Abstract: A video game system that offers sense of realism and excitement is provided. This video game system comprises a player information storage unit 371 that stores player information including information regarding virtual money used in the game, a real money conversion unit 161m that performs conversion between virtual money and real money, a virtual money conversion unit 161n that performs conversion between virtual money and prescribed pseudo-values, a virtual money accumulation unit 361b that increases the amount of virtual money stored in the player information storage unit via calculation using the real money conversion unit, and a game result integration unit 161p that converts the amount of increase or decrease in pseudo-values that occurs each time the game is executed into virtual money, adds the increase or decrease to or subtracts from the player's current virtual money amount, and updates the player information stored in the player information storage unit 371 accordingly.

Abstract: The CPU 161 of the video game apparatus comprises a performance determination unit 161b that determines the order of finish of the players each time a game is completed, a parameter calculation unit 161g that calculates parameters indicating the characteristics of each player in playing games based on the game history data stored in a history storage unit 162b described below and a title assigning unit 161h that assigns a title applicable during games to each player based on the calculated parameters, and the RAM 162 comprises a history storage unit 162b that stores past player game history data for each player, and a title storage unit 162c that associates the titles assigned by the title assigning unit 161h with the players and stores them.

Abstract: A fluorescent display device cable of being significantly increased in emission. A grid electrode is formed of a nonleaded conductive paste constituted by Al containing at least one of organic metal and phosphate glass frit by screen printing. This positively prevents precipitation of Pb on the grid electrode due to reduction of PbO by oxidation of Al during calcination of the conductive paste as encountered with the prior art.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for sintering a large-sized optical fiber preform without the occurrence of a large difference of diameters in a longitudinal direction, a non-solidified portion in a solidified portion of a porous soot body and a drop of the optical fiber preform. In response to a relative position of a sintering position of a porous soot body in an optical fiber preform to a sintering zone, in other words, in response to either of a lower end, an intermediate portion or an upper end of the optical fiber preform in the sintering zone, a controller controls at least one of a sintering temperature of an electric heater, a moving speed of the optical fiber preform and a supply gas flow supplying to the sintering zone.

Abstract: An ultraviolet optical device includes optical parts on which an ultraviolet ray is irradiated. Some or all of the optical parts are arranged in an envelope having a gas inlet port and a gas output port. In the envelope (9), a dry gas having an amount of moisture (as volume fraction) of 5,000 [ppm] or less and led from the gas inlet port (10) is sprayed on an optical part in which at least a deterioration in optical characteristics is especially a problem, so that an improvement in the secular change of the optical part can be achieved.

Abstract: In order to locate and display the source of a sound such as a noise at a factory or the like accurately even when it is outside, a pair of microphones (M1, M3) and another pair of microphones (M2, M4) are disposed on the X axis and Y axis with a distance L therebetween, respectively, the direction of the sound source is estimated from a difference between sound arrival times to the microphones (M1, M3) and a difference between sound arrival times to the microphones (M2, M4), an image around the estimated location of the sound source is picked up by a camera, and the above estimated location of the sound source is displayed on the above image displayed on the display of a personal computer.

Abstract: A dielectric ceramic material containing BaTiO3 as a primary component and a rare earth element as an additional component, wherein the material satisfies the relation 0.7≦M/N so as to make the density of the rare earth metal uniform between crystal grains, and the material satisfies the relation 0.8≦L/M so as to make the density of the rare earth metal uniform in a crystal grain. In these relations, M represents the number of crystal grains satisfying the relation 0.5≦Di/D; N represents the number of crystal grains constituting the ceramic material; and L represents the number of crystal grains satisfying the relations 0.5≦Di/D and Si/Di≦0.3, wherein Di represents the mean density of the rare earth element in an arbitrary crystal grain i, D represents the mean density of the rare earth element in the entirety of the ceramic material, and Si represents the standard deviation of the density of the rare earth element in the crystal grain i.

Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber soot, which comprises a core partition having an opening portion at core burner side provided on a periphery of a core burner, in a reactor of the apparatus to be used in a conventional VAD method.

Abstract: A method of evaluating a state of a polysilicon film objectively, accurately, automatically, and in a non-contact manner is provided. The method includes the steps of picking up a surface of a polysilicon film formed by excimer laser annealing, dividing the picked-up image into meshes each having a specific size, calculating a contrast in each of the meshes, extracting a highest contrast value and a lowest contrast value in the picked-up image, calculating a contrast ratio therebetween, and judging an average grain size of the polysilicon film on the basis of the contrast ratio.

Abstract: A polysilicon film evaluation apparatus is provided which enables objective automatic evaluation of the status of a polysilicon film, as formed to a high accuracy in a contact-free fashion.

Abstract: The imaging magnification of an imaging optical system 6 is set such that the image resolution of an ultraviolet CCD camera 5 is within a range from 10 nm to 30 nm, on a resist pattern 102 to be inspected. In addition, every time when the ultraviolet CCD camera 5 picks up an image, the resist pattern 102 to be inspected is irradiated at an irradiation light amount within a range from 0.5 mJ/cm2 to an irradiation threshold value at which the resist pattern 102 is not caused to contract or an irradiation threshold value at which an absorption rate of an anti-reflection film provided near the resist pattern is not caused to change.

Abstract: In this invention, the condition of a polysilicon film is evaluated, and a manufacture margin for the film is determined from the condition evaluated. The power of an excimer laser annealing apparatus is set based on the manufacture margin. The annealing apparatus anneals an amorphous silicon film, converting the same to a polysilicon film. The surface spatial structure of the polysilicon film thus formed exhibits linearity or periodicity, or both, depending on the energy applied to the amorphous silicon film during the annealing. The image data of the polysilicon film is processed, thereby determining the linearity and/or periodicity in numerical values, by utilizing the auto-correlation function of the surface image of the polysilicon film. A difference between the auto-correlation function of the surface image of parts of the polysilicon film, which are a source region and a drain region, and the auto-correlation function of the part of the polysilicon film, which lies above a gate electrode, is obtained.

Abstract: A laser beam in the ultraviolet region is generated at high power for along period. A green laser beam generated by a laser oscillator comes incident into a resonator from behind a first curved mirror, and circulates there, reflected by each mirror. By passing a barium borate crystal, it causes a secondary harmonic (a laser beam in the ultraviolet region) to be generated, which is taken out of the resonator via a second curved mirror. The beam waist of the laser beam passing the barium borate crystal is set to 46 &mgr;m, about double the conventional thickness, by adjusting the distance between the first curved mirror and a second flat mirror. As a result, the power density of the laser beam in the barium borate crystal is reduced to ¼ of the value according to the related art, and it is made possible to avoid rapid degradation of the barium borate crystal by excessive squeezing of the laser beam.

Abstract: The state of a polysilicon film formed by excimer laser annealing an amorphous silicon film is to be evaluated. When the amorphous silicon film is annealed to form a polysilicon film, linearity or periodicity presents itself in the spatial structure of the film surface of the polysilicon film formed depending on the energy applied to the amorphous silicon during annealing. This linearity or periodicity is processed as an image and represented numerically from the image by exploiting the linearity or periodicity. The state of the polysilicon film is checked based on the numerical results.

Abstract: An end node for which sending and receiving are controlled by a hub is directly connected and used. When another end node is directly connected to the PMD control unit 2, the input control signal processor 11 of the signal processor 1 receives a receiving state signal indicating the state of a tone signal which is outputted from the PMD control unit 2 and received from another end node, converts it to a receiving state signal indicating the state of a tone signal from the hub which has the same meaning as it, and transfers it to the MAC/PMI control unit 4.

Abstract: An image of an inspection target having a concave and convex pattern is picked up in an off-focus state by an image pickup element 4. Further, the image of the inspection target picked up in the off-focus state is taken in by an image processing computer 6. Based on the image, the image processing computer 6 prepares a light intensity profile having a peak corresponding to a boundary portion between a concave portion and a convex portion of the concave and convex pattern of the inspection target. For example, a change of the width of the concave or convex portion of the concave and convex portion can be detected very accurately, by measuring the width of the concave or convex portion of the concave and convex portion on the basis of the intensity profile.

Abstract: The imaging magnification of an imaging optical system 6 is set such that the image resolution of an ultraviolet CCD camera 5 is within a range from 10 nm to 30 nm, on a resist pattern 102 to be inspected. In addition, every time when the ultraviolet CCD camera 5 picks up an image, the resist pattern 102 to be inspected is irradiated at an irradiation light amount within a range from 0.5 mJ/cm2 to an irradiation threshold value at which the resist pattern 102 is not caused to contract or an irradiation threshold value at which an absorption rate of an anti-reflection film provided near the resist pattern is not caused to change.

Abstract: A highly corrosion resistant and paint adherent surface coating on aluminiferous metals can be provided very rapidly, if desired in less than one second, by contacting the surface with an aqueous acid liquid treating composition containing as solutes specified proportions of phosphate ions, titanium containing materials, fluoride, and an accelerator, the accelerator is preferably at least one of nitrous acid, nitric acid, tungstic acid, molybdic acid, permanganic acid, water soluble salts of all of these acids, and water-soluble organoperoxides.

Abstract: In an optical system having at least one optical part other than mirrors, for example, a wavelength conversion optical system which uses an external resonator, an optical system which is capable of solving the problem of transverse mode generation due to the existence of scattering matter and the optical crystal used and capable of supplying a stable output (stable wavelength conversion output) is provided. At least at one point in a stable resonator having optical parts (optical crystal) other than mirrors, an aperture having a circular hole with a diameter 1 to 10 times the diameter of a beam at the aperture, a slit having a width 1 to 10 times the diameter of the beam, or an aperture of an arbitrary shape having an edge is located, or a knife edge having an linear or curved edge is Located so that the nearest distance between the edge and the beam is 1 to 10 times the radius of the beam from the center of the beam.

Abstract: A monolithic ceramic capacitor has laminated plural dielectric ceramic layers, internal electrodes disposed between dielectric ceramic layers, and external electrodes formed at edge surfaces of the dielectric ceramic layers such that they are connected to alternate internal electrodes, wherein the dielectric ceramic layers are composed of a material comprising a principal component shown by the formula: (1-.alpha.-.beta.-.gamma.){BaO}.sub.m.TiO.sub.2 +.alpha.M.sub.2 O.sub.3 +.beta.Re.sub.2 O.sub.3 +.gamma.(Mn.sub.1-x-y Ni.sub.x Co.sub.y)O (wherein M.sub.2 O.sub.3 is at least one kind of Sc.sub.2 O.sub.3 and Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 ; Re.sub.2 O.sub.3 is at least one kind of Sm.sub.2 O.sub.3 and Eu.sub.2 O.sub.3 ; 0.0025.ltoreq..alpha.+.beta..ltoreq.0.025, 0<.beta..ltoreq.0.0075, 0.0025.ltoreq..gamma..ltoreq.0.05, .gamma./(.alpha.+.beta.).ltoreq.4, 0.ltoreq.x<1.0, 0.ltoreq.y<1.0, 0.ltoreq.x+y.ltoreq.1.0, and 1.000<m.ltoreq.1,035), and containing definite amounts of MgO and SiO.sub.2 as side components.