Abstract: A semiconductor device that is of a face-down mounted chip-size package type, discharges electric charges stored in an electric storage device (battery), and has a power loss area ratio of at least 0.4 (W/mm2) obtained by dividing a power loss (W) in the semiconductor device at time of the discharge by an area (mm2) of the semiconductor device, the semiconductor device comprising: a field-effect transistor of a horizontal type and a resistor that are connected in series in stated order between an inflow terminal and an outflow terminal; and a control circuit that causes a discharge current to be constant without depending on an applied voltage between the inflow terminal and the outflow terminal. A difference between a maximum temperature of a field-effect transistor portion and a temperature of a resistor portion is within five degrees Celsius in a discharge period.

Abstract: Provided is a nitride semiconductor laser element which includes: a stacked structure including a plurality of semiconductor layers including a light emitting layer, the stacked structure including a pair of resonator end faces located on opposite ends; and a protective film including a dielectric body and disposed on at least one of the pair of resonator end faces. The protective film includes a first protective film (a first emission surface protective film), a second protective film (a second emission surface protective film), and a third protective film (a third emission surface protective film) disposed in stated order above the stacked structure. The first protective film is amorphous, the second protective film is crystalline, and the third protective film is amorphous.

Abstract: A semiconductor device includes: a first electrode provided on a semiconductor multilayer structure; a second electrode provided on a substrate; and a bonding metal layer which bonds the first electrode and the second electrode together. The bonding metal layer includes a gap inside.

Abstract: A distance image generating device includes a light emitter that emits light pulses; a light receiver that includes light receiving elements and receives reflected light; a distance calculator that generates a distance image based on an amount of the reflected light; and a light amount adjuster that determines an emission count in accordance with which the light emitter is to emit the light pulses and an exposure count in accordance with which the light receiver is to receive the reflected light based on the distance image and causes the light emitter to emit the light pulses in accordance with the determined emission count and the light receiver to receive the reflected light in accordance with the determined exposure count. The distance calculator calculates the distance based on an amount of the reflected light received at the exposure count by the light receiver.

Abstract: Provided is a gas detection device that includes a gas sensor, a power supply circuit that applies voltage to the gas sensor, and a control circuit that determines whether a leak of gas is present. The power supply circuit includes a reset power source that generates a first voltage, and a detection power source that generates a detection voltage for measuring resistance of a metal-oxide layer of the gas sensor. When a value of a current flowing through the metal-oxide layer is a predetermined value ITH or greater, the reset power source applies the first voltage to the gas sensor to perform a reset of resetting the metal-oxide layer of the gas sensor to a high-resistance state, and the control circuit determines that a leak of gas is present, depending on a state in which the reset is performed after the reset is performed for the first time.

Abstract: A gas detection device includes a gas sensor and a drive circuit. The drive circuit includes a measurement circuit, a power supply circuit, and a control circuit. The gas sensor includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a metal-oxide layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, and an insulating film that covers the first electrode, the second electrode, and the metal-oxide layer, and has an opening that exposes part of a main surface of the second electrode. A resistance value of the metal-oxide layer decreases when gas containing hydrogen atoms contact the second electrode. When the resistance value of the metal-oxide layer falls outside a predetermined range, the drive circuit applies a predetermined voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode to restore the resistance value of the metal-oxide layer back into the predetermined range.

Abstract: A voltage detection circuit is provided for measuring each cell voltage of an assembled battery configured by connecting a plurality of cells in series. The voltage detection circuit is defined as a first voltage detection circuit. The voltage detection circuit includes a downstream communication circuit that communicates with a host apparatus to communicate with a plurality of voltage detection circuits connected in series with each other; a reply signal generation circuit that generates a reply signal containing data detected by the first voltage detection circuit; an upstream transfer circuit that transfers a signal received by the upstream communication circuit to downstream; a dummy current consumption circuit that consumes a predetermined dummy current; and a control circuit that controls the reply signal generation circuit, the upstream transfer circuit, and the dummy current consumption circuit to selectively operate any one of them.

Abstract: An electromagnetic valve drive device which supplies a hold current with a prescribed fluctuation range to an electromagnetic coil of an electromagnetic valve after a current peak when a supply of electricity starts has passed includes: a power supplier which intermittently applies a drive voltage to the electromagnetic coil; a detector which detects the hold current; a first comparator which compares a detected current by the detector with a first threshold value; a filter which performs integration processing on an output of the first comparator; a second comparator which compares an output of the filter with a second threshold value to generate an output signal used for generating a control signal for controlling the power supplier; and a control signal generator which generates the control signal for controlling the power supplier based on the output signal of the second comparator, wherein the filter is a count-up/down type digital filter.

Abstract: A chip singulation method includes, in stated order: forming a surface supporting layer on an upper surface of a wafer; thinning the wafer from the undersurface to reduce the thickness to at most 30 ?m; removing the surface supporting layer from the upper surface; forming a first metal layer and subsequently a second metal layer on the undersurface of the wafer; applying a dicing tape onto an undersurface of the second metal layer; applying, onto the upper surface of the wafer, a process of increasing hydrophilicity of a surface of the wafer; forming a water-soluble protective layer on the surface of the wafer; cutting the wafer, the first metal layer, and the second metal layer by irradiating a predetermined region of the upper surface of the wafer with a laser beam; and removing the water-soluble protective layer from the surface of the wafer using wash water.

Abstract: A battery monitoring device includes a first reference resistor disposed in a path different from a path of current flowing from a battery to a load; a transistor for passing current from the battery to the first reference resistor; and an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit includes: a current measurement unit that measures a first current flowing through the first reference resistor; a voltage measurement unit that measures a first voltage of the battery; and a first calculation unit that calculates an AC impedance of the battery based on the first current measured and the first voltage measured.

Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes a plurality of pixels arranged in matrix form, each pixel including a photoelectric converter and a plurality of first transfer electrodes, and a plurality of control lines connected to mutually-corresponding ones of the first transfer electrodes in a plurality of pixels arranged in a specific row. The plurality of pixels include a plurality of first pixels and second pixels. Each of the first pixels includes a floating diffusion layer and a readout circuit. Each of the second pixels shares the floating diffusion layer with one of the first pixels arranged in a column direction. At least some of the plurality of control lines are further connected to the first transfer electrodes of pixels that are arranged adjacent in the column direction to respective ones of the plurality of pixels arranged in the specific row and that share at least one of the floating diffusion layers.

Abstract: A power amplifier device includes: a first power supply terminal for inputting a first power supply voltage; a first transistor for power amplification that (i) includes a first gate to which a bias voltage is applied, and (ii) is supplied with power from the first power supply terminal; a second power supply terminal for inputting a second power supply voltage lower than the first power supply voltage; a second transistor for monitoring that (i) includes a second gate to which the bias voltage is applied, (ii) is supplied with power from the first power supply terminal or the second power supply terminal, and (iii) imitates an operation of the first transistor; and a bias circuit that is supplied with power from the second power supply terminal and generates and adjusts the bias voltage according to a drain current or a source current of the second transistor.

Abstract: An electromagnetic valve driving device which drives a fuel injection valve having a solenoid coil, includes: a regenerative switching element disposed between a first end portion of the solenoid coil and the ground; and a control unit configured to control the regenerative switching element to be in an ON state or an OFF state, wherein the control unit includes: a voltage detection unit configured to detect a voltage of the first end portion of the solenoid coil; and an abnormality detection unit configured to detect an abnormality of the regenerative switching element on the basis of the voltage detected by the voltage detection unit.

Abstract: In a distance measuring device that measures a distance to an object using a round-trip time of light, a solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of pixel groups capable of being exposed independently, and causes each of the plurality of pixel groups to receive, at a different exposure time, reflected light from the object that is originally pulsed radiation light from a light emitter. A light emission and exposure controller cyclically and intermittently exposes each of the plurality of pixel groups of the solid-state image sensor at the different exposure time to obtain pixel signals of types corresponding to a time difference between the reflected light and the radiation light, and a signal processor obtains information about the distance to the object according to pixel signals of adjacent pixels exposed at different exposure times for each of the plurality of pixel groups.

Abstract: A semiconductor laser device lases in a multiple transverse mode and includes a stacked structure where a first conductivity-side semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a second conductivity-side semiconductor layer are stacked above a substrate. The second conductivity-side semiconductor layer includes a current block layer having an opening that delimits a current injection region. Side faces as a pair are formed in portions of the stacked structure that range from part of the first conductivity-side semiconductor layer to the second conductivity-side semiconductor layer. The active layer has a second width greater than a first width of the opening. The side faces in at least part of the first conductivity-side semiconductor layer are inclined to the substrate. A maximum intensity position in a light distribution of light guided in the stacked structure, in a direction of the normal to the substrate, is within the first conductivity-side semiconductor layer.

Abstract: An electromagnetic valve driving device that drives an electromagnetic valve for injecting a fuel, includes: a first charging route that charges a bootstrap capacitor from a battery without intervention of a boost circuit; a second charging route that charges the bootstrap capacitor from the boost circuit; and a switching control unit that switches a charging route for charging the bootstrap capacitor to the first charging route or the second charging route.

Abstract: A distance measurement system includes: a signal generator which generates a light emission signal that instructs light emission and an exposure signal that instructs exposure of reflected light; a first illumination and distance measurement light source which receives the light emission signal and, according to the signal received, performs the light emission for illumination without a purpose of distance measurement and the light emission with the purpose of distance measurement using the reflected light; an imaging device which receives the exposure signal, performs the exposure according to the signal received, and obtains an amount of light exposure of the reflected light; and a calculator which calculates distance information using the amount of light exposure and outputs the distance information, wherein the distance measurement system has operation modes including an illumination mode and a first distance measurement mode.

Abstract: A semiconductor device includes: a mounting board; and a semiconductor element disposed on the mounting board via metal bumps, wherein the semiconductor element includes a semiconductor stacked structure and first electrodes, the mounting board includes second electrodes, the metal bumps include a first layer in contact with the first electrodes of the semiconductor element and a second layer located on a side opposite to the first electrodes, an average crystal grain size of crystals included in the first layer is larger than an average crystal grain size of crystals included in the second layer, and the second layer is spaced apart from the first electrodes of the semiconductor element.

Abstract: A distance-measuring system includes: a plurality of light sources; a light source controller that controls the plurality of light sources; an imager that generates a distance image for each reflection light emitted by the plurality of light sources and reflected by a subject; a reliability level output unit that outputs a reliability level for each distance image; and an image compositor that composites a plurality of distance images. The emission areas of the plurality of light sources which emit light at different angles relative to an optical axis of the imager have a common emission area to which light is emitted in common, and the image compositor exclusively selects pixels to be composited from the plurality of distance images for an outside of the common emission area, and determines pixels to be composited based on the reliability level for the common emission area to generate a composite distance image.

Abstract: Provided is a sensing system that performs set control with high sensing accuracy. The sensing system that outputs an object signal includes a solid-state imaging device that senses a first physical target from an object and a second physical target different from the first physical target, and an arithmetic operation unit that calculates an object signal using a first signal from the first physical target and a second signal from the second physical target. The arithmetic operation unit calculates an object signal using a reference signal from a device mounted with the sensing system.