Patents by Inventor Hikaru Kobayashi

Hikaru Kobayashi has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20130005107
    Abstract: Disclosed is a thin-film transistor (10) manufacturing method that includes a process for forming a nitrate film (12x) that includes residual nickel (22) on a surface thereof, by bringing a nitric acid solution into contact with a polysilicon layer (11x); and a process for removing the nitrate film (12x) that includes residual nickel (22) from the polysilicon layer (11x) surface. With this surface treatment process, a polysilicon layer (11) with reduced concentration of a surface residual nickel (22) is provided, and a thin-film transistor (10) having excellent surface smoothness is attained.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2011
    Publication date: January 3, 2013
    Inventors: Shigeki Imai, Takafumi Shimatani, Hikaru Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20120326255
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices. Said method includes: a supply step in which a process liquid (19) that oxidizes and dissolves a target substrate (20) to be treated is supplied to the surface of said substrate (20) to be treated; a positioning step in which a mesh-like transferring member (10b) provided with a catalyst material is positioned near or in contact with the surface of the substrate (20) to be treated; and a concave or convex forming step in which a concave or convex is formed on the surface of the substrate (20) to be treated via the aforementioned supply and positioning steps. As opposed to existing manufacturing methods, which manufacture semiconductor devices provided with semiconductor substrates with highly arbitrary (i.e.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2011
    Publication date: December 27, 2012
    Applicants: CANON MARKETING JAPAN KABUSHIKI GAISHA
    Inventor: Hikaru Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 8039403
    Abstract: In a manufacturing method of a thin film transistor (1), the oxide film forming step is performed whereby: a process-target substrate (2) having a surface on which a gate oxide film (4) should be formed is immersed in an oxidizing solution containing an active oxidizing species; and a gate oxide film (4) is formed through direct oxidation of polycrystalline silicon (51) on the process-target substrate (2). With this step, a silicon dioxide film (42) is formed while growing a silicon dioxide film (41) on the process-target substrate 2. Accordingly, the interface between the polycrystalline silicon (51) and the gate oxide film (4) is kept clean. The gate oxide film (4) is uniformly formed with excellent quality in insulation tolerance and other properties. Therefore, the thin film transistor (1) contains a high quality oxide film with excellent insulation tolerance and other properties which can be formed at low temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2011
    Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shigeki Imai, Kazuhiko Inoguchi, Hikaru Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20110006310
    Abstract: A semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate made of silicon carbide, a gate insulating film formed on the semiconductor substrate, and a gate electrode formed on the gate insulating film. The junction surface of the semiconductor surface joined with the gate insulating film is macroscopically parallel to a nonpolar face and microscopically comprised of the nonpolar face and a polar face. In the polar face, either a Si face or a C face is dominant. A semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate comprised of silicon carbide and a gate electrode formed on the semiconductor substrate. The junction surface of the semiconductor surface joined with the electrode is macroscopically parallel to a nonpolar face and microscopically comprised of the nonpolar face and a polar face. In the polar face, either a Si face or a C face is dominant.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2008
    Publication date: January 13, 2011
    Applicants: HOYA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Nagasawa, Naoki Hatta, Takamitsu Kawahara, Hikaru Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 7595230
    Abstract: In a manufacturing method of a thin film transistor (1), the oxide film forming step is performed whereby: a process-target substrate (2) having a surface on which a gate oxide film (4) should be formed is immersed in an oxidizing solution containing a; active oxidizing species; and a gate oxide film (4) is formed through direct oxidation of polycrystalline silicon (51) on the process-target substrate (2). With this step, a silicon dioxide film (42) is formed while growing a silicon dioxide film (41) on the process-target substrate 2. Accordingly, the interface between the polycrystalline silicon (51) and the gate oxide film (4) is kept clean. The gate oxide film (4) is uniformly formed with excellent quality in insulation tolerance and other properties. Therefore, the thin film transistor (1) contains a high quality oxide film with excellent insulation tolerance and other properties which can be formed at low temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2009
    Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Hikaru Kobayashi
    Inventors: Shigeki Imai, Kazuhiko Inoguchi, Hikaru Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20090137131
    Abstract: In a manufacturing method of a thin film transistor (1), the oxide film forming step is performed whereby: a process-target substrate (2) having a surface on which a gate oxide film (4) should be formed is immersed in an oxidizing solution containing an active oxidizing species; and a gate oxide film (4) is formed through direct oxidation of polycrystalline silicon (51) on the process-target substrate (2). With this step, a silicon dioxide film (42) is formed while growing a silicon dioxide film (41) on the process-target substrate 2. Accordingly, the interface between the polycrystalline silicon (51) and the gate oxide film (4) is kept clean. The gate oxide film (4) is uniformly formed with excellent quality in insulation tolerance and other properties. Therefore, the thin film transistor (1) contains a high quality oxide film with excellent insulation tolerance and other properties which can be formed at low temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2008
    Publication date: May 28, 2009
    Applicants: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Hikaru Kobayashi
    Inventors: Shigeki IMAI, Kazuhiko INOGUCHI, Hikaru KOBAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20080175645
    Abstract: A printer that uses a roll-shaped printing medium comprising a printing surface on which images are printed, a releasably adhered printing portion, and a release portion holding the adhered printing portion includes a conveying device conveying the printing medium while pulling out the printing medium by a predetermined amount every time an image is to be printed; a printing member printing an image with respect to the printing medium conveyed by the conveying device; a half-cutting unit cutting off the printing portion of the printing medium except for the release portion, along the conveying direction of the image printed by the printing member, at the interval corresponding to the dimension of the image in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction; and a cutting unit cutting the printing medium along the width direction, at the positions corresponding to the dimension of the aforementioned image in the conveying direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2008
    Publication date: July 24, 2008
    Inventors: Hikaru Kobayashi, Masahiro Uehara
  • Publication number: 20070117284
    Abstract: In a manufacturing method of a thin film transistor (1), the oxide film forming step is performed whereby: a process-target substrate (2) having a surface on which a gate oxide film (4) should be formed is immersed in an oxidizing solution containing an active oxidizing species; and a gate oxide film (4) is formed through direct oxidation of polycrystalline silicon (51) on the process-target substrate (2). With this step, a silicon dioxide film (42) is formed while growing a silicon dioxide film (41) on the process-target substrate 2. Accordingly, the interface between the polycrystalline silicon (51) and the gate oxide film (4) is kept clean. The gate oxide film (4) is uniformly formed with excellent quality in insulation tolerance and other properties. Therefore, the thin film transistor (1) contains a high quality oxide film with excellent insulation tolerance and other properties which can be formed at low temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2005
    Publication date: May 24, 2007
    Inventors: Shigeki Imai, Kazuhiko Inoguchi, Hikaru Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 7204577
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head is operable to move in a first direction. A platen is opposed to the liquid ejecting head to support an object to which a liquid droplet is ejected from the liquid ejecting head and to define a gap between the liquid ejecting head and the object. The platen is formed with a groove hole to which a liquid droplet deviated from an edge of the object is disposed, and through holes formed in a bottom portion of the groove hole and arranged in the first direction. A tray member is arranged below the platen to receive liquid dropped through the through holes. A first liquid absorber is provided in the groove hole. A second liquid absorber is provided in the tray member. At least one liquid leading member extends through at least one of the through holes to lead liquid absorbed by the first liquid absorber to the second liquid absorber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporaion
    Inventors: Masatomo Kanamitsu, Naruhiko Katagiri, Hajime Wada, Keisuke Haba, Midori Araya, Masahiro Isono, Hikaru Kobayashi, Kazuhisa Takeda, Kenjiro Ishihara, Seiji Tezuka, Satoshi Kaneta, Takashi Sato
  • Patent number: 7157383
    Abstract: After cleaning a surface of a silicon substrate (1), impurities and natural oxide film existing on the silicon substrate (1) are removed by soaking the silicon substrate (1) in a 0.5%-by-volume HF aqueous solution for 5 minutes. The silicon substrate (1) is rinsed (cleaned) with ultrapure water for five minutes. Then, the silicon substrate (1) is soaked for 30 minutes in azeotropic nitric acid heated to an azeotropic temperature of 120.7° C. In this way, an extremely thin chemical oxide film (5) is formed on the surface of the silicon substrate (1). Subsequently, a metal film (6) (aluminum-silicon alloy film) is deposited, followed by heating in a hydrogen-containing gas at 200° C. for 20 minutes. Through the heat processing in the hydrogen-containing gas, hydrogen reacts with interface states and defect states in the chemical oxide film (5), causing disappearance of the interface states and defect states. As a result, the quality of the film can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2007
    Assignee: Japan Science and Technology Agency
    Inventor: Hikaru Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20050215070
    Abstract: After cleaning a surface of a silicon substrate (1), impurities and natural oxide film existing on the silicon substrate (1) are removed by soaking the silicon substrate (1) in a 0.5%-by-volume HF aqueous solution for 5 minutes. The silicon substrate (1) is rinsed (cleaned) with ultrapure water for five minutes. Then, the silicon substrate (1) is soaked for 30 minutes in azeotropic nitric acid heated to an azeotropic temperature of 120.7° C. In this way, an extremely thin chemical oxide film (5) is formed on the surface of the silicon substrate (1). Subsequently, a metal film (6) (aluminum-silicon alloy film) is deposited, followed by heating in a hydrogen-containing gas at 200° C. for 20 minutes. Through the heat processing in the hydrogen-containing gas, hydrogen reacts with interface states and defect states in the chemical oxide film (5), causing disappearance of the interface states and defect states. As a result, the quality of the film can be improved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2003
    Publication date: September 29, 2005
    Inventor: Hikaru Kobayashi
  • Publication number: 20050062794
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting head is operable to move in a first direction. A platen is opposed to the liquid ejecting head to support an object to which a liquid droplet is ejected from the liquid ejecting head and to define a gap between the liquid ejecting head and the object. The platen is formed with a groove hole to which a liquid droplet deviated from an edge of the object is disposed, and through holes formed in a bottom portion of the groove hole and arranged in the first direction. A tray member is arranged below the platen to receive liquid dropped through the through holes. A first liquid absorber is provided in the groove hole. A second liquid absorber is provided in the tray member. At least one liquid leading member extends through at least one of the through holes to lead liquid absorbed by the first liquid absorber to the second liquid absorber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2004
    Publication date: March 24, 2005
    Inventors: Masatomo Kanamitsu, Naruhiko Katagiri, Hajime Wada, Keisuke Haba, Midori Araya, Masahiro Isono, Hikaru Kobayashi, Kazuhisa Takeda, Kenjiro Ishihara, Seiji Tezuka, Satoshi Kaneta, Takashi Sato
  • Publication number: 20040257421
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a plurality of first transfer rollers separately provided from each other in a substantially same line along a main scanning direction crossing a feeding direction of the recording material, for transferring the recording material in the feeding direction while bending the recording material inwards on a liquid ejection surface of the recording material in the liquid ejection area, a plurality of first ribs disposed in the liquid ejection area for supporting the recording material on a surface of the recording material opposite the liquid ejection surface, the first ribs being placed at substantially same positions in the main scanning direction as the first transfer rollers respectively, directions and distances of the first ribs from the first transfer rollers in the feeding direction being substantially equal to each other, and a first liquid absorption material disposed between the first transfer rollers and the first ribs for absorbing the liquid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2004
    Publication date: December 23, 2004
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Koichiro Yokoyama, Satoshi Noda, Hikaru Kobayashi, Hitoshi Yazaki, Hiroshi Hamakawa
  • Publication number: 20040135891
    Abstract: A photographic apparatus is described which outputs a photographed image immediately to paper by a simple operation. The photographic apparatus includes an electronic camera for electronically acquiring an image, a connection base for removably connecting the electronic camera thereto, the connection base having a function of reading out image data from the electronic camera while the camera is connected thereto, and a printing section for acquiring the image data from the connection base and outputting an image based on the image data to paper.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2003
    Publication date: July 15, 2004
    Inventors: Mitsuyoshi Shindo, Hideki Wanami, Hikaru Kobayashi, Kiyotaka Dochi
  • Publication number: 20040120749
    Abstract: A printer that uses a roll-shaped printing medium comprising a printing surface on which images are printed, a releasably adhered printing portion, and a release portion holding the adhered printing portion includes a conveying device conveying the printing medium while pulling out the printing medium by a predetermined amount every time an image is to be printed; a printing member printing an image with respect to the printing medium conveyed by the conveying device; a half-cutting unit cutting off the printing portion of the printing medium except for the release portion, along the conveying direction of the image printed by the printing member, at the interval corresponding to the dimension of the image in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction; and a cutting unit cutting the printing medium along the width direction, at the positions corresponding to the dimension of the aforementioned image in the conveying direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2003
    Publication date: June 24, 2004
    Inventors: Hikaru Kobayashi, Masahiro Uehara
  • Patent number: 6739777
    Abstract: A printer that uses a roll-shaped printing medium comprising a printing surface on which images are printed, a releasably adhered printing portion, and a release portion holding the adhered printing portion includes a conveying device conveying the printing medium while pulling out the printing medium by a predetermined amount every time an image is to be printed; a printing member printing an image with respect to the printing medium conveyed by the conveying device; a half-cutting unit cutting off the printing portion of the printing medium except for the release portion, along the conveying direction of the image printed by the printing member, at the interval corresponding to the dimension of the image in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction; and a cutting unit cutting the printing medium along the width direction, at the positions corresponding to the dimension of the aforementioned image in the conveying direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hikaru Kobayashi, Masahiro Uehara
  • Patent number: 6693665
    Abstract: A photographic apparatus is described which outputs a photographed image immediately to paper by a simple operation. The photographic apparatus includes an electronic camera for electronically acquiring an image, a connection base for removably connecting the electronic camera thereto, the connection base having a function of reading out image data from the electronic camera while the camera is connected thereto, and a printing section for acquiring the image data from the connection base and outputting an image based on the image data to paper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuyoshi Shindo, Hideki Wanami, Hikaru Kobayashi, Kiyotaka Dochi
  • Publication number: 20030156883
    Abstract: A printer that uses a roll-shaped printing medium comprising a printing surface on which images are printed, a releasably adhered printing portion, and a release portion holding the adhered printing portion includes a conveying device conveying the printing medium while pulling out the printing medium by a predetermined amount every time an image is to be printed; a printing member printing an image with respect to the printing medium conveyed by the conveying device; a half-cutting unit cutting off the printing portion of the printing medium except for the release portion, along the conveying direction of the image printed by the printing member, at the interval corresponding to the dimension of the image in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction; and a cutting unit cutting the printing medium along the width direction, at the positions corresponding to the dimension of the aforementioned image in the conveying direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2002
    Publication date: August 21, 2003
    Inventors: Hikaru Kobayashi, Masahiro Uehara
  • Patent number: 6593164
    Abstract: A cyano process of introducing cyano ions (CN−) into an amorphous silicon layer is performed after the amorphous silicon layer has been formed over a substrate or after the layer has been exposed to light. For example, the substrate is immersed in an aqueous solution containing potassium cyanide (KCN) in a vessel. The cyano process eliminates factors (e.g., weak bonds, defects, and centers of recombination) of decrease in photoconductivity of the as-deposited amorphous silicon thin film, which are identifiable in the as-deposited film. As a result, the photoconductivity of the amorphous silicon layer is already higher than usual from the beginning and will hardly decrease even upon exposure to light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2003
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hikaru Kobayashi, Hideomi Koinuma
  • Publication number: 20020185172
    Abstract: A cyano process of introducing cyano ions (CN−) into an amorphous silicon layer is performed after the amorphous silicon layer has been formed over a substrate or after the layer has been exposed to light. For example, the substrate is immersed in an aqueous solution containing potassium cyanide (KCN) in a vessel. The cyano process eliminates factors (e.g., weak bonds, defects, and centers of recombination) of decrease in photoconductivity of the as-deposited amorphous silicon thin film, which are identifiable in the as-deposited film. As a result, the photoconductivity of the amorphous silicon layer is already higher than usual from the beginning and will hardly decrease even upon exposure to light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2002
    Publication date: December 12, 2002
    Applicant: MATSUSHITA ELECTRICAL INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hikaru Kobayashi, Hideomi Koinuma