Hitachi-High-Technologies Corporation

Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Hitachi, Ltd.

Yamatake Corporation

Yamatake-Honeywell Co., Ltd.

Hiroyuki Muto

Yoshimi Kawanami

Hiroyasu Shichi

Shinichi Matsubara

Tohru Ishitani

Kenji Baba

Yuichi Madokoro

Kazushige Hatori

Hironori Moritani

Hideo Kobayashi

Yoichi Ose

Norihide Saho

Yusuke Yamamoto

Tomihiro Hashizume

Tsuyoshi Ohnishi

Noriaki Arai

Hiroyasu Kaga

Isamu Sekihara

Shoji Kamiunten

Mitsuhiko Nagata

Yasuhiro Kajio

A photoelectric conversion apparatus includes a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, and a control circuit configured to control the plurality of pixels. Each of the plurality of pixels include a photoelectric conversion unit configured to generate a signal charge, a floating diffusion unit, a transfer transistor configured to transfer the signal charge to the floating diffusion unit, and a transistor configured to be electrically connected to the floating diffusion unit. The control circuit outputs a row selection pulse configured to select the pixel arranged in a row direction, and a pixel control pulse having a rise time longer than a rise time of the row selection pulse. The pixel control pulse is entered to a gate of the transistor.

Photoelectric conversion apparatus and system

A signal processing circuit includes a detection unit configured to detect generation of a peak in an analog signal based on an input of a photon, an A/D conversion unit configured to perform A/D conversion of a signal value into digital data of bits by determining a value of each of the bits from an upper bit to a lower bit, and a control unit configured to control the A/D conversion unit so that, in a case in which the generation of a second peak of the analog signal is detected during the A/D conversion of a signal value of a first peak of the analog signal, the A/D conversion of the signal value of the first peak will be interrupted and the A/D conversion of a signal value of the second peak will be started.

Signal processing circuit and signal processing method

This invention provide a PWM outputting circuit that, from pattern data represented by a plurality of bits representing a pulse width, generates a pulse width modulation signal, wherein the circuit comprises a multi-phase-clock generating circuit which generates a multi-phase clock which is a plurality of clocks of mutually different phases; an edge-pulse generating circuit which, from the pattern data that is inputted, detects a bit position of a rising-edge and a bit position of a falling-edge in the pulse width modulation signal, and generates a rising-edge-pulse and a falling-edge-pulse based on the detection; and an SR latch circuit which, by the rising-edge-pulse being inputted to a set terminal and the falling-edge-pulse being inputted to a reset terminal, generates and outputs the pulse width modulation signal.

PWM outputting circuit and image forming apparatus having the same

In order to provide an ion beam apparatus excellent in safety and stability even when a sample is irradiated with hydrogen ions, the ion beam apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, a gas field ion source that is installed in the vacuum chamber and has an emitter tip, and gas supply means for supplying a gas to the emitter tip. The gas supply means includes a mixed gas chamber that is filled with a hydrogen gas and a gas for diluting the hydrogen gas below an explosive lower limit.

Ion beam device

In this invention, vibrations generated by a freezer from a cooling mechanism for cooling an ion source emitter tip are prevented from being transmitted to the emitter tip as much as possible, while the cooling capability of the cooling mechanism is improved widely. The ion beam device () is equipped with: an ion source housing () provided with an emitter tip () and defining an ion source chamber () supplied with an ionization gas or gas molecules; a gas pot () provided in the ion source chamber () so as to be thermally connected to the emitter tip () and accommodated so as to have no direct physical contact with a cooling stage () of a freezer (); and a spacer () provided on the peripheral surface of the cooling stage () housed by the gas pot () and maintaining a given interval or greater between the peripheral surface of the cooling stage () and the internal peripheral surface of the gas pot ().

The objective of the present invention is to provide an ion beam device capable of forming a nanopyramid stably having one atom at the front end of an emitter tip even when the cooling temperature is lowered in order to observe a sample with a high signal-to-noise ratio. In the present invention, the ion beam device, wherein an ion beam generated from an electric field-ionized gas ion source is irradiated onto the sample to observe or process the sample, holds the temperature of the emitter tip at a second temperature higher than a first temperature for generating the ion beam and lower than room temperature, sets the extraction voltage to a second voltage higher than the first voltage used when generating the ion beam, and causes field evaporation of atoms at the front end of the emitter tip, when forming the nanopyramid having one atom at the front end of the emitter tip.

Ion beam device and emitter tip adjustment method

Provided is an ion source emitter that does not cause significant extraction voltage changes even when an apex portion of the emitter is repeatedly regenerated. The emitter has a shape of a triangular pyramid with the single atom at the apex. An apex portion of the emitter is substantially shaped like a hexagon when viewed from the apex side.

Emitter, gas field ion source, and ion beam device

The present invention enables high-speed and high-precision correction of a ghost detected in a spectrum measuring apparatus. A ghost is detected from spectrum data of reference light measured by the apparatus, and for each wavelength of input light, a light amount ratio &#x3b1; of the input light to the corresponding ghost, as well as a shift amount di indicative of a wavelength difference between the input light and the corresponding ghost are acquired. For each spectrum wavelength of the measured light, wavelength shifting for the corresponding shift amount di and multiplication of the light amount ratio (or intensity ratio) &#x3b1; are performed for estimating the ghost. By removing the estimated ghost from the measured light, it is possible to realize high-precision ghost correction with a reduced amount of calculation and a reduced amount of memory.

Image processing apparatus and image processing method

To avoid a glow discharge during the use of a conventional gas ionization chamber, there is no alternative but to increase a gas pressure. Therefore, while a conventional gas ionization chamber is used, an ion current cannot be increased by raising a gas introduction pressure. An object of the present invention is to increase the ion current by raising the gas pressure and prevent an ion beam from being scattered by an ionization gas. The gas is supplied from a structure maintained at a ground potential to prevent the application of a high voltage to the vicinity of an ionization gas introduction port at which the gas pressure is relatively high. Further, the ionization gas existing in a region through which the ion beam passes is preferentially reduced by performing differential evacuation from a lens opening in a lens electrode that forms an acceleration/focusing lens.

Ion beam device having gas introduction port disposed on structure maintained at ground potential

To provide a gas field ion source having a high angular current density, the gas field ion source is configured such that at least a base body of an emitter tip configuring the gas field ion source is a single crystal metal, such that the apex of the emitter tip is formed into a pyramid shape or a cone shape having a single atom at the top, and such that the extraction voltage in the case of ionizing helium gas by the single atom is set to 10 kV or more.

Gas field ion source and method for using same, ion beam device, and emitter tip and method for manufacturing same

It is difficult to appropriately estimate the colorimetric values of an arbitrary patch at a desired temperature with respect to a medium containing a fluorescent whitening agent in consideration of the influence of the fluorescent whitening agent. A target temperature and media type are designated (S, S), patches of a plurality of colors are formed on a set medium, and a temperature immediately after fixing (second temperature), patch colorimetric values, and medium white colorimetric values are acquired (S, S). Medium white calorimetric values at the target temperature are generated based on the acquired medium white calorimetric values and medium white colorimetric values at a first temperature, which are acquired in advance (S). Patch calorimetric values at the target temperature are estimated based on the generated medium white colorimetric values and patch colorimetric values.

Image processing using colorimetric values

It is difficult to appropriate estimate the colorimetric values of an arbitrary patch at a desired temperature with respect to an arbitrary medium in consideration of the influence of a fluorescent whitening agent contained in the medium. Target patch colorimetric values obtained when patches of a plurality of colors formed on a medium using color samples are measured at a target temperature designated in step S. This estimation is implemented when both media-dependent variation correction processing (S) that estimates patch colorimetric values based on the temperature characteristics of the medium, and toner-dependent variation correction processing (S) that estimates patch colorimetric values based on the temperature characteristics of the color samples are executed. By correcting image data whose image is to be formed based on the target patch colorimetric values (S), an arbitrary color patch on an arbitrary medium can be coped with.

Media-dependent image processing

The colorimetric values of a plurality of reference color patches formed on a specific medium are measured at a plurality of temperatures, and a temperature characteristic LUT in a colorimetric value temperature correction unit is created based on the colorimetric values. Upon creating a calibration LUT, a patch based on arbitrary device values is formed on the medium, and a patch temperature and colorimetric values are acquired immediately after fixing of that patch. A correction target temperature as a temperature upon observation of the medium is, for example, fixed, the colorimetric values are corrected by interpolation processing based on the temperature characteristic LUT to obtain colorimetric values, and a calibration LUT is created based on the colorimetric values.

Image processing apparatus and color processing method

An object of the present invention relates to realizing the processing of a sample by charged particle beams and the monitoring of the processed cross-section with a high throughput. It is possible to process an accurate sample without an intended region lost even when the location and the size of the intended region are unknown by: observing a cross-sectional structure being processed by FIBs by using a secondary particle image generated from a sample by the ion beams shaving a cross section; forming at least two cross sections; and processing the sample while the processing and the monitoring of a processed cross section are carried out.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Hiroyuki Muto