Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a film forming method and an atmospheric plasma film forming apparatus capable of forming a film having high flatness at a high film forming speed by using atmospheric plasma film formation. The object is achieved by introducing plasma generation gas from an inner side flow passage that passes between a pair of electrodes, by introducing raw material gas from at least one of a first outer side flow passage or a second outer side flow passage that pass through an outer side of the pair of electrodes, and by making a gas flow rate between an outlet port of the first outer side flow passage and a substrate and a gas flow rate between an outlet port of the second outer side flow passage and the substrate unequal.

Abstract: An object is to provide an atmospheric plasma processing method and an atmospheric plasma processing apparatus capable of suppressing a decrease in a processing speed caused by accompanying gas and performing highly efficient processing in a case where the processing is performed on a workpiece using atmospheric plasma by introducing plasma generation gas between a pair of electrodes and the workpiece from an inner side flow passage passing between the pair of electrodes while relatively moving the workpiece and the pair of electrodes.

Abstract: An apparatus for exhaust gas abatement under reduced pressure includes a reaction tube having, in an interior thereof, an exhaust gas treatment space in which an exhaust gas supplied from an exhaust gas source via a vacuum pump is heated by an electric heater or excited by a plasma for decomposition and/or reaction treatment. The apparatus also includes a downstream vacuum pump connected to an exhaust gas outlet located downstream of the reaction tube to reduce a pressure in a region located downstream of an outlet of the vacuum pump and including the interior of the reaction tube. The downstream vacuum pump is a water-sealed pump. The apparatus further includes a water-washing unit for washing a downstream end of an exhaust gas flow path in the reaction tube with washing water. The washing water supplied by the water-washing unit is reused as seal water for the downstream vacuum pump.

Abstract: An apparatus for exhaust gas abatement under reduced pressure includes a reaction tube having, in an interior thereof, an exhaust gas treatment space in which an exhaust gas supplied from an exhaust gas source via a vacuum pump is heated by an electric heater or excited by a plasma for decomposition and/or reaction treatment. The apparatus also includes a downstream vacuum pump connected to an exhaust gas outlet located downstream of the reaction tube to reduce a pressure in a region located downstream of an outlet of the vacuum pump and including the interior of the reaction tube. The downstream vacuum pump is a water-sealed pump. The apparatus further includes a water-washing unit for washing a downstream end of an exhaust gas flow path in the reaction tube with washing water. The washing water supplied by the water-washing unit is reused as seal water for the downstream vacuum pump.

Abstract: A surface acoustic wave device includes a piezoelectric substrate, a first interdigital transducer and a second interdigital transducer formed on the substrate so that the first and second interdigital transducers are opposed to each other. The substrate includes a doping region that is doped with a substance in at least one form selected from the group consisting of atoms, molecules and clusters in a surface between the first and second interdigital transducers.

Abstract: A surface acoustic wave device includes a piezoelectric substrate, a first interdigital transducer and a second interdigital transducer formed on the substrate so that the first and second interdigital transducers are opposed to each other. The substrate includes a doping region that is doped with a substance in at least one form selected from the group consisting of atoms, molecules and clusters in a surface between the first and second interdigital transducers.

Abstract: A surface treatment method includes: a plasma conversion step of using plasma to convert a substance into the form of plasma, thereby generating a first plasma substance and a second plasma substance; a step of beginning introduction of the first plasma substance, which is generated by using the plasma, into a substratum; a step of ending introduction of the first plasma substance into the substratum; a step of observing the state of the second plasma substance, which is generated by using the plasma, prior to the ending step; and a step of controlling a plasma process time, which represents a time interval from the beginning step to the ending step, based on the observation result obtained at the observation step, such that a total dosage of the first plasma substance, which represents a total quantity of the first plasma substance introduced into the substratum, becomes equal to a desired total dosage.

Abstract: An optical system includes a semiconductor laser. The semiconductor laser is accommodated within a case. The case is formed with a window to pass through laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser. The laser light passed through the window comes to a collimator lens. Between semiconductor laser and the collimator lens is provided a light shield member having a pinhole to pass through the laser light having passed the window. Laser light made in a parallel luminous flux is outputted from the collimator lens. This laser light is deflected toward a main scanning direction by a deflector and further collected on a scanning surface by a light collector.

Abstract: A silicon structure having little solar light beam reflection, which is suitable for a solar battery. On the entire surface of a quartz substrate, Mo is deposited at a thickness of approximately 1 &mgr;m to form a lower electrode. On the entire surface of the lower electrode, a p type silicon structure having a thickness of 30 to 40 &mgr;m comprising an aggregate of a plurality of columnar silicon members mainly comprising silicon and having random orientations is formed via a film mainly comprising silicon, using Si2Cl6 mixed with BCl3. On the surface of the p type silicon structure, P is diffused by a thermal diffusion method using POCl3 to form an n type region at the periphery of the columnar silicon members. On the entire surface of the p type silicon structure, a transparent electrode comprising indium-tin oxide having a thickness of 30 to 40 &mgr;m is formed, and an upper electrode comprising Al having a thickness of approximately 1 &mgr;m is formed on the transparent electrode.

Abstract: An impurity doped SiC substrate 1 and SiC thin film 2 are irradiated with a laser light 5 having a wavelength longer than such a wavelength that a band edge absorption of a semiconductor is caused. The wavelength of the laser light 5 may be such a wavelength that an absorption is caused by a vibration by the bond of an impurity element and an element constituting the semiconductor, for example, a wavelength of 9 &mgr;m to 11 &mgr;m. Specifically, in the case where Al is doped in SiC, the wavelength of the laser light 5 may be within the range of 9.5 &mgr;m to 10 &mgr;m.

Abstract: A silicon structure having little solar light beam reflection, which is suitable for a solar battery. On the entire surface of a quartz substrate, Mo is deposited at a thickness of approximately 51 &mgr;m to form a lower electrode. On the entire surface of the lower electrode, a p type silicon structure having a thickness of 30 to 40 &mgr;m comprising an aggregate of a plurality of columnar silicon members mainly comprising silicon and having random orientations is formed via a film mainly comprising silicon, using Si2Cl6 mixed with BCl3. On the surface of the p type silicon structure, P is diffused by a thermal diffusion method using POCl3 to form an n type region at the periphery of the columnar silicon members. On the entire surface of the p type silicon structure, a transparent electrode comprising indium-tin oxide having a thickness of 30 to 40 &mgr;m is formed, and an upper electrode comprising Al having a thickness of approximately 1 &mgr;m is formed on the transparent electrode.

Abstract: The invention increases the electric resistance of CPP-GMR elements to a practical range. Moreover, the invention presents a CPP-GMR element and a TMR element that can be applied to track widths that are made narrower due to higher densities of the magnetic recording. The area S1 of a non-magnetic layer 7 is 1 &mgr;m or less, and at least one layer selected from a first magnetic layer 6, a second magnetic layer 8 and the non-magnetic layer 7 includes a first region 30 through which current flows and a second region 20 made of an oxide, a nitride or an oxynitride of the film constituting that first region. The area S2 of the first region is smaller than the area of the non-magnetic layer. At least one of the layers of the element is oxidized, nitrided or oxynitrided from a lateral side.

Abstract: An optical system includes a semiconductor laser. The semiconductor laser is accommodated within a case. The case is formed with a window to pass through laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser. The laser light passed through the window comes to a collimator lens. Between semiconductor laser and the collimator lens is provided a light shield member having a pinhole to pass through the laser light having passed the window. Laser light made in a parallel luminous flux is outputted from the collimator lens. This laser light is deflected toward a main scanning direction by a deflector and further collected on a scanning surface by a light collector.

Abstract: A method for producing a semiconductor thin film includes the steps of: supplying a source gas to a vacuum chamber; and decomposing the supplied source gas with plasma decomposition using a radio frequency inductive coupled plasma (ICP) generated by application of a radio frequency power, and forming a prescribed semiconductor thin film on a substrate by a chemical vapor deposition process using the decomposed source gas, wherein a crystalline condition of the semiconductor thin film to be formed is controlled by controlling a heating temperature of the substrate during the formation of the semiconductor thin film.

Abstract: An optical system includes a semiconductor laser. The semiconductor laser is accommodated within a case. The case is formed with a window to pass through laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser. The laser light passed through the window comes to a collimator lens. Between semiconductor laser and the collimator lens is provided a light shield member having a pinhole to pass through the laser light having passed the window. Laser light made in a parallel luminous flux is outputted from the collimator lens. This laser light is deflected toward a main scanning direction by a deflector and further collected on a scanning surface by a light collector.

Abstract: An impurity doped SiC substrate 1 and SiC thin film 2 are irradiated with a laser light 5 having a wavelength longer than such a wavelength that a band edge absorption of a semiconductor is caused. The wavelength of the laser light 5 may be such a wavelength that an absorption is caused by a vibration by the bond of an impurity element and an element constituting the semiconductor, for example, a wavelength of 9 &mgr;m to 11 &mgr;m. Specifically, in the case where Al is doped in SiC, the wavelength of the laser light 5 may be within the range of 9.5 &mgr;m to 10 &mgr;m.

Abstract: An impurity doped SiC substrate 1 and SiC thin film 2 are irradiated with a laser light 5 having a wavelength longer than such a wavelength that a band edge absorption of a semiconductor is caused. The wavelength of the laser light 5 may be such a wavelength that an absorption is caused by a vibration by the bond of an impurity element and an element constituting the semiconductor, for example, a wavelength of 9 &mgr;m to 11 &mgr;m. Specifically, in the case where Al is doped in SiC, the wavelength of the laser light 5 may be within the range of 9.5 &mgr;m to 10 &mgr;m.

Abstract: Cluster particles including a plurality of molecules or atoms are prepared by a gas cluster method, are accelerated, and are then irradiated onto a diamond in a low pressure atmosphere, so that the unevenness surfaces of the diamond are smoothed with no damages in the diamond. The cluster particles are prepared by the steps of forming, ionizing, mass-separating, and accelerating cluster particles. The cluster particles with a certain energy are irradiated onto the surface of the diamond. Irradiated cluster particles collide with the surface of the diamond, and then break apart into each molecule or atom while changing momentum (direction and speed) or energy. Thus, the surface of the diamond is efficiently smoothed and etched.

Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having an LDD structure, source gases for generating plural types of impurity ions exhibiting different molecular weights and different projected ranges in a target during impurity implantation are supplied to a plasma space, ionized, accelerated with a voltage, and implanted in a semiconductor region on the target substrate. In the case of manufacturing a top-gate transistor, a gate electrode on the semiconductor region has a sufficient thickness to serve as a mask. In the case of manufacturing a bottom-gate transistor, a mask and a resistor are used. An implantation angle is set to an optimum value as desired. Thereafter, the impurity is activated as desired. Thus, the semiconductor device having the LDD structure is manufactured by a single step of impurity implantation.

Abstract: A large area semiconductor element can be manufactured with high productivity, which has low electric resistance at the boundary face of a metal and a semiconductor and has excellent characteristics and reliability. A manufacturing apparatus comprises an ion irradiation means for simultaneously irradiating hydrogen ions and ions containing an element serving as a dopant of a semiconductor to a semiconductor film or a substrate in an atmosphere under reduced pressure, and a film forming means which forms a thin film or a heat treatment means which conducts a heat treatment without exposing a sample to an air. When a sample having an a-Si:H thin film is brought into a sample preparation chamber by opening a gate valve, the chamber is exhausted to have the inside pressure of 10.sup.2 to 10.sup.-3 Pa. Then, the sample is forwarded to an ion irradiation chamber from the sample preparation chamber via an intermediate chamber of which the pressure is maintained in the range of 10.sup.-3 to 10.sup.