Abstract: An apparatus for encoding a plurality of image data series and decoding a plurality of encoded image data series includes an interface control circuit for executing data read/write operation from and to a memory area, an encoding/decoding circuit for selectively executing encoding of image data of one series written into the memory area or decoding of encoded image data of one series, and a plurality of registers for giving an instruction of processing to the encoding/decoding circuit wherein the encoding/decoding circuit executes encoding and decoding on a time division basis and in a series unit for image data of a plurality of series in accordance with the instruction from the plurality of registers. The apparatus for executing encoding and decoding of multi-stream image data can be rendered compact in size.

Abstract: Each of a pair of power supply electric lines (11 and 12) connected to power supply pads of a solid state image sensor (1) and a pair of power supply electric lines (13 and 14) connected to power supply pads of an integrated circuit chip (2) is arranged so that the power supply electric lines included in each power supply electric line pair are in parallel with each other and has a very small gap between them. The power supply electric lines (11 to 14) have a certain width and bend portions that are curved smoothly with a predetermined curvature or less and are formed on a flexible wiring board (3). In each of the solid state image sensor (1) and the integrated circuit chip (2), the high-potential and low-potential power supply pads are arranged side by side.

Abstract: A high-frequency power amplifier comprising: a plurality of power amplifiers arranged in parallel; an inductance element inserted in series in an input signal line of said each power amplifier; an input matching circuit for performing matching of inputs of a parallel connection which connected each series connection of said power amplifier and said inductance element in parallel; an output matching circuit for performing matching of outputs of the parallel connection; and a control unit for controlling said power amplifiers in such a manner that one of said power amplifiers is always brought to an operation condition and the remainder of said power amplifiers are brought to an operation or non-operation condition.

Abstract: The capacitance of the capacitor with the constant capacitance is equivalently reduced in the capacitance of a resonant capacitor in a voltage control oscillator to increase the variable amount of the capacitance of the resonant capacitor, and to expand an oscillation frequency range. There are provided a differential negative conductance generator circuit having two resonation nodes for differential output, a differential resonant circuit having a variable capacitance that is controlled by voltage control and an inductance connected in parallel to each other, and a differential negative impedance circuit. A resonant circuit and a negative impedance circuit are connected between the resonation nodes. The capacitor with the constant capacitance that occurs between the resonation nodes is reduced by the negative impedance of the negative impedance circuit.

Abstract: A CMOS LSI includes an inverter including first and second MOS transistors, a relatively long metal interconnection connected to an input node of the inverter, first and second diodes releasing charges born by the metal interconnection during a plasma process to first and second wells, and first and second MOS transistors maintaining a voltage between the first and second wells at a level not higher than a prescribed voltage. Therefore, even when an antenna ratio is high, a gate oxide film in the first and second MOS transistors is not damaged during the plasma process.

Abstract: There is provided a technique for improving the flatness at the surface of members embedded in a plurality of recesses without resulting in an increase in the time required for the manufacturing processes. According to this technique, the dummy patterns can be placed up to the area near the boundary BL between the element forming region DA and dummy region FA by placing the first dummy pattern DP1 of relatively wider area and the second dummy pattern DP2 of relatively small area in the dummy region FA. Thereby, the flatness of the surface of the silicon oxide film embedded within the isolation groove can be improved over the entire part of the dummy region FA. Moreover, an increase of the mask data can be controlled when the first dummy patterns DP1 occupy a relatively wide region among the dummy region FA.

Abstract: An insulating film is formed on a main surface of a substrate. A conductive film is formed on the insulating film. A lower layer resist film, an intermediate layer, an anti-reflection film and an upper layer resist film are formed on the conductive film. A focal point at a time of exposure is detected by detecting a height of the upper layer resist film. In detecting the focal point at the time of exposure, a focal point detection light is radiated on the upper layer resist film. After detecting the focal point, the upper layer resist film is exposed and developed thereby to form a resist pattern. With the resist pattern as a mask, the intermediate layer and the anti-reflection film are patterned, and the lower layer resist film is developed. With these patterns as a mask, the conductive film is etched thereby to form a gate electrode.

Abstract: A voltage for reference at a voltage level higher than a target value is produced from a constant current provided from a constant current generating circuit, and is subjected to resistance division by a resistance division circuit to produce a reference voltage at the target level, and then a final reference voltage is produced by a voltage follower. An internal voltage generating circuit thus provided can generate the reference voltage having the desired voltage level with high accuracy as well as an internal voltage based on the reference voltage by controlling temperature characteristic even with a low power supply voltage.

Abstract: A technique is provided which permits formation within a single chip both a field effect transistor of high reliability capable of suppressing the occurrence of a crystal defect and a field effect transistor of a high integration degree. In a mask ROM section having an element isolation region with an isolation width of smaller than 0.3 ?m, a planar shape of each active region ACT is made polygonal by cutting off the corners of a quadrangle, thereby suppressing the occurrence of a crystal defect in the active region ACT and diminishing a leakage current flowing between the source and drain of a field effect transistor. In a sense amplifier data latch section which is required to have a layout of a small margin in the alignment between a gate G of a field effect transistor and the active region ACT, the field effect transistor is disposed at a narrow pitch by making the active region ACT quadrangular.

Abstract: A semiconductor device including a semiconductor substrate having a logic formation region in which a memory device is formed and a logic formation region in which a logic device is formed; a first impurity region formed in an upper surface of said semiconductor substrate in the logic formation region; a second impurity region formed in an upper surface of the semiconductor substrate in said logic formation region; a third impurity region formed in an upper surface of the first impurity region and having a conductivity type different from that of the second impurity region; a fourth region formed in an upper surface of the second impurity region and having a conductivity type different from that of the second impurity region; a first silicide film formed in an upper surface of the third impurity region; a capacitor formed above the first silicide film and electrically connected to the first silicide film; and a second silicide film formed in an upper surface of the fourth impurity region and having a larger t

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device is provided including providing a substrate with projecting island regions formed in stripes, with first regions of the substrate adjacent the projecting island regions and with a conductive film covering the projecting island regions and first regions. An insulating film is formed between the projecting island regions and conductive film, wherein the projecting island regions extend in a first direction in stripes. The conductive film is anisotropically etched using a mask covering portions of the conductive film to form conductive lines on sides of the projecting island regions and the portions of the conductive film integrated with the conductive lines, which conductive lines serve as common gate electrodes for MISFETs.

Abstract: A shading area having a transmissivity in the range of 0 to 2% is formed at the center of a clear defect in a wiring pattern of a half tone mask. Semitransparent areas having a transmissivity in the range of 10 to 25% are formed, adjacently to shading area, in areas extending from the inside of the edge of an imaginary pattern having no defect to the outside of the edge. In this way, in the correction of the defect in the half tone mask, the working accuracy tolerable margin of the correction portion of the defect can be made large.

Abstract: A phase-change memory for employing chalcogenide as a recording medium is disclosed, which prevents the read disturbance from being generated, and reads data at high speed. In a phase-change memory cell array including a selection transistor and chalcogenide, a substrate potential of the selection transistor is isolated in a direction perpendicular to the word lines. During the data recording, a forward current signal flows between the substrate and the source line connected to chalcogenide, and the selection transistor is not used. During the data reading, a desired cell is selected by the selection transistor. Therefore, a recording voltage is greatly higher than the reading voltage, such that the occurrence of read disturbance is prevented, and a high-speed operation is implemented.

Abstract: In an insulated-gate type semiconductor device in which a gate-purpose conductive layer is embedded into a trench which is formed in a semiconductor substrate, and a source-purpose conductive layer is provided on a major surface of the semiconductor substrate, a portion of a gate pillar which is constituted by both the gate-purpose conductive layer and a cap insulating film for capping an upper surface of the gate-purpose conductive layer is projected from the major surface of the semiconductor substrate; a side wall spacer is provided on a side wall of the projected portion of the gate pillar; and the source-purpose conductive layer is connected to a contact region of the major surface of the semiconductor substrate, which is defined by the side wall spacer.

Abstract: A thin semiconductor device difficult to cause breakage of a semiconductor chip is disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention enables to avoid a reduction in coupling ratio in a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device. The reduction is coupling ratio is caused due to difficulties in batch forming of a control gate material, an interpoly dielectric film material, and a floating gate material, the difficulties accompanying a reduction in word line width. Further, the invention enables to avoid damage caused in the batch forming on a gate oxide film. Before forming floating gates of memory cells of a nonvolatile memory, a space enclosed by insulating layers is formed for each of the floating gates of the memory cells, so that the floating gate is buried in the space. This structure is realized by processing the floating gates in a self alignment manner after depositing the floating gate material.

Abstract: A semiconductor memory device includes: a semiconductor substrate; a first impurity region; a second impurity region; a channel region; a first gate formed on a main surface on a side of the first impurity region; a second gate formed on the main surface on a side of the second impurity region, with a second insulating film being interposed; and a third insulating film formed on a side surface of the first gate. An interface between the third insulating film and the semiconductor substrate directly under the third insulating film is located above an interface between the second insulating film and the main surface of the semiconductor substrate directly under the second insulating film. The total number of steps can thus be reduced, and lower cost is achieved.

Abstract: The A/D converter converting an analog input signal into a digital output signal is constructed with a band pass ?? modulator. The band pass ?? modulator includes: a resonator showing a band-pass characteristic at a predetermined frequency and an attenuation characteristic at another frequency; a quantizer; and a local D/A converter. A signal of difference between the analog input signal and a local analog signal of the local D/A converter is supplied to the resonator. The A/D converter further includes an adder for supplying the analog input signal to an input of the quantizer. In addition, signal transmission circuits for reducing the influence of spike noise of the quantizer on the input to the resonator are connected between an input of the adder and an input of resonator selectively. The A/D converter constructed with the band pass ?? modulator is improved in S/N ratio.

Abstract: A technique capable of integrally forming SMR type acoustic wave filters corresponding to multiple bands on the same chip at low cost is provided. In SMR type acoustic wave filters including multiple bandpass filters corresponding to multiple bands formed over the same die (substrate), acoustic multilayer films are formed without or with a minimum number of masks and piezoelectric thin films having different thicknesses for respective bands are collectively formed. For example, after the acoustic multilayer films (low acoustic impedance layers and high acoustic impedance layers) are formed in a deep groove in a terrace paddy field shape over the die in a maskless manner, the piezoelectric thin films are c-axis-oriented and grown, and are polished by CMP method or the like to be adjusted in a thickness for respective bands, and therefore, the SMR type acoustic wave filters for multiple bands are formed over the same chip.

Abstract: In a semiconductor chip A wherein an element layer 2 having transistors and the like is formed on the front face, and the back face is joined to an underlying member, such as a package substrate, the thickness T is made 100 ?m or less, and thereafter, a gettering layer 3 is formed on the back face of the semiconductor chip A. The gettering layer 3 is formed, for example, by polishing the back face of said semiconductor chip A using a polishing machine. Thereby, the yield of devices can be improved in the step for assembling the package.