Abstract: A handle stem attached to a head tube of a bicycle includes a speed indicator housed in an indicator housing. The indicator is formed of a body including a circuit board and a liquid-crystal display and a battery housing which is detachable from the body. The body is fixed to the indicator housing and accordingly the speed indicator is attached to the handle stem and the battery housing is freely attachable/detachable. The handle stem and the speed indicator are thus obtained with which batteries are easily replaced without detaching the whole of the indicator from the handle stem.

Abstract: A method for chemical-mechanical polishing of a layer that is deposited on a surface of an integrated circuit substrate is described. The method includes: (1) immobilizing the integrated circuit substrate using a substrate holder such that the integrated circuit substrate surface is positioned against a surface of a polishing pad, which is mounted on a supporting surface; (2) a first stage of polishing the substrate surface including maintaining a predetermined difference between the rotational velocity of the polishing pad and the rotational velocity of the substrate holder allowing an endpoint of the chemical-mechanical polishing process of the layer to be detected; and (3) a second stage of polishing the substrate such that the rotational velocity of the polishing pad and the rotational velocity of the substrate holder are substantially the same to produce a substantially planar substrate surface.

Abstract: A communication method applied to a communication system is provided for enhancing communication performance such as a throughput and a turn around time in the so-called intra-computer communication. In the communication procedure, when a source end system (SES) like a host computer transfers data to a destination end system (DES) such as a LAN or a WAN through a communication control system (CCS), the CCS served as a virtual destination receives the data and transmits an acknowledge (+Cresp) to the SES. In response to the acknowledge (+Crest), the SES performs the next transfer of the data. In response to the last acknowledge, the SES operates to output an indication about completion of the data transmission (End TX-C). The CCS continues to transfer the data temporarily received from the SES to the DES unless the CCS receives the acknowledge from the DES. The acknowledge +Cresp contains information about an amount of data transferred from the CCS to the DES.

Abstract: An etching system contains a plasma chamber, a charge exchange chamber and a processing chamber. The charge exchange chamber and the processing chamber are partitioned with a porous plate provided with a number of fine linear microchannel holes. Positive ions generated by the plasma chamber are accelerated by an accelerating electrode in the charge exchange chamber, charge-exchanged and introduced as neutral particles through the microchannel holes into the processing chamber. Neutral particles are vertically entered into an object to be processed as neutral particle beams that are completely aligned by the microchannel holes. An object with a large surface area can be etched with high accuracy by making the porous plate a size which corresponds to the object. Thus, plasma processing with only neutral particles is carried out with high accuracy even when the surface area of the object is large.

Abstract: A surface processing apparatus and a dry etching method using a neutral beam. The surface processing apparatus comprises a plasma chamber for generating a plasma P, a neutralizing chamber for converting an ion beam extracted from the plasma P by an ion extracting electrode into the neutral beam, and a processing chamber for introducing therein the neutral beam and etching a substrate S to be processed using the neutral beam. There is also provided a static electric field lens comprising two spaced first electrodes provided on the inner periphery of the neutralizing chamber and a second electrode interposed therebetween so as to obtain the neutral beams having low energy and high flux.

Abstract: According to an optical receiver of the present invention, an optical input signal is converted to an electric signal by a photoelectric element, and amplified by an amplifier. Thereafter, a band frequency is restricted by a low pass filter, and a peak value of a bottom level of the band-restricted pulse signal is detected. Then, an offset voltage is added to the detected value, thereby a compare reference value is generated. The output of the amplifier is compared with the compare reference voltage by a comparator, thereby data is discriminated.

Abstract: The present invention designs that the output of a phase comparator (102) is applied to one of the input terminals of a differential amplifier (106) through a low-pass filter (104), and an error detecting section (105) detects a change in the output of the phase comparator (102) due to a change in source voltage and temperature and applies that output change to the other input terminal of the differential amplifier (106) to cancel it out, so that the control voltage of a voltage controlled oscillator (107) is accurately expressed only by a phase difference output acquired by the phase comparator (102).

Abstract: In a frame synchronization circuit, a serial data signal, which includes a frame synchronization code constituted by an M number of bits in one frame, is converted by a serial/parallel converting circuit to a parallel data signal of a 2M-1 number of bits. An M number of pattern detectors of a first synchronization detecting circuit detect the code pattern of the first block of the frame synchronization code from the parallel data signal. A selection signal generating circuit holds outputs of the pattern detectors, and outputs them as a selection signal designating the bit position allotted to the pattern detector which detects the synchronization code pattern. An output of the serial/parallel converting circuit is delayed by a time required for the above-mentioned processing, and supplied to a selector, which selectively outputs an M-bit data signal corresponding to the bit position designated by the selection signal.

Abstract: A device and method for detecting a peak level of an input signal. The input signal is amplified by a first amplifier. A switching signal corresponding to an output signal from the first amplifier is generated and a held peak level of the switching signal is fed back to the first amplifier negatively. Also, the switching signal is amplified by a second amplifier. A compensator generates a bias compensating signal for supplying to the first and second amplifiers to offset for the current drain that would otherwise occur.

Abstract: A current-balance switching regulator in which a plurality of switching power source portions are connected in parallel for the purpose of supplying a stabilized output voltage to a load. Each of the switching power source portions includes a switching control portion for controlling a switching element connected to the primary side of a transformer in accordance with the output voltage on the secondary side of the transformer. Current is detected on the primary side of the portions. When a current unbalance is detected, current balance is arranged by adding the amount of unbalance equally among the portions, so concentration of the load to a particular portion can be prevented. As a result of such averaging, the life of each portion can be lengthened. The portions are connected so that one is made a master and the rest are slaves, so the output voltage can be determined by a variable resistor or the like.

Abstract: In a laser driving device for stabilizing the optical output level of a semiconductor laser, a drive circuit supplies a drive current signal to the laser. A monitoring photodiode is provided for partially receiving the optical laser output to produce an electrical monitor signal indicative of the actual output level of the laser. A differential amplifier is connected to the photodiode to serve as a comparator for receiving a reference signal indicative of a reference output level of the laser, and for detecting a difference between values of the monitor signal and the reference signal to produce a comparison signal indicative of a change in the actual optical output level of the laser.

Abstract: A drive circuit supplies a semiconductor laser with current pulses corresponding to an input pulse signal. A current supply feeds a d.c. bias current to the laser. A monitoring photodiode produces a light detection signal indicative of the actual laser output level. The detection signal is supplied to a subtraction device, to which the pulse signal is also supplied via a low-pass filter. The subtraction device detects the difference between the two signals to produce an error signal. Integration devices produce average value signals, which are compared by comparators with reference voltages to obtain control signals. The current supply and the current drive circuit are responsive to these control signals to independently modulate the d.c. bias current and the amplitude of the drive pulses applied to the laser, whereby the laser output level can be stabilized to remain at a constant level.

Abstract: An ultrasonic transducer comprises a vibrating assembly having a thickness-poled piezoelectric ceramic disk (12) bonded concentrically to a resonant plate (13) of greater diameter than that of the ceramic disk (12), which having a radiator (30) is set in the center of the resonant plate (13) on the opposite surface to the ceramic disk (12), and which fitted onto a plastic baseplate (51) using such adhesive (52) as will retain elasticity after curing and accommodated within a housing (80) with a director (81) on top.The ultrasonic transducer has superior performance to conventional bimorph devices by 6 dB in terms of receiving sensitivity.