Abstract: An electronic structure having wiring, and an associated method of designing the structure, for limiting a temperature gradient in the wiring. The electronic structure includes a substrate having a layer that includes a first and second wire which do not physically touch each other. The first and second wires are adapted to be at an elevated temperature due to Joule heating in relation to electrical current density in the first and second wires. The first wire is electrically and thermally coupled to the second wire by an electrically and thermally conductive structure that exists outside of the layer. The width of the second wire is tailored so as to limit a temperature gradient in the first wire to be below a threshold value that is predetermined to be sufficiently small so as to substantially mitigate adverse effects of electromigration in the first wire.

Abstract: An optical pickup apparatus comprises a semiconductor laser output controller for emitting laser beam, a photodetector for detecting the emitted laser beam, a sampling processor for performing a sampling process, an averaging processor for performing an averaging process, a pulse current generator for generating erase current pulses, write current pulses, and read current pulses, and a controller 200 for controlling the above components. The apparatus adds averaged values and sampled values and controls the semiconductor laser output controller based on the result of the addition and on the current pulses.

Abstract: An electronic structure having wiring, and an associated method of designing the structure, for limiting a temperature gradient in the wiring. The electronic structure includes a substrate having a layer that includes a first and second wire which do not physically touch each other. The first and second wires are adapted to be at an elevated temperature due to Joule heating in relation to electrical current density in the first and second wires. The first wire is electrically and thermally coupled to the second wire by an electrically and thermally conductive structure that exists outside of the layer. The width of the second wire is tailored so as to limit a temperature gradient in the first wire to be below a threshold value that is predetermined to be sufficiently small so as to substantially mitigate adverse effects of electromigration in the first wire.

Abstract: An information recording reproduction apparatus includes a laser light source, a laser driving unit which supplies a laser driving signal to the laser light source to make it emit a laser light for recording and reproduction, a high frequency superimposing unit which superimposes a high frequency signal to a laser driving signal and a duty controlling unit which controls a duty ratio of the high frequency signal. The high frequency superimposing unit superimposes the high frequency signal on the laser driving signal driving the laser light source in order to prevent an effect due to a return light from an optical disc. The duty controlling unit controls the duty ratio of the high frequency signal so that generation of a higher harmonic component in the high frequency signal is decreased or so that the duty ratio becomes approximately 50%, for example.

Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes a two-dimensional array of photosensor sections on a semiconductor substrate, and a vertical transfer section including two-layer vertical transfer electrodes. The photosensor sections store signal charges generated by photoelectric conversion. The vertical transfer section reads signal charges from the photosensor sections and vertically transfers the read signal charges. The two-layer vertical transfer electrodes have first transfer electrode layers and second transfer electrode layers, and the first transfer electrode layers serve as read electrodes for reading the signal charges from the photosensor sections. The first transfer electrode layers have a larger electrode width with respect to the photosensor sections than the second transfer electrode layers.

Abstract: A tracking servo apparatus in which reflection light obtained when a laser beam is irradiated onto a recording surface of an optical disc is photoelectrically converted, thereby obtaining a photoelectric conversion signal, a tracking error signal showing a deviation amount of an irradiating position of said laser beam for a track in a disc radial direction on the recording surface is generated by the photoelectric conversion signal, a spherical aberration occurring in an optical system is detected, a level of the tracking error signal is corrected on the basis of the detection result, and the irradiating position of the laser beam is moved in the disc radial direction in accordance with the level-corrected tracking error signal.

Abstract: A drive apparatus including: a superposition device which superposes a superposition signal on a drive signal for driving a light beam emission device that emits a light beam and which outputs the drive signal on which the superposition signal is superposed to the light beam emission device, a reference clock signal generation device which generates a reference clock signal, a frequency change device which changes a frequency of the superposition signal based on a quality index for indicating a quality of a reproduction signal that is obtained from a reflection light that is the light beam reflected on a record medium, a phase locked loop device which controls the changed frequency so as to be constant by a feedback method in use of the generated reference clock signal.

Abstract: A driving device includes a superimposing unit, a reference clock signal generating unit and a control unit. The superimposing unit superimposes a superimposed signal on a driving signal that drives an optical beam radiating unit for radiating an optical beam, and outputs the driving signal, on which the superimposed signal is imposed, to the optical beam radiating unit. The reference clock signal generating unit generates a reference clock signal. The control unit keeps a frequency of the superimposed signal constant on a basis of a feedback system utilizing the reference clock signal thus generated.

Abstract: An electronic structure having wiring, and an associated method of designing the structure, for limiting a temperature gradient in the wiring. The electronic structure includes a substrate having a layer that includes a first and second wire which do not physically touch each other. The first and second wires are adapted to be at an elevated temperature due to Joule heating in relation to electrical current density in the first and second wires. The first wire is electrically and thermally coupled to the second wire by an electrically and thermally conductive structure that exists outside of the layer. The width of the second wire is tailored so as to limit a temperature gradient in the first wire to be below a threshold value that is predetermined to be sufficiently small so as to substantially mitigate adverse effects of electromigration in the first wire.

Abstract: An optical pickup apparatus comprises a semiconductor laser output controller for emitting laser beam, a photodetector for detecting the emitted laser beam, a sampling processor for performing a sampling process, an averaging processor for performing an averaging process, a pulse current generator for generating erase current pulses, write current pulses, and read current pulses, and a controller 200 for controlling the above components. The apparatus adds averaged values and sampled values and controls the semiconductor laser output controller based on the result of the addition and on the current pulses.

Abstract: An optical pickup apparatus comprises a semiconductor laser output controller for emitting laser beam, a photodetector for detecting the emitted laser beam, a sampling processor for performing a sampling process, a pulse current generator for generating erase current pulses, write current pulses, and read current pulses, and a controller for controlling the above components. The apparatus performs the sampling process and generates the current pulses according to a predetermined APC timing and controls the semiconductor laser output controller based on the sampling process and current pulses.

Abstract: An information recording apparatus is provided, which can control over the power of light beams emitted from a light source and various types of servo control with higher accuracy. A laser beam is emitted from a semiconductor laser to write information onto an optical disc. A detection signal indicative of the power of the laser beam output from a light-receiving device is sampled and held with a sample and hold circuit via an I-V converter at a timing delayed by the time corresponding to the delay time of the I-V converter. A tracking error generation circuit and a focus error generation circuit generate a tracking error signal and a focus error signal, respectively, on the basis of a detection signal having information about tracking error and focus error and output from a light-receiving device. Sample and hold circuits sample and hold the tracking error signal and the focus error signal at a timing delayed by the time corresponding to the delay time of each of the generation circuits, respectively.

Abstract: An optical information reproducing device enables enhancement of information reading accuracy by correcting spherical aberration even if the spherical aberration occurs due to a thickness error in the transparent substrate of an optical disk. The correction amount of the spherical aberration is always changed such that the tracking servo gain in the tracking servo becomes maximum.

Abstract: An optical information reproduction apparatus is provided that, even when spherical aberration has occurred because of a thickness error in a transmissive substrate of an optical disk, is capable of improving the information reading accuracy by correcting the spherical aberration. The spherical aberration of an optical system is corrected while changing the amount of correction in a state where an objective lens is retained at a position on a focus adjusting orbit where the amplitude level of a reading signal read from an optical recording medium reaches a maximum. The spherical aberration is then corrected by using the amount of correction, which is defined as the final amount of spherical aberration correction, where the amplitude level of a tracking error signal obtained during this time reaches the maximum.

Abstract: A tilt servo control apparatus for an optical disk is provided, which is able to keep a high reproduction quality by correcting tilt errors with its construction simplified and compact. The tilt servo-control apparatus includes: an optical pickup for irradiating an optical beam onto an optical disk and detecting a reflected light from the optical disk; a tilt-correction unit for correcting, using a correction amount, a tilt error due to aberration caused by a tilt angle formed between an optical axis of the optical beam and a normal line of the optical beam at an emitted position on the optical disk; an amplitude detecting unit for detecting a maximum amplitude and a minimum amplitude of a detected signal by the optical pickup within a period of one rotation of the optical disk; and a tilt-correction controlling unit for providing a control signal to control the correction amount used in the tilt-correction unit.

Abstract: An aberration compensation device includes: a phase difference generator for receiving an input signal and for generating a phase difference used for compensating for an aberration induced in a light beam; a temperature detector for detecting a temperature of the phase difference generator; and a corrector for controlling the input signal to be inputted to the phase difference generator based on the temperature detected by the temperature detector thereby to correct a variation of a characteristic of the phase difference generator resulting from a temperature variation.

Abstract: A liquid crystal driving signal generating apparatus comprises a PWM signal generator, a low pass filter for limiting a frequency band of a PWM signal outputted from the PWM signal generator, a liquid crystal panel connected to an output of the low pass filter, and a control means for controlling the PWM signal generator. The control means controls the PWM signal generator such that the PWM signal generator generates a PWM signal with a duty ratio corresponding to a refractive index to be set in the liquid crystal panel.

Abstract: An optical information reproducing device enables enhancement of information reading accuracy by correcting spherical aberration even if the spherical aberration occurs due to a thickness error in the transparent substrate of an optical disk. The correction amount of the spherical aberration is always changed such that the tracking servo gain in the tracking servo becomes maximum.

Abstract: A liquid crystal driving signal generating apparatus comprises a PWM signal generator, a low pass filter for limiting a frequency band of a PWM signal outputted from the PWM signal generator, a liquid crystal panel connected to an output of the low pass filter, and a control means for controlling the PWM signal generator. The control means controls the PWM signal generator such that the PWM signal generator generates a PWM signal with a duty ratio corresponding to a refractive index to be set in the liquid crystal panel.

Abstract: A tracking servo apparatus in which reflection light obtained when a laser beam is irradiated onto a recording surface of an optical disc is photoelectrically converted, thereby obtaining a photoelectric conversion signal, a tracking error signal showing a deviation amount of an irradiating position of said laser beam for a track in a disc radial direction on the recording surface is generated by the photoelectric conversion signal, a spherical aberration occurring in an optical system is detected, a level of the tracking error signal is corrected on the basis of the detection result, and the irradiating position of the laser beam is moved in the disc radial direction in accordance with the level-corrected tracking error signal.