Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing an interpretation service are disclosed. The method includes the steps of receiving an incoming telephone call from a user, forming a plurality of databases, receiving at least one user information item via the incoming telephone call, searching at least one of the plurality of databases for at least one sentence correspondent to the at least one information item, outputting a translation from at least one of the plurality of databases of the at least one sentence correspondent to the at least one information item, and outputting, in audio on the incoming telephone call, the translation. The apparatus includes an interpreter and a registration service. The registration service includes a private information manager that receives an incoming telephone call from a user, wherein the private information manager manages a plurality of databases, wherein the plurality of databases includes at least one database of sentences registered to the individual user.

Abstract: In a method for manufacturing an FET having a gate insulation film with an SiO2 equivalent thickness of 2 nm or more and capable of suppressing the leak current to {fraction (1/100)} or less compared with existent SiO2 films, an SiO2 film of 0.5 nm or more is formed at a boundary between an Si substrate (polycrystalline silicon gate) and a high dielectric insulation film, and the temperature for forming the SiO2 film is made higher than the source-drain activating heat treatment temperature in the subsequent steps. As such, a shifting threshold voltage by the generation of static charges or lowering of a drain current caused by degradation of mobility can be prevented so as to reduce electric power consumption and increase current in a field effect transistor of a smaller size.

Abstract: Light leakage within pixel area is prevented. A liquid crystal display device includes a light reflection area forming pixel electrode and a reflection film in one portion of a pixel area on a liquid crystal side face of one substrate oppositely arranged through the liquid crystal. A light transmission area forms the pixel electrode in another portion. The pixel electrode as the reflection film is formed on the upper face except for an opening portion of an insulating film. The opening portion is formed in a light transmission area. The opening portion of the insulating film has a fan-shaped taper from the substrate side to the liquid crystal side on the side wall face of this opening portion. At least one portion of this taper is not covered with the pixel electrode used as the reflection film, but is exposed. The insulating film has a light absorption property in at least the taper portion.

Abstract: A high integration dynamic random access memory is provided by this invention. Furthermore, a write method is provided such that the cell size of two- and three-transistor gain cell memories is reduced. A dynamic memory incorporating a thin-channel transistor as the write element such that long data storage retention is achieved in the memory devices of this invention. A dynamic memory cell having low operating power and high density is also realized by this invention.

Abstract: There is provided a method of fabricating a semiconductor device whereby fine patterns are formed with high dimensional accuracy by means of multiple exposures, using a phase shift mask and a trim mask. Phases are periodically assigned to shifter patterns within a given range from patterns generated with the phase shift mask, respectively.

Abstract: The present invention provides a high-sensitive, inexpensive biochip reader for reading a biochip as compared to a fluorescence method. The biochip reader is provided with an X-Y stage (3) for mounting a biochip (6) and scanning the biochip (6) in a two-dimensional manner, a controller (4) for the X-Y stage, a magnetic sensor (1) for reading the magnetic field strength, an ohmmeter (2), and a computer (5) for signal processing. As a result, a high-performance, inexpensive biochip reader can be provided without using an expensive laser or an expensive optical system, by employing a magnetic sensor and a disk driving mechanism generally used in a hard disk drive and the like.

Abstract: A storage subsystem that directly interfaces with a network, provides connections for routers with a conventional multi-path function, and performs access load balancing among a plurality of input/output ports. Each channel controller is assigned with a channel controller network address, and a storage device is assigned with a storage device address (different from the network addresses of the channel controllers). Upon receiving a packet addressed to the storage device address from an external network device, a pseudo storage load routing function responds by notifying the external network device that the packet has been transmitted to the storage device with the storage device address, while performing input/output processing indicated by the packet for the storage device with the storage device address.

Abstract: A semiconductor device including a nonvolatile memory unit and a variable logic unit mounted on a chip is configured to achieve higher speed operation at a lower voltage. The semiconductor device includes a nonvolatile memory unit comprising a plurality of rewritable nonvolatile memory cells and a variable logic unit whose logical functions are determined, according to logic constitution definition data to be loaded into storage cells thereof. A nonvolatile memory cell essentially has a split gate structure composed of a selecting MOS transistor and a memory MOS transistor and constructed such that the dielectric withstand voltage of the gate of the selecting MOS transistor is lower than that of the memory MOS transistor or the gate insulation layer of the selecting MOS transistor is thinner than that of a high-voltage-tolerant MOS transistor. Because the selecting MOS transistor has a high Gm, a sufficiently great current for reading can be obtained.

Abstract: A valve timing control device includes a rotation member for opening and closing values, a rotation transmitting member rotatably mounted on the rotation member, a fluid chamber defined between the rotation member and the rotation transmitting member, a vane fitted into a vane groove formed on the rotation member or the rotation transmitting member so as to divide the fluid chamber into a advance angle pressure chamber and a retard angle pressure chamber, the vane groove having contacting portions contacted with the vane and an elastic member disposed between the vane and the rotation member or the rotation transmitting member, wherein the radial length between the bottom portion of the vane groove and a bottom portion side end portion of the contacting portion is larger than a radial length between the bottom portion of the vane groove and an engaging portion of the vane engaged with the elastic member.

Abstract: This invention is provided to reduce wavefront aberrations caused by the filling of a transparent resin intended to prevent degradation of a diode laser in a hermetically sealed package. A parallel-plane plate is arranged between a diode laser and an objective lens, and a transparent resin is filled into a space formed between the diode laser and the parallel-plane plate. With this invention, degradations of the diode lasers can be prevented and the wavefront aberrations can be reduced.

Abstract: In an optical head of a DVD drive, a light-emitting device and light-receiving devices are disposed on one face of a substrate, and on the other face of the substrate, a diffraction light separating device, a &lgr;/4 plate, and a dielectric plate having a converging focus lens are sequentially, hierarchically integrated. With the configuration, a laser beam (transmission beam) emitted from the front light-outgoing end of the semiconductor laser device sequentially passes through the diffraction light separating device, &lgr;/4 wave plate, and dielectric plate having the converging focus lens to form an image on a recording face of a recording medium (optical recording medium). A reflected beam reflected by the recording face returns reversely along the optical path through which the transmission beam has traveled, the phase of the reflected beam is changed by the &lgr;/4 wave plate, and the phase-changed reflected beam is separated into two primary diffracted beams in two directions.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing an electronic device is provided. In one example of the method, the method prevents deformation of a resist mask caused by the irradiation of exposure light. The resist mask has a resist as an opaque element, and can afford mask patterns undergoing little change even with an increase in the number of wafers subjected to exposure processing. The resist mask maintains a high dimensional accuracy. A photomask pattern is formed using as an opaque element a resist comprising a base resin and Si incorporated therein or a resist with a metal such as Si incorporated thereby by a silylation process, to improve the resistance to active oxygen. The deformation of a resist opaque pattern in a photomask is prevented. The dimensional accuracy of patterns transferred onto a Si wafer is improved in repeated use of the photomask.

Abstract: The disk carrier device comprises a carrier roller having a tapered surface with the diameter thereof becoming smaller gradually from the opposite ends towards the center, and a disk guide member integrally formed with a pair of tilted protrusions in the front and rear parts thereof which become gradually lower from the opposite ends towards the center. It is constructed such that the carrier roller is arranged between the pair of tilted protrusions to resiliently clamp the disk between the both tilted protrusions and the carrier roller to thereby carry the disk by the rotation of the carrier roller.

Abstract: Estimation method for obtaining estimation results of meteorological quantities in a specified area during a specified future period, including steps of: provisionally creating a meteorological time-series model from historical data of the meteorological quantities observed in the specified area; adjusting parameters of the created time-series model on the basis of long-range weather forecast data for wider area, which contains future meteorological tendency relative to normal years, to adjust the created time-series model; and conducting simulation using the adjusted time-series model to obtain the estimation results.

Abstract: In a production process of a semiconductor device, planarizing of a wafer surface pattern can be performed to attain high planarity, good uniformity in the removal amount and improved controllability. This process include a step of planarizing a semiconductor wafer, from which at least two different films have been exposed, by polishing with a grindstone and a dispersant-containing processing liquid.

Abstract: An analog switch and an analog multiplexer are realized by which electron charges which have been stored in a stray capacitance provided on the output side thereof before a switch is conducted do not give an adverse influence to a level of such an analog input voltage which is subsequently entered after the switch has been switched. An analog switch circuit is arranged by insulating gate type transistors and a voltage follower which is parallel-connected to these insulating type transistors. When the analog switch circuit is turned ON, the voltage follower is firstly brought into an active state, and thereafter, these insulating gate type transistors are brought into conductive conditions.

Abstract: An information recording medium, which comprises three thin films of different compositions, comprising first and second interference layers and a first interface layer, stacked in this order from the laser beam incident side of a recording layer, the refractive index of the second interference layer being lower than that of any one of the first interference layer and the recording layer, the first interface layer being provided in contact with the recording layer and between the second interference layer and the recording layer, the second interference layer containing oxygen, and an oxygen barrier layer having a smaller oxygen content than that of the second interference layer being provided in contact with the second interference layer and between the second and first interface layers, can control diffusion of oxygen from the second interference layer into the recording layer and prevents deterioration of overwriting at the time of many runs of overwriting and lowering of storage life.

Abstract: A level conversion circuit is composed of a level shift circuit for supplying a level-converted signal in the same phase as the input signal and a signal in the reverse phase thereto and a follow-up circuit responsive to the earlier of the output signals of the level shift circuit for generating an output signal, wherein the follow-up circuit consists of an inverter circuit in which two p-channel type MOS transistors and two n-channel type MOS transistors are connected in series between a first voltage terminal and a second voltage terminal, of which one pair is used as input transistors and the remaining pair of transistors are subjected to feedback based on the output signal of the level shift circuit to be quickly responsive to the next variation.

Abstract: A synchronization control apparatus and method enables synchronization control which can flexibly accommodate various frequencies using a simple circuit construction. A storage device that has a predetermined capacity, such as a FIFO, stores externally input data. A CPU controls an output frequency at which data stored in the storage device are output, based on an average frequency which is an average of the output frequency and on a coefficient for setting the average frequency at a fixed value, the first frequency controlling device calculating the average of the output frequency whenever a timing signal is input in accordance with a predetermined cycle and determining the coefficient depending on a free capacity of the storage device at a time of inputting of the timing signal.

Abstract: The present invention provides a hybridization detection method capable of quantitatively determining the degree of the hybridization between a sample biopolymer and a probe biopolymer. In the method, the amount of a fluorescently labeled probe immobilized on a substrate as a spot is quantitatively determined by determining the fluorescence emitted from a fluorescent material labeling the probe, and the amount of a fluorescently labeled sample hybridized to the probe is quantitatively determined by determining the fluorescence emitted from the fluorescent material labeling the sample. The difference between the amount of the probe and the amount of the sample is normalized with the amount of the probe. Based on the normalized value, the amount of the sample hybridized to the probe can be determined relative to the amount of the probe spotted on the substrate.