The thin-film transistor for liquid crystal display according to the present invention has an inverted-staggered structure in which source and drain electrodes are formed above a gate electrode on a glass substrate, and comprises a nondoped amorphous silicon film as a channel region just above the gate electrode, and a borosilicate glass film formed on the amorphous silicon film. Preferably, the transistor further includes a silicon nitride film formed over the borosilicate glass film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a field effect transistor for liquid crystal display, and more particularly to an inverted-staggered type field effect transistor with excellent stability for liquid crystal display.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, active matrix type liquid crystal display in which thin-film transistors are used as switching elements occupies an increasingly higher percentage of liquid crystal displays. Thin-film transistors used generally for this purpose are of amorphous silicon type which can be fabricated at low temperatures on a large area glass substrate. Besides, many of such amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (a-SiTFT) have the so-called inverted staggered structure in which source and drain electrodes are formed above a gate electrode.
FIG. 1 illustrates in cross-sectional view an example of a thin-film transistor for liquid crystal display element in the prior art (See Symposium of JAPAN DISPLAY '89, p. 516, FIG. 4).
As shown in FIG. 1, a gate electrode 2 is formed on a glass substrate 1. The gate electrode 2 is made of an alloy of Mo and Ta. The gate electrode 2 and the glass substrate 1 are covered with a deposited gate oxide film 3 of silicon oxide (SiO.sub.2). An undoped amorphous silicon film 4 is selectively formed on the gate oxide film 3 above the gate electrode 2. An n.sup.+ -type amorphous silicon film 5 is formed on the amorphous silicon film 4. Besides, on the gate oxide film 3, a pixel electrode 6 of indium-tin oxide (ITO) is also formed in a selected area except the area just above the gate electrode 2. There is further a pair of source and drain (Mo film 7a and Al film 8) electrodes formed in specified patterns by sequential deposition of Mo film 7a and Al film 8 over the whole resultant surface and then etching away to selectively remove them. The source and drain regions (n.sup.+ amorphous silicon film 5) are patterned by selectively removing the n.sup.+ -type amorphous silicon film 5 between the source and drain electrodes (in the area just above the gate electrode). At the top, there is a passivation film 9 of silicon nitride (SiNx) deposited except the pixel electrode 6. Finally, a liquid crystal 14 is inserted between the glass substrate 1 and an opposite electrode 13 formed on an opposite glass substrate 12 to form a liquid crystal display.
In a thin-film transistor for liquid crystal display having such inverted-staggered structure as described above, the so-called back channel region which is between the source and drain regions 5 and is opposed to the gate electrode is formed with its surface upward, and SiNx film 9 formed thereon as a passivation film works as a barrier to the Na.sup.+ ions.
In the above-described conventional thin-film transistor for liquid crystal display, a problem is encountered that when SiNx film 9 is formed on a nondoped amorphous silicon film 4 containing a large amount of hydrogen, there is a tendency to generate fixed charges on the back-channel side of amorphous silicon film 4, which may cause an increase in an OFF current between the source and drain regions and/or a change in the threshold voltage, resulting in changing the characteristics of the transistor.

Thin film transistor with excellent stability for liquid crystal display


A sailcloth in roll good form permits efficient and cost effective construction of cross cut and vertical cut, laminate sails based on “off-angle,” (asymmetrical) load bearing fibers. The sailcloth also may include a conventional warp and fill thread or fiber layout. Such sailcloth illustratively is significantly less susceptible to load force stretch, creep elongation, and airfoil shape deformation because, among other things, it is not dependent on the load bearing limitations of symmetrical, woven or knitted roll good sailcloth.

Maintenance of the airfoil shape of a sail is critical to its performance. Conventional woven, knit, or scrim sailcloth, whether of natural fibers or the latest polyester, nylon, aramid, PEN, PBO, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWP), or carbon fiber, is prone to stretch, creep elongation, and airfoil shape deformation because of non-linear forces on the sailcloth under load, particularly when sailing upwind. When sailcloth is stretched and deformed, the airfoil shape of the sail is deformed, and the lifting capability of the airfoil is degraded. Since the mid 1970's, a number of load force advances have been made in the design of sails, in the use of different materials, and in methods of constructing sails, all intended to limit stretch, creep, elongation, and deformation of sailcloth and sails. These advances range from ever more tightly woven fabrics, development of more resilient fibers, alternative designs for sail panels, computer aided analysis of load forces, and computer aided design and manufacture of integrally interconnected sailcloth panels for individual sails, computer aided design of the direction of the thread or fiber layout of each panel of individual sails, and computer aided, three dimensional "molding" of individual sails.
Flat, or working sails, are those sails used to propel a sailing vessel as close as possible into the wind, tacking, or at wider angles across the wind, reaching. Sails in this category include mainsails, jibs, Genoas, and a variety of other sails that usually have at least one edge attached to a mast, boom, or wire running from a spar to the vessel. In this realm of working sails are two categories of sailcloth that can be defined as woven and laminated cloth.
Woven Sailcloth & Cross-Cut Panel Layouts
Woven sailcloth is typically made with continuous filament polyester, such as Dacron, on looms that permit very dense constructions. This style of cloth is created by an over-then-under intersection of warp (fibers running the length of the roll) and weft (fibers running across the width of the roll) yarns that are tightly packed together. By varying the size, or denier, of these fibers in conjunction with the fiber count in either direction, the stretch properties of the cloth may be altered to better suit a particular sail design. For example, by combining a relatively large weft yarn with a small warp yarn, all the crimp displacement can be allocated to the warp yarn, in effect, the loom is bending the warps around the weft fibers that are being held straight. The result is a low stretch fabric in the weft direction with the warp direction easier to stretch as the added length of crimp gets pulled out of the fiber with loading.
With the exception of some experiments using tri-axial weaves which were symmetrical about the warp and the 45° axis, conventional woven sailcloth has been based upon a symmetric warp—weft fiber orientation of 0° for the warp and 90° for the weft. These fabrics are most commonly arranged in cross-cut panel configurations to align the stronger weft fibers up the leech of the sail in the general direction of the loading out of the head and clew corners of the sail. For the loads not following this path, the stability of the woven cloth generated by the very tight weave and resin finish helps reduce off thread-line stretch and promotes recovery from any cloth elongation that does occur. While some woven sail fabrics are designed to be used in radial constructions, the vast majority of sails made from woven Dacron are designed with cross-cut panel layouts. Because the woven cloth is typically symmetrical about the warp axis or machine direction, the fabric can be rolled either way in the panel, leech to luff or luff to leech, and still maintain the desired alignment of the weft fibers to the loads. However, the symmetry of the woven cloth can also be inefficient, since various fibers in the cloth may not be aligned to a load.
An exemplary cross-cut sail 100 is illustrated in FIG. 1(a). The fabric layout in an exemplary panel 102 of the cross-cut sail is illustrated in FIG. 1(b). Cross-cut sail constructions can vary in some details but the general panel layout has the seams of the cloth running from the leech of the sail to the luff at an angle roughly perpendicular to a straight line from the clew to the head of the sail. In so doing, the weft threads 106, which are usually lower in stretch than the warp fibers 104 in a cross-cut panel, are aligned with the strongest loads in the sail. Cross-cut panels 102 are generally rectangular in shape with one edge cut at an angle where it affixes to the mast. The cross-cut panels 102 are joined along their long edges which are slightly curved by the sailmaker to provide the necessary 3-dimensional shaping in the finished sail to generate lift.
Because the panels are generally rectangular, they can be cut from rolls of woven fabric with relatively little wasted material. The full width of the cloth can be utilized and with careful nesting of the panels to align the short edges together, it is not uncommon to achieve fabric utilization of 90 -95%, meaning, for example, the sailmaker will need to order 55 yards of fabric for a sail that will ultimately use 50 yards of material.
Laminated Sailcloth and Tri-Radial Layouts
In the early 1980's, higher modulus fibers like Kevlar were introduced to sailcloth manufacturers. With considerably more strength and lower stretch than polyester Dacron fibers, Kevlar was first trialed in high performance sails for the America's Cup. Prone to flex fatigue and having no shrinkage even with high temperatures, this new fiber did not lend itself to the traditional tightly woven constructions used with Dacron and further tightened up with shrinkage through heat-setting.
Rather, this new fiber was woven into more loosely designed constructions that were stabilized with the addition of a Mylar film. By laminating a sheet of 2 or 3 mil film to these Kevlar taffetas, the cloth manufacturers imparted enough stability to the weaves to resist the off-thread line loading and allow the sails to hold their designed shapes. Early trials were plagued with failures in lamination and actual cloth breakage but improvements in lamination techniques and a better understanding of fiber content to strength requirements has all but eliminated those problems.
Concurrent to the advent of laminated cloth was the development of the tri-radial panel construction, first used in sails for the America's Cup. An exemplary tri-radial sail 201 is shown in FIG. 2(a), while the fabric layout of an exemplary panel 202 is shown in FIG. 2(b). This construction technique allows the sailmaker to align the warp thread line 204 of the cloth in the general direction of the loads emanating out of the sail corners. Hand in hand with this trend, cloth suppliers started to make warp oriented laminates where the majority of the fabric's strength was in the warp thread 204 direction and not in the direction of the weft threads 206. Because laminators can keep a high rate of tension on the warp fibers during manufacture, the stretch resistance of the warp could be optimized to limit fabric elongation to levels not possible in woven cloth. This new construction technique combined with the use of high modulus fibers in warp oriented laminates resulted in a new level of performance in terms of strength to weight and shape retention.
However, tri-radial design and panel configurations increases the labor required to build a sail and the amount of cloth needed to make all the panels. Because radial panels 202, or gores, are generally triangular in shape, they are not as efficiently nested into the sail as is a cross-cut panel. Furthermore, to maintain thread lines in the gores, even with tight panel nesting, a higher percentage of sail fabric is wasted when compared to the cloth utilization with cross-cut panels. Average cloth utilization rates for common tri-radial panel designs are in the 80% range meaning a sailmaker will need to use almost 63 yards of fabric for the same sail that used 55 yards in the cross-cut design example. Compounding the added expense of poor cloth utilization in the tri-radial design is the increased labor required for the assembly of the many more panels than needed for the same sail build as a cross-cut design.
For grand prix racing, where price is not a paramount concern to the sail maker or the sailor and where conventional roll good sailcloth is no longer widely used, some advances have been very successful. These include Peter G. Conrad's "airframe" patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,639, and his "Genesis" patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,080, which constructs a sail "without sailcloth"; and Jeanne-Pierre Baudet's molded sail construction methods, U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,784, U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,689 (used in North Sails' highly regarded 3DL® sails). Other patents, such as Fred Aivars Keir's woven laminate patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,633, may also advance grand prix sailmaking. However, the cost of fabrication and technology required for these advances is beyond the resources of most sail makers and similarly beyond the budgets of most amateur sailors, even serious recreational racing and offshore cruising sailors.
It therefore is desirable for a sailcloth to be both affordable and less susceptible to load force stretch, creep elongation, and airfoil shape deformation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A processing composition for silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, which comprises at least one compound represented by the following formula (A), (A-I) or (A-II) and at least one compound represented by the following formula (B): ##STR1## Also disclosed are a developer prepared from the processing composition, and a processing method using the developer.

The silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is used over a wide range of fields such as the field of platemaking and the field of medical diagnosis. As the application field extends and is intensified, requirements with respect to the development processing step necessary for forming an image are increased, in particular, a rapid and stable development processing is keenly demanded.
The silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is generally processed after exposure through steps of development, fixing and water washing. The black-and-white developer is commonly an alkaline solution containing a hydroquinone which is a dihydroxybenzene-base compound, as a developing agent, an aminophenol or 3-pyrazolidone as an auxiliary developing agent, and a sulfite. Other than the dihydroxybenzene-base compound, endiols such as an ascorbic acid is known to function as a developing agent and recently attracting an attention as a developing agent free of any ecological or toxicological problem as described above. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,688,549 and 3,826,654 disclose that an image can be formed under a high alkaline condition at a pH of at least 12 by using an ascorbic acid as a developing agent. However, these image forming methods are not satisfied in view of either rapidity or formation of a high contrast image.
Several attempts have been made to increase contrast in the development system using an ascorbic acid. For example, Zwicky, J. Phot. Sc., vol. 27, p. 185 (1979) discloses that when an ascorbic acid is used as a sole developing agent, a kind of lith effect is provided. However, this system is low in the contrast as compared with the hydroquinone development system. U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,168 discloses that the use of an ascorbic acid as a developing agent and of N-methyl-p-aminophenol as an auxiliary developing agent enables the formation of an image having a high contrast under a relatively low pH condition of from 8 to 9. However, these image forming methods are not satisfied in view of rapidity and in addition, not preferred in view of environmental concern because a large amount of boric acid must be contained in the developer. JP-B-49-46939 (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication") and U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,879 disclose a system using a bis quaternary ammonium salt and an ascorbic acid in combination, however, although a development acceleration effect may be provided, almost no effect of increasing the contrast is obtained. JP-A-4-32838 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent publication") describes a combination effect of a quaternary salt in the system using an ascorbic acid as a developing agent and a p-aminophenol or N-alkyl-p-aminophenol as an auxiliary developing agent, however, the image obtained is not satisfied in the contrast and the reference does not mention improvement in the progress of development at all. JP-A-5-88306 achieves high contrast by using an ascorbic acid as a sole developing agent and keeping the pH of 12.0 or more, however, the developer used is markedly deteriorated by air oxidation and has a large problem in view of stability.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,727 discloses an example of a development system capable of providing high sensitivity and reduced in stains and fog with a specific developer using an ascorbic acid and a hydrazine derivative as main components, however, the reference does not mention improvement in the contrast at all.
It is known to process a light-sensitive material containing hydrazine with an ascorbic acid developer and this is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,816 and WO93/11456, however, either technique is insufficient in both the contrast and the rapidity. In the latter case, an amine is contained in the developer to achieve the contrast, and this is not preferred in view of environmental concern. A development processing method using an ascorbic acid preferred in view of toxicology, as a developing agent and capable of providing a high contrast image with rapidity, is being demanded, however, satisfactory contrast had not yet been obtained.

Processing composition for silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, developer and processing method using the same


Provided is a navigation system for operating a navigation system, which navigation system includes a first sub navigation system placed at an aeroplane and a second stationary sub system, which first sub navigation system includes a plurality of radio receivers, which radio receivers are configured to receive signal from a plurality of navigation satellites, which navigation system includes at least one processor, which processor is configured to perform calculation of the actual position data, which navigation system includes a radio transmitter, which radio transmitter is configured to transmit position data to communication satellites. The communication satellites can include radio transmitters for transmitting position data to a ground based receiver, which second sub system includes at least one server. Hereby can position data in that way the position of that aeroplane will be calculated and the actual position data and actual time will be stored in the server.

US2017/0082455 discloses an aircraft tracker system for reporting state information for an aircraft. A state of the aircraft is identified using sensor data received from an aircraft sensor system in the aircraft. The state information is transmitted at a reporting rate set using the state of the aircraft identified from the sensor data; at least a crew command or a ground command when at least one of the crew commands is received from a crew interface or the ground command is received from a ground source.


A circuit for connecting multiple signal paths within a multi-mode communication device includes a double balanced mixer circuit selectively functioning as a modulation switch during an unbalanced state. As applied to a transmit section of a CDMA/FM cellular telephone, a dual-function double balanced mixer circuit connects a CDMA IF signal path with an FM audio signal path. The double balanced mixer circuit includes a double balanced mixer connected through oscillator input to an external LC (inductor-capacitor) tank connected to both a PLL (phase lock loop) and an FM audio signal. One signal input of the double balanced mixer receives a CDMA low IF signal, while the other double balanced mixer signal input is connected to a microprocessor-controlled switch for selectively unbalancing the balanced mixer while in the FM mode of operation.

The present invention relates generally to the field of frequency modification, and more specifically, to the field of multi-mode cellular telephone frequency conversion and modulation.
Multi-mode communication devices are capable of operating in two or more different modes for use in two or more different types of communication systems. Among various types of radios and radio communication devices, one type of multi-mode communication device is a dual-mode cellular telephone capable of operating in both analog FM (frequency modulation) systems and digital CDMA (code division multiple access) systems.
CDMA/FM cellular telephones and other communication devices typically include circuitry defining multiple signal paths for processing signals according to the multiple modes supported by the device. Normally, the various signal paths connect at some controlled switched point. It has been found that typical schemes for connecting the signal paths and switching between the various modes of communication can be improved. In one prior CDMA/FM cellular telephone scheme, the CDMA transmit signal path includes a CDMA IF (intermediate frequency) mixer section for up-converting a low frequency IF CDMA transmit signal into a higher frequency IF CDMA transmit signal. A separate FM transmit signal path includes an FM modulation section for modulating an intermediate carrier frequency with an FM audio signal to produce an FM IF signal. Subsequent to the FM modulation section and the CDMA IF mixer section, the two signal paths join each other in an adjustable amplifier section. Unfortunately, by keeping the signal paths separate until the IF stage, this connection scheme requires a large number of components, resulting in a larger, more expensive communication device.
There is, therefore, a need in the industry for a scheme for connecting signal paths of multi-mode communication devices which addresses these and other related, and unrelated, problems.

Dual-function double balanced mixer circuit


A comparative conductivity detection system includes a sample channel assembly and a reference channel assembly. The sample channel assembly includes a sample-fluid channel, a drive electrode, and a detection electrode. The reference channel assembly includes a reference fluid channel, a drive electrode, and a detection electrode. The channels are formed as trenches in a planar substrate. Each electrode is capacitively coupled to its respective channel through a planar cover over the substrate. The drive electrodes are driven anti-synchronously (180xc2x0 out of phase), while the signals induced in the detection electrodes are summed. The summed detection signal indicates the comparative conductivity of the sample and reference fluids. The reference fluid can, for example, include non-sample components of the sample fluid so that artifacts due to the non-sample components are cancelled in the comparative conductivity detector output. Other applications use a reference fluid that is suspected to be a complete or partial match for the sample fluid. In that case, a high degree of cancellation can aid in identification of the sample components. The comparative contactless conductivity detector can be used with a wide variety of chemical separation techniques, including capillary zone electrophoresis and isotachophoresis.

The present invention relates to analytical chemistry and, more particularly, to conductivity detectors used, for example, to detect sample fluid components as they flow in a channel through a detection region. A major objective of the invention is to provide for comparative contactless conductivity detection.
Much of modern progress in the medical, pharmaceutical, environmental, industrial-process, forensic, and other sciences can be attributed to advances in analytical chemistry. One important class of analytical tools separates components of a sample fluid (typically, a mixture of sample components and non-sample components such as carriers, buffers, and surfactants) by moving them at different rates along a separation channel. Once the components are separated, it is usually desirable to quantify, and, perhaps, identify the components. This typically requires detection of the components. Detectors are available to monitor certain parameters, such as conductivity, fluorescence, or absorption of ultraviolet (UV) electromagnetic energy as the components pass through a detection region.
Conductivity detection is appealing for electrophoresis, in which components are separated by an electric field according to their electrophoretic mobilities. Components separated by electrophoresis necessarily have a measurable electrical conductivity associated with their electrophoretic mobilities. More generally, conductivity detection is useful for detecting the components with measurable conductivity regardless of how they arrive at the detector region.
Conductivity detection can be implemented by locating electrodes on the interior walls of an electrophoretic channel, in direct contact with the sample fluid. Typically, drive and detection electrodes oppose each other across a transverse width or diameter of the electrophoretic channel. However, since the electrodes are in contact with the sample fluid, electrochemical reactions at the electrodes can affect both the electrodes and the sample. Such interaction can cause undesirable artifacts within a run and can undermine repeatability between runs. This undesirable interaction between sample and electrodes is avoided by xe2x80x9ccontactlessxe2x80x9d conductivity detection.
In contactless conductivity detection, electrodes are capacitively coupled to the sample fluid through a channel wall. To this end, the electrodes can be formed on the exterior surface of the channel wall. Since the electrodes are not in contact with sample fluid, artifacts due to chemical interactions at the electrodes are eliminated and reproducibility is improved.
Contactless conductivity detection is taught by Jose A. Fracassi da Silva and Claudimir L. do Lago xe2x80x9cAn Oscillometric Detector for Capillary Electrophoresisxe2x80x9d, Analytical Chemistry, vol. 70, 1998, pp. 4339-4343; Jirxc3xad Vacik, Jirxc3xad Zuska and Iva Muselasova, xe2x80x9cImprovement of the Performance of a High-Frequency Conductivity Detector for Isotachophoresisxe2x80x9d Journal of Chromatography, 17,322, 1985, 5 pages; Andress J. Zemann, Erhard Schnell, Dietmar Volger, and Gxc3xcnther K. Bonn, xe2x80x9cContactless Conductivity Detection for Capillary Electrophoresisxe2x80x9d Analytical Chemistry, V.70, 1998, pp. 563-567. In addition, an anti-synchronously driven contactless conductivity detector is the subject of commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/576,690 filed May 23, 2000, entitled xe2x80x9cSample-analysis system with anti-synchronously driven contactless conductivity detectionxe2x80x9d by Gary B. Gordon and Tom A. vande Goor.
All of the foregoing contactless conductivity detectors are designed to characterize the conductivity profile over time of a fluid as it flows through a detection region of a fluid channel. However, it is often desirable to compare the conductivity profiles of two fluids. Generally, the profile of a sample fluid can be compared with the profile of a reference fluid to remove xe2x80x9cuninterestingxe2x80x9d profile features due to the carrier, buffer, surfactant, etc. In industrial-process applications, it is often important to determine whether or not the composition of a process fluid has changed. In forensic applications, it is often desirable to determine whether or not two samples have the same composition.
Comparative conductivity profiles can be obtained by subtracting two independently obtained xe2x80x9cabsolutexe2x80x9d fluid conductivity profiles. However, high-level background signals corresponding to non-sample components can make it difficult to obtain precise conductivity profiles. Furthermore, errors in the absolute profiles are exacerbated when they are subtracted to obtain the desired comparison. What is needed is a system that can provide more error-free comparative conductivity profiles.
The present invention provides a comparative contactless-conductivity detection system with at least two channel assemblies, each with a fluid channel, drive electrodes, and detection electrodes. The drive electrodes are driven so that detection signals are induced at the detection electrodes; these detection signals are combined to provide a detector signal corresponding to a difference in conductivities between the two fluids. Preferably, drive electrodes are driven anti-synchronously and the detection electrodes are electrically connected so that the detection signals sum at a common node. In view of the anti-synchronous drive, the sum corresponds to the difference between the conductivities of the fluids. In other words, the detector signal represents the comparative conductivity of one the fluids relative to the other.
In a typical application, a first channel carries a sample fluid to be characterized, while a second channel carries a reference fluid with a known conductivity. The reference fluid conductivity can be constant or can vary in a known manner over time. For example, the reference fluid can be the same chemical as the buffer used in the sample fluid. The comparative signal would represent the sample components without the background associated with the buffer. In an isotachophoresis application, the reference fluid can have its conductivity vary spatially in a manner that generally mimics the sample fluid to reduce the background against which the signal of interest is to be read.
Alternatively, the reference fluid can be another sample of known or unknown composition. The comparative conductivity detector provides a clear indication when two samples have the same composition. In addition, the comparative conductivity detector would help pinpoint small differences in composition. Known reference fluids can be used to confirm a match between a sample and reference chemical. Reference fluids of unknown composition can be used in industrial-process and forensic applications where the similarity or identity of samples is the issue rather than the composition of the samples.
The invention applies to sample fluids whether or not the sample component fluids have been separated by some separation technique. For applications in which the sample-fluid components have been separated, the reference-fluid components may or may not be subject to the same separation forces as the sample-fluid components. If the reference fluid is intended to vary over time in a controlled fashion, the reference fluid is in general not subjected to separation forces. On the other hand, the reference fluid should be subjected to the same separation forces as the sample fluid if component-by-component comparison is to be achieved.
The present invention provides for fabricating the sample and reference channels in a monolithic substrate using, for example, integrated-circuit manufacturing techniques. The resulting micro-fluidic platform provides a remarkably convenient way to create a reference channel that is precisely matched to the sample channel. In addition, the channels can be in close proximity, thereby minimizing artifacts due to differences in ambient conditions at the channels. For example, the temperatures of the sample and reference fluids can be made substantially identical, thereby removing temperature as a noise source in the measurement. Including the reference channel within the micro-fluidic platform also enhances the ease with which one can change and control the reference fluid.
In summary, comparative conductivity detection provides a stronger signal of interest by reducing the influence of high background signal levels. When implemented using precision monolithic manufacturing techniques, the invention can minimize artifacts due to environmental changes. Furthermore, the invention provides considerable flexibility in selecting reference fluids to match the intended application. These and other features and advantages are apparent from the description below with reference to the following drawings.

Comparative contactless conductivity detector


A one-piece expandable flat bearing structure formed by at least partially elastically deformable struts which are separated from each other by openings in the bearing structure. The bearing structure can assume at least one compressed condition and at least one expanded condition and has at least one expansion direction. The bearing structure has anchor regions, from which spring struts, which are elastically resilient with respect to the anchor regions, extend to a resiliently deflectable end of the spring struts, a hinge strut adjoining said end. The spring struts and the hinge struts are of such a configuration and arrangement that both the compressed condition of the bearing structure and also the expanded condition of the bearing structure is stabilized by a spring action emanating from the spring struts.

The invention concerns a one-piece expandable flat bearing structure. That bearing structure is formed by at least partially elastically deformable struts which are separated from each other by openings in the bearing structure. The bearing structure can assume at least one compressed condition and at least one expanded condition and has at least one expansion direction into which the bearing structure can expand from the compressed condition to the expanded condition.
The invention concerns in particular endoluminal prostheses and in particular stents with such a bearing structure.
The term flat bearing structure is here also used to denote such a bearing structure which forms, for example, the peripheral wall of a tubular article which is open at its two ends. Such a tubular article which is open at both ends is represented by per se known stents.
Stents are used in many cases as implantable vessel supports. Known stents are urethra stents as well as coronary stents and peripheral stents. Coronary stents serve to deal with vessel constrictions in the coronary blood vessels, so-called stenoses, by means of a radial supporting action which emanates from the stent. The same is implemented by peripheral stents for peripheral blood vessels.
Many stents of that kind are produced from a one-piece tube as the starting material by cutting, for example, by means of a laser. The cuts into the tube serving as the starting material provide a bearing structure of struts and openings which are disposed therein, which structure can be radially expanded in the case of stents. In particular, the expanded bearing structure is grid-like and has struts which enclose radial openings of greater or lesser size in the stent. Balloon-expandable stents and self-expandable stents are known. Self-expandable stents comprise for example a memory metal such as nitinol which, upon reaching a jump temperature, jumps from a first shape corresponding to the compressed condition of the stent, to a second shape corresponding to the expanded condition of the stent.
The balloon-expandable stents, which are of particular interest in the present context, do not automatically change from the compressed to the expanded-condition but rather are expanded by means of a balloon which is pumped up with a fluid in the interior of the stents. A balloon of that kind is generally arranged at the end of a balloon catheter which serves at the same time, for introducing the stent as far as the location to be treated at the vessel constriction. For that purpose, the stent is crimped onto the balloon. The stent is expanded by means of the balloon at the treatment location.
The demands made on stents of that kind are many and various. In order on the one hand to be well introduced into a blood vessel and on the other hand to sufficiently expand a stenosis, the bearing structure of the stent must be capable of being expanded from a compressed diameter, which is as small as possible, to a sufficiently large expanded diameter. The expanded bearing structure must also enjoy a sufficient radially acting bearing force, also referred to as radial strength, in order to reliably hold the vessel open. Further desirable properties are suitable surface coverage by the expanded stent, as well as appropriate behavior upon flexing about the longitudinal axis of the stent, as is frequently required in relation to blood vessels in the human body. A further demand on bearing structures for stents is that a balloon-expandable stent is to spring back again as little as possible after expansion by the balloon. More specifically, the consequence of such spring-back effect on the part of the bearing structure after expansion by a certain amount is that the bearing structure has to be expanded by that amount beyond the desired final dimension so that ultimately the bearing structure assumes the desired final stent dimension. That spring-back effect on the part of the bearing structure immediately after expansion when the balloon serving for expansion is deflated again, is referred to as recoil.
The co-operation of material property and stent design lead to the structural properties of the stent. To assess a stent design and for comparison with other stents, reference is made to characteristic values which are set forth in the following section. In order to obviate misunderstandings, it should be noted at this juncture that this involves pure engineering characteristic values for describing the stent properties, which are not to be confused with the situation in the vessel.
Recoil:
Recoil describes the elastic spring-back effect during or after evacuation of the balloon catheter. It is defined as the relative difference between the diameter at maximum pressure and the diameter after balloon evacuation.
Radial strength:
Radial strength specifies the maximum external pressure that the stent withstands. The characteristic value is the collapse pressure which is defined as the pressure at which the stent has collapsed.
Shortening:
The stent can shorten during stent dilation. The parameter describing that phenomenon is called shortening and is defined as the relative difference between the length prior to dilation and the final length.
Flexural stiffness:
The coronary vessels generally do not extend in a straight line but are twisted so that the stent should be as flexurally soft as possible for easy passage to the implantation location. In addition, flexurally soft stent designs permit stent implantation in curved and branched coronary vessels [4]. The flexural stiffness of stents is ascertained as structural stiffness E1 with the unit [Nmm] from a flexural test [5].
Further parameters:
The expansion behavior, crimpability and compliance are further considered.
Expansion behavior is determined by the balloon pressure at which the stent opens, free deployment of the struts takes place and so forth. Crimpability influences handling of the stent from the point of view of the cardiologist or machine crimping in the case of the complete systems.
It is very difficult to arrive at a relationship between the mechanical characteristic values of a stent and its biocompatibility and specifically hemocompatibility. Biocompatibility is composed of surface compatibility and structural compatibility. In the case of a stent, surface compatibility involves blood contact on the one hand and tissue contact with the vessel wall on the other hand. Structural compatibility extends from the mechanical supporting effect by way of flexural stiffness and the strut shape to the fluidic influences on the blood flow. The stent should not destroy the vessel, it should not result either in mechanical or toxic irritations and it should be athrombogenic in terms of blood contact.
The person skilled in the art is aware of a large number of bearing structures for stents, which all afford various advantages and conversely frequently also entail certain disadvantages. The known bearing structures, for example, can frequently be embodied only insufficiently or not at all with the materials which have a low modulus of elasticity. Most of the known bearing structures presuppose materials which can be well plastically deformed. That is important, in particular, in regard to the above-indicated requirement for keeping recoil as low as possible.


A non-contact surface flaw detection system for workpieces such as nuclear fuel pellets transports the pellets continuously along an illuminated path while rotating them. A line scan camera records a series of line scans for the pellets and the resulting values of pellet reflectivity are digitized. Pixel values are compared to thresholds defined adaptively by averaging and/or using a video finite impulse response filter, to generate a binary map of "good" and "bad" pixels, that also defines the edges of the pellet in the map. A processor counts and associates bad pixels to logically define and assess blobs of bad pixels. The processor checks for coincidence of the edge pixels with a nominal edge line that best fits the edge, for finding edge flaws. The pellets assessed in this manner are selected or rejected. Camera sensor elements are normalized for gain and offset. Shifting of the pixel data cancels skew produced in scanning moving pellets. Convolution filters cancel isolated bad pixels and enhance contrast at the edge. For processing adjacent areas, the pixel image of the pellets can be tiled, flaws bridging the tile boundaries being assessed as a single blob. The apparatus is preferably arranged for parallel pipeline processing for sidewall and edge defects and can be embodied in a series of modular VME boards.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of automated analysis of workpieces for optically detectable flaws, and in particular to the optical detection and assessment of sidewall and edge flaws in cylindrical nuclear fuel pellets.
2. Prior Art
In the manufacture of nuclear fuel rods, nuclear fuel pellets are formed from a matrix of enriched or natural uranium oxide and are inserted into elongated hollow tubes typically made of an alloy of zirconium, to be used as fuel rods. The pellets are short cylinders and are stacked in the tubes. The tubes are sealed at the ends with end plugs, and pressurized. A plurality of fuel rods are arranged in an array to form the fissionable core of a nuclear reactor.
Defects in the pellets, such as fissures or cracks, can result in chips becoming dislodged from the pellets during reactor operation. Such chips can adversely affect the operation of the reactor. For example, a chip dislodged from a fuel pellet can become lodged within the fuel rod adjacent the interior wall of the rod. The fissionable material in the dislodged chip continues its fission reaction under the influence of nuclear flux in the reactor core. Heat generated at the chip can create a localized area of intense heat on the wall of the fuel rod. This weakens the rod at the point of the chip and may cause a rupture of the rod wall and a leak of high pressure gas from the rod. If this occurs, the reactor may have to be shut down.
Other pellet defects, which may be visible at the surface of the pellets, also can cause adverse effects. For example, the inclusion of metal in the pellet surface may adversely affect the normal fission reaction of the uranium. The pellets must be free of defects such chips, cracks, etc., for optimal operation of the reactor. Conventionally, pellets are inspected visually by human inspectors. Specially dressed inspectors visually examine illuminated trays of lengthwise stacked pellets and manually remove any that are apparently defective. After one side of the pellets is viewed, the trays are covered and flipped over, for viewing the opposite side.
The results of manual inspection of the pellets in this manner are inconsistent due to the subjectivity inherent in human visual inspection. Moreover, manual inspection requires prolonged exposure of the inspectors to the low level radiation produced by the pellets, as well as potential ingestion of dust which the pellets produce. Also, the trays are heavy and physically manipulating them is strenuous and presents a risk of injury.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/640,770, filed Jan. 14, 1991 and entitled Pellet Inspection System, discloses an automated transport arrangement for presenting pellets serially for inspection using an automated viewing apparatus. The disclosure of said Application is hereby fully incorporated. According to the disclosure, the pellets are fed along a conveying means that rotates and axially feeds the pellets as they pass in front of a line scanning camera. The image of the pellets is digitized as a series of sets of discrete digital values representative of axially extending linear portions covering the peripheral surface of each passing pellet. The digital values, which represent the reflectivity of the pellets in a small area or pixel according to a numerical gray scale, are collected and their values are averaged. High and low reflectivity thresholds are defined from the average, and the pixel values are compared to the thresholds thus defined. The number of pixels that fall outside the threshold are counted, and if the number exceeds a predetermined value the respective pellet is rejected. The system is arranged such that the pellets are axially separated from one another as they are fed, whereby it is also possible to use the system to check for proper pellet dimensions without the need to detect the axial ends of the pellet.
Additional examples of optical inspection systems for cylindrical pellets and the like are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,496,056 and 4,549,662--both to Schoenig, Jr. et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,680--Wills et al.

Non-contact flaw detection for cylindrical nuclear fuel pellets


A method for stirring a liquid, comprising: sucking a part of a liquid from a liquid-containing container which opens at the top thereof; and discharging the sucked liquid into the container at a discharging position which is horizontally different from a sucking position where the liquid has been sucked, and an apparatus used for the method.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for stirring a liquid such as blood or the like, and an apparatus used for the method.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
In order to inspect a liquid specimen such as blood or the like, a specimen in a specimen container is normally dispensed into each container using a dispensation device having a nozzle every inspection to be conducted. However, in order to conduct accurate inspection, the concentration of components in each specimen thus dispensed must be the same. Accordingly, it is necessary to stir the specimen in the specimen container prior to dispensation so that the concentration of components is uniform all over the specimen.
As a method for stirring a liquid specimen such as blood or the like, a method using a stirring bar is known. However, if a device for stirring the specimen is provided or if a function of stirring the specimen is added to the dispensation device, the cost increases. Furthermore, in order to prevent contamination, it is necessary to add a function of washing the stirring bar to the dispensation device so that the dispensation device becomes large.
Therefore, a method using a nozzle of the dispensation device is often applied to stir a specimen. According to this method, a part of a specimen in a specimen container is sucked through the nozzle, and then kept in a tip capped on the forward end of the nozzle. Subsequently, the sucked specimen is discharged into the specimen container from the tip. As a result, the specimen is stirred.
However, this method has a poor efficiency. Therefore, in order to stir the specimen thoroughly, the suction and discharge of the specimen must be repeated many times. When the specimen is blood, the nozzle must be put deep into the specimen during suction because the components are precipitated at the bottom. Therefore, the amount of the specimen attached to the surface of the tip increases so that much time is required to clean the tip after stirring.


The present invention relates to display devices and methods, recording media, and programs that allow moving images to be displayed with less double vision. An LCD 11 updates the display in the order of the columns or rows of pixels on the screen in units of column or row in each period of a frame. LED backlights 12-1 to 12-N illuminate the pixels of the LCD 11, respectively, so as to illuminate part of all the columns or rows on the screen. A display control section 31 controls the light emission of the LED backlights 12-1 to 12-N in a manner such that the LED backlights 12-1 to 12-N illuminate the pixels updated in sequence in each period of the frame.

In general, the number of frames (fields) displayed in one second by the known national television system committee (NTSC) system and high-definition (HD) television system is 60 (more precisely, 59.94 frames per second).
The number of frames displayed in one second is referred to as a frame rate.
The frame rate of display devices of a phase-alternating-by-line (PAL) system is 50 frames per second. The frame rate of movies is 24 frames per second.
Moving images displayed in 60 to 24 frames per second may suffer from degradation in quality, such as blur, motion blur, and jerkiness. Particularly, what-is-called hold-type display devices that hold display for the period of frames are quite susceptible to motion blur.
A known display device compares display data with preceding display data and, for pixels that have changed in value, writes display data enhanced more than the amount of change to change the value of the pixels more than that of the preceding display data, thus controlling the period and time to light on light sources for each region of an illuminator having multiple regions (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Another example is a liquid display device that displays video images on a liquid display panel by controlling the light of a fluorescent lamp having red-, green-, and blue-light emitting phosphor coatings by modulating the pulse width through a lighting circuit, writing video signals on a liquid crystal panel, and using the fluorescent lamp as a backlight of the liquid crystal panel. The fluorescent lamp has a green-light-emitting phosphor coating in which the amount of light after light-off becomes one tenth of that during light-on for one millisecond or less (for example, refer to Patent Document 2)    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-125067    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-105447

Display device and method, recording medium, and program

Abstract: The invention can be applied to display devices.


In one embodiment, a network element is to be coupled to a first and second span of a number of spans that interconnect a set of network elements to form a ring network. In addition, each of the spans has two sub-spans on which traffic travels in opposite directions on a number of channels that circumvent the ring. Additionally, the channels on each sub-span include working channels and protecting channels. Furthermore, the network element includes a traffic handler to reprogram, responsive to protection switches and un-switches, the connection configuration on the protecting channels of the sub-spans of the first and second spans that provide traffic to the network element.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to communication networks. More specifically, the present invention relates to communication over optical networks.
2. Background of the Invention
Various topologies can be used in a network. One such network topology is a ring. Different types of transport technologies can be used on a ring network. One class of these transport technologies relies on multiplexing (e.g., time division multiplexing (TDM), wave division multiplexing (WDM), dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM), etc.).
An optical standard such as Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) or Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) in conjunction with a multiplexing scheme is used to deliver various rates of traffic over a single high-speed optical fiber. SONET/SDH is a transmission standard for optical networks that corresponds to the physical layer of the open standards institutes (OSI) network model. One of the protection schemes for SONET/SDH in a ring network involves automatic protection switching (APS) in a bidirectional line switched ring (BLSR) architecture. There are different types of BLSR, including two fiber and four fiber. In addition to BLSR, there is also a uni-directional line switched ring (UPSR) architecture.
Standard BLSR Concatenations
A ring network can be operated by implementing a multiplexing ring transport protocol on a number of network elements that participate as nodes of the ring network. These network elements are connected by spans to form the ring. When using BLSR, each of these spans includes two "sub-spans" on which traffic travels in opposite directions on a number of time slots (referred to herein as channels). The channels in each direction include a set of working channels and a set of protecting channels. Thus, each node has at least two ports, each of which is connect to a different span of the ring. In addition, each of these ports has a receiving side and a transmitting side to which are respectively connected the incoming and outgoing sub-spans.
FIG. 1A illustrates a SONET OC-12 BLSR ring carrying exemplary traffic according to the prior art. In particular, FIG. 1A shows 4 nodes labeled 1–4, where nodes 1 and 3 are each connected to nodes 2 and 4 by different spans to form a ring. FIG. 1A also shows working traffic 110, extra traffic 120, and working traffic 130. The term working traffic is used to refer to traffic carried on a circuit provisioned on the working channels, whereas extra traffic refers to traffic carried on a circuit provisioned on the protecting channels. As is known in the art, extra traffic is preempted during a protection switch.
Since the spans of a BLSR each include two sub-spans which carry traffic in opposite directions, the same direction sub-spans form two "sub-rings" each carrying traffic in the opposite direction.
A circuit is provisioned through the ring 100 by installing cross-connects. For a given circuit, the node within which a cross-connect is installed to add traffic from outside of the ring is referred to as the add node (e.g., for the circuit carrying the working traffic 130 from node 1 to node 3, node 1 would be the add node for that traffic). In contrast, the node within which the cross-connect is installed to drop traffic from the ring is referred to as the drop node (e.g., again, for the circuit carrying the working traffic 130 from node 1 to node 3, node 3 is the drop node). Any node within which a cross-connect is installed that passes traffic from one span to another is referred to as a pass-through node (e.g., for the circuits carrying the working traffic 130, node 4 acts as a pass-through node).
Since the bandwidth requirements for a given circuit may be greater than a single one of the channels, multiple channels can be concatenated together. Thus, each circuit provisioned on a ring has associated therewith a concatenation size. With respect to the example of FIG. 1A, the: 1) working traffic 110 travels on a circuit provisioned on the working channels 1–3, and therefore that circuit has a concatenation size of 3 channels ("3C"); 2) the extra traffic 120 travels on a circuit provisioned on the protecting channels 7–9, and therefore that circuit has a concatenation size of 3C; and 3) the working traffic 130 is carried on a circuit provisioned on the working channel 4, and therefore that circuit has a concatenation size of 1.
In a standard BLSR ring, any use of the working channels configured on a sub-span must be configured on all sub-spans around the ring, and also must be mirrored in the protection channels. For example, if a 3C is configured on a particular set of working channels of any sub-span, then: 1) that 3C must be configured on the same working channels of every one of the sub-spans of the ring; and 2) a corresponding 3C must be preconfigured on the corresponding protection channels of all of the sub-spans of the ring. FIG. 1B illustrates the concatenation configuration for all of the sub-spans of FIG. 1A. In particular, FIG. 1B shows that in an OC-12 ring there are 6 working channels (1–6) and 6 protecting channels (7–12). Each of the protecting channels corresponds to one of the working channels (channel 7 corresponds to channel 1, channel 8 corresponds to channel 2, and so on). The concatenation configuration for a standard BLSR ring identifies the usage of STS and concatenated STS sized components. Thus, FIG. 1B shows the 3C concatenation of the working channels 1–3 (which in FIG. 1A are used between nodes 1 and 2) and its corresponding 3C concatenation mirrored in the protecting channels 7–9 (which in FIG. 1A is used between nodes 4, 3 and 2). In addition, FIG. 1B shows that the working channel 4 is configured as a 1C (which in FIG. 1A is used between nodes 1, 4, and 3).
Thus, the concatenation configuration for a standard BLSR ring is ring based in that it is the same for every sub-span of the ring. To accommodate the concatenation configuration for the ring, the receiving side of the ports of each node connected to spans of ring are programmed with the ring's concatenation configuration. In addition, each node stores a copy of the ring's concatenation configuration so it may reprogram its ports when the system is rebooted or when the line card on which a port resides is replaced. Since the concatenation configuration is the same around the ring and is mirrored in the protecting channels, only a single copy of the concatenation configuration for the working channels of one sub-span needs to be stored in each node.
When there is a failure in a span of the ring, a protection switch is performed. The failure of a span will be recognized by the 2 nodes connected to that span (these nodes are referred to as the switching nodes). These 2 nodes signal the need for a protection switch by transmitting messages. Specifically, each of these nodes transmit messages to each other along the long path (the path that does not include the failed span) and the short path (the path that includes the failed span). The nodes not directly connected to the failed span (referred to as the bridging nodes) will inspect the long path messages as they pass through them. As is well known in the art, responsive to the protection switch, the working traffic on the failed span is switched to the protecting channels of the non-failed spans. The working bandwidth of any span can be switched to the protecting channels of any other span because the same concatenation configuration is configured on the working channels of every span, and that same concatenation configuration is mirrored on the protecting channels. Responsive to the failure being corrected, a protection un-switch is performed as is known in the art.
A disadvantage of the system described in FIGS. 1A–B is that it often does not allow for optimal usage of the ring's bandwidth. For example, while a 3C concatenation between nodes 1 and 2 may be needed, that 3C concatenation may not be optimal for circuit(s) to be provisioned between nodes 1, 4, and 3. More specifically, in the example of FIG. 1A, a circuit with a size of 1C was configured for the working traffic 130. However, this 1C could not use the working channels 1–3 because they must be provisioned as a 3C concatenation to support the circuit carrying the working traffic 110. That is why the circuit carrying the working traffic 130 is provisioned on the working channel 4. While the working traffic 110 and 130 illustrate a limitation with regard to the provisioning of circuits on the working channels, a similar limitation exists with regard to the provisioning of circuits on the protecting channels. In particular, since a circuit with a 3C concatenation was configured between the nodes 1 and 2 for the working traffic 110, there is a mirroring 3C concatenation preconfigured on the corresponding protecting channels 7–9 all the way around the ring (on both sub-rings). However, whether or not a 3C concatenation is required for a particular circuit provisioned on the protecting channels, a 3C concatenation must be used to utilize the protecting channels 7–9.
As more circuits are provisioned on a ring, these concatenation requirements make it harder or impossible to make full use of all of the ring's bandwidth. For example, where a smaller size would suffice, a larger sized concatenation may need to be used because of other circuits provisioned on the ring. Similarly, where a larger sized concatenation would allow for more optimal use, a combination of smaller sets of channels may need to be utilized because of circuits already provisioned on the ring.
Network Element and Ring Network Information Generation and Distribution
In order for a ring network to operate, network element information and ring network information must be generated and stored in each of the nodes of the ring. Various schemes can be used for generating and distributing this information, including a centralized scheme and a distributed scheme.
FIG. 2 illustrates a centralized scheme for generating and distributing the network element and ring network information according to the prior art. In particular, FIG. 2 illustrates a BLSR ring composed of 4 nodes labeled 1–4. The nodes 1–4 in FIG. 2 are oriented in the same manner as the nodes 1–4 in FIG. 1A. In addition, FIG. 2 shows the opposite direction sub-spans of each span of the ring. FIG. 2 also illustrates a network management system 220 in communication with each of the nodes 1–4.
In Block 200 of FIG. 2, the ring illustrated in FIG. 2 is planned. This planning includes the generation of the network element information and ring network information. The network element information includes things such the network elements that will participate as nodes of the ring, the APS node IDs for those nodes, the line cards and ports within each of those network elements that will be connected to spans of the ring, the initial cross-connections to be installed, etc. In contrast, the ring network information includes things such as the ring map, the initial squelch table for each node, etc. From Block 200, control passes to Block 210.
In Block 210, the ring is physically built and the network element and ring network information is entered into the network management system 220. From Block 210, control passes to Block 230. In Block 230, the appropriate network element and ring network information is pushed down to each of the network elements participating in the ring.
One disadvantage to this centralized scheme is that the process of entering the information into the network management system 220 is time consuming and can be subject to human error. Another disadvantage of the centralized scheme is its lack of scalability. For example, each time a circuit is provisioned or unprovisioned from a ring, the squelch tables of each node of that ring must be updated and those updates must be distributed by the network management system 220. Since, it is typical for a given network management system to manage many rings, the network management system can be overwhelmed.
In contrast to the centralized scheme, in a distributed scheme, the nodes of the ring intercommunicate to generate and distribute the ring map and squelch tables. While techniques for distributively generating a ring map and a squelch table for a ring are known, these techniques are not robust in that they do not take into account span failures and how to handle partially built rings.

Heterogeneous connections on a bi-directional line switched ring


The present invention discloses a method for manufacturing a capacitor of a semiconductor memory device.

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 2000-30085, filed Jun. 1, 2000, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a capacitor in a semiconductor device, and more particularly a method for manufacturing a capacitor in a semiconductor device in which a depletion of oxygen and a leakage current in a dielectric film can be suppressed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the need for memory elements had increased along with the development of techniques for manufacturing semiconductor devices. In a semiconductor device, a capacitor is used as means for storing data. The electric capacitance of such a capacitor depends on the electrode area and the dielectric constant of a dielectric film interposed between electrodes.
However, as semiconductor devices are highly integrated, the capacitor area given in the semiconductor device is reduced. Accordingly, the electrode area of the capacitor is decreased, thereby causing a reduction in the electric capacitance of the capacitor.
In order to solve this problem, a capacitor comprising a TaON thin film of high dielectric constant has been proposed, in which the TaON film has a metal film-insulating film-silicon (MIS) structure. As an upper electrode over the TaON thin film, a laminated structure of a TiN film/a polysilicon film is used.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional method for manufacturing a capacitor with a TaON thin film in a semiconductor device.
As shown in FIG. 1, according to the conventional capacitor manufacturing method, a TaON thin film 2 having a high dielectric constant is deposited over a lower electrode 1, for example, a polysilicon film.
Then, a TiN/polysilicon film 3 having a laminated structure is deposited over the TaON thin film 2. The deposition of the TiN/polysilicon film 3 is achieved by forming a TiN thin film in a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) chamber using TiCl4 as a precursor and NH3 as a reaction gas. Thus, a capacitor with an MIS structure is completely formed.
However, there are some problems involved in the conventional method for manufacturing a capacitor of a semiconductor memory device.
For example, when forming the TiN thin film in the CVD chamber using TiCl4 as a precursor and NH3 as a reaction gas during the formation process of the TiN/polysilicon film having a laminated structure conducted after the deposition of the TaON thin film having a high dielectric constant, oxidation may occur between the TiN thin film and the TaON thin film at a CVD chamber temperature around 500xc2x0 C. As a result, oxygen in the TaON thin film migrates to the TiN thin film, whereby a depletion of oxygen occurs within the TaON thin film. Also, there is an increase in leakage current in the capacitor comprised of the TaON thin film.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the related art. The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a capacitor in a semiconductor device, which is capable of preventing deterioration of the dielectric film while suppressing the generation of leakage current in the capacitor.
In accordance with one aspect, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a capacitor in a semiconductor device, comprising steps of: forming a lower electrode on a semiconductor substrate; forming a nitride film over the lower electrode; forming an amorphous TaON thin film over the nitride film; subjecting the amorphous TaON thin film to a thermal treatment at a high temperature to effect a crystallization thereof; and forming a laminated structure composed of a TiON film and a doped silicon film for an upper electrode over the crystallized TaON thin film.
In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a capacitor in a semiconductor device, comprising steps of: forming a lower electrode made of a conductive polysilicon film or a conductive amorphous silicon film on a semiconductor substrate; forming a nitride film over the lower electrode; forming an amorphous TaON thin film over the nitride film; crystallizing the TaON thin film by using a furnace in a batch type furnace (batch furnace) or a rapid thermal treatment; and forming a laminated structure composed of a TiON film and a doped silicon film for an upper electrode over the crystallized TaON thin film.

Method for manufacturing capacitor in semiconductor device

Abstract: The disclosed present invention comprises steps of forming a lower electrode made of a conductive polysilicon film or a conductive amorphous silicon film on a semiconductor substrate; forming a nitride film over the lower electrode; depositing an amorphous TaON thin film over the nitride film; subjecting the amorphous TaON thin film to a thermal treatment to effect a crystallization thereof; and forming a laminated structure composed of a TiON film and a doped silicon film for an upper electrode on the crystallized TaON thin film.


A new and distinct hybrid of Polemonium caeruleum plant characterized by vigor and variegated leaves.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Polemonium caeruleum, of the family Polemoniaceae, which originated as a chance seedling found by Floyd McDonald in a sowing of Polemonium caeruleum.
The new variety has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (division and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant.
This plant is characterized by the following:
1. Beautiful, stable, variegated foliage that persists all summer to frost.
2. Excellent vigor and heat tolerance.
3. Good size blue flowers.
Asexual propogation by tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques with terminal and lateral shoots as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.

Polemonium plant named xe2x80x98Snow and Sapphiresxe2x80x99


An apparatus for producing an elongated enveloped food product is disclosed. A rotary duct for feeding a filling is located in a ring form assembly of elongated rotary rollers for feeding a viscous casing material in a coaxial relationship so as to form the elongated product in which the casing material envelops the filling material. During the feeding of the casing material and the filling material, the rotary duct rotates within the cavity formed by the elongated rollers, while its outer surface is exposed to the viscous casing material. The duct has a scraper that rotates relative to the outer surface of the duct to scrape the viscous casing material from its outer surface to prevent the viscous casing material from sticking to the surface of the duct.

Various apparatuses have been devised heretofore to feed a product in which an inner viscous food material is enveloped with an outer viscous food material. One type of known apparatus is found and incorporated in the "Rheon Encrusting Machine," manufactured by the assignee of the present application. It is generally described in "The Operation Manual for Rheon Encrusting Machine," published in January 1969 by the assignee.
Such an apparatus includes a housing in which a plurality of vertical rollers mounted for rotation within the housing are arranged in a circular array. The axis of rotation of each of the rollers is tilted in one direction in such a way that an inner space surrounded by the rollers forms an inverted cone-shaped cavity for receiving the outer food material. The narrow bottom of the cavity is formed as an outlet defined by the lower ends of the rollers. The outer material received within the cavity is fed to the outlet while the outer material rotates in the cavity by the rotation of the rollers. The apparatus also includes a vertically extending rotary duct, which is rotatably placed in the center of the cavity, for rotatingly feeding the inner food material. The bottom of the duct forms an outlet, which is aligned with the roller-cavity outlet in a coaxial relation. An adhesion section for causing the peripheral surface of the inner food material to be able to adhere to the inner surface of the outer food material is formed between the two outlets. At the adhesion section, the rotating velocity of the inner food material relative to the outer food material can be reduced, since the duct can rotate.
In operation, the operator feeds a desired mass of the outer food material into the cavity. The outer material thus deposited within the cavity is then downwardly fed through the adhesion section and then is made to pass through the cavity outlet by the rotation of the rollers. Simultaneously, the inner material is fed to the adhesion section through the duct and its outlet, with the inner food material rotating together with the duct. Since the outer food material and the inner food material are viscous, the inner surface of the outer food material adheres to the peripheral surface of the inner material with the help of the rotation of the outer food material at the adhesion section.
As the result, the bonded outer food material and inner food material form a unified body and are downwardly extruded from the apparatus as an elongated product in which the outer material envelops the inner material.
One problem faced in the production of the enveloped product in the prior art is that the outer surface of the duct sticks to the outer food material. The result of this is a build-up of the outer material on the outer surface of the duct which interferes with the effectiveness of the feeding of the outer material from the cavity to the adhesion section. Hence, the prior-art apparatus is faced with a decrease in the productivity of the enveloped product. This problem may often occur where the outer material is a highly viscous material, such as a rice-based material.
Accordingly, there is, a need in the art for a feeding apparatus that has a more enhanced productivity of the enveloped product, and which is applicable to an outer food material having a high viscosity.

Method and apparatus for feeding a double-layered food product


A person carrying vehicle includes a main frame, a seat pivoted on the main frame, a front frame, an articulate supporting member connecting the main frame and the front frame, and a telescopic steering mechanism pivoted on the front frame; by means of pivoting supporting rods of the seat downwards, folding the articulate supporting member as well as shorting and pivoting the steering mechanism, the vehicle can be reduced into a not-in-use configuration, wherein the supporting rods and a seat pad are received in a hollow holding portion of the main frame, a footrest board of the front frame hidden under the main frame, and a tube part of the steering mechanism is received in grooves on the seat; the vehicle has a lift handle at a front, and auxiliary casters at a rear, which are used for the vehicle to be moved in a sloping position on the floor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reducing and folding mechanism of a person carrying vehicle, more particularly, one which can be operated to reduce and fold the person carrying vehicle into a flat not-in-use configuration for easy storage and transportation; the vehicle has a lift handle at a front end and auxiliary casters at a rear, which can be used together for the vehicle to be moved into a sloping position on the floor after the vehicle is reduced to the not-in-use configuration.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Wheelchairs used to be convenient vehicles for the elderly, and people who suffer from leg injury, paralysis of lower half parts of bodies, serious sicknesses etc. However, conventional wheelchairs aren't electricity-powered, and the riders have to exert a certain amount of physical force on the wheels so as to move the wheelchairs. Therefore, conventional wheelchairs can only move at a relatively low speed, and the scope of their application is limited.
Currently, electric walk-substituting carts, which are used with the elderly, and people who suffer from leg injury, paralysis of lower half parts of bodies, serious sicknesses etc, are getting more popular than conventional wheelchairs. However, such carts can't be folded and reduced if they aren't needed temporarily. In other words, they will still occupy relatively much space, and are difficult to store and transport when they aren't in use. To overcome the above problem, the industry develops an improvement on an electric walk-substituting cart, which can be separated into several main parts so as to occupy less space if it isn't needed temporarily. Because it takes time and labor to divide the cart into several main parts, the cart isn't very convenient to use either.

Mechanism for reducing and folding a person carrying vehicle and a method for operating same


The present invention relates to a method for forming an oxide film in semiconductor devices. According to the present invention, after an oxide film is formed, interface trap charge and oxide trap charge can be reduced through a high-temperature thermal treatment process and a pre-treatment thermal process. Further, as an oxide film of a high quality whose trap charge is reduced is formed, reliability of a device is improved and variation in the threshold voltage is prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for forming an oxide film in semiconductor devices, and more specifically, to a method for forming a gate oxide film of a transistor or a tunnel oxide film of a flash device, which requires a high quality.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A tunnel oxide film of a conventional flash EEPROM device and a gate oxide film of other memory devices or a logic device require the quality of a high level in view of their applications. Main factors that decide the oxide film of a high quality include the density of interface trap charge and oxide trap charge.
Interface trap charge collectively exists at the boundary where a silicon (Si) substrate and an oxide film are adjacent to each other. Oxide trap charge exist both at the bulk of the oxide film and the boundary of the Si substrate and the oxide film. However, charge in which electrons are trapped mainly exists at the bulk and charge in which holes are trapped typically exists at the boundary of the Si substrate and the oxide film.
Therefore, in order to form the oxide film of a high quality, it is an important technical problem to reduce the density of the interface trap charge and the oxide trap charge. In other words, if an oxide film having a high density of interface trap charge and oxide trap charge is used as a gate oxide film and a tunnel oxide film, there is a problem in that the threshold voltage drift of a transistor occurs due to electric charge trapped in the trap charge. Furthermore, there occurs a problem that breakdown of the oxide film occurs instantly.

Method for forming oxide film in semiconductor device


Novel benzopyran analogs are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for the lowering and controlling of normal or elevated intraocular pressure as well as a method for the treatment of glaucoma using compositions containing one or more of the compounds of the present invention.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to various benzopyrans. These compounds are useful for lowering and controlling normal or elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) and for treating glaucoma.
2. Description of the Related Art
The disease state referred to as glaucoma is characterized by a permanent loss of visual function due to irreversible damage to the optic nerve. The several morphologically or functionally distinct types of glaucoma are typically characterized by elevated IOP, which is considered to be causally related to the pathological course of the disease. Ocular hypertension is a condition wherein intraocular pressure is elevated but no apparent loss of visual function has occurred; such patients are considered to be a high risk for the eventual development of the visual loss associated with glaucoma. If glaucoma or ocular hypertension is detected early and treated promptly with medications that effectively reduce elevated intraocular pressure, loss of visual function or its progressive deterioration can generally be ameliorated. Drug therapies that have proven to be effective for the reduction of intraocular pressure include both agents that decrease aqueous humor production and agents that increase the outflow facility. Such therapies are in general administered by one of two possible routes, topically (direct application to the eye) or orally.
There are some individuals who do not respond well when treated with certain existing glaucoma therapies. There is, therefore, a need for other topical therapeutic agents that control IOP.
Serotonergic 5-HT1A agonists have been reported as being neuroprotective in animal models and many of these agents have been evaluated for the treatment of acute stroke among other indications. This class of compounds has been mentioned for the treatment of glaucoma (lowering and controlling IOP), see e.g., WO 98/18458 (DeSantis, et al.) and EP 0771563A2 (Mano, et al.). Osborne, et al. (Ophthalmologica, Vol. 210:308-314, 1996) teach that 8-hydroxydipropylantinotetralin (8-OH-DPAT) (a 5-HT1A agonist) reduces IOP in rabbits. Wang, et al. (Current Eye Research, Vol. 16(8):769-775, August 1997, and IVOS, Vol. 39(4), S488, March, 1998) indicate that 5-methylurapidil, an α1A antagonist and 5-HT1A agonist lowers IOP in the monlkey, but due to its α1A receptor activity. Also, 5-HT1A antagonists are disclosed as being useful for the treatment of glaucoma (elevated IOP) (e.g., WO 92/0338, McLees). Furthermore, DeSai, et al. (WO 97/35579) and Macor, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,612) relate to the use of 5-HT1 and 5-HT1-like agonists for the treatment of glaucoma (elevated IOP). These anti-migraine compounds are 5-HT1B,D,E,F agonists, e.g., sumatriptan and naratriptan and related compounds.
It has been found that serotonergic compounds which possess agonist activity at 5-HT2 receptors effectively lower and control normal and elevated IOP and are useful for treating glaucoma, see commonly owned co-pending application, PCT/US99/19888, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein. Compounds that act as agonists at 5-HT2 receptors are well known and have shown a variety of utilities, primarily for disorders or conditions associated with the central nervous system (CNS). U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,928 relates to certain 2-(indol-1-yl)-ethylamine derivatives that are 5-HT2C agonists for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder and other CNS derived personality disorders. U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,833 relates to tryptamine derivatives that are 5-HT2 agonists for the treatment of portal hypertension and migraine. U.S. Pat. No. 5,874,477 relates to a method for treating malaria using 5-HT2A/2C agonists. U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,815 relates to the use of 5-HT2A agonists to prevent adverse effects of NMDA receptor hypo-function. WO 98/31354 relates to 5-HT2B agonists for the treatment of depression and other CNS conditions. WO 00/12475 relates to indoline derivatives and WO 00/12510 and WO 00/44753 relate to certain indole derivatives as 5-HT2B and 5-HT2C receptor agonists for the treatment of a variety of disorders of the central nervous system, but especially for the treatment of obesity. WO 00/35922 relates to certain pyrazino[1,2-a]quinoxaline derivates as 5-HT2C agonists for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, eating disorders, and other disorders involving the CNS. WO 0077002 and WO 00/77010 relate to certain substituted tetracyclic pyrido[4,3-b]indoles as 5-HT2C agonists with utility for the treatment of central nervous system disorders including obesity, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, cephalic pain, and social phobias among others. Agonist response at the 5-HT2A receptor is reported to be the primary activity responsible for hallucinogenic activity, with some lesser involvement of the 5-HT2C receptor possible [Psychopharmacology, Vol. 121:357, 1995].
U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,150 relates to substituted 2-(benzo[g]indazol-1-yl)-1-ethylamines and 2-(4H-indeno[1,2-c]pyrazol-1-yl)-1-ethylamine having preferential affinity for the 5-HT2C receptor as well as affinity for the 5-HT2A receptor. Further, it is mentioned that these compounds have utility for certain central nervous system disorders of therapeutic significance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,173 relates to certain tricyclic pyrazole derivative compounds which are identified as being 5-HT2C agonists for the treatment of CNS diseases and are primarily directed to lipophilic analogs that have a high probability of entering the brain. Similarly, WO 98/56768 relates to tricyclic 5-HT2C agonists for the treatment of CNS diseases.
All of the patents, patent applications, and publications mentioned above and throughout are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein and form a part of the present application.
5-Hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) does not cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain. However, in order to increase brain serotonin levels the administration of 5-hydroxy-tryptophane can be employed. The transport of 5-hydroxy-tryptophane into the brain readily occurs, and once in the brain 5-hydroxy-tryptophane is rapidly decarboxylated to provide serotonin. Since the treatment of glaucoma is preferably with compounds that do not enter the CNS, relatively polar compounds that are 5-HT2 agonists and have incorporated into their structure a phenolic hydroxyl group that can be considered comparable to that of serotonin, are of particular interest.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide compounds which avoid the disadvantages described above and which provide increased chemical stability and a desired length of therapeutic activity, for instance, in decreasing intraocular pressure and treating glaucoma.

Benzopyran analogs and their use for the treatment of glaucoma


A seat buffering device and a vehicle safety seat including the seat buffering device are provided. The seat buffering device is disposed on a base of the vehicle safety seat. The seat buffering device includes a reinforcing component and at least one concave structure. The reinforcing component is disposed inside the base, and the reinforcing component has a plurality of lateral surfaces. The at least one concave structure is formed on one of the plurality of lateral surfaces. The reinforcing component is adapted to be bent via the at least one concave structure when the base is impacted, so as to reduce impact force applied to the base. Buffering efficiency of the reinforcing component corresponds to the amount, the arrangement, and the angle of the concave structure. The plurality of concave structures is disposed on the same or different lateral surfaces of the reinforcing component in the interlaced arrangement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seat buffering device, and more particularly, to a seat buffering device capable of effectively absorbing impact energy and a vehicle safety seat having the foresaid seat buffering device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A child safety seat is installed on the vehicle seat and applied to provide safety protection for the passenger. A style of the child safety seat may be varied according to a size of the passenger (such as the baby or the child). The conventional child safety seat utilizes the housing to cover the passenger for avoidance of direct impact, and further utilizes the safety belt to constrain a movement of the passenger so as to prevent the passenger from sliding out of the child safety seat. However, the conventional child safety seat cannot prohibit the external impact from indirect transmission toward the passenger due to lack of shock absorbing function, so that the passenger (the baby or the child) may probably be hurt since the vehicle is impacted and impact energy is transmitted to the passenger via the housing. Therefore, design of a safety seat capable of effectively reducing the impact energy from direct/indirect transmission is an important issue of the related safety seat industry.

Seat buffering device and vehicle safety seat having the same


This invention provides a separation method for an adhesive tape and a separation device that can reliably and efficiently perform the operation of removing the backing sheet from the adhesive sheet of the adhesive tape and can be automated with a simple structure. The adhesive tape comprises a base sheet, an adhesive sheet which is applied to the base sheet and a backing sheet laminated to the base sheet. According to the invention, one end of the adhesive tape is supported leaving that end as a free end. Separation means is used to bend the free end in the direction from a first surface of the adhesive tape to a second surface of the adhesive tape until slippage occurs between the adhesive sheet and backing sheet. While in this state, the separation means is withdrawn from the adhesive tape as it traces the end surface at the free end. Thus, the backing sheet is removed from the adhesive tape and can be affixed to an object.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a separation method for an adhesive tape which includes a base tape and a backing sheet laminated on the base tape. The base tape includes a base sheet and an adhesive sheet which is sandwiched between the base sheet and the backing sheet. The backing sheet is separated from the base tape by this method. The invention also relates to a device that separates the backing sheet from the base tape of the adhesive tape.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, due to the simplification of the application of tapes and other adhesive tapes to objects, these types of adhesive tapes are being used in various applications. In these cases, characters are imprinted on the surface of the base tape of the adhesive tape which is used as a label. The base tape on which adhesive is applied is affixed to an object after the backing paper is removed from the adhesive tape. Removing the backing paper from the adhesive tape using one's finger is extremely difficult. Various separation methods and devices have been proposed.
A separation method and device was disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 57-98837. In this system, as shown in FIG. 13, base tape 52 as well as adhesive 53 of adhesive tape 50 was cut with a cutter leaving backing paper 51 intact; a so-called half-cut was performed. The user would bend end member 50a, as indicated by the imaginary lines in FIG. 13, with his finger, and then using end member 50a as a handhold he would separate backing paper 51 from adhesive tape 50 (base tape 52).
In the separation method and device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 5-169749, the corner of the adhesive tape was sandwiched between a punch and die and the adhesive tape was permanently deformed. In this case, due to the difference in rigidity between the base tape and the backing paper, they did not return to the same shape after being removed from the punch thus separating the backing paper from the adhesive tape. That part was used as a handhold to remove the backing paper from the adhesive sheet.
In the first separation method above, it is necessary to consistently perform the half-cut such that it cuts base tape 52 as well as adhesive 53 to a depth of several microns to several tens of microns and leaves backing paper 51 intact. Thus, it requires a high level of precision in the structure and control of the device. It was also necessary to leave about a 5-mm length at end 50a of adhesive tape 50 as a handhold for separation, thus wasting adhesive tape 50.
In the second separation method, the rigidities of the base tape and backing paper and their difference and the adhesion of the adhesive to the backing paper must be considered in setting the contact surface area and the punch depth of the punch and die. Therefore, separation was unreliable and was not satisfactory. Also, since the base tape is permanently deformed together with the backing tape, the tape tends to bend. This results in unevenness in the tape affixed to an object and makes it easier for the tape to come off the object to which it is affixed.
The invention intends to solve these problems. It provides a separation method for adhesive tape and a device with a simple structure to automate the separation. This increases the reliability and efficiency of the operation that separates the backing sheet from adhesive tape.

Separation method for adhesive sheet and its device