Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation

Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Other

Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

The University of Tokyo

Hiroki Suto

Satoshi Shigematsu

Tadao Takeda

Kazuhiro Yaegawa

Masaaki Tanno

Naoki Sugino

Kenichi Saito

Hiroki Morimura

Hakaru Kyuragi

Motomu Kanai

Toshishige Shimamura

Yukio Okazaki

Mamoru Nakanishi

Ryuichi Ogawa

Kenzo Yamatsugu

Masaki Wakabayashi

Hitoshi Kurumizaka

Yuki Aoi

Yasuhiro Arimura

Nozomu Nagashima

Chikara Yamaguchi

Shigehiro Kawashima

Yoshifumi Amamoto

Akihisa Osakabe

Provided is a solid-state imaging element capable of thinning out the number of operations of AD conversion units while suppressing an influence of a noise component on the AD conversion units of other columns. A solid-state imaging element according to the present embodiment includes: a plurality of comparators that is provided corresponding to a plurality of pixel columns each including an array of a plurality of pixels that photoelectrically converts light and outputs a pixel signal, and compares the pixel signal with a reference signal; a reference signal generation unit that generates a common reference signal used to generate the reference signal, and a plurality of input circuits respectively corresponding to the plurality of pixel columns and provided between the plurality of comparators and the reference signal generation unit; a common input wiring through which the common reference signal is input to the plurality of input circuits; and a common output wiring that outputs the reference signal from the plurality of input circuits to the plurality of comparators, in which each of the plurality of input circuits includes: a first transistor having a gate connected to the common input wiring; and a first switch connected between a source of the first transistor and the common output wiring.

Solid-state imaging element

An imaging device according to the present disclosure has a stacked chip structure in which at least two semiconductor chips, that are a first semiconductor chip provided with a pixel circuit and a second semiconductor chip including an analog-to-digital (AD) conversion circuit which is provided so as to correspond to the pixel circuit, are stacked. The AD conversion circuit includes a latch circuit that retains a digital code after AD conversion and a transfer circuit that transfers the digital code after AD conversion. Further, a failure detection circuit for detecting a failure of the AD conversion circuit is provided. The failure detection circuit performs failure detection by writing a test pattern for failure detection into the latch circuit via the transfer circuit, then reading the test pattern from the latch circuit via the transfer circuit, and comparing the read test pattern with an expected value.

Imaging device and electronic apparatus

An artificial catalyst system which can acylate chromosome proteins with high selectivity has successfully been established by using a combination of an acyl CoA activating catalyst having target acylation area binding ability and acyl CoA or a derivative thereof.

Artificial catalyst system for selective acylation of chromosome protein

An imaging device includes a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns. The plurality of pixels include a first pixel and a second pixel. A first signal line is coupled to the first pixel. A second signal line is coupled to the second pixel. The imaging device includes first comparator and a second comparator displaced from the first comparator in a column direction. The imaging device includes a switch circuit configured to couple the first signal line to the first comparator and the second comparator, and couple the second signal line to the first comparator and the second comparator.

Imaging device with switch circuit

A turn signal switch device capable of setting angles (release angles) in case a first lever member deviates from an outer peripheral face of a canceling projection and advances into a rotational locus at the time of right-turn operation and left-turn operation to the same angle is provided. A bent portion that is bent toward a rotational locus of a canceling projection is formed on the side of a free end of a first arm portion that protrudes linearly from a winding portion of a torsion coil spring, and when a distal end of a first lever member is dragged by the rotation of the canceling projection, and rotates in a direction away from the winding portion of the torsion coil spring, a resilient force is given to the first lever member from the bent portion of the first arm portion and a distal end on the side of the free end.

Turn signal switch device

A thin film magnetic head includes a recording and playback element, a lead conductor layer for feeding a power to the recording and playback element, an electrically conductive bump for conductively connecting the lead conductor layer to an electrode pad for external connection, and an insulating protective layer filling between the recording and playback element and the electrically conductive bump. A thermal deformation-preventing layer composed of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient smaller than that of the insulating protective layer is disposed in the insulating protective layer in such a way as to locate between a medium-facing surface and the electrically conductive bump without being exposed at the medium-facing surface. In the resulting thin film magnetic head, protrusion of the recording and playback element toward the recording medium side can be prevented without changing the configuration of the recording and playback element nor the forming material.

Switch stalk device

A certificate authority for certifying the validity of the collation result from a user terminal is placed on a communication network. The user terminal identifies a user himself or herself by collation by using biometrical information of the user. In response to notification of the collation result from the user terminal across the communication network, a service providing apparatus requests across the communication network the certificate authority to certify the validity of the collation result. When a certificate which certifies the validity of the collation result is notified from the certificate authority across the communication network, the service providing apparatus provides a predetermined service to the user.

Network authentication system, method, and program, service providing apparatus, certificate authority, and user terminal

An image capturing apparatus includes an image capturing section and capture control section. The image capturing section converts the shape of an object into an electrical quantity in accordance with the parameter value set in a parameter setting section, and outputs image data representing an image corresponding to the shape of the object. The capture control section receives the image data output from the image capturing section, calculates an evaluation index for evaluating the image quality of the image from the image data. If the evaluation index falls outside the range of a preset reference value, the capture control section changes the parameter value set in the parameter setting section so as to make the evaluation index fall within the range of the reference value to output the image data which is received from the image capturing section and the evaluation index of which falls within the range of the reference value. An image capturing method and a fingerprint collation method and apparatus are also disclosed.

Image capturing method and apparatus and fingerprint collation method and apparatus

In order to provide a built-in self testing function, a one-chip microcomputer is equipped with an activation register for activating the test operation and a built-in self test activation pattern generator for setting initial values at test control circuits (pseudo random number generator, logical circuit testing compressor, pattern generator, and memory testing compressor). In accordance with an instruction from the CPU, a built-in self test is activated so that the results of tests of the memory and the group of logical circuits are read from the memory testing compressor and the logical circuit testing compressor, and respectively compared with expected values preliminarily stored in the memory in the one-chip microcomputer; thus, the results are diagnosed. Thus, it is possible to carry out a built-in self test without using a plurality of exclusively-used test terminals.

One-chip microcomputer and control method thereof as well as an IC card having such a one-chip microcomputer

A 1-chip microcomputer having a built-in nonvolatile memory includes at least one erasable flash memory provided in a memory space of the microcomputer, a boot ROM for storing an initial program to start up the 1-chip microcomputer and a transfer program to transfer the initial program to the flash memory, and control means for, when the flash memory stores no program, transferring the initial program to the flash memory in accordance with the transfer program and subsequently removing the boot ROM from the memory space. Consequently, even if a new program is additionally stored to the nonvolatile memory in the 1-chip microcomputer, the additional program can be carried out.

Microcomputer having built-in nonvolatile memory for simultaneous use as a program area and a data area

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Hiroki Suto