Abstract: A process is proposed for producing a bipolar plate for an electrochemical device, said process comprising providing a first main plate body and a second main plate body as fibrous shaped bodies including carbon fibers and each having a joining face and an opposing useful face, infiltrating the main plate bodies with at least one carbon allotrope, locally applying silicon to respective joining sites in the joining faces, placing the joining faces against one another, such that the joining sites rest against one another and the useful faces of the two main plate bodies face away from one another, and at least locally heating the joining sites, such that the silicon melts and reacts with adjoining carbon to form a silicon-carbon bond.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a stent graft, comprising: a base stent having a first and a second longitudinal end, a lumen extending longitudinally through the base stent, a covering material provided so as to line the base stent, the base stent having a roughened surface that is at least partially penetrated by the covering material so as to form a positive fit.

Abstract: A polymeric blend contains a polyether block amide and a thermoplastic polymer, where the polyether block amide is based on a subunit 1 and a subunit 2. Subunit 1 is composed of at least one linear aliphatic diamine containing 5 to 15 carbon atoms and at least one linear aliphatic dicarboxylic acid containing 6 to 16 carbon atoms. Subunit 2 is composed of at least one polyether diol containing at least 3 carbon atoms per ether oxygen and primary OH groups at the chain ends. The sum total of the carbon atoms from diamine and dicarboxylic acid is an odd number and is 19 or 21 carbon atoms. The number-average molar mass of the subunit 2 is 200 to 900 g/mol. The thermoplastic polymer is selected from an ethylene/vinylene acetate, a thermoplastic polyester elastomer, a polyolefin elastomer, thermoplastic polyurethane, or any mixture thereof.

Abstract: An SiC volume monocrystal is processed by sublimation growth. An SiC seed crystal is placed in a crystal growth region of a growing crucible and SiC source material is introduced into an SiC storage region. During growth, at a growth temperature of up to 2,400° C. and a growth pressure between 0.1 mbar and 100 mbar, an SiC growth gas phase is generated by sublimation of the SiC source material and by transport of the sublimated gaseous components into the crystal growth region, where an SiC volume monocrystal grows by deposition from the SiC growth gas phase on the SiC seed crystal. A mechanical stress is introduced into the SiC seed crystal at room temperature prior to the start of the growth to cause seed screw dislocations present in the SiC seed crystal to undergo a dislocation movement so that seed screw dislocations recombine.

Abstract: A SiC volume monocrystal is produced by sublimation growth. An SiC seed crystal is placed in a crystal growth region of a growing crucible and SiC source material is introduced into an SiC storage region. During growth, at a growth temperature of up to 2,400° C. and a growth pressure between 0.1 mbar and 100 mbar, an SiC growth gas phase is generated by sublimation of the SiC source material and by transport of the sublimated gaseous components into the crystal growth region, where an SiC volume monocrystal grows by deposition from the SiC growth gas phase on the SiC seed crystal. Prior to the start of growth, the SiC seed crystal is examined at the growth surface for the presence of seed screw dislocations, nucleation centers are generated, wherein the nucleation centers are starting points for at least one compensation screw dislocation during the growth carried out subsequently.

Abstract: Crystal structure orientation in semiconductor semi-finished products and semiconductor substrates for fissure reduction and method of setting same The present invention provides monocrystalline semiconductor semi-finished product and substrates having a predetermined orientation of its crystal structure relative to a central axis and a at least partially curved lateral surface of the semi-finished product or substrate that reduces or even eliminates the occurrence of cracks during mechanical processing, and a method of producing such semiconductor semi-finished products and/or substrates.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a tracker and a surveying apparatus comprising the tracker, which improve the reliability of tracking a target. The tracker comprises a first imaging region having a plurality of pixels for taking a first image of a scene including the target; a second imaging region having a plurality of pixels for taking a second image of a scene including the target; a control unit to receive a timing signal indicating a time duration during which an illumination illuminating the target in the scene is switched on and off, control the first imaging region to take the first image of the scene when the timing signal indicates that the illumination unit is switched on, and control the second imaging region to take the second image when the illumination is switched off; and a read out unit configured to read out the first image from the first imaging region and the second image from the second imaging region and to obtain a difference image.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate with improved mechanical and electrical characteristics. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for producing a bulk SiC crystal in a physical vapor transport growth system. The silicon carbide substrate comprises an inner region (102) which constitutes at least 30% of a total surface area of said substrate (100), a ring shaped peripheral region (104) radially surrounding the inner region (102), wherein a mean concentration of a dopant in the inner region (102) differs by at maximum 5·1018 cm?3, preferably 1·1018 cm?3, from the mean concentration of this dopant in the peripheral region (104).

Abstract: The present invention provides a monocrystalline SiC substrate with an asymmetric shape for enhancing substrate stiffness against thermal induced deformations, the substrate comprising: a main region, and an asymmetric region located at a peripheral region of the substrate and adjacent to the main region, wherein the asymmetric region is inclined inwards, relative to the main region, to provide an asymmetric shape to the substrate. The present invention also provides a method of producing one or more substrates with an asymmetric shape, comprising: performing a multi-wire sawing process in which one or more substrates are cut with an wire-sawing web from an ingot placed on a stage, and cutting the one or more substrates with the asymmetric shape by controlling a relative movement between the wire-sawing web and the stage, the relative movement causing the wire-sawing web to describe a non-linear sawing path across the ingot to cut the asymmetric shape.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate with improved mechanical and electrical characteristics. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for producing a bulk SiC crystal in a physical vapor transport growth system. The silicon carbide substrate comprises an inner region (102) which constitutes at least 30% of a total surface area of said substrate (100), a ring shaped peripheral region (104) radially surrounding the inner region (102), wherein a mean concentration of a dopant in the inner region (102) differs by at least 1·1018 cm?3 from the mean concentration of this dopant in the peripheral region (104).

Abstract: A method for aligning two surveying instruments in a common space in a process that uses an autocollimation of a collimated light beam transmitted by a first surveying instrument and reflected by a second surveying instrument. In the alignment process, the first surveying instrument may emit a collimated light beam towards the second the surveying instrument and receive a reflection of the collimated light beam from the second surveying instrument in an autocollimator. The reflection may be generated for example by a mirror at the second surveying instrument. When the light beam is reflected such that autocollimation of the collimated light beam is achieved at the first surveying instrument, the first and second surveying instruments are in a predetermined positional relation with respect to one another.

Abstract: A surveying system comprises a controller; a support; a mounting structure mounted on the support, wherein the mounting structure is rotatable about a first axis relative to the support; a first motor to rotate the mounting structure relative to the support; a first mirror mounted on the mounting structure, wherein the first mirror is rotatable relative to the mounting structure about a second axis, wherein the second axis substantially coincides with the first axis; a second motor to rotate the first mirror relative to the mounting structure; and a first light source configured to direct a light beam onto the first mirror.

Abstract: A method for simultaneously manufacturing more than one single crystal of a semiconductor material by physical vapor transport (PVT) includes connecting a pair of reactors to a vacuum pump system by a common vacuum channel and creating and/or controlling, with the vacuum pump system, a common gas phase condition in the inner chambers of the pair of reactors. Each reactor has an inner chamber adapted to accommodate a PVT growth structure for growth of a semiconductor single crystal.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate with improved mechanical and electrical characteristics. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for producing a bulk SiC crystal in a physical vapor transport growth system. The silicon carbide substrate comprises an inner region (102) which constitutes at least 30% of a total surface area of said substrate (100), a ring shaped peripheral region (104) radially surrounding the inner region (102), wherein a mean concentration of a dopant in the inner region (102) differs by at least 1-1018 cm-3 from the mean concentration of this dopant in the peripheral region (104).

Abstract: The present invention relates to a chamfered silicon carbide substrate which is essentially monocrystalline, and to a corresponding method of chamfering a silicon carbide substrate. A silicon carbide substrate according to the invention comprises a main surface (102), wherein an orientation of said main surface (102) is such that a normal vector ({right arrow over (O)}) of the main surface (102) includes a tilt angle with a normal vector ({right arrow over (N)}) of a basal lattice plane (106) of the substrate, and a chamfered peripheral region (110), wherein a surface of the chamfered peripheral region includes a bevel angle with said main surface, wherein said bevel angle is chosen so that, in more than 75% of the peripheral region, normal vectors ({right arrow over (F)}_i) of the chamfered peripheral region (110) differ from the normal vector of the basal lattice plane by less than a difference between the normal vector of the main surface and the normal vector of the basal lattice plane of the substrate.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a tracker and a surveying apparatus comprising the tracker, which improve the reliability of tracking a target. The tracker comprises a first imaging region having a plurality of pixels for taking a first image of a scene including the target; a second imaging region having a plurality of pixels for taking a second image of a scene including the target; a control unit to receive a timing signal indicating a time duration during which an illumination illuminating the target in the scene is switched on and off, control the first imaging region to take the first image of the scene when the timing signal indicates that the illumination unit is switched on, and control the second imaging region to take the second image when the illumination is switched off; and a read out unit configured to read out the first image from the first imaging region and the second image from the second imaging region and to obtain a difference image.

Abstract: A surveying instrument comprises a base; an alidade rotatable about a first axis relative to the base; and an optical measuring instrument having a measuring axis rotatable about a second axis relative to the alidade. A beam path can be provided for a light beam using components including a light source, lenses, mirrors, beam splitters, and a position-sensitive detector. The surveying can be calibrated by performing plural measurements at different orientations of the alidade relative to the base and different orientations of the measuring instrument relative to the alidade using the above components.

Abstract: A system for simultaneously manufacturing more than one single crystal of a semiconductor material by physical vapor transport (PVT) includes a plurality of reactors and a common vacuum channel connecting at least a pair of reactors of the plurality of reactors. Each reactor has an inner chamber adapted to accommodate a PVT growth structure for growth of a single semiconductor crystal. The common vacuum channel is connectable to a vacuum pump system for creating and/or controlling a common gas phase condition in the inner chambers of the pair of reactors.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a surveying apparatus for surveying an object as well as a surveying system comprising the surveying apparatus having a simple and compact optical setup. The surveying apparatus comprises a lens arrangement including at least one movably arranged focus lens element for focusing to sight an object; an imaging unit configured to obtain an image of at least a part of the object; a distance measuring unit configured to measure a distance to the object along the optical axis of the distance measuring unit; and a beam splitter/combiner configured to combine a part of the optical imaging path of the imaging unit and a part of the optical distance measuring path of the distance measuring unit so that the optical axis of the imaging unit and the optical axis of the distance measuring unit are at least coaxially arranged with the optical axis of the lens arrangement between the lens arrangement and the beam splitter/combiner.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a chamfered silicon carbide substrate which is essentially monocrystalline, and to a corresponding method of chamfering a silicon carbide substrate. A silicon carbide substrate according to the invention comprises a main surface (102), wherein an orientation of said main surface (102) is such that a normal vector ({right arrow over (O)}) of the main surface (102) includes a tilt angle with a normal vector ({right arrow over (N)}) of a basal lattice plane (106) of the substrate, and a chamfered peripheral region (110), wherein a surface of the chamfered peripheral region includes a bevel angle with said main surface, wherein said bevel angle is chosen so that, in more than 75% of the peripheral region, normal vectors ({right arrow over (F)}_i) of the chamfered peripheral region (110) differ from the normal vector of the basal lattice plane by less than a difference between the normal vector of the main surface and the normal vector of the basal lattice plane of the substrate.