Abstract: A liquid crystal display device in the prior art has been high in its manufacturing cost for the reason that TFTs have been fabricated using, at least, five photo-masks. A liquid crystal display device which includes a pixel TFT portion having an n-channel TFT of inverse stagger type, and a retention capacitor, can be realized by three photolithographic steps in such a way that a pixel electrode 119, a source region 117 and a drain region 116 are formed by a third photo-mask.

Abstract: A method of forming multiple gate oxide thicknesses on active areas that are separated by STI isolation regions on a substrate. A first layer of oxide is grown to a thickness of about 50 Angstroms and selected regions are then removed. A second layer of oxide is grown that is thinner than first growth oxide. For three different gate oxide thicknesses, selected second oxide growth regions are nitridated with a N2 plasma which increases the dielectric constant of a gate oxide and reduces the effective oxide thickness. To achieve four different gate oxide thicknesses, nitridation is performed on selected first growth oxides and on selected second growth oxide regions. Nitridation of gate oxides also prevents impurity dopants from migrating across the gate oxide layer and reduces leakage of standby current. The method also reduces corner loss of STI regions caused by HF etchant.

Abstract: A polarized light reflecting element includes a plurality of stacked cholesteric liquid crystal layers. Each cholesteric liquid crystal layer is polymerized and has a helical liquid crystal molecule array and a helical axis that extends substantially in the normal direction. The in-plane mean value &agr; of the respective helix angles of liquid crystal molecules is nearly n&pgr; (n=1, 2, 3, . . . ). The cholesteric liquid crystal layers have their liquid crystal molecules continuously oriented on the interfaces between them, and form one smooth helical structure as a whole.

Abstract: An integrated circuit heat transfer element (6,30) is made by selecting thermally conductive fibers having aspect ratios of length to diameter of more than 1, selecting a resin and combining the fibers and the resin to create a formable resin/fiber compound. The resin/fiber compound is formed into a composite material in part by applying pressure to the formable resin/fiber compound, which aligns the fibers, and when cured creates a thermally anisotropic composite material to maximize heat conduction along the aligned fibers. The thermally anisotropic composite material has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of less than about 10.times.10.sup.-6 cm/cm/.degree. C. The composite material has a thermal conductivity in the direction of the carbon fibers of at least 50 W/m.degree. K. The IC device is preferably secured to the heat transfer element using a thermally conductive adhesive.

Abstract: Three non-contact type displacement sensors are positioned at the vertices of an equilateral triangle and disposed in opposition to an optical flat attached to the tip of a rotating shaft, while the optical flat is rotated at a slight tilt away from parallel. Undulation components synchronized with the rotation are detected from among signals indicating the relative displacement between the optical flat and displacement sensors during rotation, and the individual phase differences are found for two adjacent displacement sensors among the three synchronized components. As a result, three circles can be drawn through the positions of the centers of (two) adjacent displacement sensors, and the position of the center of rotation of the shaft coincides with the coordinates of the point of intersection of the three circles.