Provided are high voltage metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (HVMOSFET) having a Si/SiGe heterojunction structure and method of manufacturing the same. In this method, a substrate on which a Si layer, a relaxed SiGe epitaxial layer, a SiGe epitaxial layer, and a Si epitaxial layer are stacked or a substrate on which a Si layer having a well region, a SiGe epitaxial layer, and a Si epitaxial layer are stacked is formed. For the device having the heterojunction structure, the number of conduction carriers through a potential well and the mobility of the carriers increase to reduce an on resistance, thus increasing saturation current. Also, an intensity of vertical electric field decreases so that a breakdown voltage can be maintained at a very high level. Further, a reduction in vertical electric field due to the heterojunction structure leads to a gain in transconductance (Gm), with the results that a hot electron effect is inhibited and the reliability of the device is enhanced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power device and method of manufacturing the same and, more specifically, to a high voltage metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (HVMOSFET) having a Si/SiGe heterojunction structure and method of manufacturing the same, in which a breakdown voltage is held high and an on resistance is held low.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In general, power devices using a field effect include a lightly doped drain-high voltage MOSFET (LDD-HVMOSFET), a double diffused MOSFET (DMOSFET), an extended drain MOSFET (EDMOSFET), and a lateral double diffused MOSFET (LDMOSFET). These power devices are being watched with keen interest as high voltage devices because they operate at high switching speed and at a low on resistance in comparison to other power devices.
The field-effect power devices commonly include a drain that is comprised of a lightly doped region and a heavily doped region. The drain has a heterojunction structure obtained by performing an ion implantation process twice. Thus, a hot electron effect, which arises from an increase in the intensity of a vertical electric field at the end of a channel close to the drain, can be diminished. The hot electron effect leads to reductions in a small-signal output resistance and a transconductance (Gm), trapping of electrons in an oxide layer to increase a threshold voltage, and generation of a substrate current. The generated substrate current induces the operation of a parasitic bipolar transistor (BJT) between a source, a substrate, and a drain, thus a breakdown voltage VDS decreases. Accordingly, a power device should be structured such that it has a high breakdown voltage to resist to a high voltage and has a low on resistance to hold switching speed high.
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a basic high voltage device, specifically, a conventional LDD-HVMOSFET.
Referring to FIG. 1, the HVMOSFET is manufactured in a semiconductor substrate 10 in which a p-well region 41 and an n-well region 51 are formed. The HVMOSFET is comprised of an N-type LDD-HVMOSFET formed in the p-well region 41 and a P-type LDD-HVMOSET formed in the n-well region 51.
A gate oxide layer 19 is formed on the p-well region 41 over the p-type semiconductor substrate 10 on which a field oxide layer 21 is formed, and a gate electrode 20 is formed on the gate oxide layer 19. An n+ source region 16 including an n− LDD region 15 and an n+ drain region 17 are formed in the p-well region 41 on both sides of the gate electrode 20, respectively. A p+ source contact region 18 is formed on one side of the n+ source region 16, and an n-type drift region 14 is formed outside the n+ drain region 17. In the above-described N-type LDD-HVMOSFET, respective portions of the gate electrode 20, the n+ source region 16, the p+ source contact region 18, and the n+ drain region 17 are connected to metal electrodes 23 through contact holes formed in an interlayer dielectric layer 22.
Also, the gate oxide layer 19 is formed on the n-well region 51 over the p-type semiconductor substrate 10, and the gate electrode 20 is formed on the gate oxide layer 19. A p+ source region 56 including a p− LDD region 55 and a p+ drain region 57 are formed in the n-well region 51 on both sides of the gate electrode 20, respectively. An n+ source contact region 58 is formed on one side of the p+ source region 56, and a p-type drift region 54 is formed outside the p+ drain region 57. In the above-described P-type LDD-HVMOSFET, respective portions of the gate electrode 20, the p+ source region 56, the n+ source contact region 58, and the p+ drain region 57 are connected to metal electrodes 23 through contact holes formed in the interlayer dielectric layer 22.
In the N-type LDD-HVMOSFET, when a higher voltage than a threshold voltage is applied to the gate electrode 20 and a higher voltage is applied to the drain region 17 than the source region 16, a current flows from the source region 16 through a channel region disposed under the gate electrode 20 and the n-type drift region 14 into the drain region 17. In this process, the dispersion of an electric field in the lightly doped n-type drift region 14 can be obtained, thus lowering the maximum electric field intensity to ensure a high breakdown voltage. However, a low dopant concentration of the n-type drift region 14 makes it difficult to precisely control the on resistance of the channel region and precludes ensuring a low on resistance so as not to obtain a high driving current.
Since the P-type LDD-HVMOSFET operates on the same principle as the above-described N-type LDD-HVMOSFET, a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

High voltage MOSFET having Si/SiGe heterojuction structure and method of manufacturing the same

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


Systems, devices and methods are provided for determining the appropriate or desired geographical correction source for SBAS corrections. One aspect provided herein is a method. According to one method embodiment, a Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS) correction message is received from a selected SBAS satellite. It is determined whether at least one criterion is satisfied for using the selected SBAS satellite as a correction source and then processing the correction message received therefrom. A second SBAS satellite is selected from which to receive SBAS correction messages upon determining that at least one criterion is not satisfied for using the selected SBAS satellite as a correction source. One example of SBAS is the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) used in North America. Other aspects and embodiments are provided herein.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a worldwide radio-navigation system formed from a constellation of satellites and corresponding ground stations. Currently, approximately twenty-four satellites are used in the GPS. Each satellite continually broadcasts its location in space along with the current time from an internal clock. GPS receivers are able to determine their position by receiving and analyzing signals transmitted from the satellites. Two-dimensional locations are able to be determined by analyzing signals from three satellites, and three-dimensional locations are able to be determined by analyzing signals from four or more satellites. A GPS receiver determines its location by determining its distance from the GPS satellites based on the received signals and then performing a geometric triangulation on these distance measurements. GPS will be described in more detail below.
Although the current GPS has been successful, it has several shortcomings that affect the accuracy of positioning calculations. For example, GPS satellite signals are subject to errors caused by ionospheric disturbances and satellite orbit discrepancies. Ionospheric and tropospheric refraction can slow satellite signals and cause carrier signals and codes to diverge. Because ionospheric disturbances vary greatly from location to location, these errors are difficult to correct with civilian-type GPS receivers. These and other errors are described in more detail below.
Differential GPS (DGPS) can improve the accuracy of position measurements. DGPS uses an extra stationary receiver at a known location as a reference point. The stationary receiver measures GPS signal error by comparing its exact, known location with the location derived from the GPS signals. The reference receiver sends timing error measurements to mobile GPS receivers that allow these GPS receivers to correct for errors and get a more accurate position measurement. DGPS assumes that the reference point and other receivers will encounter similar errors. One example of DGPS is the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime (RTCM) Services, provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, which provide DGPS correction signals.
Space Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) have been developed to further account for errors and better improve the accuracy, availability and integrity of the GPS. Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) is one type of Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS) used in North America. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) developed and uses WAAS to aid in landing aircraft. The FAA also has plans to develop a Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) with reference receivers located near runways to further aid in landing aircraft, particularly in zero visibility conditions. One benefit of WAAS is that it provides extended coverage both inland and offshore compared to a land-based DGPS. Another benefit of WAAS is that it does not require additional DGPS receiving equipment.
Other governments are developing SBAS. In Asia, the SBAS is referred to as the Japanese Multi-Functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS). In Europe, the SBAS is referred to as the Euro Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). Eventually, GPS users around the world likely will have access to precise position data using these and other SBAS systems.
As will be described in more detail below, the WAAS is based on a network of wide area ground reference stations (WRSs) that are linked to cover a service area including the entire U.S. and some areas of Canada and Mexico. The number of WRSs is currently about twenty-five. The WRSs are precisely surveyed so that the exact location of each WRS is known. Signals from GPS satellites are received and analyzed by the WRSs to determine errors in the signals, including errors caused by the ionospheric disturbances described above. Each WRS in the network relays its data to a wide area master station (WAAS) where correction information is computed. The WAAS calculates correction messages for each GPS satellite based on correction algorithms and assesses the overall integrity of the system. The correction messages are then uplinked to Geostationary Communication Satellites (GEOs), also referred to herein as SBAS satellites or more particularly as WAAS satellites, via a ground uplink system (GUS). The SBAS satellites broadcast the messages to GPS receivers within the coverage area of the SBAS satellites on the same frequency as the GPS signals (e.g. L1, 1575.42 MHz). GPS receivers with SBAS capabilities are capable of using the SBAS correction message to correct for GPS satellite signal errors caused by ionospheric disturbances and other inaccuracies. The SBAS satellites also act as additional navigation satellites for the GPS receivers, thus, providing additional navigation signals for position determination.
With respect to WAAS, the correction messages currently are uplinked to two WAAS satellites. In the future, additional WAAS satellites are intended to be incorporated in the system. The GPS receiver is capable of being positioned within the coverage area of both of these WAAS satellites such that the receiver is capable of receiving WAAS correction messages from any one or both of these WAAS satellites. Additional GEOs are capable of being used for a more comprehensive SBAS that provides a larger coverage and more redundancy. As such, a GPS receiver is capable of being positioned within the coverage area of two or more of these SBAS satellites such that the receiver is capable of receiving SBAS correction messages from any one of these SBAS satellites or from two or more of these SBAS satellites. Multiple WAAS satellites may be available in the future as potential sources of correction information.
The WAAS satellites broadcast several types of correction messages, and the information contained therein requires a substantial amount of memory in a GPS/WAAS receiver. In order to minimize the amount of memory required to store WAAS correction information, when multiple (i.e. two or more) WAAS satellites are available to be used by a GPS/WAAS receiver, it is desirable to obtain information only for the satellite that is the most reliable source of this information. The accuracy, desirability and/or equivalency of SBAS correction messages are not necessarily the same for the various SBAS correction sources. Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved method and system for determining the appropriate or desired geographical correction source for SBAS corrections and which benefits from the SBAS data while using a minimal amount of memory and system resources.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Space based augmentation system with hierarchy for determining geographical corrections source


A specimen and an objective lens can be quickly brought close together or separated without an operator being concerned about the positional relationship between the specimen and the objective lens, and once the correct positional relationship is established, the focal position can be finely adjusted. The invention includes a first focusing mechanism for moving the objective lens in an optical axis direction relative to the specimen so as to approach the specimen or withdraw therefrom; a second focusing mechanism for displacing an internal optical system in the optical axis direction, and a switching device for switching between operating the first focusing mechanism and operating the second focusing mechanism when the objective lens is disposed at a predetermined switching position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microscope apparatus.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-330377, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
Known microscope apparatuses in the related art include a coarse adjustment knob for changing the relative position between a specimen and an objective lens in the optical axis direction to quickly and roughly move the focal position of the objective lens relative to the specimen and a fine adjustment knob for precisely moving the focal position of the objective lens relative to the specimen (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-4165).
In such a known microscope apparatus, the operator performs rough focusing of the objective lens with respect to the specimen using the coarse adjustment knob followed by precise focusing using the fine adjustment knob.
However, since the focal position is adjusted quickly when using the adjustment knob, the operator must constantly check the relative positional relationship between the specimen and the objective lens while operating the coarse adjustment knob. In particular, when the specimen is easily damaged, care must be taken not to contact the objective lens with the specimen, thus damaging it. Also, when performing examination of a specimen immersed in liquid without using a liquid-immersion objective lens, care must be taken not to contact the objective lens with the liquid. Furthermore, in the case of a microscope used for examining the interior of a specimen, such as a confocal microscope, although the objective lens may make contact with the specimen, care must be taken not to apply excessive pressure.
Therefore, in order to avoid these problems, when the specimen and the objective lens are placed relatively close together, position adjustment using the coarse adjustment knob is stopped when the relative positions of the specimen and the objective lens are sufficiently separated, and from that point, they can be carefully brought closer together by using the fine adjustment knob. In such a case, however, the time required to set the focal position is rather long, resulting in the drawback that the examination time is also increased.
Furthermore, even if adjustment is carried out with the coarse adjustment knob until the relative positions of the specimen and the objective lens are sufficiently close together, if the positional relationship between the specimen and the objective lens is not checked while adjusting the position using the fine focus adjustment knob, the problem of contact between the specimen and the objective lens or excessive pressure being applied still occurs.
In particular, in the case of a fluorescence microscope which is operated by remote control in a dark room or a black box, to check the relative positional relationship between the specimen and the objective lens, a light must be turned on or the black box must be opened during examination. Another problem, therefore, is that the checking procedure becomes extremely troublesome and examination cannot be carried out efficiently.


A magnet temperature estimating device for a motor including a rotor having magnets and configured to output a rotational motive force, and a stator having a plurality of coils opposing the rotor with a gap therebetween, is provided. The device includes a sensor configured to detect an induced voltage induced by rotation of the rotor, and a controller configured to control the motor by supplying power to the plurality of coils in response to an input of a detection signal from the sensor. Gaps adjacent to each magnet in a rotation direction of the rotor are formed in the rotor. The controller estimates a temperature of the magnet based on the induced voltage detected when the magnet opposes any one of the plurality of coils, according to the rotation of the rotor.

JP2007-336708A discloses, as one example of the magnet temperature estimating devices for motors, a temperature estimating device for permanent magnets of a permanent-magnet type rotary machine (motor). In detail, the device disclosed in JP2007-336708A extracts a magnetic flux density of the permanent magnets and estimates a temperature of the permanent magnets based on the extracted magnetic flux density.
Moreover, WO2014/167690A1 discloses, as another example of the magnet temperature estimating devices for motors, a cooling control device for a motor of an electric vehicle. In detail, the device disclosed in WO2014/167690A1 detects an induced voltage which is caused when driving the motor, and estimates a magnet temperature of the motor based on the detected induced voltage.
Meanwhile, when magnets which constitute a rotor of the motor become excessively high in temperature, they become irreversibly demagnetized. Therefore, in order to maintain the performance of the motor, it is necessary to reduce the magnet temperature when the magnets become high in temperature. In order to reduce the magnet temperature more securely, it is required for estimating the magnet temperature with sufficient accuracy.
Here, as a method of estimating the magnet temperature, it is possible to use the induced voltage which is caused by driving the motor, as disclosed in WO2014/167690A1. However, the induced voltage varies during the operation of the motor because the magnetic flux varies in connection with the rotation of the rotor. This is inconvenient for estimating the magnet temperature with sufficient accuracy.

Magnet temperature estimating device for motor and hybrid vehicle provided with the same


An apparatus for executing a printing process on the basis of a print job from an external apparatus, comprises a post-processing unit which can apply post-processing for printed paper sheets using paper sheets prepared independently of the printed paper sheets; a detector for detecting in the post-processing means that the paper sheets prepared independently of the printed paper sheets are set; determination means for determining whether or not print start trigger information is attached to the print job, which indicates an instruction to start printing in response to trigger information to start printing; and print control means for, (i) when a print job designated with the post-processing by the post-processing unit is received and it is determined that the print start trigger information is attached to the received print job, delaying a process of the print job until the detector detects that the paper sheets are set, and starting execution of the print job when the detector detects that the paper sheets are set, (ii) and when a print job designated with the post-processing by the post-processing unit is received and it is determined that the print start trigger information is not attached to the received print job, starting the received print job independently of a detection by the detector.

When a printing process is made by a network system to which a plurality of printers and copying machines are connected, the user selects one printer suited to a print job to execute the printing process. In order to allow a fast printing process, a system that divides one print job and controls a plurality of printers to parallelly print the divided jobs has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2001-109599, 8-335150, and the like).
In order to reliably and efficiently make an operation for inserting and binding an insert sheet in output sheets on which images are formed, an insert reservation number is input every time paper sheets are set in an inserter of a printing apparatus. Also, a unique inserter reservation number is appended to a print job when the inserter is used. The print job that uses the inserter is executed when the inserter reservation number of the print job matches the insert reservation number which is input in correspondence with paper sheets currently placed on the inserter. If these numbers do not match, execution of the print job is delayed until the corresponding insert reservation number is input (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,029 and the like).
However, even the system which can divide one print job and control a plurality of printers to parallelly print the divided print jobs cannot divide post-processing. When post-processing such as stapling or the like is applied to printed sheets, the user must designate a printing apparatus to which a post-processing apparatus is connected upon printing. For this reason, the performance of the printing system which can divide a print job and parallelly print the divided jobs to attain a high-speed printing process cannot be fully utilized when the post-processing is required. For example, when a printer to which a post-processing apparatus is connected is a monochrome printer, the post-processing must be executed by that monochrome printer. Hence, color and monochrome printing processes must be executed by independent printers. In such case, even when the post-processing is to be executed together with color pages printed by a color printer, it is difficult for the monochrome printer with a post-processing unit to execute such post-processing. For this reason, even when a printer to which a post-processing apparatus is connected is available, color and monochrome pages must be independently printed, and the post-processing must be manually done for these printouts.
In this manner, it is often difficult for the conventional printing system to use the post-processing function of a printer when post-processing is to be applied to printouts.

Printing apparatus, information processing apparatus, and printing system


A system and method of controlling a low-voltage DC/DC converter for an electric vehicle that include a battery sensor that senses information regarding a low-voltage battery during a stop of the electric vehicle for each first period when the electric vehicle stops and a controller that operates a low-voltage DC/DC converter to charge the low-voltage battery for a predefined time when an error occurs in the battery sensor. In addition, the controller determines a charge time of the low-voltage battery based on first SOC values of the information regarding the low-voltage battery sensed for each first period when no error in the battery sensor is detected and operates the low-voltage DC/DC converter for the determined charge time to charge the low-voltage battery.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a system and method of controlling a low-voltage DC/DC converter for an electric vehicle; and, particularly, to a system and method of controlling a low-voltage DC/DC converter for an electric vehicle, which control a low-voltage DC/DC converter to efficiently charge a low-voltage battery.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a hybrid electric vehicle includes a power source and a drive motor powered by a battery, and may improve fuel efficiency with the aid of the motor driven by the voltage of the battery during a start or acceleration of the vehicle by applying the power source to a front wheel.
A superior control unit which collectively operates the electric vehicle is an HCU (Hybrid Control Unit) or a VCU (Vehicle Control Unit). The HCU or the VCU communicates with an MCU (Motor Control Unit), which is a subordinate control unit, to maintain torque and speed of the motor as a drive source and a torque generation amount, and communicates with an ECU (Engine Control Unit), which operates the engine to generate power for voltage generation as an auxiliary power source, to perform relay control related to engine start and fault diagnosis.
In addition, the HCU detects temperature, voltage, current, SOC (State Of Charge), etc. of the battery as a main power source and communicates with a BMS (Battery Management System) which manages all conditions of the battery, to maintain the torque and speed of the motor based on the SOC. Furthermore, the HCU communicates with a TCU (Transmission Control Unit), which determines and maintains a shift ratio based on vehicle speed and a driving intention, to cause a desired speed to be maintained. The communication between the HCU as a superior control unit and the subordinate control units is performed via CAN communication to exchange information and transmit and receive control signals with respect to each other.
Meanwhile, the electric vehicle includes a low-voltage DC/DC (direct current) converter, (e.g., a DC/DC converter) which generates a direct current by rectifying power of a high-voltage battery. Such a low-voltage DC/DC converter switches a high-voltage DC to generate an AC (alternating current), transforms the AC using a coil, a transformer, or a capacitance, and then rectifies the AC again to generate a DC, thereby serving to supply each electric device of the electric vehicle with the generated DC.
In general, a low-voltage DC/DC converter control system for an electric vehicle operates the low-voltage DC/DC converter without utilization of information regarding a low-voltage battery. For example, the low-voltage DC/DC converter may output a fixed voltage of about 14.3V by operating the low-voltage DC/DC converter control system. Therefore, since unnecessary power is consumed due to the continuous high-voltage output (that is, about 14.3V) of the low-voltage DC/DC converter, a mileage of the electric vehicle by one charge may be reduced.
In addition, the low-voltage DC/DC converter control system for an electric vehicle supplies charge power to the low-voltage battery, regardless of the state of the low-voltage battery. Thus, it may be difficult to efficiently manage discharge of the low-voltage battery caused by a dark current generating unit such as a black box mounted within the vehicle when the vehicle remains idle for a predetermined period of time. Furthermore, a battery life may be reduced due to overcharge and gassing phenomena by continuous charge of the low-voltage battery when the electric vehicle is charged.

System and method of controlling low-voltage DC/DC converter for electric vehicle


A medical double configurational and multiple ports mask preferably including a multifunctional plug with or without a nebulizer oxygen delivery adaptor (“NODA”) attachment. The mask fits over the mouth and the nose and preferably contains at least two possible nose/face configurational solutions. The mask can be secured over the head with a stretchable or non-stretchable material. The position of the preferred triple ports of the double configurational mask provides improved structural construction reflecting different patient's nose/face features and allows for different types of procedures to be performed at the same time regardless of the patient's head/neck position. The multifunctional plug can be used for a variety of applications. The mask can be used with existing standardized disposable respiratory care equipment, including a simplified improved nebulizer oxygen adaptor (“SINODA”) and/or multifunctional use nebulizer oxygen delivery adaptor (“MUNODA”) attachment.

General traditional masks have a single port to deliver medical gases and/or nebulized medications to a patient. The single port mask has very limited capabilities. Examples of earlier medical masks include: U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,198 B1 to Florence Rugless for a Multi-Purpose Oxygen Face Mask; U.S. Publication No. 2005/0028811 A1 to Robert Nelson et al. for a Multitask Medical Treatment Respiratory Apparatus; U.S. Publication No. 2009/0126723 A1 to Sunil Dhupar for a Patient Interface Member For Use In An Aerosol Inhalation System; U.S. Publication No. 2003/0024533 A1 to Joseph Sniadach for a Multi-Port Mask; U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,428 B2 to Camell Dennis for a Respiratory Mask; U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,205 to Victor Bartholomew for an Oxygen Mask; U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,789 to Joachin Schlobolm for a Flaccid Mask With Straps; U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,690 to Amad Tayebi for a Breathing Mask; U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,279 to Carnell Dennis for a Respiratory Mask; U.S. Des. Pat. No. D250.047 to George Lewis for a Breathing Mask; U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,010 to Stewart Wright for an Adjustable Face Mask; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,625,155 to Arthur Engelder for a Face Mask. The novel mask disclosed herein is directed to overcome and/or substantially reduce these and other problems associated with single port medical mask.

Multiple port and multiple configurational medical mask


An optical system adapted to amplify an input signal includes an optical pump supporting the input signal and an optical pump beam. The optical pump includes an input port, a first active medium coupled to the input port, and a pump output coupled to the first active medium. The optical amplifier includes an amplifier input optically coupled to the pump output and adapted to receive the input signal after passing through the optical pump, a second active medium coupled to the amplifier input, and an amplifier output adapted to output the amplified input signal.

The present invention relates generally to the field of optical amplifiers and lasers. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and systems including optically excited rare-earth doped optical fiber gain media. Merely by way of example, the methods and systems have been applied to the integration of a fiber laser pump with a fiber amplifier. But it would be recognized that the invention has a much broader range of applicability and can be applied to other sources.
Conventional laser-based material processing has generally used high peak power pulsed lasers, for example, Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers operating at 1064 nm, for marking, engraving, micro-machining, and cutting applications. More recently, laser systems based on fiber gain media have been developed. In some of these fiber-based laser systems, fiber amplifiers are utilized.
Some optical amplifiers and lasers utilizing a fiber gain medium are optically pumped, often by using semiconductor lasers pumps. The fiber gain medium is typically made of silica glass doped with rare-earth elements. The choice of the rare-earth elements and the composition of the fiber gain medium depends on the particular application. One such rare-earth element is ytterbium, which is used for optical amplifiers and lasers emitting in the 1020 nm-1100 nm range. Another rare-earth element used in some fiber gain media is erbium, which is used for optical amplifiers and lasers emitting in the 1530 nm-1560 nm range.
The wavelength of the optical pump source used for ytterbium-doped fiber amplifiers and lasers is typically in the wavelength range of 910 nm to 980 nm. The wavelength of the optical pump source used for erbium-doped fiber amplifiers and lasers is typically in a wavelength range centered at about 980 nm or about 1480 nm. When ytterbium-doped or erbium-doped fiber amplifiers are pumped at the above mentioned wavelengths, they generally have significant gain and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) outside of the wavelength range of interest, i.e., the lasing or amplification wavelength. For example, when an ytterbium-doped fiber gain medium is pumped at a wavelength of about 915 nm, it can generate high gain and amplified spontaneous emission at about 976 nm; when it is pumped at a wavelength of around 976 nm, it can generate high gain and ASE at about 1030 nm. In the case of erbium-doped fiber, pumping at wavelengths of 980 nm or 1480 nm can generate high gain and ASE at around 1530 nm.
As a result of the out-of-band gain, i.e., the gain present outside the wavelength range of interest, it is possible for the amplifiers or the lasers to produce ASE or start lasing at these out-of-band wavelengths. Such ASE or lasing will limit the amount of gain available at the wavelength of interest. In some amplifier applications, large out-of-band ASE will limit the available gain and the ASE power may be larger than the signal power at the wavelength of interest. Thus, there is a need in the art for improved methods and systems for pumping fiber-based amplifiers.

Fiber amplifier with integrated fiber laser pump


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for automatically generating search terms and queries and selectively executing those queries based on feedback from previous queries. In one aspect, a method using artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and machine learning techniques, includes actions of receiving an input data set and first generating a set of auto-generated terms by using a predetermined and dynamic data filter, a basic utility processor, a multi-word combination generator, and a term tally and sorting processor. Additional actions include generating a primary query for every multi-word combination and generating focus queries for every primary query. Further actions include selectively executing queries in succession on a document server and database only if necessary, based on feedback from previous queries, and aggregating all query search results.

Searches are routinely performed on documents, databases, text-based files, and other file types in many different contexts. If a specific search does not yield an individual's desired results, the individual will likely perform another search. If the individual's next search still does not yield the desired results, the individual will likely continue to perform additional searches until the desired results are obtained. Depending on the search criteria or the individual's search terms, the process of performing additional searches may become inefficient and time consuming. Specifically, an individual's selection of additional search terms may only be determined after receiving feedback of the number of results for a previous search query.

Intelligent term and query generation and feedback based selective execution


Modifications to the surface of polyvinyl alcohol-based films are disclosed that result in improved adhesion to optical materials. Specifically, the surface chemistry of the polyvinyl alcohol-based film is altered to include fluorine bonds, which surprisingly improve direct adhesion of the film to materials such as optical thermoset resins, without the use of additional coatings or multilayer sandwich construction. Embodiments of this invention for incorporation of polarizer films in thermoset resin lenses are described. A method of exposing the film to indirect, reduced-pressure plasma to achieve these surface modifications, and an exemplary holder for the film during such processing, are disclosed.

This invention relates generally to optical films and, more particularly, to polyvinyl alcohol-based films exhibiting improved adhesion to an underlying substrate.
Polarized sunwear, visors, goggles, and window panes are designed to selectively absorb or reflect away horizontally polarized light. They are effective in reducing the polarized glare that can interfere with vision. Such glare is particularly noticeable when reflections occur from expansive flat surfaces such as water or roadways, but also can be a significant problem under hazy conditions such as smoggy or foggy skies. Polarizers offer a unique advantage for improved vision.
Many of the polarizers used in optical devices include polyvinyl alcohol-based films, which have been known and developed over the past 60 years, as evidenced by the considerable patent history including among others, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,237,567, 4,992,218, 5,071,906, 5,670,092, and 6,583,929 B2. Polyvinyl alcohol-based films can be formulated to have excellent polarizing properties. However, the chemical and physical properties of polyvinyl alcohol-based films remain a challenge for research and development. These films typically are quite thin (less than 100 micrometers thick), and they are easily deformed or ripped in handling. In addition, the base film material and/or the polarizing agents added to it might be sensitive to heat, humidity, photobleaching, or other environmental exposures.
To avoid the risk of degradation from such environmental influences, polyvinyl alcohol polarizing films typically are encapsulated in lenses or window panes. Even then, such films might be susceptible to damage during the process of forming the optical device. For example, the heat of a thermoplastic molding process might degrade the film's polarizing efficiency. Additional challenges are encountered in thermoset lens casting: the fragile and easily displaced film must be protected while evenly delivering and reactively solidifying liquid-phase thermoset material around the polarizer, and care must be taken to ensure that there is adequate adhesion between the polarizer and the thermoset polymer to withstand any subsequent lens processing.
The issue of film adhesion is important, because polyvinyl alcohol polarizing films typically are not intrinsically reactive to further bonding with most desired optical polymer systems. Therefore, the film needs to be changed, treated, or otherwise processed to facilitate reliable adhesion. Various methods have address this need. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,818,624 and 6,235,396 B1, for example, discuss coatings that can be applied to the polarizing film, for either improved stability to heat and moisture or improved adhesion within standard hard resin thermoset polymers. Such approaches can be successful, but additional coatings entail additional processing steps, with increased cycle time, costs, and possible losses from contamination or process variables. Consequently, alternative approaches are needed.
Another approach is to sandwich the polarizing film between additional, protective polymer layers adhesively bonded to the polarizer. These protective layers can be treated for improved adhesion to the adhesive layers or to subsequent lens materials. This approach is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,051,309, 6,512,562 B1, and 4,292,370. Again, additional process steps are required to sandwich the film, and final optical properties might be downgraded due to different refractive indices, coefficients of thermal expansion, or other chemical or physical properties of the sandwiching layers and the applied adhesives. In addition, care still must be taken to ensure good adhesion during subsequent processing, such as grinding, edging, or coating a lens. This will be a particular concern with the multi-layer sandwich approach, because there are more discrete layers (typically at least five layers: protective layer/adhesive/polyvinyl alcohol-based polarizer/adhesive/protective layer) that may offer weak interfaces susceptible to delamination. Moreover, because of the added thickness of the sandwich construct, the overall thickness of the final lens might be larger than is cosmetically desirable.
Surface modification via chemical or physical changes of the polyvinyl alcohol-based film can afford an alternative and beneficial approach to enhanced subsequent adhesion. Such surface modifications often are encountered in other disciplines, for other types of materials, such as silicon wafer pre-treatments for semiconductor processing, or treatments with silicon- or fluorine-based organochemistry to create hydrophobic or anti-stick surfaces. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,220,703 B1 and 6,413,641 B1 describe surface treatments and specific surface modifications of polarizing films comprising polyethylene terephthalate that lead to improved adhesion. However, given the distinct differences in chemical and physical properties between polyvinyl alcohol and these other materials, it is likely that different treatments will be required to achieve improved adhesion to polyvinyl alcohol-based films.
It should, therefore, be appreciated that there remains a need for, improved methods to enhance adhesion of polyvinyl alcohol-based polarizers in optical constructs. Particularly useful would be methods that reduce the number of process steps, or cycle time of production. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further advantages.

Polyvinyl alcohol-based film exhibiting improved adhesion


A control arrangement for the shifting movement of at least one guide bar (4) contains a pick-off gear (10) against which the guide bar is pretensioned. The pick-off gear (10) has a plurality of thrust elements (8, 8.sub.1, 8.sub.2, 8.sub.3) connected one behind the other, between which displacement elements (12.sub.1, 12.sub.2, 12.sub.3, 12.sub.4) are arranged, the thrust elements (8, 8.sub.1, 8.sub.2, 8.sub.3) being supported on the radial cams (34) of the displacement elements (12.sub.1, 12.sub.2, 12.sub.3, 12.sub.4). The displacement elements (12.sub.1, 12.sub.2, 12.sub.3, 12.sub.4) are connected via coupling members (16) to a pattern controlled adjusting device (18) and can be adjusted between a basic position and a switched position. In order to improve the warp knitting machine, the adjusting device (18) is constructed as a negative dobby or Jacquard machine operating by the double-lift method and the displacement elements are pretensioned in one position.

The invention is directed to a warp knitting machine, particularly crochet galloon machine with at least one control arrangement for the shifting movement of at least one guide bar which is pretensioned against a pick-off gear, which contains a plurality of thrust elements arranged one after the other and supported at radial cams (34, 60) of displacement elements of different displacement steps with the displacement elements adjustable, between a basic position and a switched position, via coupling members by an adjusting device which can be controlled by a pattern.
Such a warp knitting machine is known e.g. from DE-PS 467 899. A Jacquard mechanism serves as adjusting device and the displacement elements are actuated by change-over levers having two high and two low stops located opposite one another. In correspondence with the Jacquard card, these stops are brought into the area of stop bars, which oscillate one within the other cyclically, in such a way that the displacement elements are adjusted according to pattern and fixed at the end of the switching lift. A great disadvantage consists in that the Jacquard needles, and accordingly the displacement elements, must execute a complete working stroke or lift, i.e. a complete reciprocating movement, for every revolution of the warp knitting machine. This causes the displacement elements to be reciprocated suddenly between the thrust elements and the guide bar accordingly also changes position suddenly. This causes great stress on all mechanical parts and damaging and noisy bouncing effects result. Such a warp knitting machine not only has a complicated construction, but is subjected to high wear and produces considerable noise. Accordingly, the warp knitting machine can also only be moved at relatively slow speeds.
DE-PS 31 17 683 describes another warp knitting machine of the type mentioned in the beginning, each adjusting device having an eccentric which is rotatable by 180.degree. when controlled and connected with a displacement element by a positive-locking coupling member. This displacement element is constructed as a roller which can be displaced along a radial cam arranged at a thrust element. A disadvantage of this arrangement consists in that the adjusting device must execute a complete work lift, i.e. a reciprocating movement, during a revolution. The performance of this warp knitting machine is accordingly likewise limited.

Warp knitting machine, especially crochet galloon machine


The present disclosure relates to a planar optical waveguide and an optical module. A planar optical waveguide according to the present disclosure includes a core and dads provided at an upper portion and a lower portion of the core, respectively, and an end of an upper clad facing a light source is polished to form a first refractive surface inclined at a first angle to refract a light emitted to the upper portion of the core and guide the light to the core.

When a light is emitted from a conventional light source, such as a laser diode (LD) or photodiode (PD), the light has an elliptical beam shape, which is elongated in a perpendicular direction, i.e., a vertical direction due to its structural characteristics.
Thus, a conventional planar optical waveguide separately requires an optical waveguide lens for focusing a waveguide light emitted from the light source to reduce optical coupling loss.
In an example, KR10-2014-0011521A, entitled External Cavity Laser Using Thin Film Filter and Optical Transmitter Comprising External Cavity Laser, published Jan. 29, 2014, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, discloses the optical coupling between the light source and an optical fiber using at least one lens.

Planar optical waveguide and optical module

Abstract: The refractive surfaces are formed at the upper clad and the lower clad of the planar optical waveguide in consideration of beam characteristics of the light source to reduce optical coupling loss without a separate optical waveguide lens.


Methods and systems for a reconfigurable pattern filtering engine may include assembling a hardware filter from a plurality of minimum length hardware filters. A length of the assembled hardware filter may vary in multiples of a length of one of the minimum length hardware filters. The assembled hardware filter and the minimum length hardware filters may be integrated within a single chip. Specific messages in the data stream may be filtered using the assembled hardware filter. The assembled hardware filter may use at least one filter coefficient, an inclusion mask, and an exclusion mask to filter messages. At least a portion of the filtered messages may be stored in memory via direct memory access transfers.

The introduction of broadband networks, access devices such as set-top boxes, and media such as DVD disks recorded with digitally compressed audio, video and data signals, for example, which utilize motion picture expert group (MPEG) compression protocols, may provide sound and picture quality that is virtually indistinguishable from the original material. One commonly used MPEG protocol is MPEG-2, which provides the necessary protocols and infrastructure necessary for transferring digitally compressed audio, video and data signals. A detailed description of the MPEG-2 standard is available in the ISO/IEC Standard 13818.
A file compressed, or encoded, via MPEG protocol may comprise a plurality of data streams. These data streams may include an elementary stream (ES), a packetized elementary stream (PES), a transport stream (TS) and a program specific information stream. A MPEG encoder typically creates an elementary stream from analog video or analog audio contents. Therefore, there may be at least two elementary streams generated from a program with audio and video content. The MPEG encoder may apply MPEG compression algorithms to the source content, resulting in individual elementary streams for each audio and video stream. The encoded MPEG data stream may be communicated to a subscriber who may use a set-top box, for example, to uncompress, or decode, the MPEG data stream for viewing on a TV. Factors such as a bit rate of the encoded stream, quality of the original source content, and encoder algorithm may determine the quality of the output signal.
In a typical MPEG data stream, the length of the individual elementary streams may be equivalent to the length of the program. The data in each elementary stream may be converted to a plurality of variable-length packets. These packets may be called the packetized elementary stream (PES). The packets in each PES may include a header that may be pre-pended to a payload. The header may include information pertaining to the encoding process required by the MPEG decoder to decompress and decode a received elementary stream. Each individual elementary stream may have a corresponding PES and encoded audio and video information may still reside in separate PESs.
The transport stream (TS) and program specific information stream may be formed by multiplexing a plurality of PES packets. The TS may include a plurality of additional packets that may contain tables, which may be necessary for de-multiplexing the TS. The tables may be collectively called program specific information (PSI). To maintain synchronization and timing, null packets may also be inserted to fill the intervals between information-bearing packets. Timing information for an associated program may be carried by specific packets. One type of timing information may be called the program clock reference (PCR). The PCR may be located in one of the optional fields of the header for the TS packet. During operation, the PCR may permit the decoder to synchronize its clock to the same frequency as that of the original encoder's clock frequency. TS packets may have a fixed length of 188 bytes, which may include a header having a minimum size of 4 bytes and a maximum payload of 184 bytes.
A typical set-top box for a cable or satellite subscriber may receive tens, if not hundreds, of channels of programming information. Each channel may have associated with it a plurality of data streams. Therefore, a set-top box may use a filtering system to be able to quickly determine which data stream each packet may be associated with. Some systems utilize sophisticated software programs to filter content for particular channels in a the plurality of data streams. As the number of channels in each data streams increases, the greater the complexity of these filters. Furthermore, as the number of data streams increases, even more sophisticated filters are required. As a result, the filters can overload the processor utilizing processing valuable processing bandwidth.
While the filters may be adequate for various applications when first released, new applications may require much larger filters than are presently available. As a result, the filters may only be able to filter a portion of the data, and additional processing resources may have to be dedicated to filter any unfiltered portions of messages. This may present an unwanted burden on the CPU.
Alternatively, the filter chip may be re-laid out with larger filters. However, this may not be a desirable since the cost of the re-layout may be very expensive. Additionally, the larger filters may increase the price of the filter chip.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Method and system for reconfigurable pattern filtering engine


An optical system is provided. The optical system comprises a first polarizing beamsplitter (PBS), a first reflecting image-forming device, and a first quarter-wave retarding element. An optical system is also provided that comprises an image-forming device, a reflective polarizing layer, at least a first birefringent element disposed on an optical path between the image-forming device and the polarizing layer, and a quarter-wave retarding element. Further provided is an optical system comprising a color combiner unit, at least two polarizing beamsplitters (PBSs), and a first quarter-wave retarding element. The present application also provides methods of compensating for birefringence in an image projection system.

The function of a polarizing beamsplitter (PBS) is to reflect light in one polarization state and to transmit light in the orthogonal polarization state. Consequently, PBSs find widespread use in optical systems that rely on the polarization of the light. An example of one such system is an image projection system that uses a reflective liquid crystal display (LCD) panel for modulating an illumination light beam: a polarized illumination light beam is directed to the LCD panel, for example by reflection in the PBS. The light beam is spatially modulated by the LCD panel so that the reflected beam contains some unmodulated light in the polarization state of the illumination beam and some modulated light in the orthogonal polarization state. The unmodulated, non-image light is reflected by the PBS and the modulated, image light, which contains the desired image, is transmitted through the PBS. Thus, the PBS separates the image light from the non-image light and the image light can then be projected to a screen for viewing by a user.
Different types of PBS may be used: projection systems have been reported using MacNeille PBSs, which rely on a stack of quarter wave films of isotropic material oriented at Brewer's angle for one of the polarization states, and using a Cartesian multilayer optical film (MOF) PBS, which uses a stack of alternating isotropic and birefringent polymer materials. The Cartesian MOF PBS is capable of operating at lower f-numbers and with higher contrast and transmission than the MacNeille PBS.
PBSs are often formed as a polarizing layer sandwiched between the hypotenuses of two right-angled, glass prisms. If, however, there is any birefringent retardation in the glass prism lying between the polarizing layer and the imager panel, the contrast provided by the PBS can be reduced because the nominally s-polarized illumination light reflected from the polarizing surface is rotated to being partially p-polarized when incident at the imager panel. This causes leakage of light after reflection from the imager panel, resulting in an increase in the level of brightness in the dark state and, therefore, a reduction in the contrast. Birefringent retardation in the glass prism may result from a number of different causes, for example, mechanical stresses induced in the PBS components while assembling the PBS, or stresses induced by the PBS fixture or by thermal expansion in the PBS when subjected to the intense illumination light beam. In addition, if hardware to mount an imaging device is attached to the input prism of a PBS, this will usually result in dramatic contrast reductions, over at least some regions of the PBS, due to resulting stresses in the glass.
In an effort to overcome this problem, a significant amount of work was done by glass manufacturers to make glass with a low stress-optic coefficient (SOC) that develops very little birefringence in response to mechanical stress. PBH56 and SF57 are example glasses of this type, made by Ohara and Schott respectively. Such glasses contain lead in significant quantities: both PBH56 and SF57 contain more than 70% lead oxide by weight. These low SOC glasses are, therefore, not environmentally desirable materials and are also expensive and difficult to process. Additionally, the low SOC glasses have a high refractive index, in excess of 1.8, which may lead to optical inefficiencies or aberrations when matching to the lower refractive index polarizing layers.

Stress birefringence compensation in polarizing beamsplitters and systems using same


In a light raster scanning microscope with a spot illumination arrangement (2) which provides an illumination beam for the illumination of a sample (23) in the form of points or point groups, a scanning arrangement (3, 4) which guides the illumination beam in the form of points or point groups over the sample in a manner so as to scan, a spot detector arrangement (5) which images, via the scanning arrangement (3, 4), the illuminated point or point group spot of the sample (23) by means of at least one confocal aperture (26) on at least one detector unit (28), and a control unit which controls the scanning arrangement (3, 4) and reads out the spot detector arrangement (5), it is provided that, in addition, a wide-field illumination source (29, 34) is provided which illuminates the sample (23) and that the control unit controls the scanning arrangement (3, 4) during the operation of the wide-field illumination source (29, 34) and reads out the spot detector arrangement (5) in such a manner that an image of the sample (23) subject to wide-field illumination is obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a confocal laser scanning microscope with a spot illumination arrangement which provides an illumination beam for the illumination of a sample by points or point groups, a scanning arrangement which guides the illumination beam by points or point groups over the sample in a manner so as to scan, a spot detector arrangement which images, via the scanning arrangement, the point or point group spot of the sample by means of at least one confocal aperture on at least one detector unit, and a control unit which controls the scanning arrangement and reads out the spot detector arrangement.
The invention further relates to a process for laser scanning microscopy, wherein an image of a sample is generated by scanning and confocal imaging of a point or point group spot and means are provided for the illumination of the scanned point or point group spot.
2. Related Art
Confocal laser scanning microscopes of the type stated initially are known in the state of the art, by way of example let reference be made to DE 197 02 753 A1. Recently microscope accessories, in particular confocally imaging laser scanning microscopes, have been used increasingly for spectroscopic exposure technologies. In this way it is possible to measure the spectroscopic properties of a selected sample area without damage or contact. The confocal optical microscope makes possible in this way the selective detection of optical signals which are generated within a diffraction-limited confocal volume whose size lies in the micrometer range. Laser scanning microscopes with sampling laser beams and/or sample feed units can produce with a high spatial resolution two-dimensional or three-dimensional representations of the sample examined. Due to this property, confocal laser scanning microscopy has achieved success for fluorescing samples in the biomedical field, nearly as the standard.
Beyond said fluorescence measurement, said DE 197 02 753 A1 also provides for carrying out a transmission measurement on the sample. For this, a detector can be activated which, relative to the direction of illumination of the scanned laser radiation, lies below the sample and which picks up the transmitted percentage of the radiation beamed in the form of a point via the scanner. Thereby a so-called "transmitted light scan" is realized. The optical linking of the detector lying below the sample presents certain difficulties, in particular since one customarily also provides an optical viewing device for an observer on the microscope part of the laser scanning microscope. This has as a consequence the fact that a change-over between the illumination for the normal microscope and the separate detector for the transmitted light scan is required.


There is provided a novel production method of a chlorinated hyperbranched polymer that is optically stable and is capable of derivatizing the chlorinated hyperbranched polymer into various compounds. A production method of a chlorinated hyperbranched polymer for producing a chlorinated hyperbranched polymer of Formula (1):

Hyperbranched polymers classified as dendritic polymers have a specific structure having intentionally introduced branches. With such a structure, dendritic polymers have various characteristics in a respect of having a nanometer size, a respect of being capable of forming surfaces having many functional groups, a respect of being rendered having a low viscosity compared to linear polymers, a respect of exhibiting a behavior like fine particles with little entanglement between molecules, a respect of being capable of becoming amorphous with their solubility in a solvent controllable, and the like. Accordingly, various practical applications are expected utilizing these characteristics.
Particularly, having a large number of terminal groups is regarded as the most remarkable characteristic of dendritic polymers. In such a dendritic polymer having a large number of terminal groups, intermolecular interactions depend largely on the types of the terminal groups, resulting in large variations in its glass transition temperature, solubility, thin film forming properties, or the like. Accordingly, such a dendritic polymer has characteristics which no general linear polymer has. When reactive functional groups are added as terminal groups to such a dendritic polymer, the polymer has reactive functional groups in extremely high density. Therefore, its applications as, for example, a high sensitive scavenger for functional substances such as a catalyst, a high sensitive multifunctional crosslinking agent, a dispersant or a coating agent for metals or metal oxides are also expected. That is, in dendritic polymers, selection of the types of the terminal groups becomes an important factor for exhibiting characteristics of the polymer.
An advantage of the hyperbranched polymer over other dendrimers is in its simplicity for synthesis, which is extremely advantageous particularly in an industrial production. Generally, while the dendrimer is synthesized by repeating protection and deprotection, the hyperbranched polymer is synthesized by a one-step polymerization of a so-called ABx type monomer having in one molecule thereof, a total of three or more substituents of two types.
As a synthesis method thereof, known is a method for synthesizing a hyperbranched polymer by a living radical polymerization of a compound having a vinyl group while having a photo-polymerization initiating ability. For example, known are a synthesis method of a hyperbranched polymer by a photo-polymerization of a styrene compound having a dithiocarbamate group (see Non-Patent Documents 1, 2 and 3), and a synthesis method of a hyperbranched polymer having a dithiocarbamate group by a photo-polymerization of an acrylic compound having a dithiocarbamate group (see Non-Patent Documents 4, 5 and 6).

Method for producing chlorinated hyperbranched polymer

Abstract: {where X is a chlorine atom; R1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; and A1 is a phenylene-alkylene group, n is the number of repeating unit structures and is an integer of 2 to 100,000}, comprising the step of substituting a dithiocarbamate group of a hyperbranched polymer of Formula (3):

Abstract: (where R1, A1, and n are the same as defined in Formula (1); and each of R2 and R3 is a C1-5 alkyl group, a C1-5 hydroxyalkyl group, or a C7-12 arylalkyl group, or R2 and R3 optionally form a ring together with a nitrogen atom bonded to R2 and R3) with a chlorine atom using sulfuryl chloride.


An apparatus and method for growing large diameter silicon crystals using the Czochralski (Cz) method, wherein the neck section of the crystal is significantly strengthened to eliminate the risk of breakage in the neck section, by providing a heat shield assembly which is located adjacent to the neck section and ascends in conjunction therewith to force the cooling gas directly onto the neck section of the silicon ingot.

1. Area of the Art
The invention relates generally to the field of manufacturing semiconductor single crystal, and specifically to the Czochralski (CZ) method of growing silicon single crystal of a large diameter with improved mechanical strength of the neck section of the silicon single crystal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Czochralski (Cz) method is well known in the prior art for growing a silicon single crystal free of dislocations. According to the Cz method, a seed crystal is lowered into contact with a silicon melt, and then pulled out of the melt at a controlled lift rate. The surface tension of the silicon at the melt interface allows molten silicon to be pulled out of the crucible, where it cools and solidifies on the seed, thus forming a single crystal.
One of the inherent deficiencies in growing a crystal by the CZ method is the generation of dislocations in the atomic lattice of the crystal caused by thermal stress. In an effort to eliminate such dislocations, the prior art technology calls for growing a first part of the crystal, known as the "neck section," to a diameter smaller than that of the seed. A typical neck section of the crystal will be reduced to approximately less than or equal to three millimeters in diameter. As the crystal neck is grown, the cross-section of the neck, and the thermal stress related thereto, are reduced, which help to eliminate dislocations in the crystal. The neck continues to be grown until the neck is visually determined to be dislocation free by the operator, upon which the cone and body of the crystal are grown. The diameters of the neck section must be small in diameter (e.g., 2 to 4 millimeters) to eliminate the dislocation generation.
Because the CZ method of growing crystals is very power intensive and very time intensive, productivity measures call for growing crystals as long as possible, being physically constrained only by the dimensions of the pulling machine and the available molten silicon. In addition, as integrated circuit technology increases, the demand for larger diameter crystals increases.
The larger diameter crystals result in increased weight of the grown crystal. This increase in weight becomes a concern, as the entire weight of the crystal must be supported by the neck section of the crystal. Of particular concern is the strength of the neck section at elevated temperatures. The high temperature of approximately .gtoreq.650.degree. C. causes the thermal related strength properties of the silicon to be such that the neck section could stretch or break from plastic deformation, causing a total loss of the crystal being grown. Further, safety related issues arise if the crystal were to break.
One prior art attempt to address the neck section strength problem relating to the growth of large diameter crystals of 300 mm or larger was to maintain the neck section as cool as possible to improve the thermal properties of the silicon. For example, European Patent publication EP-0-671-491-A1 issued to Shin-Etsu Handotai Co. Ltd. discloses a method of increasing the strength of the neck section of the crystal by growing the neck section with lengths between 200 mm and 600 mm. It further calls for restricting the thickness variation of the neck to less than 1 mm, and the minimum diameter of the neck to be .gtoreq.2.5 mm. The increased length of the neck allows the neck to get farther away from the molten silicon and the heaters, thus allowing the neck to cool down and thereby increase the strength properties of the neck. However, although effective in cooling the neck and thus providing strength and eliminating breakage of the neck section, this method causes a loss of productivity due to the need to use 200 mm to 600 mm of the pulling chamber for the neck section, which cannot then be used for ingot fabrication. Another disadvantage of this method is the difficulty in maintaining a thin neck with a restricted thickness variation for an extended length.

Method for improving mechanical strength of the neck section of czochralski silicon crystal


An electrical power cable includes a central ground conductor surrounded by an insulating material layer. An inner grounded shield is formed on the surface of the ground conductor or between the ground conductor and line and neutral conductors. A plurality of insulated line conductors and a plurality of insulated neutral conductors are circumferentially disposed in an annular arrangement about an insulation layer on the inner shield. The plurality of line and neutral conductors are each disposed circumferentially side-by-side in separate groups of line and neutral conductors. The total cross-sectional area of each group of line conductors and neutral conductors is substantially equal to the total cross-sectional area of a single large conductor of equivalent ampere rating. An outer shield is disposed about the line and neutral conductors and covered by an outer insulating layer. PVC insulation surrounds all of the conductors and is used to form the shields and other insulating layers to minimize movement of the individual conductors within the cable.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates, in general, to electrical conductors, and, more specifically, to shielded electrical power supply cables.
2. Description of the Art
Internal electrical wiring in residential homes for 15 ampere A.C. power supply electrical service has for years been standardized as 14-2G type NM-B sheathed cable. This sheathed cable consists of three 14 gage solid conductors, with the line and neutral conductors individually insulated and disposed in a parallel flat lay on opposite sides of an insulated ground conductor. This cable construction has several features which minimize magnetic field interaction and damping of mechanical vibrations generated by the 60 Hz North America electrical power carrier frequency. Such features include the spacing apart of the current carrying line and the neutral conductors, the use of relatively stiff, solid 14 AWG conductors, and relatively stiff insulation and cable jacket. These features combine to resist the repelling forces caused by the magnetic fields associated with the two closely spaced line and neutral conductors.
Conversely, typical A.C. power supply cords for electrical appliances, such as audio amplifiers, preamplifiers, etc., have a construction which is optimized for maximum flexibility and durability in potentially high flex cycle applications. Such power supply cords have close conductor spacing geometry which increases magnetic interaction between the line and neutral current carrying conductors. Such cords also typically use stranded conductors and soft fillers, such as cotton and paper, between the conductors and the outer jacket material. All of these features compromise the self-damping quality of the power supply cord thereby leading to increased vibration of the individual conductors due to the interacting magnetic fields generated by the current carrying conductors. The movement of the conductors due to magnetic field interaction is also enhanced by the use of the soft fillers and the relatively flexible outer jacket.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a power supply cable, particularly suited for use in supplying electrical power to audio equipment, which has reduced vibration of the individual current carrying conductors, has a reduced inductance, has a solidly filled construction to minimize any movement of the individual conducts within the cable, and has a line and neutral conductor arrangement which minimizes magnetic field interaction between the line and neutral conductors within the cable.


The invention relates to a female engaging member for a surface fastener carrying engaging elements which has a novel profile and a method of manufacturing a surface fastener which is adapted to continuous manufacturing operation by means of a relatively simple process without requiring serious maintenance efforts. The method will allow to select appropriate engaging force and anti-separation force for the surface fastener. The engaging member for a surface fastener comprises a flat plate-like substrate and a large number of pile-shaped engaging elements arranged on the surface thereof. The pile-shaped engaging elements are made of filaments wound around core threads and thus continuous manufacturing by simple operation is realized. A winding of the filament wound around the core thread has a length greater than that of the outer periphery of the core thread. When the pile-shaped engaging elements are firmly attached to the surface of the flat plate-like substrate, the largest gap D between the inner surface of each filament and the peripheral surface of the corresponding core thread is defined by 0.1 mm.ltoreq.D.ltoreq.5 mm. With the above arrangement, pile-shaped engaging elements with different sizes can be manufactured easily to contribute to wide variety of applications.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a female engaging member of a surface fastener made of a thermoplastic synthetic resin material and comprising a flat plate-like substrate and a large number of pile-shaped engaging elements arranged on the surface of the substrate as well as to a method of manufacturing such a female engaging member. More particularly, the present invention relates to a female engaging member of a surface fastener adapted to be manufactured efficiently and continuously in a single step and showing excellent engagement strength and peeling strength relative to a mating male engaging member, both the substrate and the pile-shaped engaging elements being adapted to be made of an appropriate material suitable for the application and selected out of a variety of different materials. Male engaging elements realized in a mushroom-shaped or hook-shaped form or in some other form may be arranged on the front or rear surface of the substrate. The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing such a female engaging member.
2. Prior Art
Generally, a known surface fastener comprises a male engaging member having a flat plate-like substrate and a large number of anchor-shaped or mushroom-shaped male engaging elements arranged on the substrate and a female engaging member also having a flat plate-like substrate and a large number of pile-shaped female engaging elements arranged on the substrate so that they may be brought into mutual engagement over the entire surface thereof when their substrates are placed oppositely and pressed against relative to each other and the engaged male and female members may be separated from each other when they are pulled from each other. Therefore, a surface fastener is generally used as an article composed of members having two structures. Alternatively, male and female engaging elements may be arranged on a same side or on the opposite sides of one flat plate-like substrate.
Male engaging elements having various different profiles such as hook-shaped, mushroom-shaped or palm tree-shaped are currently used. The male engaging elements of a surface fastener are typically produced by preparing a sheet of knit or woven fabric that contains a large number of looped monofilaments and then cutting the looped monofilaments of the fabric. Alternatively, the male engaging elements of a surface fastener may be prepared integrally with the flat plate-like substrate by introducing a molten resin material onto a die wheel having a large number of engaging-elements-forming cavities on the peripheral surface thereof, while rotating the die wheel in one direction.
On the other hand, female engaging elements are typically realized in the form of densely arranged piles of fibers. Thus, a female engaging member is generally produced by preparing a sheet of knit, woven or non-woven fabric or synthetic resin as substrate thereof that carries a large number of piles of fibers on the surface. The piles of fibers are normally produced at the time of knitting or weaving the fibrous flat plate-like substrate as integral part of thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,234 discloses a method of forming piles on the surface of a flat plate-like substrate made of a sheet of synthetic resin by preparing a sheet of synthetic resin integrally with male engaging elements while introducing a sheet including a large number of long fibrous filaments arranged in parallel onto the peripheral surface of a heated drum having a large number of loop forming cavities to form loops arranged zig-zag and then combining it with the synthetic resin sheet so that a part of each of the loops made of the long fibrous filaments are fixed integrally to the surface of the synthetic resin sheet by fusing.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-63405 also discloses a method in which the surface of a sheet of thermoplastic synthetic resin is softened and a sheet of knit or unwoven fabric carrying a large number of piles on the surface is pressed against and firmly attached to the thermoplastic synthetic resin sheet. Then, the softened material of the synthetic resin sheet permeates into the rear surface of the sheet of fabric and becomes integral part thereof to stabilize the profiles of the piles so that the obtained product does not require any back coat.
Finally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-191735 discloses a method of forming a female engaging member comprising steps of feeding multifilaments of two different types having different melting points into a preliminary air twisting apparatus with different feed rates, producing a covered thread being heat-set by covering a core thread with a large number of looped fibers, arranging a plurality of such covered threads in parallel on a sheet of unwoven fabric and heat treating them at temperature higher than the melting point of the low melting point mutilfilaments but lower than that of the high melting point multifilaments to fuse the low melting point multifilaments to be integral with the surface of the sheet.
However, with the method of manufacturing a female engaging member disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,234, it is difficult to bend the large number of multifilaments to be formed evenly and arranged zig-zag uniformly unless the tension applied to them when they are fed in parallel onto the drum is controlled highly accurately, and a plurality of operating members of the apparatus for forming the female engaging member have to be driven synchronously and quite accurately in order to firmly attach the filaments, maintaining the loops in shape onto the surface of the synthetic resin sheet. Thus, the manufacturing cost will be high and only limited types of products can be manufactured because the drum is costly and requires cumbersome operations for replacement so that the proposed method has limited applications.
A female engaging member as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-63405 carries a thermoplastic resin sheet on the entire rear surface of the fabric instead of a back coat material, and a part of the material of the sheet permeates the sheet of fabric to get to the entire rear surface and becomes integral part thereof. Thus, the female engaging member is accompanied by a drawback of not being sufficiently soft and flexible because of the existence of the thermoplastic resin sheet and the rigidity that appears on the interface.
A female engaging member as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-191735 is prepared by causing substantially untwisted multifilaments of two different types having different melting points to be "preliminarily twisted" by means of a whirling air flow, where the multifilaments arranged in parallel are made to pass through the whirling air flow and become intertwined randomly, heat setting them and thereafter melting the low melting point multifilaments at temperature between the two melting points of the multifilaments so that they are fused integrally with the substrate sheet (cover). Thus, a part of the low melting point multifilaments are fused to be integral with the substrate sheet and, since they are intertwined with the high melting point multifilaments randomly and become liquefied as being molten, the molten resin can easily be agglomerated at the crossings of high melting point multifilaments to bond the latter each other at the crossings.
As a result, however , the loops of the high melting point multifilaments that have been produced are reduced in size to make the female engaging elements on the female engaging member less apt to be engaged with male engaging elements and some of the female engaging elements may become totally unfunctional. If the function of the engaging elements is to be secured when the molten resin are agglomerated at the crossings of high melting point multifilaments, various parameters for producing the multifilaments of two different types to cross have to be controlled rigorously to involve difficulties in maintenance.
In view of the above identified problems, it is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a female engaging member of a surface fastener carrying engaging elements having a novel profile in which the engaging strength and the peeling resistance can be readily set, and which can be manufactured continuously by a relatively simple process without requiring serious maintenance efforts, and thus the engaging member has high productivity, and the manufacturing method of the engaging member.

Female engaging member of surface fastener and method of manufacturing the same


A method for patterning a one or more biomolecules on a substrate that includes coating the substrate with a coating of the one or more biomolecules, applying a laser to the coating, and ablating a portion of the one or more biomolecules with the laser in a predetermined pattern.

Methods and compositions for patterning biological material on a substrate are described, including a method for ablating biomolecules on a substrate with a laser to form a pattern. Patterned substrates and applications thereof are also described.
Control of the position or distribution of biologically active molecules or biomolecules on a substrate is important for a wide range of scientific and technological applications. This controlled positioning has commonly become known as "patterning" of these molecules. For example, the patterning of DNA oligonucleotides on a glass substrate is used to make microarrays; similarly the patterning of proteins on a substrate is used to make protein arrays. These types of arrays have a range of analytical and diagnostic applications. In cell biology, substrates patterned with extracellular matrix proteins are used to control the shape, position and behavior of cells.
To pattern biologically active molecules, a wide range of methods have been developed. These methods can be divided into two classes: self-assembled patterning and directed patterning. In self-assembled patterning the physical chemical properties of a molecule or combination of molecules are exploited under specific conditions to produce distributions of molecules with known non-random organizational properties. For example, a self-assembled monolayer of alkanethiols on gold will often have a high degree of order that results from intermolecular interactions between the components of the molecules. This order is a pattern, and it in turn can be used to create patterns of other molecules. Also, colloidal particles adsorbed onto a surface can have varying degrees of order that can be used to create patterns.
In directed patterning, the position of molecules is controlled by information that is brought in from the outside, such as a mask or a template. Directed patterning methods can in turn be divided into two types: lithographic approaches and writing approaches. Lithographic approaches include methods where a physical template such as a mask or a mold is used to transfer a pattern to an object. Examples include conventional photolithography and microcontact printing. In contrast, writing approaches use a serial approach to transfer a pattern, typically from a computer-based representation such as a CAD (computer assisted design) drawing, to an object. Electron beam lithography, despite its name, is a writing approach, by the definition used here. In general, lithographic approaches are good for producing many copies of the same pattern; writing approaches are good for producing unique patterns, for producing a large number of different patterns, or for changing patterns quickly.
As noted above, there are a wide range of applications for patterning proteins and other biomolecules. One area that has become more important over the past decade is patterning of proteins for cell biological and related applications. In vitro cell culture was developed to facilitate the study and the biomedical and industrial uses of cells outside of an animal. During the last century cell culture techniques and materials have been refined to more accurately reflect the in vivo environment of the cells, to provide analytically and diagnostically informative responses from cells, and to more efficiently grow cells for research and industrial biomedical uses. One aspect of the cellular microenvironment that is not well-captured by traditional cell culture is the spatial heterogeneity of molecules in the extracellular environment. Molecules are not randomly arranged or uniformly arranged in the extracellular environment, and the spatial organization of the molecules influences cell structure and function.

Ablation based laser machining of biomolecule patterns on substrates


An improved apparatus and method for preventing accidental disconnection of a valve fitting from a compressed gas cylinder (tank) is provided. A valve safety device preferably includes a valve stem having a first threaded section. The first threaded section is preferably configured to engage threads in an internal section of a compressed gas storage device during insertion and reside within an internal portion of the compressed gas storage device following insertion. A non-threaded section is preferably arranged proximal to the first threaded section. One or more vents are preferably provided on the non-threaded section to provide for a safe release of compressed gas from the compressed gas storage device before the first threaded section can be removed from the compressed gas storage device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to compressed gas storage devices. More particularly, however, this invention relates to methods and devices for safely connecting a release valve to the storage device.
2. Background Issues and Related Art
The use of compressed gases in paintball and other activities can present several safety hazards. Compressed gas cylinders, for example, pose certain safety hazards simply because they contain gas under pressure. Regardless of the properties of the gas, any gas under pressure can explode if the cylinder in which it is contained is improperly stored or handled. Pressurization of a cylinder creates a potential hazard even for inert gases. A typical cylinder pressurized to 2000 psi, for example, contains energy equivalent to nearly one and a half pounds of TNT. Failure of the cylinder and/or valve can therefore create an extremely dangerous projectile.
Specifically, rapid release of stored gases can cause the storage container to act as a projectile. For this reason, improperly releasing the gas from a compressed gas cylinder is extremely dangerous. Compressed gas storage cylinders, regardless of whether they are made of aluminum, some other metal, or a composite fiber are hard and heavy. A sudden release of the gas can cause the cylinder to become a missile-like projectile, with devastating consequences. Compressed gas cylinders have been known, for example, to penetrate concrete-block walls and severely injure or kill people.
In the sport of paintball, compressed gas cylinders are used to provide a supply of compressed gas for propelling paintballs from paintball markers (or guns). FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional carbon dioxide (CO2) cylinder 150 connected to a paintball gun 100 through a release valve 155.
Referring to FIG. 1, compressed gas storage tanks typically include a valve fitting 155 (generally brass) attached to an aluminum or wrapped carbon fiber compressed gas storage tank 150 (also referred to as a "cylinder,""bottle," or "canister"). The valve fitting 155 is typically secured into the bottle 150 via a threaded connection. The valve fitting 155 generally provides an additional threaded connection on its opposite end between the compressed gas cylinder and the paintball gun. Unfortunately, the failure of the valve fitting 155 itself or of its connection to the storage tank 150 can result in a rapid release of compressed gas from the cylinder 150, creating a potentially lethal projectile.
As reported by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) at http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml04/04105.html, failure of the valve fitting 155 may result when the bottle 150 is removed from the paintball gun 100. If the user is not particularly careful in ensuring that the valve fitting 155 turns with the bottle 150, the bottle 150 may be unscrewed from the valve fitting 155, thereby resulting in the rapid release of any remaining compressed gas. In this circumstance, the bottle 150 may be launched from the paintball gun 100. At least two deaths are known to have resulted from this occurrence.
FIG. 2 is a close-up view of the conventional valve fitting 155 between the CO2 bottle 150 and the receptacle on the paintball gun 100. When removing the compressed gas tank 150 from the paintball gun 100, the valve fitting 155 must remain connected to the cylinder 150 to prevent the potentially deadly expulsion of the tank from the gun 100.
Although loctite or some other adhesive may be used to more rigidly secure the threaded connection between the valve fitting 155 and the bottle 150, the connection can wear down over time or users may tamper with it in an attempt to modify the bottle connection. In addition, the compressed gas cylinders 150 may be dropped or jarred in a way that might loosen or destroy the valve connection to the bottle 150.
The CPSC has recommended painting lines from the valve to the bottle to ensure that they remain aligned during bottle removal from the paintball gun. FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate this method of ensuring proper alignment between the bottle 150 and the valve 155. Referring to FIG. 3, a painted line 160 indicates proper alignment between the valve fitting 155 and the bottle 150. Referring to FIG. 4, if the line 160a painted on the valve fitting 155 becomes unaligned with the line 160b painted on the bottle 150, this alerts the user that the valve fitting 155 and bottle 150 are becoming disconnected.
While this solution helps prevent a user from accidentally unscrewing the bottle 150 from the valve fitting 155, it requires attentiveness by the user and does not solve problems resulting from other valve failures, such as those resulting from dropped or jarred cylinders. What is needed is a way to better prevent the uncontrolled release of compressed gas from the compressed gas tank resulting from the failure of the valve/bottle connection.


An improved adhesion testing apparatus (20) for the accurate, quantitative measurement of adhesion of coherent flowable materials such as doughs is provided which includes an extrusion-type sample holding device (42) together with a shiftable probe (38). The device (42) includes a base (46) threadably interconnected with a top (48), the latter supporting an extrusion screen (50). In use, a dough sample placed within the base (46) is extruded through the screen (50) in order to present a test portion (92) above the screen (50); the plunger (38) is then lowered into contact with the portion (92), and rapidly withdrawn. The force required to separate the plunger (38) from the test portion (92) is recorded as a measure of adhesion. Provision of the screen (50) essentially eliminates the potentially interferring factor of dough flow in the measurement of adhesion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with an improved method and apparatus for the adhesion testing of coherent flowable materials such as doughs. More particularly, it is concerned with such a method and apparatus for the accurate, direct measurement of adhesion or "stickiness" of such materials, while eliminating interfering factors such as the flow and coherence strength thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Instruments for measuring adherence of different types of adhesive materials are commercially available. These devices normally include a probe which is compressed against the surface of the material being tested, followed by withdrawal of the probe at a fixed speed. The force required to separate the probe from the adhesive surface is recorded as a measure of stickiness or adhesion.
However, instruments of this type are not directly applicable for adhesion measurements of flour doughs or other types of coherent materials. When the probe is brought into contact with the surface of a sticky dough, and then pulled away, the dough will often stick to the probe and undergo flow. As the plunger is continuously withdrawn from the sample, the dough stretches and flows, and eventually breaks at a point midway between the probe and the dough mass. As a result, the coherence force that accounts for dough strength holding the dough together is actually measured, rather than stickiness or adherence.
Doughs exhibiting undo stickiness can present a very significant problem to commercial bakers. A very sticky dough can over a relatively short period of time completely clog dough handling equipment, to the point requiring frequent shut-down and clean up of the equipment. These problems are particularly acute with certain recently developed, disease-resistant wheats having a 1B/1R translocation. Some flours derived from such strains give very sticky doughs, even when the flour is given optimum mixing time and water absorption during dough formation.
As a consequence of these developments, commercial bakers are in need of data accurately reflecting the stickiness or adherence characteristics of doughs made from different types of flours, so that informed decisions can be made about the desirability of purchasing specific flours. Despite this need, however, there has heretofore been no accurate means of measuring adherence of coherent flowable materials such as doughs.

Adhesion testing apparatus and method for flowable materials such as wheat doughs

Kansas State University Research Foundation


A system and method for characterizing a received radio frequency (RF) signal. In one embodiment, the system includes an antenna, a tuner, a sampler, a memory, and a processing unit connected to the memory, the processing unit being configured to receive a first sequence of samples from the sampler, perform a fast Fourier transform (FFT) operation, take the absolute value of a shifted complex frequency spectrum, perform a first filtering operation, perform a logarithmic operation, and perform an edge detection process to form an array of carrier centers and an array of carrier bandwidths. The processing unit is further configured to form, for each energy band identified as a result of the edge detection process, estimates of carrier characteristics and estimates of modulation characteristics.

1. Field
One or more aspects of embodiments according to the present invention relate to surveying of transmitted radio frequency (RF) signals, and more particularly to a system and method for efficiently surveying and analyzing such RF signals.
2. Description of Related Art
Radio frequency (RF) signals, e.g., RF signals modulated to transmit digital data, are emitted by various sources for communications purposes, and it may be useful to identify individual transmitters, and to determine the carrier frequency, the modulation type, and modulation rate. It may also be useful to reconstruct the digital data being transmitted. In military applications, for example, this may be useful for identifying and analyzing the communications of other parties. In commercial applications, it may be useful, for example, for identifying sources of interference.
When a receiver is on an airborne platform, the received RF signal may change rapidly as the aircraft flies over various transmitters. In such a situation, a slow system for analyzing the RF signal may be ineffective.
Thus, there is a need for a fast system for surveying and analyzing transmitted RF signals.

Raytheon Applied Signal Technology, Inc.