A method of performing a medical procedure is provided. The medical procedure includes stimulation of a patient's heart while stimulating a nerve of the patient in order to modulate the patient's inflammatory process. More particularly, the medical procedure includes pacing the ventricles of the patient's heart while stimulating the vagal nerve of the patient. Systems and devices for performing the medical procedure are also provided.

Despite major advances in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, as is evident from the substantial decline in mortality due to acute myocardial infarction and strokes in the United States and in most European countries, national statistics indicate that the incidents and prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF) have been increasing in recent years. Patients with CHF have an impaired quality of life and a shortened life expectation. CHF is defined generally as the inability of the heart to deliver enough blood to the peripheral tissues to meet metabolic demands. Although angiotensin-converting enzymes (ACE) inhibitors have been shown to modify the natural course of CHF reducing the mortality rate by 30%, the underlying disease continues to evolve, becoming progressively unresponsive to common drugs, until eventually intravenous inotropic support is needed. At end-stage, heart transplantation becomes the only therapeutic option.
It has been suggested that heart failure progresses as a result of the over-expression of biologically active molecules that are capable of exerting toxic effects on the heart and circulation (Bristow, 1984; Tan et al, 1991; Dunn 2003). Furthermore, several studies have demonstrated that congestive heart failure (CHF) patients are characterized by persistent immune activation (Damas et al., 2001). In fact, many aspects of the syndrome of heart failure, for example, left ventricular dysfunction, pulmonary edema, cardiomyopathy, endothelial dysfunction, anorexia and cachexia, can be caused by the biological effects of pro-inflammatory cytokines resulting from persistent activation of surrounding cells. Secondly, the pattern of expression of pro-inflammatory mediators is very similar to that observed with the classical neurohormones such as angiotensin II and norepinephrine that are believed to play an important role in the progression of heart failure (Mann, 1999). Together, these findings support the rationale for targeting inflammatory mediators, or cytokines, in heart failure.
Inflammation is often induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-18, interferonγ, platelet activating factor (PAF), macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIP), and other compounds (Thompson, 1998—book). These factors are produced by a variety of different cell types, most importantly immune cells but also non-immune cells such as smooth muscle cells and neurons (Yeh & Schuster, 1999). Pro-inflammatory cytokines contribute to a variety of diseases through their release which often results in an inflammatory cascade of both cellular and systemic events. Mammals respond to and regulate inflammatory cascades in part through nervous system regulation, (Besedovsky et al., 1986; Gaykema et al., 1995; Fleshner et al., 1998; Watkins and Maier, 1999)
Pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNFα and IL-1β modulate cardiovascular functions by a variety of mechanisms. For example, cytokines can depress myocardial contractility (Yokokyam et al., 1993; Gulick et al., 1989; Finkel et al., 1992), induce cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and iterstitial fibrosis (Yokoyama et al., 1997; Hirota et al., 1999) and promote cardiomyocyte apoptosis and collagen production (Krown et al. 1996; Pulkki, 1997; Li et al., 2000). Interestingly, TNF, IL-1β, and IL-6 are expressed in direct relation to worsening New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification (Diwan et al., 2003). In addition, there is increasing evidence that many of the conventional therapies for heart failure may work, at least in part, through the modulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. For example, administration of angiotensin type-1 receptor antagonists and/or β1-selective adrenergic antagonists lead to decreases in circulating levels of inflammatory mediators in patients with heart failure.
Traditional therapies for treating heart failure include the administration of ACE inhibitors and/or vasodilators. More recently, agents designed to reduce inflammation, for example, enfliximab—Remicade, etanercept—Enbrel, pentoxifylline, intravenous immunoglobulin, have been used in combination with the traditional therapies with mixed results.
Therapies aimed solely at reducing the pro-inflammatory mediator TNF, e.g., enfliximab—Remicade and etanercept—Enbrel, have resulted in negative clinical trials. Two large pivotal trials were halted early due to a lack of improvement with treatment (RECOVER and RENAISSANCE for etanercept). A third study investigating the use of enfliximab was stopped due to an increased incidence of mortality and hospitalization for worsening CHF. Although successful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's, these agents are known to be intrinsically toxic to the heart. Additionally, their mechanism of action is not sufficient to reduce cardiac inflammation.
While the rationale for targeting the pro-inflammatory cascade in heart failure is well established, current therapies have failed to target pro-inflammatory mediators with agents that can be safely used in the context of heart failure. Additionally, these failed attempts suggest that targeting a single component (ie cytokine) of the inflammatory cascade may not be sufficient in a disease as complex as heart failure. Instead, an approach that harnesses more higher order functions, such as the nervous system's ability to regulate inflammatory functions, may be more effective in modulating the entire inflammatory cascade.
Recently it has been shown that electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve is capable of ameliorating immune activation (Borovikova et al., 2000; Guarini et al., 2003) and is therefore useful in inhibiting inflammatory cytokine cascades that mediate several disease conditions. This discovery is based on the finding that treatment of a pro-inflammatory cytokine producing cell with a cholinergic agonist attenuates the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines from that cell (Borovikova et al., 2000a—Nature and Boroviokova et al., 2000b—Auton Neurosci). Subsequent findings demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve fibers causes the release of acetylcholine which acts on the pro-inflammatory cytokine producing cells in-vivo to attenuate an inflammatory response. Stimulation of the vagus nerve is capable of reducing the exacerbated pro-inflammatory immune response induced by endotoxin or hemorrhagic shock. The significant body of evidence demonstrating sustained expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines produces detrimental effects in the heart suggests that vagal nerve stimulation may ameliorate these effects. In addition, cardiac vagal activity is diminished in chronic heart failure.
Vagal nerve stimulation increases vagal tone, which produces antiarrhythmic effects and vasodilation. Depending on the chosen location of stimulation, vagal stimulation may exert beneficial effects in CHF in addition to modulating the pro-inflammatory response. For example, vagal stimulation increases the density of cardiac noradrenergic plexuses, increase cardiac blood supply and improve ventricular contractility (Zamotrinsky, 2001). In the present invention, stimulation of the vagus to modulate the inflammatory response during pacing of the heart may also operate through other pathways to restore autonomic balance.
A number of proposals have been proposed to target specific cytokines and/or the entire inflammatory cascade to treat congestive heart failure through biologics and pharmaceutical means as described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,537,540, 5,998,386, 6,221,851, 6,572,895, 5,977,408 and 6,589,954 all incorporated herein by reference. The medical literature also discloses treatment strategies to inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokines (Diwan et al., 2003; MacGowan and McNamara, 2002; Damas et al., 2001; Greenberg et al., 2001; Francis, 1998), all incorporated herein by reference. These approaches have focused predominately on inhibiting single cytokines rather than targeting the broad inflammatory cascade of events. The negative clinical trials demonstrate that the past treatment strategies aimed at inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines did not demonstrate clinical benefit for patients with CHF. It appears that an effective immuno-modulation strategy in the heart must target pre-translational (intracellular) TNF rather than soluble/cell surface TNF, as well as the more broad inflammatory cascade.
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) targets pro-inflammatory agents at the requisite point in their exacerbation, making VNS a useful strategy to resist cardiac inflammation. For example, PCT patent application no. WO 01/89526, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method of electrically stimulating the efferent vagal nerve to inhibit the pro-inflammatory cytokine cascade to treat congestive heart failure.
Stimulation of the vagus nerve has been proposed to control various heart rate functions in patients suffering from heart failure. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,644 discloses stimulating the vagus nerve to modulate heart rate and U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,326 discloses an anti-arrhythmia pacemaker wherein electrical stimulation is delivered to a patient's vagal cervical ganglion, both incorporated herein by reference.
In the normal human heart, the sino-atrial (SA) node, generally located near the junction of the superior vena cava and the right atrium, constitutes the primary natural pacemaker initiating rhythmic electrical excitation. The cardiac impulse arising from the SA node is transmitted through the atrial conduction pathways of Bachmann's bundle and internodal tracts at the atrial level, thereby causing the two atrial chambers to contract. The contraction of the atrial chambers pumps blood from those chambers into the respective ventricular chambers. The excitation impulse is further transmitted to the ventricles through the atrio-ventricular (AV) node, and via a conduction system comprising the Bundle of His, or Common Bundle, the right and left bundle branches, and the Purkinje fibers. In response, the ventricles contract, the right ventricle pumping unoxygenated blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs and the left ventricle pumping oxygenated blood through the aorta and arterial tree throughout the body. Disruption of this natural pacing and conduction system as a result of aging or disease is often successfully treated by artificial cardiac pacing using an implantable pulse generator, from which rhythmic electrical pulses are applied to the heart at a desired rate. One or more heart chambers may be electrically paced depending on the location and severity of the conduction disorder, see U.S. Patent Publication No. 2001/0049543, incorporated herein by reference.
A common type of intra-atrial conduction defect is known as intra-atrial block (IAB), a condition where the atrial activation is delayed in getting from the right atrium (RA) to the left atrium (LA). In left bundle branch block (LBBB) and right bundle branch block (RBBB), the activation signals are not conducted in a normal fashion along the right or left bundle branches respectively. Thus, in a patient with bundle branch block, the activation of the ventricle is slowed, and the QRS is seen to widen due to the increased time for the activation to traverse the conduction path.
In patients suffering from CHF, the right and left heart chambers may not contract in synchrony with each other. In such cases, cardiac output deteriorates because the contractions of the right and left heart chambers are not synchronized sufficiently to pump blood. It is believed that cardiac output can be significantly improved when left and right chamber synchrony is restored. In fact, clinical investigation performed on patients who suffer from heart failure (i.e., inability of the heart to pump the required amount of blood) indicates that for a certain subset of these patients simultaneous stimulation of the left and right ventricles may be advantageous.
In the cardiac cycle, a P wave of a patient's electrocardiogram (ECG) is produced by a depolarization of the atrial fibers just before they contract, and, when the cardiac impulse reaches the ventricular fibers to stimulate them into depolarization, a QRS complex is produced just before contraction of the ventricular walls. This is followed by a T wave which is indicative of the electrical activity occurring upon repolarization of the ventricular fibers. Simultaneous stimulation of the left and right ventricles can be beneficial therapy to patients whose ECG displays a marked desynchronization in contraction of the two ventricular chambers. In such cases, it is observed that after a right ventricular stimulation, considerable time may elapse for the cardiac impulse to travel from the apex of the right ventricle through the septum and to the free wall of the left ventricle, with the septum contracting earlier than the latter. Consequently, the mechanical forces of the ventricular contraction are less favorable for an effective hemodynamic output in such patients. The duration or width of the QRS complex may increase because of an injury to the Purkinje fibers that in habit and stimulate the ventricular septum and the lateral ventricular walls, and which could therefore increase the time for the impulse to spread throughout the ventricular walls. Patients who display a lack of ventricular synchronization primarily exhibit a wide QRS complex indicative of a bundle branch block—generally a LBBB.
A number of proposals have been proposed for providing pacing therapies to restore synchronous depolarization and contraction of a single heart chamber or right and left, upper and lower, heart chambers as described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,403,356, 5,797,970, 5,902,324, 5,720,768 and 5,792,203 all incorporated herein by reference. The proposals appearing in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,937,226, 4,088,140, 4,548,203, 4,458,677, 4,332,259 are summarized in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,928,688 and 5,674,259, all incorporated herein by reference. The advantages of providing sensing in addition to pacing in both the right and left heart chambers is addressed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,928,688 and 5,674,259, as well as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,354,497, 5,174,289, 5,267,560, 5,514,161, and 5,584,867, also all incorporated herein by reference.
The medical literature also discloses a number of approaches of providing multi-chamber pacing as set forth in: Daubert et al., "Permanent Dual Atrium Pacing in Major Intra-atrial Conduction Blocks: A Four Years Experience", PACE (Vol. 16, Part II, NASPE Abstract 141, p. 885, April 1993); Daubert et al., "Permanent Left Ventricular Pacing With Transvenous Leads Inserted Into The Coronary Veins", PACE (Vol. 21, Part II, pp. 239-245, January 1998); Cazeau et al., "Four Chamber Pacing in Dilated Cardiomyopathy", PACE (Vol. 17, Part II, pp. 1974-1979, November 1994); and Daubert et al., "Renewal of Permanent Left Atrial Pacing via the Coronary Sinus", PACE (Vol. 15, Part II, NASPE Abstract 255, p. 572, April 1992), Cazeau et al., PACE (Vol. 17, November 1994, Part II, pp. 1974-1979), all incorporated herein by reference.
In addition to the above-mentioned disclosures concerning the advantages of substantially simultaneous or synchronous pacing of the two ventricles, it is known that there is an advantage to synchronous pacing of the left atrium and the right atrium for patients with IAB. The advantage of synchronous pacing of the two atria for patients with IAB was disclosed at AHA 1991, Abstract from 64th Scientific Sessions, "Simultaneous Dual Atrium Pacing in High Degree Inter-Atrial Blocks: Hemodynamic Results", Daubert et al., No. 1804. Further, it is known that patients with IAB are susceptible to retrograde activation of the left atrium, with resulting atrial tachycardia. Atrial resynchronization through pacing of the atria can be effective in treating the situation. PACE, Vol. 14, April 1991, Part II, p. 648, "Prevention of Atrial Tachyarrythmias Related to Inter-Atrial Block By Permanent Atrial Resynchronization", Mabo et al., No. 122. For patients with this condition, a criterion for pacing is to deliver a left atrial stimulus before the natural depolarization arrives in the left atrium.
Since the stimulation of the vagus nerve appears to have the desired effect of simultaneously reducing inflammation by targeting multiple components of the inflammatory cascade, VNS in combination with bi-ventricular pacing may provide an improvement to the current therapies for treating and/or managing the multi-faceted syndromes of chronic heart failure. Therefore, it is desirable to provide methods and systems for controllably stimulating the vagus nerve in combination with multi-site pacing of the heart for treating heart failure.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for vagal nerve stimulation with multi-site cardiac pacing


A remote monitor module for power initialization of a computer system includes a monitor logic and a BMC (Baseboard Management Controller). The monitor logic is in circuit connection with a power-up sequence controller and several basic voltage domains on a system board of the computer system. The monitor logic also defines a monitor power-up sequence to perform a basic power-up sequence defined in the power-up sequence controller and allow system changes in power initialization. Extra voltage domain(s) may be enabled and monitored according to the monitor power-up sequence. Eventually, multiple power initialization event/state signals are transmitted by the monitor logic to a remote management host through the BMC.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to remote monitoring, and more particularly to a monitor module for remotely monitoring the power initialization of a computer system.
2. Related Art
Generally, there are two major portions involved in the system initialization process of a computer system. One is before first fetching the initialization codes (BIOS) and the other is after starting to fetch the BIOS. The primary process in the former section is to turn on all basic voltage rails with proper basic power-up sequence, and release reset signals. A typical system chipset(s) usually controls the basic power-up sequence on a system board of the computer system. However, only several common power-related initialization statuses such as "power good indication", "system reset signal status" and etc. are monitored during the system initialization process. For a highly reliable computer system, only monitoring these basic power status signals is lack of implementation flexibility and far behind the control requirements.
Please refer to FIG. 1, which illustrates a typical legacy architecture for monitoring power initialization on a system board. A power-up sequence controller 10, possibly embedded in system chipset(s) or South Bridge, is mainly for controlling the basic power-up sequence of one or more AC (Alternating Current)-DC (Direct Current) power supply 21, DC-DC converters 410, 420, 430, 440 and various basic voltage domains 41, 42, 43, 44. The AC-DC power supply 21 converts AC electricity to several basic DC voltage rails for the basic voltage domains 41, 42, 43, 44. The DC-DC converters 410, 420, 430, 440 converts the basic DC voltage rails to the designed voltage rails and provide to the electrical components 412, 422, 432, 442 involved in the dedicated basic voltage domains 41, 42, 43, 44.
When the system board is turned on with power, the power-up sequence controller 10 needs to transmit basic enable signals Sen to enable the AC-DC power supply 21 and the DC-DC converters 410, 420, 430, 440 according to a basic power-up sequence (FIG. 2) predetermined in a dedicated basic state machine (or sequence machine, not shown) of the power-up sequence controller 10. Specific status monitors 22, 411, 421, 431, 441 detect the output electricity for each of the AC-DC power supply 21 and the DC-DC converters 410, 420, 430, 440, and then send basic valid (or "power good") signals Sv back to the power-up sequence controller 10 if the output electricity is normal.
However, the power-up sequence controller 10 does not monitor every power initialization statuses/events or every voltage rails during the whole system initialization process on the system board. When the power initialization fails, it is possible that the power-up sequence controller 10 cannot verify exactly which voltage rail is malfunctioned. Similarly, some power initialization statuses/events can not be monitored unless a scope or logic analyzer is used.
Besides, some significant components such as CPU(s) require a specific power-up sequence for enabling various voltage rails. But the built-in state machine of the power-up sequence controller 10 generally does not allow any changes involved in the basic power-up sequence. Furthermore, mostly the available power initialization status signals are typically sent to a LED-type indicator (not shown) for board-level management; which is, namely, difficult for remote system management. Using either the logic analyzer or read the LED indicator needs to open the chassis, which is undoubtedly time/effort consuming. Even though in specific implementation these basic power signals may be sent to a local BMC (Base Management Controller) type circuit (BMC 30 in FIG. 1) for remote control, the monitored status/event signals are still limited and lack of flexibility for system changes.

Remote monitor module for power initialization of computer system


A method and system for providing a plurality of lines in a semiconductor memory device is disclosed. The method and system include providing a semiconductor substrate, providing a plurality of lines and providing an adjacent feature. The plurality of lines includes an adjacent line adjacent to the adjacent feature. The each of the plurality of lines has a line width that is substantially the same for each of the plurality of lines. The plurality of lines is preferably formed utilizing a mask to print a physical mask for the plurality of lines and the adjacent feature. The mask includes a mask assist feature between at least a first polygon for the adjacent line and at least a second polygon for the adjacent feature. The mask assist feature has a size that is sufficiently large to affect the width of the adjacent line and that is sufficiently small to prevent a corresponding feature from being printed on the physical mask. The method and system also preferably include removing a second portion of the layer of material exposed by the pattern of the physical mask to form the plurality of lines.

The present invention relates to semiconductor devices, particularly memory devices, and more particularly to a method and system for providing lines of similar size and, therefore, similar characteristics.
Currently, semiconductor memory devices are used for many applications. Semiconductor memory devices typically include memory cells in their core region. Flash memory cells typically include floating gates made of first polysilicon lines formed from a first layer of polysilicon, control gates made of polysilicon word lines formed from a second layer of polysilicon and an insulating layer that separates the control gates from the floating gates. The floating gates are typically separated from the semiconductor substrate by a gate dielectric layer. In addition, select gates are typically provided. The select gates are typically at each end of the word lines. For example, sixteen word lines are typically provided. Before the first word line and after the sixteenth word line, a select gate is provided.
FIG. 1 depicts a conventional method 10 for providing polysilicon lines, such as the word lines, in a memory device, such as a NAND memory device. A conventional mask for use in printing a conventional pattern on a layer of photoresist is provided, via step 12. The conventional mask has a single polygon, or line, for each word line and each select gate to be provided in the polysilicon layer. The select gates, which are adjacent to the word lines, are spaced farther from the first and last word lines than the word lines are spaced from each other.
A second layer of polysilicon for the word lines is provided on the conventional memory device, via step 14. A layer of photoresist is then spun on the second polysilicon layer, via step 16. A conventional pattern is then printed on the photoresist using the conventional mask, via step 18. Thus, a conventional physical mask is formed in step 18. The conventional physical mask covers portions of the second polysilicon layer which will become the word lines and the select gates. The underlying polysilicon layer is then etched, via step 20. Thus, the word lines are formed in step 20. The conventional physical mask is then stripped and conventional processing continues, via step 22.
FIG. 2A depicts a conventional mask 30 provided in step 12 of the conventional method 10. The conventional mask 30 includes polygons 32 and 36 for the select gates. The conventional mask 30 also includes polygons 34-1, 34-2, 34-3, 34-4, and 34-5 for the word lines in the conventional memory device. Although only polygons 34-1 through 34-5 for five lines are depicted, typically a larger number of lines, such as sixteen, are formed. Thus, polygons for sixteen lines are typically provided. The polygons 34-1, 34-2, 34-3, 34-4 and 34-5 are separated by the same spacing, s2, and have the same width, w2. The polygons 32 and 36 have the same width, w1, and are separated from adjacent polygons 34-1 and 34-5, respectively, by the spacing s1. Typically, the spacing si is greater than the spacing s2.
FIG. 2B depicts a portion of the conventional memory device 40 including the conventional physical mask 50 provided in step 18 of the conventional method 10. The conventional memory device 40 includes a substrate 41 and a polysilicon layer 42 that is to be etched to form the word lines and select gates. The conventional physical mask 50 includes conventional lines 52 and 56 corresponding to the select gates. The conventional physical mask 50 also includes conventional lines 54-1, 54-2, 54-3, 54-4 and 54-5 corresponding to the word lines.
FIG. 2C depicts the conventional semiconductor memory device 40xe2x80x2 after the polysilicon lines have been etched in step 22 and the conventional physical mask has been stripped in step 22 of the method 10 depicted in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2C, the conventional memory device 40xe2x80x2 still includes the substrate 41xe2x80x2. However, the polysilicon layer 42 has been etched to form select gates 62 and 66 and word lines 64-1, 64-2, 64-3, 64-4 and 64-5. The select gates 62 and 66 are separated from the adjacent word lines 64-1 and 64-5 by a spacing, s1, of approximately 0.35 micron. The word lines 64-1 through 64-5 are separated by a spacing, s2, of approximately 0.25 micron.
Although the conventional method 10 can be used to form select gates 62 and 66 as well as word lines 64-1, 64-2, 64-3, 64-4 and 64-5, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that optical effects adversely affect the performance of the conventional memory device 40xe2x80x2. Referring to FIGS. 2B and 2C, the conventional lines 52 and 56 have a width, w1, corresponding to the width set by the conventional mask 30 and that is desired for the select gates. The conventional lines 54-2, 54-3 and 54-4 have a width w2 corresponding to the width in the conventional mask 30. Similarly, the conventional lines 54-2, 54-3 and 54-4 are spaced by a distance s2 corresponding to the spacing set by the conventional mask 30. The width of the conventional lines 54-1 and 54-5, however, is affected by the greater distance between the polygons 32 and 34-1 and the polygons 36 and 34-5, respectively. In particular, it is known that optical effects cause structures which are in closer proximity to be printed with a smaller width than structures that are separated by a larger distance. Thus the lines 54-1 and 54-5 are printed with a larger width, w3, than the lines 54-2, 54-3 and 54-4 because a greater distance separates the lines 54-1 and 54-5 from the lines 52 and 56, respectively.
Because the widths of the lines 54-1 and 54-5 are different from the widths of the lines 54-2, 54-3 and 54-4, the widths of word lines 64-1 and 64-5 are different from the widths of word lines 54-2, 54-3 and 54-4. This is depicted in FIG. 2C, which indicates that the word lines 64-1 and 64-5 have a width of w3 while the word lines 64-2, 64-3 and 64-4 have a width of w2. Because the word lines 64-1 and 64-5 have a different width from the remaining word lines 64-2, 64-3 and 64-4, the word lines 64-1 and 64-5 have a different electrical characteristics. Thus, the performance of word lines 64-1 and 64-5 differs from that of word lines 64-2, 64-3 and 64-4. Different performances for different word lines cause differences in the behavior of memory cells in the conventional memory device 40xe2x80x2. Differences in behavior of the memory cells of the conventional memory device 40xe2x80x2 is undesirable.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for providing lines having similar characteristics. The present invention addresses such a need.
The present invention provides a method and system for providing a plurality of lines in a semiconductor memory device. The method and system comprise providing a semiconductor substrate, providing a plurality of lines and providing an adjacent feature. The plurality of lines includes an adjacent line adjacent to the adjacent feature. The each of the plurality of lines has a line width that is substantially the same for each of the plurality of lines. The plurality of lines is preferably formed utilizing a mask to print a physical mask for the plurality of lines and the adjacent feature. The mask includes a mask assist feature between at least a first polygon for the adjacent line and at least a second polygon for the adjacent feature. The mask assist feature has a size that is sufficiently large to affect the width of the adjacent line and that is sufficiently small to prevent a corresponding feature from being printed on the physical mask. The method and system also preferably include removing a second portion of the layer of material exposed by the pattern of the physical mask to form the plurality of lines.
According to the system and method disclosed herein, the present invention provides lines which have substantially the same width and, therefore, substantially the same performance.

Method for improved control of lines adjacent to a select gate using a mask assist feature


A line projector is described which uses a line projector lens for receiving light from a light source which outputs a beam having a non-circular configuration. The lens receives this non-circular beam as an input and redistributes the non-circular input in two directions as rays which form a line of uniform width and intensity along its length and also forms the line with well defined ends.

Laser guidelines have been widely used in industry as visual references for cutting, folding, bending, etc. In its use as a guideline, the laser is required to draw a fine line of light on an object and this line is used as a guide by which cutting, folding, bending, etc. functions are achieved.
One such method employed in producing the guidelines is to rotate a polygonalprismatic mirror at a high speed in the path of a laser beam to make the reflected beam sweep the surface of an object. This method requires a plurality of parts assembled in a complicated structure for rotating the mirror.
Another alignment tool which has been resorted to is the combination of a He-Ne laser with a cylindrical lens attachment on the front for expanding the beam in one direction. However, it has been found that the laser beam varies significantly in intensity and width along its length.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,738, issued May 20, 1986 to Ozaki, sets forth various optical arrangements for projecting a laser beam in a linear pattern such as a line, square, etc. A convex reflector or a concave lens is used to spread a laser beam radically and a cylindrical-concave reflector is relied upon to converge the radially expanded beam linearly to project a line, square, etc. As can be understood from the foregoing description, and one drawback of this approach is that the arrangement is complex and requires a variety of optical elements in strict alignment. Another drawback is that the projected line is non-uniform in width and intensity along its length, as was discussed above in conjunction with the cylindrical lens.
A linear diverging lens is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,299 issued to Ian Powell on May 2, 1989. The lens is a two surface optical element with a relatively sharp radius at its apex and whose primary surface can be closely described by a one surface conical. The lens of the Powell patent, typically, is used in conjunction with a He-Ne laser beam which has an output beam having a circular configuration, and the Powell lens expands this circular beam in one direction to produce a reference line.
A major defect found in the lens of the Powell patent is that it is limited to use with the circular output of a He-Ne laser when being used as a line projector lens and cannot be used to properly function as a line projector lens when used with a laser having an output beam configuration which is non-circular such as an elliptical output beam configuration of a solid state laser diode.
However, it has been found that by using a laser diode in combination with a properly designed lens that a compact line projector device could be produced which would be simple in construction, and inexpensive. Structure of the present invention provides such line projector lens.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a lens which will function as a line projector lens when used with a light source having other than a circular output beam configuration.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a lens which has an anamorphic aspheric line projector surface.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide such a lens which will function to expand an elliptical beam in one direction while compressing it in another direction to form a line of uniform width and intensity with defined ends.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily apparent when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, specifications and claims.


An apparatus for facilitating the making of a calling card telephone call includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a storage device for storing access data to enable access to a central telephone office connected to a telephone network, account data and a telephone number. The apparatus further includes a dialer capable of transmitting and receiving signals to and from the user interface, the telephone network and the central telephone office. The central processing unit, responsive to an entry of the telephone number on the user interface, stores the telephone number in the storage device. Thereafter, the CPU causes the dialer to transmit access data from the storage device, across the telephone network, to initiate communication with the central telephone office. Finally, the CPU, responsive to requests for information from the central telephone office, causes the dialer to transmit the telephone number and the account data in the order requested by the central telephone office, to complete the calling card transaction.

Calling cards are frequently employed in the making of a telephone call. The term "calling card" hereinafter refers to any type of credit account mechanism including, but not limited to a telephone-company-issued card, such as the Bell Atlantic IQ Card and the SNET card, and a combined commercial credit card and telephone card, such as the AT&T Universal Card.
Conventional approaches to implement a calling card telephone call requires numerous, cumbersome, time consuming steps or actions to be taken by a caller. In a typical scenario, a caller who places a calling card telephone call must lift a telephone handset to obtain a dial tone and then manually enter access data on the telephone keypad to initiate communication with a central office which controls the calling card transaction. Upon a connection, the central office prompts the caller for additional information such as the card number, the personal identification number (PIN), if any, and the telephone number of the party to be reached. The caller, thus, must manually enter all of the above-noted information for each call in the transactional sequence prescribed by the central office. The transactional sequence for delivering the above information may vary according to the particular calling card being used and the particular central office which controls the transaction.
The process of placing a calling card telephone call may further be encumbered by requiring the caller to dial special codes (i.e., the number "9") to obtain access to a local exchange and, if necessary, an interexchange access code to connect the caller to his interexchange carrier of choice. Such additional codes are often necessary when calling from a hotel or hospital.
One approach to remedy the above problem is to install phones having magnetic readers such as those found in some airports and high credit card use areas. These special phones allow a caller to charge a call to a credit card. Because so few of these phones exist, a credit card caller must often either wait in line for this special phone or is forced to manually enter the credit card number by way of the keypad on a standard phone set. The magnetic card reader phone is impractical for hotel rooms and many other general locations. Furthermore, these special phones are only applicable to credit card charged calls and not for calling cards which, as described above, require interaction with a central office.
Another approach to solving the above problems is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,857 to McGuire which discloses an automatic telephone calling card. The calling card includes a microprocessor or logic circuit, keypad, storage device, tone generator, speaker and display. Telephone numbers and calling card numbers can be stored in the storage device through the use of the keypad on the card. In order to make a calling card call, the cardholder lifts the handset of a telephone to obtain a dial tone. The cardholder then selects access data to initiate communication with a central office (i.e., 1-800 number), places the card at the mouthpiece of the telephone handset and causes the card to generate a plurality of audio tones representative of the access data. The cardholder then responds to a signal from the central office by placing the card at the mouthpiece of the handset and a plurality of audio tones are generated representative of the card number. The cardholder continues this process until all information required by the central office is provided. Although the cardholder no longer needs to memorize or manually input the telephone numbers and the card number, the use of the card still requires numerous, cumbersome, time consuming steps to make a calling card telephone call.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,352 to Talton also discloses an automatic dialing card for use in automatically dialing account codes and phone numbers into a telephone. The card includes a memory, encoder, speaker, microphone and switch embedded into a circuit board, for inputting and outputting specific information depending on the use of the card. The circuit accesses the account by tones or signals fed through the receiver or direct data input from a small data bus. As with U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,857, the Talton card requires the card holder to place the card at the telephone receiver for each call.
In addition to the problems with automatic dialing cards as described above, both U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,455,857 and 5,452,353 are limited in their applications, particularly to the making of person-to-person calls. Automatic dialing cards cannot be used in connection with other devices such as an internet-ready device (i.e., computer with browser software) or a fax machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,411 to Pellerin discloses an access-control system for a telecommunication network. The system includes a portable memory device card for storing a resident personal identification number (PIN) of a user and a corresponding transaction profile including authorization codes. The card is used in combination with an access-control module (i.e., a terminal) coupled to the network. Such a system is overly complex and requires the use of both the card and the control module to make a calling card call.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need to provide an apparatus for simplifying the operations required of the caller to make a calling card telephone call. There is also a need to provide an apparatus that allows a user to simply enter the telephone number in the making of a calling card telephone call.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which simplifies the task of a card holder when making a calling card telephone call.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which requires minimal input by the card holder when making a calling card telephone call.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus in which the user is only required to enter desired telephone number to make a calling card telephone call.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an apparatus which, in addition to the above, selects the best calling card from a plurality of calling cards.

Apparatus for facilitating the making of a calling card telephone call


To measure a physical parameter, a two-wire sensor produces pulse-width modulated signals (PWM) whose pulse width is preferably modulated as a function of the physical parameter to be measured. To indicate an error or a malfunction, the two-wire sensor provides an error signal with a specifiable pulse-width ratio that is preferably 1:1, while asymmetric pulse-width ratios are provided for the measurement signals (PWM). To measure a physical parameter that assumes only one of two states or values, the two-wire sensor produces a first measurement signal with a specifiable asymmetric pulse-width ratio and a second measurement signal formed by inversion of the first measurement signal. A plurality of two-wire sensors can for example be connected to a common two-wire line and operated in time-multiplex mode.

The invention relates to the field of semiconductor sensors, and in particular to a two-wire sensor.
A two-wire sensor includes a measuring sensor that measures a physical parameter such as for example temperature, pressure, or field strength of a magnetic field, and electronic components for processing the signals delivered by the measuring sensor. Both the power supply and the conducting of the measured and processed measurement signals use only two lines, accounting for the name two-wire sensor. A two-wire sensor has only two terminals that simultaneously serve to supply current and conduct the measured and processed measurement signals.
Two-wire sensors may include contactless magnetic switches which, depending on the strength and direction of the magnetic field to be measured, provide a measurement signal whose current is indicative of field strength. The structural element is passive as seen from outside in the simplest case (the current/voltage characteristic can change in other ways as well if appropriate and its internal resistance changes). When a current is imposed, the voltage that can be tapped changes and when a voltage is impressed, the resultant current changes. Both (also in combination) can be evaluated as a signal on the receiver side. Such two-wire sensors are used for example in motor vehicles as belt buckle switches or position switches. When two-wire sensors are used in safety-relevant areas, high reliability is necessary. In particular, a defective or improperly operating two-wire sensor must be detected in a timely manner.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved two-wire sensor.

Two-wire sensor for measuring a physical parameter


A lightfast additive and an ink composition including the same include a benzophenone moiety for lightfastness and a moiety for wettability and the ability to stabilize a colorant, wherein the two moieties are covalently bonded. The lightfast additive may exhibit effective ultraviolet (UV) light absorption capacity, effective wettability, and an ability to stabilize a colorant. The ink composition utilizing the light fast additive thus has an improved lightfastness and long-term storage stability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lightfast additive and an ink composition including the same, and more particularly, to a lightfast additive that provides lightfastness to a colorant and stabilizes the colorant, and an ink composition including the lightfast additive.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, ink compositions for inkjet printing contain a colorant, such as a dye or pigment, a stabilizer and a dispersing agent, which respectively stabilize and disperse the colorant, an organic solvent, and a wetting agent that prevents drying of the ink composition.
Prints obtained using such ink compositions may be exposed to air, visible light, and ultraviolet (UV) rays over a period of time. UV rays, which have a higher energy level than visible light, raise more serious problems. For example, the whiteness of a printing medium, such as paper, deteriorates and changes to yellow. In addition, color images printed using an ink composition that have poor lightfastness are liable to bleach or discolor. To solve these problems, a lightfast additive that blocks or absorbs UV light has been added to ink compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,346,595 discloses the use of a large molecular weight silicon compound as a lightfast additive. However, this large molecular weight silicon compound exhibits poor miscibility with other components of an ink composition and, due to the large molecular weight, greatly affects the physical properties, for example, the viscosity, of the composition even when the amount of the silicon compound is slightly changed. Accordingly, it is difficult to adjust the amount of the additive used. In addition, although the silicone polymer includes hydrophilic groups in its molecular structure, the hydrophilic group content in the silicone polymer is insufficient to dissolve the compound in water, and more time is required to dissolve the compound. Furthermore, the UV absorbing additive may react with a colorant or other additives in the composition when stored over an extensive period of time, resulting in phase separation and deterioration of long-term storage stability.

Lightfast additive having UV-absorbing moiety and ink composition including the same


An optoelectronic chip assembly including a printed circuit board (PCB) coupled to a substrate, an aperture formed through the printed circuit board and through the substrate, a heat sink, an array of active electro-optical elements mounted in the aperture and connected to a driving chip controlled by the PCB, wherein the driving chip is coupled to the heat sink. Preferably, the assembly further includes a plurality of passive optical elements disposed for optical communication and data transfer with said active electro-optical elements, but thermally isolated therefrom.

Most of the solutions for optical interconnects presented on the market use 1-dimensional arrays of optical sources and receivers. These solutions, which give excellent performance for small arrays, are not scalable and cannot work with a large number of optical sources and receivers. In order to send and transfer a large amount of data, the array approach does not work, and 2-dimensional matrices must be used.
With small arrays, the connection from the electronic elements (drivers on the side of the transmitter and amplifiers on the side of the receiver) to the optical elements (such as VCSELs and photodiodes, accordingly) is carried out by bonding, while the electronic driving chip is relatively simple. When the larger and 2-D matrix is used, the electronic circuits are more complicated and more electrical power is required. Heat dissipation problems are observed and frequently thermo-stabilization is required. Also, connection of a large bundle of lenses and fibers to the matrices of VCSELs and photodiode chips is required, and mechanical, as well as thermal, stability of the resulting assembly is crucial.
In conventional interconnects, either there is no optical interface, or the active optical elements do not generate very much heat, so no heat sink is required, or the active optical elements are mounted on the PCB and cooled by a heat sink.


Provided is a wiring board and production method thereof, wherein production of wiring by a full additive method is achieved. This is extremely useful in forming fine copper wiring featuring a high adhesion on an insulating resin substrate. A resin having an excellent alkali resistance is used as the insulating resin substrate, and the copper wiring is formed on the insulating resin substrate through a degenerated layer containing amide group and a metallic oxide layer of a metal having a reduction potential more base than that of copper. The degenerated layer can be provided by, e.g., introduction of amide group into the surface of the insulating resin substrate. The copper can be formed by processes including electroless plating. The insulating resin substrate has superb heat resistance and dimensional stability, and the formed structure can provide a highly packed wiring board.

The present invention relates to a wiring board and production method thereof, and semiconductor apparatus made up thereof.
Increasing speed and density in LSI technology in recent years have come to require a finer size of electronic circuit wires, a multi-layered structure and further improvement of electric characteristics. To meet these requirements, studies have been made to manufacture multi-layered wiring boards made up of organic insulating materials featuring excellent flatness, heat resistance, dimensional stability and dielectric characteristics.
When copper-made wiring is formed on the organic insulating resin substrate, the biggest problem is how to get a close adhesion between the copper wiring and resin substrate. Conventionally, it was the common practice to improve adhesion with the metallic film deposited on the resin substrate surface through anchoring effect or mechanical entanglement by roughening the resin substrate surface by soft-etching it or by placing rubber component into resin substrate in advance and dissolving it with solvent. This method, however, requires tens of microns of an uneven spot to ensure sufficient adhesion. It has been difficult to create fine wiring having a line width not exceeding tens of microns. It has been required to develop a method of accelerating adhesion which ensures a high adhesion merely by creating an uneven spot sufficiently smaller than wiring/space interval on the surface, wherein adhesion does not degenerate even at a high temperature.
Subtract and additive methods are known as methods for forming copper wiring on the organic insulating resin substrate. The subtract method produces wiring circuits by metalizing copper over the entire substrate, thereafter removing by etching the copper of the portion which is unnecessary as wiring. To metalize copper over the entire substrate, CVD and spatter methods are generally used. According to another proposed method, a thin layer of copper is plated onto the entire substrate by thin electroless copper plating, and electric copper plating is used to deposit a thick layer of copper thereafter. For example, the Patent Official Gazette of Japanese Patent Laid-Open NO.187778/1992 discloses a method of depositing copper onto the entire polyimide to a thickness of about 0.3 xcexcm by electroless plating, following by application to a thickness of about 35 xcexcm by electroplating. The subtract method requires the copper plate having a thickness not less than 10 xcexcm to be etched onto the resin substrate, with the result that the side of the copper wiring line must be etched, and the side close to the substrate of the wiring line becomes thin. This makes it difficult to produce a fine line/space pattern. It has been possible to create a line/space pattern of about 40 xcexcm at most.
The additive method, on the other hand, is a method of producing a circuit pattern on the substrate by resist and depositing conductive metals along said pattern. This method is suited for production of fine wiring because the aspect ratio of copper wiring line is equivalent to the resolution of the resist. This additive method can be further divided into semi-additive and full-additive methods.
According to the semi-additive method, a thin layer of metal is deposited on the entire substrate, then plated resist is created. After that, a thick layer of conductive metal or copper in many cases is plated by electro plating or electroless plating. Subsequent to separation of the resist, the ground metallic film is etched out, thereby producing wiring. It is the common practice to apply a very thin layer of copper by electroless plating onto the copper-plated laminate with copper etched out, and to apply a thick layer of copper by electroplating or electroless plating subsequent to resist formation. After separation of resist, the thin copper film is etched out. This method is suited for the substrate with its surface having tens of microns of an uneven spot, such as the copper-plated laminate with copper etched out, but cannot be used for a more smooth substrate since effective adhesion cannot be ensured. To get higher adhesion, a method is proposed wherein metal other than copper is plated on the substrate; then a thick layer of copper is plated thereto. For example, the Official Gazette of Japanese Patent Laid-Open NO.65061/1998 discloses a method wherein a ground metallic layer is formed on the insulating film by vapor deposition or sputtering dry plating method, and electroless plating followed by electroplating is provided thereon. This method is alleged to permit wiring boards to be produced in a semi-additive method. The ground metallic layer is formed on the insulating substrate, and resist is formed thereon. Then a thick layer of copper is plated by electroplating, and the ground metallic layer is etched out after separation of resist, with the result that fine wiring having dimensions as close to those of the resist is formed. When ground metal and copper coexist, however, it is very difficult to etch only the ground metal. Furthermore, when ground metal is etched out, the copper wiring and ground metal portion thereunder have different width. A slight clearance may be produced between the insulating substrate and ground metal layer. This will raise a problem that, when the wiring board is laminated with insulating adhesive resin, this clearance is not sufficiently filled with adhesive resin, and remains as void.
According to the full additive method, the substrate is provided with plating catalyst; then plated resist is provided. Conductive metal, for example, copper electroless plated, and the resist is separated or is left as permanent resist, as required, thereby producing the wiring board. Since there is no process of etching out the thin ground metallic film, the number of processes is reduced. Since the form of wiring is determined by the form of resist, this method is advantageous to the formation of fine wiring, so the full-additive method is more preferred. Furthermore, even when ground metal other than copper is used, there is no etching process. Since the form of the conductor is determined by the form of resist, there is no problem of a clearance being produced between the insulating substrate and ground metallic layer, as observed in the semi-additive method. However, one of the big problems with the full additive method is that it is difficult to provide electroless plating to the resin substrate with excellent adhesion. A method is proposed to roughen the resin substrate in order to realize tight adhesion. In creating a fine line pattern not exceeding 40 xcexcm, it has been difficult to use the substrate having an uneven spot not less than microns. For this reason, it has been required to develop a method for providing electroless copper plating on the resin substrate having an uneven spot which is sufficiently smaller than width of the line/space pattern, said plating ensuring a high adhesion free from separation even during electroless plating. The Official Gazette of Japanese Patent Laid-Open NO. 72070/1992 discloses that a high adhesion can be obtained by etching the polyimide resin substrate and providing catalyst, followed by electroless plating and heat treatment at 120xc2x0 C. or more. However, this Official Gazette failed to provide a thick layer of one micron or more by electroless plating.
The object of the present invention is to provide a wiring board having a fine wiring layer featuring high adhesion, production method thereof, and semiconductor apparatus.
The present invention relates to a wiring board characterized in that a wiring layer comprising a plated film having a line width of 10 to 40 xcexcm, preferably 15 to 35 xcexcm, and a thickness of 15 to 45 xcexcm, preferably 15 to 35 xcexcm is formed on an insulating resin substrate through the degenerated layer formed on the surface of said insulating resin substrate, and the average roughness at the centerline of said substrate of at least the portion where said wiring layer is formed is equal to or smaller than 1.0 xcexcm, preferably in the range from 0.05 to 0.3 xcexcm.
The present invention is characterized in that a wiring layer is located on the insulating resin substrate, and said wiring layer is formed through the degenerated layer including the amide group formed on said resin substrate surface, and various layers including a metallic oxide layer.
The present invention relates to a wiring board characterized in that said board has wiring on an insulating resin substrate, and said wiring layer is formed through the degraded layer wherein the average roughness at the centerline of said substrate surface formed on the surface of said resin substrate is 0.1 to 1.0 xcexcm, preferably in the range from 0.3 to 0.7 xcexcm, and various layers including a metallic oxide layer formed on the surface of said wiring.
Said wiring layer is preferred to be formed by sequential lamination of a catalyst layer, electroless plated film and electroplated film on the surface of said metallic oxide layer.
The present invention is intended for formation of fine wiring having a line width equal to or smaller than 40 xcexcm with excellent adhesion, and, for this purpose, ensures that the average roughness at the centerline on the surface of the insulating resin substrate is kept equal to or smaller than 1.0 xcexcm. So far, such surface roughness has failed to ensure a high adhesion; however, formation of such fine wiring is provided by the processing adopted in the present invention. Furthermore, the size equal to or smaller than 40 xcexcm can be obtained in the line/space pattern. This size is preferred to be 10 xcexcm, and is more preferred to be in the range from 20 to 35 xcexcm. Such fine wiring can be obtained by using a peeling strength of 300 N/m or more. In particular, the value obtained by a peeling strength (N/m) multiplied by line width (xcexcm) should be equal to or greater than 10,000, preferably equal to or greater than 15,000, and more preferably equal to or greater than 20,000. Peeling strength is preferred to be higher as the line width is smaller. For the wiring layer, the value obtained by multiplying the line width by thickness thereof is preferred to be in the range from 400 to 1200 xcexcm2, and is more preferred to be in the range from 500 to 800 xcexcm2.
The present invention generates amide group by modifying the surface of the resin substrate featuring excellent heat resistance and dimensional stability, and the metal having a reduction potential more base than that of copper is deposited thereon. The oxide layer of said metal is formed at the interface of the two, then copper is deposited on said metal to raise adhesion between the resin substrate and copper and to minimize degeneration of adhesion at a high temperature, thereby getting an extremely reliable wiring board. Copper wiring is formed on the resin substrate according to the full-additive method which is very effective for the formation of fine steel wire having a line width of tens of microns on said resin substrate.
The inventors of the present invention have studied to find out the chemical interaction which improves adhesion between the resin substrate and metal to be deposited, and has succeeded in locating a very powerful interaction is applied between the amide group and metallic oxide film.
The present invention is preferred to be composed of (1) an insulating resin substrate, (2) a metallic film deposited on said insulating resin substrate, (3) a layer including the amide group formed on the surface on the side of said resin substrate at the interface between said metal and said resin substrate, and (4) metallic oxide film formed on the surface on said metallic film side at said interface; and wiring with said metallic film as a conductor is preferably provided on said resin substrate.
The wiring board where wiring with copper as a conductor is provided on the insulating resin substrate according to the present invention is preferred to be formed by sequential lamination of (1) a degenerated layer formed on said insulating resin substrate by plasma treatment of said insulating resin substrate, (2) a metallic oxide layer of the metal having a reduction potential more base than that of copper, (3) a metallic layer of said metal, and (4) a copper layer.
The metal having a reduction potential more base than that of copper according to the present invention is preferred to contain at least one of nickel, tin and cobalt.
In the production of a wiring board wherein wiring with copper as a conductor provided on the insulating resin substrate according to the present invention, the present invention comprises (1) a step of providing plasma treatment on the surface of the resin substrate comprising the resin where the velocity of dissolving the mixture solution of hydrazine and ethylenediamine mixed at the ratio of 7 to 3 does not exceed 1 xcexcm/min. at a solution temperature of 30xc2x0 C., (2) a step of providing the metallic layer of the metal having a reduction potential more base than that of copper on the plasma-treated surface of said resin substrate by electroless plating, (3) a step of forming an oxide layer of said metal at the interface between said metallic layer and said resin substrate in contact therewith, and (4) a step of forming a copper layer on said metallic layer by electroless plating.
In the present invention, plasma treatment is preferred to be provided on the insulating resin substrate in such a way that average roughness at the centerline on the treated surface will be within the range from 0.1 (inclusive) to 1.0 xcexcm (inclusive).
In the present invention, a step of providing plating catalyst on the plasma-treated surface of said resin substrate and a step of forming a plated resist are preferred to be provided between the step of providing plasma treatment on the resin substrate and the step of providing a metallic layer on the plasma-treated surface of said resin substrate.
The wiring board according to the present invention comprises multiple wiring resin layers provided with wiring made up of a metallic conductor on an insulating resin substrate, and has an opening on the surface and a bonding pad to permit electric connection with ICs inside said opening;
wherein said wiring board is characterized in having a conductor comprising a lamination of
(1) a resin layer comprising the resin where the velocity of dissolving the mixture solution of hydrazine and ethylenediamine mixed at the ratio of 7 to 3 does not exceed 1 xcexcm/min. at a solution temperature of 30xc2x0 C.,
(2) a first metallic layer containing at least one of nickel, tin and cobalt, and
(3) a second metallic layer different from the metal contained in said first metallic layer.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a wiring board comprising the lamination of a ceramic wiring board using ceramic as an insulating layer and a resin wiring board using resin as an insulating layer to ensure electric connection between the two;
wherein said wiring board is characterized in having a conductor comprising a lamination of
(1) a resin layer comprising the resin where the velocity of dissolving the mixture solution of hydrazine and ethylenediamine mixed at the ratio of 7 to 3 does not exceed 1 xcexcm/min. at a solution temperature of 30xc2x0 C.,
(2) a first metallic layer containing at least one of nickel, tin and cobalt, and
(3) a second metallic layer different from the metal contained in said first metallic layer.
The present invention provides a method for producing a wiring board where wiring with copper as a conductor is provided on the resin substrate; wherein said method comprises;
(1) a step of using aqueous solution containing alkaline metallic hydroxide to form a layer containing amide group by hydrophilic treatment of the surface of the resin substrate made up of the resin where the velocity of dissolving the mixture solution of hydrazine and ethylenediamine mixed at the ratio of 7 to 3 does not exceed 1 xcexcm/min. at a solution temperature of 30xc2x0 C.,
(2) a step of causing the metal film having a reduction potential more base than that of copper to be deposited on the layer containing said amide group,
(3) a step of causing a metallic oxide film to be deposited on the surface of said metallic film at the interface between said metallic film and said layer containing amide group, and
(4) a step of electroless plating on said metallic film, thereby causing copper to be deposited.
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a wiring board. When one type of metal is used on the resin substrate, an amide group-contained layer 12 or a degenerated layer formed by plasma treatment are located on the resin substrate side at the interface between resin substrate 11 and metallic layer 14, while metallic oxide layer 13 is found on the metallic layer side. When more than one type of metal is used on the resin substrate, a second metallic layer is formed on said metallic layer. Especially when the second metal is copper and copper is formed by electroless plating, the first metal has a reduction potential more base than that of copper.
A highly heat-resistant insulating resin substrate related to the present invention includes polyamide resin, polyimide resin, polybenzoxazole, polyamide-imide resin, polybenzimidazole resin, aramid resin, and epoxy resin. Especially when a thick layer of copper is formed by electroless plating, it is preferred to meet the requirement that the velocity of dissolving the mixture solution of hydrazine and ethylenediamine mixed at the ratio of 7 to 3 does not exceed 1 xcexcm/min. at a solution temperature of 30xc2x0 C.
A highly heat-resistant resin substrate with amide group contained in the skeleton includes polyamide resin and polyamide-imide resin. A highly heat-resistant resin substrate permitting introduction of amide group on the surface by chemical surface treatment includes polyimide resin prepared by dehydration and condensation of acid anhydride and amine, and polybenzoxazole prepared by heating and dehydration of polyamide. For the resin without functional group serving as an amide group, for example, polyethylene and epoxy resin, amide group can be generated by introduction of carboxyl group on the surface by strong acid treatment and by reaction of it with amine. Evaluation of adhesion with metal plated thereon subsequent to surface modification for generation of amide group or plasma treatment has revealed that polyimide resin exhibits an especially high adhesion. This shows that polyimide resin is particularly preferred as a resin substrate.
In the case of plasma treatment, surface shape generally depends on the type of reaction gas to be used. Independently of whether reaction gas to be used is oxygen or nitrogen, adhesion is higher when the average roughness at the centerline on the surface of the degenerated layer is 0.1 xcexcm or more. It has been possible to get close adhesion capable of withstanding the practical process where the peeling strength in the pull-put peel test at 90 deg. is 500 N/m or more at a temperature of 25xc2x0 C. This suggests that oxygen and nitrogen are preferred as reaction gas. From the view point of adhesion, plasma treatment is preferred to be carried out to ensure that average roughness at the centerline on the treated surface on the surface of the degenerated layer including the amide group to be formed will be 0.1 xcexcm or more. On the other hand, if the resin substrate surface is roughened to the extent to which the average roughness at the centerline reaches 1.0 xcexcm or more, uneven spots of wiring cannot be ignored when creating a fine wiring with a line/space interval of 10 to 40 xcexcm, preferably 15 to 30 xcexcm, in particular, about 20 xcexcm. The degenerated layer itself is embrittled. To avoid such problems, the average roughness at the centerline is preferred to be 0.1 xcexcm or more, and 1.0 xcexcm (inclusive) to 0.15 through 0.35 xcexcm.
Nickel, cobalt, titanium and chromium can be cited as examples of the metal having a reduction potential more base than that of copper. The metallic layer and copper can be deposited by sputtering, but use of electroless plating is preferred to create a wiring pattern using the full additive method suited for formation of fine wiring. Said metallic oxide layer can be formed by causing a thin layer of said metal to be deposited on the resin substrate in advance and by subsequent oxidation thereof. Or it can be formed by allowing said metal to be deposited on only one side of the resin substrate and putting it in oxygen atmosphere to supply oxygen to the interface through the resin substrate. Interaction between the surface of the resin substrate subjected to amide group generation and metallic oxide layer requires that they are placed in contact with each other. It does not require particular thickness thereof.
Copper on the top layer can be formed by sputtering or electroplating. However, use of electroless plating is preferred when a wiring board is produced according to full additive method.
A wiring pattern can be produced by (1) so-called subtract method where the wiring pattern is created by etching with a proper resist after metal is deposited on the entire resin substrate, (2) a semi-additive method where resist is applied after a thin layer of of metallic film having been plated on the entire resin substrate, and a thick layer of metal is plated by electroplating or electroless plating, followed by a step of etching out the unwanted portion of the thin layer of metallic film, or (3) a full additive method where conductive wiring is created by plating a thick layer of metal by electroplating or electroless plating after resist has been applied.
To generate a wiring board according to the full additive method, the following process can also be considered: After plating catalyst has been applied to the entire plasma-treated resin substrate, light sensitive dry film is laminated on the resin substrate surface, or light sensitive insulating resin coating solution is coated and dried, and plated resist is formed by exposure and development. Post-exposure and development will be performed if required. Then a metallic layer of the metal having a reduction potential more base than that of copper is formed by electroless plating. An oxide layer is formed at the interface between said metallic layer and said resin substrate by heat treatment carried out after formation of this metallic layer. After removal of the oxide film from the surface of said metallic layer with dilute hydrochloric acid, it is put into an electroless copper plating bath to plate a required volume of copper, thereby completing production of a copper wiring board.
A wiring layer can be laminated by repetition of a step of coating the insulating resin coating solution on the conductive wire and drying it and a step of forming the conductive wiring. The insulating layer is made flat by grinding, as required. When an insulating resin film is used as an insulating layer, conductive wiring is formed on the resin film and conductive wiring sheet is created. Another conductive wiring sheet is laminated thereon with an adequate adhesive sheet held in-between, and heat and pressure is applied, thereby completing lamination. Electric connection between layers can be easily achieved by formation of a via-hole with laser beam and by plating inside the via-hole or filling of conductive paste.
Depending on the purpose of use, the wiring board according to the present invention can be used as a flexible wiring board independently by itself, or can be used as a rigid wiring board when it is mounted on the ceramic or glass plate or silicon wafer. Furthermore, it can be used as an integral wiring board when the wiring board according to the present invention is mounted on the ceramic wiring board, and electric connection between the two is provided. Still further, wiring board according to the present invention allows easy mounting of multiple ICs on the surface; therefore, it can be used as a multi-chip module board. Especially, this is suited as a multi-chip module board where multiple ICs are mounted, since formation of fine copper wiring is ensured by full additive method.
The inventors of the present invention have found out that adhesion is improved by specific functional group and metallic oxide.
When polyimide is treated by alkaline aqueous solution, imide ring is opened close to the surface, and amide group is formed. This has been confirmed by measurement of total reflection infrared absorption spectrum. FIG. 2 shows the total reflection infrared absorption spectrum before and after treatment when Kapton 200H by Dupont is used as polyimide. FIG. 3 shows the difference spectrum. New absorption belts appear in the vicinity of 1650 and 1550 cmxe2x88x921 by surface treatment. They are attributable to amide I and amide II absorption belts, respectively. It can be seen from the changes in the spectrum that the imide ring is open and an amide group is formed. Plating catalyst (HS-101B by Hitachi Kasei) is added on this surface, and electroless copper plating solution (CUST-2000 by Hitachi Kasei) is used to carry out copper plating. The temperature of plating solution was 40xc2x0 C. and plating time was 3 sec. After sufficient drying by vacuum drying subsequent to plating, the test piece was discharged into the air for 24 hours. FIG. 4 shows the changes in said difference spectrum before and after plating. A clear change was observed on amide I and amide II absorption belts before and after plating. This change clearly shows presence of interaction between amide group and copper plated film.
About 30 nm of copper film was deposited on the surface-treated polyimide by said electroless copper plating. A thick layer of about 20 xcexcm of copper was deposited by copper electroplating. Adhesion was evaluated in a peel test. Immediately after copper electroplating, there was almost no peeling strength. When it was left to stand in air, there was a considerable improvement of adhesion with time. Especially when left in the oxygen atmosphere after vacuum drying immediately after copper electroplating, a conspicuous increase in the peeling strength was observed. FIG. 5 shows the secular change of the peeling strength. This result clearly shows that, if copper oxide film is formed at the interface between polyimide and plated steel film, there is a considerable improvement in adhesion of the both. Therefore, a very strong interaction is applied between the amide group and copper oxide, and adhesion is applied. The same result was observed in other types of polyimide and metal except for copper, for example, in the combination of nickel, cobalt and titanium. Furthermore, this result is not restricted to polyimide resin. It was observed in other resins, for example, in polybenzoxazole, polyimide resin and benzimidazole. Namely, it has been found out that the same result can be obtained from introduction of the amide group on the surface of the resin by hydrolyzation.
Authors of the present invention have found out in the peel test that, similarly to the layer containing said amide group, a very strong interaction is applied between the degenerated layer formed by plasma treatment and metallic oxide film; therefore, a very powerful adhesion is ensured.
The authors of the present invention has found out a drastic improvement of adhesion between the resin material and said metallic layer resulting from formation of oxide layer of said metal at the interface, subsequent to formation of the metallic layer of the metal having a reduction potential more base than that of copper by introduction of amide group into the surface of resin material or plasma treatment. They have also found out that a thick layer of copper can be formed on this metallic layer by electroless plating, subsequent to creation of interface of such high adhesion.
Resin material featuring excellent heat resistance, dimensional stability and dielectric characteristics is suitable as a substrate material when using polyimide resin in the wiring board. An important point is that it has an excellent alkali resistance. In the electroless copper plating bath, reaction must take place wherein that reducing agent such as formaldehyde is oxidized on the surface of metallic copper. Alkalinity is essential for this reaction to take place. This means that wiring substrate material is exposed to alkaline solution for a long time. If alkali resistance is low, the substrate as a basis is melted during electroless copper plating, and plated copper film is separated. This has been observed in the study by the authors of the present invention. So they studies the relationship between alkali resistance and electroless copper plating resistance. Etching velocity in the mixture solution of hydrazine and ethylenediamine (70 to 30% by weight) kept at a solution temperature of 30xc2x0 C. was used as an index to show alkali resistance. Polyimide resin was used since it provides high polymers having various structures by a combination of diamine and acid anhydride. As a result of this study, it has been confirmed that that the plated film deposited on the substrate does not separate even when plating is carried out for 15 hours or more in electroless copper plating bath of about pH 12 kept at a temperature of 70xc2x0 C., if the etching velocity does not exceed 1 xcexcm/min. It has been made clear that this condition is not restricted to polyimide resin alone; it is applicable to other resins such as polybenzoxazole, polyamide resin, polyamide-imide resin, polybenzimidazole resin, aramid resin, and epoxy resin.
Then study was made to find out how to get a sufficient adhesion between copper and resin substrate when said resin substrate surface is subjected to electroless copper plating. The substrate surface was modified under various conditions; then vapor deposition of copper was provided about 1 xcexcm by sputtering. Then a thick layer of copper was provided by electroplating until a film thickness of 20 xcexcm was reached, and the peeling strength was evaluated. This study has shown that effective methods are provided by treatment of the resin substrate surface with alkaline solution, and by surface treatment through plasma treatment using oxygen and nitrogen as reaction gas. Especially when plasma treatment is used, a very high adhesion was ensured by formation of an uneven spot of 0.1 xcexcm or more with the average roughness (Ra) at the centerline on the resin substrate surface. For example, peeling strength in 90-deg. pull-out peel test at 25xc2x0 C. is 500 N/m or more. It has become possible to get close adhesion capable of withstanding actual wiring board production process.
Plating catalyst was added to the resin substrate provided with said surface modification, and the substrate was plated in an electroless copper plating bath. Despite the pH value of 10 to 13 and plating bath temperature of 20 to 80xc2x0 C., the plated film was separated when copper film was about 30 nm or less. When electroless copper plating of a thick layer was conducted after flash electroless copper plating of a thin layer, the plated film was separated immediately after electroless copper plating of a thick layer, with the result that a thick layer of plating failed. Thus, it has been found out that adhesion between the modified resin substrate surface and copper is considerably reduced in electroless copper plating bath. So various studies have been made to examine electroless copper plating after application of metallic film other than copper on the resin substrate surface. It has been revealed that separation of plated film does not take place during plating by performing electroless copper plating after application of metallic film of nickel, tin and cobalt. Study of various types of metals has shown that it is effective to apply the metal having a reduction potential more base than that of copper in advance. At the same time, it has been shown that adhesion between the resin substrate and metallic film is considerably improved through formation of metallic oxide film between the resin substrate and metallic film by placing resin substrate in the oxidation atmosphere after deposition of metallic film on said resin substrate. For example, the surface of polyimide resin substrate was treated with alkaline solution, and a film thickness of about 1 xcexcm of nickel was deposited on that surface by electroless plating. Then a thick layer of copper was deposited on the nickel to a film thickness of about 20 xcexcm by electroless copper plating, thereby evaluating the adhesion between polyimide and nickel. Comparison of the peeling strength between the sample provided with annealing in the atmosphere at 180xc2x0 C. for two hours after nickel plating and untreated sample shows 900 N/m and 300 N/m, respectively. Improvement of adhesion by annealing after plating was also observed when plasma treatment was conducted as resin surface treatment. This is considered to be due to chemical interaction with the surface of the resin where oxide at adhesive interface contains amide group or the surface of the plasma treated resin.
As a result of the above studies, the authors of the present invention have completed the present invention by finding out that a thick layer of copper film can be formed on said metallic layer by electroless copper plating by taking the following steps: (1) the resin where the velocity of dissolving the mixture solution of hydrazine and ethylenediamine mixed at the ratio of 7 to 3 does not exceed 1 xcexcm/min. at a solution temperature of 30xc2x0 C., was used as a resin substrate; (2) amide group was introduced into the surface of resin material or plasma treatment was conducted; (3) the metal having a reduction potential more base than that of copper was deposited on the treated surface; and (4) oxide layer of said metal was formed at the interface between said resin substrate and said metal layer.
Furthermore, the authors of the present invention have found out that fine copper wiring having a line/space pattern of about 20 xcexcm with a film thickness of of about 20 xcexcm and with a high aspect ratio can be formed on the resin substrate by the following steps: (1) Catalyst is applied to the resin substrate where amide group is introduced or plasma treatment is made; (2) then dry film is laminated thereon; (3) then plated resist is formed by exposure and development. For example, after nickel is deposited by electroless plating, nickel oxide film is formed at the interface between resin substrate and nickel by baking in the atmosphere. After nickel oxide film is removed from the surface it is put into the electroless copper plating bath to provide a thick layer of copper.
The present invention provides highly reliable wiring boards characterized by excellent adhesion between conductive metal and resin substrate, and superb heat resistance. This provides fine wiring having a required thickness with a line width of 40 xcexcm or less.
A highly reliable multi-chip module featuring excellent heat resistance is provided by forming a laminated board through lamination of said multiple wiring boards wherein electric connection is made between layers, and a connection port with ICs is provided on the outermost surface to mount the ICs.

Wiring board and production method thereof, and semiconductor apparatus


Systems, apparatuses, and methods are provided for enhancing users' overall experiences with physical items by supplementing their physical experiences with digital experiences. According to an embodiment, a user uses an electronic device to scan a smart tag associated with an item to obtain an item identifier of the item. The electronic device sends the item identifier to a server, which selects digital content related to the item.

Historically, companies that produced physical items distinguished themselves by making superior products and offering those products at competitive prices. This is still true. However, the growing ubiquity of mobile computing devices is driving consumer demand for high-quality digital experiences and blurring the lines between physical and digital experiences. Accordingly, in addition to cost effectively building high-quality products, today's companies must build meaningful digital experiences around their physical products to distinguish themselves and to engage potential consumers.
While today virtually any product can be equipped with electronic circuitry having more or less processing and communication capacities, there are physical, regulatory and economic boundary conditions, which must be observed. For example a small and lightweight product cannot be equipped with large and heavy electronic circuitry. On the other hand, in order to have a product participate in wireless networks, e.g. to monitor and control the product, there must be a minimum of processing, transmit and battery power. Another aspect concerns regulations regarding available frequency spectrums and transmit powers, which must be observed by products. Thus, a product cannot arbitrarily be equipped with a radio module. Finally, complex electronics makes a product more expensive. Thus, there is a tradeoff between added "intelligence" and the price which a potential consumer is willing to pay.

Method of providing digital content for users of physical items


A grinding wheel having a convex grinding surface is attached to a wheel spindle that is contactlessly supported by a casing through a controlled type axial magnetic bearing and controlled type radial magnetic bearings and that is rotated by an electric motor. A groove of a workpiece is ground by causing relative displacement of the casing. After the axial positioning of the casing is performed, the casing is radially displaced. Then, the groove is ground. The stiffness value of the axial magnetic bearing 6 is set to be lower than a normal value before the casing is radially displaced. After it is detected that the grinding surface of the grinding wheel touches the entire groove of the workpiece and that the grinding of the entire surface of the workpiece is started, the stiffness value is set back to the normal value.

The present invention relates to a grinding apparatus for grinding a groove in a cylindrical peripheral surface of a workpiece with a grinding wheel in which a convex grinding surface is formed on the outer peripheral surface.
Internal cylindrical grinding machines are known as grinding apparatuses for performing finish grinding on raceway grooves formed in inner peripheral surfaces of outer rings of ball bearings.
Conventional internal cylindrical grinding machines have used contact type rolling bearings as bearings for rotationally supporting a wheel spindle, on which a grinding wheel is mounted, on a casing of a spindle apparatus (see, e.g., JP-A-2001-159421 and JP-A-57-27660).
As described above, the conventional internal cylindrical grinding machine for performing finish grinding on a groove formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring of the ball bearing uses the rolling bearing for rotationally supporting a wheel spindle. Thus, the conventional internal cylindrical grinding machine has the following problems that have occurred when grinding a raceway groove of the outer ring.
In the case of performing finish grinding on the raceway groove of the outer ring using the internal cylindrical grinding machine, a work (workpiece) in which a groove is formed on the inner peripheral surface in the preceding process, is rotated in a state in which the work is grasped by a gasping device, such as a chuck. In addition, a casing is positioned in an axial direction of the wheel spindle. Subsequently, the casing is radially moved so as to bring the grinding wheel into contact with the work and as to grind the groove.
At that time, in a case where there is no error in the axial position of the groove formed in the inner peripheral surface of the work in the preceding process, no problems are caused. However, in a case where an error in the axial position exists, and where the axial position of the groove is deviated from a correct axial position, a part of the grinding surface of the grinding wheel is extremely worn away. That is, what is called a grinding wheel wear occurs, so that the life of the grinding wheel is shortened.
For example, in a case where the position of a groove R of a work W is correct, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the grinding surface S of a grinding wheel G is substantially simultaneously put into contact with the entire groove R when a casing is radially moved. Thus, the grinding surface S is not locally worn away. On the other hand, in a case where the position of the groove R is axially shifted to the left, as viewed in FIG. 7B, only the right-side edge of the groove R is put into contact with the grinding surface S of the grinding wheel and is ground when the casing is radially moved. Consequently, only a part of the grinding surface S of the grinding wheel, which is contacted with the right-side edge of the groove R, is locally worn away. Similarly, in a case where the position of the groove R is axially shifted to the right side, as viewed in FIG. 7C, only a part of the grinding surface S of the grinding wheel, which is contacted with the left-side edge of the groove R, is locally worn away.
Similar problems occur in the case of grinding a groove formed in a cylindrical peripheral surface (i.e., an inner peripheral surface or an outer peripheral surface) of a work, in addition to the case of performing finish grinding on the raceway groove of the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring.

Grinding apparatus with magnetic bearings


An apparatus for automatically selecting one from color pellets of different colors and automatically supplying it to an injection molding machine, comprises: an auxiliary hopper connected to a pellet supply portion of the injection molding machine via an automatic change-over valve; a negative pressure device for causing the auxiliary hopper, at the upstream side chamber, to be under negative pressure; a pellet feed pipe connected to the upstream side chamber of the auxiliary hopper; and storage tanks for storing the respective color pellets, each storage tank being connected to the pellet feed pipe via a respective automatic change-over valve.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for automatically selecting one from color pellets of different colors and automatically supplying the selected color pellet to an injection molding machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
To realize an efficient flexible manufacturing system in obtaining polychromatic molded products by a common injection molding machine, it is currently of urgent necessity for our industry to develop an automatic selecting and supplying apparatus for automatically executing the pellet selecting operation which has conventionally been performed by hand.
One example among the few developed technologies is an automatic color pellet selecting method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 35372/1987.
According to this prior method, every time change-over of color pellets is made, a cleaning material and a selected color pellet are automatically supplied in order to an inlet of an injection molding machine from a cleaning material hopper and a number of color pellet hoppers. In response to an instruction from a control unit, the individual hoppers are revolved on a common circular track until a desired hopper arrives at the inlet of the injection molding machine. At the start of molding by a new color pellet, a cleaning material is automatically supplied into the injection molding machine from the cleaning material hopper to clean the previous old color pellet in the injection molding machine as the machine is idly operated a predetermined number of times, whereupon the new color pellet is supplied into the injection molding machine for injection molding.
With this method, although it is possible to improve operativity to a considerable extent, compared to the conventional manual operation, it requires a number of hoppers and a dedicated drive as associated parts of the injection molding machine. This restricts the number of hoppers and the size of the individual hopper so that only a limited mass of pellet and a limited number of colors can be used. Consequently, this prior method is not suitable for use in the production of coupling elements of slide fasteners, which consumes a large mass of each color pellet and needs twenty to thirty kinds of color pellets.

Automatic color pellet selecting and supplying apparatus for injection molding machine


A communication device uses its FGU to generate a location signal that can be used by a reference device to calibrate the communication device and to determine the distance of the communication device from the reference device. The communication device: receives, from a reference device, at least one location signal control parameter that defines pulse shape characteristics for a location signal; configures its FGU based on the at least one location signal control parameter; generates a linear first part of a phase-incoherent location signal having the defined pulse shape characteristics by progressively sweeping an output of the FGU over a range of frequencies from a first frequency to a second frequency within a first time period; and transmits at least one iteration of the first part of the location signal.

Communication devices such as portable two-way radios vastly improve the effectiveness of police, fire, and military personnel in a public or military emergency situation. Often the first responders at an emergency site communicate with subsequent responders to direct them to respond effectively in the emergency situation where it is often critical to locate the responders and entities such as sensors, portable communication devices, and the like. A variety of solutions are available for determining the location of a responder and various entities, which can be segmented into three basic groups: outdoor, indoor, and indoor/outdoor solutions. Outdoor location solutions typically provide two-dimensional location information in outdoor areas such as streets, parks, stadiums, markets, and the like. Typically, the outdoor solutions include Global Positioning System (GPS) based location determination solutions. Indoor solutions typically provide three-dimensional location information in a more localized area such as in buildings, warehouses, and the like. Generally, indoor solutions require dense installation of field-deployable infrastructure and have stringent location accuracy requirements. Indoor/outdoor solutions provide wide area location information for multi-building campuses. Conventionally, an indoor/outdoor location solution requires a combination of outdoor tracking technologies and installation of indoor tracking support infrastructure.
There are several inherent shortcomings in the existing location determination technologies that inhibit their usage in an indoor/outdoor solution for determining location. Generally, a GPS-based solution does not work reliably in dense urban areas. Further, a GPS-based solution cannot be used as an indoor solution for determining location. Network overlay solutions usually provide better outdoor coverage at the expense of accuracy. Dedicated systems usually provide both coverage depth and accuracy, but at a high infrastructure cost.
Thus, there exists a need for a method of generating a location signal in a communication device that can be used both for indoor and outdoor range determination for the communication device.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of various embodiments. In addition, the description and drawings do not necessarily require the order illustrated. It will be further appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. Apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the various embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Thus, it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, common and well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment may not be depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments.