Sony Corporation

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

Hideki Hirano

Kenji Shinozaki

Shuji Sato

Yukichi Murata

Mio Ishida

Kengo Ito

Ikuo Yoshihara

Minoru Kohno

Akiko Ogino

Osamu Matsuda

Toshimasa Kobayashi

Kenju Nishikido

Hidemi Tomita

Miyuki Kuromiya

Hiroyuki Shiota

Masanori Ogata

Takayuki Fujioka

Haruhiko Ajisawa

Iwao Sugiura

Nobutoshi Asai

Koichi Kawasumi

Yukie Otani

Mari Seki

A solid-state imaging device includes: a photodiode formed to be segmented with respect to each pixel in a pixel area in which plural pixels are integrated on a light receiving surface of a semiconductor substrate; an insulator film formed on the semiconductor substrate to cover the photodiode; a recessed part formed with respect to each of the pixels in the insulator film in an upper part of the photodiode; a first light transmission layer of a siloxane resin formed to fill the recessed part and configure an optical waveguide in the pixel area; a second light transmission layer formed to configure an on-chip lens with respect to each of the pixels in the pixel area; and a guard ring formed to surround an outer circumference of the pixel area to partition an inner area containing the pixel area and an outer dicing area.

Solid-state imaging device

Semiconductor imaging device having ligth transmission layers formed relative to a guard ring structure in a predetermined manner

A thermal transfer printer head for discharging ink by heating ink to transfer ink to a transfer member. A sub-wall is provided in a supply passage adjacent to a transfer portion to raise the liquid level of ink in the supply passage so as to prevent a breakpoint of ink in the supply passage. Thus, ink consumed in the transfer portion is spontaneously replenished to the transfer portion through the supply passage by a capillary phenomenon so that continuous supply of ink to the transfer portion is smoothly performed. The structure is formed such that ink in an excessively large quantity is not introduced into a portion above a heater provided for the transfer portion. As a result, even if the wettability of an ink holding structure formed above the heater is raised owning to adhesion of thermally degraded substances or the like, introduction of ink into the portion above the heater in a large quantity and rapid change in the quantity of transferred ink can be prevented.

Printer head and printer

Printing paper is provided which has a mixture layer including inorganic filler and hydrophobic resin formed on a piece of paper as a substrate for making a dye sprayed by vaporization or ablation adhere to the printing paper, and a printing method is provided which forms images on the printing paper by spraying a vaporized dye on the mixture layer without bringing the printing paper and the dye into contact with each other.

Print medium and printing method

Disclosed are a recording method and a recording apparatus which are superior in transfer performance such as transfer sensitivity and transfer speed. When causing ink held in a transfer section to fly upon heating by a heater to be transferred onto a transfer target member placed opposite to the transfer section, a surface tension gradient and/or an interface tension gradient is developed in the surface of the ink under the heating, and the ink is forced to fly in the form of a mist by utilizing the Marangoni flow of the ink caused by the surface tension gradient and/or the interface tension gradient.

Recording method and recording apparatus

In a recording substance (ink 22) supplied to transfer to a body to be recorded on (printing paper 50) and effect prescribed recording on this body to be recorded on, the content of residual impurities which after the recording do not transfer to the body to be recorded on and remain is made less than 2wt %. As a result, the occurrence of residual impurities (residual solids) produced on the head during recording is prevented, the influences of such residual impurities are avoided and high quality recording with excellent sensitivity and tonal reproducibility is always obtained.

Recording substance and manufacturing method thereof, recording method

The present invention provides a recording solution for vaporization type heat transfer recording which produces no precipitate in a recording operation and thus no problem of burning in a vaporization portion. The recording solution for vaporization type heat transfer recording in which the recording solution is vaporized to be transferred to a recording material contains a dye, a solvent having a melting point of 0.degree. C. or less, and a compatibilier for increasing the solubility of the dye in the solvent. Particularly, when the temperature at which the weight loss by vaporization is 10% in thermogravimetric analysis at a rate of temperature rise of 20 C./min., is defined as the vaporization start temperature, the different between the vaporization start temperatures of any desired two of the dye, the solvent and the compatibilizer is set to 100.degree. C. or less.

Recording solution for vaporization type heat transfer recording

A thermal transfer recording material for use in a recording apparatus in which said thermal transfer recording material is introduced into a transfer section having a porous structure by an effect of capillarity, subjected to a state transformation by heating, and then transferred to a recording medium disposed opposed to said transfer section, comprising: a dye having a melting point of 160.degree. C. or lower, selected from the group consisting of a dye represented by the general formula (I): ##STR1## wherein A.sup.1, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are as defined, and a dye represented by the general formula (II): ##STR2## wherein A.sup.2, R.sup.3 and R.sup.4 are as defined.

Thermal transfer recording material

A thermal transfer recording material for use in a recording apparatus in which the thermal transfer recording material is introduced into a transfer section having a porous structure by an effect of capillarity, subjected to a state transformation by heating, and then transferred to a recording medium disposed in an opposed relation to the transfer section, comprising:

Thermal transfer recording material and thermal transfer recording

During the recording where a liquid dye 22 supplied through a dye passage 27 is supplied to a vaporizing means 17 due to the capillarity of many small columns 21 within a vessel formed by coupling of a glass base 14 and a Teflon protection plate 290, the liquid dye in the vaporizing means is vaporized by irradiation of the laser beam L and the vaporized dye is transmitted to a photographic paper 50 passing a vaporization hole (aperture) 23 for the purpose of recording. The protection plate 290 has a critical surface tension against the liquid dye which is smaller than a surface tension of the liquid dye. Since the critical surface tension of the protection plate 290 is set smaller than a surface tension of the liquid dye, wettability of the liquid dye against the internal wall surface of the vaporizing hole 23 is low and the liquid dye left unvaporized at the vaporizing hole 17 at the time of recording is never deposited on the internal wall surface of the vaporizing hole. Therefore, the vaporizing hole is always kept clear, transfer of the vaporized dye 32 to the photographic paper is never prevented due to deposition of dye to the vapotizing hole and thereby excellent recording quality can always be guaranteed.

Recording device

A thermal transfer recording device in which a gap is provided between a layer of a transfer dye and an object of transfer recording and in which the transfer dye is supplied to a transfer section and subsequently vaporized by heating so as to be transferred onto the object of transfer recording wherein, with the density of the transfer dye .rho., the surface tension of the transfer dye .gamma. and with the period of heating .omega., a unit width d of a spatial structure of the transfer section is given by

Thermal transfer recording device

A recording method of ink jet system which employs a recording solution composed of a dye which vaporizes more than 90 wt % upon heating at a temperature above 300.degree. C., leaving residues in an amount less than 10 wt %, and a solvent having a boiling point higher than 150.degree. C. which dissolves or disperses the dye more than 5 wt % at a temperature below 50.degree. C., the recording solution being heated at the time of recording by the recording solution heating unit which has a porous structure formed thereon which is composed of fine parts whose dimension in the plane direction is 0.2-3 .mu.m and whose dimension in the direction perpendicular to the plane direction is 2-15 .mu.m. This recording method makes use of the advantage of both the thermal transfer system and the ink jet system. Thus, it realizes a high resolution and a gradation within a picture element, produces high-quality images promptly, permits the printer to be made small and light, involves no waste materials, permits printing on plain paper, and needs a less amount of power and running cost.

Recording method and recording solution

A recording head and a recording apparatus using this recording head with which while exploiting the merits of an ink-vaporizing laser beam printer it is also possible to maintain good performance during repeated ink transfer. In a printer head 40 and a printer 81 which vaporize a recording substance 22 and transfer it onto a body to be recorded on 50, the radius of the circle having as its circumference the overall length of the inner periphery of an aperture 33 for discharging vaporized recording substance 32 to the body to be recorded on 50 side is 5 .mu.m to 300 .mu.m and is made smaller than the radius of the circle having as its circumference the overall length of the inner periphery of a supply part 27 for supplying the recording substance 22 to this aperture 33; as a result, a sufficient capillary phenomenon drawing action on the recording substance is maintained in the aperture and the amount of recording substance supplied from the supply part to the aperture can be kept sufficient even during repeated transfer, the amount of recording substance supplied corresponding to the transfer rate can be secured and the vaporized amount (transfer amount) can be kept full.

Recording head and recording apparatus

A recording unit structure comprising a recording material layer faced to a recording body with a space incorporated therebetween, so that said recording material is vaporized and transferred to said recording body through said space, provided that pores are provided to a vaporizing portion of the recording material in such a manner that the pores be present within the layer of the recording material. The recording unit structure of the present invention assures a recording of excellent quality, is made compact and light weight, yields a high thermal efficiency, and produces no used ink sheets and other wastes. The present invention also relates to a recording device comprising the same.

Recording unit structure and recording device

A thermal transfer recording material for use in a recording apparatus in which the thermal transfer recording material is introduced into a transfer section having a porous structure by an effect of capillarity, subjected to a state transformation such as vaporization or droplet formation by heating, and then transferred to a recording medium disposed opposed to the transfer section, comprising: a dye having a molecular weight of 400 or less and represented by the general formula (I): ##STR1## where A is a substituted or unsubstituted p-phenylene group, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are individually a hydrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl or alkenyl group, a cycloalkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group; and R.sup.1 may constitute a heterocyclic group composed of a five- or six-member ring in combination with the p-phenylene group A and a nitrogen atom adjacent to the p-phenylene group A, or another heterocyclic group composed of a five- or six-member ring in combination with R.sup.2 and the nitrogen atom adjacent to the p-phenylene group A.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Hideki Hirano