Abstract: A battery has an outer casing, an electrolyte located within the outer casing, an additive located within the outer casing and separated from the electrolyte, and a power mode increasing device located within the outer casing. The battery operates in a low power mode. The power mode increasing device combines the electrolyte and the additive causing the battery to operate in a high power mode. The power generated by the battery operating in the high power mode is greater than the power generated by the battery operating in the low power mode.

Abstract: An improved vacuum carburizing method is provided which is easy to handle or to maintenance and low equipment costs without using hydrogen gas or acetylenic gas. The improved vacuum carburizing method comprises a carburizing treatment of workpieces made from steel material heated to about 900-1100° C. performed by introducing an ethylenee gas as a carburizing gas at a vacuum of 1-10 kPa in a carburizing furnace chamber.

Abstract: To realize an ATM cell switch capable of reducing the transmission rate of cells to be transmitted, a output buffer-type ATM cell switch includes input units buffer unit, and output units, wherein the buffer units reduce the transmission rate of the cells. Furthermore, the ATM switch compares the destinations of the cells with destination set signals that are provided to address filter units in the buffer units, and controls the transfer of cells to the buffer memories in the buffer units, thereby efficiently reducing the transmission rate of cells.

Abstract: A transmission device performs encoding by a speech encoding portion including a speech encoder and error correction encoder, and transmits a continuous signal without any further processing. A reception device receives the continuous signal and performs channel decoding and speech decoding as one unit by a speech decoding portion including a soft-decision error correction decoder and a soft-decision speech decoder. Thus, a transmission and reception system performs an accurate signal reproduction without removing the signal including a normal bit error rate by correcting the error by the speech decoder.

Abstract: A photosensitive optical fiber being scanned by an ultraviolet beam to form an optical filter is aligned with the beam by detecting fluorescence produced in the fiber. The relative position of the fiber and beam is made to oscillate in a direction cutting across the scanning direction. Misalignment is corrected according to the phase relationship between the fluorescence detection signal and the oscillation, permitting the alignment to be controlled accurately regardless of the beam dimensions, scanning distance, scanning rate, and natural fluorescence variations.

Abstract: A solder alloy which is lead free, consists essentially of, in weight %: Sn; 0<Ag≦4.0; 0<Cu≦2.0; 0<Ni≦1.0; and 0<Ge≦1.0, wherein addition of Ni and Ge to the solder alloy enhances wettability and tensile strength, and prevents formation of an oxide film. Additionally, a solder alloy which is lead free, consists essentially of, in weight %: Sn; 0<Sb≦3.5; 0≦Ag ≦4.0; 0<Ge≦1.0; and at least one first additive selected from the group consisting of (a) 0<Ni≦1.0 and (b) a combination of 0<Ni≦1.0 and 0<Cu≦1.0; wherein addition of Ni and Ge to the solder alloy enhances wettability and tensile strength, and prevents formation of an oxide film.

Abstract: A high-density semiconductor device and semiconductor device array exhibiting high light emission efficiency which can be mass-produced at low cost with high yield is provided. An LED array comprises a structure wherein an n-type GaAs buffer layer 102 is formed on an n-type GaAs substrate 101, on which are then stacked an n-type AlzGa1−zAs layer 103, an n-type AlyGa1−yAs layer 104, a semi-insulating AlxGa1−xAs layer 105, and a semi-insulating GaAs layer 106. The energy band gaps of the AlzGa1−zAs layer 103 and AlxGa1−xAs layer 105 are at least larger than the energy band gap of the AlyGa1−yAs layer 104. A pn junction is formed by selective diffusion, having a diffusion front in the semiconductor layer having the smaller energy band gap sandwiched between the semiconductor layers having the larger energy band gaps. The outermost layer forming ohmic contact is made a p-type GaAs region formed by zinc diffusion in a semi-insulating GaAs layer.

Abstract: A cutting tool having cutting edges made of a high speed tool steel exhibiting very high wear and anti-chipping resistances, and sufficient toughness is provided. The high speed tool steel consists essentially of by weight C:0.6 to 1.8%, Si:1.2% max, Mn:0.5% max, Cr:3.5 to 5.0%, Mo:10% max, W:21% max, V:2 to 4% and Co:7 to 10%, the balance being Fe and incidental impurities, and the steel of the cutting edge comprise MC-type carbide grains each having a maximum equal value diameter of a circle ranging substantially 5 to 14 &mgr;m, and the MC-type carbide grains having an equal value diameter of the circle ranging substantially 5 to 14 &mgr;m have a ratio between short and long diameters ranging over substantially 0.3.

Abstract: An echo/noise canceler has an adaptive filter with coefficients that are applied to recent samples of a received signal to generate an echo replica. The echo replica is subtracted from a local input signal to create a first residual signal, and local background noise is canceled from the first residual signal to create a second residual signal. The echo/noise canceler also stores older samples of the received signal, and uses these older samples and the second residual signal to adjust the coefficients in the adaptive filter. The delay between the recent samples and the older samples compensates for the noise cancellation processing delay between the first residual signal and the second residual signal.

Abstract: A device evaluation circuit capable of easily matching the impedance of a mounted IC to be measured to that of a measurement system. In the device evaluation circuit, a ceramic head used to improve durability of the device evaluation circuit comprises a base and, for example, ceramic plates. Micro strip lines electrically connected to corresponding micro strip lines of a substrate are respectively formed on the ceramic plates. Further, ground patterns are respectively formed on the ceramic plates. Matching devices are implemented between the micro strip line and the ground patterns and between the micro strip line and the ground patterns respectively so that impedance matching is easily done in the neighborhood of an IC to be measured.

Abstract: An optical filter is manufactured by placing a photosensitive optical fiber in a spiral arrangement on a fiber holder, preferably having a spiral groove for holding the fiber, and exposing the fiber to ultraviolet light through a phase mask having a spiral diffraction grating, forming an in-fiber Bragg grating. The fiber can be conveniently scanned by an ultraviolet beam as the fiber holder and phase mask turn on a rotating stage. The fiber can be compactly packaged between the fiber holder and a cover. The fiber holder and cover can be formed by coating a substrate with layers of polymer material, the spiral groove being formed by photolithographic patterning of one of the layers.

Abstract: A code division multiple access receiver, which receives a signal combining both information signals and training signals, has an interference canceler that successively estimates and cancels interference caused by the training signals. The interference canceler also successively estimates and cancels interference caused by the information signals. The estimating and canceling process is preferably repeated, for each training signal and each information signal, in two or more stages.

Abstract: There is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor whose stability has been improved by incorporating an aryloxydiarylphosphine compound into a layer having a charge transport material. There is also provided a method for producing an electrophotographic photoconductor, which can improve the stability of a coating liquid for formation of a photosensitive layer by incorporating the aryloxydiarylphosphine compound into the coating liquid.

Abstract: A phase comparator compares the phase of a subject signal with that of a reference signal to produce a result therefrom. The subject signal is shifted in phase by &pgr;/4 and −&pgr;/4, separately. The two phase-shifted signals are respectively compared in phase with a reference signal. Resultant, two phase difference signals are applied to a decision circuit, which is operative on the basis of a rotary vector defined by the phase difference signals. The decision circuit determines the phase difference &agr; and whether the phase of the subject signal changes in one direction in which the phase differenece increases or in the opposite direction in which the difference decreases. A reversible counter is responsive to the decision circuit to increment or decrement its count accordingly. That allows the phase difference to be measured over many periods of the subject signals without requiring a frequency divider dividing the subject and reference signals.

Abstract: A semiconductor device packaged in a plastic package provided with a semiconductor device chip, a plurality of leads each of which is bonded with each of the bonding pads of the semiconductor device chip, and a plastic mold packaging the semiconductor device chip bonded with the leads, allowing the leads to project themselves from the bottom surface thereof and to extend outward along the bottom surface thereof, wherein each of the leads has a horizontal shape in which the surface of the edge thereof is a half circle, a half ellipse or a half polygon convex toward the inward direction.

Abstract: A card adapter for insertion of an IC card in a card slot of a receiving member of an electronic apparatus. The IC card is provided with card contacts and the receiving member is provided with a receiving member connector. The card adapter includes a base on which the IC card is positioned with the card contacts in registration with an opening in the base, a circuit board having circuit board contacts and a circuit board connector, and a cover supported on the base. The circuit board contacts project through the opening in the base to make electrical contact with the card contacts and the circuit board connector is connectable to the receiving member connector. The cover movable to a closed position at which it encloses the IC card and exerts pressure on the card contacts to maintain good electrical contact with the circuit board contacts.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a microcomputer capable of checking the data stored in a read only memory (ROM) integrally formed therein even without using any additional testing device, but an external ROM. In the test mode, a test signal TS to be fed to an external terminal 15 is set to a logic "1". By this operation, the output signal of a register 13 is fed to the address terminal A of the internal ROM 16 by way of a selector 14. Further, the data read out from the ROM 16 is outputted to a register 18 through a selector 17. On the other hand, by connecting the external ROM 30, in which a test program is stored, to an address terminal 21 and a data terminal 22. The CPU 11 can carry out the test program stored in the external ROM 30. By reading and comparing the data stored in the ROM 16 and the data stored in the external ROM 30 to be compared by the test program, the data in the ROM 16 can be checked.

Abstract: 1. An optical maser comprisingA. an optical cavity formed from a wafer of gallium arsenide having first and second contiguous p and n type regions with resistivities in the range 10.sup.-3 to 10.sup.-1 ohm-centimeter, said p region being centrally located and having an area less than the area of said n region, the surfaces of said n region remote from and opposite said p region being parallel to said p region and optically flat,B. a first metallic layer secured directly to the n region of said wafer on the surface remote from said p region, said first metallic layer being in ohmic contact with said n region and surrounding the optically flat portion of said n region,C. a second metallic layer secured directly to the p region of said wafer and being in ohmic contact therewith,D. first and second electrodes attached to said first and second metallic layers respectively, andE.