A method, implemented on a computer, for calculating vertical trend curve uncertainty of spatially correlated reservoir data. The method includes inputting, into the computer, a sample reservoir data comprising correlated data; applying, using the computer, a variogram to the sample reservoir data to select a plurality of subsets of data, the subsets of data being substantially less correlated than the sample reservoir data; and applying, using the computer, a bootstrap process on each of the plurality of subsets of data to obtain a plurality of bootstrap data sets from each of the plurality of subsets of data. The method further includes calculating vertical trend curves for each of the obtained plurality of bootstrap data sets, ranking the vertical trend curves by using a selected statistical parameter to obtain ranked vertical trend curves, and characterizing the uncertainty based on the ranked vertical trend curves.

Reservoir properties are sampled at well logs (wireline, LWD or cased-hole logs). Proper characterization of a reservoir, particularly for estimates of net rock volume, porosity volume, and original oil in place, requires an estimate of the vertical trend curves of shale volume, porosity, permeability, saturation, etc. and the uncertainty of these vertical trend curves. Vertical trend curve uncertainty is a key component of reservoir characterization that affects volumetric uncertainty and reservoir recovery forecasts. Vertical property trends, in particular, can significantly affect the amount of oil in place estimated to be above an oil-water contact, because for example, a fining-upward trend will place less reservoir rock in the upper portions of the model above the contact and, likewise, a coarsening-upward trend will place more reservoir rock above the contact. Vertical property trends, particularly trends in permeability, can also significantly affect the movement of oil, gas, steam, and water in a reservoir.
Typically a reservoir modeler will have no way to derive accurate vertical trend curve uncertainty for his model. Conventional statistical techniques of bootstrap are often used to assess the uncertainty of population statistics or property distribution (for example, as implemented in application Crystal Ball from Oracle Corp). However, conventional bootstrap methods assume incorrectly that each property data collected is an independent measurement. Spatial bootstrap methods do not assume data independence but these methods are conventionally used solely to determine the uncertainty of the mean of some property distribution. These methods are not used to determine the vertical trend curve uncertainty.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of determining uncertainty of a vertical trend curve such as, but not limited to, vertical trend curves of shale volume, porosity, permeability, saturation, etc.

Method of using spatially independent subsets of data to calculate vertical trend curve uncertainty of spatially correlated reservoir data


A structure health monitoring (“SHM”) system according to the invention can be deployed in an onboard environment, such as an aircraft, to provide an ongoing damage assessment of structural components on the aircraft. The SHM system reduces or eliminates time consuming and costly manual inspections of aircraft. The SHM system can leverage known sensor technologies to collect sensor data indicative of the structural health of the monitored components. The sensor data is processed and baselined with sensor feature baselines and damage estimate baselines to provide an accurate final damage estimate for the monitored component. The final damage estimate can be further processed or formatted for compatibility with aircraft maintenance systems.

Certain vehicles, buildings, watercraft, and other structures may be subjected to periodic physical inspections that monitor the health of various components within the structures. For example, commercial aircraft may be routinely inspected to confirm, for example, structural integrity. Structural inspections of commercial aircraft are usually performed manually and, therefore, can be labor intensive and costly, especially if a large fleet of aircraft is being maintained. The prior art includes a variety of sensor systems designed to obtain data indicative of potential structural defects. Such systems, however, do not process the sensor data over time for purposes of trending, reporting, forecasting remaining lifetime, and scheduling maintenance. Furthermore, the prior art does not include a "self-contained" onboard structure health monitoring system that can be deployed in an aircraft.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an onboard structure health monitoring system configured for self contained deployment on an aircraft. In addition, it is desirable to have a structure health monitoring system that processes sensor data over time in connection with damage assessments. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Structure health monitoring system and method


A mounting device, for mounting a plurality of fans (50) to a server chassis (70), includes a tray (20), a plurality of brackets (30), and a plurality of fasteners (40). The tray includes a plurality of pairs of mounting sections each pair fixed with a corresponding bracket. Each bracket is U-shaped and includes a pair of side plates (32) for sandwiching a corresponding fan therebetween. Each bracket defines a pair of coaxial locking holes (35′) in the side plates. Each fastener includes a pair of locking ends (42) received in the locking holes of a corresponding bracket to thereby sandwich the corresponding fan in the bracket. Each side plate defines an outlet (34) having a contour corresponding to a contour of an outlet of a corresponding fan, and each mounting section of the tray has a contour corresponding to a contour of the outlet of a corresponding fan.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mounting device, and particularly to a mounting device which can readily and conveniently mount a plurality of fans to a server.
2. Related Art
As computer technology continues to advance, electronic components such as central processing units (CPUs) of computers are being made to provide faster operational speeds and greater functional capabilities. When a CPU operates at high speed in a computer enclosure, its temperature can increase greatly. It is desirable to dissipate the generated heat quickly, for example by using a heat sink attached to the CPU in the enclosure. This allows the CPU and other electronic components in the enclosure to function within their normal temperature operating temperature ranges, thereby assuring the quality of data management, storage and transfer.
Oftentimes, a server comprises a plurality of electronic components installed therein. The electronic components are generally arranged in line array and only narrow space is provided between adjacent two electronic components. A plurality of heat sinks is attached on the electronic components for heat dissipating of the electronic components. A plurality of fans is installed in the server for improving heat dissipating of the heat sinks. The fans are generally separately mounted to the server. However, the server provides a small space for each fan. Thus, it is difficult and inconvenient to mount the fans to the server separately. Furthermore, leads of a fan which is desired to be mounted to the server is prone to interfere with leads of adjacent fans which are already mounted in the server.

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


A malware detection rule is evaluated for effectiveness and accuracy. The detection rule defines criteria for distinguishing files having a characteristic of interest from other files lacking that characteristic, for instance, malicious files vs. benign files. The detection rule is applied to a set of unknown files. This produces a result set that contains files detected from among the set of unknown files as having the at least one characteristic of interest. Each file from the result set is compared to at least one file from a set of known files having the characteristic to produce a first measure of similarity, and to at least one file from a set of known files lacking the characteristic to produce a second measure of similarity. In response to the first measure of similarity exceeding a first similarity threshold, the detection rule is deemed effective. In response to the second measure of similarity exceeding a second similarity threshold, the detection rule is deemed inaccurate.

The scourge of malicious software is growing every hour. Antivirus companies must promptly and adequately react to these arising threats, but face many challenges. One such challenge involves striving for accuracy of malware detection. An adequate response to a threat involves the absence of false positives, i.e. the response must neutralize the threat but must not adversely affect benign files or other objects.
A response to a threat can involve creating a rule for detection of such threat and for its subsequent elimination. A detection rule, in a particular case, can be represented by signatures, heuristic rules or hash sums, i.e. methods which allow to detect target files from the whole variety of researched files. Once a rule is created, the rule is tested for absence of false activations. After the testing, the rule begins to function on the user side; quite often, a rule can be also additionally tested at the stage of its active functioning on the user side.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,280,830 discloses a system for modifying a detection rule based on preliminary testing of a created rule on a collection of safe files and malicious files. But a collection of safe files and malicious files available to antivirus software manufacturers cannot cover the entire variety of files encountered by users; therefore, quite often, feedback from the detection rule is used when it is already functioning on the user side. An antivirus application using a detection rule sends notices to developers, specifying which files activated the rule, and the developers analyze this information on their side. U.S. Pat. No. 8,356,354 discloses a system for issuing updates of antivirus databases; one of the embodiments provides that the antivirus application sends information to developers, specifying what files triggered the rule, and that the received information is analyzed for false activations of the rule.
But even the combined use of a collection of safe files and malicious files, with feedback from users, cannot guarantee the effectiveness of a detection rule because the collection is incomplete and because it is not possible to test the rule on files which will appear in the future, and also because not all users have antivirus software installed. Also, a significant drawback of the feedback method used today is that, generally, the file's checksum or hash, rather than the file itself, is used for the feedback, and if a file from the collection is even slightly different from the file which activated the rule, the checksums or hashes will not match and false activation will not be detected.
The probability of false activations increases in the case when the detection rule is created not for one file but for a group of similar files. In general, the larger the number of files for which the rule is being created, the higher the probability of false activation. Many of the known approaches have failed to take this fact into account.
An effective and practical solution is therefore needed to evaluate malware detection rules while avoiding false positives.

System and method for evaluating malware detection rules


Aspects of the disclosure provide a circuit package. The circuit package includes a first signal terminal electrically coupled with a serializer/deserializer (SERDES), a second signal terminal electrically coupled with an external electronic component, and a trace disposed on an insulating layer. The trace is configured to transfer an electrical signal between the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal. The trace is patterned to provide a specific filtering characteristic to filter the electrical signal.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Generally, an integrated circuit (IC) chip is assembled in a chip package, such as a dual in-line package (DIP), a pin grid array (PGA) package, a ball grid array (BGA) package, and the like. The chip package can be mounted onto a printed circuit board (PCB). The chip package and the PCB include various coupling elements, such as solder bumps, metal wires, solder balls, and the like to couple the IC chip with other devices on the PCB. The coupling elements may need to transfer data signals at a high speed between the IC chip and other devices on the PCB. The signal integrity of the data signals can be negatively affected by the coupling elements.


An alarm system having a signal evaluator is disclosed. The system includes an alarm controller and at least one sensor that generates a signal that corresponds to the magnitude of a detected event. The signal evaluator is part of the controller and receives the magnitude signal from the sensor. The signal evaluator compares the magnitude signal to an alarm threshold and generates an alarm signal if the magnitude signal exceeds the alarm threshold. If not, the signal evaluator compares the magnitude signal to a warning threshold and generates a warning signal if the magnitude signal exceeds the warning threshold and is less than the alarm threshold. The signal generated by the signal evaluator is coupled to an alarm annunciator which generates an alarm in response to the alarm signal and a warning in response to the warning signal. The warning and alarm may be vocal, a siren, or a chirp.

Alarm systems for installation in movable vehicles such as automobiles are well known. These systems typically include an alarm controller that is coupled to an alarm annunciator and sensors located throughout the vehicle for detecting specific events indicative of a security violation. The alarm controller typically includes a microprocessor or microcontroller with sufficient memory and input/output (I/O) interface devices to effectively couple the controller to the sensors. The system is typically powered from the battery source from the vehicle. Sometimes a back-up battery is included for the alarm controller so the controller remains powered in the event an intruder cuts the battery cable.
A variety of sensors are used in such alarm systems. These sensors include current sensors that are coupled to the interior lights of the vehicle to detect the current flow for operating a light when a door is opened; a motion detector to detect movement in a radiated field about the vehicle; and a shock sensor to detect impact to the vehicle usually indicative of an unauthorized entry event or vandalism. The signals from the sensors are presented to the alarm controller and the alarm controller typically evaluates whether the sensor signal requires an alarm, or no response for the alarm annunciator.
One problem with these previously known systems is the difficulty in evaluating the severity of the violation event. The vehicles are often parked in areas, such as parking garages, shopping mall parking lots, and the like, where there is significant pedestrian traffic and/or incidental bumping of the vehicle. This non-destructive contact with the vehicle or radiated field about the vehicle is difficult to distinguish from violation events. An alarm system that can distinguish between incidental bumping or casual traffic and the presence of an intruder generates fewer false alarms. False alarms are undesirable because they drain the vehicle battery, and, if too frequent, may be ignored by security personnel.
Previously known systems have incorporated a scheme of counting the number of events detected by a sensor to determine whether the sensor is detecting an intrusion or vandal event. In response to a count below a predetermined alarm number, the system generates a warning while an alarm is generated for count values exceeding the alarm number. One problem with this counting scheme is that in an area of high traffic or significant shock, such as the vibrations created by traffic in a multi-floor concrete garage, enough events still occur to exceed the alarm number and generate a false alarm. Thus, the counting scheme does not substantially reduce the chance of false alarms in all areas.
Another attempt to provide an alarm system with the ability to evaluate the severity of a sensor event is to provide a single threshold value for comparing the magnitude of a sensor signal to a predetermined threshold. If the magnitude of the signal from the sensor exceeds the threshold, an alarm is sounded, otherwise, no response is generated. One problem with the single threshold scheme is the inability of the alarm system to warn a tentative intruder that the vehicle is equipped with an alarm system. For example, an intruder may tap some portion of the car to see if an alarm is actuated and gaining a false sense of security when no alarm sounds, increase the impact of the blow to gain access to the car. While the intruder may flee in response to the alarm generation when the sensed blow magnitude exceeds the single threshold, significant damage may be done to the vehicle.
In an effort to remedy the single threshold problem, alarm systems have been developed that permit a user to adjust the threshold level for different situations. This is typically done by putting the alarm system in a test mode and then striking the vehicle with a force that is used by the alarm controller as the single threshold. While this gives the user some control over the sensitivity of the threshold setting, it does not provide both a warning and an alarm. What is need is an alarm system that provides both a warning and an alarm without the drawbacks of the known counting scheme.

Alarm system with sensor signal evaluator


A lubricating agent for a burnishing compound comprising an aqueous solvent, an alkyl betaine that is soluble in the aqueous solvent, and a nonchelating acid that is soluble in the aqueous solvent. The alkyl betaine is of the formula: ##STR1## wherein R, R.sub.1, R.sub.2 are organic radicals that are the same or different. The nonchelating acid can be a monocarboxylic acid. A nonchelating tertiary amine can be formulated with the lubricating agent to resist the formatting corrosion.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to metal finishing compounds and, more particularly, to a nonchelating metal finishing compound that is adapted for use in a mass finishing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Finishing processes for the manufacture of metal parts or components are often carried out in two stages: deburring followed by burnishing. In the deburring stage, the metal parts are placed in a mass finishing apparatus such as a vibratory, barrel, or centrifugal finisher with an appropriate media that typically comprises substantially solid, irregularly shaped members that impinge the metal parts to remove rough corners and edges as well as manufacturing waste adhering to the parts.
In the burnishing stage, the metal components are retained in the vibratory, barrel or centrifugal finisher and are mixed with an appropriate burnishing compound. The burnishing compound generally comprises case hardened steel or stainless steel balls, cones, ball cones, eggs or other members of appropriate shape (media) and a lubricating agent that is continuously fed into and drained from the finisher. As the metal components vibrate and forcibly brush past the lubricated media, manufacturing oils and the like are removed and a bright, lustrous, polished appearance is imparted to the surface of the metal components. Different formulations for the burnishing compound are known, examples of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,051, issued Nov. 25, 1980 to Spekman, Jr. and assigned to Fremont Industries, Inc. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,092, issued Jan. 4, 1983 to Unzens and assigned to Roto-Finish Company, Inc.
Typically, the lubricating agent is maintained at an acidic pH to inhibit the formation of iron hydroxides, the iron resulting from the steel or stainless steel media. The acidic pH also inhibits the formation of other metal hydroxides, the particular hydroxide, of course, depending on the composition of the metal part being finished. The formation of metal hydroxides during burnishing is considered undesirable because it tends to cloud or obscure the lubricating agent, thereby detracting from its utility and shortening its effective life. Perhaps even more importantly, the metal hydroxides can be transferred to the surfaces of the metal parts being finished, thereby deteriorating the bright, polished, lustrous appearance that the burnishing stage is intended to impart to the finished metal components. To further inhibit the formation of metal hydroxides, chelating agents are often incorporated into the lubricating agent. Alternatively, a lubricant that is inherently chelating is employed or an acid having inherent chelating properties is used to acidify the lubricating agent. The chelating agents complex the iron or other heavy metal ions and form stable, soluble organo-metallic complexes that remain in solution without detracting from the burnishing process. Most commercially available barrel or vibratory burnishing agents presently known, including those identified in the above-referenced patents to Spekman, Jr. and Unzens, contain a high proportion of chelating agents.
However, increasingly stringent environmental regulations on the federal, state and municipal levels have made it more difficult if not illegal to dispose aqueous industrial waste having high concentrations of heavy metals into the public sewer system. The maximum allowable concentration of heavy metal salts in industrial waste streams is declining in response to enhanced environmental concerns. Copper salts, as one example, are particularly problematic because they are considered toxic even at relatively low concentrations. Normally, heavy metals can be removed from an industrial effluent stream by adjusting the pH of the stream to a range of approximately 8.5-9.5. Within this pH range, most heavy metals can be precipitated as highly insoluble hydroxides and thereafter filtered from the effluent, although a polymeric flocculating agent may be required to induce the formation of a coarse, readily filterable precipitate. However, the organo-metallic complexes that are formed in the presence of chelating agents are highly soluble and stable and do not readily form filterable precipitates under the industrial effluent treatment conditions presently utilized. As a result, the organo-metallic complexes or chelates pass unchanged through the effluent treatment and enter the public sewer system.
As noted hereinabove in the Background, it is desirable to maintain the lubricating agent at an acidic pH to inhibit the formation of metal, especially iron, hydroxides. However, there is a countervailing problem in that a low pH environment encourages the formation of corrosion. In a typical commercial burnishing operation, the mass finishing apparatus is drained of the lubricating agent at the end of each day as well as prior to longer periods of interruption, such as weekends and holidays. It is common for the case-hardened steel or stainless steel media to be retained in the mass finishing apparatus until it is needed for the next burnishing cycle. Exposure of the damp, lubricating agent coated media to the oxygen rich air provides an environment in which the rapid formation of corrosion on the media is promoted. The corrosion not only deteriorates and shortens the useful life of the burnishing media but can be imparted to the metal parts finished therewith, thereby further detracting from the bright, polished and lustrous appearance with which the metal parts are to be provided. Accordingly, lubricating agents are sometimes formulated with corrosion inhibitors. However, the most widely known corrosion inhibitors are also excellent chelating compounds. For example, the corrosion inhibiting compounds disclosed in the above-identified patent to Unzens are chelating agents. As described hereinabove, it is undesirable for the burnishing agent to include a chelating compound as such will complex the heavy metal ions resulting from the steel media or the parts being finished therewith.
Thus, there is a considerable need for a burnishing agent that imparts a bright, polished, lustrous appearance to the metal components being treated but which is free from compounds that tend to chelate or complex the metal ions that result from the steel media or the metal of the parts being finished. With such a burnishing agent, heavy metals resulting from the media and the parts being finished can be easily precipitated and filtered from the industrial waste effluent as insoluble hydroxides by adjusting the pH of the waste stream.
There is also considerable need for a burnishing agent that incorporates a nonchelating corrosion inhibitor. Such a burnishing agent would be particularly useful because it would resist the formation of corrosion on the burnishing media when the media is exposed to the acidic lubricating agents that are commonly employed.


According to an embodiment of the invention, slide rails guided by guide rails of a body frame are provided on an EPU frame. A slidable bolt is provided on a belt unit frame. When the belt unit is attached to or removed from the body frame, the bolt is fitted into an insertion port of the EPU frame and the EPU frame is connected with the belt unit frame. The slide rails of the EPU frame are used to integrally attach and remove the belt unit and the EPU to and from the body frame.

As an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copy machine or printer, an apparatus having an electrophotographic process unit (hereinafter abbreviated as EPU) and a belt unit, each of which is attachable to and removable from the image forming apparatus body, is provided. The EPU integrally incorporates therein a process section that is necessary for forming a toner image on a photoconductive drum. The belt unit integrally incorporates therein a process section that is necessary for forming the toner image formed on the photoconductive drum by the EPU, onto a paper sheet.
In this manner, in the image forming apparatus having the EPU and the belt unit, conventionally, each unit is separately attached to and removed from the image forming apparatus body. Therefore, a slide rail for guiding the EPU and a slide rail for guiding the belt unit are arranged in the image forming apparatus body.
However, if a slide rail is arranged for each of the EPU and the belt unit, cost reduction may be obstructed by the expensive slide rails. Moreover, since space for installing the slide rails must be secured at two positions in the image forming apparatus body, miniaturization of the apparatus may be obstructed.
Thus, it is desired to develop a processing unit for an image forming apparatus that realizes lower price and miniaturization of the image forming apparatus and that enables smooth attachment and removal of plural process units to and from the image forming apparatus body.

Processing unit for image forming apparatus


A mobile communication terminal for providing contents to a user, comprises a transceiver for receiving one or more contents set as default and one or more new contents from a server; a display unit for displaying the contents set as default and the new contents; a controller for controlling the transceiver and the display unit, thereby to display the received contents set as default, and then display the new contents if the new contents is received.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and, more particularly, to a mobile communication terminal capable of effectively providing contents to a user, and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a mobile communication terminal is a device allowing a user to wirelessly page another party and be wirelessly connected for performing communications any time and anywhere through controlling of switching by a mobile switching center (MSC) while traveling in a service area managed by a base station (BS). The mobile communication terminal can support multimedia communications including images and videos, as well as data communications including symbols, numbers and characters.
The mobile communication terminal provides (1) online services such as online games, mobile internet services, a VOD (Video On Demand) function and a file download function, (2) various message functions such as chatting, instant messaging, text messaging, multimedia messaging and e-mail, (3) a call function such as a voice call and a video call, (4) camera functions such as video capturing and still image capturing, and (5) various supplementary functions such as a scheduler, phone book searching, a calculator, a memo pad, communication content recording, terminal state setting, calendar searching, world time checking, time alarm setting, and video or music file reproducing.
Mobile communication terminals help to enhance quality of cultural life of users by providing online services allowing users to download music files, movie files and game files, especially among the diverse supplementary functions. As many online services are being provided as paid services, service providers are actively developing techniques for providing online contents in various forms.
However, the related art mobile communication terminal cannot suitably provide online services in the following aspects. That is, in order to receive desired online contents, the user must access a Web site that provides the online contents whenever the user wants such contents, check the matters contained in the online contents one-by-one, and execute the online contents. However, these cumbersome procedures are not effective in terms of time and cost.

Mobile communication terminal for providing contents and method thereof


Disclosed are compounds of formula I and II that are bradykinin B1 receptor antagonists and are useful for treating diseases, or relieving adverse symptoms associated with disease conditions, in mammals mediated by bradykinin B1 receptor. Certain of the compounds exhibit increased potency and are also expected to exhibit increased duration of action.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to certain 3-amido-5-substituted pyrazole derivatives and related compounds. These compounds are useful as bradykinin B1 receptor antagonists to relieve adverse symptoms in mammals mediated, at least in part, by bradykinin B1 receptor including pain, inflammation, septic shock, the scarring process, and the like. This invention is also directed to pharmaceutical compositions comprising such compounds as well as to methods for mediating adverse symptoms in a mammal mediated, at least in part, by the bradykin B1 receptor.

4-bromo-5-(2-chloro-benzoylamino)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid amide derivatives and related compounds as bradykinin B


Device and method are described for amplifying pulsed RF signals, comprising one or more transistors, each comprising a drain, a gate and a source. A device synchronizes the supply for the drain with an RF pulse.

The solutions usually employed for amplifying the power of a pulsed RF signal use for example:                common-base class-C bipolar transistors with DC voltage emitter supply,        common-source class-AB LDMOS transistors with DC drain supply and controlled drain current.
The first solution offers simplicity of implementation and zero consumption in the absence of pulses. However, it has quite a low gain and a moderate efficiency, and also a distortion of the base of the pulse due to the prebias.
The second solution is more complex to implement, but offers a high gain and respects the integrity of the pulse. However, it has a residual consumption between pulses. Its gain varies with temperature. The efficiency of the stage is reduced by the unnecessary consumption due to the biasing of the transistor.
In IFF amplification, the gate supply voltage is adjusted for a given drain current (quiescent bias current).
This voltage is also present only during the transmission period in order to cancel out the drain current outside the transmission period.
Also known are systems for automatic control of the quiescent drain current an automatic bias system such as that described in the patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,573,796. However, this system can be used in pulse mode only if the resulting drain current pulses are filtered by the system for measuring the drain current.
The devices of the prior art have notably certain drawbacks.
For IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) amplification, there is residual consumption between pulses—the turn-on time of the transistor obtained with a pulsed gate voltage control is slow compared with the time to establish a square pulse (radar or IFF type). It is therefore essential to anticipate the control relative to the RF pulse to be amplified in order to avoid distorting it, thereby leaving a period over which the transistor consumes power.
As regards the automatic bias system, this cannot be used as it stands and has the drawback of having a residual consumption between pulses (quiescent current).
In general, the power consumption between pulses (increased heating, reduced efficiency) is greater the higher the maximum gain sought.
The amplification stage thus constituted does not contribute to reducing the residual radiation between pulses.

Device and method for amplifying pulsed RF signals


A self-centering suspension for use in supporting a vehicle or vehicles intended to travel in a pipeline includes a body and two sets of three wheels spaced apart along the length of the body. Each wheel is mounted on a lever arm biased by torsion springs against the inner surface of the pipeline. Each lever arm has a stub arm which is eccentrically arranged relatively to a rotary joint in the form of a pin, and the stub arm slidingly engages a circumferential groove in a ring. Each ring slides on the body. A set of three wheels are thus constrained to move inwards and outwards together.

In-pipe vehicles which require centering within the pipe are normally supported by polymer cups, wire brushes, or several wheels on independently spring loaded lever arms. The former two generate high levels of frictional resistance, and the latter requires relatively stiff springs on the lever arms partially to counteract the load exerted by the opposite lever arms. Therefore centralising a vehicle in a pipe to within accurate limits, while maintaining some automatic adjustment for variations in pipe size, is difficult to achieve and requires large forces, thus high frictional resistance to linear motion of the vehicle, and high resistance to traversing a pipe of reducing diameter.

Self-centering suspension for in-pipe use


A composite sheet material that includes at least one porous core layer including a thermoplastic material and from about 20 weight percent to about 80 weight percent fibers based on a total weight of the porous core layer, and at least one skin covering a surface of the core layer. The skin includes at least one of a thermoplastic film, a fiber based scrim, a non-woven fabric, and a woven fabric.

This invention relates generally to porous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic polymer composite sheets, and more particularly to porous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic polymer composite sheets having surface coverings providing for at least one of reduced flame spread, reduced smoke density, reduced heat release, and reduced gas emissions.
Porous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite sheets have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,978,489 and 4,670,331 and are used in numerous and varied applications in the product manufacturing industry because of the ease molding the fiber reinforced thermoplastic sheets into articles. For example, known techniques such as thermo-stamping, compression molding, and thermoforming have been used to successfully form articles from fiber reinforced thermoplastic sheets.
Because of the varied applications, fiber-reinforced thermoplastic sheets are subjected to various performance tests. For example flame spread, smoke density, and gaseous emissions characteristics of the fiber-reinforced thermoplastic sheets are important when the formed articles are used in environments that might be subjected to a flame event, such as a fire. Because of safety concerns, there is a need to improve the flame, smoke and toxicity performance of fiber reinforced thermoplastic sheet products.

Fiber reinforced thermoplastic sheets with surface coverings


A sense amplifier for nonvolatile memories includes a first line path (precharging path) having a first transistor and a third transistor connected in series with the bit line for a memory cell that is to be read. The sense amplifier also includes a second line path (reading path), running parallel to the first line path, in which a transistor diode and a fourth transistor are connected in series with the bit line. The gates of the third transistor and of the fourth transistor are at the same potential, in particular, are connected to one another.

The invention relates to a sense amplifier for nonvolatile memories. In particular, the invention relates to an application for such a sense amplifier in flash memory components, such as flash EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable ROMs) memory components.
Flash EEPROMs are understood to mean those EEPROM memory components that, while being electrically erasable, only ever allow the chip to be erased as a whole with its entire memory content. The name for such a memory component was derived from the fact that the memory can be electrically erased using a single erasing pulse that is normally a few seconds long (xe2x80x9cflashxe2x80x9d).
Such flash memory components are also experiencing a trend toward progressive miniaturization, which has currently reached the lower submicron range (0.25 xcexcm, 0.18 xcexcm, 0.13 xcexcm) for the characteristic feature sizes. However, the decreasing feature sizes conflict with the requirements of a reduced supply voltage and a reduced power consumption, and with the trend toward ever higher system clock frequencies. The most significant part of a nonvolatile memory component in such a respect is the sense amplifier, because it is very important to maintain a high read access speed and a low current consumption while, at the same time, the stability of the sense amplifier remains high.
In the sense amplifiers used to date, it has been necessary to make a compromise between current consumption and access time. A short access time is normally associated with a high current consumption, and vice-versa. Some applications require a very low current consumption, and, to achieve such an aim, read access has been divided into two phases (precharging and reading). FIG. 1 illustrates the sense amplification operation in a graph.
FIG. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram of a conventional sense amplifier circuit. The changeover between precharging and reading is effected by the signal PRE.
In a precharging phase (PRE=0), the bit line (CBL) is charged by the transistor TP1 (p-conductive), which shorts the transistor TP2 (p-conductive) connected as a transistor diode. One side of the transistor TP1 is connected to a current source, and the other side of the transistor TP1 is connected through a transistor TN3 to the bit line for a memory cell that is to be read. The transistor TN3 (n-conductive) operates as a source follower to limit the bit line voltage. The total precharging current is provided by the transistor TP1 through the transistor TN3 until the bit line voltage reaches a maximum value of VBL=VBIASxe2x88x92VTN3, where VBIAS is a constant reference voltage and VTN3 is the threshold voltage of the transistor TN3. To prevent DC power consumption, the cell transistor is off during the phase (VCG=0)
FIG. 3 illustrates the characteristic curves for current (solid) and voltage (dashed) during the precharging phase. As the bit line capacitance CBL is charged, the voltage (VBL) rises. At a relatively high bit line voltage, the voltage VGS (=VREFxe2x88x92VBL) on the transistor TN3 is reduced, the charging current falls and the bit line voltage tends toward its final value.
In a reading phase (PRE=1), after the bit line has been charged, the corresponding memory cell in the matrix is activated by the voltage VCG. The transistor TP1 is turned off and, if the cell is on, a current is drawn through the transistor TN3 and the transistor diode TP2. A point between the transistor diode TP2 and the transistor TN3 is connected to the + input of a current comparator. The transistor diode TP2 mirrors the cell current into the current comparator, which compares ICELL (VCELL) with a reference current signal (VREF) If the cell is off, no current flows (ICELL=0 xcexcA). The value of the reference current is chosen such that a maximum signal-to-noise ratio is obtained for the value of ICELL and 0 xcexcA.
The total access time is determined by the charging current in the precharging phase and the direct current of the memory cell, which is in the range from 10 xcexcA to 20 xcexcA with a tendency to decrease further. The reference current is, therefore, in the range from 5 xcexcA to 10 xcexcA. The changeover from the precharging phase to the reading phase is determined by the decrease in the charging current. If precharging is stopped prematurely (TP1 off), the remaining charge needs to be provided by the transistor diode TP2. The current is likewise compared with the reference current. If the memory cell is off (direct current is 0 xcexcA) and the charging current is above the reference current, the cell that is off is mistakenly detected to be a cell that is on.
As shown in FIG. 3 (CBL=1 pF), the precharging time is very long at tPRExcx9c50 ns when the charging current reaches values of 1 xcexcA. Despite the fact that the bit line voltage rises only negligibly (xcx9c50 mV), the charging time needs to be extended to ensure an adequate safety margin from the reference current (the precharging current must fall below 1 xcexcA).
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a fast sense amplifier for nonvolatile memories that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and that provides a sense amplifier with reduced access time.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a sense amplifier for nonvolatile memories, in particular, a flash EEPROM memory, having memory cells and bit lines, including first through fourth transistors, a current comparator having a comparator input, a first line path in which the first transistor is connected in series to the third transistor and the bit line for the memory cell to be read, a second line path, running parallel to the first line path, in which the second transistor, being a transistor diode, is connected in series to the fourth transistor and the bit line, the second transistor and the fourth transistor having a crossover point connected to the comparator input, the first transistor to be controlled by a switching signal having an off switching position in which the first transistor allows the bit line to be precharged by the third transistor, and the gate of the third transistor and the gate of the fourth transistor being at a same potential.
A fundamental concept of the invention is that of isolating the precharging path and the reading path in the electric circuit of a sense amplifier from one another completely by adding a further transistor. In such a context, a sense amplifier for nonvolatile memories has a first line path (precharging path) including a first transistor and a third transistor that are connected in series with the bit line for a memory cell that is to be read. The sense amplifier also has a second line path (reading path), running parallel to the first line path, in which a transistor diode and a fourth transistor are connected in series with the bit line. The gates of the third transistor and of the fourth transistor are at the same potential, in particular, are connected to one another.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the gate of the third transistor and the gate of the fourth transistor are connected to one another to have a same potential.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the current comparator has a negative input connected to a reference signal.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the third transistor has a threshold voltage and the fourth transistor has a threshold voltage higher than the threshold voltage of the third transistor.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the third transistor has a W/L ratio, where W is a gate width and L is a gate length, and the fourth transistor has a W/L ratio lower than the a W/L ratio of the third transistor.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a nonvolatile memory, in particular, a flash EEPROM memory, integrated on a common chip with a sense amplifier including first through fourth transistors, a current comparator having a comparator input, a first line path in which the first transistor is connected in series to the third transistor and the bit line for the memory cell to be read, a second line path, running parallel to the first line path, in which the second transistor, being a transistor diode, is connected in series to the fourth transistor and the bit line, the second transistor and the fourth transistor having a crossover point connected to the comparator input, the first transistor to be controlled by a switching signal having an off switching position in which the first transistor allows the bit line to be precharged by the third transistor, and the gate of the third transistor and the gate of the fourth transistor being at a same potential.
Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a fast sense amplifier for nonvolatile memories, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Fast sense amplifier for nonvolatile memories


A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device for forming a metal element-containing layer on an insulating layer in which a concave portion is formed, includes: forming an oxide layer including mainly an oxide of the metal element on the insulating layer including the concave portion; and forming a silicate layer including mainly a silicate of the metal element by making the oxide layer into silicate by annealing under a reducing atmosphere.

Semiconductor devices using copper (Cu) having low resistance as a material for wirings and via conductors have been manufactured. However, the use of Cu requires a bather layer to prevent Cu diffusion. While tantalum (Ta) or a tantalum nitride film (TaN) is typically used for the barrier layer, a self-forming barrier layer using a CuMn alloy instead of Ta and TaN has been recently proposed.
Since a CuMn alloy formed as a film serves as a seed layer, a Cu-plated layer can be directly formed on the CuMn alloy. By annealing after the plating, the Cu-plated layer reacts with an underlying SiO2 layer (an interlayer insulating layer) or water contained therein to form a MnSixOy layer (where x and y are any positive number) or a MnOx layer (where x is any positive number) in a self-aligning manner at a boundary between the SiO2 layer and the CuMn alloy. Since the MnSixOy layer (silicate of Mn element: Mn silicate layer) and the MnOx (Mn oxide layer) become Cu barrier layers, it is possible to reduce the number of manufacturing processes. Manganese oxides may include MnO, Mn3O4, Mn2O3, MnO2 and the like depending on the valence of Mn, which are herein collectively referred to as MnOx (Mn oxide).
In recent years, with high integration and high miniaturization of semiconductor devices, as the distance between wirings becomes smaller, electric capacitance between adjacent wirings (inter-wiring capacitance) is being increased. This causes a phenomenon in which signals transmitted through wirings become slower (signal delay). To avoid this signal delay, a material having a smaller relative dielectric constant (Low-k material) is being used for the interlayer insulating layer. This is because a smaller relative dielectric constant provides smaller inter-wiring capacitance. SiOC, SiOCH and the like containing organic groups such as methyl groups and the like has been raised as proper Low-k materials and there is a trend that C (carbon) is contained in the interlayer insulating layer.
In comparison between the Mn silicate layer and the Mn oxide layer as barrier layers, the Mn silicate layer is considered to be more desirable from the following three viewpoints. 1) The Mn silicate layer is more amorphous and hence has a smaller crystal grain boundary (higher diffusion ability of Cu or O) than the Mn oxide layer, which can result in the improvement of the barrier property. 2) When the Mn oxide layer becomes a silicate by reaction with silicon oxide (SiOx) of the interlayer insulating layer, a volume (film thickness) thereof is reduced. Therefore, since a sectional area of a Cu wiring or a via conductor formed on the surface of the Mn silicate layer increases as much as the reduced amount, the Cu wiring or the via conductor can have low resistance. 3) Since the Mn oxide may take a plurality of states, such as MnO, Mn3O4, Mn2O3, MnO2 and the like, this is unstable because of its change in density and volume. In contrast, the Mn silicate is chemically stable. Once the Mn silicate is formed, since its state is more stable than the Mn oxide, aging degradation of semiconductor devices may be reduced. However, conventionally, it is uncertain which one of the Mn silicate layer and the Mn oxide layer will be formed on the interlayer insulating layer using a Low-k material, which resulted in difficulty in reliably forming the Mn silicate layer on the interlayer insulating layer.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device for forming metal element-containing layer on insulating layer in which concave portion is formed, semiconductor device including insulating layer in which concave portion is formed, and semiconductor layer on insulating layer in which concave portion is formed


A method that acquires data on a processing module of a substrate processing apparatus using a sensor substrate efficiently and highly precisely is provided. The method includes: holding a sensor substrate by a first holding member, the sensor substrate having a sensor section for acquiring data on the processing modules and a first power supply section with a rechargeable electricity storage section for supplying electric power to the sensor section; advancing the first holding member to transfer the sensor substrate to a processing module; acquiring data on the processing module by the sensor section of the sensor substrate; and causing the first holding member to receive the sensor substrate, whose electric charge is consumed, from the processing module and retract, and with that state, charging the first power supply section of the sensor substrate in a non-contact manner by a second power supply section that moves together with the base.

In a photoresist process, which is one of semiconductor manufacturing processes, a resist is coated on the surface of a semiconductor wafer which is a substrate (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), the resist is then exposed to a predetermined light pattern, and then the resist is developed, so that a resist pattern is formed. The resist pattern is formed by using a coating and developing apparatus having various modules for performing various processes to the wafer.
To process the wafer accurately without defects, it is necessary to acquire data on each module before operating the coating and developing apparatus or during its inspection. For example, a liquid processing module, which applies a chemical liquid, such as the resist, to the wafer, is provided with a spin chuck that retains, by suction, the central part of the back surface of the wafer and rotates the wafer. Therefore, the chemical liquid supplied to the rotation center of the wafer spreads by centrifugal force. A pre-operational inspection is conducted to locate the rotation center of the spin chuck for the purpose of forming a highly uniform film of the chemical liquid. When the wafer is to be processed, the wafer is placed on the spin chuck in such a manner that the center of the wafer coincides with the rotation center of the spin chuck. In a heating module that thermally processes a wafer, the data on wafer heating temperature is acquired.
To acquire the above-described data, a sensor wafer on which various sensors are mounted is used. For example, the sensor wafer, which is wire-connected to a power supply section, is loaded into an inspection target module to acquire the data. However, if the sensor wafer is connected to the power supply section by a wire, it is troublesome for an operator to load the sensor wafer into the inspection target module. As a solution to this problem, it is proposed that the power supply section formed, for instance, by a lithium-ion secondary battery be mounted on the sensor wafer. Thus, the wafer can be loaded into the module by a substrate transport mechanism included in the coating and developing apparatus. This makes it possible to increase the efficiency of data acquisition. An inspection conducted with the sensor wafer having the power supply is described in JP2008-109027A.
However, the coating and developing apparatus includes many modules in order to increase its throughput. In order to perform measurements in all the modules for a predetermined period of time, a large-capacity battery, which is large-sized and heavy, is required. If such a battery is used, environmental conditions prevailing in a processing module into which the sensor wafer is loaded differ from the environmental conditions prevailing when a product wafer is loaded. This may decrease the accuracy of acquired data.

Data acquisition method in substrate processing apparatus and sensor substrate


The arc-resistant MCC is provided with either the expansion chamber or the plenum. Arc flashes create pressure. Different arc-resistant MCC bases are used depending on whether the expansion chamber or the plenum is to be attached, as the expansion chamber and the plenum deal with the created pressure in different ways and are accordingly attached to the MCC base in different ways.

MCCs are used in a number of industrial and commercial applications to house and interconnect motor control units via a common power bus. An MCC may be installed in a separate air-conditioned room or may be installed adjacent to a controlled motor or other equipment. An MCC may include one or more cabinet sections with the common power bus, and individual motor control units are plug-in mountable to the common power bus. MCCs may house variable frequency drives, programmable controllers, and metering, for example.
Arc flashes may result from faults at components within the MCC. An arc flash is the light and heat produced from the fault and may cause damage to surrounding equipment, fire or injury. The energy released in the fault blasts debris outward with a large force.
Depending on the demands of a customer, an arc-resistant MCC uses an expansion chamber (e.g., a pull box) with a pressure flap or a plenum duct assembly to vent the products of the arc flash out of the MCC. The expansion chamber with the pressure flap vents the products of the arc flash to the immediate vicinity of the MCC and/or the motor controlled. The plenum duct assembly carries the products of the arc flash to a location away from the MCC and/or the motor controlled.
The arc-resistant MCC is provided with either the expansion chamber or the plenum. Arc flashes create pressure. Different arc-resistant MCC bases are used depending on whether the expansion chamber or the plenum is to be attached, as the expansion chamber and the plenum deal with the created pressure in different ways and are accordingly attached to the MCC base in different ways. This results in stocking a number of different bases.

Adapter for arc resistant motor control center


Provided is a ferritic stainless steel in which cracking is unlikely to be caused in the vicinity of a weld zone by the stress due to expansion, contraction, and deformation due to the thermal effect of welding in the case of performing welding after deep drawing and which is excellent in corrosion resistance in the vicinity of the weld zone.

Hitherto, ferritic stainless steels have been inferior in press formability to austenitic stainless steels and high-tensile strength steel sheets and the use thereof for applications requiring excellent press formability has been limited.
However, the improvement in formability of recent ferritic stainless steels, particularly the improvement in deep drawability, is remarkable and ferritic stainless steels are increasingly used for applications, requiring severe press working, including, for example, kitchen materials, electric device parts, and automotive parts.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a ferritic stainless steel sheet with excellent deep drawability. In the steel sheet, the deep drawability is improved in such a manner that the composition and production conditions of steel are controlled within an appropriate range, the average r-value of the finish-annealed steel sheet is set to 2.0 or more, the average grain size is set to 50 μm or less, and (tensile strength (MPa)×average r-value)/(grain size (μm)) is set to 20 or more.
Patent Literature 2 discloses a ferritic cold-rolled stainless steel sheet with excellent press formability. In this steel sheet, precipitation hardening by fine AlN is reduced by preventing the fine precipitation of AlN and the local elongation is increased by setting the ferrite grain size to less than 10 μm. Furthermore, in this literature, the uniform elongation is increased by setting the average grain size of Cr carbonitrides in ferrite grains to 0.6 μm or more, whereby the press formability is improved.
Patent Literature 3 discloses a ferritic stainless steel sheet with excellent deep drawability. In this steel sheet, the deep drawability is improved in such a manner that the average ferrite grain size is set to 40 μm or less and the percentage of ferrite grains, having a misorientation of 10° or less with respect to {111}//ND, in a cross section extending in the rolling direction and a thickness direction is set to 20% or more by adjusting hot rolling conditions.
However, the occurrence of longitudinal cracks caused by severe press forming cannot be sufficiently suppressed even if these ferritic stainless steel sheets, which have excellent press formability, are used.
Patent Literature 4 discloses a ferritic stainless steel sheet with excellent deep drawability, resistance to secondary working embrittlement, and corrosion resistance for the purpose of suppressing such longitudinal cracks. In this steel sheet, deep drawability and resistance to secondary working embrittlement are both achieved by setting the average grain size and surface roughness Ra of this steel sheet finish-annealed and pickled or further subjected to skin-pass rolling to 40 μm or less and 0.30 μm or less, respectively, in addition to adding appropriate amounts of Nb and/or Ti and appropriate amounts of B and V.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Abstract: The ferritic stainless steel has a composition containing C: 0.001% to 0.020%, Si: 0.01% to 0.30%, Mn: 0.01% to 0.50%, P: 0.04% or less, S: 0.01% or less, Cr: 18.0% to 24.0%, Ni: 0.01% to 0.40%, Mo: 0.30% to 3.0%, Al: 0.01% to 0.15%, Ti: 0.01% to 0.50%, Nb: 0.01% to 0.50%, V: 0.01% to 0.50%, Co: 0.01% to 6.00%, B: 0.0002% to 0.0050%, and N: 0.001% to 0.020% on a mass basis, the remainder being Fe and inevitable impurities. The composition satisfies 0.30%≤Ti+Nb+V≤0.60%.


An ultrasonic surgical clamp coagulator apparatus is configured to effect cutting, coagulation, and clamping of tissue by cooperation of a clamping mechanism of the apparatus with an associated ultrasonic end-effector. Rotational positioning of an elongated portion and end-effector is achieved by the provision of a clutch mechanism incorporated into a housing apparatus. The arrangement permits the elongated portion to be rotatably positioned with respect to the apparatus housing and permits rotation of a the end-effector relative to the elongated portion.

Ultrasonic surgical instruments are finding increasingly widespread applications in surgical procedures by virtue of the unique performance characteristics of such instruments. Depending upon specific instrument configurations and operational parameters, ultrasonic surgical instruments can provide substantially simultaneous cutting of tissue and hemostasis by coagulation, desirably minimizing patient trauma. The cutting action is typically effected by an end-effector at the distal end of the instrument, with the end-effector transmitting ultrasonic energy to tissue brought into contact therewith. Ultrasonic instruments of this nature can be configured for open surgical use, or laparoscopic or endoscopic surgical procedures.
Ultrasonic surgical instruments have been developed that include a clamp mechanism to press tissue against the end-effector of the instrument in order to couple ultrasonic energy to the tissue of a patient. Such an arrangement (sometimes referred to as an ultrasonic transector) is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,055, hereby incorporated by reference. However, typical constructions have included a clamp mechanism mounted in a fixed orientation relative to the handle or hand piece of the instrument. As such, a surgeon has typically been required to physically rotate the entire instrument in order to change the rotational orientation of the clamping mechanism. This can detract from convenient use of the instrument. In addition, conventional ultrasonic devices usually only use a single blade surface to cut or coagulate tissue. Therefore, a surgeon may have to change instruments for different cutting and coagulation applications.

Ultrasonic clamp coagulator apparatus having dual rotational positioning


A method of fabricating an electronic apparatus includes forming an active layer over a wafer, forming a backscatter layer over the wafer, and directing radiation toward the wafer to anneal the active layer. The backscatter layer is not transparent to the radiation, more reflective than absorptive of the radiation, and positioned such that the backscatter layer inhibits exposure of the wafer to the radiation apart from the active layer.

Semiconductor wafers are annealed during fabrication for a variety of reasons. For example, wafers are annealed to electrically activate dopant atoms in a semiconductor lattice. The thermal energy applied via the anneal process causes the atoms to diffuse into substitutional positions in the semiconductor lattice. Anneals are also used to change film-to-film or film-to-wafer substrate interfaces, densify deposited films, change states of grown films (e.g., epitaxial regrowth), repair damage from ion implantation, or drive interdiffusion of atoms from one material layer into another material layer.
Furnaces or ovens are often used to apply the thermal energy to the semiconductor wafers. Unfortunately, complications arise during high temperature anneals due to prolonged or uneven high temperature heating. Significant diffusion of dopant and other atoms can occur.
Rapid thermal processing (RTP) methods have been used to minimize undesired diffusion of dopants during heating. Common RTP methods are lamp and laser annealing. Such RTP equipment is used to heat a wafer to high temperatures on a short timescale, e.g., several seconds.
Although both lamp and laser heating can achieve the temperatures needed to repair a disordered silicon lattice and activate dopant atoms, both techniques may create uneven heating. For example, the uneven heating may arise from emissivity differences in near surface device materials. Moreover, photons used in lamp and laser heating cannot penetrate past the near surface region of the semiconductor wafer.
Microwave heating has been presented as a possible alternative to conventional RTP methods. Microwave heating of silicon may allow for more even, volumetric heating of the wafer due to the greater penetration depth associated with microwave radiation. In one approach, a microwave susceptor wafer is used when the target wafer does not absorb microwave energy sufficient for dopant activation or epitaxial regrowth. A microwave susceptor wafer, such as a silicon carbine (SiC) wafer, is exposed to the incident microwave radiation and placed sufficiently near the target wafer for conductive heating. The SiC wafer typically acts as a platform on which the target wafer is placed.


The present invention provides a novel polypeptide characterized by a non-conservative missense mutation, Trp64Arg, in the .beta.3-adrenergic receptor (.beta.3AR) that increases susceptibility to obesity and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM; type II diabetes). Also provided are methods of diagnosis and methods of treatment of subjects having or at risk of having type II diabetes/obesity.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) (type II) and obesity, and specifically to a novel Trp64Arg mutation in the .beta.3-adrenergic receptor that increases susceptibility to obesity and type II diabetes.
2. Description of Related Art
Non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is one of the most common inherited diseases in man with an estimated prevalence in Caucasian populations of 8-10% (Harris, et al., Diabetes, 36:523-534, 1987). Although most forms of NIDDM do not exhibit simple Mendelian inheritance, the contribution of heredity is well recognized (Rotter, et al., Diabetes Mellitus: Theory and Practice, 378-413, 1990). The genetic basis of a few rare monogenic syndromes of NIDDM have been elucidated, but together, these syndromes account for a very small minority of cases (Taylor, et al., Endocrine Rev., 13:566-595, 1992; Froguel, et al., N. Engl. J. Med., 328:697-702, 1993; Steiner, et al., Diabetes Care, 13:600-609, 1990; and Kadowaki, et al., N. Engl. J. Med., 330:962-968, 1994). It is likely that the common forms of NIDDM are complex and heterogenous, and result when a pool of mutant genes, each of which contributes modestly and in a subtle way, interact with each other and with environmental, aging and behavioral influences to lead to the expression of the disease. This pool of genes may vary between populations and among individuals within a population, despite the illusion of a clinically homogenous phenotype.
Obesity is a known risk factor for the development of NIDDM (Barrett-Conner, E., Epidemiol. Rev., 11:172-181, 1989; and Knowler, et al., Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 53:1543-1551, 1991), and although less well studied than NIDDM, also has clear genetic determinants (Bouchard, C., World Rev. Nutr. Diet, 72:68-77, 1993; and Stunkard, et al., N. Engl. J. Med., 314:193-197,1986). Potential candidate genes for obesity (and therefore also NIDDM) include those that influence energy expenditure. In adult Pima Indians, resting metabolic rate (RMR) is familial (Bogardus, et al., N. Engl. J Med, 315:96-100, 1986 ), and in prospective studies, a low RMR is a risk factor for weight gain and obesity (Ravussin, et al., N. Engl. J Med, 318:467-472, 1988). Studies in other populations (Bouchard, et al., Metabolism, 38:364-370, 1989; and Griffith, et al., Lancet, 336:76-78, 1990), as well as in animal models (Coleman, D. L., Diabetes, 31:1-6, 1992), support the relationship between heredity, low RMR and obesity. In rodents, RMR is regulated by the sympathetic nervous system and acts through modulation of thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (Lowell, et al., Nature, 366:740-749, 1993). Although humans do not have anatomically distinct deposits of brown adipose tissue, the identification of human uncoupling protein, a molecular marker widely regarded as being specific for brown adipose tissue, suggests that modulation of thermogenesis in adipose tissue may also be important in humans (Cassard, et al., J. Cell Biochem., 43:255-264, 1990).
Obesity represents a primary health concern amongst industrialized countries. Studies on twins, adopted children and on animal models of obesity have shown that genetic factors are implicated in the dynamics of gaining weight (Bouchard, C., Perusse, L., Ann. Rev. Nutr., 8:259-277, 1988). Morbid obesity in humans appears to have a particularly strong genetic component (Price, et al., Hum. Biol., 62:, 1990; and Adams, et al., Obes. Res., 1:261-270, 1993). However, the molecular basis of inheritance of obesity in humans is unknown. Obesity results from an imbalance between caloric intake and energy expenditure. As adipose tissue plays a crucial role in the regulation of energy storage and mobilization, it has been the focus for studies involved in the identification of candidate genes. Recently, positional cloning approaches have succeeded in identifying an obesity gene in a monogenic rodent model, the ob mouse (Zhang, et al., Nature, 372:425-432, 1994). The human ob homologue has been cloned, but mutations, deletions, or polymorphisms in this gene have yet to be identified. In humans, evidence supports the involvement of several genes as well as environmental and behavioral influences in the predisposition, onset and progression of obesity and NIDDM.
The recent localization of the .beta..sub.3 -adrenergic receptor (.beta.3AR) in adipose tissue (Emorine, et al., Science, 245:1118-1121, 1989; Spronsen, et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 213:1117-1124, 1993; and Krief, et al., J. Clin. Invest., 91:344-349, 1993) has spurred great interest in its potential role in the regulation of energy expenditure. Evidence in support of a role for the .beta.3AR in the development of obesity and NIDDM include: i) .beta.3AR expression is markedly decreased in rodent models of obesity (Collins, et al., Mol. Endocrinol., 8:518-527, 1994; and Muzzin, et al., J. Biol Chem., 266:24053-24058, 1991); ii) .beta.3AR gene knock-out mice have a marked reduction in .beta.-agonist stimulated lipolysis; iii) insulin downregulates .crclbar.3AR expression in vitro with a concomitant decrease in lipolysis and increase in lipogenesis (Feve, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci, 91:5677-5681, 1994); and iv) .beta..sub.3 -specific agonists have potent antiobesity and antidiabetic effects in both animals (Hims-Hagen, et al., Am. J. Physiol, 266:R1371-1382, 1994; and Connacher, et al., Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 55:258S-261S, 1992) and humans (Mitchell, et al., Int. J. Obes., 13:757-766, 1989).
There is a need to identify genes and defects in those genes that are directly related to obesity and diabetes. Such genes are useful as molecular markers for the early detection of susceptible individuals so that intervention regimes may be instituted for delay or prevention of obesity/diabetes disorders. A delay in the onset of diabetes would markedly reduce morbidity and mortality due to chronic complications. Further, identification of specific susceptibility genes would allow for the design of more effective medications having specific molecular targets.

Polypeptide for obesity and type II diabetes mellitus

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine


A flow diode configured to permit fluid flow in a first direction while preventing fluid flow in a second direction opposite the first direction is disclosed. The flow diode prevents fluid flow without use of mechanical closures or moving parts. The flow diode utilizes a bypass flowline whereby all fluid flow in the second direction moves into the bypass flowline having a plurality of tortuous portions providing high fluidic resistance. The portions decrease in diameter such that debris in the fluid is trapped. As fluid only travels in one direction through the portions, the debris remains trapped in the portions.

In many fluid transport applications, it is advantageous to permit fluid flow in one direction while preventing reverse flow. This function is generally provided by a valve having a mechanical closure configured to move against a wall of the valve to prevent fluid flow in one direction.
For example, a check valve, clack valve, non-return valve or one-way valve is a mechanical device that permits fluid to flow through it in only one direction. Check valves are two-port valves, meaning they have two openings in the body, one for fluid to enter and the other for fluid to leave. There are various types of check valves used in a wide variety of applications.
Check valves are also frequently used to control fluid pressure in a cavity or across a fluid conduit. Fluid is permitted to flow in one direction until a certain, predetermined pressure is achieved. Then, the valve actuates to prevent fluid movement into the cavity or conduit.
No matter what application, reliability of valves is essential for proper operation and for maintaining the pressure. Very often if the fluid contains particles or debris, the mechanical closure becomes stuck such that it becomes a barrier for the fluid flowing in the desired direction. In addition, like any mechanical component with moving parts, one of the mechanical parts may fail. Depending on the application, such a mechanical failure can cause further damage to the respective system or possibly even failure of an entire system. Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for an apparatus for controlling fluid flow having improved reliability and/or fewer mechanical components.

Flow diode and method for controlling fluid flow origin of the invention

The United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration


The radiation imaging apparatus includes a radiation source for irradiating an object, a radiation image detector having a radiation-receiving plane that receives radiation from the radiation source through the object, for detecting a radiation image of the object, a shape information acquiring device for acquiring shape information that represents a shape of the object and a shape information display device that displays the shape information such that it reproduces a position of the object as occurs when the shape information is acquired. The radiation imaging method takes a first radiation image of a first object and generates shape information which represents the shape of the first object, inverts the shape information and displays inverted shape information such that it reproduces a position of the first object and takes a second radiation image of a second object.

The present invention relates to the technical field of radiation imaging (radiation image taking/recording), in particular, to an apparatus and a method for radiation imaging by which the right and left breasts of a subject can be taken with proper register attained between their positions in mammography.
In breast cancer screening, the success rate of early detection that is achieved through physical examination by inspection and palpation only is improved if it is combined with mammography by a radiation image taking apparatus solely intended for breasts (which is hereinafter referred to as a breast imaging apparatus); hence, breast cancer screening that is currently practiced involves the use of a breast imaging apparatus in addition to (or in place of) inspection and palpation.
The breast imaging apparatus comprises an imaging table enclosing a radiation image recording medium (which is hereinafter referred to as an imaging medium); to operate it, the breast is placed on the imaging table, compressed with a press plate, irradiated with a radiation from the press plate side; the radiation transmitted through the breast is received by the imaging medium and its radiation image is taken on the imaging medium.
Diagnosis on radiation images can be performed with greater ease if the radiograph of interest is interpreted in comparison with a reference image. For this reason, mammography is commonly performed with the images of the right and left breasts of a subject being placed side by side for interpretation and diagnosis.
For proper diagnosis, it is preferred that the right and left breasts are imaged symmetrically. To this end, the (imaging) radiologist may adjust the positions of the breasts and the like (perform positioning) while they are compressed with a press plate; however, the current practice of breast radiography largely depends on the skill of the radiologist for proper adjustment of breast position and the like.
JP 2005-261846 A, JP 2006-43187 A, and JP 2006-55419 A show techniques in which, for the purpose of performing diagnosis with the images of the right and left breasts placed side by side, the image data obtained by imaging (taking/recording) the right and left breasts are processed to extract the breast images, which are brought into register and synthesized into a single image.

Apparatus and method for radiation imaging


The invention is concerned with enabling substantially anonymous purchases of media products or other products (or access to an on-line service) to be made on-line. In order to initiate a purchasing session, consisting of one or more purchasing transactions, the purchaser authenticates himself to a home provider computer (3) which ten allots an anonymous client identifier (clientID) to the client for the purposes of that session. The purchaser (1) contacts a vendor computer (6), using the anonymous identifier (clientID) and an anonymising HTTP proxy, in order to place an order for one or more products or services for which the vendor computer has the right to authorize delivery. In order to obtain delivery of the product or service from the repository computer (5), the purchaser (1) provides the clientID to the repository computer (3).

Today, when you walk into a shop and purchase a physical CD (or any other media) it is possible to do that with reasonable anonymity. If you pay with cash, the vendor does not know who you are. If you pay by credit card, it would be possible for the vendor to track purchases made on that card, but that is generally not done. In any event, the credit card company (or your bank) does not learn exactly what product you have bought, and cannot track your usage of that product.
In a digital world, where products are delivered digitally (through downloading or streaming over the internet), the situation is somewhat different. Existing solutions (Adobe's PDF Merchant/WebBuy, IBM's Electronic Media Management System, Intertrust's MetaTrust Utility, Microsoft's Windows Media™ Rights Manager and Xerox's ContentGuard) all aim to maximise information collected about the individual, including purchase and usage information.
Recent high profile cases have highlighted how easy it is for on-line companies to assemble profiles of individuals. As an increasing amount of media is distributed over the internet, rather than physically, this problem will become worse.

Method and system for controlling the on-line supply of digital products or the access to on-line services

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An air discharge nozzle and method for vehicles having a grill which has a high degree of visual opacity to enhance design aesthetics, low impedance to air flow so that the face velocity remains high, and which does not significantly affect directionality of the air as imparted to the air stream by an upstream control mechanism. The grill is comprised of a monolayer of polygonal cells in an array of cells, each cell being bounded by planar walls having a depth "L" interstitial thickness "T" and a diameter or major dimension "D", wherein the interstitial depth L is short enough such that the planar walls do not act as vanes to significantly affect directionality of the air, the interstitial thickness T has a value such that the impedance to air flow is low, and the length to diameter ratio L/D is no greater than about 0.7 and no less than about 0.3, such that the relative visual opacity of the grill when viewed from any angle is high. The open cell area Ao must be at least about 76% of the available (total) area to obtain an acceptable 1800 ft/min face velocity at a blower pressure of 0.24 inches H.sub.2 O.. The upstream directionality control mechanism includes an open intruder frame having converging walls. The intruder frame has an axially projecting control shaft which carries a spherical member frictionally received in a spherical socket formed in the grill such that the control shaft can easily be manually manipulated.

This invention relates to a nozzle for discharging air from an air supply into an enclosed space, such as a room, or to a vehicle interior, having a control device for controlling deflection of air from the nozzle through a grill having a high degree of visual opacity to obscure elements behind the grill while maintaining a high face velocity and without significantly affecting or impairing deflection of the air stream as imparted thereto by the upstream intruder control member.
Current nozzle grills, as found in vehicles, for example, are very transparent visually in that large areas behind the grill can be seen at even large off-axis angles, up to 70 degrees. Many grills are thin perforated metal or plastic sheets which, while having relatively high visual opacity, cause a drop or loss in air stream face velocity. When the thickness (T) of the physical interstitial structure forming the grill is reduced, with a concurrent increase in the face velocity (e.g. reduction in losses), the visual opacity decreases and large areas behind the grill can be seen. When the physical thickness T of the interstitial material is made thin with vane-like depth L, the grill material interferes with the directionality imparted to the air stream by the upstream control device.
In Stouffer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,890 an air nozzle having an open frame plate intruder member is disclosed for controlling the directionality of air discharged from the nozzle. In Jackson U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,551, front plates and directionality control is achieved by relative lateral movements between the front and back plates and the only part of the grill which is visible is the front plate. A somewhat similar directionality control scheme is illustrated in Elfverson U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,582. In Gona et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,293 commonly adjusted parallel vanes are used for directionality control.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved air discharge nozzle, and, especially a discharge nozzle, particularly useful for vehicle interiors. A specific object of the invention is to provide an air discharge nozzle and method for vehicles having a grill which has a high degree of visual opacity to enhance design aesthetics, low impedance so that the face velocity remains high, and which does not significantly affect directionality of the air as imparted to the air stream by an upstream control mechanism and which, preferably, can be molded. Another specific object of the invention is to provide an improved directionality control mechanism.
According to the invention, the grill is comprised of a monolayer of polygonal cells in an array of cells, each cell being bounded by planar walls having a depth "L" interstitial thickness "T" and a diameter or major dimension "D", wherein the interstitial depth L is short enough such that the planar walls do not act as vanes to significantly affect directionality of the air as imparted by the upstream directionality control mechanism, the interstitial thickness T has a value such that the impedance to air flow is low and the ratio of T/D is such that there is low friction losses at the grill and the length to diameter ratio L/D is no greater than about 0.7 and no less than about 0.3, such that the relative visual opacity of the grill when viewed from any angle is high. In order to accommodate modern molding practices, in the preferred embodiment, the depth L is no greater than about 5 times the interstitial thickness T. In the preferred embodiment, the open cell area Ao must be at least about 76% of the available (total) area to obtain an acceptable 1800 ft/min face velocity at a blower pressure of 0.24 inches H.sub.2 O. As defined herein, visual opacity ranges from 0 percent for an open nozzle (e.g. no grill) to where the grill is in place 24 percent is obscured when the observer is looking directly on the cells and the observer's viewing angle changes from an axial alignment with the cells and becomes more and more visually opaque to where, in the case of the L/D ratio of 0.67 or a 56 degree viewing angle equals 100 percent opacity.
The upstream directionality control mechanism includes an open intruder frame having an upstream bounding edge joined to its downstream boundary edge by converging walls so that the cross-sectional area of the total shadow area of the frame projected on a plane normal to the axial center is essentially constant so that the impedance to air flow is essentially constant. A cross member joined to the frame member has an axially projecting control shaft which carries a spherical member frictionally received in a spherical socket formed in the grill such that the control shaft can easily be manually manipulated. When the end of the shaft projects beyond the grill in the form of a control knob, the knob points in the direction the air is caused to flow. Moreover, since the intruder is an open frame, the amount of angular movement of the control shaft is significantly reduced.


A bifurcated graft having a trunk portion and two limb portions, each defined by a docking end and a non-docking end, that is assembled in-situ. The trunk and limb portions are supported by a combination of full and partial stent structures that are connected by longitudinal stent struts to form a continuous stent lattice. The diameters of the docking sections may be standardized such that any limb portion may be inserted into any trunk portion, providing the same degree of mechanical interference for trunk and limb portions having non-docking ends of various diameters.

This invention relates to intraluminal grafts for repairing defects in arteries and other lumens within the body. More particularly, the present invention relates to modular systems for forming endovascular grafts for implantation and assembly in-situ for repairing defective body lumens.
An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a sac caused by an abnormal dilation of the wall of the aorta as it passes through the abdomen. The aorta is the main artery of the body, supplying blood to various organs and parts of the body. It arises from the left ventricle of the heart, passes upward, bends over and passes down through the thorax and through the abdomen, and finally divides into the two iliac arteries which supply blood to the pelvis and lower extremities. The aneurysm ordinarily occurs in the portion of the aorta below the kidneys. When left untreated, the aneurysm will eventually cause the sac to rupture with ensuing fatal hemorrhaging in a very short time. The repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms has typically required major abdominal surgery in which the diseased and aneurysmal segment of the aorta is removed and replaced with a prosthetic device, such as a synthetic graft.
As with all major surgeries, there are many disadvantages to the foregoing surgical technique, the foremost of which is the high mortality and morbidity rate associated with surgical intervention of this magnitude. Other disadvantages of conventional surgical repair include the extensive recovery period associated with such surgery; difficulties in suturing the graft to the aorta; the loss of the existing thrombosis to support and reinforce the graft; the unsuitability of the surgery for many patients, particularly older patients exhibiting co-morbid conditions; and the problems associated with performing the surgical procedure on an emergency basis after the aneurysm has already ruptured.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages of conventional surgical repair techniques, techniques have been developed for repairing abdominal aortic aneurysms by intraluminally delivering an aortic graft to the aneurysm site through the use of a catheter based delivery system, and securing the graft within the aorta using an expandable stent. Since the first documented clinical application of this technique, the technique has gained more widespread recognition and is being used more commonly. As vascular surgeons have become more experienced with this endovascular technique, however, certain problems have been encountered.
One problem has been the difficult nature of the procedure. Another problem has been the kinking and/or twisting of the graft both during and after the graft has been implanted. Still other problems relate to the need for accurate preoperative measurements to be made on the morphology of the aneurysm and the surrounding arterial structure, including the length of the aneurysm, the infrarenal aortic length and diameter, the length and diameter of the aorta between the aneurysm and the iliacs, the diameter of the iliacs, and the angle between the iliacs and the aorta. The difficulty in making these measurements accurately and the wide variations in these measurements among patients mandates that the bifurcated grafts be available in a wide range of sizes and configurations.
Endovascular repair of the abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) using a stent/graft prosthesis that is assembled in-situ is gaining acceptance due to reduced surgical complications, and providing an alternative solution for patients that cannot be treated surgically. However, the large degree of variation in the geometry and dimensions of vascular anatomy from patient to patient poses a problem for the physician in selecting a device, and for the manufacturer in the number of parts required in inventory.
Current modular bifurcated systems are often designed to specific trunk-to-limb diameter ratios (e.g. a stent with a 24 mm trunk will have 12 mm limbs) and most designs have one or both limb(s) pre-attached to the trunk. Also, current modular bifurcated stents are often designed with a limited amount of adjustability in length. If a two-piece system already has one limb attached to the trunk, there is a fixed length for one side of the device. Furthermore, the contralateral limb (or each limb in a three-piece device) typically has a narrow insertion range. These approaches limit the choices that a physician has in selecting a device for a given patient, and potentially excludes patients with abnormal vasculature.
Therefore, there exists a need for a bifurcated graft and an implantation method which will overcome the foregoing deficiencies of the prior art. More particularly, there exists a need for a modular graft system which will more accurately accommodate the widely varying arterial sizes in patients, as well as the other size considerations now faced by the surgeon. The present invention addresses these and other needs.

Universal length sizing and dock for modular bifurcated endovascular graft


A method for fabricating a patterned recording medium includes providing a workpiece with a non-magnetic substrate and at least one overlying magnetic layer, laminating a thermal insulation barrier partially in a soft under layer of one of the at least one magnetic layers and forming a topographical pattern including a plurality of trenches in the soft under layer. Blocks of track triplets are formed between adjacent trenches that are magnetically and thermally insulated from other adjacent blocks of track triplets.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to heat assisted magnetic recording. In particular, embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and apparatus for heat assisted magnetic recording using a patterned recording medium and a method of manufacturing a patterned recording medium used in heat assisted magnetic recording.
2. Related Art
Heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) generally refers to the concept of locally heating a recording medium to reduce the coercivity of the recording medium so that an applied magnetic field can more easily direct the magnetization of the recording medium during the temporary magnetic softening of the recording medium caused by the heat source. HAMR has been proposed as a means by which the recording density of hard disc drives may be extended to 1 Tb/in2 or higher. Current conventional hard disc drive technology is limited by the superparamagnetic limit, which causes the small magnetic grains needed for high density recording media to gradually lose their magnetization state over time due to thermal fluctuations. By using HAMR, the magnetic anisotropy of the recording medium, (i.e., its resistance to thermal demagnetization), can be greatly increased while still allowing the data to be recorded with standard recording fields. For example, a laser beam, acting as a heat source, heats an area on the recording medium (called an "optical hot spot") that is to be recorded and temporarily reduces the anisotropy in just that area sufficiently so that the applied recording field is able to set the magnetic state of that area. After cooling back to the ambient temperature, the anisotropy returns to its high value and stabilizes the magnetic state of the recorded mark.
The main difficulty with HAMR has been discovering a technique that is able to conduct sufficient light energy into the recording medium to heat it by several hundred degrees, but only in the area that is desired to be recorded, which typically will have dimensions on the order of 25 to 50 nm if the recording density is 1 Tb/in2. If the optical hot spot is larger than this area, it will extend to neighboring bits and tracks on the recording medium, and by heating those areas as well, the data recorded in those areas will be erased. Confining the optical hot spot to an area that is much smaller than a wavelength of light, and well below a so-called "diffraction limit" that can be achieved by standard focusing lenses, is an area of study called "near field optics" or "near field microscopy." Conventional techniques have been described for confining light to 20 nm spots or smaller. However, these techniques have not demonstrated a capability for delivering a substantial amount of optical power to the sample within that small spot.
Several drawbacks exist with the near field optics technique of confining the optical hot spot. In general, a near field optics system generates high thermal gradients that define a written bit in both the down track and cross track directions in the presence of a low gradient field that flips the magnetization within the optical hot spot. The thermal conductivity of the recording medium is high so as to generate high thermal gradients but this requires higher power from the laser. Thus, one drawback with the near field optical technique is the requirement of a device or method to concentrate the laser beam in the desired spot efficiently.
Another drawback with the near field optical technique is exposing only one track of the recording medium at a time to the optical hot spot, which causes the spot to be very small. This requires greater concentration of the laser beam resulting in reduced efficiency (i.e., the power in the recording medium divided by the total laser power). When the size of the optical hot spot is much less than the wavelength of the light, it is very difficult to obtain acceptable efficiency because most of the light reflects off the aperture even with cleverly designed electron plasma resonance structures. For example, a 1 Tb/Sq system with a bit aspect ratio of 4 (i.e., bpi/tpi=4) would need a spot size of about 60 nm. This is only 13% of the wavelength of blue light. Thus, the efficiency problem is severe.
An even greater disadvantage with the near field optics technique is the requirement to co-locate the optical hot spot and the write field of the read/write head. This arrangement greatly compromises the write field gradient that is obtainable from the read/write head so that the transition must be defined mainly by the thermal gradient. Also, from a design and manufacturing perspective, it is much difficult to optimize the magnetic field and thermal structures simultaneously in a single structure.
Therefore, the need arises for a HAMR system that can extend magnetic recording to higher density by thermally lowering the coercivity of the recording medium in an optical hot spot during a write operation and thus, achieve a higher coercivity recording medium with greater room temperature thermal stability for write operations. The need also arises for a HAMR system that confines the optical hot spot to a narrow region as not to heat adjacent tracks causing adjacent track erasures for many write operations and mitigates the problem associated with combing the magnetic and thermal write operations in the HAMR system.

Storage apparatus having a recording medium with a thermal insulation barrier