conventional flux growth method. Unfortunately, usefully sized single crystals (at least inch size) of good quality were long unavailable until in 1997 when PZN-PT single crystals were grown by improved flux growth methods. See S. E. Park and T. R. Shrout, Characteristics Of Relaxor-Based Piezoelectric Single Crystal For Ultrasonic Transducers, IEEE Trans. On Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, Vol. 44, No. 5, 1140-1147 (1997); and T. Kobayashi, S. Shimanuki, S. Saitoh, and Y. Yamashita, Improved Growth Of Large Lead Zinc Niobate Titanate Piezoelectric Single Crystals For Medical Ultrasonic Transducers, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 36, 6035-38 (1997).
A conventional Bridgman method (P. W. Bridgman, Proc. Am. Acad. Sci. 60 9 (1925) 303) is characterized by a relative translation of a crucible containing a melt along a single axial temperature gradient in a vertical furnace. A Stockbarger method (D. C. Stockbarger, Ref. Sci. Instrum. 7 (1963) 133) is a modification of the Bridgman method and employs a single heat insulation buffer separating a vertical furnace into only two zones, a high temperature zone and an upper low-temperature zone.
Recently, a modified vertical Bridgman growth method was developed for large sized crystals: PZN-PT single crystals associated with flux (Y. Hosono, K. Harada, S. Shimanuki, S. Saitoh, and Y. Yamashita, Crystal Growth And Mechanical Properties Of Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-Pbtio3 Single Crystal Produced By Solution Bridgman Method, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 38, 5512-15 (1999)) and PMN-PT single crystals using a crucible moving-downward method in a temperature gradient (Chinese Pat. No. CN 1227286A, "Method Of Preparation Of Relaxor Ferroelectric Single Crystal Lead Magnesium Niobate-Lead Titanate" by H. Luo et al., published Sep. 1, 1999 and H. Luo, G. Xu, H. Xu, P. Wang, and Z. Yin, Compositional Homogeneity And Electrical Properties Of Lead Magnesium Niobate Titanate Single Crystals Grown By A Modified Bridgman Technique, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 39, 5581-85 (2000).
Unfortunately, substantial challenges still exist in manufacturing piezoelectric single crystals. One challenge is that a lead-contained melt, at high temperature, is made highly toxic through the evaporation (volatilization) of lead oxide and corresponding and detrimental increases compositional segregation due to the loss of critical elements. This challenge alone eliminates commercially viable and available crystal growth techniques. Further, the electromechanical properties of the relaxor-based PMN-PT crystals with 25˜35% PT contents close to the MPB are critically sensitive to the PT content and the evaporation generates wildly variable electromechanical properties. An additional challenge is that crystal growth with flux association yields a very low growth rate and unacceptable imperfection manifestations, including micro inclusions drastically dropping yield. Finally, each of these methods provides poor homogeneity and greatly reduced material utilization factors raising production costs (material losses).
It is also clear that the Bridgman-type growth method alone is only feasible for PMN-PT crystal due to the pseudo-congruent behavior of the binary solid solution system. So far no publications gave the reason for this behavior and there is no calculable way to predict it due to the absence of most important of the thermodynamic parameters. (Only the experimental results, presented herein indicate the crystallization behavior.)
Referring now to the Bridgman growth method discussed above, this method allows for PMN-PT crystal growth at relatively fast rates, up to 1 mm/hr, but the resultant compositional segregation is detrimentally large generating tremendous yield loss via PT loss. The PT variability provides unpredictable and undesirable piezoelectric properties reducing material utilization to a vary small range. The resultant compositional segregations prevent commercial implementation of rapid growth rates without unacceptably high quality control losses.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a conventional single PMN-PT crystals was grown using solely the Bridgman growth method and the results are noted in the accompanying graph. Clearly the segregation results using this conventional growth method and system resulted in great Pb, Mg, Nb, and Ti variability along the length of the grown boule. The growth parameters were: seeding [110], growth rate 0.8 mm/hr at temperature gradient 30° C./cm, and maximum crucible temperature of 1365° C. The Induction Coupled Plasma (ICP) spectroscopy employed had accuracy greater than 0.5%. It is clear from the figure that there is wide compositional variability along the length of the boule. This variability is drastically significant even within 1 cm length increments effectively rendering the entire boule unusable. It is clear that this method of crystal growth is incapable of providing useful lengths of compositionally homogenous material.
As noted above, since the piezoelectric properties of PMN-PT single crystals are sharply dependant upon composition, this composition variability results in a great reduction of the useful portion of the as-grown crystal boule, and increased production, handling, and testing costs. As seen in the FIG. 1, the percentage % of each of the compositional changes is as much as 10-25% within 1 cm length. This variability is unacceptable for commercial implementation.
Consequently a long felt need existed for an improved approach and Applicant has developed a hybrid method: Zone-leveling Bridgman approach to manufacture large-sized PMN-PT crystals with greatly improved compositional homogeneity (See U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,730, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference). However, upon further practice of Applicant's patented invention, additional limitations were realized. Consequently Applicant's '730 invention is now recognized as only partially solving the segregation problem due to the limitation of size of the melting zone for large diameter crystals and other factors discussed below.
While it was suggested that a continuous feed of raw materials may assist the compositional change taking place in the liquid phase the continuous feed method is suitable only to Mn—Zn Ferrite that has an extremely low melting point and less or no volatility when compared to Pb-contained PMN-PT compound. (See the book chapter "Crystals for magnetic applications" in series of "Crystals growth, properties and applications", edited by C. J. M. Rooijmans, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 1978. Consequently, the related art has failed to appreciate the need for a system and method that overcomes the detriments noted above.
In summary, the problems of commercially available manufacturing methods for PMN-PT based single crystals include at least the following:                1. low unit yield and high manufacturing cost due to loss in the process.        2. gross compositional inhomogeneity resulting in variation of piezoelectric properties rendering the resultant product wholly unsuitable for commercial use.
Accordingly there is a need for an improved crystal growth system and method that addresses the commercial needs discussed. Additionally, and alternatively, there is a need for a composition that operates with the proposed system and method.

Crystal growth system and method for lead-contained compositions using batch auto-feeding