Abstract: The whole surfaces (10a, 20a) are made hydrophobic. An upper channel (11) and a lower channel (21) to be stacked on each other to form a flow path (2) are formed in the surfaces (10a, 20a), respectively. A first through hole (12) and a second through hole (13) are formed at predetermined positions in the upper plate (10). The upper plate (10) and lower plate (20) are stacked on each other, and are secured by an upper pressure-contact member (30), a lower pressure-contact member (40) and bolts (51). A microfluidic device capable of preventing leakage of fluid can thereby be manufactured without undergoing a step of irreversible integration. Preferably, the plates are made of Fe—Ni alloy, and hydrophobicity is achieved by boron nitride obtained as a result of surface segregation. The channels are formed by etching.

Abstract: An apparatus for heat-treating wafers including: a cylindrical body having an infrared reflection film formed on an interior peripheral surface thereof; a furnace core tube disposed within the cylindrical body for accommodating therein the wafers; a heater element provided within the cylindrical body for heating the furnace core tube, the heater being positioned outwardly remotely from an exterior peripheral surface of the furnace core tube in a manner to surround the tube; and a plurality of insulating heat-resistant bar members provided within the cylindrical body and extending in a direction parallel to the central axis of the furnace core tube for supporting the heater element.

Abstract: In image scanning in which three lamps provided for Red, Green and Blue color components are switched successively and light transmitted through or reflected at an original is received by a CCD line photosensor, variation in lamp output light quantity with time and relative variations in output light intensity among the three lamps are corrected. In one embodiment, each lamp is turned off or operation of the CCD is terminated when the light quantity emitted from the lamp reaches a setup quantity. In a second embodiment, a voltage corresponding to the color component data obtained by the CCD is divided by a voltage corresponding to the effective light quantity emitted from each lamp.

Abstract: The resolution of an array sensor can be increased by projecting images of picture elements, which lie on the same scanning line, on a plurality of one-dimensional array sensors composed of a number of photoelectric transducers arranged with an equal interval in a row; and then subjecting picture signals, which have been output respectively from the array sensors, to a combination processing so as to obtain continuous picture signals. It is possible, without using any memory unit, to output picture signals with a resolution higher than that available from the use of a single one-dimensional array sensor, namely, with a resolution proportional to the number of a plurality of one-dimensional array sensors.