Abstract: An apparatus for treating wafers utilizing the plasma produced by a gas discharge and a method of cleaning such apparatus are disclosed. The apparatus is equipped with a device for forming a high voltage electric field in a space outside of the discharge space in which the wafer treating plasma is generated. The cleaning of the inner surfaces of the vacuum vessel of the apparatus is effected during the periods between the treatments by means of the plasma generated by the gas discharge started and sustained by the electric field device as well as by a main electrode for maintaining the treating discharge. The device for forming a high voltage electric field as mentioned above may comprise a limiter electrode surrounding the treating discharge space; alternatively, it may comprise an auxiliary electrode disposed in the space outside the treating discharge space.

Abstract: A process of shaping a thin metal film into a lead frame starts with preparing a thin metal film, an etchant effective against the thin metal film and a photoresist solution resistive to the etchant, followed by coating the entire surface of the thin metal film with the photoresist solution so as to form a multiple level structure having the thin metal film and a photoresist film, and a predetermined pattern is embossed on the multiple level structure so as to break slits in the photoresist film along the periphery of the predetermined pattern, then removing a part of the multiple level structure by using the etchant so that a hollow space is formed therein in the predetermined pattern.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method of etching an etch material consisting at least partly of metal and an arrangement for implementing that method. According to the invention, the etchant is applied through jet assemblies arranged perpendicularly to each other on the top and the bottom side of the etch material. During the passage of the etch material, the spray pressure at the jet assemblies or the jets may be set to constant values and/or by individually controlled as a function of the quantity of metal to be etched off the top and the bottom side. The invention is particularly suitable for etching circuit boards, whose conductors on the top and the bottom side are arranged perpendicularly to each other.

Abstract: In the manufacture of coated optical fiber, fiber (21) is drawn from a preform (22) and coated with one or preferably two layers (42,44) of light curable coating materials. Afterwards, the coating materials are cured. Increases in manufacturing line speed may be achieved if the cure speed of the coating materials is increased. This is accomplished by the simultaneous application of a magnetic field during irradiation of the curable coating materials to enhance the crosslinking of the coating materials by a free radical polymerization mechanism. Upon absorption of light, a photoinitiator in each composition cleaves to produce two free radical fragments in the spin paired or singlet state. The magnetic field has the effect of enhancing the production of spin parallel radicals which enhances the polymerization initiation of the coating material, thereby allowing an increase in the manufacturing line speed through drawing and coating apparatus.

Abstract: The method for decorative processing is performed with repetitively pulsed cross discharge at atmospheric pressure by CO.sub.2 -laser with pulse energy 1 to 5J, power density at operation from 1.10.sup.6 W/cm.sup.2 to 6.10.sup.7 W/cm.sup.2, pulse duration from 50 to 100 ns and average power 1 to 1000W whereby the mated area with one shot is from 0.5 to 2 cm.sup.2.The device for laser engraving comprises a base with mounted console, on which are fastened parallel elements and a screw that is seated in its upper end in a thrust and in its lower end it is linked by a hinge to an electric motor. There is a fork which is seated in parallel elements whereby to this fork by means of handle and fixator is fastened a slide with longitudinal channels and a plate for axial inclination per 15.degree.. To this slide is fastened a second electric motor, and on its axis is mounted a bearer on which is fastened a mask in which is fixed the item to be decorated.

Abstract: An electrostatically driven microactuator is micromachined in a monolithic process. Sacrificial layers are placed between a moving element and stator structural layers. Removal of the sacrificial layers leaves a free standing moving element and micron wide air gaps within a stator. An electric field of about 100 Mv/m and higher is supported across the micron wide gap without breakdown and enables high energy torque densities to be produced between the stator and the moving element. One electrostatic drive scheme involves a series of stator electrodes attached to the stator and a series of electrodes attached to the moving element charged in sequence to attract each other in a direction of movement and to oppose each other in a direction normal to movement. A bearing is aligned with the moving element within the stator during the layering of a sacrificial layer over an edge of the moving element structural layer. The bearing and stator laterally stabilize the moving element.

Abstract: A close packed planar array corner cube surface is employed in making an x-ray image intensifier screen. The corner cube surface is produced from single cube silicon crystal using a photoresist pattern of an array of triangle openings aligned with the <110> directions of the cube in a {111} plane facial surface of the wafer. Corner cube cells are etched in the wafer surface with an anisotropic etchant preferentially etching the {100} planes of the cubic lattice. A method for producing a retro-reflective surface from the etched silicon wafer for making the x-ray phosphor imaging screen is described.

Abstract: The described device includes a bearing element positioned to engage a bead core and subjected to the action of a friction wheel acting in such a way as to make the bead core rotate around its own axis. Two pressure discs arranged specularly with respect to the lying median plane of the bead core act on opposite sides of a filler to apply the same on the outer peripheral chafer of the bead core while this latter is rotating. The pressure discs lie according to respective planes convergent toward the bead core and divergent in the sense of rotation of the bead core to favor the release of the filler from the pressure discs. The pressure discs are thrust on the filler through a pneumatic cylinder which exerts a constant force on an oscillating support according to an axis parallel to the bead core axis and bearing the discs themselves.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of forming a patterned silicone rubber layer on a surface of a workpiece such as a silicone wafer. According to the method, a polyimide film is first formed on the workpiece surface, and subsequently etched by lithography in a predetermined pattern. Then, a silicone rubber layer is formed on the workpiece surface over the patterned polyimide film by spin coating, and thereafter etched by plasma etching until the patterned polyimide film is exposed. Finally, the remaining polyimide film alone is completely etched away, so that the pattern previously given to the polyimide film is copied to the silicone rubber layer in a negative fashion.

Abstract: An overclad fiber optic coupler is formed from a coupler preform including a glass tube having a longitudinal aperture. The aperture is formed of a plurality of similarly shaped side walls, each of which includes a longitudinally extending, inwardly projecting protrusions. The region between each two adjacent protrusions constitutes a corner region. Disposed within the aperture are at least a portion of each of a plurality of glass optical fibers, one fiber being situated in each corner region. The midregion of the tube is collapsed onto the fibers, the protrusions maintaining the fibers in their relative positions. At least a portion of the midregion is stretched to reduce the tube midregion diameter.

Abstract: In glass enamel coating compositions containing a glass frit system, a metal oxide pigment and a vehicle therefor, the improvement comprising the presence of iron metal powder to provide anti-stick, color maintenance and adhesion properties; the resulting coatings being particularly effective for application to glass sheets which are subsequently subjected to high temperature forming procedures.

Abstract: The device pursuant to the invention comprises a device for agitation composed of at least one horizontal agitator formed from a series of essentially vertical loops extending over the entire width of the bath near the collar between the refining zone and the homogenization zone, with the horizontal agitator being moved by a device that produce an elliptical motion in the horizontal plane.

Abstract: High-hardness silica glass having transparency substantially on the same level as silica glass and a Vickers hardness of 12-20 GPa is produced by covering silica glass with powder and treating the silica glass at a temperature of 1400.degree.-2500.degree. C. and a pressure of 10-300 MPa in an atmosphere of an inert gas or a nitrogen gas.

Abstract: A method for producing a glass preform for an optical fiber is disclosed. The method comprises forming a soot preform of glass fine particles comprising SiO.sub.2 by flame hydrolysis or solution hydrolysis of a starting glass material and sintering the soot preform in an atmosphere containing at least SiF.sub.4 to obtain a glass preform which is free from an increase in absorption due to impurities and has sufficiently low attenuation of light transmission.

Abstract: A fiber optic coupler is formed by providing a glass tube having a longitudinal extending aperture. Protective coating is removed from a region of a first optical fiber intermediate the end. Protective coating is removed from an end region of at least one other optical fiber. The coated portion of the first fiber is threaded through the tube until the uncoated region is near the tube end. The uncoated region of the second fiber is placed adjacent that of the first fiber, and both uncoated regions are simultaneously fed into the tube aperture. The threading operation is continued until the uncoated regions extend through the midregion of the tube, the midregion is heated to collapse it about the fibers, and the central portion of the midregion is drawn to reduce the diameter along a predetermined length.

Abstract: Photosensitively opacifiable glasses requiring very short exposures to ultraviolet radiation to effect the development of opacity are processed by heating to nucleate Ag followed by cooling to nucleate NaF on the Ag followed by heating to grow the NaF. The glasses contain, expressed in terms of weight percent on the oxide basis, about 14-18% Na.sub.2 O, 0-6% ZnO, 6-12% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0-5% B.sub.2 O.sub.3, 65-72% SiO.sub.2, and 0-0.2% Sb.sub.2 O.sub.3, and 0.007-0.04% Ag, 0.008-0.05% CeO.sub.2, 0.7-1.25% Br, and 1.5-2.5% F as analyzed in the glass, the sum of those components are at least 90% of the total composition.

Abstract: An etchback process for etching a refractory metal layer formed on a semiconductor substrate with a greatly reduced micro-loading effect. The etch proceeds in three steps. The first step is a uniform etch which utilizes a gas chemistry of SF.sub.6, O.sub.2 and He and proceeds for a predetermined time to remove most of the metal layer. The second step is a very uniform etch which utilizes a gas chemistry of SF.sub.6, Cl.sub.2 and He and proceeds until the endpoint is detected. The endpoint is detected by measurement and integration of the 772 nm and 775 nm lines of Cl. The third step is a timed etch utilizing a gas chemistry of Cl.sub.2 and He which is used as both an overetch to ensure complete removal of the refractory metal film and as a selective etchant to remove an adhesion underlayer.

Abstract: A crystalline metal halide optical fiber having a two or a three layer structure is provided. The core consists of relatively small crystals. A crust surrounds the core and has the same composition but consists of relatively large crystals. Optionally, an optical outer crust surrounds the inner crust and has a different composition from the inner crust but has generally the same sized crystals. The differing crystal sizes can be produced from a preform by extruding a crystal at a low uniform temperature at a relatively high speed.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor substrate includes the steps of performing flame electrolysis on a galss source with an oxyhydrogen flame, spray-depositing the resultant glass particles on a joint surface of a semiconductor substrate, placing another semiconductor substrate on the deposited glass particles and performing heat-treatment, and joining the two substrates by sintering the glass particles.

Abstract: This invention provides a method for forming ring laser gyroscope frames without extensive machining. Parts of necessary configurations for such frames are so fashioned that they can be sealed together into a unit. Those parts are prepared from very low expansion glass-ceramics of particular compositions and are sealed together with low expansion, thermally devitrifiable sealing glasses, also of particular compositions.