Abstract: The present invention provides a hydrogen production process, which is capable of producing hydrogen, which is a clean source of energy, simply and conveniently without using conventionally-used ammonia, with an extremely high level of safety. In accordance with the present invention, hydrogen is produced by substituting hydrogen for free oxygen in mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.2O2?) to obtain hydrogen-substituted mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4H?) and reacting the resultant hydrogen-substituted mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4H?) with water to produce hydrogen, and hydrogen is produced by substituting hydrogen for free oxygen in mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.2O2?) to obtain hydrogen-substituted mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4H?), irradiating the resultant hydrogen-substituted mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4H?) with ultraviolet rays to obtain conductive mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4e?), and reacting the resultant conductive mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4e?) with water to produce hydrogen.

Abstract: Proposed is a charged particle beam device including an arithmetic processing unit that generates an image of a sample, based on a detection signal that is detected based on irradiation to the sample with a charged particle beam emitted from a charged particle source. The arithmetic processing unit searches a second image as a search target image with use of a first image as a template, and when a region corresponding to the first image is not detected in the second image, the arithmetic processing unit searches a third image that represents a region larger than a region displayed in the second image, with use of a second template.

Abstract: The present invention provides a production method of mayenite in which mayenite can be produced without requiring a high-temperature treatment, and the cost of equipment and heating cost are inexpensive, and in its turn, the production cost of mayenite is inexpensive. The production method of mayenite is characterized in that mayenite (Ca12Al14O33) is formed by baking katoite [Ca3Al2(OH)12]. A baking temperature of katoite is preferably from 300 to 500° C. In addition, it is preferable to use, as the katoite, a product generated by introducing aluminum and calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] into water and allowing them to react with water.

Abstract: The present invention provides a continuous production method of hydrogen which is able to produce hydrogen, which is clean energy, simply and continuously without using ammonia. The invention of the continuous production method of hydrogen includes a hydrogen production step comprising introducing mayenite (Ca12Al14O33) and calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] into water and allowing them to react with water, thereby generating hydrogen and also forming katoite [Ca3Al2(OH)12]; a regeneration step comprising baking the formed katoite to regenerate mayenite and calcium hydroxide; and a circulation step comprising returning the regenerated mayenite and calcium hydroxide into the hydrogen production step. It is preferable that a temperature of water in the hydrogen production step is from 50 to 100° C., and a molar ratio of mayenite to calcium hydroxide is 1/9. In addition, it is preferable that a baking temperature of katoite in the regeneration step is from 300 to 500° C.

Abstract: One object of the present invention is to provide a method for preparing hydrogen which is able to simply produce hydrogen which is clean energy without using ammonia as used in the background art and which is very high in safety. The method for preparing hydrogen of the present invention is characterized in that hydrogen is generated by introducing mayenite (Ca12Al14O33) and calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] into water and allowing them to react with water. Here, it is preferable that a temperature of water is from 50 to 100° C., and a molar ratio of mayenite to calcium hydroxide is 1/9.

Abstract: The present invention provides a hydrogen production process, which is capable of producing hydrogen, which is a clean source of energy, simply and conveniently without using conventionally-used ammonia, with an extremely high level of safety. In accordance with the present invention, hydrogen is produced by substituting hydrogen for free oxygen in mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.2O2?) to obtain hydrogen-substituted mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4H?) and reacting the resultant hydrogen-substituted mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4H?) with water to produce hydrogen, and hydrogen is produced by substituting hydrogen for free oxygen in mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.2O2?) to obtain hydrogen-substituted mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4H?), irradiating the resultant hydrogen-substituted mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4H?) with ultraviolet rays to obtain conductive mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4e?), and reacting the resultant conductive mayenite (Ca24Al28O644+.4e?) with water to produce hydrogen.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide an overlay error measuring device which measures an overlay error with high accuracy even when a lower layer pattern is disposed under a thin film and a sufficient signal amount cannot be ensured. The present invention proposes an overlay error measuring device provided with an arithmetic processing unit for measuring a pattern formed on a sample on the basis of a signal waveform obtained by a charged particle beam device. The arithmetic processing unit finds a correlation with the signal waveform using a partial waveform obtained on the basis of partial extraction of the signal waveform, forms a correlation profile indicating the correlation, and measures an overlay error using the correlation profile.

Abstract: One object of the present invention is to provide a method for preparing hydrogen which is able to simply produce hydrogen which is clean energy without using ammonia as used in the background art and which is very high in safety. The method for preparing hydrogen of the present invention is characterized in that hydrogen is generated by introducing mayenite (Ca12Al14O33) and calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] into water and allowing them to react with water. Here, it is preferable that a temperature of water is from 50 to 100° C., and a molar ratio of mayenite to calcium hydroxide is 1/9.

Abstract: The present invention provides a continuous production method of hydrogen which is able to produce hydrogen, which is clean energy, simply and continuously without using ammonia. The invention of the continuous production method of hydrogen includes a hydrogen production step comprising introducing mayenite (Ca12Al14O33) and calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] into water and allowing them to react with water, thereby generating hydrogen and also forming katoite [Ca3Al2(OH)12]; a regeneration step comprising baking the formed katoite to regenerate mayenite and calcium hydroxide; and a circulation step comprising returning the regenerated mayenite and calcium hydroxide into the hydrogen production step. It is preferable that a temperature of water in the hydrogen production step is from 50 to 100° C., and a molar ratio of mayenite to calcium hydroxide is 1/9. In addition, it is preferable that a baking temperature of katoite in the regeneration step is from 300 to 500° C.

Abstract: The present invention provides a production method of mayenite in which mayenite can be produced without requiring a high-temperature treatment, and the cost of equipment and heating cost are inexpensive, and in its turn, the production cost of mayenite is inexpensive. The production method of mayenite is characterized in that mayenite (Ca12Al14O33) is formed by baking katoite [Ca3Al2 (OH)12]. A baking temperature of katoite is preferably from 300 to 500° C. In addition, it is preferable to use, as the katoite, a product generated by introducing aluminum and calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] into water and allowing them to react with water.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide an image forming device and the like that is capable of forming a proper integrated signal even when an image or a signal waveform is acquired from a pattern having the possibility of preventing proper matching, such as a repetition pattern, a shrinking pattern, and the like. In order to achieve the purpose, there is proposed an image forming device that forms an integrated image by integrating a plurality of image signals and that is provided with: a matching processing section that performs a matching process between the plurality of image signals; an image integration section that integrates the plurality of image signals for which positioning has been performed by the matching processing section; and a periodicity determination section that determines a periodicity of a pattern contained in the image signals.

Abstract: An optical member made of polycrystalline silicon formed from high-purity trichlorosilane as a raw material, and that absorbs and scatters an infrared ray in a wavelength region of 4 ?m or less. In the optical member, a ratio A/B between a transmittance A of an infrared ray having a wavelength of 4 ?m and a transmittance B of an infrared ray having a wavelength of 10 ?m is 0.9 or less, and an average crystal grain size of the polycrystalline silicon is 5 ?m or less. This polycrystalline silicon is produced by hydrogen reducing SiHCI3 by heating a base material to 800 to 900° C. using a chemical vapor deposition method. In this way, an infrared ray transmissive optical member, a manufacturing method thereof, an optical device, an infrared detector, and an optical apparatus capable of sensing a human body with high sensitivity and accuracy are realized.

Abstract: The present invention provides a nanowire production method that is simpler than conventional nanowire production methods, and that makes it easier to control the size and shape of the nanowires by using a technique completely different from the conventional ones. A powder particle containing a metal element is divided into nanometer-size wires containing the metal element by irradiating a suspension of the powder particles with a femtosecond laser. The present invention also makes it possible to divide the nanometer-size wires thus formed into nanometer-size particles containing the metal element by irradiating further the nanometer-size wires with the femtosecond laser.

Abstract: A titania nanotube suitable as an optical sensor or gas sensor is provided. The titania nanotube has a length of 1 ?m or more; preferably a diameter of 0.1 ?m or less and an aspect ratio of 100 or more.

Abstract: An optical member made of polycrystalline silicon formed from high-purity trichlorosilane as a raw material, and that absorbs and scatters an infrared ray in a wavelength region of 4 ?m or less. In the optical member, a ratio A/B between a transmittance A of an infrared ray having a wavelength of 4 ?m and a transmittance B of an infrared ray having a wavelength of 10 ?m is 0.9 or less, and an average crystal grain size of the polycrystalline silicon is 5 ?m or less. This polycrystalline silicon is produced by hydrogen reducing SiHCI3 by heating a base material to 800 to 900° C. using a chemical vapor deposition method. In this way, an infrared ray transmissive optical member, a manufacturing method thereof, an optical device, an infrared detector, and an optical apparatus capable of sensing a human body with high sensitivity and accuracy are realized.

Abstract: A wire-grid metal sheet includes a grid portion defined by a plurality of spaced strip-shaped longitudinal members extending longitudinally and cross members extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal members. A wire grid is made by attaching the wire-grid metal sheet to a frame. The cross members are arranged at intervals at least about five times greater than those of the longitudinal members. The longitudinal members and the cross members may define a lattice pattern. Alternatively, the longitudinal members or the cross members may be arranged in a staggered manner.

Abstract: A terahertz-band optical component is provided which has extremely high heat resistance and which shows excellent characteristics, such as a coefficient of linear expansion and humidity. A periodic insular pattern is formed on a principal surface of a thin-plate-shaped substrate made of mica as a predetermined conductive pattern. The terahertz-band optical component has extremely high heat resistance and shows excellent characteristics, such as a coefficient of linear expansion and humidity.

Abstract: The present invention provides a nanowire production method that is simpler than conventional nanowire production methods, and that makes it easier to control the size and shape of the nanowires by using a technique completely different from the conventional ones. A powder particle containing a metal element is divided into nanometer-size wires containing the metal element by irradiating a suspension of the powder particles with a femtosecond laser. The present invention also makes it possible to divide the nanometer-size wires thus formed into nanometer-size particles containing the metal element by irradiating further the nanometer-size wires with the femtosecond laser.

Abstract: A method of modifying liquid crystal polymers, which involves a step of irradiating a liquid crystal polymer with the laser beam having a pulse width of 10?12 seconds or less. Using the invention method, the physical strength of the liquid crystal polymers can be improved as compared with the conventional liquid crystal polymers.

Abstract: A wire-grid metal sheet includes a grid portion defined by a plurality of spaced strip-shaped longitudinal members extending longitudinally and cross members extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal members. A wire grid is made by attaching the wire-grid metal sheet to a frame. The cross members are arranged at intervals at least about five times greater than those of the longitudinal members. The longitudinal members and the cross members may define a lattice pattern. Alternatively, the longitudinal members or the cross members may be arranged in a staggered manner.