Abstract: A photothermographic material comprising a support body provided on or above at least one surface thereof with an image forming layer, containing at least a photosensitive silver halide, a non-photosensitive organic silver salt, a reducing agent and binder, and a non-photosensitive layer, wherein: 1) 50% or more of the binder in the image forming layer is hydrophilic binder; 2) a ratio of the non-photosensitive organic silver salt to the hydrophilic binder is from 0.6 to 1.4 by mass; and 3) 70% or more of binder in the non-photosensitive layer is hydrophilic binder.

Abstract: A photothermographic material for blue light exposure that has a good coating surface condition and an image forming method for use with the photothermographic material are provided. The photothermographic material includes a support, and an image forming layer provided on at least one side of the support. The image forming layer contains at least a photosensitive silver halide, a non-photosensitive organic silver salt, a reducing agent and a binder. The photothermographic material is characterized in that: (1) a silver iodide content of the photosensitive silver halide is not less than 40 mole %; (2) the binder is a hydrophilic binder; (3) the image forming layer contains a silver iodide complexing agent; and (4) the image forming layer contains, as a silver carrier, at least one compound represented by the following Formula (I) or (II): (wherein Q represents an atomic group that is necessary to form a 5 or 6-membered imide ring).

Abstract: The present invention provides a black and white photothermographic material having, on at least one surface of a support, an image forming layer containing at least a photosensitive silver halide, a non-photosensitive organic silver salt, a reducing agent for silver ions, and a binder, wherein 70% or more of a total projected area of the photosensitive silver halide is occupied by tabular grains having an aspect ratio of 2.5 or more, a mean projected area equivalent diameter of 0.5 ?m to 8 ?m, and a mean grain thickness of 0.02 ?m to 0.2 ?m, and a ratio of a number of sites capable of forming a development initiation point on a corner portion or a fringe portion of the photosensitive silver halide grain to all development initiation points is 50% or more. Also disclosed is an image forming method of forming a radiation image by using a fluorescent intensifying screen.

Abstract: An image forming method using a photothermographic material a photosensitive silver halide, a reducing agent, a binder and a non-photosensitive organic silver salt, wherein: the photothermographic material is discharged from a thermal developing device within 35 seconds after heating for thermal development is ceased.

Abstract: A photothermographic material including a substrate carrying on one surface thereof an image forming layer containing at least a photosensitive silver halide, a non-photosensitive organic silver salt, a reducing agent for a silver ion, and a binder, wherein the photosensitive silver halide has a silver iodide content of 40 to 100 mol %, and an average particle size of 5 to 80 nm, and the photothermographic material contains a compound of the following general formula (1); Q-(Y)n—C(Z1)(Z2)X??General formula (1) wherein Q represents a heterocycle, Y represents a divalent connecting group, n represents 0 or 1, Z1 and Z1 each represent a halogen atom, and X represents a hydrogen atom or an electron withdrawing group.

Abstract: The present invention provides a photothermographic material including at least a photosensitive silver halide, a non-photosensitive silver-supplying compound, a reducing agent and a binder on at least one surface of a support. The photothermographic material further includes at least one kind of halogen releasing compound having a water-solubilizing group and at least one kind of halogen releasing compound having no water-solubilizing group, and a gradation of a characteristic curve is 2.5 to 4.0. The photothermographic material of the invention is excellent in storability, and particularly excellent in storability of high quality images used for image recording for medical diagnosis.

Abstract: An image recording material separating/removing device which, by using a single lift-out mechanism section, can lift image recording materials out from plural cassettes along simple loci of movement, and in which a space for providing and withdrawing the cassettes is kept as small as possible. In a cassette housing section, a plurality of cassettes are disposed one above another. Each cassette is offset in a horizontal direction. An amount of offset is set on the basis of a locus of movement of a printing plate at a time when the printing plate is sucked and held by suction cups and lifted up in a vertical direction. At least while the suction cups are moving in the vertical direction, the printing plate is not interfered with by cassettes thereabove, and an emulsion surface of the printing plate is not scratched. Space required for placement of the cassette housing section can be reduced. Moreover, because movement of the suction cups can be simplified, a control system can be simplified.

Abstract: The present invention provides an aqueous ink composition comprising a color microparticle dispersion including an oil-soluble dye, a hydrophilic organic solvent and a perfluoroalkylenesulfonic acid or a fluorine type surfactant other than derivatives thereof, and an ink jet method for recording an image by using this aqueous ink composition.

Abstract: The present invention provides a photothermographic material, comprising a photosensitive silver halide, a non-photosensitive organic solvent salt, a reducing agent for a silver ion, and a binder on one face of a support, for being applied by using an organic solvent, the photothermographic material further comprising at least one compound selected from the group of compounds consisting of: a compound represented by the following general formula (1), a compound having a ?-lactam ring, a compound having a group that is adsorptive to a silver halide and a group that reduces a silver halide and a precursor thereof:

Abstract: The present invention provides an optically-amplified bidirectional optical adddrop multiplexer for a bidirectional WDM optical communication system including two counterpropagating WDM optical signals. Each counterpropagating WDM signal enters the bidirectional add-drop multiplexer and is placed on an optical path, which does not include the other WDM optical signal. Each WDM optical signal may be amplified and have one or more optical channels added to or dropped from the respective signal. In an exemplary embodiment, one of the bidirectional WDM signals includes optical channels located in the C-band of an EDFA while the other bidirectional WDM signal includes optical channels located in the L-band of and EDFA. In this manner, an optical amplifier particularly selected for channels in a particular gain region may separately amplify each the separated bidirectional WDM signals. Each counterpropagating WDM signal exits the bidirectional add-drop multiplexed and rejoins the bidirectional optical waveguide.

Abstract: The present invention provides a wavelength division multiplexed optical communication system with dynamically stabilized wavelength selectors. To accurately correlate the wavelength of a wavelength selector to the wavelength emitted by an optical transmission source, the present invention uses an optical detector and feedback loop to optimize the wavelength of an optical selection element in accordance with a wavelength of an incident optical channel. In one embodiment, the optical selection element is a Bragg grating associated with a grating wavelength controller, such as a temperature regulator or strain tuning system, to adjust the wavelength band of maximum reflectivity of the grating. The feedback loop communicates with the optical detector and the wavelength controller to modify the grating's reflection wavelength band in accordance with the wavelength of an incident optical channel.

Abstract: The present invention provides a wavelength division multiplexed optical communication system including an optical fiber ring configured to carry at least one wavelength division multiplexed optical communication signal having plural optical channels at different wavelengths. Optical amplifiers are interposed along the optical fiber ring for optically amplifying the wavelength division multiplexed optical communication signal. Each optical amplifier produces amplified spontaneous emission as well as amplifying the optical channels of the WDM signal. At each amplifier, amplified spontaneous emission is selected by an optical feedback selector and is fed back to the optical amplifier input via an optical feedback path; the created wavelength travels along the ring and is dropped near the input of the next adjacent amplifier, reducing ASE in the optical fiber ring.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical network including a bridge for selectively transferring information from an optical channel carried on a first WDM optical waveguide to at least two optical channels on a second WDM optical waveguide. The first and second optical waveguides carry WDM optical signals each having plural optical channels. A bridge is interposed between the first and second optical waveguides which includes an optical add-drop multiplexer optically communicating with each waveguide. At least one optical channel having first and second data bits streams is dropped from the first waveguide. The first and second data bit streams are respectively encoded on two different optical channels which are then added to the second optical waveguide.

Abstract: The present invention improves the performance of optical networks, particularly optical ring networks, by reducing amplified spontaneous emission thereby increasing the available gain of optical amplifiers within that network. In one embodiment, the invention provides a WDM optical communication system having an optical fiber ring with optical fiber amplifiers interposed along the ring. An optical wavelength is injected into the optical fiber ring at a first location; the optical wavelength is selected to be located within a region of amplified spontaneous emission for the optical fiber amplifier. The optical wavelength is dropped from the optical fiber ring at a second location positioned such that the injected optical wavelength is dropped at or prior to returning to the first location within the ring. The optical wavelength passes through at least two of the plurality of optical amplifiers before being dropped from the optical fiber ring.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a bidirectional optical network including a bridge for selectively transferring information from an optical channel carried on a first bidirectional WDM optical waveguide to at least two optical channels on a second bidirectional WDM optical waveguide. The first and second bidirectional optical waveguides each carry two counter-propagating WDM optical signals each having plural channels. A bridge is interposed between the first and second bidirectional optical waveguides which includes an optical add-drop multiplexer optically communicating with each bidirectional waveguide. At least one optical channel having first and second data bits streams is dropped from the first bidirectional waveguide. The first and second data bit streams are respectively encoded on two different optical channels which are then added to the second bidirectional optical waveguide.

Abstract: The present invention provides a wavelength division multiplexed optical communication system with dynamically stabilized wavelength selectors. To accurately correlate the wavelength of a wavelength selector to the wavelength emitted by an optical transmission source, the present invention uses an optical detector and feedback loop to optimize the wavelength of an optical selection element in accordance with a wavelength of an incident optical channel. In one embodiment, the optical selection element is a Bragg grating associated with a grating wavelength controller, such as a temperature regulator or strain tuning system, to adjust the wavelength band of maximum reflectivity of the grating. The feedback loop communicates with the optical detector and the wavelength controller to modify the grating's reflection wavelength band in accordance with the wavelength of an incident optical channel.

Abstract: The present invention provides a bidirectional wavelength division multiplexed optical communication system having bidirectional optical service channels. The bidirectional WDM optical communication system includes a bidirectional optical waveguide configured to carry a bidirectional optical communication signal comprising counterpropagating WDM optical signals. Each WDM optical signal includes plural optical channels and an optical service channel. A bidirectional optical add-drop multiplexer optically communicates with the waveguide. A first optical service channel selector optically communicates with the first bidirectional optical add-drop multiplexer input/output port.

Abstract: The present invention provides a bidirectional wavelength division multiplexed optical communication network useful in numerous network configurations. The network includes a bidirectional optical waveguide carrying counter-propagating wavelength division multiplexed optical signals each including plural channels. Several optical nodes are positioned along the bidirectional optical waveguide, each of which includes an optically-amplified bidirectional optical add-drop multiplexer. Each bidirectional optical add-drop multiplexer includes channel selectors for selecting at least one optical channel from each of the counter-propagating WDM optical signals. Each optical node further includes at least one optical transmitter for supplying an optical channel to be added by the bidirectional optical add-drop multiplexer to the bidirectional optical waveguide and at least one optical receiver for receiving an optical channel dropped from the bidirectional optical waveguide by the bidirectional add-drop multiplexer.

Abstract: The present invention provides a bidirectional wavelength division multiplexed optical communication network having a protection switching capability within a bidirectional optical waveguide. A bidirectional optical waveguide having plural optical nodes carries counterpropagating wavelength division multiplexed optical communication signals: M optical channels in a first direction and N optical channels in a second direction. The network includes the capacity to generate X+Y protect optical channels which respectively propagate in the first and second directions. Upon detecting loss of an optical signal means are provided for switching the affected M work optical channels to the Y protect optical channels and the affected N work channels to the X protect channels. In this manner, protection switching may be accomplished in a bidirectional optical network on a single bidirectional optical waveguide.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system for protection switching in a wavelength division multiplexed optical communication network including optical transponders within optical nodes. A work optical transponder receives a first work optical channel dropped by an optical add-drop multiplexer from an optical waveguide while a second work optical transponder adds a work optical channel to the optical add-drop multiplexer. Similarly, a first protect optical transponder is positioned to receive a protect optical channel dropped by the optical add-drop multiplexer while a second protect optical transponder is positioned to add a protect optical channel to the optical add-drop multiplexer.