The present invention is directed to a series of new polycationic biodegradable polyphosphoramidates. Process for making the polymers, compositions containing these polymers and bioactive ligands to enhance the cellular uptake ad intracellular trafficking, articles and methods for delivery of drugs and genes using these polymers are described. A gene delivery system based on these polymers is prepared by complex coacervation of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) with polymers. Targeting ligands and molecules that could facilitate gene transfer can be conjugated to polymers to achieve selective and enhanced gene delivery. The current invention also provides a complex composition with buffering capacity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to biodegradable polymer compositions, in particular those containing both phosphoester linkages in the polymer backbone and chargeable groups linked to the backbone through a P—N bond. The polymers of the invention are useful for drug and gene delivery, particularly as carriers for gene therapy and for the delivery of protein drugs.
2. Background
Gene therapy has been progressively developed with the hope that it will be an integral part of medical modalities in the future. Gene delivery system is one of the key components in gene medicine, which directs the gene expression plasmids to the specific locations within the body. The control of gene expression is achieved by influencing the distribution and stability of plasmids in vivo and the access of the plasmids to the target cells, and affecting the intracellular trafficking steps of the plasmids (Mahato, et al., 1999, Pharmaceutical perspectives of nonviral gene therapy, Adv. Genet. 41: 95-156). An ideal gene delivery carrier should be bioabsorable, non-toxic, non-immunogenic, stable during storage and after administration, able to access target cells, and efficient in aiding gene expression. As many studies demonstrated, the limitations of viral vectors make synthetic vectors an attractive alternative. Advantages of non-viral vectors include non-immunogenicity, low acute toxicity, versatility, reproducibility and feasibility to be produced on a large scale. Cationic liposome and cationic polymers are the two major types of non-viral gene delivery carriers. Cationic lipids self assemble into organized structures include micelles, plannar bilayer sheets, and lamellar vesicles. Through the condensation process, liposomes and cationic polymers form complexes with DNA due to charge interaction. A large variety of liposomal compositions have been developed for gene delivery (Chesnoy and Huang, 2000. Structure and function of lipid-DNA complexes for gene delivery, Annu. Rev. Biophys. Biomol. Struct. 29: 27-47). An effective liposome vector generally composed of a positively charged lipid (e.g. cationic derivatives of cholesterol and diacyl glycerol, quaternary ammonium detergents, lipid derivatives of polyamines, etc.) and a neutral helper lipid (e.g. dioleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) or dioleoyl phosphotidylcholine (DOPC)). Despite early excitement, there are serious limitations to most cationic lipid systems. Several observations have suggested that liposomal systems are relatively unstable after the administration. Significant toxicity upon repeated use has been shown to be associated to liposomal vectors, especially the fusogenic phospholipid (neutral lipid), include the down regulation of PKC dependent immunomodulator synthesis, macrophage toxicity, neurotoxicity and acute pulmonary inflammation (Filion and Phillips, 1998, Major limitations in the use of cationic liposomes for DNA delivery, Int. J. Pharm. 162: 159-170).
Because of the limitations of viral vectors, cationic lipids, cationic polymers as the basis of gene delivery systems have gained increasing attention recently. A number of polycations have been reported to effect transfection of DNA, including poly-L-lysine, poly-L-ornithine, poly(4-hydroxy-L-proline ester), polyiminocarbonate containing cyclodextrin, poly[α-(4-aminobutyl)-L-glycolic acid], polyamidoamines, polyamidoamine dendrimers, chitosan, polyethylenimine, poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate), etc. Significant progress has been made in the development of polymer based systems, especially biodegradable polymers that have lower toxicity and can mediate gene transfection via condensing DNA into small particles and protecting DNA from enzymatic degradation. Nevertheless, searching for a safer and more efficient gene carrier still remains a major challenge in the field of non-viral gene delivery.

Biodegradable polyphosphoramidates for controlled release of bioactive substances


A supercharger has an inner wall defining an inner cavity for receiving lobed rotors for rotation therein, a low-pressure inlet and a high-pressure outlet. A sound attenuator is associated with the housing and located adjacent to the high-pressure outlet. The sound attenuator has a tuner chamber and circumferentially spaced tuner ports fluidly connecting the tuner chamber with the internal cavity of the housing to define a Helmholtz resonator. A land is defined between the circumferentially spaced tuner ports such that the high-pressure outlet and low-pressure inner chambers defined between the rotor lobes and the inner wall are fluidly connected when the rotor lobes are in alignment with the land to reduce the pressure differential between the high-pressure outlet and the low-pressure inner chambers.

Superchargers are used to pump air into an engine at a greater rate than natural aspiration. Combustion air enters the supercharger at nearly atmospheric pressure. Rotors in the supercharger carry nearly atmospheric air, via low-pressure internal chambers, to an outlet port where the air is pressurized for delivery to the cylinders of an associated engine. The discharge of the nearly atmospheric air into the pressurized outlet creates backflow noise in the form of a pneumatic report or pop. When repeated at the high frequency which is typical of supercharger operation, this series of reports becomes a whine that may be undesirable in an automotive application.
Fixed backflow ports in supercharger housings have been utilized to reduce supercharger generated sound by allowing a small amount of pressurized air to flow from the pressurized outlet of the supercharger into the nearly atmospheric low-pressure internal chambers. The backflow of pressurized air into the chambers tends to lower the pressure differential between the outlet and the low-pressure internal chambers gradually so that when the chambers exhaust into the higher pressure outlet, there is less energy in each pulse, thereby reducing sound generated by the pressure differential. However, fixed ports are operable to reduce supercharger noise across a small range of engine speeds and are limited to a reduction of supercharger sound generated by the introduction of low pressure air transported by the supercharger rotors to the higher pressure outlet.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a supercharger having backflow ports that operate to reduce supercharger generated noise across a broad operating range of the supercharger.

Tuning device with combined backflow function


A steering control mechanism for a kick scooter includes a mounting seat connected fixedly to a front end of a footplate, a wheel seat with a fixed camming element, and an inclined rotating shaft extending through the wheel seat and connected fixedly to the mounting seat so as to allow for rotation of the wheel seat about the rotating shaft. A pressing unit is disposed slidably on the mounting seat, and is formed with a follower unit. A biasing unit biases the pressing unit to move relative to the mounting seat so as to press the follower unit of the pressing unit against the camming element of the wheel seat, thereby turning the camming element toward a central position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a steering control mechanism, and more particularly to a steering control mechanism for a kick scooter.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional kick scooter is provided with a steering control mechanism for biasing a front wheel seat to return to a central position when the steering direction is changed. However, it is difficult to mount the steering control mechanism on the kick scooter.

Steering control mechanism for a kick scooter


The detector is reduced in DC power consumption when an input signal is at a low amplitude level. The detector includes first and second input terminals, first and second transistors, and a load element. The first and second input terminals are supplied with complementary input signals reverse to each other in phase. The first input terminal is connected to the first input electrode of the first transistor and the second input electrode of the second transistor. The second input terminal is connected to the second input electrode of the first transistor and the first input electrode of the second transistor. The load element is connected between output electrodes of the transistors and an operating voltage point. A detection voltage resulting from full-wave rectification arises from a circuit node. In the condition where a signal input to the input terminals is at a low amplitude level, the transistors are both in OFF state. Thus, DC power consumption is reduced.

According to Chaoming Zhang et al, "Built-In Test of RF Mixers Using RF Amplitude Detectors", 2007 IEEE Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design, 26-28 Mar. 2007, PP. 404˜409, it is disclosed, as the way of reducing manufacturing test time of an RF circuit built in SoC (System on Chip) or SiP (System in Package) and the cost thereof, to connect an input terminal of an RF detector with an output of an RF mixer.
The RF detector includes a pseudo-differential pair composed of two N-channel MOS transistors to detect an output from the RF mixer. Between the drain and gate of each N-channel MOS transistor, a resistance for biasing a gate voltage of the transistor is connected.
The sources of the two N-channel MOS transistors are connected to the earth potential commonly. The drains of the two N-channel MOS transistors are connected to a P-channel MOS bias current mirror composed commonly. Two capacitances connected to the gates of the two N-channel MOS transistors serve to block DC current which affects a detecting operation. To the drains of the two N-channel MOS transistors, an output capacitance for holding an output voltage is connected.
Further, JP 2006-099810 discloses a sub-carrier detection circuit for detecting the presence or absence of a non-contact IC-card in a read/write device which performs reading from and writing into a non-contact IC-card.
In this sub-carrier detection circuit, when a sub-carrier signal from a coil antenna of a non-contact IC-card is applied to a base of a detection transistor, which has been supplied with a fixed bias voltage resulting from voltage division of a source voltage, a half-wave rectification output signal is formed by a resistance and a capacitance connected in parallel in association with an emitter of the detection transistor.

Detector, RF circuit with detector, and mobile device with RF circuit


A system and method for managing SOA assertion violations and related simulator output. Embodiments transform simulator output into descriptive data regarding SOA violations for relational database storage and processing. The database executes queries on the descriptive data according to user input specifying particular descriptive data and SOA assertion violations of interest, and outputs query results for further user action. Individual and accumulative SOA violations are more easily explored by users, through a search language that facilitates selection rule specification via pre-existing or user-defined filters. Filters may inherit rules and combine them with logical and comparative operators, enabling easy construction of complex selection expressions to provide more intuitive design guidance.

Verification is an important step in the process of designing and creating an electronic product. Verification helps ensure that the electronic design will work for its intended purpose, and is usually performed at several stages of the electronic design process. Circuit designers and verification engineers use different methods and analysis tools to verify circuit designs, including simulation. Simulation verifies a design by monitoring computed behaviors of the design with respect to test stimuli. A variety of commercially offered software programs are available for circuit simulation.
Circuit performance measurements may be undertaken by a simulator or a post-simulation engine that evaluates stored simulated circuit waveforms. Simulator output is often saved in binary and text form for such analysis. Circuit operations may be verified during simulation by evaluating assertions, which are statements that are intended to always be true during correct circuit behavior. Assertions are commonly used to monitor the simulated operating conditions of individual semiconductor devices or other circuit components. Violations of such assertions may for example indicate that the monitored device has been exposed to conditions during simulation that exceed its maximum safe ratings.
Analysis of so-called "safe operating area" (SOA) assertions is therefore a required step in a circuit design flow. To validate the circuit design, designers must verify that devices do not encounter dangerous operating conditions that may result in reliability issues and product failures. As technologies advance, more numerous and complex SOA checks have been implemented, often as assertions, so that simulating even a relatively small circuit block may produce hundreds of assertion violations.
However, not all of these SOA violations are related to a really dangerous situation. Some assertions may just trigger routine warning messages, while others may denote more serious risk to the circuit depending on the cumulative duration of the violations. For example, many devices may safely sustain a relatively high voltage for a very short time, but not for longer times.
Designers must therefore expend considerable effort to investigate all of the assertion violations to locate and act on the more serious ones. This requirement leads to several negative consequences, including increased design time, and an increased chance of error. Some errors may result in an overdesign scenario (if a "false alarm" is mistaken for a real issue), while others may result in a product failure (if a serious violation is ignored). The circuit design community therefore needs a tool that enables designers to filter assertion violation messages, to easily determine which assertion violations are really dangerous.
Accordingly, the inventors have developed a novel way to help circuit designers manage SOA assertion violations and related simulation output.

System and method for data mining safe operating area violations


A dust collection system for a circular saw having a saw housing and a motor configured to rotationally drive a saw blade includes a dust collecting member and a guide mechanism. The dust collecting member includes a body having a first end in which a dust collection opening is defined and a second end operably connectable to an airflow generation device. The guide mechanism is configured to support the dust collecting member on the saw housing such that the dust collection opening remains adjacent to an outer edge of the saw blade in response to one of the dust collecting member and the guide mechanism contacting the workpiece to move the dust collecting member.

Circular saws are a type of power tool used for cutting and shaping a workpiece, such as, hardwood, manufactured wood products, construction lumber, and other materials. The typical circular saw includes a circular blade, which generates dust and debris as the rotating blade is moved through the workpiece during a cut. Generally, the dust and debris interferes with the cutting task by obstructing the user's view of the workpiece and diffusing into the surrounding air space. Additionally, the dust and debris contaminates the area near where the cutting operation is performed, necessitating extensive clean up and potentially causing issues with other equipment nearby. Accordingly, it is desirable to collect the dust generated by the circular saw with a dust collection system.
Dust collection systems for use with a circular saw include a source of vacuum that is fluidly connected to the circular saw with a vacuum line. In particular, known circular saws include a dust channel having an input port and an output port. The input port is positioned to receive the dust and debris as it is generated by the saw blade. The output port is fluidly connected to the vacuum line. When the source of vacuum is activated, the dust and debris generated by the circular saw blade cutting the workpiece is drawn into the input port, through the dust channel, out the output port, and through the vacuum line where it is collected in a bin for disposal or repurposing.
Typically, dust channels are positioned behind the saw blade in the blade guard. The dust channel is not movable, and remains in the same position regardless of the position of the workpiece. Additionally, conventional dust channels cannot compensate for workpieces of differing sizes and shapes. Consequently, the dust channel may be a substantial distance from the saw blade and workpiece as the saw blade cuts the workpiece. The dust and debris generated by the cutting task scatters widely over small distances and, therefore, the fixed dust channel is only able to collect a portion of the dust and debris. It would thus be desirable to provide an improved dust collection system to collect a larger portion of the dust and debris generated during a cutting task.

Dust collection system for a circular saw


The clutch includes an input hub keyed to a drive shaft, a spacer telescoped into and keyed to the input hub, a bearing telescoped over and supported radially on the spacer, and an output member supported by the bearing. A bolt is threaded into the drive shaft and, when tightened, causes the bearing to be clamped axially between the spacer and the input hub. The spacer is formed with flats adapted to be engaged by a wrench in order to prevent the spacer, the input hub and the drive shaft from turning when the bolt is tightened.

This invention relates generally to a clutch and, more particularly, to a clutch for selectively transmitting torque from a rotatable drive shaft to a rotatable output member. The clutch of the invention is especially adapted for use with a lawnmower, a garden tractor or the like to enable selective engagement of an implement drive (e.g., a mower blade drive).
Prior clutches of this type include an input hub which is keyed to and rotated by the drive shaft of the implement. A bearing is supported on the input hub and rotatably supports the output member (e.g., a pulley for a belt drive). Clutch means, preferably of the electromagnetic type, selectively couple the input hub to or uncouple the input hub from the output member. The electromagnetic clutch means include a rotor coupled to the input hub, an armature associated with the output member, and electromagnetic means for selectively attracting the armature into frictional engagement with the rotor.
The bearing which is supported on the input hub and which supports the output member is captivated axially between the hub and a tubular spacer which is keyed to the hub. A screw extends through the spacer and the hub and is threaded into the drive shaft. When tightened, the screw causes the bearing to be clamped axially between the spacer and the hub. Because the bearing is supported on the input hub which, in turn, is supported on the drive shaft, the clutch requires a relatively large bearing with a relatively large inside diameter to accommodate the input hub. A large bearing is comparatively expensive and requires the use of a larger and more expensive output member.

Clutch with spacer for supporting a bearing


A microcontroller includes a clock generator having an internal reference clock, a system mode controller establishing an operating mode, a flash memory having an internal clock and a non-volatile option register, and a boot mode selection logic circuit coupled to the system mode controller and the flash memory. The logic circuit outputs a boot mode selection signal instructing the microcontroller to boot in a very low power run (VLPR) mode or a RUN mode. The system mode controller enters the VLPR or RUN mode in response. The flash memory bypasses and disables its internal clock prior to calibration of the flash memory in the VLPR mode and prior to initialization of the flash memory in the RUN mode. The flash memory subsequently uses an external clock signal based on the output of the internal reference clock.

The present invention is directed to microcontrollers and, more particularly, to a method of resetting and booting a microcontroller in low power mode.
Power critical applications, such as in medical devices, metering devices, and the like, do not often include power sources capable of generating high currents. Thus, a microcontroller unit (MCU) in the device must ration the current among all resources requiring power consumption. Reset and boot cycles for the MCU can present a problem with power consumption. For example, the MCU in a device may require 16-18 milliAmperes (mA) of current while the existing power source can budget no more than 7 mA.
The main contributors to power drain during reset and boot sequences of the MCU are the flash memory, the system-on-chip (SoC) logic and the number of peripherals that are active following the reset sequence, and the use of a high frequency clock source during the boot sequence.
It is desirable to provide an MCU and a method of resetting and booting the MCU that requires less power and could therefore be used in current limited applications.

Method for low power boot for microcontroller


A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes steps of: forming a first epitaxial film on a silicon substrate; forming a trench in the first epitaxial film; and forming a second epitaxial film on the first epitaxial film and in the trench. The step of forming the second epitaxial film includes a final step, in which a mixed gas of a silicon source gas and a halide gas is used. The silicon substrate has an arsenic concentration defined as α. The second epitaxial film has an impurity concentration defined as β. The arsenic concentration and the impurity concentration has a relationship of: α≦3×1019×ln(β)−1×1021.

There has been proposed a technique wherein, in forming a p/n column structure by trench filling epitaxial growth, a mixed growth scheme based on an etching gas and silane gas is employed, thereby to prevent the open part of a trench from being closed earlier (refer to U.S. Pat. No. 7,029,977-B2).
Due to the mixing of the etching gas, however, the etching reaction of an n+-type silicon substrate occurs to give rise to the phenomenon that, as shown in FIG. 24, a high-concentration dopant (As, Sb or P) within the etched n+ substrate adheres onto the front surface of this substrate so as to be accepted into a p/n column layer. Meanwhile, a super junction MOS (SJ-MOS) overcomes the trade-of f relation of an ON-state resistance and a breakdown voltage by full depletion within a p/n column. It is required for the full depletion to balance the charge quantities of p/n column elements, and the mixing of the dopant from the n+ substrate is a fatal problem in a concentration design.
Further, a technique which is intended to perform trench filling by employing the etching action of an etching gas is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,495,294. Here, a trench shape tapered and worked by employing the etching action of the etching gas. Also in this case, a high-concentration dopant similarly adheres onto the front surface of an n+-type substrate (onto an epitaxial film of the opposite conductivity type within a trench) due to the etching reaction of the substrate.
Thus, it is required that a desired carrier distribution can be attained in a semiconductor substrate wherein trenches are formed in an epitaxial film on a silicon substrate and wherein other epitaxial films opposite in conductivity type to the first-mentioned epitaxial film are filled in the trenches.

Semiconductor device, method for manufacturing the same and method for evaluating the same


A method for filling multi-layer chip-stacked gaps is revealed, primarily comprising the steps as below. Firstly, a chip-stacked assembly is provided, comprising a substrate and a plurality of chips vertically stacked on the substrate where at least a first underfilling gap is formed between each two adjacent ones of the stacked chips with a height difference from the substrate. Then, the chip-stacked assembly is flipped and dipped into an underfilling material where the underfilling material is disposed in a storage tank in a flowing state to completely fill the first underfilling gap. Then, the chip-stacked assembly is taken out. Finally, the chip-stacked assembly is heated to cure the underfilling material filled in the first underfilling gap. Accordingly, multi-layer chip-stacked gaps with different heights can be simultaneously filled at one single step. The conventional underfilling difficulty of multi-layer chip-stacked gaps can be solved leading to higher productivity.

For the existing flip-chip (FC) or wafer-level chip-scale packages (WLCSP), the soldering points between a chip and a substrate is vulnerable to breaks due to external forces or thermal stresses causing damages to an IC chips leading to internal interconnection failure during drop tests and reliability tests. Therefore, using underfilling material between the chip and the substrate to protect the soldering points are essential to achieve good product reliability. The conventional underfilling method is to dispense an underfilling material along one side of the substrate with appropriate heat to make the underfilling material fluid then flow into the gap between an IC chip and a substrate through capillary attraction.
Vertically stacking a plurality of chips in flip-chip or in WLCSP (Wafer Level Chip Scale package) formats become the major trend in the advanced packaging technologies. Through Silicon Via (TSV) is also implemented as electrical interconnections between stacked chips, however, multi-layer gaps will be formed between stacked chips at different heights above the substrate. Therefore, the conventional dispensing can not be implemented to underfill the gaps between adjacent stacked chips.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional 2D chip assembly 110 is implemented to dispose the underfilling material by dispensing. A dispensing head 121 provides and disposes uncured fluids of underfilling material 120 on the substrate 111 along the side of the chip 112 where the dispensed area of the substrate 111 is not covered by the chip 112. The substrate 111 has to be heated to an appropriate temperature to make the underfilling material 120 fluid but without curing. Then through the high mobility at a specific temperature, the underfilling material 120 will fill into the gap between the substrate 111 and the chip 112 by the capillary attraction to encapsulate the interconnect terminals 114 such as bumps. Finally, at an even higher temperature, the underfilling material 120 is cured to complete the chip assembly 110.
However, when there are multi-layer gaps in a 3D IC assembly with different heights from the substrate, the underfilling material can not fill into the multi-lay gaps through the conventional dispensing. Moreover, the temperatures of the underfilling material can not be well-controlled by only heating the substrate since any variations of temperature gradients will have different capillary attraction for underfilling leading to voids trapped in the multi-layer gaps between two adjacent stacked chips where these voids will be expanded and even exploded during high-temperature processes during the manufacture or operation environments leading to serious product reliability issues.

Method for filling multi-layer chip-stacked gaps


A method for preparing a homogeneous braid-reinforced (HMR) PPTA hollow fiber membrane combines PPTA hollow tubular braids with PPTA surface separation layer. The method includes following steps of: (1) preparing the PPTA hollow tubular braids, wherein the PPTA hollow tubular braids which are made from PPTA filament yarns are woven by a two-dimensional braided method, the outer diameter of the PPTA tubular braids is 1-2 mm; (2) preparing the PPTA casting solution as the surface separation layer, wherein the 1-3 wt % PPTA resin, 0-2 wt % inorganic particles and 10-20 wt % pore-forming agents are mixed into 75-89% inorganic acid solvent, stirred for 1-3 hours at 70° C.-90° C. to form homogeneous and transparent casting solution; and (3) preparing reinforced PPTA hollow fiber membrane, wherein the casting solution as the surface separation layer is evenly coated on the surfaces of the PPTA hollow tubular braids through spinneret, and they are immersed in a coagulation bath for solidified formation.

Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a technical field of membrane, and more particularly to a method for preparing a homogeneous braid-reinforced (HMR) PPTA hollow fiber membrane.
Description of Related Arts
Poly(p-phenylene terephthamide) (PPTA) has excellent physical and chemical stability, high temperature resistance, alkali resistance, fungus resistance, organic solvent resistance, high strength and modulus. The tensile strength is next to inorganic fiber. PPTA is an important raw material for producing high performance aromatic polyamide fiber, and it is also an ideal material for producing high performance separation membrane. However, PPTA is generally only dissolved few inorganic acid solutions such as concentrated sulfuric acid because of "non-soluble and non-melting". Further, it has poor strength that PPTA hollow fiber membrane is fabricated by solution phase inversion method. Therefore, in the membrane separation process, the homogeneous hollow fiber membranes which subject to high pressure water flow pulsation or disturbance for a long time are easily fractured and damaged by the high-pressure hydraulic backwashing process or pollutants deposition, which will affect the quality of filtrate.
Polymer membrane materials (such as membrane bioreactor (MBR)) are widely used in seawater desalination, food processing, pharmaceutical, and other water treatment fields. However, as for the separation and purification in petrochemical, printing and dyeing, organic solvents and other special areas, the membrane material faces a severe situation due to high mechanical strength of the membrane material is needed.
Reinforced hollow fiber membrane is becoming a highlight of research. In general, there are two methods for preparing reinforced hollow fiber membranes:
One is a porous membrane matrix reinforced hollow fiber membrane. Chinese patent CN102600733A discloses a reinforced polyvinyl fluoride hollow fiber membrane and a preparation method thereof, which prepares a hollow fiber membrane with excellent strength by melting spinning, then the PVDF surface separation layer is evenly coated on the porous membrane matrix. According to polymer components of the surface separation layer and the porous membrane matrix, the porous membrane matrix reinforced hollow fiber membrane is classified into homogeneous reinforced hollow fiber membrane and heterogeneous reinforced hollow fiber membrane. Chinese patent CN103100307A discloses the characteristic of phase interfacial bonding of reinforced hollow fiber membranes, which demonstrates that the characteristic of phase interfacial bonding of the homogeneous reinforced hollow fiber membrane is significantly better than that of the heterogeneous reinforced hollow fiber membrane.
The other one is a fiber-reinforced hollow fiber membrane which comprises filament yarn-reinforced hollow fiber membrane and hollow tubular braid-reinforced membrane. For the filament yarn-reinforced hollow fiber membrane, several filament yarns and casting solution are extruded from a newly redesigned hollow fiber spinneret at the same time, so that the filament yarns are embedded in the polymer membrane in the process of composite membrane. For the braid-reinforced hollow fiber membrane, according to the composite spinning method of fiber skin/core structure, the casting solution is integrated with outer surfaces of hollow tubular braids, then they are prepared into tubular braid-reinforced membrane by non-solvent induced phase inversion method. Methods for preparing fiber-reinforced hollow fiber membranes are disclosed in patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,485A, CN1864828, CN103432916A, CN1695777 and CN102389721A.
Conventional separation layer material of reinforced hollow fiber membranes comprises polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinyl fluoride (PVDF) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Because they are poor chemical stability, the conventional reinforced hollow fiber membranes are easy to swell and even dissolve under harsh environments such as high temperature and organic solvents, which seriously restricts the operation life of the membrane materials. At present, inorganic membranes or cross-linked polymer membranes are applied in these harsh environments. However, inorganic membranes are expensive and preparation process is complex. Moreover, the cross-linked polymer membranes are usually hydrophobic materials, or the hydrophilic materials added into membrane irreversibly decrease in the separation process, resulting in poor anti-fouling and anti-bacteria, which also seriously shortens operation life and increases costs. The applicant has previously applied a method for preparing PPTA porous hollow fiber membrane (Chinese application CN104353372A), but the homogeneous PPTA porous hollow fiber membrane prepared (surface separation layer of composite membrane is made from the same casting solution) is poor mechanical properties in the separation process and is easy to be broken, which is still not able to meet the requirements of actual industrial application.
Within search scope of applicant, the literature about the homogeneous tubular braid-reinforced (HMR) PPTA hollow fiber membrane of the present invention has not been found.

Method for preparing homogeneous braid-reinforced PPTA hollow fiber membrane


There is provided a straddle-type vehicle, including: a pair of seat frames; a seat; an air cleaner; a battery; and a bracket. A rear portion of the air cleaner and the battery are positioned below the seat. The battery is disposed above the rear portion of the air cleaner. The bracket extends in a left-right direction of the straddle-type vehicle and passes between the rear portion of the air cleaner and the battery. A left end side and a right end side of the bracket are connected to the pair of seat frames respectively. The rear portion of the air cleaner is suspended by the bracket. The battery is installed on the bracket.

The present invention relates to a straddle-type vehicle, and more particularly to an arrangement and attachment of an air cleaner and a battery, and the like.
For example, a straddle-type vehicle such as a motorcycle includes an air cleaner that purifies air for fuel combustion and a battery that serves as a power source of electric components. In a straddle-type vehicle including a single cylinder or a parallel multi-cylinder engine, the air cleaner is often disposed below a fuel tank, which is disposed in front of a seat, and behind a cylinder head of the engine or above a cylinder head cover. Further, the battery is often disposed behind the air cleaner and below the seat. Further, as disclosed in JP-A-2012-201318, there is also a motorcycle in which a battery is disposed on a lateral side of an air cleaner.
When a width of the engine and a width of a frame supporting the engine are reduced in the straddle-type vehicle due to the request of reducing a size of the straddle-type vehicle or adoption of a new vehicle design, or the like, a space behind the cylinder head and above the cylinder head cover is reduced below the fuel tank. As a result, it is necessary to reduce capacity of the air cleaner disposed below the fuel tank and behind the cylinder head or above the cylinder head cover. However, in order to supply a sufficient amount of air to the engine, it is not preferable to reduce the capacity of the air cleaner.
On the other hand, when the air cleaner is expanded rearward in order to secure the capacity of the air cleaner, it is essential to move the battery disposed behind the air cleaner rearward. However, from the viewpoint of setting the center of gravity of the straddle-type vehicle near a center of the vehicle to increase running stability, it is not preferable to dispose the battery, which is a heavy object, at a position far away from the center of the vehicle to rearward.
Further, in a case where the air cleaner is disposed below the seat and the battery is disposed on the lateral side of the air cleaner as in the motorcycle disclosed in JP-A-2012-201318, it is essential to reduce a width of the air cleaner in order to secure a space for disposing the battery on the lateral side of the air cleaner, and as a result, the capacity of the air cleaner is reduced.


A pipe lap joint for use with vehicle exhaust systems which includes an inside pipe end telescopically inserted into an outside pipe end with the pipe ends secured together by a band clamp. The outside pipe end includes a sealing zone having a collapsible sealing slot that enables the outside pipe end to be drawn tight over the outside surface of the inside pipe end via the band clamp to thereby provide a fluid-tight seal between the pipes. The sealing slot extends from an open end of the outside pipe end and includes a pair of opposing sidewalls each having a tooth and recess. As the band clamp is tightened, the sealing slot collapses such that the teeth of the sidewalls move into the opposing, complementarily-shaped recesses, while adjoining circumferential edges of the teeth engage each other to thereby form a fluid seal.

In vehicle exhaust systems, it is desirable to provide a pipe joint with high pull-apart strength and with a good fluid seal between the pipes. It is becoming increasingly important to achieve greater reliability and uniformity in providing exhaust pipe joints with a good fluid seal.
In the Cassel U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,226, granted Dec. 16, 1986, a pipe lap joint is disclosed which provides a collapsible sealing zone in the outer pipe. This is achieved by providing a pair of intersecting end-to-end slots in the outer pipe which provide relief for circumferential contraction of the sealing zone within the overlap region of the pipe ends. A band clamp is disposed around the outside pipe and covers the inboard slot. When the band clamp is tightened around the outside pipe the sealing zone of the outer pipe is collapsed into close fitting engagement with the inner pipe. The intersecting outboard and inboard slots are circumferentially offset with the adjacent sidewalls in substantial alignment with each other and with the inner end wall of the outboard slot in substantial alignment with the outer end wall of the inboard slot. With this alignment and with the sidewalls and end walls of the slots being rectilinear, an inner corner of the outboard slot makes a point-to-point intersection with an outer corner of the inboard slot. With this structure, only a very small amount of collapse of the outer pipe is necessary to cause a sealing engagement between the inner end wall of the outboard slot and the outer end wall of the inboard slot.
The Cassel et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,680, granted Dec. 31, 1996, discloses a pipe lap joint for vehicle exhaust systems in which a pair of non-intersecting end-to-end slots are provided to afford relief for circumferential contraction of the sealing zone within the overlap region of the pipe ends. With this construction, precise location of the adjacent corners of the slots is required and the sidewalls and end walls, which form the corners, are rectilinear. In this pipe joint, a fluid seal is obtained upon tightening of the band clamp on the outer pipe even though there is no substantial contraction of the sealing zone by collapse of the slots because a frangible bridging segment of the pipe wall extends between adjacent corners of the slots. Thus, the slots are isolated from each other when the frangible bridging element is either only slightly deformed or when it is completely fractured by collapse of the overlap region of the outer pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,624 issued to Cassel et al. on Jul. 18, 2000 discloses a pipe lap joint in which an outer telescoping pipe end has a collapsible slot that includes a serpentine slot defined by a pair of inwardly protruding teeth. The telescoping end is overlapped onto a second, diametrically-smaller pipe end and a band clamp is placed about the telescoping end such that it overlaps at least a portion of the collapsible slot. The band clamp is then tightened which draws the protruding teeth together, thereby closing the slot. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,624 is hereby incorporated by reference.
For pipes having reasonably good dimensional tolerances, a collapsible slot having a specific width can be designed in accordance with the diameters of the two pipe ends so that, during tightening of the band clamp, the slot collapses partially or completely but only enough to deform it slightly, if at all. However, the inventors have found that, where there is a greater degree of variability between pipe end diameters from one set of pipes to the next, the amount of circumferential closure of certain slots can be more limited than is desired due to the engagement of some slot features such as teeth with the opposite wall of the slot, and this can lead to situations in which the outer, telescoping pipe end does not sufficiently clamp down on and seal against the inner pipe end.
Thus, it is a general object of this invention is to provide a pipe lap joint with an improved sealing zone, particularly one that is well suited to accommodate variations in pipe end diameters.

Pipe lap joint with improved sealing slot for increased circumferential closure


A microphone buffer circuit being adaptable for connection to a power source is disclosed. The microphone buffer circuit includes an input transistor operably connected between an input and an output for buffering an input signal. The microphone buffer circuit includes a means for reducing power supply noise capable of being coupled to the input transistor wherein the means being operably connected to the input transistor and the power source.

Hearing aid performance continues to be enhanced by technological advances in audio signal processing capabilities, e.g. primarily via Digital Signal Processing, environmental adaptation, programmability, and noise cancellation techniques. An effect of such on-going efforts, suppliers of miniature acoustic transducers are often requested by hearing aid manufacturers to provide these and other performance improvements.
Today, one performance limitation for miniature electret microphones is the rather limited power supply noise immunity, i.e., Power Supply Rejection (PSR), of its internal impedance buffering circuit. A typical buffer circuit has a PSR of approximately 26 dB. To overcome the limited PSR of the electret microphone, hearing aid manufacturers can utilize either of two possible solutions: operating the microphone from a high PSR regulated power supply voltage within the hearing aid; or, filtering the battery voltage with a resistor-capacitor (RC) low-pass filter having a relatively low resistor value, e.g., approximately Kilo-ohms—to prevent a large voltage drop from the battery voltage to the circuit—along with a relatively high capacitance value, e.g., approximately tens of micro-Farads. For acceptable performance, hearing aid systems typically require at least 50 dB of PSR over the entire audio frequency band.
Unfortunately, both of these two solutions require additional components and/or circuitry in the hearing aid system and thus contribute to an undesired increase in system complexity. The increased system complexity further results in higher manufacturing costs and a greater likelihood of reliability problems in the final product.
An alternative and much more appropriate solution to the limited PSR performance would be to address the root cause of the problem and improve the PSR properties of the impedance buffering circuit. A desirable PSR solution would be one that maintains the same microphone size, battery current consumption, noise performance, and sensitivity, with little or no degradation in audio fidelity or usable dynamic range. Incorporating a voltage regulator into the microphone is not an attractive method because a larger IC is required for the new circuitry. Furthermore, additional power is required to operate the regulator. Utilizing the RC filter approach is also unacceptable because the large capacitor value that is required is physically too big to fit into the case of a miniature electret microphone.
The present invention is directed to solve theses and other problems.

Electret microphone buffer circuit with significantly enhanced power supply rejection


This invention provides an optical storage device for recording a plurality of data onto an optical storage medium. If recording interrupted, the optical storage device generates a data-interrupted address, and re-connects the interrupted data with a data re-connecting physical address. The optical storage device comprises a physical addressing module, a record-interrupt generator, a data recording controller, a data-interrupt address generator, and a data-reconnecting physical address generator. The physical addressing module provides a reference physical address for recording data onto the optical storage medium. When detecting the interrupt of data recording, the data-interrupt address generator generates the address of the interrupted data. According to the address of the interrupted data, the data-reconnecting physical address generator generates a data-reconnecting physical address. The optical storage device utilizes the data-reconnecting physical address to continue to record the interrupted data onto the optical storage medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical recording device for recording a plurality of data onto an optical storage medium. In particular, the optical recording device can generate a data-interrupt address when recording is interrupted, and then continue to reconnect the interrupted data from a data-reconnecting physical address.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The optical recording system is developing with the trend towards high recording/reading speed, and high memory capacity.
Optical recording devices, such as conventional CD-R/RW and DVD-R/RW recorders, are used to record data onto corresponding optical storage medium, such as various types of CD, VCD and DVD recordable disks). During recording, some shock error or abnormal condition may occur to interrupt recording and the interrupted data cannot be correctly reconnected. As a result, recording is failed. In the system with high recording/reading speed, particularly, errors may occur when reconnecting and reading data after data recording is interrupted. Therefore, it is an important issue to reduce errors in data reconnection and consequently reduce read errors.
It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to provide a method for generating a data-interrupt address when recording interrupted and then continuing to reconnect the interrupted data from a data-reconnecting physical address, to solve the above-mentioned problem.

Device and method for connecting interrupted recording


To provide an organic electroluminescent device, a manufacturing method thereof, and an electronic apparatus, which can reduce wiring line resistance, lower power consumption, suppress heating and uniformize brightness. There is provided a method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device comprising, on a first electrode, a light-emitting functional layer surrounded by a first partition and a second partition. The method comprises a step of sequentially film-forming a first electrode material and a first partition material on an interlayer insulating film, a step of patterning the first electrode material and the first partition material with a mask to form the first electrode and the first partition in the same shape, and a step of forming the second partition on the interlayer insulating film and the first partition material.

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device, an organic electroluminescent device, a substrate for an organic electroluminescent device, and an electronic apparatus.
Conventionally, in an organic electroluminescent (hereinafter, referred to as organic EL) device, a plurality of circuit elements, an anode, a light emitting functional layer having a hole injecting layer or an organic EL material (light-emitting element), a cathode and so on are deposited on a substrate, and these elements are sealed by a sealing substrate so as to be interposed between the substrate and the sealing substrate.
More specifically, the anode made of a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or tin oxide (SnO2), the hole injecting layer made of a dopant of polythiophene derivative (hereinafter, referred to as PEDOT), a light-emitting layer made of a light-emitting material such as polyfluorene, the cathode made of a metallic material having low work function such as Ca or a metallic compound are sequentially deposited on a transparent substrate such as a glass substrate on which switching elements such as thin film transistors are formed.
In recent years, as a manufacturing method of the organic EL devices, a manufacturing method using a liquid droplet ejection method is suggested. In such a manufacturing method, before ejecting liquid droplets, a step of forming a liquid droplet receiving portion is performed. In forming the liquid droplet receiving portion, a step of forming a semiconductor (thin film transistor) 300 and an interlayer insulating film 301 shown in FIG. 7(a), a step of forming a pixel electrode 302 shown in FIG. 7(b), a step of forming a first partition 303 shown in FIG. 7(c), and a step of forming a second partition 304 shown in FIG. 7(d) are performed, such that the liquid droplet receiving portion 305 is formed. And then, a surface reforming treatment such as a plasma treatment is performed on a surface of the liquid droplet receiving portion 305 to form a liquid-repellent portion and a lyophilic portion. Subsequently, liquid droplets having a functional material are ejected on the liquid droplet receiving portion 305, to thereby form a functional element (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 3328297

Method of manufacturing organic electroluminescent device, organic electroluminescent device, substrate for organic electroluminescent device, and electronic apparatus


A combination model train sensor and signal includes a train proximity sensor, a signal such as red yellow and green signal lights, semaphores, wig-wag signals and the like together with a controller connected to the proximity sensor and the signal and the controller activates the signal appropriately when the proximity sensor indicates the absence of a train, and when the train proximity sensor indicates the presence of a train. A light source, preferably an infrared light source, and a light detector, preferably an infrared light detector, are arranged to reflect and detect from a passing train to indicate its presence. An output connected to the train proximity sensor for producing an output signal when the sensor indicates the presence of a train, which output can be used for controlling a remote signal. An input, responsive to a signal received from a remote sensor, controls the signal and synchronizes two signals.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to accessories for toy or model railroad layouts and more particularly to an improved combination signal and train detector for such layouts.
There is a demand for model railroad accessories that simulate signals used on full sized railroads. Such accessories include block signals, semaphores, wig-wag signals and others. A block signal controls the passage of trains by providing a red or green signal to the engineer indicating whether it is safe to pass the block signal.
In full size trains, signals such as block signals semaphores and the like (collectively referred to herein for convenience as block signals) are controlled by a variety of complex mechanisms the precise duplication of which is not practical in model train layouts. This invention may be applied to signals that control the passage of trains, and to signals that control the passage of vehicular traffic at grade crossings. Accordingly, it has become common to provide block signals in model train layouts that turn red when a train approaches and turn green after the train has passed. Previously known block signals have been relatively simple devices that include a red light and a green light that can be selectively illuminated by applying appropriate activating signals to inputs of the block signal. The inputs to the block signals have come from a variety of sources generally referred to as train detectors. Known train detectors include detectors that use a section of isolated track that is responsive to a train passing over it and light or magnetic sensors to detect the presence of a passing train.
2. Background Art
Heretofore, providing block signals responsive to the passage of trains has required the use of multiple devices and sometimes complex wiring connections between them.
It is an object of this invention to provide a combination of a block signal and train detector that greatly simplifies installation compared with known approaches.
It is another object if this invention to provide a combination block signal and train detector that can be easily synchronized with similar devices positioned at remote locations on a model train layout.
It is another object of the invention to provide a combination block signal and train detector that uses simple inexpensive circuitry that allows the device to be manufactured and sold at reasonable prices

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Combination model train proximity detector and signal


An electrohydraulic pressure regulating valve comprises a variable orifice disposed between a supply port and a control port and has a fixed size vent orifice disposed downstream of the variable orifice and in parallel with the control port to reduce the flow forces acting on the spool so that the valve is less sensitive to solenoid and spool quality and has improved pressure control capability.

Load sensing variable displacement pumps are sometimes utilized for continuously driving a rotary motor wherein the displacement of the pump is controllably regulated to change the speed of the motor. The electrohydraulic pressure regulating valves commonly used for controlling the displacement of the pump typically have a fixed size orifice disposed upstream of a variable orifice. The upstream variable orifice can be defined by either a spool or a poppet type metering element with the displacement thereof being controlled by a solenoid. One of the problems encountered with the pressure regulating valves having a spool is the repeatability of the area control of the valve opening due to the quality of the solenoid and/or spool and to high flow forces acting on the spool caused by high pressure drops across the spool. A severe stability problem was encountered with the poppet type pressure regulating valves in this environment.
In view of the above, it would be desirable to provide an electrohydraulic pressure regulating valve in which the flow forces acting on the valving element are low to reduce sensitivity to solenoid and spool quality, has good pressure control capability, and is easily scaled based on orifice ratios.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.

Electrohydraulic pressure regulating valve


A system includes a plurality of cameras each enabled to operate independently of the others as a component camera. The system includes logic operable to form the component cameras into a network operable as a single federated camera device. The lens types of the component cameras are non-heterogeneous, and the federated camera forms a virtual lens comprising characteristics combining the lens types of the component cameras.

Most surveillance cameras today are large, expensive, fixed in location and with large numbers of mechanical parts prone to failure. A Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) camera can cost $1600 for a modest quality unit, and $3500 for a unit with good specifications. These systems have relatively small processors in them that mainly compress raw photos or produce raw video streams to be sent out as files or stored in local flash. These systems are similar to the mechanically steered radar antennas of the 1960s or the very complex computer disk storage systems of the 1980s in that they are large and complex devices.
The surveillance camera sensors have grown in resolution due to Moore's law, with 1-2 megapixel video surveillance cameras available on the market today. A new class of sensors are now available from the consumer electronics world. These sensors are much higher volume and therefore cheaper and much higher resolution. Low cost sensors are available at 16-24 megapixels with 36 megapixel sensors on the way. These sensors are paired with low-cost, high-volume lenses that give much higher resolutions than conventional video cameras. These new classes of sensors are much higher performance and can allow very high resolution photos to be taken at 5-10 frames per second.
Network bandwidth has not kept pace with these improvements though, and it is difficult to get the full quality video stream off the camera. Most analysis of images is done by humans at remote locations, and it is a challenge to get the increasing amount of content to the analysis points. As a result, low quality video streams are often sent around and much detail is lost, or a low quality sensor is used as there is no ability to deliver greater data rates off the camera.
While the camera sensors, processors, and storage have become dramatically cheaper, dramatically more reliable, and dramatically less power-hungry thanks to continuous improvement in electronics (aka "Moore's Law"), no such dynamic has been at work on the mechanical parts of surveillance cameras. The movie making industry formerly used low-volume, high-cost dedicated cameras with special lenses, mounts and storage systems until just a few years ago. However, the industry was dramatically changed by the transition to using high-volume consumer photographic and internet technology, in particular sensors (Blackmagic, Canon C-100, Sony NEX-40) and consumer standard lens mounts (EF-Mount, E-mount), as well as the use of internet standards for data storage (H.264, Firewire).
This technology is higher volume and lower cost. Today, one can buy a $300 lens and use it on a $400 Sony NEX-3n for photos and home videos, and then mount that same lens on a $40K system using the same sensor to film a major motion picture while viewing the output of that picture on any standard MacBook.
The Internet has scaled to billions of computers and millions of servers through the use of sophisticated protocols such as HTTP, HTML5, XHTML and to allow queries and processing to run across millions of nodes through technologies like Hadoop. These techniques are well understood by millions of developers and development classes are taught at the high school level in the US.
Pan/Tilt/Zoom Cameras have relatively narrow fields of view and solve the need to get high resolution by employing optical zooms of 3-10×, with a complex lens system. They solve the problem of coverage by motors that can pan the camera as much as 360 degrees around or tilt the camera up and down. These are complex mechanical systems that require maintenance and calibration.
Some camera systems will embed multiple PTZ cameras into a single housing to provide higher resolution and achieve scale economies. To provide adequate coverage, cameras are often mounted in various locations in a distributed camera network. They may also automatically scan various locations in a regular patrol path if they are PTZ cameras. When there are multiple targets, the surveillance system may direct some cameras to zoom while other cameras may continue to pan.
Because the entire area cannot be continuously scanned, these systems use algorithms such as Kalman Consensus Tracking to estimate the positions of objects that cameras cannot current see. These systems require careful calibration of the placement of cameras to ensure tracking is done properly.
Current surveillance systems use a small sensor focused on video at NTSC resolutions and increasingly HD resolution (1920×1080 or 2 megapixels at 30 frames per second typically). These systems typically have relatively narrow and fixed fields-of-view and require many cameras to cover an area while getting enough resolution to identify objects. These cameras are manually installed and calibrated by hand to ensure their placement is correct.
Some cameras use a single video sensor with a panoramic lens to replace the need for PTZ, however by spreading the resolution across 180 or 360 degrees, while pan and tilt are not necessary, resolution is poor at any particular area. Some cameras incorporate "Digital Zoom", replacing a mechanical zoom lens with digital expansion of the image. This is sometimes marketed as "Digital Pan/Tilt/Zoom" although there is no real pan or tilt feature and there is a loss of resolution.
Some cameras may have infra-red sensitive lenses and infrared radiators to see in low light or in the dark. Some cameras have dual cameras to provide stereo vision to allow distance estimation of objects. Cameras are either connected by video coax cable or they stream their video feeds over the Internet as real-time video streams (RTP) or by providing web pages from the cameras. Some cameras are wireless using WiFi or proprietary methods. Certain research systems use dual-radio systems with low bandwidth communications (e.g., Bluetooth) handled separate from high bandwidth (e.g. WiFi). Some cameras allow storage of images on SD or other cards which may be manually removed later for analysis. Surveillance systems feed into forensic and scene analysis tools; there are many systems that take a set of images from a single camera and analyze them. However they often cannot work on the full camera video resolution due to bandwidth constraints, and often cannot work in real-time. Intelligent Video Surveillance Systems are typically single cameras designed to detect specific abnormal events such as an object crossing a line and to send a message over a network. These formats are proprietary to each camera vendor and must be uniquely programmed. Some camera vendors (for example Axis) have created a developer program to allow limited placement of code directly on their cameras, permitting some limited analysis at image capture time on the sensor images using proprietary protocols and interfaces. This is an example of a smart camera, which are cameras that include a system-on-chip to provide additional scene analysis and video compression with a variety of applications as well as being able to send proprietary notification events to typically proprietary systems (e.g., Axis Surveillance system). Research has also been done on distributed smart cameras, which are fully distributed camera systems where each camera is a peer and attempts to cooperate with other cameras to in a distributed way handoff tracking of objects as they move. They do not have central controllers, but rather a peer-to-peer network where the cameras cooperate with each other using proprietary protocols (e.g., CORBA). These systems typically make heavy use of PTZ mechanisms and various path prediction algorithms to track targets in an area with very limited or spotty coverage due to the expense of the cameras involved.


Molding methods and molds for making a synthetic resin molded product include disposing a curable liquid resin mixture in a recess of a female mold. The curable liquid resin mixture is then simultaneously agitated and degassed by a mixer while under a partial vacuum. More specifically, at least the female mold is orbited around an orbital axis while being rotated about a rotational axis that is eccentric to the orbital axis. After being thoroughly mixed and degassed, the liquid mixture is then cured in the mold unit.

There is a long-felt need in the art for molding methods and molds capable of manufacturing high-precision products (e.g., mechanical parts, electric parts, electronic parts, or the like). The liquid mixture used for molding can be a mixture of different liquid materials, i.e., a liquid mixture, and these liquid mixtures may include high-viscosity liquid materials.
However, when a molding method is performed using a mixture of high-viscosity liquid materials, an undesirable possibility exists that minute air bubbles will be trapped in the liquid mixture during the process of mixing and agitating the liquid materials, especially in case the liquid materials are mixed and agitated without any special care.
Further, an additional possibility exists that high-viscosity liquid materials will trap ambient air while being injected into a mold, and the trapped air will end up as air bubbles entrained in the molded material. Still further, when the molding is performed using high-viscosity liquid materials, the inner surface of a mold (that may have, e.g., very small gaps, undercuts, or the like) may not be completely filled and covered with the liquid mixture (i.e., the liquid mixture does not reach all portions of the entire inner surface of the mold), which may undesirably lead to surface imperfections on the final molded product.
It is possible to perform the degassing of the mixed material prior to injecting the mixed liquid material into the mold. However, when at least one of liquid components has a high viscosity, air bubbles can become undesirably entrained in the liquid mixture if the liquid mixture is degassed without any special care.
In any event, if air bubbles are contained in the liquid mixture in the mold or if the inner surface of the mold is not completely filled with the liquid mixture, then the final molded product will have defects. That is, the molded product will contain air bubbles (i.e., voids) within the interior of the final molded product or on the surface thereof.
For these reasons, there has been the need in the art to agitate the liquid mixture while effectively degassing the liquid mixture. One known technique comprises using a mixer to agitate and degas the liquid mixture by placing the liquid mixture in a container and then simultaneously rotating and orbiting the container under a vacuum (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H11-104404).


A method and system for compressing and amplifying light pulses using degenerate cross-phase modulation and degenerate four-wave mixing. A probe pulse and a pair of pump pulses are arranged so as to copropogate in condensed matter with the pump pulses having the same frequency as the probe pulse. The first pump pulse overlaps with the front end of the probe pulse while, the second pump pulse overlaps with the tail end of the probe pulse. The probe pulse is linearly polarized. The pump pulses are orthogonally polarized relative to the probe pulse so that they can be filtered out using a polarizer and have a greater intensity than the probe pulse. The propagation constant mismatch between the probe pulse and the pump pulses is equal to about zero.

The present invention relates to a method and system for compressing and amplifying ultrashort laser pulses.
As used herein, the term "ultrashort laser pulse" refers to a pulse of light in around the picosecond or femtosecond size emitted from a laser.
When an intense ultrashort laser pulse propagates through condensed matter, it temporally distorts the atomic and molecular configuration of the matter. This distortion of the matter instantaneously results in a change in the refractive index of the matter. This change in the index of refraction is directly proportional to the intensity of the propagating intense pulse. The change in the refractive index of the matter, in turn, causes a phase change in the propagating intense light pulse. The phase change causes a frequency sweep within the pulse envelope, typically resulting in a blue shift at the tail end of the pulse and a red shift at the front of the pulse. Typically, the effect is a spectral broadening of the pulse resulting in the generation of a supercontinuum. This spectral effect on the propagating intense light pulse is typically referred to as a self-phase modulation effect.
In addition to experiencing self-phase modulation, an intense ultrashort laser pulse propagating through condensed matter will typically undergo self-focusing, that is, a narrowing of the cross-sectional diameter of the pulse. Self-focusing occurs because, typically, the intensity of a pulse of light is greatest at its center and weakest at its outer edges. Since n is directly proportional to the intensity of the pulse, the center of the pulse causes a greater change in refractive index of the matter than the outer edges of the pulses. Consequently, the center of the pulse travels slower than its outer edges, causing the outer edges to bend in towards the center of the pulse. This effect causes the beam to focus.
In addition to experiencing self-phase modulation and self-focusing, an intense ultrashort laser pulse propagating through condensed matter may also be used to induce the phase modulation of and/or the focusing of a co-propagating weak light pulse. These phenomena are typically referred to as cross-phases modulation and induced focusing, respectively.
Cross-phase modulation may result in either frequency shifting (i.e., blue shifting or red shifting) or spectral broadening (i.e., supercontinuum generation), the particular effect depending on the relative times at which the weak pulse and the intense pulse propagate through the matter. For example, if the intense pulse has a greater wavelength than the weak pulse, the intense pulse will travel faster through the matter. Therefore, if the intense and weak pulses are sent propagating into the matter at the same time, the weak pulse will be exposed predominately to the change in refractive index caused by the tail end of the intense pulse. (This is referred to commonly as tail walk-off). The result of tail walk-off is a blue shift of the weak pulse. Analagously, if the weak pulse is sent propagating into the matter ahead of the intense pulse, the weak pulse will feel the effects of the refractive index change due to the front end of the intense pulse (front walk-off). The result of front walk-off is a shaft of the weak pulse to the red. Finally, if the weak and intense pulses are sent propagating into the material so that the weak pulse is subjected to the changes in the refractive index caused by both the tail end and the front end of the intense pulse (e.g. symmetric walk-off or no walk-off), the weak pulse broadens spectrally to both the red and the blue.
Spectral changes arising from cross-phase modulation may lead to changes in the temporal profile of the weak pulse when it propagates into a dispersive medium (i.e. an optical fiber) or a dispersive optical component (i.e. a grating or a prism). For example, if cross-phase modulation results in the spectral broadening of the weak pulse, a further propagation of the weak pulse through a grating pair may slow down its re-shifted frequencies (generated by XPM at the pulse front) with respect to its blues shifted frequencies (generated by XPM at the pulse back), and consequently reduces the pulse duration of the weak pulse.
Cross-phase modulation may also be used to change the spatial distribution of copropagating weak pulses. This effect occurs when the intense pulse generates a spatially-dependent non-linear refractive index. For example, a pump pulse with a Gaussian spatial distribution of its intensity generates a higher refractive index on the propagation axis of the weak pulse. As a consequence, the outer edges of the weak pulse bend in towards the center of the pulse, and the weak pulse focuses.
As a term of art, cross-phase modulation is frequently used generically to refer to both cross-phase modulation and induced focusing.
Condensed matter is very well known in the art. Examples of condensed matter are BK-7 glass, CdSe, liquid Cs.sub.2, NaCl crystal, doped glasses, semiconductor bulk and quantum structures, microcrystalline semiconductor particles in glasses polydiacetylene organic polymer and optical fibers.

Method and system for compressing and amplifying ultrashort laser pulses


A method for metallizing semiconductor materials includes two processing steps. In the first step, a layer of an alloy of conductive metal, such as aluminum, and an Alloy Material such as hafnium, tantalum, magnesium, germanium, silicon, titanium, titanium nitride, tungsten and/or a composite of tungsten, is deposited on the surface in a single step from a single source. In the second step, a layer of the conductive metal is deposited over the alloy layer. Thus, using this method, metallization can be conveniently performed using two chambers.

Integrated circuits are usually produced from large wafers of semiconductor material such as, for example, silicon or gallium arsenide, from which a plurality of chips can be simultaneously produced. The dimensions of the individual chips are delineated by scoring or grooving the wafer in checkerboard fashion. Each chip is provided with a circuit pattern by using standard masking and photolithographic methods to form an integrated circuit. Contact-holes are also provided for connecting between different conductive layers on a circuit.
The conductive film or metallization typically serves to electrically connect together the devices of an integrated circuit, to connect one integrated circuit to another, to allow access from outside the circuit and to form electrodes for devices. The metal most commonly used for metallization is aluminum. The aluminum can be deposited on the semiconductor wafer using any one of a variety of conventional deposition techniques, such as, for example, sputtering or evaporation. Copper can be used as an alternative to aluminum for interconnections.
Conventional metallization involves several steps preparatory to actually depositing the aluminum layer. A barrier layer can be deposited first after a contact opening is formed, if desired, to prevent the aluminum from dissolving silicon from the substrate layer, a problem referred to as "spiking." Where copper is used as the interconnect layer, a barrier layer is used to prevent the copper from diffusing into the silicon substrate which will deteriorate the performance of transistor properties.
FIGS. 1A through 1F, show a common process for forming a multi-layer metal interconnect structure. A conducting layer 100 of doped silicon or other material is provided and covered with an insulating layer 102, such as SiO.sub.2 or Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 as shown in FIG. 1A. A contact hole 104 is formed through the insulating layer 102 using conventional photolithographic techniques to expose a portion of the conducting layer 100.
FIG. 1B shows a barrier layer 106 formed over the surface of the structure of FIG. 1A. A barrier layer 106 is provided when the potential for aluminum spiking or copper diffusion into silicon can cause a failure. Typically, the barrier layer 106 is deposited onto the bottom of the contact opening. The barrier layer 106 is typically a compound of titanium-tungsten or titanium nitride and is very thin, on the order of 50-200 .ANG. at the bottom. The barrier layer processing step shown in FIG. 1B is optional and its use depends upon the materials being used.
The next conventional step includes forming an adhesion layer 108 of a refractory metal, typically, titanium. Other materials include tungsten germanium and silicon. The adhesion layer provides for good adhesion of a subsequently deposited aluminum layer to the surface of the semiconductor wafer, including any dielectric materials which may have been deposited. This layer is typically 20 to 500 .ANG. thick at the bottom of opening 104.
Next, a layer of aluminum or copper 110 is formed, typically by sputter deposition at a temperature between room temperature and 200.degree. C. as shown in FIG. 1D. The aluminum layer can be formed of an aluminum alloy such as 1% silicon and/or 0.5% copper. Unfortunately, the deposition steps required for FIGS. 1C and 1D require separate deposition chambers to avoid contamination, the necessity of changing the target and other related deleterious factors. Such methods have dedicated deposition chambers for each layer. These chambers are mounted to a central vacuum transfer chamber, so that the layers are not exposed to any ambient, other than vacuum, typically in the range of IE-9 to IE-7 Torr, during transfer from one chamber to the next.
As shown in FIG. 1D, the step coverage of the aluminum aluminum alloy, copper or copper alloy layer can be poor. To improve the step coverage, heat is applied in the step of FIG. 1E in excess of 300.degree. C. and typically in the temperature range of 400.degree. C. to 600.degree. C. This anneal step may be performed in the deposition chamber or in a separate anneal chamber. This causes the aluminum or copper layer 110' to flow and form an alloy layer 108' of the material deposited as the adhesion layer 108 and the aluminum or copper 110 as shown in FIG. 1E. During this heating step, a limited portion of the aluminum combines with the refractory metal to form an aluminum/refractory alloy 108'.
Lastly, additional aluminum or copper is deposited in a third deposition step which combines with the reflowed aluminum or copper layer 110' to form a thicker aluminum or copper layer 110" and thereby reduce the electrical impedance of this metal layer as shown in FIG. 1F.
An alternative process sequence has been the deposition of a thin aluminum or copper layer 110, typically 500 to 4000 angstroms. At temperatures less than 300.degree. C. as in FIG. 1D, followed by deposition of a hot aluminum or hot copper layer 111 at temperatures between 400 and 600.degree. C., FIG. 1E, during this hot step, part of layer 110 combines with layer 108 (FIG. 1D) to form a composite alloy layer 108' (FIG. 1E). This allows for the hot aluminum or hot copper layer 112 to flow into the opening 104. The hot aluminum or hot copper deposition can be continued until a fully planarized surface is obtained, FIG. 1F.
These processes are time consuming, and require the use of at least three different deposition chambers in order to complete a single metallization. (Four deposition chambers are needed if a barrier layer is included in the process.) Accordingly, the need exists for a process which reduces the time and equipment required to produce metallization on a semiconductor wafer.

Method of metallizing a semiconductor wafer


The inventive system, which is used in transmitting illumination from a central source to a variety of remote locations, efficiently couples the light originating from a lamp, or similar source, into a multiplicity of flexible macroscopic fibers. The combination of the several elements of the inventive system results in a very efficient transfer of the energy of the light source to the fibers. Light from the lamp is fed to a spherical configuration of ports, with each port having one or more flexible macroscopic fibers connected thereto.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to reflectors and, more particularly, to reflectors for coupling light from a light source into one or more light guides.
2. Description of Related Art
Large diameter fiber optics, often referred to as "flexible light guides", are well known in the art, and typically comprise a single, solid core light guide which is surrounded by a cladding layer and a sheath or shielding layer. The core is the portion of a light guide which transmits light, and typically has a diameter of about 2 to 12 mm. It is formed of a very soft, semi-liquid plastic material, such as OPTIFLEX.RTM., which is manufactured by Rohm & Haas Corporation, of Philadelphia, Pa. The cladding layer typically comprises polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE or TEFLON.RTM.), or the like, while the outer sheath is fabricated of a material such as polyvinylchloride (PVC). Unlike small diameter light guides, which are typically used to transmit information in relatively complex control systems, these large diameter "light guides" are typically employed in a variety of illumination systems where direct lighting is difficult to maintain, dangerous, or subject to vandalism. Examples include architectural lighting, display cases, pools and spas (to eliminate electrical connections near water), hazardous material zones (to eliminate the need for sealed lighting), and jail cells. Large diameter light guides are particularly advantageous in that only a single centralized illumination system must be maintained, rather than a plurality of individual lights.
There are problems, however, in implementing state of the art light guide illumination systems because of the difficulty of illuminating a plurality of light guides from a single illumination source, as is discussed in related application Ser. No. 08/374,163 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,911. Early prior art systems attempted to bundle the light guides as closely as possible in order to maximize efficiency and to ensure the maximum ratio of core area (the part of each light guide which actually transmits light) to total area. The light guides are round and thus have a great deal of space between them due in part to the cladding and shielding layers. All of the light not falling upon the cores is wasted, and becomes an efficiency loss, since it will not be transmitted by the light guides. Additionally, packing the light guides closely together creates problems such as mechanical difficulties in configuring and accommodating the illumination system and difficulties encountered in attempting to replace one of the individual bundled light guides. This design also typically results in color variation between light guides unless techniques are specifically employed to prevent this problem.
One prior art solution to this problem has been to eliminate the sheathing and cladding layers about each light guide, in order to reduce the area across the bundled array of light guides which does not transmit light. However, there is still a packing factor problem because the light guides are round, and there are other physical disadvantages in eliminating those layers. Thus, this solution is unsatisfactory for most applications.
A number of prior art approaches use reflectors for focussing light from a source of illumination into one or more light guides. U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,793 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,056, both to Davenport et al., disclose lighting systems which use a single reflector assembly for illuminating light transmissive elements. U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,571 to Saadatmanesh et al. discloses a multi-segmented lens which divides light from a light beam into four separate beams, each of which is focussed onto a separate optical fiber. U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,605 to Whitehead discloses an electric light source mounted between two reflectors, each of which directs light into a corresponding light guide. U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,337 to Cassarly et al. discloses a light source and a plurality of curved reflectors for focussing light into lenses and then into a plurality of light guides. The use of reflectors and multi-segmented lenses by the prior art for coupling light into light guides has represented some advancement over the prior art bundled light guides, but the need for a proper and efficient coupling of a light source to a plurality of light guides still remains.
In many cases the proper and efficient coupling of a light source to a plurality of light guides changes according to the particular light source being used. Modern electrodeless lamps, for example, which are electrodeless and burn very brightly, can be too powerful for coupling to only one or two light guides. If an inefficient coupling is used the effective luminosity may be reduced for a better match with the light guides, but the cost of running the system will then be unreasonably high as a result of the wasted energy. Efficiency is still desired so that the energy associated with generating the high luminosity of such a bright illumination source can be fully utilized.
Another problem associated with prior art designs is the large number of optical components associated with these designs. Reducing the number of parts of any optical design would appear to be advantageous to any system.

Spherical multiport illuminator optic design for light guides

Remote Source Lighting International, Inc.


Systems and methods directed to augmenting advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) features of a vehicle with image processing support in on-board vehicle platform are described herein. Images may be received from one or more image sensors associated with an ADAS of a vehicle. The received images may be processed. An action is determined based upon, at least in part, the processed images. A message is transmitted to an ADAS controller responsive to the determination.

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are systems intended to help the driver in the driving process, often aimed at increasing vehicle and road safety, as well as providing convenience. An example of an ADAS feature is lane departure warning. In certain conventional lane departure warning systems, one or more laser sensors, infrared sensors, or a combination thereof, can be implemented.
Certain implementations will now be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various implementations and/or aspects are shown. However, various aspects may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein; rather, these implementations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Augmenting ADAS features of a vehicle with image processing support in on-board vehicle platform


A pipeline tester is disclosed that is capable of testing systems-on-a-chip (SOCs) or Devices Under Test (DUTs) in pipeline fashion. The tester provides faster, more economical testing of such SOCs and DUTs, which are loaded sequentially into the tester. A plurality of underlying test stations are disposed in the tester. Above the test stations are disposed corresponding test fixtures which are configured to receive moveable test beds therein. The test beds are mechanically and electrically connected to the underlying test stations. Loaded within each test bed is an SOC or DUT on which one or more electrical or electronic tests are performed. Once the test has been completed, the test bed is moved to another test station, where another electrical or electronic test is performed.

To ensure proper functionality and reliability, manufacturers typically test SOC integrated circuits (ICs) before shipping SOC ICs to customers. One system commonly employed to test SOC ICs is the Agilent 93000 SOC Tester, which supports concurrent tests. Portions of the Agilent 93000 SOC Tester are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,778 to Hirschmann entitled "Measuring and/or calibrating a Test Head;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,541 to Botka et al. entitled "Blind Mate Connector for an Electronic Circuit Tester;" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,701 to Veteran et al. entitled "Docking System for an Electronic Circuit Tester."
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, Agilent 93000 Tester 100 comprises test head 110 with DUT (Device under test) interface 120, manipulator 130 for positioning test head 110, DUT board 150 which plugs into underlying DUT interface 120, support rack 140 for supplying test head 110 with electrical power, cooling water and compressed air (not shown in the Figures) and a computer workstation (not shown in the Figures) which serves as the user interface to Tester 100.
Test head 110 comprises tester electronics and additional analog modules. In past, test head 110 has been configured with 512 pins or 1024 pins. The 512 pin test head supports 4 card cages while the 1024 pin test head supports 8 card cages. Each card cage can contain 8 digital boards or 8 analog modules, respectively. A single board has 16 pins, making 128 pins per cage. Therefore, the 4-cage test head contains 512 pins and the 8-cage test head 1024 pins. The DUT is mounted on DUT board 150, which is connected to the I/O channels by DUT interface 120. DUT interface 120 consists of high performance coax cabling and spring contact pins (pogo pins) which establish electrical connection with DUT board 120.
DUT interface 120 provides docking capabilities to handlers and wafer probers. The docking mechanism is controlled by compressed air (not shown in the Figures), and if required may also be operated manually. Test head 110 is water-cooled and receives its cooling water supply from support rack 140, which in turn is connected by two flexible hoses to the cooling unit (not shown in the Figures).
General-purpose manipulator 130 supports and positions test head 110. Manipulator 130 provides 6 degrees of freedom for precise and repeatable connections between test head 100 and handlers or wafer probers. Support rack 140 is attached to manipulator 130 and serves as the interface between test head 110 and AC power, cooling water and compressed air. Tester 100 may also comprise additional support racks such as analog support racks for installing additional analog instruments.
An HP-UX workstation (not shown in the Figures) may serve as the interface between the user and tester 100. At the present time, Agilent 93000 SOC Series SmarTest software runs on the HP-UX workstation under the HP-UX operating system, although other suitable operating systems such as Linux or other workstations may certainly be used. SmarTest allows setups and test data to be downloaded to the test system, and further permits editing of such information. All testing is carried out in the test system. Results are read back by the workstation and displayed on the monitor. During test program execution, upload and download are typically not required since the test processors act independently from the workstation once the test program has begun running.
On the workstation, a diagnostic program can be run to check the system periodically or to identify the source of a problem. Configuration of Tester 100 involves assigning digital channel boards, power supplies, and analog instruments to specific channels of the test head and providing for associated mainframe components (such as an alternate master clock (AMC)) external to the test head.
Test head electronics components supply power to the various DUTs and perform measurements. Some test head functions and key elements are as follows:                DC/DC conversion and distribution of supply voltages        Interfacing via fiber optical cable to the workstation        Internal communication via data bus, address bus, and control bus        Communication clock generation and distribution        Master clock generation and distribution        High precision parametric measurement unit (HPPMU)        Interfacing to external clock        Supplying power to the DUT        Making channel measurements
Such flexibility in Tester 100 allows for on-the-fly grouping of pins into virtual ports to test target IP blocks. As a result, the platform is capable of testing multiple blocks concurrently. Once a test has been completed, tester pins may be immediately reconfigured and assembled into new port configurations to conduct a completely different set of tests.
The architecture of Tester 100 provides support for concurrent tests on potentially dozens of ports with different sequencing and digital data rates. The test-processor-per-pin architecture of Tester 100 allows it to function as a scalable platform. Tester 100 supports test technologies that include RF, analog, digital and mixed signal, each fully capable of being used concurrently.
FIG. 2 illustrates the placing of DUT 160 on packaged parts DUT board 150, and the positioning of DUT board 150 above test head 110.
One of the most expensive components of manufacturing an integrated circuit or chip is "cost of test." Consequently, increasing the throughput of Tester 100 becomes imperative in reducing cost. Increasing throughput in an economic manner has proven easier said than done, however. To date, the principal methods employed to utilize tester 100's resources efficiently and cost-effectively have been: (a) parallel test; (b) concurrent test and (c) strip test.
Parallel test methods permit multiple DUTs to be tested simultaneously, typically on four different sites. The biggest problem characterizing parallel test techniques is that sufficient resources must be available to operate simultaneously all sites, and that at any given moment during testing most resources are not being actively utilized. Consequently, the time to test a chip is the amount of time required to run a full test plan. A performance increase of "num sites×time of complete test-plan" results.
Concurrent test methods permit several tests to be performed on a DUT simultaneously. DUTs amenable to concurrent test methods, however, usually must be designed with concurrent tests in mind. Resources are usually better utilized in concurrent tests than in Parallel tests, and can result in significantly shortened test times. Several drawbacks to concurrent test methods exist: Not all tests may be run concurrently; concurrent testing requires greater up-front investment in equipment to design DUTs amenable to concurrent testing; many chip diagrams generally do not lend themselves to "design for concurrent test;" and "designing for concurrent test" may lead to less-than-optimal chip design.
Strip test methods do not involve using tester resources in some superior fashion, but in using a handler more efficiently through reducing index handler time. The distance a handler moves between DUTs mounted on a strip is minimal while between strips handler index time remains constant. In strip testing, some preprocessing and post handler processing of DUTs is required. Strip test methods require DUT binning that must be done after testing has been completed. Much information must also be processed to properly bin tested DUTs.
In summary, a review of current test options shows that parallel test methods are capable of testing DUTs at a rate up to about four times that of conventional methods but require quite complex systems; strip test methods merely reduce handler index times; and concurrent test methods have hidden design costs and other tradeoffs.
What is needed is an improved method of testing SOCs that results in faster testing at lower cost, where the improved method can function in combination with older testers, other equipment and methods.

System-on-a-chip pipeline tester and method


A method for sequencing includes steps of (a) providing first and second nucleic acid templates, wherein the two templates have different sequences; (b) extending a first primer bound to the first template using a first polymerase species and a first set of nucleotide analogs; (c) extending a second primer bound to the second template using a second polymerase species and a second set of nucleotide analogs, wherein the first polymerase species is different from the second polymerase species and wherein the first set of nucleotide analog is different from the second set of nucleotide analog, (d) detecting the first and second primer extension products; and (e) repeating steps (b) through (d), thereby determining the different sequences of the first and second templates.

This disclosure relates generally to nucleic acid analysis, and more specifically to nucleic acid sequencing.
Currently available commercial platforms for sequencing DNA are relatively costly. These platforms use a 'sequencing-by-synthesis' approach, so called because DNA polymers are synthesized while detecting the addition of each monomer (i.e. nucleotide) to the growing polymer structure. Because a template DNA strand strictly directs synthesis of a new DNA polymer, one can infer the sequence of the template DNA from the series of nucleotide monomers that were added to the growing strand during the synthesis. The ability to detect monomer additions is facilitated by specially engineered variants of the biochemical components that normally carry out DNA synthesis in biological systems. These engineered components are relatively expensive to make and are consumed in relatively large amounts during sequencing-by-synthesis. Furthermore, monitoring the reaction uses relatively expensive hardware such as lasers, detection optics and complex fluid delivery systems. The most successful commercial platforms to date also require expensive reagents and hardware to amplify the DNA templates before sequencing-by-synthesis can even begin. The complexity and expense of these platforms has hindered their use in some clinical and research contexts where there is a clear need for the technology.
Thus, there exists a need for improvements to sequencing-by-synthesis platforms to make them more cost effective, rapid and convenient. The present disclosure addresses this need and provides other advantages as well.