Abstract: A method for fabricating an article, comprising the steps of grasping an outer surface of a first substrate with a first holder, whereby the outer surface of the first substrate is held to an inner surface of the first holder; grasping an outer surface of a second substrate with a second holder, whereby the outer surface of the second substrate is held to an inner surface of the second holder; arranging the inner surfaces of the first and second holders to face one another in a selected angular relationship; disposing an adherent on one or more surfaces selected from an inner surface of the first substrate and an inner surface of the second substrate; moving the first and second holders toward each other such that the inner surfaces of the first and second substrates contact the adherent; and at least partially curing the adherent while the inner surfaces of the first and second holders are in the selected angular relationship to form a multilayer article, wherein after removal of the first and second holders

Abstract: An optical communication system comprising a light source, a cladding pumped fiber laser having a pump cladding, an optical fiber attached to the cladding pumped fiber laser, the optical fiber having a cladding and a protective coating, and an expedient that prevents substantial damage to the protective coating of the optical fiber upon transmission of at least 1 watt of residual light out of the pump cladding.

Abstract: A refractory dielectric body is heated with a plasma torch at conditions which do not result in substantial removal of a surface portion of the body, yet which are sufficient to reduce both surface and bulk impurities. Typically, the body is solid, e.g., a rod as opposed to a tube, and is treated with the plasma in the absence of simultaneous deposition of material onto the body. Advantageously, an isothermal plasma torch is utilized, and the torch advantageously produces an oxygen or oxygen-containing plasma. The invention is useful for reducing chlorine impurities by at least about 30% to a depth of at least about 10 .mu.m, with accompanying reduction of hydroxyl impurities. The invention thus provides a useful method for reducing the concentration of impurities that contribute to imperfections during the process of drawing fiber from an optical fiber preform, without requiring substantial removal of the surface of the preform.

Abstract: An article that uses a magnetoresistive material comprising one or more CrO.sub.2 grains having an insulating material, advantageously Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3, along at least a portion of the grain boundary or boundaries, the magnetoresistive article advantageously exhibiting a magnetoresistance ratio greater than 12% at 5K and 20 kOe.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a process for forming p.sup.+ and n.sup.+ gates on a single substrate. A polycrystalline silicon or amorphous silicon layer is formed on a substrate with n-type and p-type regions formed therein and with a layer of silicon dioxide formed thereover and the structure is subjected to a low temperature anneal. A layer of metal silicide is then formed over the structure and n-type and p-type dopants are implanted into the resulting structure. A nitrogen implant is performed after the n-type dopant is implanted into the structure. The nitrogen implant reduces the amount to which the p-type dopant diffuses through the silicide layer and into the n.sup.+ gates. A dielectric material is then formed over the structure and patterned, after which the structure is subjected to additional processing steps to form gate stacks over the n-regions and the p-regions of the substrate.

Abstract: A method for processing information stored in a holographic system, comprising the step of intersecting a reconstruction reference beam with a storage medium of a holographic system, the storage medium exhibiting birefringence at least partially due to coherent storage of information, wherein the reconstruction reference beam has a polarization at least 5.degree. different from the polarization exhibited by a storage reference beam during storage information in the storage medium.

Abstract: Photoacid generators advantageous for use in applications such as photoacid generators used in chemically amplified resists are disclosed. These compounds are based on an ortho nitro benzyl configuration employing an .alpha. substituent having high bulk, steric characteristics, and electron withdrawing ability. The enhanced efficacy is particularly found in compounds both having a suitable .alpha. substituent and a second ortho substituent with large electron withdrawing and steric effects.

Abstract: This invention is predicated on the discovery by the present applicants that boric acid in conventional nickel plating baths is responsible for excessive lateral growth in the electroplating of nickel on nickel ferrite substrates. While nickel baths without boric acid do not yield acceptable electrodeposits, the boric acid interacts with the ferrite substrate to cause excessive lateral growth. Applicants further discovered that by eliminating the boric acid and adding another acidic plating buffer such as citric acid, one can obtain isotropic nickel plating and produce a wire-bondable surface.

Abstract: Metal hydrides are activated by an electrochemical procedure. In this procedure, a bulk sample of the corresponding metal is immersed in an aqueous electrolyte and contacted by a cathode. Current passed through the aqueous electrolyte causes electrolysis of the water and a concomitant reaction with the formation of metal hydride. As a result, the metal hydride is fractured and smaller particles result. Additionally, the resulting metal hydride has a substantial amount of absorbed hydrogen. A novel plating method, taking advantage of the reducing power of hydrogen absorbed in a metal hydride, is useful to encapsulate such metal hydride with a variety of metals. Therefore, such hydrides are uniformly coated by using plating solutions without the standard reducing agent and stabilizer.

Abstract: A piezoelectric micropositioning device includes, in one embodiment, four single-crystal piezoelectric bodies cut in the form of single-crystal parallel slabs from a single larger single crystal. Each of the single-crystal slabs has a separate electrode attached to an opposing major surface. One of the end faces of each of the slabs is fixed to a substrate; the other of the end faces is fixed to a holder. In response to voltages applied to the electrodes, the holder can be moved in two or three linearly independent directions, depending upon the applied voltages. In another embodiment, only a single piezoelectric body, preferably in the shape of a column and in conjunction with at least four electrodes located on the side surfaces of the column, is required for such motion in two or three directions.

Abstract: The present invention is predicated upon the fact that an emission trace from a plasma glow used in fabricating integrated circuits contains information about phenoma which cause variations in the fabrication process such as age of the plasma reactor, densities of the wafers exposed to the plasma, chemistry of the plasma, and concentration of the remaining material. In accordance with the present invention, a method for using neural networks to determine plasma etch end-point times in an integrated circuit fabrication process is disclosed. The end-point time is based on in-situ monitoring of the optical emission trace. The back-propagation method is used to train the network. More generally, a neural network can be used to regulate control variables and materials in a manufacturing process to yield an output product with desired quality attributes. An identified process signature which reflects the relation between the quality attribute and the process may be used to train the neural network.

Abstract: Carbonaceous materials based on the fullerene molecules have been developed which allow for superconductivity. The fullerene materials are soluble in common solvents.

Abstract: Batteries based on lead chemistry, e.g., lead-acid batteries, are substantially improved through the use of a particular positive material. This material is formed by the electrochemical conversion of tetrabasic lead sulfate (TTB) where this TTB is synthesized at a pH in the range 9.3 to 12 and under reaction conditions that provide a substantial excess of sulfate to the reactive lead. The resulting materials provide needle-like structures with a width generally in the range 3 to 1 .mu.m. The relative narrow needles, when employed on the positive electrode of a lead acid battery, improve the efficiency of formation, provide good adhesive to the positive plate, extend battery life, as well as, yield excellent capacity per gram of active material.

Abstract: Metal hydrides are activated by an electrochemical procedure. In this procedure, a bulk sample of the corresponding metal is immersed in an aqueous electrolyte and contacted by a cathode. Current passed through the aqueous electrolyte causes electrolysis of the water and a concomitant reaction with the formation of metal hydride. As a result, the metal hydride is fractured and smaller particles result. Additionally, the resulting metal hydride has a substantial amount of absorbed hydrogen. A novel plating method, taking advantage of the reducing power of hydrogen absorbed in a metal hydride, is useful to encapsulate such metal hydride with a variety of metals. Therefore, such hydrides are uniformly coated by using plating solutions without the standard reducing agent and stabilizer.