Abstract: In the present invention, an extraneous substance inspection optical system having an extraneous inspection area of a predetermined scanning width in subscanning direction of a matter to be inspected is positioned in such a manner that the extraneous substance inspection area at a moment when the matter to be inspected is started to move in main scanning direction is arranged at a position in the main scanning direction corresponding to a head portion of the matter to be inspected; the matter to be inspected is moved in the main scanning direction to be subjected to a forward scanning for the matter to be inspected to thereby detect possible extraneous substances in the extraneous inspection area; and the matter to be inspected is rotated by 180.degree.

Abstract: The improved DNA base sequencer has a flat plate type gel electrophoretic unit that has multiple tracks for electrophoresing DNA fragments and which is held in a vertical position, a light exciting laser light applying unit that applies laser light to the respective tracks in the electrophoretic unit from one lateral side thereof in such a way that it crosses the tracks at right angles, and a fluorescence detecting unit that detects the fluorescence as generated from the DNA fragments illuminated with the laser light and which converts the detected fluorescence to an electric signal. The sequencer is characterized in that the fluorescence detecting unit comprises a fluorescence condensing lens, a fluorescence filtering unit and a solid-state imaging device, (e.g., a CCD line sensor), the fluorescence filtering unit being composed of at least two filters that selectively transmit fluorescences having different wavelengths and that are staggered with each other along a common longitudinal axis.

Abstract: A calibration method for protrusion detection head units including steps of selecting as a master head unit a protrusion detection head unit of which lifting characteristic is known, further selecting one of any protrusion detection head units which is used for protrusion inspection as a measurement head unit, determining a disk having a predetermined surface roughness as a reference disk, successively loading the head of the master head unit and the head of the measurement head unit on the face of the reference disk which is rotated and causing to lift the same, measuring output voltages em of the master head unit and output voltages es of the measurement head unit while varying the circumferential speed of the track on the reference disk to determine as a function respective output voltage characteristics using the circumferential speed and linear-approximating the respective output voltage characteristics on a rectangular coordinate system of output voltage-circumferential speed to determine linear equatio

Abstract: The improved DNA base sequencer comprises a flat plate type gel electrophoretic means that has a multiple of tracks for electrophoresing DNA fragments and which is held in a vertical position, a light exciting laser light applying means that applies laser light to the respective tracks in said electrophoretic means from one lateral side thereof in such a way that it crosses said tracks at right angles, and a fluorescence detecting means that detects the fluorescence as generated from the DNA fragments illuminated with the laser light and which converts the detected fluorescence to an electric signal, and it is characterized in that the fluorescence detecting means comprises an index-distributed lens array, a filter and a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD line sensor. This apparatus uses light-receiving optics that does not include a large and expensive optical device such as an image intensifier and which yet is capable of efficient fluorescence detection without "smiling" and other adverse effects.

Abstract: A protrusion sensor according to the present invention comprises a protrusion sensing head, a suspension spring having a front end portion fixedly mounting the protrusion sensing head and a rear end portion fixedly secured to one surface of a support arm, a carriage for supporting the support arm and a vibration sensor of piezo-electric ceramics fixedly mounted on the other surface of the support arm. A protrusion is detected by the collision of the protrusion sensing head flying by air flow on a surface of a rotary disc caused by rotation thereof with a protrusion.

Abstract: A magnetic disk tester according to the present invention comprises a first head moving mechanism for fixedly mounting a first certification testing head and a burnishing head perpendicularly of a moving direction thereof and a second head moving mechanism for fixedly mounting a second certification testing head and a glide testing head perpendicularly of a moving direction thereof. The burnishing head and the glide testing head are switched by the first certification testing head and the second certification testing head, respectively, by moving a spindle in an orthogonal direction to the head moving direction.

Abstract: In an apparatus for gel electrophoresis in which a sample of fluorophore-labelled DNA fragments is caused to migrate by electrophoresis through a gel electrolyte layer in an electrophoresis plate from top to bottom, thereby separating the sample into individual DNA fragments, and a laser beam is launched horizontally into said electrolyte layer from one side of the electrophoresis plate in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said electrophoresis plate, with the emitted fluorescences being detected to determine the base sequences of the respective DNAS, a mirror for reflecting fluorescences is provided at the back of the electrophoresis plate in such a way that it is parallel to the direction of laser beam application, and the fluorescences reflected by this mirror are received by a fluorescence detector such as a CCD sensor or MOS linear image sensor. In one embodiment, the mirror is inclined by an angle of 45.degree.

Abstract: In the multi-color fluorescence detection type electrophoresis apparatus provided with the electrophoresis gel plate, excitation laser source, means to separate the fluorescence images according to each emission wavelength, and the detector of the fluorescence subjected to wavelength selection, two or more laser sources are provided, each of laser lights is irradiated on the sample on a time-sharing basis, and the filter which cuts off the scattered light of each the laser synchronous with the laser beam is installed in front of the wavelength separation means thereby providing simultaneous, quick and real-time analysis of a great number of samples such as DNA and RNA labeled by many types of fluorophores, without overlapping the wavelengths of the excitation light and the fluorescence.

Abstract: An apparatus for detecting extraneous substances on a glass plate includes a first light projecting system arranged above a plane under examination on a glass plate, the surface of which is irradiated with an S-polarized laser beam at a first elevation angle, a second light projecting system arranged above the surface thereof which is irradiated with a P-polarized laser beam at a second elevation angle greater than the first elevation angle, and a light receiving system for receiving scattered light from the surface irradiated with the laser beams respectively emitted from the first and the second light projecting system at an elevation angle smaller than the first elevation angle. The light receiving system is arranged on a side opposite to the direction of irradiation with the normal line set up at the laser beam irradiation point therebetween and the output level of the P-polarized laser beam is set in specific relation to the S-polarized laser beam.

Abstract: A laser length measuring instrument in which a first and a second sinusoidal wave interference signals differing in phase by .pi./2 are generated from a plurality of interference wave signals received from an interferometer; a plurality of third sinusoidal wave interference signals differing in phase by m.pi./2 n (where n=integer 2 or greater; m=positive integer sequentially selected from among 0<m.pi./2n<.pi.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a variable frequency converter, a band-pass filter having a constant center frequency and a predetermined band-width, an effective value detection circuit and a control signal generator for generating a control signal for varying a conversion frequency of the variable frequency converter. A test signal readout from a magnetic recording medium is frequency-converted by the variable frequency converter and the band-pass filter derives a constant frequency signal from frequencies frequency-converted by the variable frequency-converter to derive a predetermined frequency component of the carry noise.

Abstract: Described herein is a disk washing apparatus for cleaning substrate disks of memory medium, which comprises in combination: a loader section having a magazine for holding a number of disks to be washed; a working section including a washing stage arranged to wash the front and rear faces of a disk simultaneously with inner and outer peripheral surfaces thereof, a rinsing stage arranged to rinse the front and rear faces of a disk simultaneously with inner and outer peripheral surfaces thereof, and a drying stage adapted to dry a washed and rinsed disk by high speed spin drying; an unloader section having a magazine for accommodating cleaned disks; and disk transfer chucks adapted to transfer disks one after another stepwise from the loader section to the unloader section, passing the disks successively to the washing, rinsing and drying stages of the working section, the washing, rinsing, and drying stages being located in series between the loader and unloader sections.

Abstract: To speed up the pattern generator which is a bottleneck for speedup of an LSI tester, a continuous address control information for generating addresses for continuous pattern memory read is generated at a speed 1/N (N is an optional number larger than 1) times the operation speed of the continuous address generator, and the address controller is divided into a 1st and a 2nd address controller. The two controllers are connected via a buffer memory to ensure the normal operation when the correspondence between address control instructions and patterns to be continuously read is not 1:N. Continuous address information generated by the 1st address controller is stored in the buffer memory.

Abstract: A disk chuck mechanism for chucking a disk in a stepped-down portion of a rotary chuck member and releasing the disk by vertically moving a chuck head coupled to an operating shaft is disclosed wherein a ring member having a cut in part is provided for its diameter to be enlarged opposite to the stepped-down portion of the rotary chuck member for chucking the disk and biased in the direction in which its diameter contracts. The chuck head is moved in the axial direction to utilize an inclined side face of the chuck head to enlarge the diameter of the ring member. With this arrangement, it is ensured that the disk is chucked in between the stepped-down portion of the rotary chuck member and the ring member with the one stroke movement of the chuck head.

Abstract: The delay circuit of the present invention has a CR integrator including a variable capacitance diode. This CR integrator is arranged between the first and second comparators. By applying a constant DC comparison voltage to the other input terminal of the second comparator, delay amounts can be selectively changed for the leading and trailing edges of the pulse waveform.

Abstract: In a small particle detection system for use in detecting small particles, which float in a gas, by utilizing the light scattering effect thereof, a detecting cell is disposed in an external optical resonator which is adapted to resonate with the output light from a laser oscillator. When the detecting cell is disposed in the laser oscillating optical resonator, the position is selectively determined; the former is set in the position in the latter in which the diameter of a laser beam is minimal.

Abstract: A rotary actuator for a magnetic disc device for swinging a head arm to position a magnetic head mounted at an end of the head arm to a desired track of a magnetic disc is disclosed. Magnetic shield plates are provided to a magnetic circuit assembly which forms a voice coil motor together with a moving coil mounted at a rear end of a head carriage which supports the head arm in order to prevent leakage magnetic fluxes created in the vicinity of a permanent magnet of the magnetic circuit assembly from reaching the magnetic head.

Abstract: An automatic contaminants detection apparatus comprises a polarized laser beam source, a polarized laser beam irradiation optical system having irradiation angle switching means for switching an irradiation angle depending on the presence or absence of a pattern on a sample surface to irradiate the polarized laser beam emitted by the polarized laser beam source to the sample surface with an angle of grazing, a detector for detecting condensed scattered or reflected lights of the laser beam from the sample surface with or without interleave of an analyzer, and analyzer switching means for inserting or removing the analyzer into or from a detection light path of the detector depending on the presence or absence of the pattern on the sample surface. The apparatus can detect contaminants on the patterned or non-patterned sample surface with a high sensitivity.

Abstract: An apparatus for automatically transferring a desired one of bacterial colonies grown in a medium in a culture Petri dish onto a medium in a test Petri dish or a test tube by using a bacterial colony pick-up/transfer element of the disposable type or a bacterial colony pick-up/transfer element of the reuse type and by using various mechanisms controlled by a computer.

Abstract: An IC magazine supply system including a plurality of rows of side by side magazine stackers each holding a vertical stack of IC magazines each holding an array of IC packages therein, guide bars located beneath the magazine stackers for receiving the IC magazines as they move downwardly, a moving section receiving the IC magazines when it moves downwardly, moving transversely while holding the IC magazines, discharging the IC magazine located at a leading end while transferring the rest of the IC magazines to the guide bars and thereafter moving transversely in an opposite direction, and a plurality of sensors mounted on the bottom of each one of the plurality of rows of magazine stackers for sensing the condition of movement of the IC magazines.