Author: claimsbot

1. An electrical connector comprising:
a base pad formed of a sheet of aluminum having a layer of copper on at least one side and a layer of solder on at least a portion of the layer of copper, the base pad having a bottom surface;
an electrical contact structure connected to the base pad and extending away from the base pad, the electrical contact structure being formed from the sheet of aluminum with said layer of copper; and
the layer of solder being located on the bottom surface of the base pad and over said at least a portion of the layer of copper.
2. The connector of claim 1 in which the base pad and the electrical contact have a layer of copper on two opposite sides.
3. The connector of claim 2 in which the sheet of aluminum has a layer of copper on two opposite sides.
4. An electrical connector comprising:
a base pad formed of a sheet of aluminum having a layer of copper bonded to opposite surfaces of the sheet of aluminum and a layer of solder on at least a portion of one layer of copper, the base pad having a soldering surface;
an electrical contact structure connected to the base pad and extending away from the base pad, the electrical contact structure being formed from the sheet of aluminum with said layers of copper; and
the layer of solder being located on the soldering surface of the base pad and over said at least a portion of the one layer of copper.
5. A metallic strip and forming die combination comprising:
a metallic strip comprising an elongate strip of aluminum having a layer of copper on at least one side, and a predetermined pattern of solder on the layer of copper, the pattern of solder having at least one elongate strip of solder extending longitudinally along the metallic strip with a predetermined width and at a predetermined distance from an edge of the metallic strip; and
a forming die configured for forming the metallic strip into electrical connectors, each having a base pad and an electrical contact structure extending away from the base pad, the predetermined pattern of solder on the metallic strip being sized and positioned relative to the die for forming the base pads with a layer of solder on the layer of copper.
6. The combination of claim 5 in which the metallic strip has a layer of copper on two opposite sides.
7. The combination of claim 6 in which the pattern of solder is centrally located on the metallic strip.
8. The combination of claim 7 in which the pattern of solder comprises at least two elongate strips of solder parallel to each other extending longitudinally along the metallic strip.
9. The combination of claim 6 in which the pattern of solder comprises one elongate strip of solder extending to one edge of the metallic strip.
10. A laminated metallic strip comprising:
a flat elongate strip of aluminum;
first and second layers of copper on opposite surfaces of the aluminum strip; and
a predetermined pattern of solder on one of the layers of copper, the pattern of solder having at least one elongate strip of solder extending longitudinally along the metallic strip with a predetermined trimmed width W2 and at a predetermined distance d1 from a trimmed edge of the metallic strip.
11. A method of forming an electrical connector comprising:
forming a base pad from a sheet of aluminum having a layer of copper on at least one side and a layer of solder on at least a portion of the layer of copper, the base pad having a bottom surface and an electrical contact structure connected to the base pad and extending away from the base pad, the electrical contact structure being formed from the sheet of aluminum with said layer of copper; and
the layer of solder being located on the bottom surface of the base pad and over said at least a portion of the layer of copper.
12. The method of claim 11 further comprising providing the base pad and the electrical contact with a layer of copper on two opposite sides.
13. The method of claim 12 further comprising forming the electrical connector from a sheet of aluminum having a layer of copper on two opposite sides.
14. The method of claim 13 further comprising combining two sheets of copper with the sheet of aluminum with a rolling process to form a copper clad sheet.
15. The method of claim 14 further comprising forming a layer of solder on the copper clad sheet, to form a solder clad sheet.
16. The method of claim 15 further comprising trimming the solder clad sheet.
17. The method of claim 16 further comprising forming the electrical connectors from the solder clad sheet with a forming die.
18. A method of forming an electrical connector comprising:
forming a base pad from a sheet of aluminum having a layer of copper bonded to opposite surfaces of the sheet of aluminum and a layer of solder on at least a portion of one layer of copper, the base pad having a soldering surface and an electrical contact structure connected to the base pad and extending away from the base pad, the electrical contact structure being formed from the sheet of aluminum with said layers of copper; and
the layer of solder being located on the soldering surface of the base pad and over said at least a portion of the one layer of copper.
19. A method of forming electrical connectors comprising:
providing a metallic strip comprising a strip of aluminum having a layer of copper on at least one side, and a predetermined pattern of solder on the layer of copper, the pattern of solder having at least one elongate strip of solder extending longitudinally along the metallic strip with a predetermined width and at a predetermined distance from an edge of the metallic strip; and
forming the metallic strip into electrical connectors each having a base pad and an electrical contact structure extending away from the base pad with a forming die, the predetermined pattern of solder being sized and positioned relative to the die for forming the base pads with a layer of solder on the layer of copper.
20. The method of claim 19 further comprising providing the metallic strip with a layer of copper on two opposite sides.
21. The method of claim 20 further comprising centrally locating the pattern of solder on the metallic strip.
22. The method of claim 21 further comprising forming the pattern of solder with at least two elongate strips of solder parallel to each other extending longitudinally along the metallic strip.
23. The method of claim 20 further comprising forming the pattern of solder with one elongate strip of solder extending to one edge of the metallic strip.
24. A method of forming a metallic strip comprising:
forming first and second layers of copper on opposite surfaces of a flat elongate strip of aluminum; and
forming a predetermined pattern of solder on one of the layers of copper, the pattern of solder having at least one elongate strip of solder extending longitudinally along the metallic strip with a predetermined trimmed width W2 and at a predetermined distance d1 from a trimmed edge of the metallic strip.

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 magnetic resonance imaging method comprising
acquisition of magnetic resonance signals including application of diffusion weighting and involving a plurality of diffusion weighting strengths and a plurality of diffusion directions
reconstruction of an object dataset from the magnetic resonance signals
the object dataset assigning apparent diffusion coefficients to voxels in a multidimensional geometric space and
identifying the occurrence of a single or several diffusion directions in individual voxels of the object dataset.
2. A magnetic resonance imaging method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparent diffusion coefficients for individual voxels are decomposed into contributions for the respective diffusion direction(s) for the voxel at issue.
3. A magnetic resonance imaging method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the decomposition of the apparent diffusion coefficients is done on the basis of equal diffusion strengths for the identified principal diffusion directions in the voxel at issue.
4. A method of analysis of an object dataset assigning apparent diffusion coefficients to voxels in a multidimensional geometric space, the analysis comprising identifying the occurrence of a single or several diffusion directions in individual voxels of the object dataset from a plurality of diffusion weighting strengths and a plurality of diffusion directions for individual voxels.
5. A computer program for analysis of an object dataset assigning apparent diffusion coefficients to voxels in a multidimensional geometric space, the computer program comprising instructions to identify the occurrence of a single or several diffusion directions in individual voxels of the object dataset from a plurality of diffusion weighting strengths and a plurality of diffusion directions for individual voxels.
6. A magnetic resonance imaging system arranged to
acquisition of magnetic resonance signals including application of diffusion weighting and involving a plurality of diffusion weighting strengths and a plurality of diffusion directions
reconstruction of an object dataset from the magnetic resonance signals
the object dataset assigning apparent diffusion coefficients to voxels in a multidimensional geometric space and the magnetic resonance imaging system including an image processing unit to
identify the occurrence of a single or several diffusion directions in individual voxels of the object dataset.

1. A semiconductor device comprising:
a wiring;
a conductive film formed on an upper surface of the wiring to prevent diffusion of a wiring material; and
an insulating film which is constituted of low dielectric constant insulating films stacked to form at least two layers, an interface thereof being positioned in a side face of the wiring.
2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the insulating film is constituted of low dielectric constant insulting film layers of the same material.
3. The semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein the conductive film is made of a high-melting point metal alloy containing cobalt-tungsten.
4. The semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein the conductive film is made of a high-melting point metal nitride to prevent diffusion of the wiring material.
5. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the insulating film comprises low dielectric constant insulating films of at least two kinds of materials.
6. The semiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the conductive film is made of a high-melting point metal alloy containing cobalt-tungsten.
7. The semiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the conductive film is made of a high-melting point metal nitride to prevent diffusion of the wiring material.
8. A semiconductor device comprising:
a first wiring;
a second wiring formed above the first wiring;
a conductive film formed on an upper surface of each wiring to prevent diffusion of a wiring material;
a plug which interconnects the first and second wirings;
a first insulating film made of a first low dielectric constant material stacked to form at least two layers, an interface thereof being positioned in a side face of the first wiring;
a second insulating film to prevent diffusion of the wiring material formed on at least one interface within the first insulating film and on surfaces of the first wiring positioned above the interface excluding a contact between the plug and the first wiring; and
a third insulating film made of a second low dielectric constant material different from that of the first insulating film formed between the first and second wirings.
9. The semiconductor device according to claim 8, wherein the conductive film is made of a high-melting point metal alloy containing cobalt-tungsten.
10. The semiconductor device according to claim 8, wherein the second insulating film contains one of a silicon nitride, a silicon carbide, or a silicon carbonitride.
11. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:
depositing a first insulating film made of a low dielectric constant material;
depositing a second insulating film having mechanical strength larger than that of the first insulating film thereon;
forming a wiring trench in the first and second insulating films;
forming a wiring by filling the wiring trench with a wiring material;
forming a conductive film on an upper surface of the wiring to prevent diffusion of the wiring material;
removing the second insulating film; and
depositing a third insulating film made of a low dielectric constant material on the first insulating film and the wiring.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the third insulating film is made of the same low dielectric constant material as that of the first insulating film.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the conductive film is made of a high-melting point metal alloy containing cobalt-tungsten.
14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the conductive film is made of a high-melting point metal nitride to prevent diffusion of the wiring material.
15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the third insulating film is made of a second low dielectric constant material different from that of the first insulating film.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the conductive film is made of a high-melting point metal alloy containing cobalt-tungsten.
17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the conductive film is made of a high-melting pint metal nitride to prevent diffusion of the wiring material.
18. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:
depositing a first insulating film made of a first low dielectric constant material;
depositing a second insulating film having mechanical strength larger than that of the first insulating film thereon;
forming a wiring trench in the first and second insulating films;
forming a first wiring by filling the wiring trench with a wiring material;
forming a conductive film on an upper surface of the first wiring to prevent diffusion of the wiring material;
removing the second insulating film;
depositing a third insulating film on the first insulating film and the first wiring to prevent diffusion of the wiring material;
depositing a fourth insulating film made of the first low dielectric constant material on the third insulating film;
planarizing the fourth insulating film to a level of an upper surface of the first wiring;
forming a fifth insulating film made of a second low dielectric constant material on the fourth insulating film and the first wiring; and
forming a plug in the fifth insulating film to interconnect the first wiring and a second wiring to be formed thereon.
19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the conductive film is made of a high-melting point metal alloy containing cobalt-tungsten.
20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the third insulating film contains one of a silicon nitride, a silicon carbide, and a silicon carbonitride.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A packet-based encryption system comprising:
a transmitting device to encrypt data and to insert a pseudo-random key in a transmitted packet; and
a receiving device to receive and to decrypt said data in said transmitted packet using said pseudo-random key.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein said transmitting device further comprises:
means to generate a random number;
a first one-way cryptographic hash function means to generate a hashed number from said random number;
a first streaming cipher algorithm using a seed to encrypt said hashed number;
encryption means to encrypt said data using results of said first streaming cipher algorithm; and
means to insert said random number in a specified field of said transmitted packet.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein said receiving device further comprises:
means to remove said random number from said specified field of said transmitted packet;
a second one-way cryptographic hash function means to generate a second hashed number from said random number;
a second streaming cipher algorithm using a seed to encrypt said second hashed number; and
decryption means to decrypt said data using results of said second streaming cipher algorithm.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein said first one-way cryptographic hash function and said second one-way cryptographic hash function use the same algorithm and use a same first seed or key.
5. The system of claim 4 wherein said first streaming cipher algorithm and said second streaming cipher algorithm are the same and use a same second seed or key.
6. The system of claim 5 wherein said encryption means and said decryption means use the same third key and algorithm.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein said transmitting device further comprises:
means to generate a random number;
a first one-way cryptographic hash function means to generate a hashed number from said random number;
a third one-way cryptographic hash function using a seed to encrypt said hashed number;
encryption means to encrypt said data using results of said third one-way cryptographic hash function; and
means to insert said random number in a specified field of said transmitted packet.
8. The system of claim 7 wherein said receiving device further comprises:
means to remove said random number from said specified field of said transmitted packet;
a second one-way cryptographic hash function means to generate a second hashed number from said random number;
a fourth one-way cryptographic hash function using a seed to encrypt said second hashed number; and
decryption means to decrypt said data using results of said fourth one-way cryptographic hash function.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein said third one-way cryptographic hash function and said fourth one-way cryptographic hash function are the same and use a same fourth seed or key.
10. A method of encryption of packetized data using a symmetric key-based stream cipher, in which each packet includes self-synchronizing information comprising the steps of:
encrypting data and inserting a pseudo-random key in a transmitted packet with said encrypted data; and
decrypting said data in said transmitted packet with said inserted pseudo-random key.
11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of:
at the transmitting end:
generating a random number;
generating a hashed number from said random number using a first one-way cryptographic hash function;
providing a first streaming cipher algorithm using said hashed number as a seed;
encrypting said data using results of said first streaming cipher algorithm; and
inserting said random number in a specified field of said transmitted packet.

at the receiving end:
removing said random number from said specified field of said transmitted packet;
generating a second hashed number from said random number using a second one-way cryptographic hash function;
providing a second streaming cipher algorithm using said hashed number as a seed; and
decrypting said data using results of said second streaming cipher algorithm using said second hashed number as a seed.
12. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of:
at the transmitting end:
generating a random number;
generating a hashed number from said random number using a first one-way cryptographic hash function;
providing a third one-way cryptographic hash function using a seed to encrypt said hashed number;
encrypting said data using results of said first streaming cipher algorithm; and
inserting said random number in a specified field of said transmitted packet.

at the receiving end:
removing said random number from said specified field of said transmitted packet;
generating a second hashed number from said random number using a second one-way cryptographic hash function;
providing a fourth one-way cryptographic hash function using a seed to encrypt said second hashed number; and
decrypting said data using results of said second streaming cipher algorithm using said second hashed number as a seed.