Fab Solutions, Inc.

Nec Corporation

Topcon Corporation

Shin-kobe Electric Machinery Co., Ltd.

Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd.

Keizo Yamada

Takeo Ushiki

Tohru Tsujide

Yousuke Itagaki

Hideo Makishima

Toshihide Kuriyama

Hironori Imura

Yohsuke Itagaki

Yoshinori Tomihari

Yoshiaki Machiyama

Takeshi Inoue

Tetsuya Matsumoto

Kenichi Maeda

Tokiyoshi Hirasawa

Ichiro Shimoura

Mitsuyoshi Kanoh

Yoshifumi Yamada

Yukio Iida

Satoshi Minoura

Yoshinari Morimoto

Masahiko Amano

Shun Kobuse

Yoshiki Hama

Kouji Ohtsu

Yosuke Itagaki

Takashi Hara

Tohoru Tsujide

Tetsuro Ookoshi

Yoshihisa Okuda

Kouji Othsu

In a battery system that connects a plurality of types of batteries through a switch SW, when the switch SW is switched at a voltage (charge rate), it has been possible to increase a stored charge during charging, depending on the DC resistance of the battery. An object of the present invention is to provide switch SW switching control so that the stored charge can further be increased. A first feature of the present invention is to provide a battery system in which a first battery and a second battery are connected in parallel through the switch SW, including an estimator which estimates the charging current by measuring the resistance and OCV of each battery. The battery system can further increase the stored charge by switching to a switch SW combination that can increase the stored charge.

Battery system

A direct-current power source apparatus in which a lithium-ion capacitor unit is used as an electric storage system and which can fully utilize the lithium-ion capacitor unit and maintain the supply of electricity to a load is provided. An electric storage system includes a lithium-ion capacitor unit and a lead-acid battery connected in parallel with a load, and a voltage detecting section that detects the voltage of the lithium-ion capacitor unit. When the voltage detecting section detects that the voltage of the lithium-ion capacitor unit has reached a unit lower-limit voltage, a control circuit outputs a conduction signal for causing a switching circuit to get into a conductive state. When the switching circuit gets into a conductive state, the secondary battery supplies an electric power to a motor. At this time, the secondary battery charges the lithium-ion capacitor unit.

Direct-current power source apparatus

A battery state determining apparatus is provided which can accurately determine a state of a lead battery in an automotive vehicle. The apparatus calculates a corrected engine starting voltage Vstfrom an open-circuit voltage (OCV) measuring section that measures the open circuit voltage Vst of the lead battery at an engine starting time in accordance with a temperature of the vehicle. The apparatus further calculates a battery determination voltage Vst_th representing a voltage of the lead battery at an engine starting time when a growth rate of internal resistance of the lead battery reaches a predetermined value from the open-circuit voltage OCV. The apparatus then determines the battery state of the lead battery by determining whether the corrected engine starting voltage Vstis larger than the battery determination voltage Vst_th and whether the corrected engine starting voltage Vstbelongs to a predetermined region on a characteristic map.

Battery state determining apparatus

A semiconductor wafer is radiated with an electron beam so that the inelastic scattering takes place in the narrow region, and current flows out from the narrow region; the amount of current is dependent on the substance or substances in the narrow region so that the analyst evaluates the degree of contamination on the basis of the substance or substances specified in the narrow region.

Surface contamination analyzer for semiconductor wafers

Surface contamination analyzer for semiconductor wafers, method used therein and process for fabricating semiconductor device

A storage battery unit () including a storage battery () and a monitoring device () that monitors a state of the storage battery using an output of the storage battery as an input, wherein, in order to prevent the monitoring device from consuming electric power in a state before use of the storage battery and prevent nonfunctioning of the monitoring device in use of the storage battery, a starting circuit () is provided between the storage battery and the monitoring device (), the starting circuit including: a main switch that holds an OFF state in a state before a load is connected to the storage battery and interrupts supply of electric power from the storage battery () to the monitoring device; and a switch drive circuit that detects a reduction in terminal voltage of the storage battery that occurs when the load exceeding the set value is connected to the storage battery, and sets the main switch to an ON state.

Storage battery unit

A defective position of a sample to be tested is detected by irradiating the test sample and another test sample with electron beam while scanning the test samples, storing values of current generated in the test samples correspondingly to election beam irradiation positions as current waveforms and comparing the current waveforms.

Semiconductor device test method for comparing a first area with a second area

A defective position of a sample to be tested is detected by irradiating the test sample and another test sample with electron beam while scanning the test samples, storing values of current generated in the test samples correspondingly to electron beam irradiation positions as current waveforms and comparing the current waveforms.

Semiconductor device test method and semiconductor device tester

A system and method is disclosed for obtaining information regarding one or more contact and/or via holes on a semiconductor wafer. In one embodiment, the method obtains information regarding one or more holes (for example, via or contact) that are disposed in a semiconductor wafer or disposed in a layer which is disposed on or above the semiconductor wafer. The method of this embodiment comprises irradiating the one or more holes with an electron beam; and determining information relating to a bottom diameter or a bottom circumference of the one or more holes using data which is representative of an amount of substrate current which is generated in response to irradiating the one or more holes with an electron beam.

Semiconductor device tester

A production managing system for semiconductor devices includes, in a semiconductor producing center C, production devices-for producing semiconductor devices, in-line measuring devices-for measuring data of a lot, a databasestoring data of production methods, the measured data, the specifications of the process steps corresponding to the measured data, the estimated yield, the data of lot input date and hour, the data of the scheduled date on which the process step is performed, the data of actual date of completion in every step and the data of the scheduled date of completion of the semiconductor devices of every lot, correspondingly to a lot number data of the semiconductor devices (chips) and a serverincluding an estimated yield operating unitfor calculating the estimated yield, which is a final yield, on the basis of the specifications and the measured data, and a production managing unitfor performing a production management of semiconductor devices ordered by a user on the basis of the respective data inputted by the user and the estimated yield, wherein a user terminal of the user not only performs a determination whether or not the process processing in every process is normal but also estimates the final number of normal products ordered by the user and obtainable finally.

Production managing system of semiconductor device

The present invention provides a standard test device used for testing a hole of a semiconductor device. The standard test device has a structure which comprises: at least a dummy film on a base surface; at least an insulating layer which has at least one opening penetrating through the insulating layer, so that a part of a top surface of the at least dummy film is shown through the at least one opening, wherein the at least dummy film has a predetermined constant thickness at least around the at least one opening. The standard test device makes it easily possible to determine or measure a thickness of a residual film on a bottom of the contact hole.

Contact hole standard test device, method of forming the same, method of testing contact hole, method and apparatus for measuring a thickness of a film, and method of testing a wafer

An apparatus for measuring the thickness of thin-film cause electron beams of first and second energies to strike thin-film to be measured that is formed on a silicon substrate, and measures the first substrate current value of current flowing in the substrate when it is struck by an electron beam of a first energy and the second substrate current value of current flowing in the substrate when it is struck by an electron beam of a second energy. The thin-film measuring apparatus obtains reference data indicating a relationship between the film thickness and a reference function having as variables the substrate current for the case of an electron beam of the first energy striking a standard sample and the substrate current for the case of an electron beam of the second energy striking the standard sample, and calculates the thickness of the thin-film under measurement based on the first and second substrate current values, giving consideration to the reference data.

Film thickness measuring apparatus and a method for measuring a thickness of a film

In one aspect, the present invention is a system and method for obtaining information regarding one or more contact holes and/or vias on a semiconductor wafer. In this regard, in one embodiment, the system comprises an electron gun to irradiate an electron beam, having a variable acceleration voltage, on the one or more contact holes and/or vias. The system further includes a current measuring device, coupled to the semiconductor wafer, may measure a compensation current, wherein the compensation current is generated in response to the electron beam irradiated at a plurality of acceleration voltages on the one or more contact holes. The system also includes a data processor, coupled to the current measuring device, to determine information relating to the one or more contact holes and/or vias using the compensation current measured for the plurality of acceleration voltages of the electron beam.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Keizo Yamada