Abstract: An electrical interconnect and a method of making an electrical interconnect in which a conductor has been substantially plated with a first protective metal shell, such as nickel, and a second outer metal shell, such as gold, before a covercoat has been applied. Such an electrical interconnect can be characterized as having an even-thickness outer shell on both its terminal pads and underneath the covercoat adjacent to the terminal pads, without overhangs or gaps near the bottom of the covercoat caused by surface etching during production.

Abstract: It is an object to provide a method for manufacturing an SOI substrate in which reduction in yield can be suppressed while impurity diffusion into a semiconductor film is suppressed. A semiconductor substrate provided with an oxide film is formed by thermally oxidizing the surface of the semiconductor substrate. Plasma is generated under an atmosphere of a gas containing nitrogen atoms and plasma nitridation is performed on part of the oxide film, so that a semiconductor substrate in which an insulating film containing nitrogen atoms is formed over the oxide film is obtained. After bonding the insulating film containing nitrogen atoms and a glass substrate to each other, the semiconductor substrate is split, whereby an SOI substrate in which the insulating film containing nitrogen atoms, the oxide film, a thin semiconductor film are stacked in this order is formed.

Abstract: With an increase in the definition of a display device, the number of pixels is increased, and thus the numbers of gate lines and signal lines are increased. Due to the increase in the numbers of gate lines and signal lines, it is difficult to mount an IC chip having a driver circuit for driving the gate and signal lines by bonding or the like, which causes an increase in manufacturing costs. A pixel portion and a driver circuit for driving the pixel portion are formed over one substrate. At least a part of the driver circuit is formed using an inverted staggered thin film transistor in which an oxide semiconductor is used. The driver circuit as well as the pixel portion is provided over the same substrate, whereby manufacturing costs are reduced.

Abstract: An information distribution system includes a roadside apparatus which transmits an utterance type provided information containing audio instruction information based on a traveling direction to be provided by the utterance type provided information. When an vehicle-mounted device receives an utterance type provided information via a communication unit from the roadside apparatus, the vehicle-mounted device outputs different utterance type provided information by an audio in accordance with the audio instruction in-formation contained in the received utterance type provided information, so that a vehicle driver can judge whether the information provided from the roadside apparatus is significant information.

Abstract: A gate electrode layer over a substrate; a gate insulating layer over the gate electrode layer; a first source electrode layer and a first drain electrode layer over the gate insulating layer; an oxide semiconductor layer over the gate insulating layer; and a second source electrode layer and a second drain electrode layer over the oxide semiconductor layer. A first part, a second part, and a third part of a bottom surface are in contact with the first source electrode layer, the first drain electrode layer, and the gate insulating layer respectively. A first part and a second part of the top surface are in contact with the second source electrode layer and the second drain electrode layer respectively. The first source electrode layer and the first drain electrode layer are electrically connected to the second source electrode layer and the second drain electrode layer respectively.

Abstract: According to present invention, system on panel without complicating the process of TFT can be realized, and a light-emitting device that can be formed by lower cost than that of the conventional light-emitting device can be provided. A light-emitting device is provided in which a pixel portion is provided with a pixel including a light-emitting element and a TFT for controlling supply of current to the light-emitting element; a TFT included in a drive circuit and a TFT for controlling supply of current to the light-emitting element include a gate electrode, a gate insulating film formed over the gate electrode, a first semiconductor film, which overlaps with the gate electrode via the gate insulating film, a pair of second semiconductor films formed over the first semiconductor film; the pair of second semiconductor films are doped with an impurity to have one conductivity type; and the first semiconductor film is formed by semiamorphous semiconductor.

Abstract: The present invention provides a light-emitting element and a light-emitting device which have high contrast, and specifically, provides a light-emitting device whose contrast is enhanced, not by using a polarizing plate but using a conventional electrode material. Reflection of external light is suppressed by provision of a light-absorbing layer included between a non-light-transmitting electrode and a light-emitting layer. As the light-absorbing layer, a layer is used, which is obtained by adding a halogen atom into a layer including an organic compound and a metal oxide. Further, the light-absorbing layer is formed also over a region in which a thin film transistor for driving a light-emitting element is formed, a region in which a wiring is formed, and the like, and thus light is extracted from the side opposite to the region in which the TFT is formed, thereby reducing reflection of external light.

Abstract: A semiconductor device with a built-in battery whose residual amount of the electrical energy can be detected accurately. The semiconductor device has a battery, a demodulation circuit, a control circuit which generates a signal having information about the residual amount of the electrical energy stored in the battery, and a transmission medium which displays the residual amount of the electrical energy in accordance with the signal. The demodulation circuit demodulates a signal input from an antenna which requests display of the residual amount of the electrical energy. Based on the demodulated signal, the control circuit starts to generate a signal having information about the residual amount of the electrical energy in the battery.

Abstract: A device including a novel nonvolatile memory element is provided. A device including a nonvolatile memory element in which an oxide semiconductor is used as a semiconductor material for a channel formation region. The nonvolatile memory element includes a control gate, a charge accumulation layer which overlaps with the control gate with a first insulating film provided therebetween, and an oxide semiconductor layer formed using an oxide semiconductor material, which overlaps with the charge accumulation layer with a second insulating film provided therebetween.

Abstract: A channel forming region of a thin-film transistor is covered with an electrode and wiring line that extends from a source line. As a result, the channel forming region is prevented from being illuminated with light coming from above the thin-film transistor, whereby the characteristics of the thin-film transistor can be made stable.

Abstract: It is disclosed that a semiconductor device includes an oxide semiconductor layer provided over a gate insulating layer, a source electrode layer, and a drain electrode layer, in which a thickness of the gate insulating layer located in a region between the source electrode layer and the drain electrode layer is smaller than a thickness of the gate insulating layer provided between the gate electrode layer and at least one of the source electrode layer and the drain electrode layer.

Abstract: An object is to provide an oxide semiconductor layer having a novel structure which is preferably used for a semiconductor device. Alternatively, another object is to provide a semiconductor device using an oxide semiconductor layer having the novel structure. An oxide semiconductor layer includes an amorphous region which is mainly amorphous and a crystal region containing crystal grains of In2Ga2ZnO7 in a vicinity of a surface, in which the crystal grains are oriented so that the c-axis is almost vertical with respect to the surface. Alternatively, a semiconductor device uses such an oxide semiconductor layer.

Abstract: It is an object of the invention to provide a display device which performs high grayscale display in accordance with display contents and a game machine with an improved realistic sensation. The invention is a display device characterized by including a pixel portion which performs display based on a video signal and a driver circuit portion inputted with the video signal, wherein the driver circuit portion has a unit for controlling a grayscale in accordance with display of the pixel portion. In a liquid crystal display device, luminance of a lighting unit is controlled based on a signal from the unit for controlling a grayscale whereas a current supplied to a light emitting element is controlled in a light emitting device. By applying such a display device to a game machine, a realistic sensation can be improved.

Abstract: The purpose is manufacturing a photoelectric conversion device with excellent photoelectric conversion characteristics typified by a solar cell with effective use of a silicon material. A single crystal silicon layer is irradiated with a laser beam through an optical modulator to form an uneven structure on a surface thereof. The single crystal silicon layer is obtained in the following manner; an embrittlement layer is formed in a single crystal silicon substrate; one surface of a supporting substrate and one surface of an insulating layer formed over the single crystal silicon substrate are disposed to be in contact and bonded; heat treatment is performed; and the single crystal silicon layer is formed over the supporting substrate by separating part of the single crystal silicon substrate fixed to the supporting substrate along the embrittlement layer or a periphery of the embrittlement layer.

Abstract: Variation occurs in transistor characteristics. The present invention relates to a signal line driver circuit comprising a plurality of current source circuits respectively corresponding to a plurality of wirings, characterized in that: the plurality of current source circuits each comprise capacitor means and supply means; and the plurality of current source circuits each convert a supplied current into a voltage in accordance with a video signal, and supply a current corresponding to the converted voltage.

Abstract: To reduce the laser threshold by efficiently exciting a light-emitting body in a solid-state dye laser with light having high density, thereby facilitating emission of laser beams, and to miniaturize a solid-state dye laser including an excitation light source. A solid-state dye laser capable of emitting laser beams by efficiently introducing light from an excitation light source to a light-emitting body incorporated in an optical resonator structure and exciting the light-emitting body with light with high density, is realized.

Abstract: There is disclosed a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the semiconductor device in which a heat treatment time required for crystal growth is shortened and a process is simplified. Two catalytic element introduction regions are arranged at both sides of one active layer and crystallization is made. A boundary portion where crystal growth from one catalytic element introduction region meets crystal growth from the other catalytic element introduction region is formed in a region which becomes a source region or drain region.

Abstract: A child's riding vehicle such as a tricycle has a secondary steering column through which the parent walking behind the tricycle may steer the tricycle. The secondary steering column is coupled to the first steering column by a pair of rods that are attached at their respective ends to a first flange around the primary steering column and a second flange around the secondary steering column. The steering rods also act as steering limiters by contacting the wheel fork tube at a predetermined maximum steering angle and resisting further rotation of the flange. The mechanism lies entirely within the hollow frame of the tricycle for safety. The child's steering handle can be disengaged from the fork tube to allow the parent to completely control the steering without interference from the child.

Abstract: An SOI substrate having a single crystal semiconductor layer with high surface planarity is manufactured. A semiconductor substrate is doped with hydrogen, whereby a damaged region which contains large quantity of hydrogen is formed. After a single crystal semiconductor substrate and a supporting substrate are bonded together, the semiconductor substrate is heated, whereby the single crystal semiconductor substrate is separated in the damaged region. While a heated high-purity nitrogen gas is sprayed on a separation plane of the single crystal semiconductor layer separated from the single crystal semiconductor substrate, laser beam irradiation is performed. By irradiation with a laser beam, the single crystal semiconductor layer is melted, whereby planarity of the surface of the single crystal semiconductor layer is improved and re-single-crystallization is performed.

Abstract: A roadside device (15) is provided with a corresponding table in the case where there is an item of a new version of a taste data table to take over from user taste information in an item of an old version of the taste data table. In the corresponding table, item numbers “52”, “53”, “62” and “63” in the old version of the taste table, for example, are made to correspond to item numbers “52”, “53” and “63” in the new version of the taste table. An ITS vehicle-mounted device (17) sets user taste data in the item numbers of the old version corresponding to the item numbers of the new version to default values of the items in the new version for a transmitting-destination user of the taste data table of the new version and transmits the default data to an ITS vehicle-mounted device (17) of the transmitting-destination user.