Cymer, Inc.

Synopsys, Inc.

Evollve, Inc.

Other

Numerical Technologies, Inc.

Takumi Technology Corporation

Armen Kroyan

Igor Vladimirovich Fomenkov

John Martin Algots

Ivan Lalovic

Richard L Sandstrom

Palash P Das

Robert N Jacques

John A Rule

Jacob P Lipcon

Ronald L Spangler

Vishnu Govind Kamat

Ondrej Stanek

Nader Abou-Hamda

Jesse D Buck

Frederick G Erie

Gamaralalage G Padmabandu

Khurshid Ahmed

Nader Hamda

Youping Zhang

Etsuya Morita

Adrianus Ligtenberg

Julia Kroyan

A character skin for a toy robot has an outer cover having an inner surface that is shaped to conform to an outer surface of a robot body housing of a self-propelled, toy robot. The outer cover can be fitted onto the robot body housing to cover an outer surface thereof and then removed from the housing, preferably with requiring a tool. The outer cover has an identification mechanism that provides an identification of a robot character software program, wherein the identification is electronically detected by the toy robot and in response the robot character software program is executed by the toy robot which changes behavior of the toy robot, whenever the outer cover is fitted onto the robot body housing. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Robot having a changeable character

A robotic activity system, which includes a board and an autonomous robotic device, is described herein. The board may display a line and one or more color patterns. The robotic device may traverse the line using one or more integrated sensors. For example, sensor data may include light intensity data for visible light reflected or emitted by the board. The sensor data may be analyzed to 1) ensure the robotic device follows the line and/or 2) detect color sequences associated with color patterns shown on the board. Upon detection of a color sequence, the robotic device may attempt to match the color sequence with a known color pattern definition. The color pattern definition may be associated with a function to be performed by the robotic device. Using multiple sets of color patterns and associated functions allows the robotic device to move in a variable and potentially unpredictable fashion.

Robotic activity system using color patterns

The robotic activity system described herein provides for efficient communications between the robotic device and the board without the establishment of a wired or radio-frequency connection. In particular, through the simulation of touch events by the robotic device on the touch display of the board using capacitive elements on the robotic device, information/data may be communicated from the robotic device to the board, including the location of the robotic device relative to the touch display, the orientation of the robotic device relative to the touch display, status information of the robotic device (e.g., battery level, motor voltages, or wheel speed), and/or other similar pieces of information. Since this information is communicated using the conductive elements, a dedicated data connection, including separate radios and/or interfaces, is not needed. This communicated information may be used for conducting an interactive game involving the robotic device and the board or another activity.

Robotic activity system using position sensing

Using phase shifting on a mask can advantageously improve printed feature resolution on a wafer, thereby allowing greater feature density on an integrated circuit. Phase shifting can create an intensity imbalance between 0 degree and 180 degree phase shifters on the mask. An improved method of designing an alternating PSM to minimize this intensity imbalance is provided. Sub-resolution features, called 'blockers', can be incorporated in the alternating PSM design. Specifically, blockers can be formed in the 0 degree phase shifters. In this configuration, the intensity associated with the 0 degree phase shifters approximates the intensity associated with the corresponding 180 degree phase shifters. Intensity balancing using blockers retains image contrast, thereby ensuring printed feature quality.

Correcting 3D effects in phase shifting masks using sub-resolution features

A layout printability optimization method and system is presented that may be used for enhancing the manufacturability and yield of integrated circuits. The method is based on a mathematical framework, which describes and solves layout printability problems using nonlinear numerical optimization techniques. The means to define an optimization objective, constraint functions, compute function derivatives, and solve the resulting system, are also presented.

Layout printability optimization method and system

A system and method for integrated circuit design are disclosed to enhance manufacturability of circuit layouts through generation of hierarchical design rules which capture localized layout requirements. In contrast to conventional techniques which apply global design rules, the disclosed IC design system and method partition the original design layout into a desired level of granularity based on specified layout and integrated circuit properties. At that localized level, the design rules are adjusted appropriately to capture the critical aspects from a manufacturability standpoint. These adjusted design rules are then used to perform localized layout manipulation and mask data conversion.

System for designing integrated circuits with enhanced manufacturability

An integrated circuit lithography technique called spectral engineering by Applicants, for bandwidth control of an electric discharge laser. In a preferred process, a computer model is used to model lithographic parameters to determine a desired laser spectrum needed to produce a desired lithographic result. A fast responding tuning mechanism is then used to adjust center wavelength of laser pulses in a burst of pulses to achieve an integrated spectrum for the burst of pulses approximating the desired laser spectrum. The laser beam bandwidth is controlled to produce an effective beam spectrum having at least two spectral peaks in order to produce improved pattern resolution in photo resist film. Line narrowing equipment is provided having at least one piezoelectric drive and a fast bandwidth detection control system having a time response of less than about 2.0 millisecond. In a preferred embodiment, a wavelength tuning mirror is dithered at dither rates of more than 500 dithers per second in phase with the repetition rate of the laser. In one case, the piezoelectric drive was driven with a square wave signal and in a second case it was driven with a sine wave signal. In another embodiment, the maximum displacement was matched on a one-to-one basis with the laser pulses in order to produce a desired average spectrum with two peaks for a series of laser pulses. Other preferred embodiments utilize three separate wavelength tuning positions producing a spectrum with three separate peaks.

Laser spectral engineering for lithographic process

When substantially all features in a layout for a layer of material in an integrated circuit (IC) are defined using a phase shifting mask, the related complementary mask that is normally used to define the remaining features and edges can be improved if intensities in an aerial image from openings on the complementary mask that are below threshold are increased to ensure that each opening meets or exceeds threshold. Such increase of intensities improves effectiveness of critical openings that are otherwise too small to print. Absent intensity increase, such openings could limit the application of optical lithography using phase shifting masks to ever shrinking technologies. The intensities are increased in some embodiments by enlarging some openings in the complementary mask in directions not constrained by features to be formed in an integrated circuit (by use of the phase shifting mask).

Method for printability enhancement of complementary masks

A technique for bandwidth control of an electric discharge laser. Line narrowing equipment is provided having at least one piezoelectric drive and a fast bandwidth detection means and a bandwidth control having a time response of less than about 1.0 millisecond. In a preferred embodiment wavelength tuning mirror is dithered at dither rates of more than 500 dithers per second within a very narrow range of pivot angles to cause a dither in nominal wavelength values to produce a desired effective bandwidth of series of laser pulses.

Bandwidth control technique for a laser

Growing community of inventors

San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Armen Kroyan