Patents
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Russell Hudyma
High Numerical Aperture Ring Field Projection
System for Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography
U.S. Patent 6,318,869 B1
November 20, 2001
An all-reflective optical system for a projection photolithography
camera has a source of extreme ultraviolet radiation, a wafer, and
a mask to be imaged on the wafer. The optical system includes a
first concave mirror, a second mirror, a third convex mirror, a
fourth concave mirror, a fifth convex mirror, and a sixth concave
mirror. The system is configured so that 5 of the 6 mirrors receive
a chief ray at an incidence angle of less than substantially 12
degrees, and each of the 6 mirrors receives a chief ray at an incidence
angle of less than substantially 15 degrees. Four of the six reflecting
surfaces have an aspheric departure of less than substantially 7
micrometers. Five of the 6 reflecting surfaces have an aspheric
departure of less than substantially 14 micrometers. Each of the
6 reflecting surfaces has an aspheric departure of less than 16
micrometers.
Layton C. Hale,
Steven A. Jensen
Highly Damped Kinematic Coupling for Precision
Instruments
U.S. Patent 6,325,351 B1
December 4, 2001
A highly damped kinematic coupling for precision instruments. The
kinematic coupling provides support while causing essentially no
influence to its natural shape. Such influences would come, for
example, from manufacturing tolerances, temperature changes, or
ground motion. The coupling uses three ballcone constraints,
each combined with a released flexural degree of freedom. This arrangement
enables a gain of higher load capacity and stiffness, but can also
significantly reduce the friction level in proportion to the ball
radius divided by the distance between the ball and the hinge axis.
The blade flexures reduce somewhat the stiffness of the coupling
and provide an ideal location to apply constrained-layer damping,
which is accomplished by attaching a viscoelastic layer and a constraining
layer on opposite sides of each of the blade flexures. The three
identical ballcone flexures provide a damped coupling mechanism
to kinematically support the projection optics system of an extreme
ultraviolet lithography system or other load-sensitive apparatus.
Steven T. Mayer,
Richard W. Pekala, James L. Kaschmitt
Method for Fabricating Composite Carbon Foam
U.S. Patent 6,332,990 B1
December 25, 2001
Carbon aerogels used as a binder for granularized materials, including
other forms of carbon and metal additives, are cast onto carbon-
or meta-fiber substrates to form composite carbon thin-film sheets.
The thin-film sheets are used in electrochemical energy storage
applications, such as electrochemical double-layer capacitors (aerocapacitors),
lithium-based battery insertion electrodes, fuel cell electrodes,
and electrocapacitive deionization electrodes. The composite carbon
foam may be formed by prior known processes, but with the solid
particles being added during the liquid phase of the process, that
is, before gelation. The other forms of carbon may include carbon
microspheres, carbon powder, carbon aerogel powder or particles,
or graphite carbons. Metal and/or carbon fibers may be added for
increased conductivity. The choice of materials and fibers will
depend on the electrolyte used and the relative trade-off of system
resistivity and power to system energy.
Jonathan N.
Simon, Steve B. Brown
Apparatus and Method for Collection and Concentration
of Respirable Particles into a Small Fluid Volume
U.S. Patent 6,337,213 B1
January 8, 2002
An apparatus and method for the collection and concentration of
respirable particles into a small fluid volume. The apparatus captures
and concentrates (1 to 20 micrometers) respirable particles into
a submilliliter volume of fluid. The method involves a two-step
operation, collection and concentration. Collection of particles
is done by a wetted surface with small vertical slits that act as
capillary channels. Concentration is carried out by transferring
the collected particles to a small-volume (submilliliter) container
by centrifugal force, which forces the particles through the vertical
slits to a nonwetted wall surface of a container. The particles
are deflected to the bottom of the container and analyzed with a
portable flow cytometer or a portable polymerase chain reaction
DNA analysis system.
Brian D. Andresen,
Fred S. Miller
Method for Detection of Extremely Low Concentration
U.S. Patent 6,338,824 B1
January 15, 2002
An ultratrace detector system for handheld gas chromatography that
is highly sensitive, for example, to emissions generated during
production of weapons, biological compounds, or drugs. The detector
system is insensitive to water, air, helium, argon, oxygen, and
carbon dioxide. The system is basically composed of a handheld capillary
gas chromatograph, an insulated heated redox-chamber, a detection
chamber, and a vapor trap. As an example of how it works, the detector
system may use gas-phase redox reactions and spectral absorption
of mercury vapor. The gas chromatograph initially separates compounds
that percolate through a bed of heated mercuric oxide in a silica
or other metal aerogel material acting as an insulator. Compounds
easily oxidized by mercuric oxide liberate atomic mercury, which
subsequently passes through a detection chamber that includes a
detector cell, such as quartz. The chamber is illuminated with a
254-nanometer ultraviolet mercury discharge lamp that generates
the exact mercury absorption band used to detect the liberated mercury
atoms. Atomic mercury strongly absorbs 254-nanometer energy and
is therefore a specific signal for reducing compounds eluting from
the capillary gas chromatograph. Afterward, the atomic mercury is
trapped, for example, in a silicon-aerogel trap.
Timothy P. Weihs,
Troy W. Barbee, Jr.
Method for Forming a Barrier Layer
U.S. Patent 6,339,020 B1
January 15, 2002
Cubic or metastable cubic refractory metal carbides act as barrier
layers to isolate, adhere to, and passivate copper in semiconductor
fabrication. One or more barrier layers of the metal carbide is
deposited in conjunction with copper metallizations to form a multilayer
characterized by a cubic crystal structure with a strong texture.
Suitable barrier-layer materials include refractory transition metal
carbides such as vanadium carbide, niobium carbide, tantalum carbide,
chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, and molybdenum carbide.
Michael J. Wilson,
David A. Goerz
Apparatus for Improving Performance of Electrical
Insulating Structures
U.S. Patent 6,339,195 B1
January 15, 2002
This invention removes the electrical field from the internal volume
of high-voltage structures, for example, bushings, connectors, capacitors,
and cables. The electrical field is removed from inherently weak
regions of the interconnect, such as between the center conductor
and the solid dielectric, and placed in the primary insulation.
This is accomplished by providing a conductive surface on the inside
surface of the principal solid dielectric insulator surrounding
the center conductor and connecting the center conductor to the
conductive surface. The advantages of moving the electric fields
from the weaker dielectric region to a stronger area are improved
reliability, increased component life and operating levels, reduced
noise and losses, and smaller, compact design. This electric field
control approach is currently possible on many existing products
at a modest cost. Several techniques are available to provide the
level of electric field control needed. Choosing the optimum technique
depends on material, size, and surface accessibility. The simplest
deposition method uses a standard electroless plating technique,
but other metallization techniques include vapor and energetic deposition,
plasma spraying, conductive painting, and other controlled coating
methods.
Earl R. Ault
Method for Beam Steering Compensation in an Ultra-High
Power Liquid Laser
U.S. Patent 6,339,608 B1
January 15, 2002
Waste heat from the excitation process and absorption of laser radiation
causes laser media to heat up and induces optical wavefront distortion,
which in turn creates optical phase errors. This method uses a system
to derive an error signal from the optical phase errors. The error
signal is fed back to the power supplies for the semiconductor diodes
that excite the lasing liquid. This results in the introduction
of an electrically controllable wedge into the optical cavity to
correct the optical phase errors.
Paul G. Carey,
Jesse B. Thompson, Randy C. Aceves
Solar Cell Module Lamination Process
U.S. Patent 6,340,403 B1
January 22, 2002
Fluoropolymers are used to laminate solar cell modules and protect
them from adverse environmental conditions, thus enabling more extended
use of solar cells, particularly in space applications. A laminate
of fluoropolymer material provides a hermetically sealed solar cell
module structure that is flexible and very durable. The laminate
is virtually chemically inert, highly transmissive in the visible
spectrum, dimensionally stable at temperatures up to about 200°C,
highly abrasion-resistant, and exhibits very little ultraviolet
degradation.
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