Author: claimsbot

1. A blankmask which includes a light-shielding layer and a hard mask film on a transparent substrate, wherein the hard mask film comprises at least one among tin (Sn), chromium (Cr), and tantalum (Ta), wherein a thickness of the hard mask film is 10 \u212b to 100 \u212b, and an etch rate of the hard mask film is 0.6 \u212bsec or more.
2. The blankmask of claim 1, wherein the hard mask film further comprises at least one material among oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), and carbon (C).
3. The blankmask of claim 1, wherein the hard mask film further comprises at least one metal selected from the group consisting of titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), gallium (Ga), germanium (Ge), zirconium (Zr), niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), cadmium (Cd), indium (In), hafnium (Hf), tungsten (W), osmium (Os), iridium (Ir), platinum (Pt), and gold (Au); and selectively further comprises at least one material among silicon (Si), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), and carbon (C).
4. The blankmask of claim 1, wherein the hard mask film is formed of at least one among SnCON, SnON, SnCN, SnCO, SnO, SnC, SnN, Cr, CrCON, CrON, CrCN, CrCO, CrC, CrN, CrO, CrSn, CrSnCON, CrSnON, CrSnCN, CrSnCO, CrSnC, CrSnN, CrSnO, TaSn, TaSnCON, TaSnON, TaSnCN, TaSnCO, TaSnC, TaSnN, TaSnO, CrTaSnCON, CrTaSnON, CrTaSnCN, CrTaSnCO, CrTaSnO, CrTaSnC, and CrTaSnN.
5. The blankmask of claim 1, wherein the light-shielding layer comprises at least one metal and silicon (Si),
wherein the at least one metal comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), chronimum (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), gallium (Ga), germanium (Ge), zirconium (Zr), niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), cadmium (Cd), indium (In), hafnium (Hf), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), osmium (Os), iridium (Ir), platinum (Pt), gold (Au), aluminum (Al), magnesium (Mg), lithium (Li), and selenium (Se); and selectively further comprises at least one material among oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), and carbon (C).
6. The blankmask of claim 5, wherein the light-shielding layer is formed as a single-layer film, a multilayer film including a light block layer and an anti-reflective layer, or a continuous film.
7. The blankmask of claim 6, wherein the light-shielding layer comprises a MoSi compound, a MoTaSi compound, or a combination thereof.
8. The blankmask of claim 7, wherein the MoSi compound comprises at least one among MoSi, MoSiCON, MoSiON, MoSiCN, MoSiCO, MoSiO, MoSiC, and MoSiN, and
the MoTaSi compound comprises at least one among MoTaSi, MoTaSiCON, MoTaSiON, MoTaSiCN, MoTaSiCO, MoTaSiC, MoTaSiN, and MoTaSiO.
9. The blankmask of claim 7, wherein the MoTaSi compound has a composition in which the content of Mo is 1 to 40 at %, the content of Ta is 1 to 40 at %, the content of Si is 30 to 80 at %, the content of nitrogen (N) is 0 to 50 at %, the content of oxygen is 0 to 20 at %, and the content of carbon (C) is 0 to 20 at %, and
the MoSi compound has a composition in which the content of Mo is 1 to 40 at %, the content of Si is 40 to 80 at %, the content of nitrogen (N) is 0 to 50 at %, the content of oxygen is 0 to 20 at %, and the content of carbon (C) is 0 to 20 at %.
10. The blankmask of claim 7, wherein a composition ratio of Mo:Ta:Si included in a sputtering target used to form the MoTaSi compound is 2 to 40 at %:2 to 40 at %:20 to 96 at %, and
a composition ratio of Mo:Si included in a sputtering target used to form the MoSi compound is 5 to 40 at %:60 to 95 at %.
11. The blankmask of claim 5, wherein Si(Mo+Ta+N), which is a ratio of silicon (Si) to a composition ratio of the light-shielding layer, is 5.0 or less, and
Si(Mo+N), which is a ratio of silicon (Si) to the composition of the light-shielding layer, is 5.0 or less.
12. The blankmask of claim 1, wherein the hard mask film has a composition in which the content of Cr is 30 to 99 at %, the content of Sn is 1 to 30 at %, the content of oxygen is 0 to 50 at %, the content of nitrogen (N) is 0 to 50 at %, and the content of carbon (C) is 0 to 20 at %.
13. The blankmask of claim 1, wherein the hard mask film is formed using a Cr target and a Sn target, or using a CrSn target,
wherein a composition ratio of Cr:Sn in the CrSn target is 99 at % to 60 at %:1 at % to 40 at %.
14. The blankmask of claim 1, wherein the light-shielding layer has a thickness of 200 \u212b to 700 \u212b, and an optical density of 2.0 to 4.0 and a surface reflectivity of less than 50% at the exposure wavelength, and
a variation in a flatness of the light-shielding layer is less than 0.3 \u03bcm with respect to the transparent substrate.
15. The blankmask of claim 1, further comprising a resist film formed on the hard mask film,
wherein the resist film has a thickness of 300 \u212b to 1,500 \u212b.
16. The blankmask of claim 1, further comprising an etch stopping film disposed between the transparent substrate and the light-shielding layer.
17. The blankmask of claim 1, wherein the light-shielding layer is thermally treated at 200\xb0 C. to 500\xb0 C.

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 for making a fried legume snack, said method comprising the steps of:
a) hydrating whole legumes with hulls intact;
b) removing surface moisture from the legumes;
c) frying said legumes to an oil content of the legumes of 10% to 20% by weight; and
d) further cooking the partially fried legumes of step c) in a non-oil environment to a moisture level of about 1% to about 4% by weight.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the hulls of the legumes are physically pierced prior to the frying step c).
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the hulls of the legumes are physically pierced after the hydrating of step a).
4. The method of claim 2 wherein the hulls of the legumes are physically pierced before the hydrating of step a).
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the frying step c) further comprises surface frying.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the frying step c) further comprises at least two sequential frying stages with a resting period interposed between said at least two sequential frying stages.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the legumes are fried at step c) to an oil content of about 14% to about 16% by weight.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the legumes are further cooked at step d) to a moisture level of about 2% to about 3% by weight.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the legume is selected from the group consisting of peas, lima beans, chickpeas, pinto beans, kidney beans, red beans, black-eyed peas, black beans, soy beans, navy beans, cranberry beans, and mayocoba beans.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the legume consists of peas.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the legume is hydrated at step a) to a moisture level of about 45% to about 60% by weight.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the legume is hydrated to a moisture level of about 50% to about 55% by weight.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein a starch is added to the surface of the legume after step d).
14. The method of claim 13 wherein said starch comprises rice flour.
15. The method of claim 13 wherein said starch comprises wheat starch.
16. The fried legume snack made by the method of claim 1.
17. A fried legume snack comprising individual legume pieces having substantially intact hulls, a moisture content of about 1% to about 4% by weight, and an oil content of about 10% to about 15% by weight.
18. The fried legume snack of claim 17 wherein the legume is selected from the group consisting of peas, lima beans, chickpeas, pinto beans, kidney beans, red beans, black-eyed peas, black beans, soy beans, navy beans, cranberry beans, and mayocoba beans.
19. The fried legume snack of claim 18 wherein the legume consists of peas.
20. The fried legume snack of claim 17 further comprising added starch.
21. The fried legume snack of claim 20 wherein said starch comprises rice flour.
22. The fried legume snack of claim 20 wherein said starch comprises wheat starch.
23. The fried legume snack of claim 17 wherein said legume pieces have been physically pierced prior to cooking.

1. A system for decoding data stored on a data storage medium, comprising:
an input terminal receiving a data stream read from the data storage medium, the data stream comprising a plurality of data transitions;
a first input unit identifying portions of the data stream as possible transitions and selecting a subset of the possible transitions in response to a selection input;
a second input unit generating estimated phases of the possible transitions and selecting one of the estimated phases;
a phase buffer storing a plurality of the selected estimated phases;
an adder generating a first sum by adding the plurality of the selected estimated phases;
a decision unit using the first sum to generate a flag indicating a type of radial incoherence associated with the data stream; and
a filter generating and supplying the selection input to the first input unit.
2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:
an add-compare-select unit selecting a transition from the subset; and
a transition-based threshold unit generating a second sum, the transition-based threshold unit:
storing a plurality of transition-based threshold values;
receiving the selected transition from the add-compare-select unit;
selecting one of the plurality of transition-based threshold values in response to the selected transition;
generating the second sum by adding a plurality of the selected transition-based threshold values; and
supplying the second sum to the decision unit.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein the decision unit compares the first sum with the second sum to generate the flag.
4. The system of claim 1 further comprising an adaptive threshold unit, the adaptive threshold unit:
storing an adaptive threshold value;
receiving the flag from the decision unit;
comparing the flag with the adaptive threshold value;
generating an adjusted adaptive threshold value by adjusting the adaptive threshold value based upon the comparison;
supplying the adjusted adaptive threshold value to the decision unit; and
storing the adjusted adaptive threshold value as the adaptive threshold value.
5. The system of claim 4 wherein the decision unit compares the first sum with the adjusted adaptive threshold value to generate the flag.
6. The system of claim 4 wherein generating the adjusted adaptive threshold value comprises:
increasing the adaptive threshold value when the flag indicates no radial incoherence; and
decreasing the adaptive threshold value when the flag indicates negative or positive radial incoherence.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the filter:
receives the flag from the decision unit;
stores a plurality of the flags;
compares the plurality of the flags;
generates a radial incoherence-type signal based upon the comparison; and
supplies the radial incoherence-type signal to the first input unit as the selection input.
8. A system for decoding data stored on a data storage medium, comprising:
an input terminal receiving a data stream read from the data storage medium, the data stream comprising a plurality of data transitions;
an input unit identifying portions of the data stream as possible transitions and selecting a subset of the possible transitions in response to a selection input;
a path-based input unit generating a first sum;
a path-based threshold unit generating a second sum;
a decision unit using the first and second sums to generate a flag indicating a type of radial incoherence associated with the data stream; and
a filter generating and supplying the selection input to the input unit.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein the decision unit compares the first sum with the second sum to generate the flag.
10. The system of claim 8 further comprising:
an add-compare-select unit selecting a transition from the subset;
an output unit comparing a plurality of the subsets of the possible transitions and a plurality of the selected transitions to generate a decoded data signal as an output signal; and
the path-based input unit, wherein the path-based input unit:
generates estimated phases of the possible transitions;
stores the estimated phases in a phase buffer;
receives the plurality of selected transitions from the output unit;
selects the estimated phases that correspond to the plurality of selected transitions;
generates the first sum by adding the estimated phases that correspond to the plurality of selected transitions; and
supplies the first sum to the decision unit.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein the path-based threshold unit:
stores a plurality of path-based threshold values;
receives the plurality of selected transitions from the output unit;
selects the path-based threshold values that correspond to the plurality of selected transitions;
generates the second sum by adding the selected path-based threshold values; and
supplies the second sum to the decision unit.
12. The system of claim 8 further comprising an adaptive threshold unit, the adaptive threshold unit:
storing an adaptive threshold value;
receiving the flag from the decision unit;
comparing the flag with the adaptive threshold value;
generating the adjusted adaptive threshold value by adjusting the adaptive threshold value based upon the comparison;
supplying the adjusted adaptive threshold value to the decision unit; and
storing the adjusted adaptive threshold value as the adaptive threshold value.
13. The system of claim 12 wherein the decision unit compares the first sum with the adjusted adaptive threshold value to generate the flag.
14. The system of claim 12 wherein generating the adjusted adaptive threshold value comprises:
increasing the adaptive threshold value when the flag indicates no radial incoherence; and
decreasing the adaptive threshold value when the flag indicates negative or positive radial incoherence.
15. The system of claim 8 wherein the filter:
receives the flag from the decision unit;
stores a plurality of the flags;
compares the plurality of the flags;
generates a radial incoherence-type signal based upon the comparison; and
supplies the radial incoherence-type signal to the input unit as the selection input.
16. A method for decoding data stored on a data storage medium, comprising:
receiving a data stream read from the data storage medium, the data stream comprising a plurality of data transitions;
identifying portions of the data stream as possible transitions;
selecting a subset of the possible transitions in response to a selection input;
estimating phases of the possible transitions;
selecting one of the estimated phases;
generating a first sum by adding a plurality of the selected estimated phases;
generating a plurality of flags indicating types of radial incoherence associated with the data stream; and
generating the selection input from the plurality of flags.
17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:
selecting a transition from the subset by comparing the possible transitions in the subset;
storing a plurality of transition-based threshold values in a transition-based threshold unit; and
generating a second sum from the transition-based threshold values.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein generating the second sum comprises:
receiving the selected transition at the transition-based threshold unit;
selecting one of the plurality of transition-based threshold values in response to the selected transition; and
generating the second sum by adding a plurality of the selected transition-based threshold values.
19. The method of claim 16 further comprising generating an adjusted adaptive threshold value, wherein generating the adjusted adaptive threshold value comprises:
storing an adaptive threshold value in an adaptive threshold unit;
comparing one of the flags with an adaptive threshold value;
adjusting the adaptive threshold value based upon the comparison; and
storing the adjusted adaptive threshold value as the adaptive threshold value.
20. The method of claim 16 wherein generating the selection input comprises:
storing the plurality of flags;
comparing the plurality of flags;
generating a radial incoherence-type signal based upon the comparison; and
supplying the radial incoherence-type signal as the selection input.
21. A method for decoding data stored on a data storage medium, comprising:
receiving a data stream read from the data storage medium, the data stream comprising a plurality of data transitions;
identifying portions of the data stream as possible transitions in the data stream;
selecting a subset of the possible transitions in response to a selection input;
estimating phases of the possible transitions;
generating a first sum from a plurality of the estimated phases;
storing a plurality of path-based threshold values;
generating a second sum from the plurality of path-based threshold values;
generating a plurality of flags indicating types of radial incoherence associated with the data stream; and
generating the selection input from the plurality of flags.
22. The method of claim 21 further comprising:
selecting a transition from the subset by comparing the possible transitions in the subset;
generating a decoded data signal by comparing a plurality of the subsets of the possible transitions and a plurality of the selected transitions; and
generating the first sum, wherein generating the first sum comprises:
selecting the plurality of estimated phases that correspond to the plurality of selected transitions; and
adding the plurality of the estimated phases that correspond to the plurality of selected transitions.
23. The method of claim 22 wherein generating a second sum comprises:
selecting the path-based threshold values that correspond to the plurality of selected transitions; and
adding the selected path-based threshold values.
24. The method of claim 21 further comprising generating an adjusted adaptive threshold value, wherein generating the adjusted adaptive threshold value comprises:
storing an adaptive threshold value in an adaptive threshold unit;
comparing one of the flags with an adaptive threshold value;
adjusting the adaptive threshold value based upon the comparison; and
storing the adjusted adaptive threshold value as the adaptive threshold value.
25. The method of claim 21 wherein generating the selection input comprises:
storing the plurality of flags;
comparing the plurality of flags;
generating a radial incoherence-type signal based upon the comparison; and
supplying the radial incoherence-type signal as the selection input.

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 performed by a plurality of network cards in one or more network testing systems, each network card including a network communications unit, the method comprising:
each of the network communications units of the plurality of network cards obtaining a reference time stamp;
each of the network communications units of the plurality of network cards obtaining a local time stamp;
each of the network communications units of the plurality of network cards preparing a synchronization offset based on the local time stamp and the reference time stamp;
each of the plurality of network cards receiving instructions to send a plurality of data units at a specified time;
each of the plurality of network cards sending the plurality of data units at the specified time based on the network communications units of the plurality of network cards referring to a local time obtained from a local clock and the synchronization offset to simultaneously send a packet storm comprising the plurality of data units.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the obtaining a reference time stamp comprises:
making a software call to an external time source, wherein the external time source is one of a satellite broadcast clock signal, a cellular telephone clock signal, and a global positioning system (GPS) signal.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining a reference time stamp comprises:
making a software call to a local crystal oscillator which is set by referring to an external time source, wherein the external time source is one of a satellite broadcast clock signal, a cellular telephone clock signal, and a global positioning system (GPS) signal.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining a local time stamp comprises:
obtaining the local time from a counter included in the network communications unit.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein preparing a synchronization offset comprises:
subtracting the local time stamp from the reference time stamp.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the packet storm is directed to one of a network device, a network segment or a network application.
7. A network testing system comprising:
a plurality of network cards, each network card comprising:
a processor,
a memory coupled with the processor,
a network communications unit coupled with the processor,
a PHY unit coupled with the network communications unit and to a network,
the network communications unit having instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the network communications unit to perform actions comprising:
obtaining a reference time stamp;
obtaining a local time stamp;
preparing a synchronization offset based on the local time stamp and the reference time stamp;
receiving instructions to send a plurality of data units at a specified time;
sending the plurality of data units at the specified time based on referring to a local time obtained from a local clock and the synchronization offset to simultaneously send a packet storm comprising the plurality of data units.
8. The network testing system of claim 7 wherein the obtaining a reference time stamp comprises:
making a software call to an external time source, wherein the external time source is one of a satellite broadcast clock signal, a cellular telephone clock signal, and a global positioning system (GPS) signal.
9. The network testing system of claim 7 wherein obtaining a reference time stamp comprises:
making a software call to a local crystal oscillator which is set by referring to an external time source, wherein the external time source is one of a satellite broadcast clock signal, a cellular telephone clock signal, and a global positioning system (GPS) signal.
10. The network testing system of claim 7 wherein obtaining a local time stamp comprises:
obtaining the local time from a counter included in the network communications unit.
11. The network testing system of claim 7 wherein preparing a synchronization offset comprises:
subtracting the local time stamp from the reference time stamp.
12. The network testing system of claim 7 wherein the packet storm is directed to one of a network device, a network segment or a network application.
13. A system comprising a plurality of the network testing systems of claim 7.