Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130122782 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SUBSTRATE POLISHING END POINT DETECTION USING IMPROVED FRICTION MEASUREMENT - Methods, apparatus, and systems for polishing a substrate are provided. The invention includes an upper platen; a torque/strain measurement instrument coupled to the upper platen; and a lower platen coupled to the torque/strain measurement instrument and adapted to drive the upper platen to rotate through the torque/strain measurement instrument. In other embodiments, the invention includes an upper carriage; a side force measurement instrument coupled to the upper carriage; and a lower carriage coupled to the side force measurement instrument and adapted to support a polishing head. Numerous additional aspects are disclosed. | 05-16-2013 |
20130122788 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SUBSTRATE POLISHING END POINT DETECTION USING IMPROVED FRICTION MEASUREMENT - Methods, apparatus, and systems for polishing a substrate are provided. The invention includes an upper platen; a torque/strain measurement instrument coupled to the upper platen; and a lower platen coupled to the torque/strain measurement instrument and adapted to drive the upper platen to rotate through the torque/strain measurement instrument. In other embodiments, the invention includes an upper carriage; a side force measurement instrument coupled to the upper carriage; and a lower carriage coupled to the side force measurement instrument and adapted to support a polishing head. Numerous additional aspects are disclosed. | 05-16-2013 |
20130283553 | ANTI-SLIP SCRUBBER BRUSH AND ASSEMBLY METHODS - In one aspect, a scrubber brush assembly is provided. The scrubber brush assembly includes a scrubber brush including exterior molded surfaces and a mounting passage having interior molded surfaces, the interior molded surfaces having molded foam, raised rotation-restraining features, and a mandrel including recesses directly coupled to the molded foam, raised rotation-restraining features of the scrubber brush to prevent slippage. Scrubber brushes and methods of assembly are provided, as are numerous other aspects. | 10-31-2013 |
20130283556 | HIGH STIFFNESS, ANTI-SLIP SCRUBBER BRUSH ASSEMBLY, HIGH-STIFFNESS MANDREL, SUBASSEMBLIES, AND ASSEMBLY METHODS - In one aspect, a scrubber brush assembly is provided. The scrubber brush assembly includes a scrubber brush having a body of open-cell foam including an interior surface, a sleeve received in contact with the scrubber brush, the sleeve including peripherally-spaced, longitudinal walls and reinforcing segments interconnecting adjacent ones of the longitudinal walls and forming elongated pockets along the length, the sleeve having raised ribs extending along the length, and a mandrel having recesses formed on an outer surface, the mandrel being coupled to the sleeve by receiving the raised ribs within the recesses. Scrubber brush subassemblies, high stiffness mandrels, and methods of assembly are provided, as are numerous other aspects. | 10-31-2013 |
20130288577 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ACTIVE SUBSTRATE PRECESSION DURING CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING - In some aspects, a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus is provided that includes a polishing head having (a) a rotatable spindle; (b) a membrane coupled to the rotatable spindle and adapted to press a substrate against a polishing pad during polishing of the substrate; and (c) a retaining ring rotatable coupled to the spindle and adapted to surround a substrate being pressed against a polishing pad during polishing and to limit lateral movement of the substrate relative to the polishing head. The CMP apparatus also includes a drive mechanism coupled to the retaining ring and adapted to drive the retaining ring at a different rate of rotation than the spindle during polishing. Numerous other aspects are provided. | 10-31-2013 |
20130288578 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PRE-CHEMICAL MECHANICAL PLANARIZATION BUFFING MODULE - The present invention provides methods and apparatus for a pre-CMP semiconductor substrate buffing module. The invention includes a polishing pad assembly adapted to be rotated against a major surface of a substrate; a chuck adapted to hold the substrate and to rotate the substrate against the polishing pad assembly as the polishing pad assembly is rotated; and a lateral motion motor adapted to oscillate the polishing pad assembly laterally across the major surface of the substrate while the polishing pad assembly is rotated against the rotating substrate. Numerous additional features are disclosed. | 10-31-2013 |
20140199840 | CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING APPARATUS AND METHODS - In one aspect, a substrate polishing apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus has a polishing platform having two or more zones, each zone adapted to contain a different slurry component. In another aspect, a substrate polishing system is provided having a holder to hold a substrate, a polishing platform having a polishing pad, and a distribution system adapted to dispense, in a timed sequence, at least two different slurry components selected from a group consisting of an oxidation slurry component, a material removal slurry component, and a corrosion inhibiting slurry component. Polishing methods and systems adapted to polish substrates are provided, as are numerous other aspects. | 07-17-2014 |
20140308813 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR A NON-CONTACT EDGE POLISHING MODULE USING ION MILLING - Systems, methods and apparatus for polishing a substrate edge without mechanical contact are disclosed. The apparatus includes a rotatable chuck configured to secure a substrate, an ion milling machine configured to project an ion beam on an edge of the substrate and to sputter off matter from the substrate, and an endpoint detection sensor configured to determine if a material removal endpoint of the substrate has been reached. Numerous additional features are disclosed. | 10-16-2014 |
20140315473 | MULTI-DISK CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING PAD CONDITIONERS AND METHODS - A pad conditioner may include multiple independently mounted conditioning elements configured to condition a polishing pad used in, e.g., a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. In some embodiments, the pad conditioner may include a main assembly disk and a main assembly base plate attached to the main assembly disk via a gimbal connection. A plurality of pad conditioner assemblies may be attached to the main assembly base plate. In some embodiments, each pad conditioner assembly may include a pad conditioner disk attached to the main assembly base plate, a pad conditioner base attached to the pad conditioner disk via a gimbal connection, and a conditioning element attached to the pad conditioner base. Methods of conditioning a polishing pad are also provided, as are other aspects. | 10-23-2014 |
20150021498 | CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING RETAINING RING METHODS AND APPARATUS - A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system includes a substrate held in a substrate holder having a substrate retaining ring, the substrate having a peripheral edge supported by the substrate retaining ring, the retaining ring including a polymer ring having a polymer contact portion in contact with at least a portion of the peripheral edge, wherein the polymer contact portion has a hardness that is greater than a remaining portion of the polymer ring. CMP methods and retaining ring apparatus for CMP are provided, as are numerous other aspects. | 01-22-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080205820 | DYNAMICALLY CONFIGURABLE MULTIPLE WAVELENGTH PHOTODETECTOR ARRAY FOR OPTICAL STORAGE APPLICATIONS - A dynamically configurable multiple wavelength adapted photodetector (PD) integrated circuit includes a PD array having a center bank of electrically isolated PD sections, and a first and a second side channel bank of electrically isolated PD sections on opposing sides of the center PD bank for receiving light and outputting electrical signals. A dynamically configurable switching matrix having a first plurality of inputs is coupled to outputs of the PD sections and a second plurality of inputs is provided for receiving control signals which select from a plurality of different switch configurations. The switch configurations set which of the PD sections are coupled to particular ones of a plurality of matrix outputs provided by the switching matrix. A structure providing switching matrix configuration information is coupled to the second plurality of inputs of the switching matrix to selects specific ones from the plurality of different switch configurations. An output block comprising a plurality of amplifiers is coupled to the plurality of matrix outputs for providing a plurality of amplified outputs, wherein dynamically adjustable combinations of electrical signals from the PD sections are directed to the plurality of amplifiers based on the switch configuration. The configuration selected effectively centers a location of an incident side beam at a center of the side channel PD banks independent of a wavelength (and resulting position) of the beam. | 08-28-2008 |
20100177625 | DYNAMICALLY CONFIGURABLE MULTIPLE WAVELENGTH PHOTODETECTOR ARRAY FOR OPTICAL STORAGE APPLICATIONS - A photodetector integrated circuit (PDIC) capable of being used with at least two different types of optical discs includes a photodetector (PD) array and a switch matrix. The PD array includes a center channel PD and a side channel PD electrically isolated from the center channel PD. The switch matrix, which includes a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs, can be selectively configured in a plurality of different switch configurations. The side channel PD includes a plurality of electrically isolated PD sections. Each electrically isolated PD section of the side channel PD is adapted to detect light and provide an electrical output signal, indicative of the light detected by the PD section, to a different one of the inputs of the switch matrix. The switch matrix is adapted to combine the electrical output signals provided by the electrically isolated PD sections of the side channel PD in a plurality of different manners, in dependence on which of the plurality of different switch configurations is selected. | 07-15-2010 |
20110198485 | DYNAMICALLY CONFIGURABLE PHOTODETECTOR ARRAYS - In accordance with an embodiment, a circuit includes a photodetector (PD) array including a plurality of electrically isolated PD sections. Additionally, the circuit includes a switching matrix that includes a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs, and that can be selectively configured in a plurality of different switch configurations. Each of the electrically isolated PD sections is adapted to detect light (if any) and provide an electrical output signal, indicative of the light detected by the PD section (if any), to a different one of the inputs of the switching matrix. The switching matrix is adapted to combine the electrical output signals provided by the electrically isolated PD sections in a plurality of different manners, in dependence on which of the plurality of different switch configurations is selected. | 08-18-2011 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100207035 | FLUORESCENCE BASED SENSORS UTILIZING A MIRRORED CAVITY - A fluorescence based sensor system that provides improved signal-to-noise over prior systems is provided. The system includes a fluorescence based sensing medium that is contained a recessed cavity with reflective sides that allow for more uniform excitation of the fluorescence based sensing medium by the excitation light. | 08-19-2010 |
20110273705 | CHLOROPHYLL AND TURBIDITY SENSOR SYSTEM - A low cost sensing system that can measure both chlorophyll concentration and turbidity is provided. The system is an optical system that utilizes at least three light sensors for measuring side-scattered and forward scattered light, as well as fluorescence. The system is able to take optical density measurements, steady state fluorescence measurements and maximum fluorescence measurements, and can be configured for wireless control and data transmission. The system may also be housed in one or more fluidtight housings so as to make it submersible. | 11-10-2011 |
20120283575 | REMOTE NON-INVASIVE PARAMETER SENSING SYSTEM AND METHOD - A remote parameter sensing system is provide that includes a gel sensor, a light source, a detector and a controller | 11-08-2012 |
20130079661 | LUMINESCENCE BASED NONINVASIVE REMOTE PARAMETER SENSOR AND SENSING METHOD - A noninvasive remote parameter sensor and sensing method is provided that is particularly suited for the remote monitoring of skin temperature. The sensor and sensing method utilize luminescence-based sensors that are non-toxic and non-irritating to the skin. The sensor preferably utilizes one or more types of fluorophores that are embedded in a soft hydrogel. The sensor is illuminated with excitation light, and temperature is monitored by detecting and analyzing the emission light from the fluorophores. Because a soft hydrogel is used, the sensor can be gently wiped off the skin at the conclusion of temperature measurements. | 03-28-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090217230 | AUTOMATIC BUS ROUTING - Particular embodiments generally relate to automatic routing of a bus in an integrated circuit design. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a description of a circuit design. Buses are automatically detected based on pin adjacency in terms of distance between pins and routing layer of the pins. A bus routing area is determined by the bounding box of first group of source pins and a second group of destination pins. Bus routing guidance is then generated by an automatically search engine in the bus routing area. The bus routing guidance models a bus as a skinny wire with large spacing, and it does not violate design rules. Real bus wires are generated based on the bus guidance. A bus is then automatically routed between a first group of source pins and a second group of destination pins based on the bus routing guidance. | 08-27-2009 |
20120257627 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PACKET DE-DUPLICATION - A method of packet processing includes receiving a first packet that includes a header, the header having a plurality of fields, one of the plurality of fields being an identification field, determining an identification value for the identification field in the header of the first packet, determining whether the identification value of the first packet matches an identification value in a header of a second packet, and using another one of the fields in the header of the first packet to determine whether the first packet is a duplicate packet when the identification value of the first packet matches the identification value of the second packet. | 10-11-2012 |
20120257631 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR STOPPING AND STARTING A PACKET PROCESSING TASK - A method of packet processing by a network switch appliance includes receiving a first packet at a first network port of the network switch appliance, determining a first workload at the network switch appliance at a first time instant, performing a task to process the first packet when the first workload is below a first prescribed threshold, and passing the first packet to an instrument port at the network switch appliance. A method of packet processing by a network switch appliance includes receiving a first packet at a first network port of the network switch appliance, determining a first resource at the network switch appliance at a first time instant, performing a task to process the first packet when the first resource is above a first prescribed threshold, and passing the first packet to an instrument port at the network switch appliance. | 10-11-2012 |
20140029451 | MONITORING VIRTUALIZED NETWORK - A method of monitoring virtualized network includes receiving information regarding the virtualized network, wherein the information is received at a port of a network switch appliance, receiving a packet at a network port of the network switch appliance, and using the received information to determine whether to process the packet according to a first packet processing scheme or a second packet processing scheme, wherein the first packet processing scheme involves performing header stripping, and performing packet transmission to one of a plurality of instrument ports at the network switch appliance after the header stripping, each of the instrument ports configured for communicatively coupling to a network monitoring instrument, and wherein the second packet processing scheme involves performing packet transmission to one of the plurality of instrument ports at the network switch appliance without performing any header stripping. | 01-30-2014 |
20140366097 | SECURITY ACCESS FOR A SWITCH DEVICE - A method for providing user access to a network switch appliance, includes: receiving from a user a request to access configuration item for the network switch appliance, the network switch appliance configured to pass packets received from a network to network monitoring instruments; and determining, using a processing unit, whether to allow the user to access the configuration item for the network switch appliance based on information regarding the user. | 12-11-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100317779 | SCRATCH RESISTANT POLYPROPYLENE - Disclosed are scratch resistant polypropylene molded parts comprising a) a polypropylene substrate and incorporated therein a combination of b) an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic reagent functionalized olefin polymer or copolymer, c) a primary or secondary fatty acid amide and d) a nucleating agent selected from the group consisting of sodium benzoate, 2,2′-methylene-bis(4,6-di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphate, zinc glycerolate, calcium salt of 1,2-dicarboxylic acid cyclohexane and sodium salt of 1,2-dicarboxylic acid norbornane. Also disclosed is a method for providing scratch resistance to a polypropylene molded part by incorporating said additives. The polypropylene substrate is for instance polypropylene homopolymer or thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO). Component b) is for instance maleated polypropylene or the reaction product of an alpha-olefin and maleic anhydride. The fatty acid amide is for instance stearyl erucamide or oleyl palmitamide. The molded parts are suitable for automotive parts. The molded parts also advantageously contain a filler, for example talc. | 12-16-2010 |
20120259046 | Scratch Resistant Polypropylene - Disclosed are scratch resistant polypropylene molded parts comprising a) a polypropylene substrate and incorporated therein a combination of b) an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic reagent functionalized olefin polymer or copolymer, c) a primary or secondary fatty acid amide and d) a nucleating agent selected from the group consisting of sodium benzoate, 2,2′-methylene-bis(4,6-di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphate, zinc glycerolate, calcium salt of 1,2-dicarboxylic acid cyclohexane and sodium salt of 1,2-dicarboxylic acid norbornane. Also disclosed is a method for providing scratch resistance to a polypropylene molded part by incorporating said additives. The polypropylene substrate is for instance polypropylene homopolymer or thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO). Component b) is for instance maleated polypropylene or the reaction product of an alpha-olefin and maleic anhydride. The fatty acid amide is for instance stearyl erucamide or oleyl palmitamide. The molded parts are suitable for automotive parts. The molded parts also advantageously contain a filler, for example talc. | 10-11-2012 |
20130303671 | SCRATCH RESISTANT POLYPROPYLENE - Disclosed are scratch resistant polypropylene molded parts comprising a) a polypropylene substrate and incorporated therein a combination of b) an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic reagent functionalized olefin polymer or copolymer, c) a primary or secondary fatty acid amide and d) a nucleating agent selected from the group consisting of sodium benzoate, 2,2′-methylene-bis(4,6-di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphate, zinc glycerolate, calcium salt of 1,2-dicarboxylic acid cyclohexane and sodium salt of 1,2-dicarboxylic acid norbornane. Also disclosed is a method for providing scratch resistance to a polypropylene molded part by incorporating said additives. The polypropylene substrate is for instance polypropylene homopolymer or thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO). Component b) is for instance maleated polypropylene or the reaction product of an alpha-olefin and maleic anhydride. The fatty acid amide is for instance stearyl erucamide or oleyl palmitamide. The molded parts are suitable for automotive parts. The molded parts also advantageously contain a filler, for example talc. | 11-14-2013 |
20140128523 | SCRATCH RESISTANT POLYPROPYLENE - Dislcosed are scratch resistant polypropylene molded parts comprising a) a polypropylene substrate and incorporated therein a combination of b) an alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic reagent functionalized olefin polymer or copolymer, c) a primary or secondary fatty acid amide and d) a nucleating agent selected from the group consisting of sodium benzoate, 2,2′-methylene-bis(4,6-di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphate, zinc glycerolate, calcium salt of 1,2-dicarboxylic acid cyclohexane and sodium salt of 1,2-dicarboxylic acid norbornane. Also disclosed is a method for providing scratch resistance to a polypropylene molded part by incorporating said additives. The polypropylene substrate is for instance polypropylene homopolymer or thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO). Component b) is for instance maleated polypropylene or the reaction product of an alpha-olefin and maleic anhydride. The fatty acid amide is for instance stearyl erucamide or oleyl palmitamide. The molded parts are suitable for automotive parts. The molded parts also advantageously contain a filler, for example talc. | 05-08-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090319486 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR REAL-TIME CONTINUOUS UPDATES - Embodiments of the present invention provide fine grain concurrency control for transactions in the presence of database updates. During operations, each transaction is assigned a snapshot version number or SVN. A SVN refers to a historical snapshot of the database that can be created periodically or on demand. Transactions are thus tied to a particular SVN, such as, when the transaction was created. Queries belonging to the transactions can access data that is consistent as of a point in time, for example, corresponding to the latest SVN when the transaction was created. At various times, data from the database stored in a memory can be updated using the snapshot data corresponding to a SVN. When a transaction is committed, a snapshot of the database with a new SVN is created based on the data modified by the transaction and the snapshot is synchronized to the memory. When a transaction query requires data from a version of the database corresponding to a SVN, the data in the memory may be synchronized with the snapshot data corresponding to that SVN. | 12-24-2009 |
20090319550 | FAST BULK LOADING AND INCREMENTAL LOADING OF DATA INTO A DATABASE - Embodiments of the present invention provide for batch and incremental loading of data into a database. In the present invention, the loader infrastructure utilizes machine code database instructions and hardware acceleration to parallelize the load operations with the I/O operations. A large, hardware accelerator memory is used as staging cache for the load process. The load process also comprises an index profiling phase that enables balanced partitioning of the created indexes to allow for pipelined load. The online incremental loading process may also be performed while serving queries. | 12-24-2009 |
20110099155 | FAST BATCH LOADING AND INCREMENTAL LOADING OF DATA INTO A DATABASE - Embodiments of the present invention provide for batch and incremental loading of data into a database. In the present invention, the loader infrastructure utilizes machine code database instructions and hardware acceleration to parallelize the load operations with the I/O operations. A large, hardware accelerator memory is used as staging cache for the load process. The load process also comprises an index profiling phase that enables balanced partitioning of the created indexes to allow for pipelined load. The online incremental loading process may also be performed while serving queries. | 04-28-2011 |
20130268489 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR REAL-TIME CONTINUOUS UPDATES - Embodiments of the present invention provide fine grain concurrency control for transactions in the presence of database updates. During operations, each transaction is assigned a snapshot version number or SVN. A SVN refers to a historical snapshot of the database that can be created periodically or on demand. Transactions are thus tied to a particular SVN, such as, when the transaction was created. Queries belonging to the transactions can access data that is consistent as of a point in time, for example, corresponding to the latest SVN when the transaction was created. At various times, data from the database stored in a memory can be updated using the snapshot data corresponding to a SVN. When a transaction is committed, a snapshot of the database with a new SVN is created based on the data modified by the transaction and the snapshot is synchronized to the memory. When a transaction query requires data from a version of the database corresponding to a SVN, the data in the memory may be synchronized with the snapshot data corresponding to that SVN. | 10-10-2013 |