Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Masaya Nagata

Hideo Nojima

Hidetaka Shintaku

Shuhei Tsuchimoto

Masayoshi Koba

Kaoru Higuchi

Jun Kudo

Ryusuke Kita

Masaaki Ozaki

Yasuyuki Itoh

Masayoshi Tsunezawa

Eizo Ohno

Shun Mitarai

Nobuhito Ogata

Kazuya Ishihara

Shoei Kataoka

Seiichi Yokoyama

Hiroshi Ishii

Hiroshi Wada

Atsushi Yoshinouchi

Shinobu Yamazaki

Masataka Itoh

Katsushi Okibayashi

Manabu Fujimoto

Akira Okutoh

Takuya Otabe

Soji Ohhara

Shoei Katoka

According to a service management method to supply products-in-circulation to service receivers, a service management system is built that enables the service provider to manage whether the service receivers are using those products-in-circulation delivered from the service provider in an authorized manner. This provides a reasonable service whereby the service receiver is charged only for those products-in-circulation the service receiver has actually used. To this end, the service management device in accordance with the present invention includes: a memory section for registering data of products-in-circulation to be delivered to the service receivers; an input section for entering current status of the products-in-circulation; and an arithmetic processing section for calculating charges on the basis of the number of products-in-circulation that are regarded as having been actually used, not the total number of the delivered product-in-circulations.

Service management method, product-in-circulation to which the same is applied, service management device, service management network system, service management program, and computer readable program product with the program stored thereon

A service management method of the present invention is provided so as to enable a service provider to easily obtain information on a user's usage conditions after the sales of a software package, and to provide the user with service to give him a chance and motivation to use a function which is available in the software package but is seldom used. To attain these objects, the service management method of the present invention includes a step for preparing a file showing usage conditions of a plurality of functions constituting the software package, a step for detecting that a function is selected or performed, and a step for updating the file so as to distinguish the detected function from an undetected function.

Service management method, service management program, and information recording medium recording the program

On a silicon substrate, there are formed a silicon oxide, an adhesion layerconsisting of TiO, a lower electrodeconsisting of Pt, a ferroelectric thin film, and an upper electrodeconsisting of Pt. A portion of the ferroelectric thin film adjacent to the upper electrodeis formed from a compound with a composition formula of SrBi(TaNb)Owhere x=0.7. A compound with a value x in the composition formula being greater than 0.7 is used for the portion of the ferroelectric thin film adjacent to the upper electrode, so as to generate an appropriate number of grain boundaries on the surface of the ferroelectric film, the grain boundaries enabling implementation of anchoring effect between the ferroelectric filmand the upper electrode, thereby achieving prevention of exfoliation of the upper electrodefrom the ferroelectric film. Therefore, the semiconductor memory device is free from exfoliation of the upper electrode film from the dielectric film and has a good yield.

Semiconductor memory device including a capacitor an upper electrode of which being resistant of exfoliation

A terminal of a service provider is characterized in that it includes: a storage unit for registering unique information on a machine of a contract signer; a communications unit for detecting information on a remaining amount of a consumable article in the machine via telephone lines as a network; and a processing unit for making an instruction to dispatch a new machine to the contract signer if the remaining amount of the consumable article has reached a specified value. A comprehensive and essential service is provided covering from sales to continuous use of the machine, by which consumable articles are managed, replaced, and collected without requiring any work done by machine users or any financial burden borne by manufacturers selling the machine.

Machine managing method, machine managed by such method, machine managing device, machine managing system, and machine managing program

A semiconductor memory device includes: a capacitor formed on a substrate and including a lower electrode, a dielectric film and an upper electrode; a selection transistor formed at the substrate; an electrically conductive plug for providing electrical connection between the selection transistor and the capacitor; and a diffusion barrier film provided between the electrically conductive plug and the lower electrode of the capacitor. The diffusion barrier film is a Ta Si N film or a Hf Si N film (where 0.2<x<1 and 0<y<1). The lower electrode includes an Ir film and an IrO film which are sequentially formed.

Semiconductor device including capacitor with lower electrode including iridium and iridium oxide layers

A semiconductor memory device includes: a capacitor formed on a substrate and including a lower electrode, a dielectric film and an upper electrode; a selection transistor formed at the substrate; an electrically conductive plug for providing electrical connection between the selection transistor and the capacitor; and a diffusion barrier film provided between the electrically conductive plug and the lower electrode of the capacitor. The diffusion barrier film is a Ta,Si,N,film or a Hf,Si,N,film (where 0.2<x<1 and 0<y<1). The lower electrode includes an Ir film and an IrO,film which are sequentially formed.

Semiconductor memory device and production method of the same

In a method for fabrication a semiconductor memory device which has a capacitor having a lower electrode, a dielectric film and an upper electrode stacked in this order, after the dielectric film is formed to a desired film thickness, the dielectric film is flattened by removing the dielectric film by a specified amount. The upper electrode is formed on the flattened

Methods for fabricating a semiconductor memory device including flattening of a capacitor dielectric film

In a semiconductor storage device in a stack structure wherein a capacitor section having an upper electrode, a dielectric layer, and a lower electrode is connected with a transistor section by a plug, the lower electrode is formed in contact with the plug. The lower electrode is formed of at least an oxide of a platinum-rhodium alloy. In addition to the oxide of a platinum-rhodium alloy, platinum and/or a platinum-rhodium alloy can be used as materials for forming the lower electrode. The plug is formed of polysilicon or tungsten. When the plug is formed of polysilicon, the lower electrode is formed by sequentially laminating, for example, a film of the oxide of the platinum-rhodium alloy, a film of the platinum-rhodium alloy, and a film of the oxide of the platinum-rhodium alloy on the plug.

Semiconductor storage device having a capacitor electrode formed of at least a platinum-rhodium oxide

An image recording apparatus includes a discharge head and a discharge control device. The discharge head includes an ink chamber with a discharge hole, a first heater for heating and gasifying ink, a shutter unit, provided at the discharge hole portion, controlled to discharge gasified ink intermittently according to an electrical signal corresponding to image data to be recorded, and a first member for maintaining the temperature of the discharge hole sufficiently lower than the temperature of the first heater in operation of the first heater before initiation and after completion of image data recording. The discharge control device controls the shutter unit.

Image recording apparatus gasifying and discharging ink for forming

In a semiconductor storage device, a capacitor section is connected with a drain region of a MOS transistor by means of a polysilicon plug. The capacitor section has a lower electrode, a ferroelectric thin film, and an upper electrode stacked in this order. A TiN barrier metal is placed between the lower electrode and the plug. The lower electrode has a lower film made of a platinum-rhodium alloy and an upper film made of a platinum-rhodium alloy oxide which is in contact with the ferroelectric thin film.

Semiconductor storage device having a capacitor and a MOS transistor

A second heating device heats an inner wall of an ink chamber of a print head to a temperature not lower than the melting point but not higher than evaporating temperature of ink 3, for a prescribed time period after the end of printing, based on a signal from a second heating control device. Consequently, the ink solidified and deposited on the inner wall of ink chamber and not used for printing is liquefied and recovered to the ink chamber to be used for the next printing.

Method and apparatus for image recording by emitting evaporated ink onto

An image printing apparatus for forming an image on a printing medium includes: a printing head including two ink chambers and a shutter; a heater provided under the two ink chambers; a charging electrode provided between the printing medium and the two ink chambers; a back electrode provided on a side of the printing medium which is opposite a side on which the image is formed; a controller associated with the shutter, the heater and the charging electrode.

Image printing apparatus

In response to a vertical synchronizing signal generated from a vertical synchronizing signal generator, a microcomputer forms a predetermined image on a print sheet using a printer head on the basis of image data applied from an image memory. The microcomputer controls the rotation of a motor so that the move position of the print sheet is set to a predetermined position with a vertical synchronizing signal as the reference after an edge of the print sheet is detected by a sheet sensor.

Image forming apparatus for forming an image in synchronization with a

A superconducting magnetoresistive element has superconducting portions having a high critical current density and weak-coupling portions having a low critical current density. The superconducting portions and weak-coupling portions are alternately arranged and connected in series. The superconducting magnetoresistive element is fabricated, for example, by forming semiconductor films at a plurality of sites on a substrate in a manner that the semiconductor films are spaced from each other, then forming a superconducting thin film all over the substrate and processing the superconducting thin film into a line pattern which passes over the plurality of semiconductor films, and heat-treating the substrate to diffuse a constituent element of the semiconductor films in the superconducting thin film. Portions of the superconducting thin film overlying the semiconductor films become the weak-coupling portions and the rest portions of the superconducting thin film become the superconducting portions.

Superconducting magnetoresistive element having a plurality of

A superconductive magnetoresistor has a substrate, a ceramic superconductive film which is formed on one face of the substrate, ferromagnetic elements for focusing an external magnetic field, and an insulating film. One of the ferromagnetic elements is integrally combined with the other face of the substrate. The other of the ferromagnetic elements is combined with the ceramic superconductive film thorough the insulating film.

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Nara, Japan

Masaya Nagata