Abstract: In the present invention, a technique is described for manufacturing microtube devices which have peripheral geometries that are not uniform along the tube or device axis. These geometries may exist in only one location on the periphery of the microtube device or geometries may be repeated either uniformly or non-uniformly with micron or sub-micron precision along the tube or device axis. The preferred manufacturing process involves forming a complex mandrel, ie., (one, for example, that can not be formed by extrusion or pultrusion under constant processing conditions) and giving it at least one metallic and/or nonmetallic coating by any of a variety of techniques. The complex mandrel can then be removed by appropriate chemical or physical means that do not adversely affect the coating(s) desired for the wall. The result is a microtube structure having an axial profile duplicating that on the mandrel from which it was formed.

Abstract: Slip-joint pliers of the present invention comprise, in one embodiment, a pair of compound handles pivotally attached to jaw means being upper and lower jaw members having a manually adjustable slip-joint therein for providing at least two different maximum jaw opening positions, each having a different separation angle. The jaw openings are selectable by movement of a lever, for example, attached to a keyed pivot pin in the slip-joint. The jaw openings are selectable with minimal movement of the compound handles as a result of spring biasing between the jaw members and abutting engagement with the compound handles.

Abstract: This invention is a process and apparatus for producing single crystal, polycrystal or amorphous stand-alone films. The process has two steps: First, thin layers of the desired materials are deposited by VD onto a hot foreign single crystal substrate wafer held by a substrate platter in a pocket formed in such. The second step is to chemically etch away the substrate while still being held by the substrate platter while the film-substrate is still hot. The etch is stopped as soon as all of the foreign substrate is consumed. This leaves just the thin film which is then cooled down to room temperature. The bottom surface of this pocket has a plurality of channels for carrying an etching gas which is input by a central channel in the substrate platter. The reactants that form the stand-alone film are input through an actively cooled effusion cell having a plenum for receiving the reactant gas.

Abstract: In this invention, one or more metal-containing sources and one or more ammonium halides are heated such that they evaporate into a vacuum environment (except that, in MOMBE, a beam of the organometallic source compound may be created by other means) and made to impinge on a substrate. The materials interact on the substrate to form a film of the desired nitride compound or alloy; the substrate usually will be heated to promote chemical reaction and good film properties such as high crystallinity. Other sources—to provide dopant impurities like silicon or magnesium, for example—would be part of a deposition system envisioned in this invention. Multiple film layers, including quantum wells and superlattices, may be formed using this method, in addition to a single film.

Abstract: The invention comprises devices composed of at least one microscopic hollow tube having a wall of single or multiple layers with a thickness of at least one nanometer and a diameter of at least 5 nanometers. The tubes can be formed from a wide variety of materials, some of the preferred materials include metals, polymers, silica, carbon, carbides, nitrides and oxides. The inside of the tubes can be coated with a desired material such as a catalyst. The tubes further may act as devices upon which materials can be deposited which are not compatible with the fiber and further may have depressions or elevations therein that were imparted to the fibers upon which the tubes were formed. The wall layers may be porous for the purpose of removing the fiber therethrough. Further the hollow tubes can be used in a preform by themselves or serve the purpose of being used to form rods or filaments in the desired configuration after the tubes are removed.

Abstract: A reconfigurable photoconducting antenna is created on a semiconductor substrate. At equilibrium, the semiconductor is semi-insulating, and therefore appears as a dielectric. Illuminating a region of the substrate results in the generation of free carriers in the substrate and allows the creation of a conductive region (semi-metallic) in the substrate. This conductive region functions as the radiating element of the antenna. Controlling the pattern of the illuminated region directly controls the pattern of the radiating antenna. By using a digital micromirror device (DMD™) to control the pattern of the light, a desired antenna design may be placed on the semiconductor substrate. The pattern can be dynamically adjusted simply by changing the position of the individual mirrors in the DMD™ array. The device operates through a standardized digital interface and can be switched between patterns in a period of approximately 20 microseconds.

Abstract: Microdevices based on surface tension and wettability are useful as sensors, detectors, actuators, pumps, among other applications. As sensors and detectors they can respond to numerous stimuli such as pressure, temperature, gravity, rotation, acceleration, oscillation, chemical environments, magnetic fields, electric fields, radiation, and particle beams with a great choice of output options. Because of their design, they can be used in a broad range of temperatures and environments. Additionally, unlike other microsensors and detectors, these devices can be exposed to forces and pressures orders of magnitudes greater than their design limit and still return to their original accuracy and precision. These microdevices are also useful as actuators, pumps, valves and shutters. It is possible by joining these devices together to form complex devices that are able to control macroscopic flows for example. They are also able to perform complex electrical switching operations.

Abstract: The present invention describes the growth of single crystals of non-congruently melting alloys, in particular, silicon-germanium of constant composition in a quartz ampoule by the use of CaCl.sub.2 as an encapsulant for the liquid encapsulated zone melting (LEZM) technique. The zone melting process was modified with the addition of calcium chloride which acts as a liquid encapsulant at temperatures above 660.degree. C. so that the crystal can grow without sticking to the container. The calcium chloride encapsulant creates a non-wetting buffer layer between the quartz container and the SiGe charge material allowing single crystal growth of mixed alloys. The crystal growth system consists of a vertical tube RF furnace with a water cooled split-ring concentrator. The concentrator is 5 mm. Thick by 25 mm diameter and provides a high temperature melt zone with a "spike" profile.

Abstract: A holographic grating is written into a photorefractive erasable holographic member and a light beam having a first wavelength which includes the joint power spectrum of a pair of joint images to be correlated is directed at the photorefractive member to partially erase the grating. A phase conjugate signal from the partially erased grating is then readout and Fourier transformed to produce the correlation output spots.

Abstract: Using a GaN growth furnace, at least three different techniques can be used for forming the targets for the deposition of thin films. In the first, nitrides can be deposited as a dense coating on a target backing plate for use as a target. In this approach, the backing plate is placed near the Group III metal. During processing, the Group III metal or metal halide vaporizes and reacts with the nitrogen source to deposit a dense polycrystalline layer on the backing plate. To build up a thick layer on the backing plate, the backing plate is repeatedly placed in the processing furnace until a satisfactory thickness is attained. For the second approach, a properly shaped reaction vessel, the dense, thick Group III nitride crust that forms on top of the Group III metal during the process can be used directly or mechanically altered to meet the size requirements for a sputtering target holder.

Abstract: The invention comprises devices composed of at least one microscopic hollow tube having a wall of single or multiple layers with a thickness of at st one nanometer and a diameter of at least 5 nanometers. The walls of the tubes can be formed from a wide variety of materials, some of the preferred materials include metals, polymers, carbon, ceramics, glasses. If the space between the tubes is filled, the tubes become channels in a monolithic or composite body. The channels can have a random or ordered orientation. The interior of the tube walls can be coated with a desired material such as a catalyst and also may have depressions or elevations therein that were imparted to the fibers upon which the tubes are formed. The wall layers may be porous for the purpose of removing the fiber therethrough. Microtubes and microtube devices may be interfaced with the macroscopic world in a number of ways.

Abstract: Three dimensional localization of a cancer tumor is performed by amplitude-modulated optical radiation producing a time varying photon distribution in the body of the patient examined. The amplitude and phase of the diffuse photon density wave (DPDW) are measured in the detection plane and a novel algorithm is employed enabling three-dimensional tumor localization to occur with only one measurement and without the need for a moving radiation scanner.

Abstract: The drive shaft assembly has a variable length. Each end of the drive shaft assembly has a flange for attaching to whatever is intend thereon such as a gear box drive or fan mount, and a female threaded attachment on the opposite side of the flange. A slide is secured in this attachment. The slide has a bore therein with longitudinal ball bearing races partially along the length of the wall. Each end of the shaft has opposing ball bearing races as compared to those in the slide and has further thereon an o-ring retainer. A sufficient number of ball bearings are placed in each race to allow for movement of the shaft in the slide. The o-ring is placed on the shaft after the bearings are inserted. After this the slide is secured to the flange.

Abstract: The present invention is a technique for manufacturing microtube devices which have circumferential geometries repeated either uniformly or nonuniformly along the tube or device axis with sub-micron precision. The preferred manufacturing process involves forming a complex mandrel and giving it a metallic and/or nonmetallic coating or coatings by any of a variety of techniques. The mandrel can then be removed by appropriate chemical or physical means, leaving a microtube structure having an axial profile consisting of repeat units duplicating those on the mandrel. One technique for forming the complex mandrel consists of drawing a single core fiber (or bundle of core fibers) through a confining orifice. The fiber is held with minimal constraint (typically by friction), so that no breakage takes place as it is drawn through the orifice.

Abstract: A novel indium phosphide (InP) based heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) is described. A II-VI compound, cadmium sulfide (CdS), is used as the emitter to improve the emitter injection efficiency and reduce recombination losses. The cadmium sulfide emitter is applied following the epitaxial growth of III-V compound collector and base regions. The large valence band discontinuity (.quadrature.E=0.75 eV) between CdS and InP allows InP to be used for both the base and collector material. Prior to cadmium sulfide deposition, the exposed surfaces of the epitaxial layers can be passivated with sulfur, further reducing the recombination losses.

Abstract: The invention works by taking optical reflectance measurements on the deposited layers at different wavelengths and fitting the measured results to extract the thicknesses and compositions. The process of the present invention simultaneously measures the thicknesses of elemental and binary semiconductors' layers and the thicknesses and composition of ternary layers. Highly precise thickness and composition estimates and wafer maps of the growth rates and composition are provided by (1) measuring in a wavelength range at which the index of refractions are rapidly varying and (2) growing a special high reflectance test structure consisting of alternating layers of the materials to be measured.

Abstract: A sleeping unit for furnishing a standardized room having two dresser units thereunder is disclosed. Each dresser unit comprises a rectangular box-like frame constructed of 1.times.1 aluminum tubing and welded joints. The frame has a base which is constructed of 1.times.2 aluminum tubing and welded joints connected to the 1.times.1 tubing. The tubing has flanges thereon for the attachment of two panels which are inserted into the frame to form outer surfaces thereon, and each panel has a durable coating thereon. Each dresser unit also comprises a pair of inner frames with drawer slides thereon, wherein the inner frames are attached inside and thereto the box-like frame, and a rear inner frame having two openings therein defining two slots. Each slide has a single screw secured onto a front end thereof. A rear of each slide rests in a respective slot of the rear inner frame whereby each slide is easily removable for repair by removing the screw on the front of the slide.

Abstract: The present invention consists of two right angle prisms, one of which is coated with a wedged layer of low index of refraction transparent material such as magnesium fluoride. The coating varies in thickness, linearly, for example, from about 50 to 700 nanometers, for example. The prisms are cemented together forming a rectangular cube beamsplitter. The beamsplitter is then mounted onto a stage so that the plane of the cemented surfaces is parallel to the axis of translation. As one translates the cube along its axis, the ratio of reflectance to transmittance varies according to the thickness or other factors.

Abstract: A non-nuclear, non-focusing, active warhead that comprises a high explosive charge contained within a casing of reactive metal. When the high explosive is detonated, the reactive metal is dispersed and reacts with the air, which significantly increases the explosive yield of the warhead. The active warhead produces therefore much higher blast effects with significantly reduced weight compared to conventional munitions. The warhead is highly effective against such targets as aircraft which typically have thin fuselages, for example. The explosiveness of this warhead can be enhanced further by elevating the temperature and therefore the reactivity of the reactive metal before or during the explosion. New methods of enhancing the reactivity of the metal are also taught.