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18 Feb 2005
The pick of this week's applications including a low-power laser shaver from Philips.
• Title: Optically pumped array of organic VCSEL
Applicant: Eastman Kodak Company, US
International application number: WO 2005/013447
Inventors at Kodak have turned their attention to optically-pumped organic materials instead of semiconductors such as AlGaAs in an effort to produce VCSELs that emit in the visible spectrum. Detailed in the application number WO 2005/013447, their device is a 2D array of lasing pixels capable of both single and multi-mode emission. The active region contains one or more periodic gain regions separated by spacer layers. "The gain regions are composed of either small molecular weight or polymeric organic materials, both of which fluoresce with a high quantum efficiency," say the applicants. "Employing periodic gain regions results in larger power conversion efficiencies and a reduction in unwanted spontaneous emission." A full description of the structure is given in the application.
• Title: Multilayer reflective extreme ultraviolet lithography mask blanks
Applicant: Intel Corporation, US
International application number: W0 2005/013003
Intel thinks it has found a way of improving blanks for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. In patent application number WO 2005/013003, the US chip maker describes a design that features a ruthenium capping layer. Generally, the reflective masks are made by depositing materials such as silicon and molybdenum in alternating layers, finishing with a thicker silicon capping layer. Although ruthenium has a higher EUV absorption coefficient than silicon, the applicants feel that if made sufficiently thin, the ruthenium capping layer will not reduce the mask's multilayer reflectivity. Ruthenium is attractive because it is resistant to oxidation and offers better chemical cleaning resistance than a silicon capping layer.
• Title: A device for shortening hairs by means of laser induced optical breakdown effects
Applicant: Applicant: Koninklijke Philips Electronics, the Netherlands
International application number: WO 2005/011510
Shaving could become more comfortable thanks to a device from Philips that uses a pulsed laser source to induce optical breakdown in hair tissue. This produces effects such as cavitation and generates shockwaves that damage hair mechanically. Although a laser shaving device has already been developed, it operates by melting, evaporating or burning the hair. By relying on the mechanism of optical breakdown, the authors of patent application WO 2005/011510 claim that their device uses a significantly reduced amount of laser energy to shorten hair. "Irritation and damage of the skin tissue surrounding the hair are limited to an acceptable level or even completely prevented," say the applicants.
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