The present invention relates to methods and reagents useful for modulating gene expression in various applications such as therapeutic, diagnostic, target assessment and genome discovery applications. Specifically, the present invention relates to synthetic chemically modified small nucleic acid molecules capable of mediating RNA interference (RNAi) to a target nucleic acid sequence, such as short interfering nucleic acids (siNA), short interfering RNA (siRNA), double stranded RNA (dsRNA). ), MicroRNA (miRNA), and short hairpin RNA (shRNA) molecules. Small nucleic acid molecules are useful in the treatment of any disease or condition that responds to regulation of gene expression in a cell, tissue or organism.

RNA INTERFERENCE MEDIATED INHIBITION OF GENE EXPRESSION USING CHEMICALLY MODIFIED SHORT INTERFERING NUCLEIC ACID (siNA)

A method and apparatus for depositing a film on a substrate by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition at temperatures substantially lower than conventional thermal CVD temperatures comprises placing a substrate within a reaction chamber and exciting a first gas upstream of the substrate to generate activated radicals of the first gas. The substrate is rotated within the deposition chamber to create a pumping action which draws the gas mixture of first gas radicals to the substrate surface. A second gas is supplied proximate the substrate to mix with the activated radicals of the first gas and the mixture produces a surface reaction at the substrate to deposit a film. The pumping action draws the gas mixture down to the substrate surface in a laminar flow to reduce recirculation and radical recombination such that a sufficient amount of radicals are available at the substrate surface to take part in the surface reaction. Another method utilizes a gas-dispersing showerhead that is biased with RF energy to form an electrode which generates activated radicals and ions in a concentrated plasma close to the substrate surface. The activated plasma gas radicals and ions utilized in the invention contribute energy to the surface reaction such that the film may be deposited at a substantially lower deposition temperature that is necessary for traditional thermal CVD techniques. Furthermore, the activation of these species reduces the temperature needed to complete the surface reaction. The method is particularly useful in depositing titanium-containing films at low temperatures.

Method for producing titanium thin films by low temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using a rotating susceptor reactor

Low temperature deposition of CVD and PECVD films utilizes a gas-dispersing showerhead (36) position within one inch of a rotating substrate. The showerhead is positioned a suitable distance below a gas-dispensing ring (50, 52) such a steady state flow of gas develops between the ring and showerhead. A cylindrical structure extends between the gas-dispersing ring and a showerhead to contain the gas over the showerhead yielding a small boundary layer over the substrate. The showerhead is biased with RF energy such that it acts as an electrode to incite a plasma proximate with the substrate for PECVD. The cylinder (60) is isolated from the showerhead such as by a quartz insulator ring (62) to prevent ignition of a plasma within the cylinder, or alternatively, the cylinder is fabricated of quartz material. The RF showerhead utilizes small gas-dispersing holes (54) to further prevent ignition of a plasma within the cylinder.

Method and apparatus for low temperature deposition of cvd and pecvd films

Optical data storage has had a major impact on daily life since its introduction to the market in 1982. Compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), and Blu-ray discs (BDs) are universal data-storage formats with the advantage that the reading and writing of the digital data does not require contact and is therefore wear-free. These formats allow convenient and fast data access, high transfer rates, and electricity-free data storage with low overall archiving costs. The driving force for development in this area is the constant need for increased data-storage capacity and transfer rate. The use of holographic principles for optical data storage is an elegant way to increase the storage capacity and the transfer rate, because by this technique the data can be stored in the volume of the storage material and, moreover, it can be optically processed in parallel. This Review describes the fundamental requirements for holographic data-storage materials and compares the general concepts for the materials used. An overview of the performance of current read-write devices shows how far holographic data storage has already been developed.

From the surface to volume: concepts for the next generation of optical-holographic data-storage materials.

A sputtering target for fabricating a recording layer of a phase-change type optical recording medium contains a compound or mixture including as constituent elements Ag, In, Te and Sb with the respective atomic percent (atom. %) of α, β, γ and δ thereof being in the relationship of 2≦α≦30, 3≦β≦30, 10≦γ≦50, 15≦δ≦83 and α+β+γ+δ=100, and a method of producing the above sputtering target is provided. A phase-change type optical recording medium includes a recording layer containing as constituent elements Ag, In, Te and Sb with the respective atomic percent of α, β, γ and δ thereof being in the relationship of 0<α≦30, 0<β≦30, 10≦γ≦50, 10≦δ≦80, and α+β+γ+δ=100, and is capable of recording and erasing information by utilizing the phase changes of a recording material in the recording layer. A method of fabricating the above phase-change type optical recording medium is also provided.

Sputtering target, method of producing the target, optical recording medium fabricated by using the sputtering target, and method of fabricating the optical recording medium

The present invention provides a hologram recording material which is not required to be subjected to pre-exposure treatment at the time of recording, attains high refractive index change, high sensitivity, low scattering, environment resistance, durability, low dimensional change, and high multiplicity, and is suitable for volume hologram recording. Also, the present invention provides a hologram recording medium. A hologram recording material comprising a matrix material having a softening temperature of 50° C. or higher, and a photopolymerizable monomer which is in a liquid phase state at room temperature. The matrix material is preferably contained in an amount of 50% by weight or more and 90% by weight or less of the whole of the hologram recording material. A softening temperature of the hologram recording material is preferably 0° C. or higher.

Hologram recording material and hologram recording medium

A write once medium having a phase change recording layer is provided. In this medium, stable recorded state and high crystallizability of the recording layer are simultaneously realized. The optical recording medium has a recording layer 4 comprising at least one phase change layer 41 and at least one functional layer 42 in contact with the phase change layer. The component constituting the phase change layer 41 and the component constituting the functional layer 42 undergoes a reaction to produce a reaction product when the phase change layer 41 is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the phase change layer 41, and the area where the reaction product has formed experiences decrease in its optical reflectivity, and the optical reflectivity after such decrease is maintained even if the area wherein the reaction product has formed is heated to the crystallization temperature of the phase change layer.

Optical recording medium and optical recording method therefor

A magnetic thin film comprised of at least one, usually two magnetic metals selected from iron, nickel, and cobalt is vapor phase grown on a substrate, for example, polyimide film by introducing chemical compounds of the metals in vapor form, a reducing gas, and optionally, an oxidizing gas, into a vacuum chamber where the substrate is placed and preferably heated to a temperature of at least 100° C., and subjecting the reaction gases to plasma excitation, thereby achieving the vapor phase growth of the magnetic thin film on the substrate.

Magnetic thin film

A space optical modulator capable of quickly switching focal distance or light intensity distribution. This space optical modulator (10) comprises a number of micromirrors (14A, 14B, 14C, ) disposed on a base plate (12). The micromirrors (14A, 14B, 14C, ) are each given a reflection angle distribution such that for incident collimated light, the reflected light is focused on a point in a state of one reflection angle and is dispersed in a state of the other reflection angle.

Space optical modulator

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a holographic optical element for obtaining diffracted light of uniform intensity distribution and to provide a holographic recording / reproducing system using the same. SOLUTION: In the holographic optical element 10, the beam diameter of object light branched from laser beams from a light source 14 is expanded by a beam expander 22, the object light is made to be collimated light of intensity distribution being close to a rectangle function by an intensity filter 24 with low light transmittance close to the center of an optical path and then is made incident on a photosensitive material 11. At the same time reference light is obliquely made incident from a reference optical system 30 and interference fringes of the object light and the reference light are recorded as a diffraction grating in the photosensitive material 11. In the completed holographic optical element 10, the diffraction grating is formed so as to emit incident light with light intensity of Gaussian distribution as diffracted light of intensity distribution being closer to the rectangle function. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Jiro Yoshinari

Papers

Hologram recording material and hologram recording medium

Optical recording medium and optical recording method therefor

Magnetic thin film

Space optical modulator

Holographic optical element, its manufacturing method, and holographic recording system