What is claimed is:
1. A method for communicating information in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
allocating at least one channel of multiple available wireless channels to be an acknowledgment channel for carrying information between each of multiple field units and a base station;
assigning at least one channel for communicating a data payload between the base station and a corresponding field unit; and
transmitting acknowledgment information associated with a data payload over the acknowledgment channel.
2. A method as in claim 1 further comprising the step of:
dividing the acknowledgment channel into multiple time slots.
3. A method as in claim 2 further comprising the step of:
assigning a time slot of the acknowledgment channel for use by a field unit to transmit acknowledgment information to the base station.
4. A method as in claim 1, wherein the acknowledgment information is transmitted on an as-needed basis between the base station and corresponding field unit.
5. A method as in claim 1, wherein field units are allocated multiple forward link channels on an as-needed basis to transmit a data payload from the base station to a subscriber field unit and a portion of the acknowledgment channel in a reverse link carries feedback messages to the base station.
6. A method as in claim 2, wherein the data payload includes at least one network message transmitted between processing devices using a network protocol.
7. A method as in claim 1, wherein a first acknowledgment channel is allocated for use in a forward link and a second acknowledgment channel is allocated for use in a reverse link of the wireless communication system.
8. A method as in claim 2, wherein the time slots of the acknowledgment channel repeat on a periodic basis.
9. A method as in claim 2 further comprising the step of:
synchronizing the acknowledgment channel with another channel in a forward or reverse channel of the communication system so that acknowledgment information is transmitted or received in a corresponding time slot.
10. A method as in claim 1, wherein the acknowledgment information indicates that a data payload was properly received.
11. A method as in claim 1, wherein the acknowledgment information indicates that a data payload was not properly received.
12. A method as in claim 2, wherein the time slot includes CRC (Cyclical Redundancy Check) check bits.
13. A method as in claim 2, wherein acknowledgment information is transmitted in at least two time slots from at least two different field units.
14. A method as in claim 2, wherein a time slot is implicitly assigned for use by a field unit based upon an assignment of a corresponding channel for transmitting a data payload from the base station to the field unit.
15. A method as in claim 1 further comprising the step of:
assigning a portion of the acknowledgment channel for use by a field unit to transmit acknowledgment information.
16. A method as in claim 3, wherein use of an assigned time slot for transmitting messages in a reverse direction is delayed a preselected amount of time after a traffic channel is allocated for transmitting a data payload.
17. A method as in claim 1, wherein the information communicated in the wireless system includes at least one network message based on TCPIP (Transmission Control ProtocolInternet Protocol).
18. A method as in claim 1, wherein at least part of the acknowledgment information is generated at a link layer.
19. A method as in claim 1, wherein at least part of the acknowledgment information is generated at a transport layer.
20. A method as in claim 1, wherein the acknowledgment channel is structured to carry information generated at multiple network layers.
21. A method as in claim 1, wherein the acknowledgment channel is structured to carry generic payload data.
22. A method as in claim 20, wherein the generic payload data is a maintenance message supporting a link between a field unit and the base station.
23. A method as in claim 20, wherein the generic payload data would otherwise be transmitted over a traffic channel.
24. A method as in claim 3 further comprising the steps of:
allocating additional bandwidth to a field unit for transmitting acknowledgment information when throughput capacity afforded by a single time slot is exceeded.
25. A method as in claim 23, wherein the additional bandwidth is at least part of a traffic channel.
26. A method for communicating information between transceivers of a wireless communication system, the method comprising the steps of:
allocating multiple traffic channels for carrying data messages between transceivers;
at a transceiver that transmits data messages over a traffic channel to a target transceiver, intercepting and decoding data messages intended to be transmitted over a traffic channel to determine their content; and
in lieu of transmitting selected data messages over a traffic channel, encoding the selected data messages into corresponding substitute messages and transmitting the substitute messages over a channel to a target transceiver, the channel structured so that a target transceiver can reconstruct original data messages based on receipt of the substitute messages.
27. A method as in claim 26, wherein the channel is a shared channel.
28. A method as in claim 27, wherein the shared channel is used for communicating acknowledgment information.
29. A method as in claim 27 further comprising the steps of:
at a transceiver, decoding a data message intended to be transmitted to a target transceiver over a traffic channel;
determining that the data message includes acknowledgment information; and
in lieu of transmitting the data message over a corresponding traffic channel, encoding the acknowledgment information and transmitting it in an assigned time slot of the shared channel.
30. A method as in claim 26, wherein a data message intended to be transmitted over a traffic channel includes at least a portion of a TCPIP (Transmission Control ProtocolInternet Protocol) data packet.
31. A method as in claim 26 further comprising the steps of:
generating network packets at a first digital processing device in communication with a first transceiver;
from the first digital device, forwarding the generated network packets to a first transceiver where they are converted into data payloads;
from the first transceiver, transmitting the data payloads to a target receiver;
at the target transceiver, processing a received data payload to retrieve the network messages generated by the first digital processing device;
from the target transceiver, forwarding the retrieved network messages to a second digital processing device in communication with the target transceiver.
32. A method as in claim 27, wherein the shared channel is partitioned into time slots, each of which is assigned for use by a transceiver to support acknowledgment message transmissions.
33. A method as in claim 27 further comprising:
reducing a data message in size to form a substitute message and transmitting the substitute message over the shared channel.
34. A method as in claim 27 further comprising the step of:
dividing the shared channel into time slots.
35. A method as in claim 34, wherein a time slot is structured to include a data field of bits that indicate an ACK (Acknowledge) or NAK (No Acknowledge) message.
36. A method as in claim 35, wherein the ACK or NAK message is originally generated at a network layer.
37. A method as in claim 34, wherein the time slot includes network packet information of a layer 2 ACK (Acknowledge) or NAK (No Acknowledge).
38. A method as in claim 34, wherein the time slot includes layer 4 session source information identifying a transport layer session to which a network packet pertains.
39. A method as in claim 34, wherein the time slot includes CRC (Cyclical Redundancy Check) check bits.
40. A method for communicating information in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
allocating at least one channel of multiple available wireless channels to be a shared feedback channel for carrying feedback information between each of multiple field units and a base station;
assigning at least one channel for communicating a data payload between the base station and a corresponding field unit; and
transmitting feedback information associated with a data payload over the feedback channel.
41. A method as in claim 40 further comprising the step of:
dividing the feedback channel into multiple time slots.
42. A method as in claim 41 further comprising the step of:
assigning a time slot of the feedback channel for use by a field unit to transmit feedback information to the base station.
43. A method as in claim 40, wherein the feedback information is transmitted on an as-needed basis between the base station and corresponding field unit.
44. A method as in claim 40, wherein field units are allocated multiple forward link channels on an as-needed basis to transmit a data payload from the base station to a field unit and a portion of the feedback channel in a reverse link carries feedback messages to the base station.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:
forming an oxynitride film having a specific film thickness on a substrate by performing multiple numbers of times a cycle of:
forming a specific element-containing layer on the substrate by supplying a source gas containing a specific element into a processing vessel in which the substrate is housed;
changing the specific element-containing layer to a nitride layer by supplying a nitrogen-containing gas into the processing vessel; and
changing the nitride layer to an oxynitride layer by supplying an oxygen-containing gas and an inert gas into the processing vessel,
with this sequence as one cycle,
wherein a composition ratio of the oxynitride film having the specific film thickness is controlled by controlling a partial pressure of the oxygen-containing gas in the processing vessel, in changing the nitride layer to the oxynitride layer.
2. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the oxygen-containing gas and the inert gas are supplied through a multiple-hole nozzle having a plurality of gas supply holes on a side face thereof.
3. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of substrates are arranged in the processing vessel, and the multiple-hole nozzle is disposed in a region horizontally surrounding a substrate arrangement region in which the plurality of substrates are arranged.
4. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 3, wherein the multiple-hole nozzle is provided along the substrate arrangement region so as to rise from at least one end side of the substrate arrangement region toward the other end side.
5. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 4, wherein a total flow rate of a mixed gas of the oxygen-containing gas and the inert gas supplied into the multiple-hole nozzle, is set to a flow rate of a minimal requirement or more for obtaining a uniform flow rate of the mixed gas sprayed from each of the gas supply holes of the multiple-hole nozzle.
6. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the partial pressure of the oxygen-containing gas in the processing vessel is controlled by controlling a supply flow rate of the inert gas.
7. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 6, wherein the partial pressure of the oxygen-containing gas in the processing vessel is controlled by controlling the supply flow rate of the inert gas in a state that a pressure in the processing vessel is set in a specific pressure zone.
8. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein by controlling the partial pressure of the oxygen-containing gas in the processing vessel in changing the nitride layer to the oxynitride layer, a ratio of an oxygen-component and a nitrogen-component of the oxynitride film having the specific film thickness is controlled.
9. A substrate processing method, comprising:
forming an oxynitride film having a specific film thickness on a substrate by performing multiple numbers of times a cycle of:
forming a specific element-containing layer on the substrate by supplying a source gas containing a specific element into a processing vessel in which the substrate is housed;
changing the specific element-containing layer to a nitride layer by supplying a nitrogen-containing gas into the processing vessel; and
changing the nitride layer to an oxynitride layer by supplying an oxygen-containing gas and an inert gas into the processing vessel,
with this sequence as one cycle,
wherein a composition ratio of the oxynitride film having the specific film thickness is controlled by controlling a partial pressure of the oxygen-containing gas in the processing vessel, in changing the nitride layer to the oxynitride layer.
10. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:
a processing vessel configured to house a substrate;
a source gas supply system configured to supply a source gas containing a specific element into the processing vessel;
a nitrogen-containing gas supply system configured to supply a nitrogen-containing gas into the processing vessel;
an oxygen-containing gas supply system configured to supply an oxygen-containing gas into the processing vessel;
an inert gas supply system configured to supply an inert gas into the processing vessel;
a partial pressure control system configured to control a partial pressure of a gas in the processing vessel; and
a control part configured to control the source gas supply system, the nitrogen-containing gas supply system, the oxygen-containing gas supply system, the inert gas supply system, and the partial pressure control system, so as to perform processing of forming an oxynitride film having a specific film thickness on the substrate by performing multiple numbers of times a cycle of a process of forming a specific element-containing layer on the substrate by supplying the source gas into the processing vessel in which the substrate is housed, a process of changing the specific element-containing layer to a nitride layer by supplying the nitrogen-containing gas into the processing vessel, and a process of changing the nitride layer to an oxynitride layer by supplying the oxygen-containing gas and the inert gas into the processing vessel, with these processes as one cycle, and so as to control a composition ratio of the oxynitride film having the specific film thickness by controlling a partial pressure of the oxygen-containing gas in the processing vessel, in the process of changing the nitride layer to the oxynitride layer.