4878 results about "Low stress" patented technology

A chemical vapor deposition reactor including a wafer boat with a vertical stack of horizontally oriented susceptors serving as thermal plates and each having pins extending upward for suspending a wafer between a pair of susceptors. Reactant gas injector and exhaust apparatus are positioned to concentrate a forceful supply of reactant gas across each wafer at a speed in excess of 10 cm / sec. The pressure is held in the range of 0.1 to 5,000 mTorr. The forceful gas flow avoids gas depletion effects, thinning the boundary layer and resulting in faster delivery of reactants to substrate surfaces, resulting in surface rate reaction limited operation. A plurality of individually controllable heaters are spaced vertically around the sides of the boat. Temperature sensors monitor the temperature along the boat height and provide input to a controller for adjusting the heater drive to optimize the temperature uniformity.

Methods of etching silicon nitride material, and more particularly, etching nitride selective to silicon dioxide or silicide, are disclosed. The methods include exposing a substrate having silicon nitride thereon to a plasma including at least one fluorohydrocarbon and a non-carbon containing fluorine source such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The plasma may also include oxygen (O2) and the fluorohydrocarbons may include at least one of: trifluoromethane (CHF3), difluoromethane (CH2F2), and methyl fluoride (CH3F). In an alternative embodiment, the plasma includes one of hydrogen (H2) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and one of tetrafluoromethane (CF4) and octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8). The methods are preferably carried out using a low bias voltage, e.g. <100 V.

In one embodiment, a device for coupling communications signals onto a medium-voltage power line includes a first connector, a second connector and one or more components. The first connector is adapted to couple to a low-voltage communications line. The second connector is adapted to couple to a surge arrester. The one or more components are operable to substantially match the impedances between the surge arrester and the low-voltage communications line.

A stent is constructed using interconnected links having micro-mechanical latching mechanisms. The micro-mechanical latching elements allow relative rotational movement of interconnected links in one rotational direction but restrict relative rotational movement of the two links in the opposite direction. The micro-mechanical latch surface features are formed using microelectronic mechanical systems (MEMS) manufacturing methods. The male surface of the latching components contains an array of ridges or protrusions, and the receiving surface contains a matching array of recesses. The array of ridges or protrusions and the corresponding recesses have uniformly dissimilar slopes that result in a substantially greater frictional force in one direction than in the opposite direction. The separation distance between the two surfaces is such that the male latch surface is engaged with the receiving surface recesses in the low stress “locked” state, preventing motion in the undesired direction. Each male ridge or protrusion can be underlined by a void that promotes elastic deflection when sliding in the desired direction and recovery into the ‘locked’ state when aligned with the recesses.

The vacuum assisted liner system is for use with a prosthetic device to be attached to a residual limb. The liner system includes a hypobaric prosthetic liner, and a porous wicking material layer to surround at least a portion of the residual limb and define a regulated vacuum environment between the hypobaric prosthetic liner and the residual limb. The hypobaric prosthetic liner has at least one passageway therethrough defining at least one vacuum port, such as an inlet port and outlet port, in fluid communication with the regulated vacuum environment. Internal liner passageways may connect the inlet and outlet ports to the regulated vacuum environment. A vacuum regulation device may include an electric vacuum pump or a motion activated pump connected to the outlet port.

Apparatus and Methods are provided for a microfabricated fluorescence activated cell sorter based on a switch for rapid, active control of cell routing through a microfluidic channel network. This sorter enables low-stress, highly efficient sorting of populations of small numbers of cells (i.e., 1000-100,000 cells). The invention includes packaging of the microfluidic channel network in a self-contained plastic cartridge that enables microfluidic channel network to macro-scale instrument interconnect, in a sterile, disposable format. Optical and / or fluidic switching forces are used alone or in combination to effect switching.

A structure of a micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) for a planar display apparatus is described. The MEMS structure used as a transmissible or reflective display device has a shielding electrode and a control electrode. The shielding electrode has a low stress electrode and a high stress electrode. The high stress electrode connected to the low stress electrode is a movable element. The control electrode is located below the high stress electrode. The control electrode attracts the high stress electrode when a voltage is applied to the control electrode. The high stress electrode deforms and the position of the low stress electrode is altered.

A porous sheet article comprising a self-supporting nonwoven web of polymeric fibers and at least 80 weight percent sorbent particles enmeshed in the web, the fibers having sufficiently greater elasticity or sufficiently greater crystallization shrinkage than similar caliper polypropylene fibers and the sorbent particles being sufficiently evenly distributed in the web so that the web has an Adsorption Factor A of at least 1.6×104 / mm water. The articles have low pressure drop and can provide filter elements having long service life and an Adsorption Factor approaching and in some instances exceeding that of a packed carbon bed.

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for making a prototype injection molded part. An extruder of the type used for fused deposition modeling injects production thermoplastic material into a heated nonconductive plastic mold tool slowly at low pressure in an isothermic process. The mold tool may be built from a CAD drawing by fused deposition modeling or another rapid prototyping technique. Using the present invention, an injection molded prototype part can be made from a digital representation of the part within 24 hours by an engineer in an office environment.

The present application is directed to a manifold system for low pressure and high pressure fluids. The manifold system may include one or more manifold sub-assemblies that may be assembled together, separated apart and replaced as desired. In oil and gas hydraulic fracturing operations, each manifold sub-assembly includes two or more low pressure fluid lines and two or more high pressure fluid lines for fluidly communicating with hydraulic fracturing pumps. High pressure fluid may exit the manifold system via a single line or multiple lines.

Methods and apparatus for service-level based and / or skills-based assignment of a work item to one (or more) of a plurality of resources based on fitness, for example, of skills required by the former to those provided by the latter. Assignment takes into account the level of stress on the work item and / or resources, such that the number of resources fit for assignment varies as the level of stress varies. Systems according to the invention can be used, by way of example, to route a call or other request made by a customer to a service center. The requirements for processing the call (determined, for example, by an incoming call operator) are matched against the skill sets of available customer service agents, taking call and / or resource stress levels into account. For example, some implementations may match an incoming call having a low stress factor (e.g., a newly received call from a standard customer) to a smaller pool of agents with both required and desired skills, while assigning a call with a higher stress factor to a larger pool of agents with at least required skills. Other embodiments may match an incoming call having a low stress factor to the larger pool of agents having at least the required skills, while assigning a call with a higher stress factor (e.g., a call from a priority customer) to an agent from the smaller pool of agents who have both required and desired skills.

According to one exemplary embodiment, a voltage up-conversion circuit includes a modulated voltage generator circuit, where the modulated voltage generator circuit is configured to receive an input voltage and generate a modulated voltage, and where the modulated voltage generator circuit includes at least one transistor. The voltage up-conversion circuit further includes a switching circuit coupled to the modulated voltage generator circuit, where the switching circuit is configured to couple the modulated voltage to a load capacitor when the modulated voltage is at a high level and decouple the modulated voltage to the load capacitor when the modulated voltage is at a low level. In the voltage up-conversion circuit, the load capacitor reaches a voltage greater a breakdown voltage of the at least one transistor in the modulated voltage generator circuit. The breakdown voltage can be a reliability breakdown voltage.

A wound dressing apparatus for use in subatmospheric pressure therapy includes an outer member dimensioned for positioning relative to a wound bed and defining an internal reservoir, a port associated with the outer member and in communication with the internal reservoir for applying subatmospheric pressure to the internal reservoir to facilitate treatment of the wound bed and removal of fluid therefrom, an inner member at least partially positionable within the wound bed and confined within the outer member, and an adhesive agent in contact with a peripheral section of the outer member to facilitate attachment of the peripheral section to the periwound tissue. The adhesive agent is preferably substantially devoid of contact with the inner member. In one embodiment, a layer of adhesive material is disposed on the peripheral section of the outer member.

A high-flow low-pressure irrigation system (10) for directing a fluid to and recovering the fluid from an area within a body, the irrigation system (10) comprising a sheath (37) and a flexible catheter (20) disposed in the sheath (37). The catheter (20) comprises a plurality of apertures (26) at a distal pigtail portion (28). The fluid is directed through the apertures (26) and recovered through the sheath (37). Renal applications include alkaline irrigation for dissolution or uric acid stones, chemo-dissolution of cystine stones, irrigation with chemotherapy drugs after ureteroscopic tumor management, antibiotic irrigation for severe infection (e.g. fungal and bacterial), and irrigation of thrombotic agents (Alum Or direct delivery of Amicar for renal bleeding).