Author: claimsbot

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
a source document feed platform for holding a source document that is fed automatically;
a source document ejection platform for holding a source document fed from said source document feed platform and ejected, positioned below said source document feed platform;
a sheet ejection platform for holding a printed sheet on which an image of said source document has been formed and that is ejected onto an uppermost part of an apparatus main body, positioned above said source document feed platform; and
a source document ejection section that ejects a source document onto said source document ejection platform so that an ejection direction downstream edge of said source document ejected onto said source document ejection platform faces an ejection direction downstream-side position of said source document ejection platform rather than a source document feeding direction upstream edge of said source document feed platform.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an ejection direction downstream edge of a printed sheet placed on said sheet ejection platform and an ejection direction downstream edge of a source document placed on said source document ejection platform are ejected so as to be mutually positionally displaced in an ejection direction.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said printed sheet placed on said sheet ejection platform and a source document placed on said source document ejection platform are ejected so as to be mutually positionally displaced in a direction orthogonal to an ejection direction.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said source document feed platform is displaced upward.
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
said source document ejection platform has a curved section that causes an ejection direction downstream edge of a source document ejected onto said source document ejection platform to be curved upward; and
said source document feed platform and said sheet ejection platform are provided with a cutaway section at a position opposite said curved section in a vertical direction.
6. An image forming apparatus comprising:
a source document feed platform for holding a source document;
a source document ejection platform for holding a source document fed from said source document feed platform and ejected, positioned above said source document feed platform; and
a sheet ejection platform for holding a printed sheet on which an image of said source document has been formed and that is ejected onto an uppermost part of an apparatus main body, positioned above said source document feed platform;
wherein a source document placed on said source document ejection platform and said printed sheet placed on said sheet ejection platform are ejected so that their respective front and rear sides are opposite.
7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an ejection direction downstream edge of a printed sheet placed on said sheet ejection platform and an ejection direction downstream edge of a source document placed on said source document ejection platform are ejected so as to be mutually positionally displaced in an ejection direction.
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an ejection direction downstream edge of said printed sheet placed on said sheet ejection platform and an ejection direction downstream edge of a source document placed on said source document ejection platform are ejected so as to be mutually positionally displaced in an a direction orthogonal to an ejection direction.
9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said source document feed platform is displaced upward.
10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein:
said source document ejection platform has a curved section that causes an ejection direction downstream edge of a source document ejected onto said source document ejection platform to be curved upward; and
said source document feed platform and said sheet ejection platform are provided with a cutaway section at a position opposite said curved section in a vertical direction.
11. An automatic document feeder positioned on a top part of a main body of an image forming apparatus provided with an image forming section that performs image forming on a sheet based on source document image information, said automatic document feeder comprising:
a source document feed platform for holding said source document;
a source document feeding section that feeds said source document placed on said source document feed platform;
a source document reading section that reads image information of said source document fed by said source document feeding section;
a source document ejection section that ejects said source document from which said image information has been read by said source document reading section;
a source document ejection platform for holding said source document ejected by said source document ejection section, positioned below said source document feed platform;
a sheet ejection section that transports to above said source document feed platform and ejects a printed sheet on which image forming has been performed by said image forming section; and
a sheet ejection platform for holding said printed sheet ejected by said sheet ejection section, positioned above said source document feed platform;
wherein said source document ejection section ejects a source document onto said source document ejection platform so that an ejection direction downstream edge of said source document ejected onto said source document ejection platform faces an ejection direction downstream-side position of said source document ejection platform rather than a source document feeding direction upstream edge of said source document feed platform.
12. An automatic document feeder positioned on a top part of a main body of an image forming apparatus provided with an image forming section that performs image forming on a sheet based on source document image information, said automatic document feeder comprising:
a source document feed platform for holding said source document;
a source document feeding section that feeds said source document placed on said source document feed platform;
a source document reading section that reads image information of said source document fed by said source document feeding section;
a source document reverse ejection section that takes said source document from which said image information has been read by said source document reading section as a source document and ejects that source document with front and rear sides reversed;
a source document ejection platform for holding said source document ejected by said source document reverse ejection section, positioned above said source document feed platform;
a sheet ejection section that transports to above said source document feed platform and ejects a printed sheet on which image forming has been performed by said image forming section; and
a sheet ejection platform for holding said printed sheet ejected by said sheet ejection section, positioned above said source document feed platform.
13. An image forming apparatus comprising:
a source document feed platform for holding a source document that is fed automatically;
a source document ejection platform for holding a source document fed from said source document feed platform and ejected, positioned below said source document feed platform;
a sheet ejection platform for holding a printed sheet on which an image of said source document has been formed and that is ejected onto an uppermost part of an apparatus main body, positioned above said source document feed platform; and
a source document ejection section that ejects said source document onto said source document ejection platform;
wherein cutaway sections of said source document feed platform and said sheet ejection platform are provided at positions vertically opposite part of a peripheral part of a source document placed on said source document ejection platform.
14. An image forming apparatus comprising:
a source document feed platform for holding a source document that is fed automatically;
a source document ejection platform for holding a source document ejected from said source document feed platform; and
a sheet ejection platform for holding a printed sheet on which an image of said source document has been formed, said source document feed platform, source document ejection platform and sheet ejection platform being provided along a vertical line,
wherein an interval between the source document ejection platform and the sheet ejection platform is set in a dimension that enables a user to use one hand and hold the source document placed in the source document ejection platform and the printed sheet placed in the sheet ejection platform together between fingers of said one hand; and
wherein cutaway sections are provided in mutually vertically opposite areas in the source document ejection platform and the sheet ejection platform to allow entry of the fingers of the user, so as to enable the user to use one hand and hold the source document placed in the source document ejection platform and the printed sheet placed in the sheet ejection platform in a state in which the two documents overlie upon one another in said one hand of the user.
15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the cutaway sections is made by cutting away a part of the source document ejection platform or the sheet ejection platform.
16. The image forming apparatus of claim 14, wherein at least one of the source document ejection platform and the sheet ejection platform comprises two adjoining planes that form at least one of the cutaway sections.

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 fabricating a silicon (Si) nanotip electroluminescence (EL) diode, the method comprising:
forming a plurality of Si nanotip diodes, where each nanotip diode is pn junction nanotip structure, as follows:
forming a reactive ion etching (RIE)-induced polymer grass overlying a top surface of the substrate;
using the RIE-induced polymer grass as a mask, etching areas of the substrate not covered by the mask as follows:
etching using SF6 and C4F8 chemistries;
etching exposed portions of a Si n+ layer; and
exposing regions of the underlying Si p-well; and

forming the nanotip diodes in areas of the substrate covered by the mask;

forming a Si oxide phosphor layer overlying the nanotip diodes as follows:
following the exposure of underlying regions of the p-well, removing the remaining RIE-induced polymer grass, exposing n+ Si regions;
thermally oxidizing the exposed n+ and exposed p-well Si regions;
growing 1 to 5 nanometers (nm) of silicon oxide; and
depositing silicon oxide overlying the thermally grown silicon oxide; and

forming a top electrode overlying the Si phosphor layer.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein forming the nanotip diodes includes:
prior to forming the RIE-induced polymer grass, forming a Si p-well; and,
forming an n+ layer of Si, having a thickness in the range of 30 to 300 nanometers (nm), overlying the Si p-well as follows:
doping the Si substrate with a density in the range of 1\xd71016 to 1\xd71018 per cubic centimeter (cm3); and
implanting an ion selected from the group including phosphorus and arsenic at an energy in the range of 20 keV to 100 keV.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein forming the RIE-induced polymer grass includes:
introducing a mixture of oxygen and carbon tetrafluoride;
exciting the mixture using a radio frequency (RF); and
etching the Si substrate for a time in the range of 10 seconds to 5 minutes.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein exposing regions of the underlying p-well includes etching into the p-well a depth greater than about 2 nanometers (nm).
5. The method of claim 1 wherein forming the phosphor layer includes forming a rare earth element-doped insulator where the rare earth is selected from the group including erbium (Er), ytterbium (Yb), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), and terbium (Tb), and the insulator is a material selected from the group including Si oxide and Si nitride.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein forming the phosphor layer includes:
depositing an insulator with a ram earth doping density in the range of 1 at % (atomic weight %) to 5 at %; and
thermal annealing at a temperature in the range of 600\xb0 C. to 1200\xb0 C. for a time in the range of 10 to 200 minutes.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein forming nanotip diodes includes forming nanotip diodes with ends; and
the method further comprising:
following the forming of the phosphor layer, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMPing) the phosphor layer, exposing the nanotip diode ends.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein forming the top electrode includes forming a top electrode from a material selected from the group including indium tin oxide (ITO), Zinc oxyfluoride, and conductive plastics.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein forming nanotip diodes includes forming nanotip diodes having a base size of about 50 nanometers, or less.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein forming the nanotip diodes includes forming nanotip diodes having a height in the range of 50 to 500 nm.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein forming the nanotip diodes includes forming nanotip diodes having a density of greater than 100 per square micrometer.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein forming the plurality of Si nanotip diodes includes forming a plurality of isolated regions, each region including a plurality of nanotip diodes;
wherein forming the phosphor layer overlying the nanotip diodes includes forming a phosphor layer legion overlying each region of nanotip diodes; and
wherein forming a top electrode overlying the phosphor layer includes forming an isolated top electrode overlying each phosphor layer region.

1. A method, using a computer hardware system, for controlling cancelled orders in a manufacturing environment, the method comprising:
receiving, using the computer hardware system, a cancellation of an order in the manufacturing environment;
reading, using the computer hardware system, a list of work units associated with the order;
obtaining, using the computer hardware system, at least one identifying attribute of each work unit in the list of work units associated with the order;
reading, using the computer hardware system, a space maximum value associated with the at least one identifying attribute of each work unit;
reading, using the computer hardware system, a stock maximum value associated with the at least one identifying attribute of each work unit in the list of work units associated with the order;
determining, using the computer hardware system, a current stock value associated with the at least one identifying attribute of a first work unit in the list of work units associated with the order;
if the current stock value is less than the space maximum value and the stock maximum value, setting, using the computer hardware system, a valid cancel optimization status indicator for the first work unit;
retrieving, using the computer hardware system, a cancel optimization model record matching at least one identifying attribute of a first work unit in the list of work units associated with the order; and,
applying using the computer hardware system, the retrieved optimization model record to the first work unit in the list of work units to modify a process routing map of the first work unit.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining at least one identifying attribute of each work unit in the list of work units associated with the order comprises:
obtaining a plurality of identifying attributes of each work unit in the list of work units associated with the order, wherein the plurality of identifying attributes are selected from the group consisting of product line, product identification, bill of materials and part identifier.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the retrieved optimization model record to the first work unit to modify a process routing map of the first work unit comprises:
determining a current level of test completion for the first work unit; and
comparing the current level of test completion to a minimum test complete value.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the retrieved optimization model record to the first work unit to modify a process routing map of the first work unit comprises:
determining a current percentage of installed parts of the first work unit; and
comparing the current percentage of installed parts to a minimum percentage of installed parts value.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the retrieved optimization model record to the first work unit to modify a process routing map of the first work unit comprises:
determining a current percentage of operations completed for the first work unit; and
comparing the current percentage of operations completed to a minimum percentage of operations complete value.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining that a work unit in the list of work units associated with the order is a parent work unit;
reading a list of child work units associated with the parent work unit;
obtaining at least one identifying attribute for each child work unit installed in the parent work unit;
reading a stock maximum value associated with the at least one identifying attribute for each child work unit;
determining a current child stock value associated with the at least one identifying attribute for each child work unit; and,
if the current child stock value for each child work unit is less than the stock maximum value for each child work unit, setting a valid cancel optimization status indicator for the parent work unit.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:
retrieving a cancel optimization model record matching the at least one identifying attribute of the parent work unit.
8. A system for controlling cancelled orders in a manufacturing environment, the system comprising:
a data storage device configured to store work unit routings and cancel optimization rules;
an process adjustment for cancel optimization engine, executing as a processor of a computer hardware system, the process adjustment for cancel optimization engine communicatively coupled to a manufacturing system and the data storage device; and
cancelled order process adjustment logic comprising program code, when executed on the processor of the computer hardware system, causes the process adjustment for cancel optimization engine to receive a cancellation of an order in the manufacturing environment, to read a list of work units associated with the order, to obtain at least one identifying attribute of each work unit in the list of work units associated with the order, to read a space maximum value associated with the at least one identifying attribute of each work unit in the list of work units associated with the order, to read a stock maximum value associated with the at least one identifying attribute of each work unit in the list of work units associated with the order, to determine a current stock value associated with at least one identifying attribute of a first work unit, if the current stock value is less than the space maximum value and the stock maximum value, to set a valid cancel optimization status indicator for the first work unit, to retrieve a cancel optimization model record matching at least one identifying attribute of a first work unit in the list of work units associated with the order and to apply the retrieved optimization model record to the first work unit to modify a process routing map of the first work unit.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the system for controlling cancelled orders in a manufacturing environment is further configured to retrieve a cancel optimization model record matching at least one identifying attribute of a first work unit in the list of work units associated with the order and to
obtain a plurality of identifying attributes of each work unit in the list of work units associated with the order, wherein the plurality of identifying attributes are selected from the group consisting of product line, product identification, bill of materials and part identifier.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein the system for controlling cancelled orders in a manufacturing environment is further configured to
determine a current level of test completion for the first work unit, and
compare the current level of test completion to a minimum test complete value.
11. The system of claim 8, wherein the system for controlling cancelled orders in a manufacturing environment is further configured to
determine a current percentage of installed parts of the first work unit, and
compare the current percentage of installed parts to a minimum percentage of installed parts value.
12. A computer program product comprising a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer usable program code for controlling cancelled orders in a manufacturing environment, the computer usable program code, which when executed on a computer hardware system, causes the computer hardware system to perform:
receiving a cancellation of an order in the manufacturing environment;
reading a list of work units associated with the order;
obtaining at least one identifying attribute of each work unit in the list of work units associated with the order;
reading a space maximum value associated with the at least one identifying attribute of each work unit in the list of work units associated with the order;
reading a stock maximum value associated with the at least one identifying attribute of each work unit in the list of work units associated with the order
determining a current stock value associated with at least one identifying attribute of a first work unit;
setting a valid cancel optimization status indicator for the first work unit conditioned upon the current stock value being less than the space maximum value and the stock maximum value;
retrieving a cancel optimization model record matching at least one identifying attribute of a first work unit in the list of work units associated with the order; and,
applying the retrieved optimization model record to the first work unit in the list of work units to modify a process routing map of the first work unit.
13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein computer usable program code further causes the computer hardware system to perform
obtaining a plurality of identifying attributes of a first work unit in the list of work units associated with the order, wherein the plurality of identifying attributes are selected from the group consisting of product line, product identification, bill of materials and part identifier.
14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer usable program code further causes the computer hardware system to perform
determining a current level of test completion for the first work unit; and
comparing the current level of test completion to a minimum test complete value.

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 forming an interconnect structure comprising:
providing a structure including an interconnect dielectric material having an opening located therein;
forming a diffusion barrier on an uppermost surface of the interconnect dielectric material and on wall portions of the interconnect dielectric material within said opening;
forming a contiguous conductive metal liner on said diffusion barrier that is located on the uppermost surface of the interconnect dielectric material and on the wall portions of the interconnect dielectric material within said opening;
performing a reflow anneal, wherein said reflow anneal partially fills said opening with a conductive metal that comprises a reflown portion of said contiguous metal liner, wherein a cavity that does not extend an entire width and height of said opening is provided within said opening by said reflow anneal;
forming a metallic layer containing at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Ru, Ir, Rh, Pt, Co, Mn, and Al and that is more resistant to corrosion and oxidation than that of the conductive metal within said cavity and atop remaining portions of the contiguous conductive metal liner that are located atop the diffusion barrier that is located outside the opening and on the uppermost surface of the interconnect dielectric material; and
removing a portion of the metallic layer, said remaining portions of the contiguous conductive metal liner, and a portion of said diffusion barrier that are located outside of said opening to provide a metallic cap containing a remaining portion of said metallic layer located within said cavity and on a portion of a conductive metal feature containing a remaining portion of said conductive metal within said opening, wherein said conductive metal feature has laterally extending portions located on, and in direct physical contact with, each vertical edge of the metallic cap, and each of the laterally extending portions of the conductive metal feature has an uppermost surface that is coplanar with an uppermost surface of the metallic cap, and wherein said metallic cap is separated from sidewalls of said interconnect dielectric material by an upper portion of a remaining portion of the diffusion barrier and said laterally extending portions of said conductive metal feature.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein each laterally extending portion of the conductive metal feature is positioned between one vertical edge of said metallic cap and an upper portion of a remaining portion of said diffusion barrier.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the uppermost surface of each laterally extending portion of the conductive metal feature and the uppermost surface of the metallic cap are coplanar with an uppermost surface of the interconnect dielectric material.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said metallic cap covers from 80 to 99% of the conductive metal feature.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein said reflow anneal is performed in a hydrogen-containing ambient at a temperature of 150\xb0 C. to 400\xb0 C. for a time period from 5 minutes to 500 minutes.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein said reflow anneal is performed in a hydrogen-containing ambient at a temperature from 200\xb0 C. to 300\xb0 C. for a time period from 20 minutes to 100 minutes.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein said after said reflow anneal a remaining portion of the contiguous conductive metal liner remains outside the opening and atop the uppermost surface of the interconnect dielectric material, said remaining portion of the contiguous conductive metal liner is in direct physical contact with said conductive metal within said opening.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein said opening extends entirely through the interconnect dielectric material.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein said opening extends partially into said interconnect dielectric material.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein said opening is provided utilizing at least one iteration of lithography and etching.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein a vacuum is maintained between each of said forming the diffusion barrier, forming the contiguous conductive metal liner, said reflow annealing, and said forming the metallic layer.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein a vacuum is broken between said forming the diffusion barrier and forming the contiguous conductive metal liner, or between said forming the contiguous conductive metal liner and said reflow annealing, or between said reflow annealing and said forming the metallic layer.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein said removing said portion of the metallic layer, said remaining portions of the contiguous conductive metal liner, and said portion of the diffusion barrier that are located outside of said opening is performed by planarization.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein said conductive metal comprises the contiguous conductive metal liner that is subjected to said reflow anneal.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein said metallic layer contains at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Co.